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

Labels: Flyeration, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Reviews, Things To Do

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Busy, busy Monday night, I've gotta say -- there's a surprising amount of stuff going on, even for a SXSW-centric time in our fair state. Get on out and support, and screw the SouthBy hype:

Jookabox/ Pomegranates @ The Mink (9PM)
I honestly wasn't sure if the Pomegranates listed here was the Pomegranates (the Mink site had 'em down as "The Pomegranates," which, ironically, got me more confused), so I was happy as hell to see that the band I know and like quite a damn bit did indeed have the show listed on their site. Niiiiice. What can I say? They're not groundbreaking or anything, no, but I enjoy the hell out of these guys' straight-ahead, sweetly gorgeous indie-pop; it brings me back to the days of my youth, but at the same time, it doesn't feel anywhere near retro or rehashed. 2008's Everything Is Alive was pretty great (esp. the charging, grinning fire of "Appreciations"), and last year's Everybody, Come Outside! followed up quite nicely.

Here're a handful of tracks to check out from the latter album:

Pomegranates - "Corriander" (MP3)
Pomegranates - "Beachcomber" (MP3)
Pomegranates - "Everybody Come Outside!" (MP3)

They're playing, btw, with Jookabox, not to be confused with Grampall Jookabox, who's apparently totally different. Haven't heard much from this band, but you can check out an MP3 from 'em right here:

Jookabox - "John Kill Meets the Brick People"

Thee Oh Sees/Golden Triangle/The Baths/The Energy @ Mango's
I still need to see local boys The Energy, and I'm kicking myself, because they do some fine-ass punk rawk, at least going by the Myspace stuff they've got up... Beyond that, there's touring band Golden Triangle, who're murky and mid-fi, like a Rough Trade version of what a girl-group's supposed to sound like (and yes, that means it's good), and Thee Oh Sees (or however that's spelled, I dunno), who've nearly ruptured my skull in years past but who sound like they pretty much rip the roof off, nonetheless. Go watch Mango's implode.

Destroyer Of Brains (mem. of I Heart Lung & Rare Grooves)/The Cor-Tet @ Avant Garden (downstairs; 9:30PM, free!)
Another interesting one from the Resonant Interval gang, this is actually a combined performance with members of both the "main" bands from their show the other night, I Heart Lung and Rare Grooves, who're combining forces to make one massive, improv/experimental monster of a band this evening, the appropriately-titled Destroyer Of Brains. (Mmmm, brains...) They're playing with local folks The Cory Wilson Jazz Quartet, or "Cortet," which probably shouldn't be confused with the more heavyweight avant-jazz group that includes Cor Fuhler and John Butcher...

Chase Hamblin/Tyagaraja/Frank Freeman @ Avant Garden (upstairs)
And then, when you've melted your skull with noise and strangeness, hey, you can head on downstairs and enjoy the more laidback retro-pop of Chase Hamblin and spiritual-tinged folk stylings of Tyagaraja. Plus, I just saw Frank Freeman, another folk-y guy about whom I've heard good things recently, is also playing, so sit back and recuperate a while.

Rice University Spring Concert, featuring The Sour Notes & more @ Rice University
Sadly, I have absolutely zero information about this one, beyond that Austin band The Sour Notes are playing. Is it for Rice students only? Are other bands playing? When the hell is it (the Notes' Myspace says 6PM, but I dunno how accurate that is)? Not a clue, and searching the Rice Website does me no favors. (Way to promote, y'all...) Which is a shame, because I really liked the Notes the one time I've seen 'em so far, with their keys-heavy, somewhat electronicized indie-pop melancholia; they're like a less-desperate Secret Stars, which is a cool place to be.

SXSW Overflow Fest, featuring Guystorm, Abominable Futuro, Light Pollution, Shellshag, Street Eaters, Las Charades, & Bird by Bird (Jonathan from The Matches) @ Super Happy Fun Land
Yep, SXSW Overflow Fest at Super Happy again tonight; check out the detailed rundown over here...

Runners-Up:
French Horn Rebellion/Glasnost/GRRRL Parts @ Boondocks
Suicide Silence/All The Way To The Bank/Sever The Silence/The Nephilim Terror @ Scout Bar (Clear Lake)

Labels: Flyeration, Free Stuff, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do, Things To Download

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Trying to get a little bit of a jump on tomorrow (Sunday, March 14th), 'cause it's looking like a good night, and I want to make sure I don't miss mentioning anything...

Before I forget, though, I have a bit of sad news: it looks like Pierced Arrows cancelled their show at Rudz this coming Mon., March 15th, so fans are gonna have to catch 'em up in Austin on the 18th, sorry.

Anyway, here's tomorrow night:

Joe Pug/Horse Feathers/Davie Graves @ Mango's
Heard really, really good things about Joe Pug, and what I've heard so far of the guy's music pretty much lives up to the recommendations. He's a folkie, to be sure, but he's the heartfelt, hard-bitten, poet-on-a-barstool kind, more akin to Steve Earle or a rougher-voiced Damien Jurado, and he pulls it off very freaking nicely.

Tourmates Horse Feathers dwell in the same stylistic city, crafting sweetly swaying indie-folk, but while Pug's over in the trailer-park 'hood on the wrong side of the tracks, singing out his troubles on a beaten-up guitar, Horse Feathers are hidden away in the mysterious house on the edge of town, putting together some wonderfully-orchestrated Americana. But hey, both flavors work real well, so hey...

Dick Dale @ House of Blues
One of these days, I've seriously got to get out & check out Dick Dale... I mean, the guy's a bona-fide legend, the man who practically invented a whole genre of guitar-based music, and the songs he came up with are -- to me, anyway -- up there with anything the Beatles or Zeppelin did in terms of impact on music as a whole. I mean, before Dale, nobody used reverb that way; that in itself is pretty monumental, up there with whoever the hell first used a distortion pedal. And "Misirlou" is up there with, say, "Stairway to Heaven," in my book.

The WOW/H.I.S.D./Michele Thibeaux/D.Rose/Consice Kilgore/Radio Galaxy @ Warehouse Live (Studio)
No clue what The WOW is, but I caught H.I.S.D. (aka the Hueston Independent Spit District) at last year's Summerfest, and they were pretty damn impressive, switching off verses effortlessly and coming off like a street-level Roots more than anything else, w/smart lyrics that were serious & playful all at once. Plus, their Summer Sessions (which I think you can still download for free from their site) mixtape is nicely done...

SXSW Overflow Fest, featuring New Familiars, Gift Horse, Spells, Wizzard Sleeve, Predator, Girls At Dawn, Floating Action, State and Madison, The Heyday, & Cavashawn @ Super Happy Fun Land
Hope to give a fuller rundown of all the bands playing sometime tomorrow (cross fingers), but I've heard Gift Horse's Mountain of Youth already, and it's pretty neat -- woozy, noisy/soft, almost hypnotic indie-rock with "flat"-sounding vocals that reminds me a little bit (vocally, anyway) of early Low.

