Yr. Weekend: M83 + Mates of State + GN’R + Girl in a Coma + Young Girls + Tinariwen + Tiger Lillies + More

It’s looking like one heck of a busy weekend coming up; I’ll be out in the woods, myself, taking the kids on a the first campout the littlest’s ever been on, but (cringe), yeah, I kind of wish I wasn’t, especially tonight.

Before I get into the listings, though, there’re some show/venue changes I wanted to mention. Got word recently that The Flamingo Room got shut down by the city — something to do with permits — which really sucks, honestly. The management’s currently trying to get it resolved so they can reopen, but nobody’s got any idea when that’ll happen, I’m afraid. So if you’d planned to go to the Del Castillo show 11/25, you may be out of luck…

There’ve been a couple of postponements lately, too… Austin band Mobley was scheduled to play at The Mink on 11/11, but now that show’s apparently been moved to 11/19. Glad to hear it’s still happening, at least; the 11/21 show at the House of Blues with Black Veil Brides, Aiden, & some other folks has been postponed indefinitely, due to the Brides cancelling their entire tour for unspecified reasons. No word yet on when it’ll eventually happen.

With that out of the way, here’s what’s going on the next couple of days:

Fri., November 4:
M83/Active Child @ Warehouse Live
This is the show that kills me, honestly; I’d really, really been hoping to (finally) check out M83 when they came through town, especially with the couple of videos they’ve released so far from new album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. It looks like Anthony Gonzalez is touring with a full band these days, and I was seriously looking forward to not just hearing the new stuff but maybe hearing how they’re doing old-school songs like “Gone” or “Unrecorded”…sigh.

Whether or not I’m there, though, this is going to be a badass show. I’ve been listening to Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming all week, and while it’s not my favorite M83 album, it’s growing on me more & more (and tracks like “Midnight City” pretty much bowled me over from the first listen). Plus, opener Active Child is pretty great in his own right — and a pretty perfect fit, really. Hell, when I reviewed AC’s You Are All I See a couple of months ago, M83 was one of the things I thought of immediately when I listened to it.

Mates of State/Generationals @ Fitzgerald’s
Another damn, damn good one. I’ve liked what little I’ve heard of Generationals so far, but I’ve freaking loved Mates of State since first hearing “Proofs” back in the early part of the 2000s. Sweetly-smiling, call-and-response, keyboard-heavy indie-pop rarely sounds this good, y’all.

Guns N’ Roses/Buckcherry @ Toyota Center
Do I really need to tell you why this is worth seeing? I mean, I know it’s basically Axl & bunch of hired guns, but c’mon, even a train wreck can be pretty mesmerizing.

Featherface/The Wheel Workers/Second Lovers @ Mango’s
This one’s a cool, cool twofer (almost a threefer, really), with excellent psych-prog-pop dudes {Featherface} and thoughtful, politically-minded folk-rock gang {The Wheel Workers} both playing, along with {Second Lovers}, who I keep meaning to check out. And hey, our own Jason Smith has done interviews with each of the former two bands as part of our new “Musician to Musician” series — check ’em out here and here.

The Tiger Lillies @ Cullen Theater (Wortham Center)
Okay, so I’ve heard of The Tiger Lillies, but haven’t ever actually heard/seen ’em. Which is a shame, because they sound amazing, this bizarro quasi-cabaret troupe that plays dark, dark songs about, um, bestiality and other fun topics. This one comes highly recommended.

Feast with the Beasts, featuring The B-52’s @ Houston Zoo (7-11PM)
Yep, you read that right: The B-52’s are playing tonight at the Houston Zoo. Nice. Bad part (for you, anyway, not the zoo)? Well, it’s all sold out.

J.W. Americana/Vivian Pikkles and the Sweethearts Über Alles @ Rudyard’s
Generationals @ Cactus Music (5:30PM)
Eyes Burn Electric/Electric Touch/Aaron Cuadra/Suite 709 @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
Wham City Comedy Tour, featuring Dan Deacon @ Super Happy Fun Land
I Appreciate The Listen, featuring Buckamore, Renzo, Abstract Cannon & Wayword, Dirty & Nasty, Jon Black, Nikkhoo, & Insert Credit(s) @ Notsuoh
Skyrocket!/Picture Book @ The Continental Club

Sat., November 5:
Tyagaraja (tour kickoff) @ Khon’s Rooftop (2808 Milam; 7PM)
Already mentioned this one a little while back, but it’s still well worth mentioning — get on up to Khon’s and help {Tyagaraja} fund its two-man (er, man-woman) tour of India, and be prepared to be floored by the amazingness of Tyagaraja’s voice.

