Tonight: Freelance Whales (Reviewed!) + Muhammad Ali + Torche + Omotai + Wall With One Side + More

What the hell, y’all? I mean, I know this is a week sopping wet with spillover from SXSW (and St. Paddy’s week, besides), but this is almost ridiculous — there’s a shitload of good stuff going on all damn week long, so much that I feel swamped even trying to talk about it. And yeah, tonight, Tuesday, March 16th, is no exception.

First off, tune your radios to KTRU 91.7FM around-abouts 8PM this evening to hear the eerie, out-of-time spiritualism of listenlisten, one of yours truly’s favorite damn bands of, well, pretty much any city, but definitely of this one. Listen in, then get in the car, ’cause there’s a lot of other stuff worth checking out in-person, too:

Cymbals Eat Guitars/Freelance Whales/Bear In Heaven @ Mango’s
I suspect I haven’t really given headliners Cymbals Eat Guitars the kind of attention they truly deserve, unfortunately — I like what I’ve heard of Why There Are Mountains, in all its speedy, rough-edged glory, but I’ve honestly been somewhat distracted by Freelance Whales, whose not-yet-released album Weathervanes (out April 13th, I believe) is pretty mind-blowingly cool. You can see my actual writeup on the subject on over here, or hell, just listen for yourself:

Freelance Whales – “Generator ^ Second Floor” (ZIP/MP3)

If these folks don’t turn Mango’s into a totally-non-ironic hipster-kid party, I’ll be amazed. And disappointed.

Torche/Nebula/Venomous Maximus @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian)
Alright, so I’ll admit to being a little bitter about this show — when I first saw it listed, recently-resurrected heavy-spacerockers Margot were listed as playing, which got me all excited, but then they dropped off and more out-and-out metal bands Nebula and locals Venomous Maximus slid on in there. Nothing against either band, mind you; I actually really like Nebula’s blissed-out retro-psych-metal, in particular. I was just hoping for Margot. Ah, well…

Anyway, headliners Torche are well worth seeing all on their own — heavy and turbulent as fuck, yet still melodic and grand-sounding, which pretty much defines 90% of the metallic stuff I really dig these days. Even their poppier stuff, like the Foo Fighters-sounding “Sugarglider,” is pretty badass.

Now, I have to ask, after Googling the name “Venomous Maximus”: guys, please tell me you didn’t fucking name your band after a character from G.I. Joe. Please? (And it’s a goofy-ass-looking G.I. Joe character, no less; I honestly never thought those things could get any sillier than they were when I was a kid, but it appears I was wrong.)

Japanther/Muhammad Ali/Legsweeper/Mittens on Strings @ Notsuoh
I’m “eh” on Japanther, frankly, and not real familiar with Dallas-dwellers Legsweeper or Mittens on Strings, but I feel compelled yet again to proselytize the joy of Muhammad Ali, because I swear to GFSM that these guys will restore your faith in the good-old, smart-yet-ragged indie-rock of your (well, my) youth. I can’t not grin when I hear “I Believe” and “Cumincide,” and new tracks “Smiling” and “You Don’t Miss Me,” while more on the punk side of the spectrum, are pretty awesome, too…

Dark Castle/Bowel/Nibiru/Omotai (mem. of Kvalla/Sharks and Sailors) @ The White Swan
Just heard Omotai a week or so ago (see here for more on that), and holy hot damn, are they good. The band includes (ex-)members of Kvalla, Sharks and Sailors, and Subjugator, and they’re awesomely heavy and massive like some dinosaur-sized beast crashing its way through the city. Think UME but with less sweetness and more raw fury, and you’ll be close. I’ve heard excellent things about the live show of Floridian metal dudes Dark Castle, too, and the songs I’ve heard aren’t bad, in a sludgy, doom-y kind of way. (Omotai’s still who I’d be there to see, though.)

Many Mansions/Great Hopes/JD Emmanuel/Wall With One Side @ Mekong Shopping Center roof (above Khon’s; 8PM, $7)
I dunno how this rooftop show tonight’ll work, given today’s messy weather, but hey, it’s worth a shot… I dunno Many Mansions, I’m afraid, but I’ve seen/heard bits and pieces of both overlooked electro-icon JD Emmanuel‘s work and Lance Higdon‘s stuff with his Wall With One Side project, and they’re both pretty fascinating. Not sure what Lance’ll be playing with this time out, but I know he’s working on some crazy-sounding technology for his solo shows, so it’s bound to be worth seeing.

SXSW Overflow Fest, featuring Shining Path, Goes Cube, Rezarekt, East Of The Wall, The Octagon, The Extraordinaires, Ryat, Robbie Hazen & The Riot, Alanna Fugate, Busman’s Holiday, Christian Subira – Summer Recreation Camp, Anamieke Quinn, & Venus Flytrap @ Super Happy Fun Land
Yep, yep, yep — more SXSW Overflow-age. See here for the rundown on the folks playing tonight. I swear, I will get ahead of the curve a bit, and soon…

Runners-Up:
Pre-SXSW Australian Showcase, featuring Cassette Kids, The Chevelles, City Riots, Grand Atlantic, Darren Hanlon, Sherlock’s Daughter, & Travis Caudle @ The Mink
Rogue Wave/Avi Buffalo/JBM @ Warehouse Live
Bobby Bare Jr./David Vandervelde/Teresa Kolo @ Rudyard’s
The Umbrella Man @ The Continental Club
Tally Hall/Jukebox the Ghost/Skybox @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
Maldita Vecindad/Los Skarnales/Huecco @ House of Blues
The Hustlers Brass Band @ The Big Top
Tombs/Graves of Valor/Injurious Physical Violence/The Nephilim Terror @ Walter’s