Resonant Interval Sound Series, featuring I Heart Lung, Rare Grooves, & CJ Boyd @ The Husk (2808 Milam; 7:45PM, $5-$8)
Latest installment of the Resonant Interval Sound Series, this time with Long Beach duo I Heart Lung (which is a great name, btw), the apparently Minutemen-esque Rare Grooves, and former(?) H-towner and bassist CJ Boyd. Like with all the RISS shows, this one sounds pretty intriguing; fans of experimental, avant-garde, or just plain oddball music, take notice.

Inoculist/Golden Arrow Holy Face/Wols @ 3910 Driscoll (9PM; BYOB, free!)
Ex-Matty and Mossy guitarist John Hunter's band Inoculist no longer calls H-town home, apparently (okay, the Myspace says "Brooklyn"), but it's still good to see 'em playing here again. The band's expanded somewhat since its time here, and now includes not only Hunter but a full bass-drums-keys setup. It's interesting stuff, although I'm having a hard time coming up with how to describe it...

And hey, there's also quirky psych-folkster Wols (who may or may not be a one-woman band, these days; I dunno), who was pretty good the one time I've seen her so far, back at those awesome Secret Saturday Shows. (I think that was Wols, anyway -- my memory's really going, I'm afraid.)

Runners-Up:
South By Due East 2010, featuring Rich Del Grosso, Nosaprise, Tyagaraja, Rozz Zamorano, Plump, Corey Stoot, D.R.U.M., Dubtex, Mr. Blacc Sheep, Bigga Star, Congas by Carlos, The Wrong Ones, Danny Kristensen, Ashton Taylor, No Borders, New Jack Hippies, Patrick Brink Big Band, The Hates, Shina Rae, Dr. Jeff and the Painkillers, Hueman, The Journey Agents, Suspenderman, Guy Schwartz, Karina Nistal, Kozzmik Steel, The Annoysters, The Deen Jones Experience, Allison Fisher, Buxton, Heroine Stereo, Alligator Assassins, & more @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar (free!)
Finish First/Fingers Crossed/Pay It Forward/Cast Away/The Ride Home/They Lied @ The Junction
Witchaven/Hatchet/Termination Force/Owl Witch/Flesh Eater @ The White Swan
Hatred Surge/The Endless Blockade/Richard Ramirez/War Master/Concrete Violin @ Walter's

Labels: Flyeration, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

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More fun things going on tonight, Sat., March 13th -- a lot more, in fact. Here's the list, not of absolutely everything that's going on, but everything that sounds at least promising to me:

Benefit Show for Willow's Father, featuring Iron Age, Bitter End, Power Trip, Pride Kills, The Weight of Respect, Golden Axe, Killer Ape, Roots of Exile, One Against Many, & Hardside @ Walter's
Damn. This show's morphed a bit since it was originally announced as just an Iron Age show; in the intervening time, Hatetank Productions honcho and all-round good guy Willow lost his dad. And for those who've been fortunate enough to never have to see how expensive it can be to say goodbye to a loved one, trust me, it costs a hell of a lot more than you think. So this show's meant to raise money to help defray the funeral costs for Louis Villareal III, and there's a small horde of cool-ass heavy bands willing to help out.

Iron Age themselves are pretty neat, in an old-school, Metallica-esque thrash vein, Golden Axe are one of the best damn instrometal bands out there, and Pride Kills are pretty much hardcore pioneers 'round here, these days. Oh, and The Weight of Respect, the new band formed by at least one of the Will to Live guys, is playing, too. A badass show for a good, good cause.

Best Fwends/Fat Tony/Balls Deep/Zombie Sentinel/DJ Damon Allen/DJ Jacob Mthrfkn Calle @ Mango's
Dunno Best Fwends at all, sorry, but this one's worth it for the local hip-hop/DJ talent alone. Fat Tony is hands down one of the best MCs in town right now -- and yes, I say that including the big-namers like Paul Wall or Slim Thug -- and a guy well worth watching, and I've heard good shit about sex-obsessed hip-hop act Balls Deep, too. Plus, there're DJs Damon Allen (ex-hardcore dude from Refuse to Fall, Blueprint, & Celindine) and Jacob Calle (aka "The Hurricane Bear")...

Ian Moore/The Small Sounds @ The Continental Club
I like Ian Moore okay, sure -- he's more the wife's thing than mine, honestly, and that may partly be nostalgia for her show-going days -- but I really love The Small Sounds. I can't say enough good things about these guys, seriously; they're up near the top, at least, of the small pile of really, really, really good local country-ish/-influenced roots-rock bands, and it's a hard call whether I like them, Buxton, or The Literary Greats the most. They're an awesome band. I'm still most fond of the slower, more melancholy songs ("Leave Virginia Girl", in particular), but they've really hooked me with the louder, more rocking songs now, too. See 'em soon, before they become at least city-wide household names.

Hank III & Assjack/Kyle Turley/Lynda K @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian)
I've heard really, truly epic things about Hank III's shows, like the whole "plays country like his daddy did for half the night, then whips out his long hair and throws down, punk rock/thrash style" thing. Plus, there's Kyle Turley, who one of our own got to talk to recently.

Citizen Cope/Gin @ House of Blues
I generally don't go for that hip-hop-singer-gone-roots thing -- Everlast's Whitey Ford deal generally left me cold, and most things like it usually strike me as being poseur-ish. Citizen Cope, though, I find myself liking more and more; I freaking love the heartfelt, imperfect, dirty-edged soul of songs like "Son's Gonna Rise", and what I've heard of new album The Rainwater LP has been pretty cool, too. Here's a free one from the new album to check out:

Citizen Cope - "Healing Hands" (MP3)

I'm still leery of the House of Blues -- where the hell do all those people milling around down there come from? -- but this should be a good show.

SXSW Overflow Fest, featuring Evolucid, My Milky Way Arms, Icarus Himself, Grey Market, Dinosaur Feathers, Bamboo Shoots, & Parallax @ Super Happy Fun Land
Damn, damn, damn. Okay, so my whole "SXSW Overflow Picks" thing has run aground the last two nights, it seems. I swear, I'll get some more detailed info up here soon... What I said before still goes, though -- go, take a leap, and you could hit something cool you'd never have heard otherwise.

Bat Castle/Torsectomy (CD release)/Sever The Silence/Sculpting Atrocity @ Cardi's
Okay, so I only really like this one because the idea of a band named Bat Castle cracks me up. Be warned, though -- I just found out this isn't at the old Cardi's, but at a new location out in Pasadena, of all places. The address is 3306 Preston. Damn; I was kinda hoping Cardi's old location was still alive & kicking...anybody know if that's the case?

