Yep, here we are once again. Just hanging here at the house, frantically attempting to pack up the family truckster to go see the fam and hang out with some very friendly killer whales. Tried to get this in earlier, while waiting to go see a friend's newly-born baby ("newly-born" as in "born at 2PM this afternoon"), but schedules got screwed up, so here I am.

At any rate, it's a damn good thing I'm attempting this now, because just a cursory glance at ye olde show listings reveals that there's a crapload of good stuff going on in the coming week or so. Here goes:

Fri., April 27:
The Steed/The Jonx @ Bohemeo's
Jonx, Jonx, Jonx. Yes, yes. Yes. If you're at all into smart, wryly sarcastic, math-y rock, you really, really need to see these guys. They're one of the best bands in town right now, seriously.

HBC Fest III, featuring Stalking Chloe, Sound Breaking Ground, Dine Alone, Epic, Savage Evolution, Rainchild, Mindflow, Prognosis, Fallbrook, & Truck @ Fitzgerald's
Okay, so I'll admit that most of these bands aren't really my cup of tea -- hard rock/alterna-metal, for the most part (what I've heard of 'em, anyway). But even still, the Houston Band Coalition folks' hearts are in the right place, and they deserve a heck of a lot more support than they currently get. If you're into pretty much any variety of metal/nü-metal or plain old hard rock, this is where you want to be.

Solas @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
I hope I'm not confusing these folks w/somebody else, but if I'm not, they're a damn fine Celtic folk band. I thought they were long gone, actually...

Tyla/Sister Devastation/Ragged Hearts @ The Proletariat
Here's Stop #1 of the Ragged Hearts' weeklong play-everywhere-we-can blast. It's kind of a dangerous tactic, esp. in an apathetic, splintered-scene city like ours, but what the hey -- they're a good band (think Hanoi Rocks covering Son Volt or Johnny Cash), so hitting at least one stop is well worth your while.

Free Radicals @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar
Can't pass this one up. Dan E's is a fun place, and I realized the other day that I haven't ever given the Free Rads nearly the love they merit, sadly... The Rising Tide Sinks All is still one of my favorite local discs of all time.

Deep Ella (CD release)/Million Year Dance/The Wartime Social/Five Dollar Friend @ Warehouse Live
I dunno most of the bands here, but dammit, go just to catch Million Year Dance. Yeah, yeah -- they're weird, they're arty, their lead singer wears what looks like nothing but a towel, and they've got some kind of weird yoga thing going on. Who cares? The guy can sing, and the band's fairly mesmerizing, to boot. The wife & I caught them at last year's Press Awards and were charmed out of our jaded, cynical shells.

Chicago/Kool and the Gang @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
C'mon. Fuck Chicago; it's Kool and the Gang. Let me repeat: it's Kool and the Gang. Even if you don't think you know them, trust me, you do -- "Jungle Boogie"? "Funky Stuff"? "Give It Up"? Dirty, sweaty, yet smooth funk, all the way. Kool and the fucking Gang, y'all.

Sat., April 28:
Dale Watson/Miss Leslie and Her Juke-Jointers @ The Continental Club
Damn, I love Miss Leslie; she's like an old-time country star who's stepped through a time warp and ended up in our century. She's a modern-day answer to Patsy Cline, honest, and despite the fact that they barely move while the play, her Juke-Jointers are amazingly good, to boot.

Two Star Symphony/Leslie + the LY's/Tha Fucking Transmissions @ The Proletariat
I desperately need to catch both Two Star Symphony and Tha Fucking Transmissions at some point (although not this one, unfortunately, since I'll be Shamu-ing and all that). Weird show, now that I'm thinking about it -- bizarro, vaguely Balkan-sounding orchestral music + street-level, intelligent indie-hop + I dunno what the fuck Leslie + the LY's sound like. Sound good to you? Go.

Real Live Tigers/Cory Derden/Sabra and the Big Brothers @ Notsuoh
Another I need to see; I've only heard one song by Sabra Laval so far, but it's a great one -- "Gentle Man," although I see she's now got a few more up there. Thankyew, MySpace.

Sun., April 29:
Men, Women + Children/Oohlas/Margot @ The Mink
Nope, not much of a clue on Men, Women + Children or Oohlas, but I recently caught a few of Margot's songs. Wow. I've gotta see this band, and soon. Anybody know if they've got a CD out?

