Not sure if this'll go up before the Blogger cutoff, but hey, it's worth a shot...

Earlier today the Free Press Houston gang pulled back the curtain and revealed some new details about the upcoming Free Press Summerfest (June 5-6). And honestly, it's kind of a mixed bag, for me.

First and foremost, they've now got Houston/Beaumont rap legend Bun B playing, alongside Slim Thug. While that's cool and all, and I do love Bun B, well...I guess I was expecting somebody a little more, um, rare. I mean, Bun played here in town just a week or so ago, from what I hear, guesting with Paul Wall & Chamillionaire. It might be my imagination, but he sure seems to play 'round here pretty regularly, y'know?

What I'm more psyched about, personally, is that Prince Paul will be headlining the official Warehouse Live Summerfest After Parties (along with The Hood Internet); that's a pretty badass addition, if you ask me, but then, I was once a big Gravediggaz fan, and both Stetsasonic and Handsome Boy Modeling School are/were dang good...

Also cool is the fact that the FPHers now have the full festival schedule up online for all to see -- there're even more cool-ass bands listed now than when they originally announced the lineup, and that's no bad thing... Seriously, $30 is still damn cheap for all of this, folks.

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

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

Before I sign off for a bit, though, I wanted to hit some weekend highlights -- and yeah, there're quite a few, so I'm afraid I'm going to just have to list 'em off, for the most part.

Tonight (Fri., April 30th) is a rough one, forcing yours truly to choose between the 2nd installment of the Lost In Space Festival (see here for more on that), checking out coolly old-school indie-rockers The Gary (feat. Trey Pool of Sad Like Crazy, Trompedo, & Celindine; their full-length, Logan, is pretty badass, btw, and I am lame, lame, lame for not yet reviewing the damn thing...) at Rudz, finally enjoying The Western Civilization again after too damn long a time, blissing out to The Crystal Method at Rich's (okay, I'll admit that that ain't real likely; love the Method, tho'), doing the throwback thing to Danneurysm's take on Nirvana, getting my growly, guttural Viking folk-metal on with Finntroll, or grooving down to Chaka Khan at the Arena Theater (okay, that's not likely to happen, either, but the lady's a legend & still deserves a shout-out).

Tomorrow night (Sat., May 1st) is almost as bad. I'm a little ambivalent on The Dead Weather -- while I like The White Stripes and love(d) both The Kills and Discount, so far TDW just hasn't grabbed me like I'd hoped it would -- but it's still bound to be an interesting show. Plus, there's the Mayday Mayhem On Main thing going on over in and around The Continental Club, which has some damn cool people (Something Fierce! Roky Moon & Bolt! woo!), a cool Sedition Books benefit show over at Mango's, and the previously-mentioned Fiesta Movement Houston Battle of the Bands (see here), which also features a ton of cool people. On a closer-to-home note, pal Jason Smith of Alkari will be celebrating the big four-oh over at Rudz -- glass raised in his direction -- and The Mink has Passengers, who I'm looking forward to seeing tonight, and The Tyburn Jig, who do an awesome mashup of countrified surf-rock and Nick Cave gloominess.

On the negative side, I'm told that Van Morrison has decreed that for his show at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Saturday, there will be no alcoholic beverages sold or allowed in. Seriously? Dude, you're fucking Irish -- drinking is practically part of our genetic code, and while I'm not a drinker in general, I find it utterly retarded that Morrison's fans should be expected to just sit back & be teetotalers for the whole damn set. Fair warning, folks who're planning to drive out to The Woodlands for the show...

Then there's Sunday, May 2nd, where we've got Dr. Dog and Deer Tick, the latter of whom is pretty damn good & has been steadily growing on me the past couple of years, so to celebrate them/him coming back through town, here's a cool track off new album The Black Dirt Sessions:

Deer Tick - "20 Miles"

Oh, and reggae legends Toots and the Maytals will be at the House of Blues, playing a show that's honestly probably the one I'm most likely to check out, at least... Beyond that, Sunday also includes cool shows with The Umbrella Man & the Mark May Band at Dan Electro's, stripper-turned-blues diva Candye Kane at The Continental Club, and -- what, you thought I forgot? -- the headshake-inducing Buzzfest XXIV. Whoa, roll that back. You mean to tell me that Buzzfest has now been running for twenty-four fucking years? That cannot be right. I didn't even think The Buzz had been around that long, honestly -- I'm fairly sure they appeared after I got here, and I only got here about 20 years ago, myself.

Anyway, whatever crazy-ass numbering scheme they're using, the 'fest never fails to make me snicker, and this year's no exception -- Limp Bizkit? Really? Jesus... I have to hand it to 'em, though, for bringing in the Deftones (who I love), Metric, and Cage the Elephant. Guess there's always some good lumped in with the godawful, right?

Here's the full list of yr weekend entertainment:

Fri., April 30:
Lost In Space Fest 2, featuring My Education, Yppah, Many Birthdays, The Manichean, Passengers, Exterminating Angels, Golden Cities, Inner Lights, & Together We Are Instruments @ Rooftop of Khon's Bar (2808 Milam; 7PM, $9.99) Six Bands Six Bucks, featuring The Factory Party, Built By Snow, listenlisten, The Seas, Red Falcon, The Rocketboys, The Western Civilization, & DJ Czech One @ Walter's ($6) Bright Men of Learning/Arthur Yoria/The Gary @ Rudyard's The Crystal Method @ Rich's (10PM; $10) Danneurysm (Nirvana tribute)/The Energy (record release) @ Mango's (9PM; $5) Nashville Pussy/Green Jelly/Psychostick/The Bloody Mushrooms/Dogz On Parole @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian) Finntroll/Moonsorrow/Swallow The Sun/Survivors Zero @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian; The Channel)
Mount Righteous/Somosuno/B L A C K I E/Limb/Patsy/Cosmic Sound @ Super Happy Fun Land
Phoenix/Two Door Cinema Club @ Verizon Wireless Theater
Fired For Walking/Language Room/Days Drive @ Dean's Credit Clothing (9PM; $5/$10)
Making Moves: Indie Dance Party and Art Show, featuring Ceeplus Bad Knives, G-Wizz, & Glasnost @ Warehouse Live
Carl Hayn and the Holdouts @ The Big Top
Chaka Khan @ Arena Theater

Sat., May 1:
The Dead Weather/The Ettes @ House of Blues
Mayday Mayhem On Main, featuring George Kinney & The Golden Dawn, Shapes Have Fangs, Something Fierce, Roky Moon & Bolt, Spain Colored Orange, The Mahas, Brandon West & the Black Hats, The Big Black Spiders, Davey Crockett (ex-Guitars), No Resistance, Anarchitex, & Reverberation DJs @ The Continental Club
Fiesta Movement Houston Battle of the Bands, featuring B L A C K I E, Peekaboo Theory, Black Queen Speaks, The Tontons, Tyagaraja, Versecity, Wayside Drive, & Robert Ellis & The Boys @ Warehouse Live (6PM)
Alkari/HRstrut (CD release)/Dune.tx @ Rudyard's
Dead Weather Aftershow, featuring American Sharks, DJ Fredster, & DJ Stiletto @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
Sedition Books Benefit, featuring Cop Warmth, Dissent, The Delta Block, Los Area 51, & Redriver @ Mango's
BURNOUT Afterparty, featuring Passengers, The Bottom Four, & The Tyburn Jig @ The Mink
Van Morrison @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Mike Stinson @ Cactus Music (3PM)
Radio One/Achachay! @ Fitzgerald's
Smile Smile/Jeff Boortz @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
Corners/Satin Hooks/Stolen Library @ Trash Bar (Humble)
Clockpole/Darwin's Finches @ The Float (Galveston)

Sun., May 2:
Dr. Dog/Deer Tick @ Warehouse Live
Buzzfest XXIV, featuring Limp Bizkit, Flyleaf, 30 Seconds to Mars, Three Days Grace, Cage the Elephant, Deftones, Metric, Violent Soho, Crash Kings, Sick Puppies, Seether, 10 Years, Switchfoot, Anchored, & more @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (sold out)
Toots and the Maytals/Johnny King and the Solrockers @ House of Blues
Candye Kane @ The Continental Club
Mark May Band/The Umbrella Man/Mojofromopolis @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar

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

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

...but don't worry -- that doesn't mean that SCR is dead, by any means. It does mean, however, that things are going to be changing fairly drastically in the next week or two, and we can't really flip the switch 'til everything's in place. I'm pretty psyched about the changes, and hopefully once everybody else sees 'em, they will be, too.

The bad part is that after today the blog will be going quiet for a little while, thanks in part to Blogger no longer supporting FTP-ed blogs like ours. sigh. Sometimes things like this need to happen, though, and this has turned out to be a much-needed kick in the pants.

So, to sum up: it's going to get a little sparse here for a bit, but don't panic, we'll be, er, almost right back.