Runners-Up:
South By Due East 2010, featuring Rich Del Grosso, Nosaprise, Tyagaraja, Rozz Zamorano, Plump, Corey Stoot, D.R.U.M., Dubtex, Mr. Blacc Sheep, Bigga Star, Congas by Carlos, The Wrong Ones, Danny Kristensen, Ashton Taylor, No Borders, New Jack Hippies, Patrick Brink Big Band, The Hates, Shina Rae, Dr. Jeff and the Painkillers, Hueman, The Journey Agents, Suspenderman, Guy Schwartz, Karina Nistal, Kozzmik Steel, The Annoysters, The Deen Jones Experience, Allison Fisher, Buxton, Heroine Stereo, Alligator Assassins, & more @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar (free!)
Ray Prim & Denitia Odigie @ Avant Garden
Jesse Dayton @ Goode's Armadillo Palace
One Mic Concert Series, featuring Delo, Kane, Union, Hollywood Floss, & Thurogood @ Warehouse Live (Studio)
Unearth/Stick To Your Guns/Veil of Maya/The Ghost Inside/Carnifex/Legion @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian)
Poor Dumb Bastards (CD release)/Donkey Punch/Shit City High @ Rudyard's
Monster Music Showcase and Rock 'n Roll Fashion Show, featuring Otenki, Necrofaith, Blood Rooted, Clovis, Skeptikal, Inner Image, Metalloyd, Black Queen Speaks, & Failure To Notice @ Warehouse Live
Insert Name Here (CD release)/The Failed Attempt/Low Frequency @ Bohemeo's
13 Black Coffins/The Dead Rabbits @ Trash Bar (Humble)

Labels: Flyeration, Free Stuff, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do, Things To Download

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Gah. Running out of time, as usual, so I can only really hit the highlights right now, I'm afraid... There's a bunch of new stuff up on the site, some of it kinda-sorta timely, like Thomas McLuhan's interview with Noveller, who's opening tonight for Xiu Xiu, on over here, and yours truly's review of not one but two Hell City Kings releases, both their full-length from late last year and the brand-new The Wolf EP, on over here.

The Kings, by the by, are releasing The Wolf tonight up at Mango's, alongside Austin metal dudes White Rhino and fellow H-towners Shit City High & The Wrong Ones. The $7 cover gets you a copy of the new 7", and trust me, it's well worth it.

We've also got a cool review of Japanese/Houstonian duo Crossing Togo, courtesy of writer Krista Kesseller, over here, in time for their show tonight at the Last Concert Cafe, and an interview with football star-turned-country singer Kyle Turley, who'll be playing tomorrow night with Hank III & Assjack; that's by our resident Movie Guy, Creg Lovett, and it's up here.

And I can't forget the show review Dre Giles did of A dream Asleep's show at Rocbar back in January, up over here, and the long-awaited Part 2 of Danny Mee's epic, tragically hurricane-derailed interview with Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby (the former half of the pair, in this case), right here.

Man... On top of that, yep, there's a crapload of other good shit going on tonight; here's what I'd go see, if the traffic on 610 ever lets me:

Hell City Kings (7" release)/White Rhino/Shit City High/The Wrong Ones @ Mango's ($7; incl. copy of 7") Crossing Togo @ Last Concert Cafe See above, eh?

Caddywhompus/Somosuno/sIngs @ The Green Hour (speakeasy on Nance St.; 9PM, $4) Oh, yes. Caddywhompus plays here far, far too infrequently for my liking. Here's hoping that once school ends this year, the boys will linger here in H-town and play a crapload this summer, throwing out more of that awesome, psych-ish, compacted-stadium rock they do.

Xiu Xiu/Noveller/Girl In A Coma @ Warehouse Live I'm not a huge Xiu Xiu fan, no, but Noveller's guitar-mangled soundscapes are pretty neat, and San Antonians Girl In A Coma (assuming they're still playing) do some good shit that is totally nothing like either of the headliners...

L.A. Guns @ Rocbar (free!) You know you want to do this. You do. Admit it. L.A. Guns, for free, tonight. Teenage Me just exploded.

SXSW Overflow Fest, featuring Blowfly, Bike P*rn 3: Cycle Bound, Beloved Binge, Midtown Dickens & Joe Firstman @ Super Happy Fun Land Blowfly! The ultimate, original Ol' Dirty Bastard, I swear to God -- the guy's an old man, these days, but he's up there with R.L. Burnside and Andre Williams in terms of filthy-minded old dudes. I'm told Joe Firstman is darn good, too, but sadly, I haven't been able to check him out just yet.

South By Due East 2010, featuring Rich Del Grosso, Nosaprise, Tyagaraja, Rozz Zamorano, Plump, Corey Stoot, D.R.U.M., Dubtex, Mr. Blacc Sheep, Bigga Star, Congas by Carlos, The Wrong Ones, Danny Kristensen, Ashton Taylor, No Borders, New Jack Hippies, Patrick Brink Big Band, The Hates, Shina Rae, Dr. Jeff and the Painkillers, Hueman, The Journey Agents, Suspenderman, Guy Schwartz, Karina Nistal, Kozzmik Steel, The Annoysters, The Deen Jones Experience, Allison Fisher, Buxton, Heroine Stereo, Alligator Assassins, & more @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar (free!) Yep, the first night of South By Due East; check the site for the schedule, but there're a bunch of excellent bands playing through the whole thing. Definitely check out Buxton, The Wrong Ones, Nosaprise, & Tyagaraja, at the very least.

I-45/Automorrow/Vocal Polluter/The Crisis @ Rudyard's (free!) See over here for more on this one.

Rodeo Houston, featuring Toby Keith @ Reliant Stadium Okay, so if I were to go to this, I'd be going armed with a box of eggs, and I would probably end up pummeled by a bunch of cowboys. But still.

Megafauna @ Avant Garden FotoFest 2010 Opening Party, featuring The Gourds @ FotoFest Headquarters Gallery (1113 Vine; 8PM) The Umbrella Man/Mr. Lewis & the Funeral Five/Picture Book @ The Continental Club

Labels: Flyeration, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

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Oh, how I love me some acronyms... We're coming up on what I happen to think is one of the coolest local festival-type things to be found in this here city of ours, the quasi-annual SXSW Overflow Fest over at the most cheerily-named place in the Universe, Super Happy Fun Land.

From tomorrow, Thurs., March 11th, on through Wed., March 24th, the SHFL gang is playing host to a huge, quirky grab-bag of musicians and bands hailing from all parts of the U.S., plus a handful of other countries, encompassing pretty much any genre you can name. And best of all, unlike a certain festival that'll be taking place to the northwest of us, it's cheap as hell -- $8 for a night or a ridiculously low-ball $25 for the whole two-week deal.

I've missed out on the festival the past couple of years, unfortunately, but I went to a couple of earlier incarnations and had a ball. I view the Overflow Fest as sort of this Crackerjack Box-like event, where you never really know what you're going to get -- yes, I've seen a few bands that really and truly sucked, but barely twenty minutes later I'd have my mind blown by one of the bands that followed.

Past years have included folks like my personal fave Jonah Matranga, Tacks the Boy Disaster, Transmography, Nakatomi Plaza, & Two Ton Boa, plus several hundred lesser-known acts. It's an eclectic, chaotic, seemingly anything-goes thing, and I find that to be astoundingly cool.

In honor of this year's installment of the fest, I quizzed the Super Happy Crew a bit about their festival and how things generally work:

For the full lineup and times -- some of which have already changed pretty drastically since they first went up, so be warned -- check out the SHFL calendar page. I'm hoping to do exactly what the SHFLers mentioned above and listen to as many Myspace pages as possible, so keep yr fingers crossed for a sorta-kinda detailed rundown of who sounds like what and a list of my own personal picks. Or, hell, ignore me and just go and see what you get -- it's actually probably more fun that way, anyway.

