Live: Hippiefest 2011
On Friday, September 2nd, Houston was served up a wonderful and reflective night of peace, love, and retro-fitted classic rock from the ’60s and ’70s, as “Hippiefest 2011” came groovin’ into the Arena Theater…
Live: IDentity Festival Houston
We came, we saw, we left early. We were berated for lack of press pass (thanks, booster club!). We rather unsuccessfully tried to reaffix our apparently fictional press passes back to our shirts, pants, sweaty legs, and, finally, camera bags. We jammed…
Live: Braving the Heat — Vans Warped Tour 2011
The H-town stop of the Vans Warped Tour was held this year at The Showgrounds at Sam Houston Race Park, and as always, Warped had something for everyone’s taste, with 66 bands on multiple stages. Houston was the second stop of the Tour…
Live: Ultra Music Festival & IDentity — The Road to Ultra 2012
Ultra Music Festival: three li’l words that bring such a huge smile to the faces of all who fully understand what they mean — and we’re not just talking about basic comprehension of the definition of words, here…
Live: Face to Face/Strung Out/Blitzkid/The Darlings
The more I think about this recent batch of reviews I’m writing for SCR, the more it seems like they are the serialized version of my memoirs entitled How I Incrementally Noticed That I Was Definitely Getting Older. It feels like those types of themes keep popping up…
Live: Mogwai/Errors
I hesitate to type this, because I feel like when I do, one of the last sparks of youth left dimly flickering within my soul will be extinguished forevermore. But fuck it…I am so glad I brought earplugs to this show…
Live: Stone Sour/Theory of a Deadman/Skillet/Halestorm/Art of Dying
The Avalanche Tour onslaught hit Houston April 12th. The Tour brought aboard The Art of Dying, Halestorm, Skillet, Theory of a Deadman, and Stone Sour…
I’m Dying Man : One Man’s Sweaty View of Free Press Summer Fest 2011
It’s hard not to question the decision to do anything during Houston summers, let alone hold an outdoor musical festival. 95°F-plus heat combined with oppressive humidity almost guarantees that all but the foolishly brave are fastened to the easy comforts of their living room couch…
Written on June 20, 2011 | Posted in Live Reviews | 3 Comments
Dance Down the Rain: Surviving Summerfest 2011, Day Two
Damn. First off, yes, I do realize it’s been two freaking weeks since the end of this year’s Free Press Summerfest, and a week-and-a-half since the first installment…
A Sweet Hot Hell: Surviving Summerfest 2011, Day One
After only the first couple of hours of being at this year’s Free Press Summerfest, I was feeling really freaking old. There was a time when I could pull off an all-day festival in the blistering heat of summer…
Live: Wilco/Smith Westerns
I have to mention up front that May 6, 2011, ended up being one of the best days of my life thus far, for reasons pretty much unrelated to Wilco and more related to a voicemail I received just before the show…
Live: Roky Moon & BOLT!/Springfield Riots/Jim and The Toms/Poor Pilate
It was freaking genius. The thought didn’t actually hit me ’til the band was underway, honestly, but then it all made beautiful, perfect sense. In the run-up to their official tour kickoff show, Roky Moon & BOLT! let potential show-goers know…
Live: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart/Twin Shadows/The Watermarks
I could be completely off the mark, but when it come to live music, it’s always felt like Houston has been starved for choice. Maybe it’s the numerous venues that have been torn down to be replaced by generic bars, or maybe it’s the fallout from the Walter’s on Washington incident…
Live: Parkway Drive/Set Your Goals/The Ghost Inside/The Warriors
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone to the HOB, and on this night, I remembered why. I hate the fact that there is nowhere to sit unless you are buying a drink at the bar, for one thing; also, the crowd doesn’t get as wild as it does at other venues…
Live: Metal at The Mink
Okay, so I thought the reason I was looking unshaven and scruffy when I rolled into The Mink on a Saturday night about a month ago was because I’d gotten rushed that week and just didn’t have time to mess with the beard…
Live: Can Linkin Park Cure Cancer?