Labels: Admin Stuff, Public Service Announcements, Random Rambling

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

Y'know, I'm already pretty blown away by the lineup for this year's Free Press Summerfest (coming up in just over a month, June 5-6) -- I mean, they've already got The Flaming Lips, Lucero, Mix Master Mike, Cro-Mags, Detroit Cobras, Dead Prez, Stars...the list goes on & on -- so I'm having a bit of a hard time believing the word passed 'round the past couple of days that there's more on the way.

But that's the word, anyway, from Omar & the rest of the Free Press crew (and their kindly Your Name Here & Pegstar cohorts); supposedly tomorrow, May 1st, they'll be unveiling a special, super-secret, "BIG" headliner for the festival (um...bigger than the Flaming Lips? what, is U2 playing now? The ghost of John Lennon?), along with the official schedule & info on a bunch of after-party-type deals.

On the bad side, as of midnight tonight (April 30th), the prices for the 'fest will be going up, from their current price of $25 for the General Admission weekend pass and $55 for the Fancy Pants weekend pass to...um, I have no idea. Higher prices, one assumes, but I'm afraid I dunno the actual numbers. Keep your eyes out for that, too, in case you somehow stupidly haven't already bought your wristband. Trust me: it's going to be worth it, so just go ahead & grab it now...

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

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

Another one I'm woefully behind on mentioning here, I'm afraid... There's a Battle of the Bands show going on tomorrow at the Warehouse Live, sponsored by this Ford Fiesta Movement thing, and it sounds pretty damn cool.

The gist is that a decent-sized pile of local Houston bands -- some of whom I'm already a big fan -- will be playing for a chance to play at this year's Bonnaroo festival (which, fwiw, really shouldn't be held in freaking Tennessee, but in someplace more appropriate for the festival, like, say, Adelaide; there are no kangaroos in Tennessee, as far as I'm aware). Not that whoever wins the battle itself will automatically go, but that the battle will pick the band that gets the chance to go...if Houston beats out other cities.

So, yeah, it's a teensy bit of a longshot (although I hear H-town's up near the front of the pack), and winning is going to require that large numbers of people:

1. people RSVP for tomorrow's BotB -- and no, RSVPing on Facebook does not count; you have to RSVP on the Fiesta Movement site
2. text the word "rockstar" to 44144
3. use the Foursquare app to check-in when you actually go to the show.

And yes, for Houston to beat the rest, you should tell all your friends to do all those things, too. And then, obviously, make it out to the show, a prospect which is made fairly pleasant by virtue of the lineup:

7:00	Robert Ellis & The Boys
7:35	Wayside Drive
8:10	Versecity
8:45	Tyagaraja
9:20	The Tontons
9:55	Black Queen Speaks
10:30	Peekaboo Theory
11:20	B L A C K I E -- Special non-battle performance (i.e., B L A C K I E's not in the running for the Bonnaroo deal, sadly)

I don't know all of the bands above real well, but I fucking love The Tontons & Robert Ellis, and am pretty impressed by both Peekaoo Theory & Tyagaraja -- they're all four good shit. Beyond that, though, hell, I'd love to see any of these bands make it to the Bonnaroo stage. That's a pretty awesome thing to be able to make happen. Most of the rest of the things I've seen like this over the years have had a craptacular pile of suck-ass bands vying for the chance to play some big-name festival somewhere, so it's extremely cool to see that the Houston Fiesta Movement team's put together such a worthy slate of candidates.

So get on out there & support this deal, eh? Do Houston proud. Oh, and if you, like me, are confused as hell as to what this whole "Fiesta Movement" thing is, well, I pestered Team Houston co-captain and local show photographer extraordinaire Mark Austin about what the heck it is he and his partner, Amber Roussel, are doing with this and what it all means. Here's his response:

Thanks for the response. Kinda hard to describe in a email, but basically a grass roots market effort by Ford to promote the new 2010 Ford Fiesta - which pulls in teams of 2 people from 20 cities to compete against one another to showcase their home city - winner wins 2 2010 Ford Fiestas (which we have dedicated one of our potential cars to local charity Noah's Kitchen).

4 missions to pimp Houston. Mission #2 is to promote one local band. If Team Houston drives the most impressions, our band plays Bonnaroo this summer. We know and work with so many bands, that we chose to do a battle that was complete open to the public and judge throughout by a panel of local music professionals. We want Houston's best band to play Bonnaroo.

Scoring of this is driven by sheer # of RSVPs to our battle, SMS code texting and Foursquare checkins at our event. Although Team Houston won Mission #1 of the Movement and are currently in first place, we are trailing Dallas in the Mission #2 scoring and we need some serious help to blow them out of the water and send a Houston band to play Bonnaroo (rather than the crappy one band they have).

We only have 5 days left to close the door on Dallas. Chron is supposed to run a piece tomorrow and we should have radio spots on 94.5 this week, but we could definitely use your help in getting the word out. This lineup is sick and hopefully one of them gets the chance.

So, there you go. Yeah, there is a wee smidge of corporate-ness about the whole thing, but fuck it; who cares? H-town is Corporate City, anyway, and this is a deal that'll benefit Noah's Kitchen, a worthy charity, some excellent local band, and Houston as a whole ('cause you can bet that it'll make the national music news if H-town wins). Again: get out & support, folks.

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

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

Meant to talk about this in detail long before now, but other stuff's been pressing down on me (some of which you'll hopefully be able to see the fruits of very soon), and it's kind of slipped down the pile -- sorry 'bout that, y'all.

My lame slowness is made worse by the fact that tomorrow night's show (that's Friday, April 30th, btw) promises to be a truly badass deal. It's the second-ever installment of the Lost In Space Festival, which some readers might recall from back in December of last year. Yours truly went, and I have to say that I had a blast, even if the original plans to have bands blasting spacerock out under the downtown night skies got scuttled by freezing temps -- some great, great bands, the majority of which I'd never seen before, lots of friendly people, and a generally chilled-out, laid-back, non-hipster atmosphere.

So I'm glad to see co-organizers Marcus Gausepohl and Meghan Hendley have decided to do it again, especially since they're apparently prepared for any inclement weather (and thankfully, the weather's not likely to put me into a hypothermic state like it did last time when I foolishly ventured up onto the roof). It'll be back at the Mekong Center parking lot/rooftop again, up above Khon's Bar, which means I'm psyched once more about checking out epic, majestic walls of guitar sound spiraling up towards the starry skies...

And of course, they've again put together a damn fine pile of bands. They headliners are Fest vets My Education, from Austin, who play moody/melancholy, atmospheric, mostly-instrumental rock that incorporates some cool strings, and local DJ/electronicist phenom Yppah, who's made some big waves in the electronic music world & is now signed to Ninja Tune Recs.

While they're the big names on the flyer, though, neither act is apparently closing out the night -- Gausepohl's own band Golden Cities will be taking that spot, doing their intriguing, almost jazz-inflected spacerock thing before the early morning hours begin. GC were honestly one of the best bands I caught at the first Fest; don't be a wuss and leave early, eh?

Rounding things out are Together. We Are Instruments, who I haven't heard much by as of now, I'm afraid, and Shaun Kelly (Rotten Piece, Sad Pygmy)/Scott Ayers (Pain Teens, Walking Timebombs) project Exterminating Angels, which I have no clue about beyond the pedigree, and Austinites Many Birthdays.

Also playing are newish, '60s-sounding, VU-worshiping, psych-garage rockers Passengers, who I've heard & been impressed by but have yet to see live, Inner Lights, which is the latest brainchild of Kevin Richardson, ex- of The John Sparrow, Sore Loser, and about a million other bands, and which I hear is like Southern-fried Britrock.

Oh, and I cannot forget about The Manichean, who put on a spectacle that truly has be seen to be believed. Not sure how they'll pull it off on the rooftop, but the inside version of the show is like The Decemberists gone Southern Gothic, all murk and complex, intricately-woven songs and ultra-dramatic vocals. I'll grant that it may not be for everybody, but if you can get past the theatricality of it, trust me, it's worth it.

As you can see from the flyer, things kick off at 7PM, and it's all for a measly $9.99. Here's the full schedule, the last I saw it:

7:30-8:00	Exterminating Angels
8:00-8:30	Together. We Are Instruments
8:30-9:00	Inner Lights
9:00-9:30	Many Birthdays
9:30-10:00	Passengers
10:00-10:30	Yppah
10:30-11:00	The Manichean
11:00-11:30	My Education
11:30-12:00	Golden Cities

And hey, since we chatted a bit with the Fest's organizers last time around, I figured it was high time to catch up & see what's up with the new one. Here goes:

SCR: So, why #2? Was the plan all along to make this a series of shows?
Meghan: We had contacted My Education and Many Birthdays about doing a rooftop show back in February, and they were down. We also realized that we had inquiries from other bands that were interested in a rooftop series of concerts. Many of them were acts that we like, and why not combine into one night?

