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

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Already talked about the other show this evening that I think sounds particularly cool, so I'm gonna hit the other one here -- Midwest-by-way-of-NY psych trio Akron/Family are swinging through town tonight (Tues., February 23rd, obviously), hitting Walter's with tourmates Warpaint and local heroes Buxton. And trust me when I say it's gonna be freaking incredible.

I'll admit to near-total ignorance of the AF crew before their latest album, Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, but I've been listening to it these past few weeks and have walked away mightily impressed with their ability to throw anything and everything into the mix and still have it come out sounding like, well, like them. They mash together funk, post-rock, jazz, psych-pop, and rustic folk, and the melange together makes something cool and new and impossible to not gape at in awe. I'll leave it at that -- if you want to read my full writeup, head on over here -- but just to throw some MP3eage into the pile, here's one of the best tracks off the album (although it's not my favorite; opener "Everyone Is Guilty" wins that award with its Shaft-meets-Fleet Foxes funky roll):

Akron/Family - "River" (Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free)

The openers tonight are nothing to sneeze at, mind you. I dearly, dearly love LaPorte-bred indie-folk-rock guys Buxton and will cheerfully force them on any unsuspecting friend or relative who seems even a wee bit open to listening; they're really that good. Half of their most recent release (a split-7", although I seem to remember hearing something about a new album being in the works), A-side "Feathers," has honestly one of the best fucking guitar riffs I've ever heard, and I don't throw that around just anywhere. Check these guys out.

Plus, there's LA band Warpaint to contend with -- they're fairly distinct from the other two bands on the bill, coming off more like a noisy, murky art-rock squall/haze, riding the line between a druggier Rapture and the angelic-sounding Eisley, but what I've heard has been damn, damn good. The video for "Elephants", below, is pretty mesmerizing:

Enjoy -- and there's plenty more coming this week, so keep an eye out...

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

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Holy crap, it is some weekend coming up, folks -- I hardly know where to start. Okay, that's not true, not really, because where I pretty much have to start is with my top two shows of this evening (Friday, February 12th), both of which will be utterly badass.

First off, though, some sad news this week; remember how that A Lull show last weekend got cancelled? Well, it turns out the Retribution Gospel Choir show that was supposed to happen this past Wednesday (and that I blathered some about) got cancelled, too, reportedly "due to lack of ticket sales." Which sucks, obviously, although it does make me feel a bit vindicated for my concern about the band playing at Wired Live/The Meridian -- next time, y'all, you need to be at a smaller venue... If anybody read my writeup & tried to make it out to the show, I apologize; I had no idea the whole thing'd been blown. sigh.

To add insult to injury, there's at least one more show cancelled this week, although it's not one I know a lot about; apparently the Bob Livingston/Danny Everitt show at The Listening Room (inside NiaMoves studio) is no longer happening, either. Do we Houstonians all smell bad or something? (Okay, don't answer that.) Yeesh.

Anyway, here's what I think sounds cool for tonight, headed up by the two best-sounding shows going...er, assuming they don't all get stuck in snowdrifts north of Austin or catch the Plague or get eaten by zombies or something:

The Gold Sounds (CD release)/Paris Falls/T.V. Torso (ex-Sound Team)/The Small Sounds @ Walter's (8PM; $6/$8)
Alrighty, first and foremost -- I've been looking forward to The Gold Sounds' long-promised full-length for, oh, about three years now, so when the band was kind enough to send a copy, I didn't even wait 'til I got home to slap it in the CD player but ripped off the plastic right then & there. And holy shit is it good; I swear, "She's Got Me Singin So Low" is one of the best album lead-in songs I've ever, ever, ever heard. No lie. Full-on, just-raw-enough rawk with great, great melodies lurking underneath. If you're familiar with the band, you've heard some of the songs before, most likely, but even older stuff like the awesome "College Radio" comes off vibrant and rejuvenated here. Check out my full writeup of the new album on over here, should you be so inclined...

Plus, the openers include Paris Falls, who I love but -- to my eternal shame -- have somehow managed to never see live, missing out on their cool, ragged-sounding retro-pop thing, TV Torso, who I haven't heard but which apparently includes ex-members of Sound Team (which I liked), and The Small Sounds, rootsy, countrified rockers who hold a place near and dear to my heart. I swear, "Leave Virginia, Girl" still makes my heart hurt a little bit every time I hear it.

listenlisten/The Eastern Sea/Peter and the Wolf/Limb @ Mango's
Wow, wow, wow. 'Til today, I'd thought this show was only Austin-via-Houston crew The Eastern Sea, which would've been ridiculously cool all on its own, and now I happen to notice today that the lineup's miraculously expanded to include listenlisten and Peter and the Wolf, both of whom I adore (along with the Sea), and Limb, who/which was pretty intriguing when I saw him (er, them?) at Westfest a while back.

Not sure who I'd most like to see of the Sea, listenlisten, or Peter and the Wolf, honestly; I love listenlisten's dark, give-up-all-hope, out-of-time dirges and think Hymns From Rhodesia is one of the best albums of '09 (it sure as hell beats most of what was "hot" this past year...and then stabs it in the back with a knife while it's not looking), and the last time I saw Peter and the Wolf, Red Hunter and his gang were utterly mesmerizing, scrapping their trademark guitar-based indie-folk to do this crazy hoodie-wearing Afropop thing that they'd been experimenting with.

I think The Eastern Sea wins the fight, though; they make my jaw drop every time I see 'em, and recently-released EP II is also one of the best things to happen in the year past. I'll forego the raving right now and direct you on over to the full review of the EP, right over here, but trust me when I say that they're one of the best bands I've ever seen. Ever. (No, seriously.) Proof:

The Mountain from Samuel Geer on Vimeo.

So, my recommendation: hit either Walter's for The Gold Sounds & co., or Mango's for The Eastern Sea & friends. You won't be disappointed either way. And hey, if neither one strikes your fancy...

Fuck Your Scene Fest, featuring Nihilistic Outlaw Criminal Order, Lying To Sick Children, HRA, Agenda 88, & IPV @ The White Swan
Okay, I've only ever heard of the folks playing at The White Swan tonight, I'll admit, but c'mon, I've got to give points to Lying To Sick Children for coming up with the Best Band Name in the Universe. It's damned evocative, that's for sure.

Los FabuLocos/Nick Gaitan & The Umbrella Man/Picture Book @ The Continental Club
Dunno Los FabuLocos, sorry, but I really dig The Umbrella Man in general, and I've recently been hearing really, really good things about Picture Book, which I'm told is a British Invasion cover band that includes excellent singer/songwriter guy Chase Hamblin and Derek Dunivan, ex- of legendary teenage rockers Pure Rubbish and also Hamblin's producer and part of his backing band.

Imaginary City, featuring So Percussion @ DiverseWorks
Just wanted to point out that blogger/writer dude Creg already posted about this one a few days ago; check on over here. And yes, it does sound pretty damn cool.

Runners-Up:
Emmure/Terror/After the Burial/Miss May I/Thick As Blood/Vendetta Diary @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian)
The Ride Home/The Wockets/Doubtful Thomas/Timber!/Jerusalem/Winter Road @ The Junction (8302 N Eldridge Parkway)
The Bottom Four/The Off Season @ Avant Garden
Free Pop/Swamp Tease/Ancestral Diet/Taboo @ Super Happy Fun Land
Snoop Dogg/M-11 @ House of Blues
Larry Tee/Toy Selectah/POSR/GRRRL Parts/CeePlus/Damon Allen/Panchitron @ The Mink
Luxurata @ Rudyard's
More soon...

