Spoiled for Choice: Too Many Damn Shows To Go To

Right. So, since I blew it on the Noise & Smoke thing and I’ve been a bit behind on recommending shows & such, I figured I’d give a quick rundown of some of the cooler shows coming up. And boy-freakin’-howdy, it’s gonna be one hell of a month. Even for SXSW-flood time, which always means a shitload of good bands passing through town on their way, this is a little crazy. Here goes…

Sun., March 11:
Snow Patrol/OK Go/Silversun Pickups @ Verizon Wireless Theater
I could give a crap about Snow Patrol, but damn if I’m not wishing I was up at the Verizon tonight to see Silversun Pickups & OK Go — the Pickups’ Carnavas was my pick for best album of ’06 because of its awesomely gorgeous MBV-meets-Kyuss sunblasted arena rock, and OK Go are masters of the hook, in addition to being damn smart people.

I Am Trees/Co-Pilot/Margot/Antarctica Starts Here @ Walter’s on Washington
sigh. Given that I missed out on Noise & Smoke, I really should be here tonight. I love what I’ve heard from Co-Pilot (ex- a cool little band called Scooter from back in the day) and Antarctica Starts Here, and I need to hear more.

Mon., March 12:
Killswitch Engage/Dragonforce/Chimaira/He Is Legend @ Verizon Wireless Theater
Aww, yeah. Cheeseball hyperspeed technical metal from DragonForce and melodic emo-metal genius from Killswitch Engage (who’re one of the best metal bands going these days, for my money). Dunno Chimaira, but I hear He Is Legend’s good, too.

Fucked Up/Iron Age/Fatal Flying Guilloteens/I Am Wolf @ Walter’s on Washington
No clue on most of these bands, but the Guilloteens are always, always, always worth seeing. I saw their old lead singer come about an inch from kicking a girl in the face once at Emo’s, they got in a full-on brawl with Rainer Maria way back when, they supposedly caused a riot at the final Bates Motel show up in Austin, and guitarist Brian bashed me in the head (intentionally) with his guitar the first time I saw ’em. They’re incredible. I’ve promised an out-of-town friend I’d try to make this one, so barring a relapse of the family illness thing, this’s where I’ll be tomorrow PM.

Snowden/Malajube/Million Year Dance/Lanky @ The Mink
Man… This is a rough one; I haven’t heard as much of Snowden as I’d like, unfortunately, but their song “Anti-Anti” is pretty awesome. Malajube I’ve heard good things about, and locals Million Year Dance are the weirdest-yet-most-interesting rock band (er, “yoga-rock band”?) I’ve seen lately.

Lebanon/Sinews/Tambersauro/Blades @ Rudyard’s
Oh, crap — I may have to stop by Walter’s and Rudz tomorrow night… Dunno Lebanon, but Blades are the one of the best relatively-new bands in town, doing a cool Don Cab-style instro-rock thing, Tambersauro sound intriguing, and I have it on good authority that Sinews are worth seeing, to boot.

Tues., March 13:
SXSW Overflow Fest, featuring Toof, Barbez, Jonah Matranga, & Mossy Rock @ Super Happy Fun Land
Yep, this is where I’ll be (I think). As anybody who’s read this e-zine for very long knows, we here at SCR love Jonah Matranga like a bro. He’s single-handedly saved the whole solo-emo-guy-with-a-guitar shtick all by his lonesome, through sheer songwriting skill and earnestness. He’s a great, great, very cool guy. Of course, I’m biased because he’s friends with our own Mel House, remembers my name at every show I go to, and gives me presents, but hey.

Birds of Avalon/Ladyhawk/Saturday Looks Good to Me/The Castanets @ The Proletariat (FREE show)
Dammit, why do people do this to me? I’d have gone to see this show just for Ladyhawk, who make some damn good indie-rock (despite reviewer Justin’s opinion) and Birds of Avalon, who I’ve wanted to see for a while, but then for it to be free…fuck. Maybe I can swing by here, too…

Wed., March 14:
Albert Hammond Jr./The Mooney Suzuki/Dead Trees @ The Meridian
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he’s the guy from The Strokes — who cares? This one’s cool because of The Mooney Suzuki; they do that Motor City garage-rock thing better than anybody but The Detroit Cobras.

Better Left Unsaid/Palomar @ Rudyard’s
I’m still a little in shock at this show. No clue on Better Left Unsaid, but Palomar are very, very cool; see writeup here. If only the wife would let me hit the town three nights in a row…

The Draft/O Pioneers!!!/Brainworms/Bomb the Music Industry! @ The White Swan
I really need to get that Draft album — this is what happened to the, er, surviving members of Hot Water Music, trying to do something a little different from the emo/hc/post-hardcore scene they used to inhabit. Oh, and then there’s O Pioneers!!!, who are local and whom I really need to check out.

An Angle/Bright Light Fever/Emo Side Project/BoJones @ Java Jazz Coffeehouse (Spring)
Long, long drive, yes — well, for us near-/inner-loopers, anyway, but An Angle are darn good in a seriously Bright Eyes-ish way.

Fri., March 16:
Tody Castillo @ Rudyard’s
The Flamin’ Hellcats/Amplified Heat @ The Continental Club
Yep, two really, really good local bands, one night. Tody writes awesomely cool pop songs and then rocks the hell out of ’em; The Flamin’ Hellcats, on the other hand, do a rockabilly-ish punk thing so furious and fiery it starts fights. (No, really.)

Sat., March 17:
Sharks and Sailors/This Moment In Black History/Sinews @ Walter’s on Washington
Ah, yes — two of the better bands in town, Sharks and Sailors and Sinews, plus angry, nasty pseudo-political rawk from Ohio. Good, good, good.