Also, we had so many people ask us to throw another festival after the one in December. We had said "no" originally, especially since spring is crazy...but we're artists and we change our minds all the time. It's also the fact that SXSW didn't wipe us out completely either! The venue was there, bands were willing, and we had recovered enough from the last one to go full steam ahead.

How'd the original Lost In Space go, by the way? I mean, I had a blast, but what was the general response like?
Meghan: Hmm...take a frigid atmosphere, a big husk of a space to shelter those from the cold, 13 bands that all ran on time, Forests, who made our rooftop dreams come true even if it was only for 30 minutes as we huddled under blankets, a devoted and diverse crowd of music fanatics that stayed pretty much for every set, even into early morning hours. Violins, guitars, congas, laptops, video projections, a lava lamp projector, tons of pedals, and lots of good beer. Everyone got paid, we could'nt have been happier. That's why we did it again.

I see some LIS veterans on the bill, alongside the new bands; how did you come up the lineup this time out? Is there any kind of overarching theme going on?
Marcus: A lot of the lineup are bands that were not available to play last year.  I think it's important to have the majority of the bands from the region. Just more artists from the extended family we try to keep in contact with through this or that. My own selfish desire is to bring different people together so that maybe they will go and collaborate in their own ways. This year, we are including different video artists from various communities. Special videos are being made for paticular bands.

I know you folks are planning on trying to do it on the Mekong Center roof again this time. Is there a backup plan, in case a monsoon hits or something? I ventured briefly up to the roof last time and was very glad y'all moved the festivities downstairs...
Marcus: I personally want to throw a music festival in a water park; there's actually a club in Budapest that is in a swimming pool with underwater speakers! But we rented a big tent, so the show will go on. We also have a space downstairs that Golden Cities will be playing in. We can move bands downstairs if need be. So everything should be good, regardless.

Any surprises for this time out? Special guest appearances by members of Can or Jandek or anything like that?
Marcus: Jandek is pretty hard to get a hold of, and he likes to play really early. I love me some Tago Mago, but I doubt I could afford to pay anyone who played on that record. The surprise is in the food! Khon will reveal his special salt toasted tofu fusion taco at 9PM, especially for Lost In Space! My boss is the most amazing cook. The things he can do with a grill and some spices are incredible. We are suggesting a pairing of Saigon Pilsner for our beer drinkers or our German Riesling and Catalina Sounds Sauvignon Blanc for something more adventurous.

Along similar lines, do y'all have a "wish list" of people you'd like to have play a future LIS?
Marcus: I WOULD PAY SERIOUS MONEY FOR A SURFACE OF ECEON OR A YUME BITSU REUNION. Any artists from Strange Attractor or Kranky Records would be great.  Though most of the people I would give my right arm to see are living in Germany somewhere, drinking pilsner and not planning on coming to America.

Meghan: I know many acts that I'd like to raise from the dead somehow... As for me, I'll be realistic although there are many bands, especially since many of my wishlist members are from Europe. I would really like to see The Black Angels come play and to strengthen the Texas theme of the lineup. Every year we bring some of the Austin musicians down. I would like to see this be a continuing theme as we go on. A lot of our friends from out of state are just not touring this far south. So, as time goes on, we will be able to bring different musicians to town.

There you go, folks -- get on out tomorrow night & see a side of downtown you've never seen 'til now...

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

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

Some cool, good, intriguing, and otherwise neat shows going on over the next couple of days, and I'm determined to not let 'em fall through the cracks (like, um, I normally do with the mid-week shows -- sorry, folks...).

On top of the things musical mentioned below, I'd also heartily recommend humorist/writer/whatever guy David Sedaris's show tomorrow night at Jones Hall. Dunno for sure if there are still tickets, but I've seen him before and was mightily, mightily impressed, not having even read any of the guy's books (at that point, anyway; I have since, and most of 'em, esp. Me Talk Pretty One Day are hysterically entertaining & smart like you wish you could be). He's a funny little man, in both senses of the word.

Otherwise, here's what looks good to me:

Tues., April 27:
Coheed and Cambria/Circa Survive/Torche @ Warehouse Live
I can in no way claim to be a huge Coheed and Cambria fan, no, but I do like 'em; I was pretty impressed back when The Second Stage Turbine Blade came out and laid out the band's Rush-gone-metal thesis, which they then went on to flesh out as a freaking comic book. Which is pretty damn cool, as is the fact that the band's somehow maintained the same coherent artistic vision over the past eight years or so. I can't think of another band out there that's managed that feat, particularly while crafting good, ridiculously intelligent, catchy, heavy rock.

Awesome Color/Hair Police @ Mango's
Never managed to catch Awesome Color, unfortunately, but friends with good taste in things musical have recommended 'em to me for a few years now, and what I can find of 'em sounds nicely woozy and warmly '60s-retro, maybe a little like a groovier, less paranoiac Nation of Ulysses. Plus, there's Hair Police, who are fairly guaranteed to peel the paint off the Mango's walls...

Little Joe Washington @ Boondocks
Overkill/Vader/God Dethroned/Warbringer/Evile/Woe of Tyrants @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
The Umbrella Man @ The Continental Club

Wed., April 28:
Megafaun/Breathe Owl Breathe @ Rudyard's
I've only heard a little bit of openers Breathe Owl Breathe, who so far make me think of a more flat-sounding Fleet Foxes in their delicate folkiness, but I have listened to a fair amount of Megafaun and am pretty impressed. In spite of the science-y band name, their sound is more akin to the backwoodsy than it is any kind of sci-fi nerdiness, all rambling guitars, rough-edged harmony vocals, and plucked, Byrds-sounding banjo. Check out a little bit of it below:

Megafaun - "Volunteers"

The band's sound makes some sense, btw, when you learn that the band used to include Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. And yeah, I'm currently liking his old band's new stuff more than I am Bon Iver's (sorry; I'm sure he'd be all broken up to hear that).

Earl Gilliam @ Discovery Green (12-1:30PM)
This one's cool not only because, hey, Earl Gilliam is a bona-fide living blues legend, in Houston or anywhere else, and a phenomenal keyboard player, but also because this is a lunch-break kind of deal they're called "Blues & Burgers" -- the idea is for folks to head on over to Discovery Green on their lunch hour & forget their cares for a while. And on a Wednesday, I bet money there's not a single damn person out there who wouldn't jump at that prospect if they could.

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

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

Holy crap, I cannot believe I (well, nearly) forgot about this. Yes, Steve Martin, that Steve Martin, a man best known for his comedic work but who dabbles in both literary-type things and music, as well (and, um, wins freaking awards for it, no less), will be playing tonight, Monday, April 26th, down in Stafford at the aptly-named Stafford Centre.

He and his backing band, The Steep Canyon Rangers (who're a respectable outfit in their own right), will be doing some of Martin's stuff, off his 2009 album, The Crow, as well as some of the Rangers' own songs. It sounds like it's going be pretty damn neat.

Now, for the bad part: um, the show's sold out, according to both the Stafford Centre & Steep Rangers Websites. Sorry, y'all. Still bore mentioning, though, and who knows? I can't say I've ever seen folks scalping tickets outside the Centre, but I've only ever been there for a ballet recital, so you never know...

And hey, there're a couple of decent consolation prizes going on tonight besides, including the last-minute-ish show tonight up at Mango's with both Sideshow Tramps and one of my ultimate favorite bands, Buxton. I still haven't heard/seen much from the former, but I love the latter; they seem to crank down the country-folk-ish indie-rock tighter & tighter every time I see 'em.

Then there's Boondocks, where Brit-popsters Flowers to Hide are playing tonight, possibly with Inner Lights, who I'm really pretty intrigued by, and Walter's, where local phenom Robert Ellis plays opener for Tony Joe White, a guy who's been playing since, well, before I was born & has had a comeback of sorts the last decade or so.

There you go. Quit complaining & get on out the house...

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

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

Argh. Spent the day mostly blissfully disconnected from all things Internet-like, so I'm only seeing this now... Turns out that there's a surprise Resonant Interval Sound Series show tonight up at the group's new space, which is yet another currently-unused retail area in the Mekong Center building (2808 Milam). They're calling it "The Exoskeleton," which seems fitting after the demise of "The Husk" to make way for a place that sells that weird-ass bubble tea stuff.

Anyway, this week features performers Paul Connolly, who's doing some kind of piece inspired by the film Crash (not the meditation-on-racism film with Sandra Bullock, mind you, but the David Cronenberg film based on the excellently oddball, disturbing J.G. Ballard novel of the same name; I can't speak for the movie, but I read the book a few years back, and it's pretty fascinating) with violist Aaron Bielish, and Ryan Edwards, who's playing solo guitar and singing.

