Saturday Night Madness: Pajama Kegger + SHFL Reopening + Screamo @ Numbers + Golden Cities (+ Bonus Sunday Benefit)

Whoo, boy. Late night last night, so I’m damn behind (again) on the ridiculously huge pile of shows going on tonight; trying to make up for lost time now, so here goes:

Pajama Kegger Party, featuring The Tontons, Heptic Skeptic, Female Demand, B L A C K I E, Babel Fishh, Evak1, & Nosaprise @ Analog Warehouse (2010 Commerce; $8 in pajamas, $10 not)
Damn, damn, damn — I keep doing this to Kamerra Franklin’s badass, often-themed, always-well-booked parties. I think I missed the last one completely, so I’d planned on talking this one up quite a bit in advance…and yet, here I am. Sorry, Kam!

If you’re not yet out-and-about, though, this is my absolute favorite deal, definitely — The Tontons, of course, are fucking great, totally spot-on and heavy and soulful at once, B L A C K I E is utterly mesmerizing with his genre-blasting mashing-up of punk-inspired hip-hop with blastbeats and overwhelming noise (bring your earplugs, yo), and Babel Fishh is honestly one of the most fluid, most intriguing rappers I’ve heard, more like cLOUDDEAD in his weirder moments or the Rhymesayers crew when he’s more down to earth. (And he doesn’t seem to do many shows, so see him while you can, eh?)

The par-tay starts around 9PM, and the idea is that it’s a pajama party, so if you come wearing yours, you get $2 off the $10 cover. And hey, there’s supposedly two free kegs, so there you go. Go have a sleepover, y’all.

Motion Turns It On/Smiley with a Knife/Continental Self/Golden Cities @ Walter’s on Washington
This one’s a promising night up at Walter’s — I like what I’ve heard so far by Motion Turns It On, but I definitely need to check ’em out further. With Golden Cities, though, damn, I need to check ’em out soon, I swear. The duo (Lance of Tambersauro & Esotype Recs head honcho Marcus) do this awesome, mostly-instrumental stuff that sounds like quasi-spacerock spliced with Mogwai’s heavier moments and a weird undercurrent of prog-rock. Well, well worth seeing/hearing, honest.

Super Happy Fun Land Re-Opening Party, featuring Giant Battle Monster, Abigail und Hansel, Muzak John, Chin Xaou Ti, Dark Surf, Darwin’s Finches, Mischevious Wombats, & more @ Super Happy Fun Land (7PM)
Talked about this one a bit already, but heck, it’s worth re-mentioning here — Super Happy Fun Land is back! Yay! Damn, this makes me happy; I was crushed when they made the move & then had to close down, so today’s a happy day for me. I’m afraid I dunno most of the bands playing tonight’s reopening show, but I’ve heard good things about Giant Battle Monster and Darwin’s Finches, in particular…

The Last Starfighter/Novista/After Time Has Passed/Aerial Second/Chaos With A Smile/Cheat Death, Play Dead/Cheating Death Is A Hobby/Decerto/Engulf/Flawlessly Inadequate/Red Waltz/Zemira @ Numbers
Okay, so this show is almost like Javajazz invading the Montrose — all these bands tend to play the ‘burb venues, often to ravenous hordes of teenage post-emo/screamo kids. And with good reason, because some of these folks, at least, are damn good at what they do; I really like Dillinger Escape Plan-ish The Last Starfighter, in particular, but Aerial Second are cool, too. Seriously, if you want a glimpse of H-town’s musical life beyond the Beltway, this is the place to be it. (The bad part? It, uh, started at 3:30, according to the flyerage. Fuck…)

Runners-Up:
The Weird Weeds @ Sound Exchange (8PM, all ages)
Carolyn Wonderland/The Rafters @ Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar
Deep Ella/Windsor Drive (CD release)/Mechanical Boy/The Canvas Waiting/The 71’s @ Fitzgerald’s
The Quakes/Pickled Punks/The Ghost Storys/Luxurious Panthers/DJ Johnny Bluedots @ The Meridian (Red Room)

Bonus Sunday Madness — B’s Benefit Show:
While we’re at it, tomorrow (Sunday, March 8th) is looking relatively bleak on the musical front…except for the best type of benefit show around, a show to raise money for the medical bills of CB of local rockers Vatos Locos. The show’s at Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar, and it features a ton of good folks — Pinche Gringos, Hell’s Engine, Thunderosa, Beer Belly Badasses (and yeah, I love the name), Atrocity, Civa, Come See My Dead Person, H-town ska icons Los Skarnales, & Vatos Locos themselves. The show’s from 2PM tomorrow afternoon to midnight, and it’s a measly $5; if you can’t spare that much to help out a musician in need, you suck. (Sorry, but it’s true.)