The Rundown, Today: Western Civ + FPH 100th Issue + Don Cab + Paris Falls + More

Yet another crazy, spoiled-for-choice Saturday night, it looks like (Saturday, February 7th, that is). Missed Friday, for the most part (spent several late hours wrestling with the future direction/design of this here site, but that’s a subject for another two or three posts; suffice it to say that my brain still feels singed), but tonight is piled high with good shit. Here goes:

The Western Civilization/The Pons/Your Kisses Cause Crashes/Guitars @ Rudyard’s
Damn, it’s been too long since I’ve seen The Western Civ live — what, a year? Year and a half? I’m gonna have to make up for it soon, I swear; the band is just too good to pass up for long, with its Omaha-by-way-of-H-town sound, post-emo songwriting, and seemingly effortless musicianship. They’re just plain good, honest. Austin’s The Pons are pretty darn good in their own right — I’ve listened to their latest (first?) album once through already, and it’s a nice chunk of old-school indie-rock, the way it used to sound.

Never heard fellow Austinites Your Kisses Cause Crashes (the show’s a joint CD release party for the A-town folks), but I’ve talked to band member Andy Kaminski, and he’s good people, as are the local quasi-supergroup Guitars. All good reasons to hit Rudz tonight (10PM, $8).

Free Press Houston Issue 100 Celebranza, featuring Monotonix, State Radio, The Tontons, American Fangs, Tha Fucking Transmissions, & Rebelution @ Numbers
Probably the place to go to get your across-the-board, genre-breaking music fix, I’d say — the bands playing seriously run the gamut, from rock-influenced hip-hop (Tha Fucking Transmissions) to flat-out punk/garage rawk (American Fangs) to heady psych-soul (The Tontons). All the bands I’ve heard — dunno a few of ’em, sorry — are very good, and the show’s made even better by being the 100th-issue party for local rag Free Press Houston, whom I admire immensely. Keep going for that second 100, y’all. (Oh, and I’m told there’ll be free cake, free T-shirts, free Westfest tix, & whatnot, so hey, you can’t really lose…)

Don Caballero/DD/MM/YY/Novox/Fucking Thief (ex-By the End of Tonight) @ The Meridian
I’ve probably mentioned it before, but Don Cab played the first show I can remember going to at the sadly-departed Emo’s, waaaay back when I was in college. They were loud and heavy and not really my thing, but Damon blew vodka fireballs out over his drumkit between songs, the band was tight, and I have a soft spot in my soul for the band to this day. Add to that that the show features Fucking Thief, which is parts of By the End of Tonight + Jacob Calle + a couple other people playing all the songs from one of BTEOT’s quirkier EPs, and you’ve got something good.

Paris Falls/Spain Colored Orange/Al-Shire and the Henchmen/Yougenious @ Walter’s on Washington
Supposedly the Paris Falls crew have new stuff on the way, in which case I am totally stoked for the spring/summer, although it’s hard to imagine them trumping their past 2 releases’ worth of re-upped classic rock. I’ve never been totally sold on the “new” (not anymore, really, but y’know) Spain Colored Orange, but I still like the band, and from all reports, Yougenious puts on one hell of a show…

Campfire Stories/Litost/Candid/Giant Battle Monster/Sunrise and Ammunition/Darwin’s Finches @ Alvin Library (Alvin; 6-10PM)
Gotta respect those Alvin kids for putting on shows way, way out in the middle of nowhere. Better still, Campfire Stories actually happen to be good — the Next Big Thing Out of Alvin Since By The End Of Tonight, maybe?

Runners-Up Time:
Johnny Goudie (CD release)/Wide Awake/The Soldiers Red @ Fitzdown
Jesse Dayton @ The Continental Club
Dutch Boy/Beneath The Horizon/Aerial Second/A Tragedy Lost/Vozz/Tyrant Virus/Toward The Gallows @ Javajazz Coffee House (Spring)