Labels: Flyeration, H-Town News, Interviews, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

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I've got a few minutes to spare while the munchkins are napping, so let's hit the highlights for the rest of the weekend, namely Saturday, March 6th, & Sunday, March 7th. I'll be off tonight celebrating the happy union of a couple of friends of ours this evening (congrats, Angela & Kevin, in the unlikely event that you ever read this!), but that doesn't mean there isn't a crapload of stuff going on. Here's my list:

Sat., March 6:
Fired For Walking/The Jonx/The Bottom Four @ Rudyard's (free!)
Fired For Walking are fun -- nice, somewhat soulful/bluesy alt-rock with metal tendencies, played by a bunch of dudes who've been around the Houston scene block many, many times -- but to tell the truth, The Jonx are the reason to check out Rudz tonight. I'm horribly, terribly behind on my reviews, or you'd have wonderfully-written (yeah, that's the ticket...) electronic type all about the band's latest release, Vocabularian Herds, which honestly keeps the trend going that the band's established where every album of muscular, Minutemen-influenced, math-y rock improves upon the previous one to insane levels.

Sweat Free Houston Benefit, featuring Giant Princess, Muhammad Ali, Ghormeh Sabzi, Bambara, Rapeworm, & Cop Warmth @ Mango's ($5; 8PM)
Good Cause Gig #1 for the evening, looks like -- heard about this earlier in the week but didn't have a chance to post anything about it 'til now, sorry... Beyond being a pretty badass lineup (particularly the throwback, sloppy-great indie-rock of Muhammad Ali and the screw-you garage-y rawk of Giant Princess), it's also got a very cool goal: to prod the City of Houston, in which many of us live, to adopt a no-sweatshops procurement policy.

The group putting on the show, Sweat Free Houston, wants the city to no longer purchase garments (uniforms, etc.) from companies that use sweatshop labor, and personally, I'm all for that. Hell, I'm saddened to learn that that's not already the case... Naturally, though, that kind of organizing, petitioning, and legislating takes $$$ -- hence the benefit. Get out & support.

Peace Festival, featuring Electric Attitude, listenlisten, Spain Colored Orange, Much Love, Tyagaraja, Zachary Ford, Lapel, Macy McKinzie, Meghan Miller, Jordan Cervantez, & Micah Lamb @ Live Oak Friends Meeting (1318 W. 26th; 1-8PM)
Beyond the fact that a "Peace Festival" is always a cool thing to me -- I dig the Quakers/Friends for that -- and that there are some great folks playing, like listenlisten, Tyagaraja, Electric Attitude, & Spain Colored Orange, this show's worth checking out just to see the Live Oak Friends Meeting House up in the Heights. Went there for a wedding a few years ago, and it's a neat place, not much like any "church" you're likely to've been to before. And then, of course, good music + good cause (this one's Good Cause Gig #2, naturally). Oh, and dancing, apparently -- there'll be dance performances by Dancepatheater & the Brazilian Arts Foundation. Sounds like a good deal...

Chase Hamblin/The Sour Notes/Spain Colored Orange @ The Continental Club
Not sure who's headlining and who's opening, for this one, but hell, it doesn't matter. Been a Spain Colored Orange fan for a ridiculously long time, now -- I really need to rip the old cassette stuff of the "original" SCO, one of these days -- even in their current, more orchestral form, I dig Chase Hamblin's deceptively sweet/pretty retro-ified power pop, and I finally caught Austinites The Sour Notes (a band that now includes ex-Houstonian Elaine Greer) at the Festival at Mink #2 and was very impressed by their lush, shoegazer-y indie-pop. A bit of an oddball show for The Continental Club, but hey, nothing wrong with that.

John Mayer/Michael Franti @ Toyota Center
Oh, c'mon -- you know you want to see this just so you can say you were there when John Mayer had his latest meltdown. Don't forget about Michael Franti, though; I've been a fan of the guy since his Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy days (and yes, that's still one of the best damn band names ever), and his jazzy, reggae-tinged, smart-yet-laidback funk-rock thing has thankfully remained cool through the years. Most of what I've heard lately sounds a heck of a lot like Blackalicious' more melodic, funky stuff, and that's a good thing.

Eyes Burn Electric (CD release)/Uprise of the Fallen/The Vettes/Mothers Anthem/The Canvas Waiting @ Fitzgerald's
Just for clarity's sake, Eyes Burn Electric is the new-ish name (thank God) for Austin band Dremnt the End, and tonight's the party/show for their brand-new self-titled CD. Which ain't bad, in terms of dramatic, melodic, post-emo/Taking Back Sunday-esque rock. If that's your thing, hey, this is probably where you need to be.

Keka's Benefit Show, featuring Always Guilty, Los Desconocidos, The Failed Attempt, Dun Bin Had, Skaretas, & Ska Bones @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar (8PM; $5)
Yep, ska, of all things, at Dan Electro's. I'm sure it's happened before -- in fact, I remember seeing Bone Simple, who were sorta-kinda a ska band, play there once -- but it doesn't happen real often. And hey, it's a cheap-ass benefit show (call it Good Cause Gig #3) with some decent bands (namely Always Guilty & The Failed Attempt), so where's the downside?

Strangers Family Band/Passengers @ The Pachinko Hut (3714 Main, in backyard; 9PM)
The Watermarks/Mobley/Smoky Mountain/Corners/Stiletto Chrome @ The Mink
Sisters Morales @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Dirty Honey, featuring Brett Koshkin & DJ La Zola @ Boondocks
Austin Collins & The Rainbirds @ West Alabama Ice House (4PM; show benefits The Avon Walk For Breast Cancer)
Pisces Party, featuring Clockpole & Darwin's Finches @ Super Happy Fun Land
Stephen Kellogg @ Cactus Music (3PM)
Needtobreathe/Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers/Graham Colton @ Warehouse Live

Sun., March 7:
Shock Treatment, featuring Brutally Normal, Penny Arcade, & Latch Key Kids @ Rocbar
Tough call as to which show I like best for Sunday, but this one wins out by virtue of old-school pop-punk/ hardcore guys Latch Key Kids being on the bill. They told me they were headlining the show, but it looks like they might be playing first, so I dunno what the deal is... Anyway, they're damn good, nearly legendary Back in the Day and reportedly even better now, and I'm told they're recording new stuff to release later in the year. Check 'em out.

Tim Barry/Ninja Gun/Mama Tried/Elaine Greer @ Walter's (8PM; $10)
I'm one of those folks who fondly remembers Virginia-bred punks Avail -- 1998's Over The James was really a defining moment for me, music-wise -- so I'm very happy frontman Tim Barry is out on his own these days (Avail being "on permanent standby," as Barry's said in interviews), doing a cool, down-to-earth indie-country/folk thing reminiscent of, say, Lucero or an Americana-ized Billy Bragg. It's good shit. And hey, Elaine Greer's reportedly opening the show, too, with her jangly, delicately pretty (yet still nicely rustic) folk-pop.

