Bobby Conn + Something Fierce + Sputnik Monroe

Gah. Another late night, another review update/blog post… First off, we’ve got a review up of the new Bobby Conn, just in time for his show this coming Sunday, March 4th, up at Notsuoh; he’s playing with Faux Fox, James Eck Rippie, and Laura Palmer, I’m told. I’m not super-familiar with Conn, myself, but the new disc is damned impressive in an intensely over-the-top way, and I’ve heard his live shows are truly something to behold. (And on a side note, if you go to the Website for his label, Thrill Jockey, you can download the whole damn CD right then & there. That’s pretty cool; I haven’t really noticed any labels doing that before…)

Speaking of the remarkable confluence of shows + reviews, we (in this case, I) took a crack at the disc Something Fierce put out last fall and enjoyed the hell out of it. Seriously, I’ve spent all day the past few days at work mumbling “Come for the bastards, come for the distant, come for the broken…” over and over again to myself, to the possible ire of my two cube cohabiters (yes, it’s a big cube). Good shit. And for their part, they’re playing next weekend, on Sat., March 10th, which is Day 2 of the Noise & Smoke festival over at The Axiom, with a bunch of cool local bands: Indian Jewelry, Skullening, The Wiggins, Blades, & The Sporatics. This (and Day 1, as well; check the site for details) is going to rule, honest.

Oh, and there’s also a review of Sputnik Monroe, who’re playing not one but three shows (if my e-mail sources are to be believed) over the span of about five days: 3/10 at Fitz with the Smoke Eaters; 3/11 at Super Happy Fun Land with Solarfed (is that the new name for Red Star of the Solar Federation, I’m guessing?) and Sunday Best; and 3/16 at Valhalla (Rice Univ. campus) all by their lonesomes. I’m afraid writer Scott didn’t much care for their CD, but what the hey — your mileage may vary.

And then there’s the other new stuff: Robert Pollard, Blinded Black, Muller and Patton, The Sammies, & the Saw III soundtrack.

Crap. I think my three-year-old just woke up again. No sleep for me…