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

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Got some new stuff up this week, so I wanted to pop over here & mention it, as well as hit the high notes for this evening (Friday, January 29th, you non-calendar-having bastards).

First & foremost, I'm pleased as heck to announce that we've got the 2009 installment of the "WE LIKE THINGS" series, aka the Official-Shmofficial Space City Rock Best-Of Lists for the Year Past, up on the site, as of the night before last. This time out we were able to drag seven intrepid, hard-working writer types into the fray, and they've expounded on all the cool-ass musical-type stuff they've liked over the past 12 months or so -- check it out right over here. Obviously, I'm a bit biased, since I wrote part of it, but dammit, I like it.

I should mention, however, that in talking about the Greatest Musical Things of '09, I realized there's one big, glaring omission, and that's me totally forgetting to talk/rave about the Free Press Summerfest. Honestly, it really, truly made my year, music-wise (so much so that I unconsciously used a pic of the thing for these lists and then neglected to mention it; argh...). It blew me away, y'all, and made H-town feel like it was someplace where people actually give a shit about music, for once. If you've been in a band here, that's no mean feat. Take a ride in my short-term Wayback Machine right here and here. Thanks, FP crew; I've got my fingers crossed for the next one.

Now, stepping back to the near future, I'm also happy to note that seasoned vet writer Henry and talented newbie writer Preston were kind enough to write up not one but two reviews for tonight's show up at Walter's. Freaky/folky indie-rockers The Fiery Furnaces headline, and we've got a review up over here of their most recent release, I'm Going Away (courtesy of Henry), plus Preston's take on Paint the Fence Invisible, the latest from swooning psych-popsters Drug Rug, on over here. Check 'em out, then go to the show, dammit.

As an added bonus, we've got a review of local boys Female Demand's debut self-titled EP, which is four tracks of noisy, head-smacking, bass-and-drums instro rock that owes equal debts to stoner-rock sludge, lo-fi garage, and flat-out punk. And yes, it's pretty darn good, esp. lead-in track "Sweet Nothing" -- it's ringing in my head, even now. See the writeup over here. They're not playing tonight, but instead tomorrow, Saturday, January 30th, up at Mango's. Good as the EP is, it can't compare to seeing 'em live, trust me.

With that out of the way, yes, there's plenty of other stuff going on tonight -- here're some of the highlights:

The Fiery Furnaces/Drug Rug @ Walter's
Well, duh. See above, and then see here and here. Then go, and enjoy. (No, really.)

Benefit Show for Abbas from Brasil, featuring Robert Ellis and the Boys, Two Star Symphony, Grandfather Child, Chase Hamblin, GRRRL Parts, Davie Graves, Southern Backtones, & The Sideshow Tramps @ Mango's
Ah, yeah -- Mango's is playing host to a cool-sounding benefit show, tonight, a free fundraiser (huh?) for Abbas, who works at fellow cafe-place Brasil and who apparently needs hip-replacement surgery. (Which, obviously, is not cheap. Or particularly affordable for a guy who works in a coffeeshop.) Some good, good musicians are donating their time and talent; the list above is pretty much all worth seeing, particularly Grandfather Child (from whom I really want to see something recorded, and soon), Robert Ellis, Chase Hamblin (whose debut EP we reviewed recently over here, if you're curious), & Two Star Symphony. Go support.

Jonathan Richman/Tommy Larkins/Kozmic Pearl (Janis Joplin tribute) @ The Continental Club
Jonathan Richman. Holy shit. I'll admit that I don't hold the guy in awe quite like some do, but anybody my age who's into music is bound to've been affected by the stuff this guy's done over the course of his three-decade-or-so career. Like punk rock? Then you owe this guy at least a drink. (Although I'm not sure I'd approach him, if I were you; I've heard stories that he's a bit on the misanthropic side...)

Tyagaraja/The Fox Derby/The Language Room @ Warehouse Live
Yes, laydeez & gents, it's The Show That Almost Wasn't; you could almost call this a sympathy mention, since I genuinely feel bad for the locals who got A) rescheduled to two(?) months after their original date and then B) ditched by would've-been headliners Alpha Rev. Damn. Of course, I said "almost," because any praise for ex-Million Year Dance frontman Tyagaraja is in no way a pity vote -- the guy's freaking mesmerizing, truly -- and I like what I've heard so far of The Fox Derby. Go, and be sure to give Alpha Rev the spiritual, long-distance one-finger salute while you're there.

Badfish (Sublime tribute)/Scotty Don't/Full Service/Searching For Signal @ House of Blues
I know, I know -- really? A Sublime tribute band? Nah, nah -- I don't care much for headliners Badfish, sorry (just not my thing; the most I ever got into Sublime was "Santeria"), but I do like opening young'uns Searching For Signal a hell of a lot. They're somewhat of an odd fit, with their moody, eyes-wide-open space-rock/pop, but hopefully folks will give 'em some love, even still. They deserve it...

Runners-Up:
Hermit Thrushes/Free Radicals/Anna and The Annadroids/Fist of Kong/Wiggins and Risk @ Super Happy Fun Land
P.L.F./Abrupt/HRA/Obama Nation @ The Hot Dog Shop (6405 Brittmoore; 8PM, $5)
Wings Burn Away/The 71's @ Fitzgerald's
Grizzly/Radio Ark/The Blue Threads/The Mint @ Fitzdown
If The War Should End @ Dean's Credit Clothing
Morakestra @ The Mink
Cuba Gooding Jr./Kiyoshi/Le Hibou @ Boondocks
Abacabb/Molotov Solution/Upon A Burning Body/Dr. Acula/The Nephilim Terror/No Remorse @ The Junction (8302 N Eldridge Parkway)

More later on...

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

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Gotten a bunch of cool new stuff up on the site recently, so I wanted to point to it and let everybody bask in the wonderment... First and foremost, I did a writeup this week for an EP sent to me a while back by local boys Giant Battle Monster, entitled Giant Battle Monster vs. The Man With a Gun for a Head, and I have to say, it is one weird-yet-compelling slab of messy noise-prog. It goes full-tilt in every direction, coming off less like a band than a bunch of Surrealists handed instruments and told to just go to town, and yet, I find myself liking it quite a bit. Check the full review up here.

The band's playing tonight, by the way, up at Mango's alongside fellow local luminaries Cop Warmth (who're entertaining as hell) and Darwin's Finches, plus headliners Clockpole. Dunno about them, but definitely get there early for the GBM portion of the show; I hear it blows away the recorded stuff, so that's bound to be something to see.

We've got other reviews up, too, as of late last week, of stuff like the Blakroc album, the most recent (and stunning) EP from While You Were Gone, and the latest by ex-Reflux outfit Animals As Leaders (see here, here, and here), among others, plus a long, long, long-overdue review of the Muhammad Ali/Black Congress split-album, and that's how i forgot about the bomb.

I was lucky enough to catch MA early on was very impressed, but I didn't stumble across the actual recorded stuff 'til a ways after (and in CDR form, not the original cassette), but holy crap is it good, on the part of both bands. I'd recommend it highly, but honestly, you're not likely to be able to find it, so that'd probably just be salt on the wound. Check here for the full review, then go see Muhammad Ali on January 25th at Super Happy Fun Land, eh?

Of course, it's not all about the reviews, so I'm happy to say that we've got some new interviews up, namely of Amy Rigby and Def Jam impresario Russell Simmons(!). The former's the first part of a two-part set, courtesy of expat Houstonian Danny Mee, which he originally did back before Ike smacked our Houston-dwelling asses to the floor and pretty much killed all shows in the area for several weeks; it's languished in Limbo ever since, so I'm very glad to help it see the light of day. Keep an eye out for part 2, featuring Rigby's husband/musical compatriot Wreckless Eric, to be up in a week or so.

As for the Russell Simmons interview, hell, I'm convinced writer Rafael Rivas just fronted Simmons while he was out eating lunch somewhere, but I'm psyched to have their little chat up on the site. Both interviews are good shit, trust me -- see here and here.

Yr. Abbreviated Weekend, Pt. 1:
Before I go any further afield, I want to mention a few other things going on tonight... Well, and not going on, as it turns out -- just fyi, it seems tonight's Pierced Arrows/Lullabye Arkestra show's been moved backwards, from January 15th all the way to March 15th. If you were planning on hitting The Mink tonight to see 'em, you may want to make alternate plans. Or, hell, just go anyway, since Urbane Guerilla Sound System will be there doing their "Fistful of Soul" thing, and you know you can't beat vintage soul 45's, right?

Okay, maybe that's not your thing -- you could also head over to the ambiguously-named The Temporary Space (1320 Nance) for the opening of the Persuasion art show. The show features stuff by Michael Dee and longtime scenester/musician Domokos Benczedi, and there'll be music courtesy of Kunst Fascion; it's gonna be cool, I swear.

There's also Jody Seabody and the Whirls up at Super Happy Fun Land, a cool house show out in Richmond at the i.am.we.commUNITY House (819 Land Grant) with Hats & Statues, The County Lines, & Hobomouth, and waaaaay down in Clear Lake, you can hit The Scout Bar to check out the Supersuckers, with cool dudes Come See My Dead Person as one of the openers. Not as jam-packed a night as some, I'll admit, but still, there's some decent stuff going on.

With that out of the way, here's the full pile of new stuff:

Interviews: Amy Rigby; Russell Simmons

Reviews: Giant Battle Monster; Muhammad Ali/Black Congress; Blakroc; While You Were Gone; Skeletonwitch; Animals As Leaders; Grand Archives; Orioles; & Sounds Like BS.

More to come...

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

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Got one heck of a weekend coming up, although yours truly will sadly be missing out on all of it -- the little guy's only now beginning to sleep for more than three hours at a time, so that's taking up a lot of my time, as well as the obligatory Christmas-type par-tays I've been invited to (what? hell, it only happens once a year...). This weekend will be me alternately A) dodging the littlest munchkin's intense stare and B) partaking in holiday revelry, without much music involved beyond whatever band/CD happens to be playing at said par-tays.

That said, just because I'm booked solid doesn't mean there isn't anything good to do; on the contrary, there's a ton. First off, if you happen to be anywhere near a radio around 6PM tonight, make sure you tune in to The Revelry Report on KTRU to catch heavy-ass, improv-but-good rock duo Female Demand as they explode the tight confines of the KTRU recording room. They were kind enough to send in their soon-to-be-out debut EP, and trust me, it's pretty badass.

Fri., December 18:
The Canvas Presents The Tamales and Live Music Festival 2009, featuring Barefoot The Indian, Room 101, Deux Frupis, The Paperwaits, Nosaprise, The Cadences, The Factory Party, Oncoming Traffic, Dairy Party, Chase Hamblin, Ivan Espinosa's Band, & The Coalition Band @ Super Happy Fun Land (6PM-2AM)
I'll be up-front, here -- I've no freaking idea what The Canvas is. I know there's some kind of new-ish church/venue with that name, but I don't think this is them; a magazine, maybe? Eh, whatever the deal, they've assembled a nicely diverse cast of local folks to play Super Happy Fun Land tonight, particularly sharp-as-a-razor rapper Nosaprise, New Wave dudes The Factory Party, and retro-'60s popster Chase Hamblin.

By the by, we've just now got a review up of The Factory Party's latest EP, After Death There Is Nothing; all things considered, I do like it, but I had some misgivings I felt I needed to air, which hopefully won't get me beaten up in a dark alley somewhere. Check it out over here.

Tax the Wolf/Keaton Branch & The Figure Eight/Solanae/The Dellciples @ Dean's Credit Clothing
I've never managed to see most of these folks, sadly, but I did catch Solanae -- which includes members of both Golden Cities & Tambersauro -- recently and can attest to their excellent goodness, truly. Think Tori Amos fronting Tortoise, and you'll be about halfway there...

Rooney/Tally Hall/Crash Kings @ The Meridian
Yeah, I'll admit it -- I do like Rooney, at least from what I've heard from 'em in the past, and I've recently been liking what I've heard from attitude-heavy, insanely catchy pop-rock kids Crash Kings, who come off like Jellyfish with a more "rawk" edge...and who, in an odd "Houston connection!" moment, includes a former member of the legendary Guns of August. It's a small world...

Crassmas, featuring VAARG (mem. of Hearts of Animals), The Wiggins, & Rapeworm @ Sound Exchange (free!)
Okay, I'll admit to being a little bummed about this one; I'd initially heard that this SoundEx show would be Hearts of Animals, singer Mlee doing her "skewed-yet-pretty indie-pop w/electronics" thing, but it turns out I was misinformed. The headliners of the aptly-titled "Crassmas" will be none other than Mlee's maybe-joke black metal band, VAARG (named for Norwegian black metal icon, murderer, arsonist, recently paroled jailbird, racist whackjob, and all-round fun guy Varg Vikernes, apparently), who will be bringing to the shindig somewhat, um, harsher sounds than HoA might. Honestly, while I'd heard of VAARG, I'd assumed it was one of those scenester in-joke "hey, wouldn't it be funny if we...?" bands that never really materialize, but it seems that ain't the case. Should be a sight to see... (I should note, as well, that I'm heavily intrigued by The Wiggins -- odd, yet strangely compelling.)

Paadzzi's FAN-ttom Christmas Party, featuring Alkari, Electric Attitude, Modulation Hertz, The Lovable James, & Covington @ Paadzzi's (3535 Bingle Rd.; 9PM)
Nice; not sure how open to the public this actually is, but what the heck, it promises to be a good, good show, particularly headliners/Paadzzi's owners (I think?) Alkari, a trio of scruffy, cool, unpretentious rock dudes from whom I really hope to hear some new stuff soon. (Please, guys?) Electric Attitude are damn entertaining, too, esp. live -- I'm afraid I was a little rough on their most recent EP, Laser Laser Laser Beams, and I'm hoping they're not plotting to kill/maim me for it, but regardless, the band's a lot of fun to watch.

Ryan Scroggins & The Trenchtown Texans/Sugarball Express/Sam Navarro & Lone Star Devils/Ryan Scroggins (acoustic) @ Fitzdown Just found out about this one, which is a shame, 'cause Ryan Scroggins & The Trenchtown Texans deserve all the digital-type love I can give 'em; I've still only seem the band live once, and that was from a distance while waiting to get into Summer Fest, but they're up at the top of my list of local ska/reggae bands, nonetheless. Good shit, y'all.

The Live Lights/The Watermarks/ Caterpillars @ The Backroom (The Mink) The Watermarks are another one of those bands that I've near-criminally ignored or brushed off, unfortunately, partly because I've always had a bit of a difficult time getting a grip on what they actually do. Are they a rock band? Synth-pop? The truth, really, is probably somewhere in-between, judging by their most recent thoughts like bombs EP, and in their case, at least, that's not a bad place to be. I swear, y'all, I will review the damn thing, and soon. Besides all that, I've finally succumbed to the good things I've heard about The Live Lights, and...um, wow. These guys sound like what every '80s-influenced pop band should sound like, seriously.

Lick Lick/HUG/Palit @ Rudyard's
Red Bull 45's, featuring Cut Chemist, Ceeplus Bad Knives, DJ Sun, The ARE, DJ John Doe, & Brett Koshkin @ Warehouse Live
A Fistful of Soul, featuring Urbane Guerilla Sound System @ The Mink
The Umbrella Man @ Cactus Music (5:30PM; free!)
Blaggards @ Molly Maguire's
The Boxmasters/The Rounders @ Fitzgerald's
Ben Lerman (EP release) @ Notsuoh (9PM)
IParty Toy Drive & Charity Show @ Avant Garden

Sat., December 19:
The Jonbenet (final show!)/At All Cost (final show!)/O Pioneers!!!/Fight Pretty @ Walter's on Washington
Yep, I've mentioned this one before, but it bears mentioning again -- this weekend marks the final show of local noise-rock/post-hardcore heroes The Jonbenét, which is a sad, sad, sad thing. I get that they need to move on and do other stuff, but damn. At least they're going out with a bang -- this show promises to be pretty insane, especially with O Pioneers!!!, Austinites At All Cost, and Fight Pretty all in tow.

listenlisten/Til We're Blue or Destroy/The Small Sounds @ The Continental Club
Yes, yes, yes. Were I free to pick my poison this coming Saturday, I'd have a hell of a time deciding, I swear, but this would be near the top of my list, with two of my absolute favorite country-ish bands in town right now, listenlisten and The Small Sounds, joining forces at The Continental Club. If you haven't heard listenlisten's epic Hymns From Rhodesia yet, well, you need to rectify that, and quick -- see here for the full review from a while back -- and The Small Sounds bowl me over every single time I see 'em. They're both bands that, if they broke up tomorrow, man, it'd ruin my freaking week. (Memo to members of listenlisten and The Small Sounds: whatever you do, do NOT break up. Or I will hunt you down and trap you in an isolated cabin, Misery-style, and force you to keep making amazing music. 'kay? Glad we got that out of the way.)

Punxmas, featuring Blackmarket Syndicate, Molotov Compromise, Rats in the Attic, The Ghost Storys, Riot Up Front, Exile, Night Siege, Quarantines, Roots of Exile, Days N Days, Deadlines, & Comatose and Half Retarded @ Super Happy Fun Land
The first of the weekend's full-on punk assaults, at least in my book. Dunno most of these folks, unfortunately, but I'm a huge fan of Blackmarket Syndicate (formerly Deathbed Repentance), whose Social D-esque take on roots-punk is a fine, fine thing to behold.

Daniel Johnston Hoot Nite, featuring Roky Moon & Bolt, Young Mammals, Sad Gorilla, Giant Princess, & Chris Ryan @ DiverseWorks (post-play show) Big ol' caveat to this one: I'm really not sure if you needed to have been to the performance of Life Is Happy and Sad in order to catch this star-studded post-play show. But hey, you should probably be going to see the damn thing anyway, right?

Doggebi/DEAL/Lance and the Pants @ The Husk (next to Khon's Bar; 2808 Milam)
I swear, Lance Higdon doesn't sleep; how can he, with all the crap he appears to continually have going on, and then teaching Latin to jaded high school kids, besides? I envy the guy his boundless energy, and it's especially cool given his latest gig drumming for Lance and the Pants, which is him plus Sandy Ewen (of The Weird Weeds), Ryan Edwards, and Doug Falk. Add to that the crazy percussion-and-flute-destruction of headliners Doggebi (aka Michelle Yom and Spike The Percussionist), and then brace yourself for full-on noise experimentation madness.

Memphis Pencils/St. Anthony @ Notsuoh (9PM; free!)
Dunno these Arkansas boys well, but the jaunty, gentle folk Memphis Pencils shows off on their Myspace page ain't half bad, and St. Anthony (the band, naturally, not the historical figure) head cheerfully off in the Afro-pop direction of bands like Vampire Weekend, which is cool if you, um, happen to like that kind of thing. I was surprised how much I liked it when Peter and the Wolf did it, so y'know...

Benefit for Luther Castillo's Hospital in Honduras, featuring The Delta Block, Anarchitex (acoustic), Scott Ayers, Permanent Vegetative State, Room 101, & more @ Sedition Books
Anti-Christ Mass XII, featuring Imprecation, Panteon, Abolishment, Scattered Remains, Ninth Kingdom, Diminished, Golgotha, Demoniac Vengeance, & Spectral Manifest @ Numbers
duneTX @ The Big Top
Shithead @ The Husk (next to Khon's Bar)
Crunkmas, featuring Alex C, Andrei Morant, Badbwoy Bmc, Arnebold, Evan Anthony, Jeremy Keas, Brad Slack, Bukkha Suma, Bjorn Larsen, Bobby Blyss, Bizz, Chris Calix, Chris T., Criminal V., Kue, Mikey G., Danny V., Dr. Remix, Chris Costello, El Nino, Fixture, D:Major, Hoshack, Skeezer, Vortex, Lamborghini Crew, J. Oddio, Henry Chow, James Reed, Kung Fu Pimp, Sasha Braverman, John the 3rd, Sines, Little Martin, MC's Full Effect, Oz de Funk, Red, Gremlin, Nick Beatdown, Pejaman, Swift, Steve Mok, Tol Tager, SDFone, Suraj K., 0045, Tbdz, & Upgreyed @ The Meridian
Jerry Christmas KPFT 90.1 FM Benefit, featuring Psychodillos, Guy Schwartz and the New Jack Hippies, Sonny Boy Terry & Rich DelGrosso, Country Store Buffalo, Run Over Twice, & Chase Hamblin @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar (7PM)
Blaggards @ Molly's Pub (Conroe)
Wayward Sons/Grizzly/Country Store Buffalo @ Rudyard's

Sun., December 20:
Shock Treatment, featuring Latch Key Kids, 13 Black Coffins, The Inanimate Objects, The Failed Attempt, & Mohawk Steve @ Rocbar
Have I mentioned lately how damn glad I am to see the Latch Key Kids back on the scene? No? Well, let me rectify that: these guys were one of the best things about H-town's pop-punk scene back in the day, and while they never got their due, they were still rightly well-loved by those who heard 'em. Now they're back, older & possibly wiser, and still loud and heavy and melodic as fuck.

Trills The Season Toy Drive, featuring Nosaprise, H.I.S.D., Lower Life Form, Dayta, & Squincy Jones @ Boondocks (9PM; bring toy worth at least $7 to get in)
Nosaprise, yes, twice in one weekend -- this time its his show, his annual Trills The Season Toy Drive thing, where to get in you need to bring a toy worth at least $7 to donate to kids in need, and he's put together a nice crew of stellar local hip-hop folks to help out. I have to ask, though -- what the hell kind of a toy does 7 measly dollars buy these days, anyway? A yo-yo? My two cents: $7 is for cheapskate assholes; don't scrimp, folks, but try buying a toy maybe you'd have liked to play with when you were a kid. That's how I do it.

Miss Leslie and Her Juke-Jointers/Mark Halata Christmas Polka Party @ The Continental Club
afton: live, featuring Assylim, John Allen Stephens, Joshua Price, NYA, Jennifer O'Brien, Eyes Like Oceans, & Oz Knozz @ The Meridian

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

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Plenty going on this weekend, that's for sure; it's kind of turned out to be somewhat of a red-letter couple of days, in fact... And hey, the snow's mostly melted, it seems like, so you've really got no excuse to stay home, right?

Sat., December 5th:
The Pons/ listenlisten/ The Tontons/ Gretchen Schmaltz @ The Mink
First up this time 'round is what's going on at The Mink this evening... Austin trio The Pons are headlining, and I have to say that after (finally) listening to last year's In the Belly of a Giant, I am mightily impressed. They take all of the best parts of midtempo, mid-'90s indie-rock and carefully stitch them together so that you can barely spot the seams; the songs alternate between louder, more rocking stuff (a few tracks of which remind me of Silkworm and, weirdly, fellow Austinites Fastball) and more gentle jangle-rock, all with a nicely somber, downcast -- but not emo -- feel to it. Got a long-overdue review of the album up last night, if you're interested; check on over here.

Of course, I can't forget the awesome, awesome openers, all of whom I well & truly love. Gretchen Schmaltz starts out the night with some warm-hearted, smart indie-folk-pop, then The Tontons hit us with another surprise visit, bringing along their cool/strange blend of psych-rock and soul. listenlisten go on before The Pons, I believe, and honestly, if you haven't witnessed their out-of-time melding of folk, country, and whatever the hell that is in there, you're really missing out.

(Show starts at 7PM, and the door's $7 for the of-age folk and $10 for the underagers.)

Lost In Space, featuring My Education, Weird Weeds, Ghost Town Electric, Golden Cities, Motion Turns It On, B L A C K I E, Ghost Mountain, Slow Motion Rider, Solanae, Chairs, Forests, & Defending the Kingdom @ Khon's Bar (rooftop, 2808 Milam; 6PM, $10) I know I've already talked a couple of times about tonight's Lost In Space festival, but hell, it's worth mentioning again, I think. The organizers have been hard at work on this thing, and in spite of the cold, I think it's going to be pretty badass. Bring heavy-heavy winter jackets and hang out on the roof in Midtown under what'll hopefully be a sparkling-clear night sky (don't worry, the party goes downstairs at 10PM, so hopefully nobody'll freeze to death when the temp really starts to drop).

For any stalkers/well-wishers out there, btw, this is where I'm hoping to be tonight, barring any horrific accidents or the kids suddenly getting sick. I'm an official-shmofficial sponsor of the thing, so I'm gonna do my best to be there & support. Here's hoping this is only the first of many of these things...

Benjy Davis Project/The Black Math Experiment (reunion!)/Skyblue72 @ The Continental Club
Black Math Experiment @ Cactus (1PM)
Already talked about this one, too, so I won't go too much into the details again -- check the earlier post for that. I'm damned glad the Black Math Experiment are getting back together again, particularly since the one time I've actually seen them was technically after they'd already broken up. And all you Skyblue 72 fans, get this one last show in while you can, before Jessica goes out on maternity leave.

Oh, and there's a bonus BME sighting, too, up at Cactus this afternoon, so you can even get yourself a double dose of "You Cannot Kill David Arquette", should you feel the need.

Houston Noisefest 2009, featuring Iron Lung, In Disgust, Hummingbird of Death, WhatShame?, Goner, Mindless, PLF, Dissent, & War Master @ The White Swan (8PM; $10)
Honestly, I don't know many of these bands, but hey, I'm all for more loud, raw, ugly music bombarding this city. I've heard PLF and Dissent are good, and War Master are apparently throwback-ish thrash metal, which ain't no bad thing if you ask me...

Kiss/Buckcherry @ Toyota Center
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the obligatoryKiss mention. Odds are, if you want to go to this, you probably already are (or at least know about it). Personally, I've never been a fan -- even when I was a teenage metalhead, they seemed cheeseball and campy -- but I'm curious to see if a bunch of aging guys in their 50s can still rock out.

Dirty Honey, featuring DJ Brett Koshkin & DJ Flash Gordon Parks @ Boondocks
Okay, I've just gotta say it -- DJ Flash Gordon Parks is the most entertaining DJ name I've run across since DJ Cuba Gooding Jr. Just sayin'.

The Small Sounds/Trey Brown @ Goode's Armadillo Palace
Voices Breaking Boundaries Anniversary, featuring Free Radicals, Tyagaraja, & Kayumanngi Pinoy Rock Band @ Houston Institute for Culture (708-B Telephone Rd.; free!) Keiko/Versecity/Windsor Drive/Frank & Derol/Winter Wallace @ Fitzgerald's
The Houston Blues Society Holiday Party, featuring Sherman Robertson @ The Meridian
Clandestine @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Exterminating Angels/Novox/Bald Eagle Burger @ Rudyard's

Sun., December 6:
Slack Fest 2009, featuring Los Skarnales, The Slackers, Ryan Scroggins & The Trenchtown Texans, The Umbrella Man, DJ Moonstomp, ROom 101, The Failed Attempt, DJ Jay Debauchery, Come See My Dead Person, LA Catrin & The Love Terror Cult, & DJ Big E @ Numbers/ Mango's/ Avant Garden
Damn...how did this one sneak up on me? I didn't really hear much about it 'til this week, so I thought it was just a bunch of disconnected shows, but nope, it's actually one big three-venue (Numbers, Mango's, & Avant Garden) festival put on -- I think? -- by ska heroes The Slackers, who're genuinely one of the best of the bands remaining from the big ska boom in the '90s. They are good shit, seriously, as are just about all of the local openers. Bounce between the three clubs in your heavy jacket & try to catch as many as you can, eh?

Shock Treatment, featuring Rusted Shut, Chelsea Hotel, Shit City High, The Hates, & Mohawk Steve @ Rocbar
Punk and noise insanity at Rocbar? Wow. Kudos to the place for widening their horizons somewhat; it's definitely nice to see. And personally, I'd love to be there to see Rusted Shut take the stage & subsequently clear the room.

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

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Damn, damn, damn. I'm afraid that the snow dazzled and bewildered me, and so I totally forgot about all the awesome shows going on this very evening (Fri., December 4th) while out being pelted with grassy/muddy snowballs by my daughter. Argh.

(Okay, and my sleep-deprived brain for some reason thought the freaking show was tomorrow night, in spite of hearing about it from all three of the bands involved. sigh. Sorry, y'all.)

The one that's making me kick myself in particular is the sure-to-be-awesome show up at Rudyard's tonight -- Cleveland strange-rockers mr. Gnome, whom I like very much, are coming back through town, and trust me when I tell you that they are mesmerizing and jaw-dropping in equal measure. Think Sonic Youth if fronted by "Maps"-era Karen O, covering songs by Brian Eno, and you'll get sorta-kinda close to the way they sound. Check out the full review of their latest album, Heave Yer Skeleton, up over here.

Oh, and they're loud, as in "rattle-your-ribcage" loud. Which is pretty great, if you ask me... Plus, there're two excellent local openers, namely old-school alternarock dudes (hailing from back before "alternarock" was a bad word, mind you) Fired For Walking and Pavement-meets-Wilco country-rock slackers Bright Men of Learning, who're one of the most enduring and talented bands in town, these days. I've heard some of their recent stuff, and they've happily blown away even their old stuff.

The show starts at 8PM, I hear, so you'd better hurry. A measly-peasly $8, which means you'll have enough left over to pick up a CD or three. mr. Gnome are good people, and yet, each time they play our fair city, it's to shamefully small crowds. That needs to change, folks.

Other good things going on tonight:
If you can't make it to Rudz, you're not totally out of options. Apparently The Polyphonic Spree's Jesse Podunk got scared off by the pretty little snowflakes and cancelled his show tonight at Mango's -- which sucks, because he had both Arthur Yoria and Chase Hamblin opening, but in it's place there's the kickoff party for the Bicycle Film Festival, which I can't entirely explain but which sounds intriguing, to say the least. Bunch of DJs at that one, I believe: Goldsprints, Cisco Da Kid, Mr. Castillo, & DJ Paramour, among others.

And how in the hell did I forget this one? The fucking Skatalites also happen to be playing tonight up at The Meridian, inexplicably not on the main stage but in their Red Room. These are ska legends we're talking about, y'all -- I caught part of their set once, long ago, and it was mindblowing. And hey, I've heard good stuff about H-town openers Idiginis and The Failed Attempt, too.

Runners-Up:
Fanfarlo/The Freelance Whales @ Walter's
The Standard, featuring Lower Life Form, Mr. Grinch, & Reko Trill @ Warehouse Live
Free Radicals @ Black House (410 S. Main)
Dash Rip Rock/The Blue Threads/The Liquid Kitchen @ The Meridian (Main Room)
Carolyn Wonderland/Guy Forsyth @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Gate Crash, featuring Modern Touch DJs, DJ Cuba Gooding Jr., DJ Fredster, DJ Johnny Moon, & DJ Kiyoshi @ Boondocks
Big Sam's Funky Nation/Nightbird (Stevie Nicks tribute) @ The Continental Club
Slick 46/The Failures/Oscuridad Social/The Gutter Rats @ Super Happy Fun Land

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

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Weekend's not over yet, obviously, so there's still stuff to do these next couple of days. First off, though, we've got a bunch of new reviews up on the site, including reviews of stuff by Mew, local songwriter Arthur Yoria, Foreign Born, and local heavy-rocking dudes A dream Asleep, who're having their CD release show tonight at Fitz. Check out the reviews here, and see below for more details...

Sat., November 28:
A Dream Asleep/ American Fangs/the last place you look/Peekaboo Theory/ Cavernous @ Fitzgerald's
As mentioned above, this is the CD release for A dream Asleep (not sure how the capitalization goes, sorry), and writer Dre was kind enough to write up the band's latest over here for all to see. I've liked what I've heard from the band so far, myself, and Dre was damn impressed with the album, sounds like. Plus, there's raw-as-fuck rockers American Fangs and the more emo-edged, yell-along-able the last place you look, both of whom fucking rule. Yeah, you probably ought to be here...

Chase Hamblin/Ragged Hearts @ The Continental Club
Nice, nice, nice -- sweet-voiced, well-written retro-pop, plus cool, rough-edged, garage-y roots-rock that sounds like Social D crossed with Cinderella. Hard to beat.

Pale/Southern Backtones @ Rocbar
Whoa. I knew Pale hadn't been around for quite a while now, but hadn't realized 'til recently that they'd moved out to L.A. in pursuit of the Rockstar thing. Now, they're back in town, at least temporarily, which is very cool -- I've watched the band since their early days as more of an emo-type thing, and they've always impressed me.

The Misfits/Hell City Kings/Molotov Compromise/The Ghost Storys @ House of Blues
Yeah, yeah -- it's The Misfits, I know. I've heard good & bad about the band's recent shows, though, so I'm kinda "meh" on them, honestly; local punk-rawk dudes Hell City Kings, though, are well worth checking out on their own, esp. on a big(-ger) stage like the one at the House of Blues.

Spain Colored Orange @ Cactus Music (4PM)
The Mentors/Poor Dumb Bastards @ Walter's
Forever The Sickest Kids/The Rocket Summer/Sing It Loud/My Favorite Highway/Artist Vs. Poet @ The Meridian
Steven Rawlings/The Julys/The Slowdown/Jack Maloney @ Super Happy Fun Land
DOPE!, featuring Brotha Jibril, Melodic, Seth Jones, Jaekim, & Nyala @ Avant Garden
Sisters Morales @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Billy Joe Shaver @ Dosey Doe Coffee Company (The Woodlands)

Sun., November 29:
Resonant Interval Sound Series, featuring Robert Pearson & David Dove @ 2808 Milam (8PM; $5)
Yep, the latest installment of the Resonant Interval series, this time with local improvisers Robert Pearson & David Dove. Pearson apparently plays electric piano, and if you don't know who Dove is, you apparently didn't give a shit about music in Houston in the early-to-mid '90s (Sprawl, anybody? Bueller?). Should be a good one.

Pacsun PacTour Battle of the Bands, featuring Otenki, 38 Caliber Hero, Bythetimeyoureadthis, A Goodnight Crisis, Proven Under, & Via Linda @ The Meridian
Took me a little while to figure out how this was meant to work, but I think the idea is that the band's playing this show will be competing to play at the badass-looking PacTour show on Dec. 13th at The Meridian (that show includes P.O.S. & Saosin, btw). Not sure how many slots there are, but I've heard good stuff by Otenki and about Bythetimeyoureadthis and A Goodnight Crisis, so g'wan, check it out.

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

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Been needing to do this for a looooong time; I'm way behind on my updates, sadly...

The up-and-coming goes first, this time out -- awesomely talented country-rockers The Literary Greats are playing the release show for their second full-length, Ocean, Meet The Valley, this coming Saturday, Nov. 14th. It's the same night as the Block Party, which makes my own personal dilemma even worse than it already was: go see the Block Party, go see the Greats, or stay at home with the one-and-a-half-month-old and hopefully keep my wife from killing me?

It's a tough call, made especially tough by the fact that, well, the Literary Greats are simply one of the coolest, most thoughtful bands in town of any genre. They write these subtle, interesting-but-not-complicated songs that have a warm, nighttime feel to 'em, and they play them laidback and raw all at once, like they'll never again be allowed to pick up their instruments and can't be bothered to worry about when it'll end.

I loved the band's self-titled debut quite a bit, so I was curious what the followup would be like -- make no mistake, it is a different band. The Literary Greats had a lot more of a pop vibe to it, an easy friendliness that made it feel soft and cozy like an old sweater. Ocean, Meet The Valley, on the other hand, cranks up the guitars and has a lot more sharp edges, melding indie-rock energy and fire to '60s California-style roots-pop.

Check out the full review over here, and after you do that, start planning to hit The Continental Club this Saturday night to catch these guys & openers Elkhart (who're a Dallas-area roots-rock band, if I recall, and are pretty damn good in their own right).