Elaine Greer/Clory Martin/Gretchen Schmaltz @ Khon's (rooftop; 3PM)
The second (er, first) Elaine Greer appearance of the day, and the third of the weekend, counting her Sour Notes gig tonight... This one's kind of a fun deal -- it's a mid-afternoon (3PM) rooftop show up on the roof/parking lot of Khon's in Midtown, put on by Nikki, the new editor at Citysearch Houston, a Website I'll shamefacedly admit I, um, didn't realize was still a going concern these days. (Sorry!) Sounds like fun, though; I like Elaine quite a bit, obviously, and I love Gretchen Schmaltz's fragile, unpainted folky stuff, too...

Resonant Interval Sound Series, featuring Six Strings That Divine Water (mem. of Wasp & Pear, Kai/ros, & Chiasma) & Josiah Gabriel @ The Husk (2808 Milam; 7:45PM, $5)
Yep, another Resonant Interval show, this time featuring a joint project of Donald from Wasp & Pear and J.D. of Kai/ros, Chiasma, & a bunch of other bands, entitled Six Strings That Divine Water. Sounds pretty intriguing, at the very least.

Rodeo Houston, featuring The Jonas Brothers & Demi Lovato @ Reliant Stadium
Yeah, yeah -- not proud of it, no, but I have to admit that Demi Lovato's album, well...it's actually surprisingly decent. Beats the hell out of the JoBros or Miley Cyrus, at least, although that ain't saying much. Don't you judge me, fool.

Rock For Layla Benefit,featuring The Canvas Waiting, Murder Plot, Marzi, Heavy as Texas, Tejas Heat, Strait Up, Chelle, & Sarah Alexander @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian)
The Texas Buzz, featuring Vallejo, Rockett Queen, & Days Drive @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
Russian Spring Festival, featuring Flying Balalaika Brothers @ Under The Volcano (3PM)
Great Big Sea @ House of Blues

Labels: Flyeration, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

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Yet another busy Friday night (March 5th, for completeness' sake), and plenty to do. Here's what I'd do, were I not likely to be rocking a sick kid to sleep this evening; there's some good stuff, but honestly, two shows really stand out, so I'm going to pretty much just talk about them. Good? Good. Here goes:

Roky Moon & Bolt (tour kickoff)/Grandfather Child/Weird Party/Future Feature @ The Mink ($7/$10)
They haven't been around long, no, but in H-town scene terms, a year's pretty much a lifetime, and Roky Moon & Bolt (changed from just "Bolt" so as to more closely resemble Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars was my guess as to why, although apparently the real deal was more broad than that...) have packed quite a bit into that time. Their self-released EP last year was pretty stunning, an out-of-time slab of meaty, sweaty, don't-give-a-fuck bluesy glam-rawk that hit Rocky Horror, Bowie, & the New York Dolls all in one fell swoop.

Sadly, that's about all they've got out right now, but the band followed it up with a series of awesome shows -- at least, the ones I've seen have been awesome -- adding a new piano player along the way and cranking down the tightness to ridiculous levels. Tonight they're headed out on their first-ever tour as a band, bidding Houston adieu for a few weeks and swinging back through for (duh) SXSW up in Austin. This'll be your last chance to see 'em here 'til May, it looks like; don't miss out. They're really, really, really good, and the nicest, sweetest folks, besides. Check out Marc from Houstonist's excellent interview with the band, by the by; it's good stuff.

Plus, they've got some damn fine openers, particularly Grandfather Child, who're way up near the top of my Bands I Need to Talk About Even More Than I Already Do List (as are RM&B, I should note). Watching Lucas Gorham howl and bellow while abusing the heck out of the pedal steel and the rest of the band stomped and grinned along behind was one of the highlights of last year's Summerfest, pretty much beating out the bulk of the "big-name" bands in attendance.

Then there's Weird Party, who don't have a Website I can find but who sound damned promising, combining the talents/powers of members/ex-members of the Fatal Flying Guilloteens, Muhammad Ali, & Welfare Mothers into a scraping, slashing bundle of razorwire and punk sneering. For my money, they sound more like Steel Pole Bathtub than anybody else, but that's only based on hearing one measly song, "Sarah Palin" -- check out the, er, "video" for it right here:

And yes, this is the band's first show; I predict that they'll follow the example of their headlining brethren and suddenly find themselves adored by half the damn scene...

Houston Lights, featuring the last place you look, Nothingmore, From Guts to Glory, Streetcar Scandal, Another Run, & Dreaming of June @ Warehouse Live
Just in case I haven't made it clear before now, I really, really love the last place you look. Turn your nose up at 'em if you want, but they're honestly the best of the handful of excellent post-emo rock bands going in town right now (esp. since I hear Stadium broke up; damn). I dig the high, desperate/low, growly duet vocals (courtesy of bassist Kevin & frontman Nava, respectively), the roaring, crushing guitars, and the surprisingly thoughtful, emo-ish lyrics, the whole deal.

See the Light Inside You made my top-ten list for 2009 for a reason, and thankfully, the band delivers live, too. Seeing them, you can't help but forget that yeah, the band lives right here in our very own city -- they play like they own the fucking stage and have been doing it for decades now. Here's some video evidence, if you're curious:

TLPYS is playing with a bunch of bands tonight, but the one I'm most interested in is The Streetcar Scandal, who've got one measly song up on the Myspace so far (hrm...feeling a trend here...), "Your Crippled Tongue". Thankfully, that one song's fairly impressive, reminding me in a big way of late-'90s bands like The Jealous Sound or Longwave; I'm seriously looking forward to hearing what else these guys can do...

Runners-Up:
Dawes/Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons/Jason Boesel @ Rudyard's
Frode Halti/Trygve Seim & Maja Ratke @ Norway House (3410 W. Dallas; 8PM)
Limb/Eat Grapes/CJ Boyd @ Mango's
Trashed, featuring Car Stereo Wars, Best Legs, & GRRRL Parts @ Boondocks
Rodeo Houston, featuring Mary J. Blige @ Reliant Stadium
Commotion, featuring Young $quaddy & Danimal @ The Mink (front bar)

Labels: Flyeration, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do, Things To See

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Busy night tonight, esp. for a Thursday (March 4th, that is). Gonna try to keep it brief, so I can get some other stuff posted up here relatively quickly, but here's what I think sounds cool this evening:

B L A C K I E (tour kickoff)/ Rapeworm/ Wife @ 1816 Calumet (8PM; $5)
Never heard Rapeworm or Wife, sorry, but damn, I fucking love B L A C K I E. Even if I can't fully describe him, I've gotta love what the guy does -- it's hip-hop, yeah, but it's hip-hop like it might be interpreted by nihilistic aliens living somewhere out beyond the Van Allen Belts, who only get to hear old-school Yo! MTV Raps broadcasts with layers and layers of grimy static, tinny snare hits, speaker-destroying bass tones, and weird breaks and think, "okay, so that's what Earth hip-hop must sound like..." It's something you've got to see/hear to believe.

Here's a track from the Dope & Doper EP, for proof:

B L A C K I E - "No Future"

And hey, tonight's his tour kickoff, starting out a tour that'll see him making his way through Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, & Arkansas before coming back to TX for SXSW. Catch him now or pay big $$$ and rub sweaty shoulders with a million or so strangers to try to witness it...