Cancer is no joking matter, but if we ever want to be closer to a cure, we need to first try a Linkin Park IV of Mike Shinoda synths and Chester Bennington vocals, with Joe Hahn‘s scratches, Rob Bourdon‘s drumming…
Live: Norma Jean/Impending Doom/Of Legends/A dream Asleep
This time I arrived at Warehouse Live right on time for the interview with Cory Brandan Putman, lead singer from Norma Jean. When I called the tour manager, he told us to come inside and hang out during sound check…
Live: The Cutters/The Mahas/Full Rainbow/The Examples
Facebook lies. That’s one of the main lessons I learned from the show a week or two ago at The Mink; I could swear the Facebook invite said the doors would be at 8PM, but when a friend and I rolled in at 8:30 or so…
Live: Haste the Day/MyChildren MyBride/The Chariot/A Plea for Purging/Dickey Hands
In complete freak-out mode, I headed to Warehouse Live. Not only was I excited, but I was also late for the interview with Stephen Keech, Haste the Day‘s vocalist. To my surprise, however, it all worked out perfectly…
Live: The Get Up Kids
My best friend and I arrived anxious and late at Warehouse Live for The Get Up Kids show, right before the band released its new album, There Are Rules, which came out January 25. The band hails from Kansas City, Missouri…
Live: Underoath/Thursday/A Skylit Drive/Animals As Leaders
WAREHOUSE LIVE — 1/20/2011: We arrived at Warehouse Live at around 5PM — we had an interview with Chris from Underoath at 6PM — but wanted to be there a bit early. It was freezing outside and it definitely felt like winter…
Live: The Posies/Brendan Benson/Aqueduct
I went to the Posies/Brendan Benson/Aqueduct show not really knowing what to expect, and the sparse, rather lifeless crowd that was standing about at Argentum wasn’t very encouraging…
Live: The Apples in Stereo/Fol Chen/The Wild Moccasins
If you’ve heard The Apples in Stereo, then you can probably guess that they put on a pretty good live show. The most accessibly poppy group of the now legendary Elephant 6 collective, they’ve been creating feel-good songs…
Live: Senses Fail/Bayside/Title Fight/Balance and Composure
Senses Fail rocked the stage in the “Out With The In Crowd” tour at Warehouse Live. The New Jersey post-hardcore band toured with Bayside, Title Fight, and last but not least, Balance and Composure…
Live: Dr. Dog/Deer Tick
Every so often, a group of musicians walk on the stage and really owns every aspect of the performance. They have a magnetic energy that attracts people from both poles and anywhere in between, causing them to migrate…
Live: The Hold Steady/Company of Thieves
The last time I saw The Hold Steady, they were playing Walter’s to a packed-in crowd of diehard fans and seemingly new converts, and it was — hand on my heart — one of the most amazing shows I’d ever seen…
Live: Ghostland Observatory/Ceeplus Bad Knives
Perhaps I should have been prepared for the crowd that I encountered at the Ghostland Observatory show last Friday, it being Halloween weekend and all, but walking into a crowd of Lady Gagas and cartoon characters was pretty surreal…
Live: Local Natives/The Love Language/The Union Line
In our fair city, it’s not often that two meaningful concerts are scheduled for the same day; however, that was the case on Thursday. And those of us who resisted the temptation of squirrely guitars over Afro-pop beats were certainly pleased with one of the best concerts in recent memory…
Live: Crystal Castles
On September 13, Crystal Castles came to Houston and caused a small amount of mayhem to ensue. It was my first time going to a concert at the House of Blues, and I wasn’t really sure what kind of crowd to expect…
Live: Pearl
It must be tough to be the offspring of a famous person and then attempt to follow them in the same vocation. The road to success is lettered with the bodies of David Flair, Pete Rose, Jr., Cameron Douglas, and John Henry Williams…
Live: Passion Pit/Tokyo Police Club/BRAHMS
It takes a particular kind of genius to get people to simultaneously dance, sing, and cry to your brand of love-stricken music. However, when you get the balance right, you’re able to create and connect to a devoted group of individuals. Whether it’s manipulation or love…
Live: The Wild Moccasins/Roky Moon and BOLT/Giant Princess
One of the best things about going to a Wild Moccasins concert is the audience. Their signature sugary-but-feisty sound and friendly stage presence have gained them quite an impressive following among Houstonites…
Live: Minus the Bear/Everest/Young the Giant
Despite the torrential downpour, a thousand or so people braved the weather to loosely pack the House of Blues. The occasion? Seattle’s Minus the Bear were in town , bringing a heavy dose of bearded indie-rock and quite possibly the rain…
Live: Coheed and Cambria/Circa Survive/Torche
I’ve been a Coheed fan for a long time…pretty much since they played that club tour opening up for Thursday several years ago. I scooped up a copy of Second Stage Turbine Blade after their set, and was immediately hooked…
Live: Jimmy Buffett
Are you nostalgic for the man made neon colors of the 1980s? Do you like songs written by committee? Would you like to support the Gulfstream (jet) habits of a barefoot billionaire? Will you settle for 27 lifestyle songs formerly about permanent vacation, now adapted for the lifeless pursuit of a retirement that will never come?…
Live: Evelyn Evelyn
Two and a half years ago, when it was known as the Zero Arrow Theatre, Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley were in this very space as performers in Sxip Shirey‘s variety revue…
Live: Patti Smith
Patti Smith came to the University of Houston Monday night before last to read from her new book Just Kids and play songs from her 40+ years on the New York music scene. The show was advertised as $5 at the door, and no one would get turned away…
Live: Beach House Catches Fire
It seems that being a musician these days is more about finesse than power. Where volume may have sufficed more than a decade ago, the listening public has softened and heightened their musical palette. Beach House‘s recent success…
Live: Red Sparowes/Doomriders/My Education
The first Saturday in April brought a tour by Los Angeles instrumental metal band Red Sparowes to the cozy environs of Rudyard’s pub, where they were joined by Boston tourmates Doomriders…
Live: Warbeast/Project Armageddon
“Mutha Fuckin’ Kings of Thrash.” That’s the moniker that Warbeast should start billing themselves as. This band of Texas thrash luminaries walked into Walter’s and laid waste to all in attendance…