Of course, you could also check out the Block Party -- I've babbled previously about how excellent the bands will be, so I won't go into that again, but one of the headliners playing at Numbers on Saturday night are H-town-by-way-of-Austin gang (of, what, 9 people now?) The Eastern Sea. They've also got a new release coming out at this very show, second EP EPII (no, really), which I'm told is pretty much a continuation of their stellar debut EP.

And speaking of awesome bands, man... Seen them twice now, and I've been mesmerized both times by the band's effortless, almost casual, yet intensely tight, perfectly choreographed performances. Not that they all rock out in unison or anything, Judas Priest-style, but that they just know frontman Matt Hines' intricately-crafted compositions backwards and forwards, to the point where they can take a chance or three without fear of falling flat.

The Eastern Sea's first EP was also mindblowing, so I've got high hopes for the second, esp. after talking with Hines himself for a bit about all things band-related. You can read the full interview over here, if you're so inclined. And trust me, these guys (and girl) are really and truy one of the best bands I've ever seen. Ever, ever, ever. Period. Like I said, Saturday's a rough choice...

Of course, that's not all we've got. Nomadic writer Tom Koenig (who last chatted with the Meat Puppets for us) is back with a cool little interview with David Bazan, aka Pedro The Lion, the enigmatic Thomas McLuhan talked with seismic-shifting metal dudes Isis when they rolled through town a while back, and Rafael Rivas wrote up a recent trip to NYC to hang out with a couple of old-school graf artists.

Then there's a small horde of live reviews, including writeups of Mute Math and Wall With One Side by valiant contributors Rock Houston and Michelle Yom, and going back a little further, Daniel Yuan's excellent coverage of the Hennessy Artistry show, Scott Whitt's review of the Nebula show, and Dre Giles excellent meditation on the wonder of punk rock (even now0).

Oh, and shitload more reviews, of both music and films. In terms of timeliness, there's a review of the recently-released Moneen DVD, It All Started with Red Stripe , just time for them to come to town with Say Anything, and we reviewed Art Brut, The Black Crowes, & local psych-pop guys Springfield Riots before their shows, to boot.

Here's the full, full, big-ass pile:

Interviews/Features: The Eastern Sea; David Bazan; Two NYCs: Documenting Graffiti in the Big Apple; & Isis.

Live Reviews: Mute Math/As Tall As Lions; Wall With One Side/Trills; Sunny Day Real Estate/The Jealous Sound; Hennessy Artistry, with The Roots, Common, ELIZABETH the Band, Makano, Big Daddy Kane, & Al B. Sure!; Nebula/The Entrance Band; & Punk on Punk Crime -- The Shitty Limits/Logic Problems/No Talk

Reviews: The Literary Greats; Tortoise; Lyle Lovett; The Box; Moneen; Springfield Riots; Art Brut; Unholy; Teenage Kicks; Sage Francis; Arbouretum; Johnny Goudie and the Little Champions; Z; And The Moneynotes; The Dodos; The Black Crowes; The Whore Moans; The Snake Charmers; Class of 1984; Buddahead; Baby Guts; Death Sentence: PANDA!; Chinese; Digable Cat; The Sorely Trying Days; & To The Waves.

There's plenty more in the pipe, so check back soon, eh?

Labels: Interviews, Live Reviews, Musical Crap, Reviews, Things To Do

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Paranormal Activity screened for the press last night at AMC Studio 30, and by the looks of the crowd this may be one of the only reviews you'll see in Houston, as everyone else appears to have been "Caller Number 9" on an FM radio station. They, and many people you know have petitioned Paramount Pictures to bring the film to town for a long time now. It's been circulating the globe for two years now supposedly being brought to each market via an online petition from fans. I'm skeptical of this but I'm sold on the film.

We open as Micah (Micah Sloat) turn on his expensive handheld video camera for the first time, and the entire movie is seen from the video camera's point of view. We learn that Micah is a day trader and his live-in girlfriend, Katie (Katie Featherston), is a university student. Soon a paranormal psychologist visits the couple's beautiful suburban house and the exposition begins. Katie has been followed by a very frightening door slamming ghost for most of her life. Micah is a confident, successful stock trader who makes a joke of the whole thing, but keeps the camera running the entire movie. Remember that 100% of this film is seen thru the camera's point of view (POV to you and me). The psychologist moves the story along by "getting to know the couple" and quickly informing them that, good news/bad news, its not a ghost, it's a demon. Demons, he says, are dangerous and he is too scared to stay a moment longer. BUT on his way out the door he informs the couple that leaving will do no good, and that they should stay in their home until a qualified "demonologist" arrives from overseas. Which is convenient, because for a film with a $15,000 budget, leaving the home would present all sorts of unwelcome lighting and audio challenges.

So the ground rules are established. Stay in the home and don't call for help. And so we wander around the home for an hour without much happening. We literally watch the couple sleep for a surprising amount of time. A girlfriend visits. They eat breakfast. They remind each other of the ground rules. Every four or five nights, the "demon" makes an appearance by slamming a door, or just moving the door a few inches. He smashes a picture frame, pounds on a wall, and generally scares the couple into..... doing nothing at all. They just go on about their lives, videotaping themselves even while they sleep, and watching the footage the following morning over breakfast. The couple fights over Katie's belief that they need to seek more help, and Micah's archetypical belief that he can handle the situation himself with just his video camera. The scary moments are always successful if too far apart, and the banter between the couple is often very funny. Every joke works, and every scare is awarded a huge scream from the audience. The achievement of the film is that it is claustrophobic, taking place entirely within a 3 bedroom house in San Diego. Nobody in the movie is well known, so the audience easily believes the drama as seen through this handheld camera. Probably because Katie consistently asks Micah to "turn it off!", "get that camera out of my face", etc.

Paranormal Activity is a very scary movie with the best frights saved for the end. It's really an achievement to have made such a successful, tense horror for such a small amount of money. It's a slow build to get to the punchline, as it were, but if you like horror, and if you signed the petition to get it brought to Houston, then it's definitely worth it.

Paranormal Activity is in theaters now

Produced, Directed and Edited by Oren Peli

Starring Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat

Running Time is 99 minutes

Color

English

Distributed by Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks Pictures

www.paranormalactivity-movie.com

Labels: H-Town News, Moo-vies, Public Service Announcements, Reviews, Things To Do, Things To See

Creg || Link || E-mail || 1 comments

Back again, still sleep-deprived but feeling at least a little bit healthier; thankyew, antibiotics... Which is good, because tonight, in particular, is a veritable bear of a night, show-wise.

Sat., October 3:
Tody Castillo (CD release)/ Springfield Riots @ The Continental Club
Damn, damn, damn. I know it seems weird, given the amazing amount of cool shit going on this evening, but this one show is where I'd really, truly like to be tonight, if I were able to leave the casa. Not only are cool-ass, fuzzed-out retro-psych-popsters Springfield Riots, who I've been really getting into in recent months, opening, but it marks the loooong-awaited release show for Windhorse, the followup to Tody Castillo's mind-destroyingly awesome self-titled debut from back in 2005. I've been waiting for this album for years, seriously, and kept hearing it was right around the corner...only to never have it materialize. 'Til now, that is.