Davila 666/The Barreracudas/Young Girls/New York City Queens @ Mango’s
I’m relieved as hell about this show — when I first saw this listing (not sure where, now), there was a note saying “last show!” for excellent surf-psych dudes {Young Girls}. Happily, that was apparently a typo/misunderstanding/whatever, and {Rocks Off} cleared it up in a post the other day, with Pete Tijerina clarifying that the band’s taking a break to record. Phew.

Andre Williams/Psychic Palms/Reverberation DJs @ The Continental Club
Oh, yes. Been meaning to check out {Psychic Palms} for a while now, but Andre Williams is fucking awesome all on his own. The Dirtiest Old Man in Soul comes back to town…

Girl In A Coma @ Cactus Music (5:30PM)
I caught San Antonio trio Girl in a Coma the other night at Fitz, opening for Concrete Blonde, and they were really, really great, honest. I’d never heard any of the songs they played — it was all new stuff, apparently — but it was great, straight-up, rough-edged rawk, and the three ladies in GIAC converted a lot of CB fans out there in the crowd. This show at Cactus will be a ful set, and admission’s free if you buy a copy of the band’s latest album, Exits & All the Rest.

Radiation Fest 1.5, featuring Kid Liberty, Kublai Khan, Eulogy, Divide, Old Men Die In New Suits, Battle of Champions, Wake The Colossus, Carry Your Ghost, Feign, Sands, Mirror The Humans, A Tragedy Lost, War of Attrition, Beaten To The Punch, Findings, Into The Gates Of Hell, & more @ Cain’s Ashes (2628 FM 1960 Rd. E)
Believe it or not, there is definitely a scene outside of the Montrose, and probably the largest chunk of it (population-wise, anyway) is the massive pile of metalcore/screamo bands that roam the H-town ‘burbs. I don’t know most of these folks real well, but I like what I’ve heard from both {Carry Your Ghost} and {Sands}, and I need to take a listen to more of ’em, definitely.

Folk Family Revival/Shellee Coley/Castle Lights @ Tut’s (Conroe)
Heard good things about both {Shellee Coley} & {Castle Lights}, but it’s Magnolia boys {Folk Family Revival} that really make this show — their debut(?) album, Unfolding, is mind-blowingly great, even to an avowed country-music hater like yours truly. Every time I hear the title track, I get chills, swear to God.

Pujol @ Jet Lounge
Soul Track Mind @ The Capitol
500 Megatons of Boogie/Dead Mineral/Zipperneck @ Rudyard’s
40oz Party, featuring Moths, The State Vs. Judd Nelson, Cavernous, & Nikkhoo @ 1503 Nance St. (9PM)
The Best of Basix: 3 Year Anniversary, featuring DJ Sun, The A.R.E., Flash Gordon Parks, & Soul One @ Cellar Bar
James McMurtry/Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit @ Firehouse Saloon
Rob G (mixtape release)/Dat Boy Poyo/V-Zilla @ Smileys
Make A Wish Unofficial Afterparty, featuring Lower Life Form & more @ Liberty Station
Gritsy/Truth @ Stereo Live
2 Cold/Leroy The Prophet/subNatural/The Razorblade Dolls/The Abyss/Irron Shred/Platypus Angst/Brown Acid @ The 19th Hole (The Woodlands)

Sun., November 6:
Tinariwen/Sophie Hunger @ Fitzgerald’s
And here we come to the second of the “holy-crap-is-that-really-happening?” shows this weekend (the first being the aforementioned M83 show). No idea who Sophie Hunger is, sorry, but Tinariwen are this cool, cool band of Tuareg freedom fighters-turned-musicians from northern Mali who meld traditional Tuareg songs structures & styles with electric guitars and blues. The result is, well, pretty incredible to see/hear. I was able to review 2009’s Imidiwan, and it was far beyond anything I’d expected.

Youth Brigade/The American Heist/Blackmarket Syndicate @ Rudyard’s
Lots of good things about this show of throwback punk rockers, but the best of ’em is that {Blackmarket Syndicate} is apparently back alive & kicking. Glad to see it, y’all.

Cinema Cinema/Greg Ginn & The Taylor Texas Corrugators @ Super Happy Fun Land
Tinariwen @ Cactus Music (3PM)
Texas BigBeat 2011: Drumming Up Dreams for Our Youth, Our Schools and Our Communities, featuring a ton of drummers from across the city @ Bush Intercontinental Airport (4500 Will Clayton Parkway)
Kimberly M’Carver/Mike Stroup @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck