Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Clouded/Project Grimm Reunion (MP3s!) + American Fangs + Roky Moon & BOLT + Muhammad Ali + More
Now that the dust’s settled a bit, and all the shredded bits of wrapping paper have been thrown out (at our house, anyway), it’s time to run down the second night of all-out holiday insanity of the weekend — namely, Sunday, December 26th. Here’s what looks cool to me:
Project Grimm (reunion!)/Clouded @ Rudyard’s
Okay, so maybe I’m biased, being sorta-kinda what passes for an oldtimer in our little scene these days, but this show has me psyched as hell. Back when I was first getting into music made here in H-town, these two bands were up there at the top of the heap. I wasn’t ever fully able to get into Project Grimm way back then, no matter how hard I tried, but as I’ve listened more off-and-on over the years, I’ve found myself getting into ’em more & more.
Clouded, on the other hand, suckered me in pretty quickly. If I remember correctly, their one-and-only self-titled album was the first local CD I ever got from a real-live local label, the then-burgeoning 76.2% Records (which would subsequently put out some cool stuff, change its name to Ojet Records, & eventually give up the ghost and move northwards to Austin). And holy fuck, did it blow me away — with their deliberate-yet-heavy guitars, droney melody lines, warbly vocals, and thundering rhythms, they were proto-emo in the best possible way.
Sadly, they never seemed to be able to make any kind of impact outside of Houston, which was a damn shame — Project Grimm, at least, got some love elsewhere (I think?), and they soldiered on for a few years past when the Clouded guys called it quits.
And hey, in honor of the show, check out a couple of tracks by the latter band:
This is going to be a hell of a ride down Memory Lane; check it out…
American Fangs/CB Kings/Another Run/Legacy Fails/Born Again Virgins/Legacy Fails @ Fitzgerald’s
Of course, that’s not to say the other choices for the evening aren’t equally compelling — I mean, I can’t say one bad thing about any show with {American Fangs} on the bill. These guys remain one of my personal faves here or anywhere, especially when it comes to flat-out, no-modifiers rawk that’s heavy as fuck, melodic, and full of streetwise snarl.
Holiday Hangover Party, featuring Roky Moon & BOLT & Young Girls @ Cactus Music (2PM)
Still feeling the effects of huge amounts of booze and/or turkey? Well, Cactus has the cure for what ails you, in the form of a free, daylight-hours show with one crew of rightfully-celebrated local badasses and one new and promising outfit. As anybody who reads here at all frequently can probably guess, I freaking love those Roky Moon & BOLT folks — they’re glam-y, ballsy, MeatLoaf-y, and most crucial of all, fun as hell. And while I still haven’t heard much from {Young Girls}, I’ve heard good things.
Muhammad Ali/The Cutters/Vivian Pickles/Busy Kids/Davey Crockett @ Walter’s
Niiice. Damn — the choice of where to go tonight gets tougher & tougher… I love, love, love {Muhammad Ali} more and more each time I hear ’em; they’re the closest thing Houston’s got to a true-to-life old-school grunge-pop band, the kind that didn’t just ape Nirvana and hope for the best. They’re messy and noisy, but underneath the noise lurks an awesome sense of melody and some truly classic songs.
Plus, I’ve heard great things about relative newcomers {The Cutters}, {The Busy Kids} (feat. members of {Something Fierce} & a bunch of other bands), & {Davey Crockett} (the new band of Jon from {The Monocles} & {Guitars}). This’ll be a good one, all ’round.
2010 Texas Buzz Music Awards, featuring From Guts To Glory, the last place you look, & Paris Green @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
Remember a little while back, when I told you to go and vote in The Buzz‘s Texas Buzz Awards? Well, the Texas Buzz folks will be unveiling the duly-elected winners tonight, along with some awesome musical accompaniment, namely from badass post-emo dudes {the last place you look}. I’ve raved about these guys a few times lately, so now I’ll just tell you to take my word for it: they’re awesome.
Runner-Up:
Thunder Alley, featuring ALIENS & Wasp and Pear @ Mango’s
Binarium Sound Series, featuring Kirtan Trio & Andrew Weathers @ The Mekong Underground (8-10PM)
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