The bad news (well, Part 1 of it, anyway) is that the show's already going on, having started at 7:45PM. Get on over, pay your $5, and catch what you can of it, because sadly, the Sound Series will be ending at the end of July.

Segue to Bad News, Part 2: Main man Lance Higdon (who also plays in Golden Cities, Tambersauro, Wall With One Side, Whatabreaker, and about another dozen bands I can't remember) got a can't-miss offer over in Atlanta, GA., and will be leaving H-town for, um, similarly warm & humid climes. We'll miss you, man -- you do good things.

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

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

Last day of the weekend coming up fast, Sunday, April 25th, and while it's not quite as insane as the past couple of days, there's still plenty going on -- here's the list of what looks good to me, at least:

Like Trains & Taxis @ Dean's Credit Clothing
This one caught me somewhat off-guard, having never heard of Like Trains & Taxis 'til the past week or so. Nevertheless, debut album Tales from a Revolving Door is a well-done, ridiculously polished chunk of what could somewhat accurately be called indie-soul; it blends Ben Folds-ian piano and effortless melodies with playful, soulful vocals that come off like a male version of Adele, a less-playa John Legend, or a funkier, less surf-y Jack Johnson. It's gentle and smooth and mellow and, frankly, pretty damn cool. Neo-soul music both you and your parents can dig. (And no, that's not always a bad thing. Hell, I was proud back in college when my mom got into Metallica; admittedly, it was the black album, but still...)

Trout Fishing In America @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck (two shows; 2PM & 6PM)
I swear, one of these days I'm going to drag the six-year-old out to see one of Trout Fishing In America's "kid show" performances; unfortunately, other events are conspiring against us for today, but someday soon, honest. The band typically does two shows at the Mucky Duck, one at 2PM for kids and another "adult" show at 6PM -- not that there's anything racy or bawdy at the "adult" show, mind you, just that there're fewer flat-out kid songs like "When I Was a Dinosaur". (And yeah, I think they play that one at the later shows, too.) These guys are bona-fide entertainers, friendly and warm and smart and clever, playing songs that'll make you sing along even as you cringe a little (the first time, anyway) and then realize you're still humming a week later.

Shock Treatment, featuring Blackmarket Syndicate, The American Heist, & Pseudo Section @ Rocbar
I've raved at length about Blackmarket Syndicate in this here blog a few times before, I know, but hell, they're worth the repeated mentions. They're a band I've sadly never gotten to see live, which sucks (for me, that is), but I'm happy to see 'em playing a lot more frequently lately; they're currently doing somewhat of a residency type deal at the Röcbar in downtown, playing the "Shock Treatment" shows each Sunday for the next few months, so get on out to see 'em. Definitely worth a listen, esp. if you're into Social Distortion-style country-tinged punk rock. And hey, what I've heard of The American Heist is pretty cool, too.

iFest, featuring Steel Pulse, Rebirth Brass Band, Cecil and Rainel Pino Orchestra, Sideshow Tramps, D.R.U.M., McTeggart Irish Dancers, Sarah Hickman, Women of Haiti, The Wild Moccasins, Monte Adento featuring Lourdes Jimenez and Jorge Lebron, Lil Brian Terry & the Zydeco Travelers, Baaba Maal, DJ Kasanova, Oyu Oru Afro-Cuban Dance Ensemble, Los de Abajo, Janiva Magness, Orgullo Vallenato, Idiginis, Dominica Dancers, Second Generation Dancers, Mariachi MECA, Ned Sublette, Dubtex, Tony Vega Band, Los Parranderos and Mocko Jumbie Stilt Dancers, Salsa Eddy Salsa Dancers, Sean Richards, Abhinaya School of Indian Dance, & Grupo de N'golo African Capoeira @ Downtown
The final day of the weekend and the final day of this year's International Festival, to boot. And they're going out with a bang, to my mind, both in terms of headliners & local bands. Steel Pulse and the Rebirth Brass Band are the big names today, and I've got a lot of respect for 'em, but honestly, it's folks like Houston reggae legends D.R.U.M., good-hearted indie-pop kids The Wild Moccasins (who've got a CD release show coming up May 21st, btw, and are just back from touring the Midwest & Northeast), Dubtex, & Sideshow Tramps that I'm more excited about.

Runners-Up:
J Wail/Luke Lukas/Wiggins and Rizk @ Super Happy Fun Land
2010 Texas Crawfish & Music Festival, featuring Shake Russell, Deep Ella, Phil Pritchett, Seabird, Bon Ton Mickey, Fulton Read, & Miss Leslie @ Old Town Spring (Spring)

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

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

Gotta keep this somewhat short, as an impatient midget is currently demanding I go with her on a bike ride through the 'hood, but there's a ton going on tonight/today (Sat., April 24th), and I didn't want to miss mentioning it:

iFest, featuring George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women, Los Skarnales, Texas Johnny Brown, Steel Vibrations, Famous Squad DJs, Studio 8 Dancers, Colombian Orchid Ballet, Danse, Zydepunks, Mi Rumba, HSPVA Jazz All Stars, La Excelencia with Salsa Eddy Salsa Dancers, Oyu Oru Afro-Cuban Dance Ensemble, Taj Weekes & Adowa, Sister Sister y Los Misters, The Suspects, Ned Sublette, Mariachi MECA, Nritya School of Classical Indian Dance, Women of Haiti, Big Al Bettis, Los Pistoleros, Stamina and Mocko Jumbie Stilt Dancers, Baba Ifalade Drum Circle, & Koumanke'le African Dancers @ Downtown
I know I haven't really mentioned the International Festival much 'til now, even though the full lineup's been pretty great. Today, though, is the day my personal faves of the Fest are playing, notably George Clinton & P-Funk, Steel Vibrations, Texas Johnny Brown, Latino old-school ska-punks Los Skarnales, and (best of all, at least to me) rejuvenated trad-ska heroes The Suspects. The Suspects play at 4:30PM, I hear, but check the Website for the full schedule...

Oh, and apparently King Sunny Ade had to cancel due to that freaky-ass volcanic ash plume stopping flights between the Western & Eastern Hemispheres, but as a consolation prize, George Clinton & the gang will be playing an extra-long set. Very cool; maybe that'll sorta-kinda make up for the power being turned off on 'em at the House of Blues the last time they played here.

Spain Colored Orange/Sharks and Sailors @ Dean's Credit Clothing (10PM; $7)
Heard the word recently that Gilbert Alfaro of Spain Colored Orange is now booking bands for Dean's Credit Clothing (the Main St. location, next to Notsuoh), and this looks like his handiwork. Very cool, esp. since it's one of the first few shows the Sharks and Sailors gang has done since their return to the land of the living. Which is a damn good thing, btw, 'cause they're one of the tightest, coolest, most intriguing bands in town, whether they're doing the heavier, Isis-like stuff or the more meditative, atmospheric stuff.

Scout Bar 6 Year Anniversary Party, featuring The Hunger, Saturate, & the last place you look @ Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
Crazy to think The Scout Bar's only been around 6 years -- seems like the place has been there forever, honestly. And while I have been known to poke fun at some of the bands that've played there, I can't hate; this place is the only real venue in the Clear Lake area, and it deserves applause for sticking it out out there in the lakeshore zone. Plus, the anniversary show features the last place you look, who're one of my favorite bands and whose 2009 full-length, See the Light Inside You, is like picture-perfect heavy emo.

listenlisten/Western Giants/Baruch The Scribe/Airon Paul Dugas @ IndieHouston House (1816 Calumet; 8PM, $5)
Hadn't heard about this one 'til relatively recently, but it sounds pretty dang cool, not only because bleak, backwoods gospel-inflected folk guys listenlisten are playing (and they're always heart-rendingly awesome), but also because Houston expat Airon Paul Dugas, who I'd heard had moved up to Seattle, is also on the bill. I sadly never got to see him when he lived here, but I heard really, really good things...

Holy Wols Front Porch Tour @ Various Heights-area porches
This one's kind of a cool concept; the two bands Wols (or is it "The Wols"? no idea...) and Golden Arrow Holy Face will be bouncing around from one porch to another all throughout the afternoon today, playing different songs at each place, and it sounds like a neat, friendly, cozy time for all. See here for more details, courtesy of Ramon over at 29-95.com.

The Literary Greats @ Cactus Music (3PM)
A nice afternoon break today at Cactus, with music courtesy of cool, smart, effortlessly catchy countrified popsters The Literary Greats, who've put out two truly mind-blowingly cool full-lengths so far and look poised to do a lot more.

The Lotus Effect (CD release)/The Live Lights/Ellypseas @ Walter's (9PM; $10, includes EP)
This promises to be a good one, too -- I've only heard bits & pieces of The Lotus Effect so far, unfortunately, but I like what I have heard. They're alt-rock, somewhat in a heavy-rock vein, but with nicely soulful vocals. I'll admit to being a little biased, because frontman Dre Giles is a good dude, but they're darn good nonetheless...