RJD2/Busdriver/ANTIMC/Happy Chichester @ Warehouse Live
I have a soft spot for RJD2; the cinematic hip-hop thing has always appealed to me, and when he picks good collaborators, it goes from being good background music to being flat-out great. Oh, and Atmosphere told me Busdriver was cool, so take that for what it’s worth.

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, featuring Clandestine, The Rogues, Wyndnwyre, O’Maoileidigh Irish Dancers, Martin Burniston, EJ Jones, & the Irish Session Players @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
I love St. Paddy’s, sappy though it is — although that’s a post for another time (possibly very soon, actually) — and there’s no place better in this city to celebrate. The Mucky Duck brings together the best Celtic musicians in town (including Clandestine, who I could’ve sworn were no more), throw in some awesome Irish stepdancing (think The Lord of the Dance minus the pretentious prick), and yes, good food. And lots of beer. Skip Guinness; try Murphy’s.

Die Hunns/Los De Verdad @ Rudyard’s
Whoa. Die Hunns are a punk supergroup, pulled from the Circle Jerks & a half-dozen other bands, who play a raw kind of garage-punk that rules. This is going to be a good one, trust me.
UPDATE: Ah, crap. Looks like I posted too soon — according to the band’s Website, the rest of their current tour’s been canceled, apparently due to a number of health/legal/familial reasons. Damn…

The Handsomes/The Hideaways @ The Continental Club
If it weren’t St. Paddy’s…well, I’d be here. I dragged my wife to see the Handsomes play at last year’s Houston Press Awards, and they even blew her skeptical self away. The funkiest band in town, and one that does it without being silly or cheesy. Which is damn hard to do.

Sun., March 18:
Public Enemy/X-Clan/the baNNed/SLAMjamz Artist Revue/Heet Mob @ Warehouse Live
Wow…it’s been a long time; for a while there I thought PE were history. I dunno if their live shows are as incredible as they used to be — the soldiers on stage with rifles were a nice touch — but it’s still Chuck D & Flav (and Terminator-X, maybe?), which means it’s bound to be pretty amazing.

Ponys/Black Lips/Deerhunter/The Jonx @ The Mink
I’m told Deerhunter are badass. I haven’t heard ’em myself, but I have heard The Jonx, and they are most undoubtedly badass. Go hear some of the tightest, most purposeful math-rock in town, then stick around for the other bands.

Winterpills @ Last Concert Cafe
I initially dismissed these folks, mostly because I was told they were big on NPR — sadly, these days that’s not a great recommendation for me — but I’m having to rethink that now. Beautiful, gentle, lite-rock/folk, with hints of Hem, The Mendoza Line, and, uh, Fleetwood Mac. And I mean that in a good way.

Tues., March 20:
Battlefield Band @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Classic, classic Irish/Celtic folk with none of the New Age-y crap. I used to play these guys on KTRU; they always make me smile.

Wed., March 21:
Bleubird/Filkoe176/Babel Fishh @ Notsuoh
Weirdly, for being a seriously hip-hop city, H-town has relatively few quirky, smart rappers on the crew. Babel Fishh is one of the few; he’s like our answer to the freaky cLOUDDEAD guys, plus a less-street Aesop Rock, all rolled into one person. He doesn’t do very many shows, apparently, so check him out while you can.

Sat., March 24:
Westheimer Street Fest, featuring Penny Royal, Satin Hooks, The Scattered PAGES, CeePlus and the House of Bad Knives, Thee Armada, The Generic Tribe, Arthur Yoria, The Medicine Show, The Dimes, Free Radicals, Muzak John, .belville, Nosaprise, Stadium, Umbrella Man, Flowers to Hide, Honeysuckle, 9 Volt, Guy Schwartz, Brains for Dinner, The Guns of Detroit, Nnja Stars, National Electric, Police State America, The Krinkles, Million Year Dance, skyblue72, Doo Doo Butter, Novice, Mic Skills, The Jane Frequency, Standing Souls, Generation Landslide, Cartwheels in Central Park, Deep Above Surface, The Riff Tiffs, Poison Apple Martini, & Organ Failure @ Westheimer (Numbers, La Strada, Mango’s, & Helios)
Thank God for the Free Press folks — I’d almost given up hope of ever going to Westfest again. Going by the list of who’s playing, this’ll be a beautiful chance to see a few dozen really, really, really badass local bands. Screw, SXSW; this one’s just as good, and a lot closer to home (and, uh, much cheaper). My picks (off this list, at least — it’s bound to change): The Dimes, Arthur Yoria, The Scattered PAGES, Penny Royal, Satin Hooks, Million Year Dance, The Guns of Detroit, Flowers to Hide, & skyblue72. More on this one as we get nearer to the day…

The Western Civilization (CD release)/Buxton @ Walter’s on Washington
The CD release party/show for my New Favorite H-town Band. Gorgeously sublime, softly beautiful indie-rock reminiscent of Azure Ray, Bright Eyes, and a handful of other Saddle Creek-ish bands, but still unique in its own right. Seriously, I’m looking forward to hearing this CD as much as I am, say, the new Arcade Fire.

Tues., March 27:
Smoke or Fire/O Pioneers!!!/This Year’s Tiger/Charger Fits @ Walter’s on Washington
Two of the more interesting local bands of the moment — O Pioneers!!! & This Year’s Tiger — plus a damn good, rough-throated, Fat Wreck-dwelling, Avail-sounding punk band.

Gah. Okay, that’s about all I can do right now; more later…