Houston International Festival 2007, featuring Lucinda Williams, Johnny Bush, J. Paul Jr. & the Zydeco Nubreeds, The Stone Coyotes, Hongmiam Cantonese Opera Group, Kaitlyn Knippers, Tody Castillo, Calvin Owens Blues Orchestra, Jesse Dayton, Vieux Farka Touré, Clinton Fearon, Los Texmaniacs, Corey Ledet & his Zydeco Band, Scott & the Soul Tones, Clouseaux, I.J. Gosey, & more @ Downtown Houston
Cool, cool, cool. Not only do you get some of the best musicians in H-town -- Tody Castillo, Clouseaux, Jesse Dayton (okay, yeah, so he doesn't live here anymore) -- but you get roots-country queen Lucinda Williams, to boot. Can't beat that...

Tyla/Modern Kicks/Sister Devastation/Ragged Hearts @ The Proletariat
Yep, Stop #2 for the Ragged Hearts, and this time they're playing with Modern Kicks, who I've heard aren't bad themselves.

Neil Hamburger/Pleaseesaur/The Mathletes @ The Orange Show
Honestly, I've got no idea what Neil Hamburger's about; haven't seen his show, dunno if it's comedy or music, none of it. I do know, however, that The Mathletes are a crazy, quirky, entertaining bunch.

Wed., May 2:
Heaven and Hell/Megadeth/Machinehead @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Oh, hell, yeah. It's Sabbath, dude! Er, kinda... I'm more of an Ozzy man, myself, but if I had the dough, I'd be tempted to go just to do the Henry Rollins "rock powerrr!" finger in the air while Dio sings. And even though I still can't stand Dave Mustaine's voice, I can still remember my friend Travis making me listen to "Set the World Afire," off of So Far, So Good...So What!, waaay back in high school, and thinking the school bus was about to explode in a ball of flame. Good times...

Toots and the Maytals @ The Meridian
Gotta give it up for this one. These guys are legends, and they ain't spring chickens; see 'em while you still can.

Ragged Hearts/Tyla @ The Proletariat
Uh-huh, it's Stop #3. Are all these shows for real?

Thurs., May 3:
Digital Underground/LadyBug Mecca/Nosaprise/Comp1 @ The Meridian
"The Humpty Dance" was the anthem of my senior year in high school. And hey, wouldn't it be neat to see where Tupac got his start? Oh, and I hear local Nosaprise is damn good. Thee Oh Sees @ Super Happy Fun Land
Only heard of these folks very recently, but I'm impressed so far. It's countryish, but it's raw and it still rawks -- reminds me of the Velvets crossed with the Kills, or maybe the Grifters.

Fri., May 4:
The JonBenet/Fuck the Facts/50-50/Indisgust/All Hands on Deck @ Walter's on Washington
Wow. Want to be there the night Walter's finally gets closed down? This looks like it might be your chance... Seriously, though, even a non-grind-head like myself can see this'll be a good one. The JonBenet rule, and they're backed up by four of the rawest, loudest, most bone-crushing grindcore/metal/whatever bands in this hellhole. Rock on, Hate Tank. Here's hoping nobody gets tased...

E Muzeki @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Caught these folks at the Renaissance Festival last fall, and they were freakin' amazing. They mash together a pretty wide range of European folk music, from Celtic to Eastern European, and it all comes out sounding like a band of gypsies playing next to a roaring blaze somewhere in the deep, dark forest. Ooh, spooky. (Plus, my daughter danced like a maniac while they played, so that's always a good recommendation; she has surprisingly good taste for a three-year-old.)

Mono/World End Girlfriend/Grails/Ceeplus Bad Knives/Dunnock @ The Mink
I downloaded some Mono songs a while back on a whim, and I have to admit that they do the atmospheric, mostly-instro thing quite well -- maybe they're not quite up on par with, say, M83, but they're close.

Orange Is In/The Loving Ones/The Mayapples/The Blue Threads @ Notsuoh
Sadly, local rockers The Nautical Mile have reportedly called it a day. Luckily, frontman Matt (and maybe other members of the band, as well?) is also in The Mayapples, whom I'm told are cool. Check 'em out if you get a chance.

That's it. Have a good weekend, and don't let anybody argue you into doing anything stupid. We're looking out for you, man.

Labels: H-Town News, Pseudo-Reviews, Things To Do

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