Freddie Gonorrhea Benefit Show, featuring Freddie Gonorrhea & The Gunz, Cop Warmth, Days N' Daze, Room 101, Alimanas, Atom Assassin, Muhammad Ali, Pseudo Section, The Examples, & Pregnant Pope @ Super Happy Fun Land (6PM; $8)
Okay, so there's apparently some kind of backstory to this, and rather than try to encapsulate it myself, I'll just repost what I've been told:

This is a benefit show for our friend Jack or Freddie Gonorrhea from Freddie Gonorrhea & The Gunz.  

About a year ago Jack and his dad were attacked on his own front porch by some Nazi drug dealers/local bullies living in the same apartment complex. They beat him to near unconscious and split open his face, nearly killing him. He called the police from 2 different phones before the fight began but they took too long to respond and he ended up in the hospital. About a 3 weeks ago undercover police officers came into Super Happy Fun Land and arrested him for Aggravated Assault. We raised the money to bail him out but now he is facing large lawyer fees merely to prove his innocence. We believe that an innocent man being unjustly perpetrated by the justice system should not have to bear the sole monetary responsibility of his freedom, and we ask your help in raising the money for a lawyer and to prove that they can not pick on an innocent person without getting more people involved.

Naturally, this one's also noteworthy for the helping-others thing, but also because cool-ass bands Room 101, Cop Warmth, and Muhammad Ali are playing. Good shit.

Runners-Up:
Local Natives/Suckers @ Mango's
Carolyn Wonderland/Carrie Ann & The Apocalyptics @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar
Andrew Karnavas (CD release)/Runaway Sun @ The Continental Club
Jeff Beck @ Verizon Wireless Theater
Pasadena Napalm Division/Burn The Boats/HRA @ Rudyard's
7th Annual MDA Crawfish Boil & Music Festival, featuring Jack Edery & Ultra Suede, Todd Fritsch, Bo Cox, & Adam Hood @ Firehouse Saloon
Sander Keinenberg/Tager & Funk/DJ Matthias/Adam Fox/Marlon Mancilla/DJ Lullaby/Jasmine Rose/Courtney Shay/Candice Elliot/Jessica Partin/Randall Jones/Bobby Blyss @ Stereo Live (6400 Richmond; formerly Bar Rio)
Commie Hilfiger/Skeleton Dick/Jane Doe Eyes/Letters To Voltron @ Fitzgerald's
2010 Texas Crawfish & Music Festival, featuring Max Stalling, King's X, Brian Jack & the Zydeco Gamblers, Jason Allen, Paris Green, Pauline Reese, Peekaboo Theory, Nooney & the Zydeco Floaters, John Evans, Full Service, Dimitri's Rail, Country Allstars, Fred Rusk & the Zydeco Hi Steppers, Moose Knuckle, & Without A Face @ Old Town Spring (Spring)

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

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

Damn, damn, damn. Well, I did have this grand plan of getting a bit of an early jump on the week's/weekend's shows, but sadly, other stuff intervened. And now, sadly, I am reduced to the grinding-it-out, day-by-day mess I typically end up doing. I need a time machine. Anybody got one I could borrow?

Anyway...there's plenty of good stuff going on tonight, Friday, April 23rd, but first, a little bit of show-related news. Got word recently that rockabilly/country gal Rosie Flores has had to cancel her May 1st show here at the NiaMoves Listening Room -- apparently she was in Chicago a week or so ago, about to go running with The Mekons' Jon Langford, when she fell and broke her left arm.

It was a nasty break, we're told, and while she is planning to get out on the road again soon, she is (like a lot of musicians) without any kind of health insurance, and medicine, unfortunately, is pretty expensive these days. Some kind folks are trying to raise money to help cover the costs of the medical care, so if you're up for that, head on over here and do the ChipIn thing.

Beyond that, astute observers of the shows list might notice that, well, shit's been bouncing around all over the place. The Onstage Events folks have indeed parted ways with Wired Live (aka The Meridian), but since the original shift of a bunch of Wired Live shows over to their new venue, The Warsaw (aka The Engine Room, long may she sail), some of the shows -- the Obituary/Weight of Respect gig and the Deadbolt/Poor Dumb Bastards gig, in particular -- have moved a second time. The former will now be at Numbers, while the latter's a joint deal with D'netta Jet Setta and will be at Rudz. Got it? Good.

We've got a couple of new reviews up, btw, of the oh-so-timely variety -- there's a review of Beach House's Teen Dream, from a month or two ago, written up by Chris Galis, as well as a review of local guys The Pant Factory's Omnigatherum, from back when they were The Ultra Siberian Pant Factory. Check 'em out here and here, respectively. Now, with that out of the way, here's what looks good for tonight:

Beach House/Washed Out @ Walter's
The biggie of the evening, by far, but be warned: I've heard reports that this has been sold out for a day or so already. Dang. But hey, if you want to roll the dice & see if the Door Gods smile upon you, it's bound to be pretty well worth it -- I've been liking Beach House's Teen Dream so far, with its drift-y, sleepy jangle and Band of Horses-esque vocals, so I'd recommend 'em, for sure. (Apparently I'm not the only one -- per their Myspace, the next week of their tour is all sold out. Wow.) Don't know Washed Out at all, I'm afraid, but I've heard good things...

The Small Sounds/Elkhart @ Rudyard's
I feel like I talk about The Small Sounds all the damn time, I know, but honestly, I just can't help it. They're currently one of the bands I most love to watch here in our fair city, and given the glut of good bands floating around these days, that's saying something. The sweet, country-folk stuff is what I like the best -- it's hard to beat the band's delicate touch on "Leave Virginia, Girl" or "Mothers and Daughters" -- but the last time I saw 'em play, they really tore shit up on the rockers, too. And besides all that, they're all genuinely nice, humble guys who, to a man, give off this "aw-shucks" vibe. These guys know their stuff and love to play it, simple as that. Hard to beat, in my book.

Pant Factory/ Vehement Burn/Giant Battle Monster @ Fitzgerald's
And up at Fitz, it's a night of spastic, weirdball prog-metal, no holds barred. Dunno Vehement Burn, but I've liked what I've heard by The Pant Factory, despite the bizarro name-switchery, and when I finally caught Giant Battle Monster at The Festival at Mink 2 a while back, I was utterly bowled over. If you've ever wondered what it might sound like to electrify the stage while, say, Coheed & Cambria were playing, well, GBM are pretty much that sound. Wild, weird, raw, & loud, but still compelling as hell.

From Guts To Glory/Mothers Anthem/Defying Grace/Adelaine @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
Talked about this band a few times lately, too, but I'll say it again: I'm really digging Adelaine's post-emo, Cruiserweight-ish sound. Yeah, I'll admit to having a soft spot for emo bands with female vocalists (especially ones that sound like they'd smash in your car's windows before they'd curl up and wither away in sorrow), but even with that in mind, these folks are good.

Humut-Tabal/Spectral Manifest/Sculpting Atrocity/Nemontemi/The Nephilim Terror @ Avant Garden
Whoo, boy. This one would be fun just for the spectacle -- there's little entertainment better than watching hipsters & hippies scurry when the death-metal dudes crank up the guitars. High-five to whoever booked this show at the Avant Garden, y'all...

Runners-Up:
Floorbound/This Year's Tiger/The Banner Year/Dreaming of June/Legacy Fails @ Fitzdown
Chamillionaire/ Paul Wall @ House of Blues
Kuumba Freeque/Satin Hooks/Nonsense Music Band (CD release) @ Notsuoh
Bee vs. Moth/Chairs/Jake Swan @ Super Happy Fun Land
Cosmic Prom, featuring Moullinex, Xenobi, Damon Allen, GRRRL Parts, Angie Audio, Spinnin Kitties, & DJ Cuba Gooding Jr. @ The Mink
Hell's Belles (AC/DC tribute)/Honky/Adrian and the Sickness/Picture Book @ The Continental Club
Jimmie Vaughan and The Tilt-A-Whirl Band @ Warehouse Live
The Big One, featuring K-Rino, The 144 Elite, Sniper and Re-Up Ent., Rapper K, Ganxsta Nip, David Sha, The South Park Coalition, & more @ Club Red Rooster (4937 MLK @ Old Spanish Trail)
2010 Texas Crawfish & Music Festival, featuring Mickey & the Motorcars, Heartless Bastards, Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco Roadrunners, Kozmic Pearl (Janis Joplin tribute), Honeybrowne, Jeff Boortz Band, Mike Stinson, Gerard Delafose Zydeco Band, & Charlie Lucas Band @ Old Town Spring (Spring)

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

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

Yet another one of those weekends when we Houston-dwelling folks are spoilt for choice, seriously; there's enough good stuff going on tonight & tomorrow that if you claim to be bored & unable to find anything good in Houston, music-wise, you're a fucking idiot. Here goes:

Sat., April 17:
sIngs (CD release)/ Casiotone for the Painfully Alone/Sharks and Sailors/Young Mammals/ B L A C K I E @ Mango's (8PM; $8, incl. CD)
The top pick of the evening, absolutely -- and yeah, I say that even with the next show below looming large, because this one's literally packed full of awesomeness. There're three bands I dearly love playing: brooding, heavy/soft atmospheric rockers Sharks and Sailors, who're thankfully not dead like I thought they might be (see awesome interviews with 'em by David Cobb & Ramon Medina up here and here); smart, catchy, insanely energetic indie-pop heroes Young Mammals; and dark-side-dwelling B L A C K I E, who sounds like he makes his beats using a trash compactor and whatever junk he can find lying around your garage.

