This Weekend @ Rudz: Arthur Yoria + The Riverboat Gamblers

Just wanted to mention what all’s going on this weekend at Rudz, ’cause it sounds pretty damn tempting. Apparently Camel’s sponsoring two nights’ worth of shows up in the Montrose — kind of a switch from their past Meridian deals — both featuring some great bands, some local and some not.

First up, tonight (Sat., May 19th, to be precise) is local pop-rocker and SCR friend Arthur Yoria’s release party for his new CD, Handshake Smiles — I’ve heard bits & pieces so far, and it’s good, really good, and somewhat of a departure from his more “suave”-sounding stuff in the past. What I’ve heard sounds much rawer and more “rock,” which is a very cool thing. Also playing are the ever-excellent, ’70s pop-tinged Spain Colored Orange and good local guys Southern Backtones, as well as Concrete Rose Cabaret (who are, I’m told, a cabaret act) and a band I’ve never heard of called Quiet Company. This one’s gonna be good; I’m planning on being there, assuming the smoke doesn’t drive me away.

Then, on Sunday, May 20th, Rudz has “Camel Night #2” with The Riverboat Gamblers, who’re cool in a rock-but-not-punk kinda way, plus several local folks: the darn good Kimonos, freakin’ incredible punk rockers Something Fierce, and hard-edged Social D-esque punks Hell City Kings. Even if the Gamblers aren’t your thing, go check out the hometown bands; it’ll be well worth it, honest.

Now, the down side to these shows is that, well, they’re sponsored by Camel. Which means that Rudz upstairs could be even more smoky than it normally is (see here for one possible scenario). And you can’t just buy tickets, but instead have to wheedle them either out of a Camel rep roaming the bars somewhere or out of one of the people who’re actually playing the show. If you can deal w/that and the inevitable smoke, though, it’s going to be a cool couple of days at Rudyard’s…