Portugal The Man/Port O'Brien/The Dig @ Warehouse Live
For my money, this show's noteworthy not for headliners Portugal The Man (and yeah, I think there's a comma or a period in there somewhere, but I dunno where, so fuck it; it's a damn stupid band name anyway, folks...), but rather for opening acts Port O'Brien and The Dig. The latter are sweet and New Wave and romantic, like The Strokes really should have been when they made it big; the former are more delicate, kind of a ruralized, folkified indie-pop that sounds appropriately watery and ocean-going. Here's a taste of each of 'em:

The Dig - "You're Already Gone"
Port O'Brien - "Sailor's Son"

H-Town Footnote Time: Just noticed that one of(?) the guitarists for Port O'Brien is none other than Houston scene alumnus Gram LeBron, who made his bones playing 'round town in flat-out great bands like Schrasj, Jessica Six, and Sad Like Crazy before moving west and ending up in a little band called Rogue Wave. No clue if Gram's a permanent addition to the POB band, but he was playing with 'em as of last November, so maybe he'll be making it back to town tonight.

Inner Lights/Smoke and Feathers @ Rudyard's
Dunno a whole lot about these bands, but I do like the woozy, bad-trip-sounding psych-rock thing Inner Lights do, bridging the gap between swaying mid-'90s Britrock like Ride or The Verve and full-on '60s psychedelia, and it's just about guaranteed that any band with Kevin Richardson (ex-about a million awesome bands) is going to be good, so y'know...

Runners-Up:
Shock Treatment, featuring Born Liars & No Talk @ Rocbar
Chelsea Hotel/The Wrong Ones/Dead Roses @ Mango's

Labels: Flyeration, Free Stuff, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do, Things To Download

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A bit of a surprise show tonight -- I'd pretty much assumed garage-punks The Monocles were permanent denizens of Ye Olde Band Graveyard, what with frontman Pope Jon PPPP going off and focusing most of his time on Guitars and then, er, moving off to some podunk town in North Carolina to rock out. (And Jeoaf moving off to rock out behind the drum kit with Roky Moon & Bolt, to boot.) That sort of thing tends to put nails in the coffin of your "old" band, in my experience.

Which sucks/sucked, because I really like/liked the band -- I enjoyed the heck out of their self-titled 7" from back in 2007, especially the Sonics-esque facepunch of "Out of Your Mind". It was raw, wild, and yet tighter than it really had any right to be. I'd looked forward eagerly to news of a promised full-length...and then the band just sorta shrugged and stopped playing shows. They were toast.

And yet, it appears my assumption was premature. Jon's back in town, it seems, although for how long's apparently up in the air. While he's here, though, he's busy -- the band will finally put out that long-awaited full-length, tonight (yes, Wed., March 3rd), up at The Mink. And although I have yet to hear the full-length myself, it promises to be pretty badass.

The Monocles are headlining, but the openers are damn good in their own right. I was bowled over by Ghost Town Electric at the Lost In Space deal, with their thick, Kyuss-gone-Houston sludge-metal, and I've heard good stuff about quirky, freewheeling Darwin's Finches (who I think provided the flyer). Gonna be good, y'all.

Here's some added fun -- the video for "Out of Your Mind," courtesy of the Monocles Myspace:

Alternately...
And hey, if you're not into the garage-y stuff, South Houston-dwelling metalheads and/or people with cars are in luck, 'cause The Scout Bar down in Clear Lake has a pretty mindblowing show tonight. Sepultura side project Soulfly headlines, but for my money the reason to drive southward is because fucking Prong is playing.

That band defined that weird period of my college life where I was shifting allegiances from full-on "real" metal over to indie-rock and weirdball pseudo-metal like Barkmarket or Cop Shoot Cop; Prong, at least in their proto-industrial-metal phase, bridged the gap quite nicely. I still get a grin on my face when I hear "Snap Your Fingers Snap Your Neck" or "Prove You Wrong"...

Anyway, they're playing with Incite & Rotting Corpse, plus local boys Machina, none of whom I know but whom I think are all thrash bands. I've heard a wee bit of Machina, and it's not bad... But still: fuckin' Prong, man! Wow.

Labels: Flyeration, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

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And yep, there's plenty else going on this weekend -- today (Saturday, February 27th), in particular, is pretty damn crazy -- here what sounds good to me:

Sat., February 27:
Free Press Houston 7 Year Anniversary Celebration, featuring Golden Axe, Papermoons, The Wild Moccasins, Young Mammals, Juzcoz, The Mahas, The Handshake, Fat Tony, Woozyhelmet, Black Congress, & Ceeplus Bad Knives @ Mango's (8:30PM-2AM; $10)
Okay, so in posting about the Mink's festival, I'll admit I've given somewhat short shrift to this one, the Free Press Houston 7 Year Anniversary Celebration, which is extremely unfair, esp. considering the lineup. Fully half the bands playing (The Wild Moccasins, Young Mammals, Fat Tony, Woozyhelmet, & Black Congress) are among my absolute favorites in town right now (plus Houston-gone-Austin band Papermoons), seriously, which makes the anniversary party damn enticing.

Btw, I've got to hand it to Omar & the rest of the Free Press crew A) for beating the odds and H-town history by keeping a real-live, non-electronic indie paper going for 7 freaking years in this city, B) for constantly expanding and growing and doing new shit, and C) for helping to make the Houston music scene as deep and amazing and flat-out cool as it is right now. Congrats, y'all -- I hope you keep it up for many years to come.

The Festival #2, featuring White Rhino, The Manichean, Alkari, DuneTX, The Sour Notes, Giant Battle Monster, Flowers to Hide, Gretchen Schmaltz, Covington, The Dry Season, & Orents Stirner @ The Mink (6PM-2AM)
And here's the competition, festival-wise. Like I said, talked about this one a couple of times already, but I'll say it again: it's gonna be a good damn show. Plenty of good, good bands.

Tegan and Sara/Holly Miranda/Steel Train @ Warehouse Live
Sadly, I haven't heard much of anything lately by Tegan and Sara, but I love-love-love their older stuff, at least; the back-and-forth vocals, the intertwining melodies, the smart, sharp-edged lyrics -- all mindblowing.

For their respective parts, I like what I've heard of Holly Miranda and Steel Train. The former is a sweet-voiced indie-pop songstress, breathy and nicely delicate, while the latter smartly eschews a lot of the typical post-emo bullshit to walk a Pixies-ish/Talking Heads-ish line full of wiry, pointy-sounding guitars and high/low vocals. Check out Tegan and Sara & Steel Train, below:

Tegan and Sara - "Walking With A Ghost"
Steel Train - "Turnpike Ghost"

Something Fierce @ Cactus Music (3PM)
H-town's Best Punk Band Going. Period. (No offense, other punk rockers; it's just damn near impossible to beat songs like "Teenage Ruins," "Where You Goin' Man," or "Aliens"...)

13 Black Coffins/Ese/The Dead Rabbits @ Hot Dog Shop
Day-glo colored, Goth-y, garage-y punk rawk at, um, a hot dog joint. No, really. That's just damn cool, if you ask me.