On top of that, this also happens to be the CD release gig for sIngs, a local supergroup-ish band that includes members of Buxton, By the End of Tonight, Young Mammals, and probably a dozen other bands I'm forgetting right now. What I've heard of 'em is pretty damn cool, especially the male/female duet songs; the music's nicely dark and murky, sleepy and somewhat electronics-tinged, while still remaining pretty at points, like The Beta Band if they were from Omaha rather than Scotland. And as mentioned previously, tonight's got an added bonus with Casiotone For the Painfully Alone, who always strikes me as being like The Mountain Goats with keyboards & beats...

iFest, featuring Ozomatli, J. Paul Jr. and the Zydeco Nubreeds, Latinology featuring Sarah Fox & Joel Guzman, DJ Kassanova, Mark May Band featuring Miss Molly, Kozzmik Steel, Studio 8 Dancers, Kucheza Ngoma Dancers, Women of Haiti Dancers, Sisters Morales, Grupo Ka-che, Brave Combo, Joe Ely Band featuring David Grissom, Bachata Roja Legends featuring Puerto Plata with the Strictly Street Salsa Dancers, Los Parranderos and Mocko Jumbie Stilt Dancers, Easy Star All-Stars, Marcia Ball, Mariachi Palmview, Mitch Jacobs Band, Truth Universal, LINC International Choir, Ballet Folklorico Palmview, Moving Stars Tassa Group, Shark Attack, Voodoo Brass Band, Irie Time, Baba Ifalade Drum Circle, Anjali School of Indian Dance, & Kuumba House Kids @ Downtown
Yep, iFest is upon us, and I've gotta give it to 'em for putting together an impressive lineup that includes both local folks and out-of-towners. Ozomatli are pretty damn cool, and there's always a soft spot in my soul for Brave Combo...

The Dead Rabbits/Pseudo Section @ The 19th Hole (The Woodlands)
Dunno Pseudo Section, but I've been seriously enjoying "Irish punk rock" crew The Dead Rabbits since I first heard 'em a month or two ago. They're not all that "punk," really, but are closer kin to The Tossers than anything else in their fiery, speedy, folk-with-electric guitars, although there's some resemblance to the more trad-leaning tunes of the Dropkick Murphys & Flogging Molly, too. One of the better "new" bands I've run across lately, I swear.

Record Store Day 2010, featuring Freddie Steady Five, Grandfather Child, & sIngs @ Cactus Music (1PM; free!)
Sig's Lagoon Swap & Bop, featuring The El Orbits, The Umbrella Man, & DJ Psychedelic Sex Panther @ Sig's Lagoon/The Pachinko Hut
Yeah, I already talked about these already, but they bear re-mentioning; go here for the details...

2010 Texas Crawfish & Music Festival, featuring Charlie Robison, Dev Electric, Leon Chavis & the Zydeco Flames, Aaron Watson, Forever Falls, Right to Refuse, Designer Drugs, Nooney & the Zydeco Floaters, John D. Hale, Buxton, Foster, Turnpike Troubadours, Fred Rusk & the Zydeco Hi Steppers, John McConnell, & Without A Face @ Old Town Spring (Spring)
King Britt/DJ Sun/Seth Jones @ Numbers
James Rivera's Birthday Bash, featuring Helstar, Sabbath Judas Sabbath, Phantom X, The Hectic, Force Of Genocide, & Soul Removed @ Fitzgerald's
Vagabond Swing/Jim Trainer @ Notsuoh
Reverberation, featuring DJ Psychedelic Sex Panther, DJ Paisley Pilgrim, DJ Baby Jesus, & DJ Andrew Lee @ Boondocks
Martin Burniston's Bawdy Night @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck

Sun., April 18:
The Texas Buzz, featuring Local H, Kinch, & The Gold Sounds @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
No, you read that right -- heavy rock duo and moderately-big '90s icons Local H are indeed playing down in Clear Lake at The Scout Bar. Turns out the band never actually called it a day, but after "Bound for the Floor" faded from the radiowaves, they just continued plugging away below the surface, bouncing from label to label while staying relatively big in their Chicago 'hood. Glad to see they're still alive & kicking. Adding to the fun are Deer Park's own garage-y/glam-y Gold Sounds, one of my all-time favorite bands around the Houston area & a fine matchup for the Chicagoans. Head south, young man...

Michale Graves/Los Desconocidos /Always Guilty/The Dead Rabbits/Days N' Daze/Joe Ray @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar (8PM; $10/$13)
No, I'm not particularly a fan of The Misfits; I missed the boat the first time around and just didn't get it when I finally did hear 'em in college, y'know? I can appreciate their legacy, though, and so a show with 2nd Gen Misfits frontman Michale Graves is pretty notable for that alone, even to a non-afficionado like me. Plus, a second Dead Rabbits show in a weekend's no bad thing. (You really ought to check out Mel House's review of Graves' last show 'round here, too.)

Toxic Noise, featuring DJ Bakka @ Big Star Bar
Not a "show," per se, but this one's notable for being a shindig in quasi-honor of Houston Press scribe Craig Hlavaty, who's a good writer, damn funny, and good people in general. Go buy the dude a beer. (Oh, and DJ Bakka will apparently be spinning lots of Mötörhead in Craig's honor...)

Resonant Interval Sound Series, featuring Conference Call @ Mekong Shopping Center rooftop (8PM; $12)
I'm afraid I dunno a thing about Conference Call, sorry, but I'm pretty psyched on the Resonant Interval Sound Series in general; anybody they bring in is guaranteed to be interesting, at the very least. And hey: a rooftop show? Always cool.

Gorilla Productions Battle of the Bands, featuring Krunkquistadors, G.S., John Farley & the Wild Turkeys, Axion, Robert Len Stallard, Bud Playground, Blackfield Asylum, Lay to Waist, Adelaine, The Paperwaits, & Gun Wielding Cougars @ Fitzgerald's
Dunno most of these folks, I'll freely admit -- isn't that the cool part of "Battle of the Bands" shows, anyway? -- but I do know Adelaine somewhat and have been really liking their Cruiserweight-like post-emo rock. They're one of the best local bands I've run across lately, at least in the alt-rock vein...

Heard good things by/about Krunkquistadors and The Paperwaits, too; they're both worth checking out. A headshake and skeptical look goes to the awfully-named Gun Wielding Cougars, however -- really, guys, you had to go there? All I can hope is that you're referring to mountain lions...

Shock Treatment, featuring Nurse Ratched & Society of Bandits @ Rocbar
This one's not so much "good" as "entertaining"; I've got no idea what they sound like, but Nurse Ratched apparently consists of ex-members of hair-metal outfits Brittney Fox and the Bullet Boyz. Both of which were, um, something for their time, that's for damn sure.

iFest, featuring Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band, Tab Benoit, Karina Nistal, New Orleans Hustlers Brass Band, Truth Universal, DJ Jason and the Catalyst, Ambassadors International Ballet Folklorico, DrumBREAK, Lourdes Jimenez, Chris Bell & 100% Blues, Norma Zenteno Band, Marcia Ball, Mighty Diamonds, Neutral Sister with Mr. Blacc Sheep and Yard Band, Bachata Roja Legends featuring Puerto Plata with Strictly Street Salsa Dancers, Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba, Curtis Poullard and the Creole Zydeco Band, Tekumbe, Robert Ellis & The Boys, Women of Haiti Dancers, Young Harmonies of Houston, Ballet Folklorico Palmview, Stephanie Coley Caribbean Poet, Mariachi Palmview, Houston Caribbean All-Star Dancers, Stamina and Mocko Jumbie Stilt Dancers, Sean Richards, Natya Upasana Indian Dance Academy, & Cookie Joe's Dancin' School @ Downtown
Hamilton Loomis @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar (4-7PM)
2010 Texas Crawfish & Music Festival, featuring Gary P. Nunn, Bo Cox, Davin James Band, Chuck Allen Floyd, Bon Ton Mickey, Maximus, & Country Allstars @ Old Town Spring (Spring)

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

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

UPDATE: Argh. I suck. In my haste to slap something up here about Record Store Day, I totally neglected to mention one of my favorite bastions of music-dom, Sig's Lagoon. Which is particularly stupid since today they're having their quasi-annual Swap 'n Bop (both at Sig's and at The Pachinko Hut, nearby), with lots of cool stuff for sale, food, and music by The El Orbits, The Umbrella Man, & Psychedelic Sex Panther, on top of the exclusive RSD stuff. Sorry, Sig's folks -- didn't mean to leave y'all out in the cold...

