The Rundown (4/6-4/13)

Alrighty, folks, here’s what’s coming up that I like — damn, this is starting to feel like I’m picking horses or something…weird. Anyway, I have to admit to being a little surprised at some of the awesomely cool shows going on over the next month or so; normally, after SXSW packs up for the year, everybody heads back north and forgets about us poor bastards for the next 10 months or so. Not the case this year, apparently…

Fri., April 6:
TV On The Radio/The Noisettes @ The Meridian
Damn, tonight’s a rough one. TVOTR is probably going to be the biggest draw, although I’m a little ambivalent sometimes — when they’re on, they’re on (e.g., “Staring at the Sun,” which I could listen to for days on end), and when they’re off, they’re just, um, bizarre. At the very least, it’ll be interesting.

Yo La Tengo/David Kilgour & The Heavy Eights @ Warehouse Live
Y’know, I can’t for the life of me explain why, but I’ve never gotten into Yo La Tengo. It’s not that I don’t like them or anything — I’ve just managed to unintentionally stay mostly ignorant of ’em. Don’t own any albums, haven’t been to any shows, etc. I’m told they’re amazing, certainly, so take that for what it’s worth, but for my money, David Kilgour’s the reason to be at the Warehouse tonight. He used to play guitar for the Clean, a NZ band a friend (hi, Marc) forced on me once a long time ago and who were pretty amazing in their day (they re-formed back in ’00 on Merge). The guy’s an excellent songwriter, and he doesn’t come here real often (if he’s ever been here before, I haven’t heard about it), so I’d get to this show early.

The Show Is The Rainbow/Wicked Poseur/Ceeplus Bad Knives/Bad Motor Scooter/Dunnock @ The Mink (Backroom)
Okay, so this is just me being curious. I’ve heard some strange things about Wicked Poseur (which includes Matt B. of Bring Back The Guns, I’m told), so just seeing them is part of the draw here. Of course, there’s also some good DJing from Dunnock, Ceeplus (both of whom are good), and Bad Motor Scooter (whose name I like). If you’d rather keep it lower-key than the packed rooms over in the warehouse district, this is your show.

Thee Armada (tour kick-off)/The Mechanical Boy/Otenki/The Last Place You Look/Stadium @ Fitzgerald’s
I dunno Thee Armada, but The Mechanical Boy aren’t bad in an emo-indie-rock kind of way; I like The Last Place You Look, though, and really like what I’ve heard of Stadium — clean, clean, beautiful melodies and rock guitars. Kinda fits their name, actually.

Comeback Kid/It Dies Today/This Is Hell/Endwell @ Java Jazz Coffeehouse (Spring)
Yeah, yeah — I know it’s in Spring, but hell, if you want to catch any of the Victory roster of pseudo-hc bands roaming the country these days, that’s where you need to be. Comeback Kid rock a heck of a lot more than I’d guessed they would.

Sat., April 7:
Relient K/Mae/Sherwood @ Verizon Wireless Theater
Nope, I’m not a Relient K fan, although I don’t have anything against ’em — I just love-love-love the gorgeously overblown shy-boy rock thing Mae does (Destination: Beautiful rules; I can skip a large part of The Everglow). Sherwood ain’t bad, either.

KTRU Outdoor Show, featuring Ratatat, 120 Days, Despot, The Dimes, & Moxie @ Rice University
Ooh. I love the Outdoor Show — have ever since I was a wee college student. You hang out on the nice cool grass with your friends, you see amazing bands/musicians you probably never would’ve seen otherwise, and fuck, it’s free. You absolutely cannot beat that. Of course, if you’re a discerning bastard like me, it also matters that 120 Days are cool, The Dimes are one of the best bands in town, and Ratatat are intriguing, if not exactly my thing.

Ryan Scroggins and the Trenchtown Texans/The Umbrella Man @ The Continental Club
When I first heard of the Trenchtown Texans, I snickered at the name — I mean, it’s just a tad bit presumptuous to tag yourself with the name of the Jamaican ghetto Bob Marley came up in. I have to say, though, they’re a fine ska/reggae band, one of the coolest I’ve heard in years; dunno The Umbrella Man, but I hear it includes ex-members of Los Skarnales, so that’s a good sign.

The Mathletes/Cartwheels in Central Park/The Defenestration Unit @ Notsuoh
These kids are strange — very, very strange. And yet somehow still oddly appealing. And plus, Mike from TDU’s a nice guy.

Sun., April 8:
Vast/Antarctica Starts Here @ The Continental Club
If you happen to get sick of chocolate and screaming children on Bunny Day, this is pretty much your only option. Luckily, it’s not a bad one. I don’t know Vast at all, but Antarctica Starts Here are a really promising bunch of local folks who do that nu-shoegaze/spacerock thing well. Kinda weird that they’re at the Continental, but what the hey…

Wed., April 11:
Pixie’s Big 25th Birthday Bash, featuring Trigger Minor, Jalambo Chispa, Whorehound, Leatherbal, Hell City Kings, & Morgue City @ The Meridian
Metal, metal, metal, in big steaming chunks. I’ve got no clue about most of the bands, but I’ve heard good things about Whorehound, enjoy Morgue City, and like the heck out of Hell City Kings.

Thurs., April 12:
Old 97’s/The Small Stars @ The Meridian
Say what you want about ’em: the Old 97’s put on a good show.

Bright Men of Learning/The Mathletes/Kilian Sweeney’s Redo Makeshift Honorary Band @ Rudyard’s
This one’s pretty special. Not only do you get local quirky pop people The Mathletes and excellent laid-back Son Volt-goes-Pavement rockers Bright Men of Learning, but you also get the return of all but one member of H-town legends de Schmog, plus a bunch of special guests.

Fri., April 13:
Sebadoh/The Bent Moustache @ Walter’s on Washington
I’m torn on this one, I really am. I used to love Sebadoh to a ridiculous degree, back in the day…until I saw them play Fitz, that is. They were so dull and slow that I wanted to leave before their set was half over. Here’s hoping Barlow’s got it together this time ’round.

Morningside Drive/The Finalist @ Warehouse Live
Not a whole lot to say on this one beyond that I’ve heard bits and pieces from both these bands over the past few years and have found ’em surprisingly enjoyable. Dig ’em up on MySpace if you’re still wary.

Clandestine @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Woo-hoo! I’m over the moon that these folks re-formed; they used to be one of the leading lights of Houston’s Celtic music scene, ’til they vanished into the morning mist. Glad they’re back, and in their home territory, to boot — this’ll be a good one.

The Scattered PAGES/Rich Hopkins/Lisa Novak @ Rudyard’s
I really need to see the Scattered PAGES live, dammit. It depresses the hell out of me that I had to find out about one of the coolest bands in town through CMJ…

Stingaree Music Festival, featuring The Medicine Show, Ryan Bingham, Hayes Carll, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Adam Carroll, Dedringers, Graham Wilkinson, Romi Mayes, John Evans, Sam Baker, The Gougers, Combo Mahalo, Stone Coyotes, Todd Snider, Travis Linville, Dedringers, Roger Marin, Corb Lund, Jesse Dayton, D.L. Kaiser, Wrecks Bell, Graham Weber, & Sisters Morales @ Crystal Beach (Bolivar Peninsula)
No, most of these bands aren’t my cup of tea, but damn, the idea of hanging out in the sun & surf of Bolivar and chilling out to a dozen or so bands (over 3 days; the festival runs ’til 4/15) sounds pretty good.

Have a good Bunny Weekend. Don’t make yourself sick eating too many eggs; not everybody can be Paul Newman.