The Unknown, featuring music by The Invincible Czars @ Alamo Drafthouse Theater (7:30PM)
Not a "show" show, per se, but rather an old-school film experience. Austinites The Invincible Czars are playing at the Alamo Drafthouse Theater at West Oaks Mall, providing live music for the silent-film cult classic The Unknown, a weird-ass-sounding carnival flick starring legendary silent/horror movie actor Lon Chaney. The Czars are an entertaining bunch who do a lot of cool stuff w/traditional classical works, so it'll be interesting to see what they do with a bizarro silent film...

Latch Key Kids @ Trash Bar (Humble)
Few things have made me happier these past couple of years that to see some of my favorite bands of Days of Yore claw their way out of their filled-too-soon graves and stagger to their feet. And these guys, in particular, really needed to come back, 'cause the Latch Key Kids were high-flyers then and now, setting the bar for loud, fast, melodic pop-punk with hardcore guitars. Glad they're back.

Felix Da Housecat/Chris Anderson @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian)
Not a huge Felix Da Housecat fan, I'm afraid, but I like what I've heard, and this should be an interesting one anyway -- it's the official-shmofficial (re-)opening of Wired Live, which show-going people might know as The Meridian. Same building, I'm told, but it's apparently being built out nicely; interesting to see how it turns out.

Keaton Branch & The Figure Eight/Prairie Cadets/Jacob Trevino @ Dean's Credit Clothing ($5)
Before There Was Rosalyn/Close Your Eyes/Uprise of the Fallen/In Vain/Waverly Hills/Scars of Eden @ The Junction (8302 N Eldridge Parkway)
Madlib/H.I.S.D./DJ Sun/B-Boy Craig @ Numbers
Johnny Cash Bash, featuring The Skeletons, Glenna Bell, The Band In Black, Craig Kinsey Band, & W.S. "Fluke" Holland @ Continental Club
500 Megatons of Boogie @ PJ's Sports Bar
Carolyn Wonderland/Stateside Stereo @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar
Windsor Drive/Versecity/Abandon Kansas/Good Try/Street Car Scandal @ Fitzgerald's
Rotten Piece (CD release)/Wasp and Pear/Amputee/Gel Tab @ Super Happy Fun Land (9PM) The Battle for Atticus Metal Tour II, featuring The Nephilim Terror, Legion, Dinner at Dahmers, Injurious Physical Violence, Xatarus, Wasting the Day, & The Brace @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian; The Channel) Haiti Relief Benefit, featuring Earhart, O Victori, KThanksBye!, Austin Norman, Fiskadoro, Fighting for Adella, Kelby Losack, & Skyline54 @ The Cherotel (Lake Jackson)

Sun., February 28:
Resonant Interval Sound Series, featuring Together.We Are Instruments @ The Husk (2808 Milam; 7:45PM, $5)
Another installment (#16, I think?) of the good-hearted, smart-minded Resonant Interval Sound Series, wherein organizers Lance Higdon & his gang showcase some of the best & coolest experimental stuff around, both from here in H-town and elsewhere. This Sunday's a "locals" show, with strange, "stonedustrialonic" band Together.We Are Instruments manipulating electronics to create oddball pseudo-ambient noisescapes. Should be intriguing...

No Resistance @ South Side Roller Derby (halftime show; 7PM)
Okay, so I know zero about the band, it's true; I just think it's extremely cool that they're playing the half-time show at a roller derby match.

The Transgressions @ The Mink (9PM)
Can't tell for sure if this is the band The Transgressions that's out of Madison, WI -- they are playing Texas right now, but their Myspace says they're playing Austin Sunday, not Houston -- but damn, I hope it's them. Great, awesomely catchy/crunchy shout-along pop-punk that could've stepped straight off anything from Lookout! Recs.

Atreyu/Drive A/Otenki/Fighting for Adella @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian; The Channel)
Shock Treatment, featuring Blower, Chelsea Hotel, Dogs on Parole, The Dead Rabbits, & Mohawk Steve @ Rocbar
Hamilton Loomis @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck

Labels: Flyeration, Free Stuff, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do, Things To Download

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Holy shit, what a weekend we're headed into, y'all. Tonight (Fri., February 26th) is actually a bit lighter than some, but there's still some good stuff going on...

The Appleseed Cast/Dreamend @ Rudyard's
I really have to hand it to these guys -- The Appleseed Cast came around as part of the first "wave" of Deep Elm Recs-bred emo, effortlessly throwing out the heartbreakingly gorgeous The End of the Ring Wars way back in 1998(!), an album that's remained a serious touchstone in my own music collection.

Unlike the bulk of their peers, The Cast never crashed & burned or faded away to oblivion, instead continuing to expand as a band and shed chunks of the emo tag as they went along. Tonight they'll be doing a bit of a special show, playing all of their double-album set, Low Level Owl 1 & 2, an ambitious pair of releases that saw the band get a heck of a lot more atmospheric, trippy, and complex than a lot of people (myself included) ever thought a lowly emo band would be able to be. Ready yourself for a night of eyes-closed, stand-and-sway near-spacerock, people.

Heartless Bastards/Jeff Boortz Band/Runaway Sun @ Warehouse Live
Ah, yeah; I really, truly, genuinely love Heartless Bastards. Last year's The Mountain was a pretty phenomenal, nicely dark/murky roots-rock record, propelled along by singer Erika Wennerstrom to come off like the jaded, brooding, middle-of-nowhere child of Chan Marshall and Dax Riggs, armed with huge-sounding guitars and thundering drums. Here's hoping the crowd makes it out to the Warehouse tonight...

You & Yourn/Emily Lewis/ Framework/ Gretchen Schmaltz/ Doubtful Thomas/Cedar Boy Bailey @ Fuel Cyber Cafe (Humble; $7, 7PM)
Nice, nice, nice -- congrats, northsiders, you've got a heck of a cool indie-folk show going on tonight. Not familiar with everybody on the bill, but Gretchen Schmaltz (also of the seemingly-AWOL Western Civilization) does some great, honest-voiced songs and has quite a voice to boot -- seriously, she's one of the hands-down best folksingers in a town full of 'em -- Cedar Boy Bailey (aka Sergio from Buxton) is cool and low-key and warbly, and Hollywood Black frontman Ben Ellis's Framework project is interesting in its own right, at least from what I heard off his Intellect of Apes EP. Folks up in the Humble 'hood, here's your evening planned, right here.

Runners-Up:
Helstar/Plangency/Krankshaft/Decimation Theory/Blood Rooted @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian; The Channel)
Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys/Rockin' Lloyd Tripp/Picture Book @ The Continental Club
Lizard Professor/Pacifist/All The Way To The Bank/Waverly Hills/The Nephilim Terror/Dinner at Dahmers @ The Junction
Leslie and the LY's/Christopher the Conquered @ Walter's
Richie Havens @ Dosey Doe Coffee Company (The Woodlands)

Labels: Flyeration, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

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Mentioned it before, but seeing as people's minds (i.e., mine) tend to wander, I figured it'd be a good idea to post a little prod up here about this Saturday's coming second-ever installment of The Festival at Mink, "curated" (so to speak) by Alkari-an Jason Smith and boasting a ton of excellent bands & musician types.