It may be my imagination, but I swear, it seems like this is less an annual deal and more like an every-four-months deal... But hey, I can't hate on Record Store Day, esp. since it always means fun stuff (and some cool freebies, too) at Cactus.

And yep, today (Sat., April 17th, that is) is no exception. In addition to all the exclusive stuff they'll be selling today -- see on over here for a comprehensive list -- the Cactus crew will have free (I think?) St. Arnold's on hand, plus a trio of cool-ass musical acts:

• 1PM -- sIngs
• 3PM -- Freddie Steady 5
• 5PM -- Grandfather Child

Admittedly, I haven't actually heard Freddie Steady, and I've only heard a bit of local supergroup sIngs so far -- and what I've heard's been darn good -- but I'm a big fan of Grandfather Child's raw, full-on slide-guitar blues-rawk. Can't say enough good things about those guys...

I'd wondered, by the way, if any of the other record stores remaining in this city participate in the Record Store Day thing -- I've just never seen anything from Sound Exchange, Soundwaves, or Vinal Edge about it. Seemed a little weird to think that nobody but Cactus was part of this thing.

But lo and behold, apparently they are -- or, at least, Vinal Edge is. Today'll be a bit lower-key up there on Veterans Memorial (no bands playing, I don't think), but they do have a bunch of the RSD exclusive stuff. So if you live in the northern reaches or the crowds at Cactus keep you away, fret not...

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

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

Hey, all -- it's been utter silence from over here this week, I realize, and I apologize wholeheartedly for that. My life got pretty well swallowed up by the Day Job these past seven days or so, to the point where I'd go home & spend most of my evenings on the couch with the laptop frantically trying to get work shit done. sigh. Goes that way sometimes, folks. I've got to keep this one (relatively) brief, as well, but I didn't want to not mention the ridiculously cool lineup of shows going on tonight.

First of all, though, a couple of show news-related things. First up, apparently Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have had to reschedule the first ten shows of their impending tour, one of which was -- dum-da-de-dum -- scheduled to be right here in Houston on May 16th. That show has now been moved waaaaaaay back, all the way to Friday, September 24th. I'm assuming that if you bought your ticket already, it'll be honored at the rescheduled show (that'd be pretty shitty, if not), but check with whoever you got it from for the details.

Also, a show this Saturday, April 17th, has seen some changes. Casiotone For the Painfully Alone and Magical Beautiful were originally slated to play at The Husk, the now-former pseudo-venue in the soon-to-not-be-empty retail space next to Khon's Bar. Not sure if the fact that somebody's going to be leasing that space shortly prompted the move, but whatever the deal, CFtPA will now be playing over at Mango's as part of the stellar-looking sIngs CD release show (no idea if Magical Beautiful are still playing, tho').

Lastly, while it's likely that everybody in the H-town show-going universe but me probably already knows this, I wanted to mention that it looks like The Engine Room has been resurrected, this time as The Warsaw. Which is a very cool thing, in my book -- boomy though it was (is?), I kinda missed the place. The possibly-bad part, though, is that booker Onstage Events has shifted all its shows after May 14th over to The Warsaw from Wired Live (formerly The Meridian; confused yet?). In fact, there are no shows listed at Wired Live past May, which might not bode well for the venue...

Anyway, here we go for tonight:

High On Fire/Priestess/Black Cobras/Bison B.C. @ Walter's
Hell fucking yes. Ever since Marshall Preddy pointed me towards Quebecois retro-metal dudes Priestess and had me listening to their classic Hello Master nearly nonstop for five months or so, I've been dying to see these guys live. Sadly, since they live in, well, Canada, they just don't seem to tour down this way all that often -- I may be wrong, but I think tonight'll be their very first Houston show, and holy shit is it going to rule.

If you haven't heard the band, they're honestly what you secretly wish all those grungy, fuzzy-edged, '70s-sounding metal/rock bands currently making the rounds would sound like; I swear to God, they're the band you're hearing in your head when you listen to people like Wolfmother and feel just a little bit let down. Beyond that, High on Fire are pretty amazing in recorded form -- to my mind, they're a bit more solidly on the "metal" side of the line, while Priestess are almost more just flat-out "rock" -- and I hear their live shows are killer, too. Sorry to anybody else who's playing tonight, but this is where I'm gonna be.

KTRU Live Vol. 2 Release Party, featuring Ben Godfrey (listenlisten), The Literary Greats, The Secret Prostitutes, & Doggebi @ Avant Garden (8PM)
Oh, boy, this one hurts. In spite of the above, I'd really love to catch this show, too -- I didn't get KTRU Live Vol. 1 'til relatively recently, and I swore a blood oath that I wouldn't drop the ball if the next installment of the "KTRU Live" series came 'round again. And yet, here I am. Argh.

It's even more painful because I freaking love both Ben Godfrey's day-job band, listenlisten, and The Literary Greats; they're two of the best bands in town, bar none, and I could listen to the music they make all damn day long (esp. "On A Rope" and "Listen to the Band," respectively). Get on out to this one and get a copy of the second KTRU comp -- you won't regret it.

Mouse Fire/The Caprolites/Jennifer O'Brien @ Notsuoh
Dang; this one makes tonight quadruply painful, because I missed Mouse Fire the last time they came through town and I really, really wanted to catch 'em this time. They're pretty cool, a Jellyfish-esque indie-pop band with a tinge of Talking Heads weirdness thrown in. See here for a fuller writeup of what they sound like, plus a couple of MP3s.

Benjamin Wesley/Warbler/Robert Ellis @ The Mink (8PM)
Yeah, this one's likely to get overlooked, sadly, with all the heavy-ass metal and KTRU-y goodness going on, and that's a shame, because Benjamin Wesley is one of the most unique songwriters & performers in town right now, with his cool/weird one-man-band thing and the effortlessly laidback vibe; on top of that, all-round musical handyman Robert Ellis shines on his own folky, bluesy, Southern Gothic-sounding songs even more than he does in the dozen or so bands he's currently playing in. Good shit.

Runners-Up:
Murder By Death/Ha Ha Tonka/Linfinity @ Mango's
Girl Shy Screening, featuring music by Two Star Symphony @ Discovery Green (8-10PM)
Driver F/A Goodnight Crisis/Over 9000/Barely Blind/Jerusalem/Altriad/Uprise of the Fallen @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian)
Miss Leslie & Her Juke-Jointers @ Hyde's Cafe (Spring)
Chenoa Farrell & Trustees/Hell's Engine/13 Black Coffins/Vatos Locos/Wild Rabbit Salad @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar
Hub City Stompers/Molotov Compromise/The Failed Attempt/Always Guilty @ Fitzgerald's
Mike Stinson/Ned Sublette @ The Big Top
A Fistful of Soul, featuring Urbane Guerrilla Sound System @ The Mink (9:30PM)
The Holdouts @ Rudyard's
Solas @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Jesse F. Keeler (MSTRKRFT) @ Rich's
The Hot Things/Chelsea Hotel @ The 19th Hole (The Woodlands)
iFest, featuring Mark Towns Latin Jazz Band @ City Hall
2010 Texas Crawfish & Music Festival, featuring Brandon Rhyder, Bang! ('90s metal tribute), Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco Roadrunners, Fondue Monks, Rick Trevino, Vallejo, Gerard Delafose Zydeco Band, Halffnelson, & Tuna Sin @ Old Town Spring (Spring)

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

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

And now it's Sunday, April 11th, and (maybe) surprisingly, there's still quite a bit going on...

Before I go into it, though I'm sad to have to report that it looks like the Wye Oak show I'd been told (a while back, admittedly) would be happening tonight at Mango's, um, isn't. Sorry, y'all -- it's no longer listed on the band's Myspace, and it never showed up on the Mango's calendar, so I'm assuming it fell through. There's still good stuff happening, though; here's my list

Camera Obscura/Agent Ribbons @ Warehouse Live
I haven't heard anything from Glaswegians Camera Obscura lately, but I've really and truly dug what I've heard from 'em in the past, particularly 2006's Let's Get Out of This Country; they've always reminded me of fellow Scots Belle & Sebastian, particularly in the way they come up with these sweet, gorgeous, lush pop songs that still have a sarcastic bite to 'em, although Camera Obscura has (to me, anyway) a lot more of a bumping, grooving Northern Soul sound. I can't help but think of "You Can't Hurry Love" every time I hear "If Looks Could Kill," in particular. Here're a couple of tracks to check out, if you feel like it:

Camera Obscura - "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken"
Camera Obscura - "If Looks Could Kill"

[Note to label/band people: I'm putting this up here strictly for promotional purposes; if asked, I'll take 'em down asap. And for all the freeloaders out there: help the band out by getting off your ass and actually buying the album, eh?]