Unfortunately, Tody apparently lives in Austin these days, but he seems to be popping up regularly down here, with is a very good thing. I've heard Windhorse, btw -- still working on the review, sorry -- and it's pretty great, honestly, although it's a near-180 from his older, poppier stuff. The heady Fountains of Wayne-esque pop rush of songs like "Brainwashed" is replaced this time out by more somber, thoughtful, almost Sun Kil Moon-ish indie-folk leanings, and while it's different, it's definitely still good.

If you want some more in-depth info on the new album & other Tody-related happenings, David over at Houston Calling has a very, very nice, well-thought-out writeup over here, plus an MP3 of "Tall Pines" you can download & hear for yourself. Check it out.

Common/The Roots/Elizabeth The Band @ The Corinthian (202 Fannin)
This is a cool one, too, if a teensy bit more high-profile. It's the Houston stop of the Hennessy Artistry, tour, the blatant product tie-in of which initially made me wary, I'll admit -- the last time I went to a product tie-in show, it was the bizarro Camel-sponsored Kings of Leon/Stills show at The Meridian, and my eyes burned from the smoke. But heck, with cognac, at least the second-hand effects aren't quite that obvious...

Anyway, I can't fault a show that's got The Roots and Common, both on the same stage, esp. The Roots (how many times has Common been here in the past few months, anyway?) -- I didn't think the hip-hop legends were touring these days, now that they're Jimmy Fallon's (ick) house band.

American Fangs/Windsor Drive/the last place you look/The 71's/The Wonderful Future @ Fitzgerald's
Full-on floorpunching post-punk rawk goodness at Fitz tonight, and it's a good one. I can't say enough good things about American Fangs, who I truly believe are one of the best damn rock bands in town right now and who're utterly mesmerizing and energetic as hell live. Plus, there's also the last place you look, who're probably my favorite post-emo bands around from here or anywhere; they fill the hole left behind by the collapse of the whole emo craze (which had some definite high points, to my mind). And the last time I saw The 71's, I ended up being pleasantly surprised -- high-energy, kinda over-the-top, New Wave-ish rock, and definitely well done.

Springfield Riots/The Factory Party/Tax the Wolf @ Avant Garden
FYI, I just got word that this show's shifted over to the Avant Garden from Zeppelin -- not sure why, really, but since I've got no clue where Zeppelin is, eh. I've missed the last several shows by the Springfield Riots crew, which sucks, because they're excellent live and on record, and it's been a bit of a hiatus for The Factory Party, whose CD release show this is (I think). I've been able to check out a handful of the tracks so far, and they're impressive in a very Killers-ish way.

The Dodos/The Ruby Suns @ Mango's
And for the second venue shift of the weekend...this show was scheduled to go on at The Orange Show, but the poor Orange Show folks have had to deal with rain once again (seems like a long time since they actually successfully put on a show w/o the weather stepping in, doesn't it?), so it's now at Mango's.

This promises to be a good one, as well -- writer Spencer F.'s got a brand-new review of The Dodos' album, Time To Die, up on the site; check it out here. The Ruby Suns, for their part, are cool, sun-stroked psych-pop madness from New Zealand, so it's a twofer for sure.

Wye Oak/Robert Ellis @ Mango's
Yep, I know -- two shows at Mango's, so which one's the real deal? I hate to say it, but I've got no idea; I'm hoping the Wye Oak show is just early, because I've liked what I've heard from 'em, and I really like Robert Ellis...

Arctic Monkeys/The Like @ House of Blues Honestly, I'm not sure whether or not I like the Arctic Monkeys -- they're a band that I feel like I should like, but eh, I just haven't been bowled over. But hell, I'll stick 'em in here anyway.

Moby/Kelli Scarr @ Warehouse Live
Savoy Special/Hymms @ Rudyard's
Horse The Band/Iwrestledabearonce/All The Way To The Bank/Perfect Disease/At Calvary/Vendetta Diary @ The Meridian (Red Room)
Alie Stillwell/Gypsy Vagabonds @ Notsuoh

Sun., October 4:
Strung Out/Nations Afire/The Flatliners/O Pioneers!!!/Fingers Crossed @ The Meridian
Not nearly as much going on tomorrow, but this one's the absolute standout -- California pop-punks Strung Out headline & aren't bad, but I'm honestly more psyched about mid-liners O Pioneers!!!, who play some of the smartest, most erudite punk rock you're likely to hear.

Windsor Drive/The Wonderful Future/Sour Soul @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)

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

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Yep, got new stuff up this week, including one review for tonight, Sat., September 19th -- local psych-hop mavericks Ghost Mountain are opening for what promises to be a mind-blowing Devin The Dude show tonight up at the Warehouse Live, so we've got a review up of the band's most recent release, the VHS-only Summer Tapes.

If you caught Siamese Sailboats, you've already got an idea of the band's psychedelic/strange mashing-up of electro-pop, primary-color dance rhythms, and nerdy, halfway-confident rapping, and Summer Tapes doesn't stray too far from that musically, although the visuals are pretty damn impressive. The Warehouse Live show's a great opportunity for 'em, esp. considering the folks they're sharing the stage with -- Coughee Brothaz, Fat Tony, & DJ Meshak are all playing, too...

The Ghost Mountain guys may be kids, relatively speaking (I think they just started college), but the art they make, visual or musical, is unique and fearless. And good. Did I mention "good"? The full review's up over here.

Then there's Searching for Signal, who're similarly young yet just as accomplished in their own way. They've got a new EP out, It's So Bright, which takes the band's earlier stabs at indiepop and tosses 'em out the window in favor of delicate, ultra-gentle atmospherics. Think spacerock without so much of the "rock" to it, and you'll get the gist. (And again: good.) The band's playing Bohemeos on Sat., September 26th, so check here for the full writeup before then.

A little further out, writer Suzanne Ivey was kind enough to write up the almost-most-recent album by Fleet Foxes drummer (I think?) Joshua Tillman -- or "J. Tillman," or "Josh Tillman," whichever it is he goes by. She was pretty bowled over by the guy's well-thought-out, deeply spiritual songwriting, so we wanted to get the review up well in advance of his show Thurs., November 26th, up at what'll hopefully be the new Walter's. Full review here.

On the cinematic front, too, film writer Creg Lovett's been busy, not only throwing a timely review of The Informant! our way -- which, incidentally, makes me feel a whole lot better about the movie, because I've read Kurt Eichenwald's book, and it's not the slapstick romp you'd think from the commercials -- up over here, but also recruiting former Public News Music Editor Adam Woodyard to throw in a review of the re-released classic Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, which seems awfully good timing considering the current state of race relations in the country right now.

The review of the latter's up here, and it'll be showing at the MFA this Monday, September 21st. As for The Informant!, it's out in theaters as of yesterday...

Got a bunch more, too, like reviews of the new Placebo & The Guns of Detroit, among others, and a new (but very much belated) "Featured Band" writeup of American Fangs, who're utterly badass, I swear to God, and should be seen by everybody in the Universe. Seriously. The writeup's over here, and here's the whole pile:

Featured Bands: American Fangs

Reviews: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner; Ghost Mountain; The Informant!; Searching for Signal; Placebo; Joshua Tillman; The Guns of Detroit; The Nuclear Children; & Oh No Not Stereo.

More in the next week or so, so keep checking back...

Labels: Featured Bands, H-Town News, Moo-vies, Musical Crap, Reviews, Things To Do, Things To See

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