Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Suspects + Somosuno + Blackmarket Syndicate + Warsaw Opening + Dead Frail Honesty + More

There’s quite a bit of cool stuff going on this weekend, but I’ve got to break things up & just hit tonight’s highlights right now, I’m afraid… Here’s what looks good to me for tonight, Friday, June 25th:

The Suspects/Anarchitex/Picture Book @ The Continental Club
{The Suspects}! Ah, I love those guys, truly I do — I still think fondly (way) back to my days as a young, impressionable college kid, when I’d bum a ride up to The Abyss on Washington and dance my ass off in a room jam-packed with sweat-soaked rudies and skins, trying not to get my sandal-wearing feet (don’t ask) crushed in the mass of people and generally having a blast. The first ska band I ever witnessed live, and I still think they’re pretty much the best. No lie; they opened for both The Scofflaws and The Toasters at one show, and I walked away fully convinced that them local boys blew the Northeasterners off the stage. Hearing “Caffeine” still makes me grin like an idiot.

This is a little bit of a strange bill, btw, since the opening band (beyond retro-pop Happy Hour band {Picture Book}, that is, which includes {Chase Hamblin} and is therefore good all by itself) is {Anarchitex}, which is a snarling, sprawling rock/punk band that includes former members of the legendary Pain Teens and Really Red. In other words, a long ways off from your average opening ska band. But hey, they sound promising nonetheless.

Somosuno (tour kickoff)/Ghormeh Sabzi/Ellypseas/Faaladore (aka Joe Mathlete) @ Notsuoh
Nice, nice, nice. This one sounds like a good one, too — as noted in my Summerfest Rundown posts, {Somosuno} do a truly crazy mishmash of ska, funk, salsa, punk, and whatever the hell else, and they make it work a lot better than it really should. This is the kickoff show to their West Coast tour, btw, so try to help ’em cover the ever-present costs of touring any way you can, eh? Buy merch, buy ’em beers, give ’em gas money, whatever…

Oh, and the show also features the return of Joe Mathlete (of {The Mathletes}; duh) to the stage, performing as Faaladore, or some variously-spelled variation thereof. Not sure what he’ll be playing, but I’d pretty much guarantee it’ll be good.

Born To Lose/Dead to the World/Blackmarket Syndicate/Big City Bombers @ Trash Bar (Humble)
Been meaning to post again about the {Blackmarket Syndicate} guys, since they were kind enough to email a while back with a big pile of news & updates, but I’m afraid that’ll have to wait for another post. In the meantime, though, trust me when I say that they’re one of the best damn roots-punk bands you’re likely to find — think vintage Social Distortion, Rancid, & Roger Miret, and you’ll be walking down the same glass-littered street where these guys live.

Plus, I’m told Austinites Born To Lose are damn good in their own right (obviously, again, there’s a serious Social D influence), and writer William K. had nothing but good stuff to say about {Dead to the World}‘s Demo when he wrote it up back in April. Should be a good show.

Warsaw Opening Night, featuring CoRE, 500 Megatons of Boogie, Inner Lights, Dollyrockers, Dickey Hands, Automatic Thrill, & Zipperneck @ The Warsaw (formerly The Engine Room)
Hrm. I don’t want to quibble or anything, but didn’t The Warsaw already have its grand opening? Did that not happen, and I just didn’t get the memo, or is my admittedly crappy memory playing tricks? Eh, whatever — sounds like an entertaining show, esp. since {500 Megatons of Boogie} are playing. I’m very happy to see those crazy guys didn’t implode or ride off into the sunset or something.

Sullen Serenade/The Spiritual Bat/Dead Frail Honesty @ Super Happy Fun Land
Okay, so to be totally-and-completely truthful, I’ve never actually heard {Dead Frail Honesty}. Industrial music’s not really my thing, beyond some brushes with it back in college, and I have very little idea of what all’s out there, these days. That said, we reviewed the band’s debut, A New Piece of Flesh, earlier this month, and writer Tracy L. was pretty head-over-heels for it, so that definitely counts as a recommendation in the band’s favor. This should be an intriguing show, at the very least, especially for the oddball folks at {Super Happy Fun Land}…

Marty Stuart/Rosie Flores @ Crighton Theatre (Conroe)
Ah, cool — you might remember from a little while back that rootsy, sassy country-billy lady Rosie Flores was forced to cancel an H-town appearance back in April due to breaking her arm randomly while going out for a run. Being a musician, she had no health insurance, and y’know, medical treatment’s expensive. Glad to see she’s doing well enough to be out & playing again.

Runners-Up:
Secret Cities/Marry Me/The Dead C Scales @ Mango’s
Sting & The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Dead Meadow/Dixie Witch/Venomous Maximus @ Warehouse Live
Deathface (EP release)/Damon Allen/Panchitron/Dj HYRO vs. MadBass @ The Mink
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy @ House of Blues