Astute followers of shows here in town have probably seen the name Agent Ribbons pop up more than a few times lately, btw; they recently moved out to Austin from Sacramento and have been playing quite a bit down here as a result, including at the SXSW Overflow Fest at Super Happy Fun Land. Rather than rehash what I said about 'em then, I'll point you on over this way...

Punk U. II, featuring The Dead Rabbits, Chelsea Hotel, Vatos Locos, The Vag Scabs, Dead To The World, Pseudo Section, The Cunts, Brutally Normal, Abide, Penny Arcade, Obama Nation, Capital Gain, & The Missfit Girls @ Cardi's (Pasadena; $10)
I have yet to hit the new location of Cardi's out in Pasadena (frankly, I just don't get out that way real often, sorry), but tonight they've got a cool-sounding punk showcase on the calendar for tonight, Punk U. II, that makes me think it's a place worth checking out...

Most intriguing to me, at least, are the recently-formed Dead Rabbits, a nicely-done Irish folk-punk band that's very reminiscent of both Dropkick Murphys and The Tossers (more the former than the latter, admittedly, but with the Tossers' more varied instrumentation); what I've heard so far has been pretty darn good, and I seriously want to hear more.

Headliners Dead to the World sound pretty cool to me, too, and writer William K. was kind enough to write up a review of their self-titled demo on up over here. They're old-school, straight-ahead punk rock, reminiscent to yours truly of stuff like Avail or Social D, and what I've head so far's promising. I always dig both Vatos Locos & Chelsea Hotel, too...

Shock Treatment, featuring Dickey Hands, The American Heist, & Born Liars @ Rocbar
A nice lineup of cool-ass punk bands at Röcbar, they of the dubiously-placed ülaut -- it's funny, actually, to see primo garage-rawkers Born Liars on the bill, given the stories I've heard...didn't they get themselves permanently banned from the place a couple of years ago for referring to it as "Cockbar" during a Houston Press Music Awards set? Hopefully this means the Röcbar crew had a sense of humor about the whole thing...

Either way, the Liars themselves are ridiculously badass, as raw and gritty and bluesy as garage-rock should be, and The American Heist (briefly known as Born Anchor) are pretty cool, too, in sort of a Social Distortion vein (albeit with a bit more of a country twang, I think).

Resonant Interval Sound Series, featuring Melanie Jamison & The Great Travis Kerschen @ The Husk (2808 Milam; 7:45PM, $5-$10)
This one's been a little up in the air, it sounds like... First, The Husk, the empty retail space next to Khon's Bar where the bulk of the Resonant Interval shows have been held, is up for lease, so it's not entirely certain whether this show'll be there or next door at Khon's proper. My advice? Park in the Mekong shopping center lot around 7:45PM and follow the loud, strange noises.

Beyond that, the original guest for tonight, The Drink Up, Honey, couldn't make it, so instead the show'll feature Melanie Jamison, an H-town expat dwelling in NYC 'til recently. Here's the official word on what she's like:

Melanie is a recent returnee from New York City, where she studied interdisciplinary artforms (including compositions lessons with minimalist scion La Monte Young). She is currently pursuing graduate work in art in Houston & collaborating with a number of artists across several disciplines. We will be performing some electroacoustic pieces this weekend, accompanied by video art by Aisen Chacin.

Also playing is The Great Travis Kerschen, the latest project of local noise/experimental maven Travis Kerschen (duh), known for both the stellar A Thousand Cranes and the new-ish (but promising) Fiskadoro. I dunno quite what it's going to be like, but I hear it's more noise-y than his other stuff. Which, um, is a little interesting, since the other stuff is pretty noise-y in itself...

House of Hits: Goldstar & SugarHill Book Release Party, featuring The Allen Oldies Band, The El Orbits, John Evans, & Nick Gaitan & The Umbrella Man @ The Continental Club
Already talked about this one a little bit, but I wanted to prod & remind, nonetheless, 'cause it's bound to be good...

Runners-Up:
Blessthefall/Miss May I/Greeley Estates/Before Their Eyes @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian)
Danny O'Flaherty @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
2010 Texas Crawfish & Music Festival, featuring Adam Carroll, Owen Temple, Andrew Green, Fight to Rescue, Davin James, Brian Burns, Tommy Alverson, Bon Ton Mickey, Right to Refuse, & Music Tribe @ Old Town Spring (Spring)

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

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

Yep, it's Saturday, April 10th, Day #2 of your weekend musical madness, and plenty more going on; here's the rundown, although I'll have to keep it somewhat brief, I'm afraid:

Black Congress (7" release)/Omotai/Golden Axe @ Rudyard's
My top pick of the evening, although it's definitely a close thing. I still need to see instro-metal heroes Golden Axe live, but I've seen pseudo-supergroup Black Congress, whose all-out hardcore-meets-Jesus Lizard assault is nicely raw and belligerent live, probably more so than any band 'round here since the Guilloteens meandered off into the sunset. And hey, it's their 7" release show (maybe; they've promised it at least once before, I believe), which is always cool.

The real draw for me, though, is old-ish newcomers Omotai, a group made up of (ex-)members of Kvalla, Sharks and Sailors, & Subjugator. Haven't seen 'em live yet, unfortunately, but I've heard their debut EP, Peace Through Fear, and it's pretty impressive -- heavy, bass-y, metallic, turbulent rock that points to both Unsane and Isis, with dual male/female vocals. Expect a review of it soon, but in the meantime, believe that it's damn good. (Read a bit more about the band here.)

The Suspects/The Presidents @ The Continental Club
Said it before, but I'll say it again: few bits of news over the past few years have made me happier than when old-school ska guys The Suspects decided to give things a second go. They're a classic, a band that's blown a lot of bigger-name bands off the stage, and well worth checking out.

As an added bonus, the show features another old-school band from the mists of H-town Bands Past, The Presidents -- I never saw 'em when they were around, but when I first came to Houston I read nothing but glowing reviews of the band. Hopefully the years in between haven't dulled 'em at all.

19th Annual KTRU Outdoor Show, featuring Rafter, Fat Tony, Ghost Mountain, Wasp and Pear, Space City Gamelan, Rachel Buchman's Homemade Band, & Office Party @ Rice University campus (1:30PM-9PM)
Already talked about this one some, so I won't hit it again, except to say that it's still going on, and yes, you really should check it out...

The Freeze/Sober Daze/ H.R.A./Room 101/Obama Nation @ Walter's ($10; 8PM)
I can't claim to be real familiar with The Freeze, honestly, but I know they're pretty damn influential, and the local folks playing are pretty damn good, particularly oddball Room 101. And yeah, the name "Obama Nation" cracks me up...

Anything Box/ Provision/DJ Rob/DJ Marc Nicholson @ Numbers
Really? Anything Box? Of "Living In Oblivion" fame? Wow. I'm kind of amazed they were able to get Numbers and not some sportsbar out in the sticks.

2010 Texas Crawfish & Music Festival, featuring Hayes Carll, Nightbird (Fleetwood Mac tribute), Brad Randell & the Zydeco Ballers, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Robert Ellis & The Boys, Jesse Dayton, Sideshow Tramps, Nooney & the Zydeco Floaters, Jason Eady, Tyagaraja, The Blue Hit, Amber Digby, Fred Rusk & the Zydeco Hi Steppers, & Magnus Heart @ Old Town Spring (Spring)
I know it's already been going on for a while today, but this is still worth mentioning, I think, particularly because Tyagaraja and Robert Ellis & The Boys are both playing at some point today (not sure when; check the schedule), and whatever either one of those guys touches is pretty much gold, to my ears.

Runners-Up:
While You Were Gone @ Carrie's Coffee Mill (Conroe)
Holly Golightly & The Broke-Offs/Duncan, Johnson, and the Gentleman/Wife @ Mango's
This Year's Tiger/The Anchor & Bob Showdown @ Trash Bar (Humble)
Busted Sound Fest, featuring The Dead Rabbits, The Failed Attempt, Always Guilty, HRA, Los Desconocidos, Gutter Rats, Moochers, Obama Nation, The Pins, Cop Warmth, Dekayoss Wreckage, Atomic Assassins, Oscuridad Social, Action Frank, Kretas Bufonas, Morrow Librates, Sucker Fish, KTMC, & Dona Florinda @ The Hot Dog Shop (6405 Brittmoore; 3PM, $6/$8)
Old 97's/Telegraph Canyon @ House of Blues
Project Armageddon/Owl Witch/Flesh Eater/Malacrom/Bound In Flesh/Erebus/Nemontemi/Venomous Supremacy @ The White Swan

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

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