There've been a couple of changes to the previously-posted list of players, primarily that Mike Booher and the Wild Turkeys (which includes folks from Zykos and Zookeeper) and Orents Stirner are both unable to play, but the lineup's still damn good. Here's the current schedule, as it stands right now:

7:00	The Dry Season	[Swooning, swaying, somewhat psych-sounding indie-pop]
7:45	Covington	[Not a clue; haven't heard anything by these folks, sorry...]
8:15 (Downstairs)	Gretchen Schmaltz	[Sweet-voiced, unadorned-yet-beautiful indie-folk pop; member of The Western Civilization]
8:45	Flowers to Hide	[Hazy, brooding, Britpop-influenced rock that's reminiscent of Ride more than anything else]
9:15 (Downstairs)	Giant Battle Monster	[Wild-eyed, noisy, stream-of-consciousness, ADD-addled prog-metal]
9:45	The Sour Notes	[Beautifully delicate, electronics-tinged indie-pop that swoons like the best old-school Darla Recs stuff]
10:15 (Downstairs)	DuneTX	[A scene fixture; wide-ranging but always catchy & melodic alt-rock, like a Texafied OK Go]
10:45	Alkari	[Straight-up, unpretentiously label-free rock, one part Arcade Fire, one part 'Mats]
11:30	The Manichean	[Cool, literate indie-rock that's smarter than you]
12:20	White Rhino	[Snarling, heavy-ass, metallic, seriously retro-ified psych-rawk; like Clutch covering Mötörhead]

Anyway, it's going to be a pretty great show, and for a relatively-small $8 for the of-age types or $10 for the underagers. Come on out to The Mink this weekend.

Labels: Flyeration, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

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Damn, it's looking like quite a Thursday night tonight... I've gotta keep this brief, but here's a quick-ish rundown of what you might go and see/hear, were you inclined to go out and see/hear things. (Hey, it could happen. I hear the Akron/Family show the other night was pretty packed.)

Kennedy Bakery/Bright Men of Learning/ Christian Staehely @ Rudyard's
First & foremost, friends of yore Bright Men of Learning are playing tonight, opening for somebody I've got no clue about named Kennedy Bakery up at Rudz. If you've never seen the band -- and, mea culpa, it's been too damn long since I got out to see them, myself -- trust me, they're really, really freaking good. Even though they'll probably tell you that they're not. Not entirely sure how they did it, but their long-running blend of rootsy, quasi-countrified rock (think Son Volt, Lucero, Tom Petty, or Ryan Adams) and laidback slacker indie-rock (think Spoon or a less-twitchy Sebadoh) seems to've foreshadowed a crapload of bands out there right now. Except that, well, BMOL do it a whole lot better.

Plus, the opening-openers, Christian Staehely and his band, sounds intriguing. Apparently the bassist is Mark Andes, who used to play with Spirit, Firefall, and -- holy fucking shit -- Bad Animals-era Heart. Okay, wow. And hey, I've heard good things about the music, too, although I, um, don't have it right in front of me...

Killswitch Engage/The Devil Wears Prada/Dark Tranquility @ Warehouse Live
Hoo-ah. What can I say? These days, Killswitch Engage tend to pretty much be the yardstick by which I judge all other metal. Heavy, raw, bitterly emo at points, and utterly impossible to resist howling along with on the drive home.

Givers/ Caddywhompus @ Mango's
Ah, Caddywhompus -- I love, love, love this band, and yet I feel like I've been giving 'em short shrift lately. Quirkily heavy, yet still melodic and interesting, indie-rock stuff from a supremely talented pair of guys (who also happen to've been half of The Riff Tiffs, should you remember that maybe-now-gone band). "Absinthesizer" still blows me away, I swear to God. Hopefully the duo'll be back around these parts a lot more in the coming months, once school's out and all...

Dreaming of June/The Lotus Effect/After Time Has Passed @ Rocbar
Liking this one, too; I don't know any of the three bands real well, but I like what I've been hearing of The Lotus Effect, in particular -- nicely-done, almost Sevendust-ish (but not quite as heavy) alternarock. And hey, Dre is good people, so that's a bonus.

Sherwood/Hot Chelle Rae/Black Gold/Reece @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
Dunno most of these folks, but I do really like Sherwood -- reviewed A Different Light back in 2007 or so, and was happily surprised to find that I enjoyed the hell out of the sweet, shiny-bright pop songs buried beneath the requisite Jimmy Eat World guitars. Not entirely sure they still sound the same, but I'd be willing to bet they're close.

Stryper/10th Grade Cutie/Choco Teef/F.G. and the Gunz/Nashville Snake (mem. of Cop Warmth/10th Grade Cutie)/Saviour Group @ Driveway on 6th St. (San Leon)
Okay, so I really, really doubt the band posing as "Stryper" on this bill is actually the Stryper. (Not that it'd make me want to see the show more, but hey...) That said, the guise promises something weird and probably bizarrely entertaining, as that's pretty much the stock-in-trade of those 10th Grade Cutie kids.

Runners-Up:
Together We are Instruments @ The Husk (2808 Milam; 8PM)
Songwriters Night, featuring Lisa Morales, Patricia Vonne, & Dustin Welch @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck

Labels: Flyeration, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

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Yet another cool show in a week crammed ridiculously full of cool shows (have you seen what all's going on this weekend? yeesh...), tonight -- Wed., February 23rd -- is a pretty damn special deal for local '60s-pop re-envisioner Chase Hamblin, who got tapped to open for none other than Texas-bred psych legend and real-live '60s icon Roky Erickson up at The Continental Club.

Now, while I can't claim to be a huge Erickson fan by any stretch of the imagination -- I'm generally fairly ignorant when it comes to most '60s-era psychedelic music, beyond the easy touchstones like Pink Floyd or Hendrix -- I can still recognize that this guy's a freaking giant, and it's amazing to see the man back to releasing new music. I'm especially intrigued by this spring's collaboration between Erickson and fellow Austinites/perennial musical loves of my life Okkervil River, True Love Cast Out All Evil, particularly after hearing/seeing this little taste:

Roky Erickson and Will Sheff of Okkervil River at Toy Joy, Austin TX from Roky Erickson w/ Okkervil River on Vimeo.

(You can snag an MP3 of "Goodbye Sweet Dreams," the song from the video, right on over here. It's quite a haunting little song...)

I shouldn't give short shrift to Chase Hamblin, btw, because he's a hell of a talented guy in his own right. 2009's A Fine Time is a damn good, warm-and-bright (yet actually sneakily bleak, lyrics-wise) EP, well worth checking out. Plus, Chase tells us his next effort's now underway, and promises it'll be less paisley and more roots-rock, now that he's pretty much fully integrated the live band into the recording thing. Keep your eyes out for it, folks.

Last I heard, tickets for tonight are/were still available, so grab 'em now while you can (see the Continental's site for how to do that) -- show starts at 8PM.

Labels: Flyeration, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do, Things To Download, Things To Hear, Things To See

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