Dang. Gonna have to make this one (relatively) brief, 'cause I'm just about outta here for the day -- still recovering from this godawful sinus thing that's been kicking my ass all week, so I'm a homebody for the evening, sadly. I'm planning to kick back with the wife and watch either The Prestige or The Believer, whichever wins the coin toss.

But hell, just 'cause I'm couch-bound doesn't mean you should be. There's an assload of good stuff going on tonight & the rest of the next week or so...

Fri., May 4:
The JonBenét/Fuck the Facts/50-50/Indisgust/All Hands on Deck @ Walter's on Washington
Yeaaarrrrggh. People who know me can probably attest to my general blah-ness towards most screamo-type stuff -- it's not that I hate it or anything, but it just doesn't do much for me, that's all. The JonBenét, though, are in a class above most of the bands of the genre that I've heard; they honestly sound ready to rip your head off about half the time, but can actually sing the other half...

E Muzeki @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
I thought these folks were local, but apparently they're from San Antonio; damn. They're great either way, sort of a conglomeration of all kinds of folk, from Celtic to Eastern European -- one of the best bands I've ever seen at the Renaissance Festival.

Mono/World End Girlfriend/Grails/Ceeplus Bad Knives/Dunnock @ The Mink
No clue about World End Girlfriend or Grails, but Japan's Mono are like a colder, less melancholy answer to Explosions in the Sky or M83. And they rule.

The Wiggins/Hearts of Animals/Wols/Panda 84/The Pixel Panda @ The White Swan
Wiggins: weird as shit, yet weirdly intriguing. Hearts of Animals: the same, but even more intriguing, somehow.

The Clorox Girls/Something Fierce/O Pioneers!!!/The Monocles @ The Proletariat (6PM)
Crap. I didn't know Something Fierce or the Pioneers were gonna be on this show 'til a short-ass while ago (like, maybe 20 mins.), so now I barely have enough time to tell you to get yourself down to the Proletariat for the show -- the Monocles reportedly start at 6:30PM. Dunno the Clorox Girls, but I just can't say enough about how damn good Something Fierce are. Watching them play is mind-blowing.

The Defenestration Unit @ Brasil
Odd, somewhat jazzy stuff. It's been a while since I've heard 'em, but they're good people.

Sat., May 5:
The Pharmacy/Storybook Weavers/Something Fierce/B. @ Walter's on Washington
Hoo-ah, yet another Something Fierce sighting! What I've heard of Storybook Weavers has been cool, too...

The Flamin' Hellcats/Amplified Heat @ The White Swan
I'm so freakin' glad these guys are still together -- I saw them play Emo's (RIP) back when I was still a po' college kid, and they burned the place down. Oh, and when they finished playing, they went outside, got in a fight, and went to the pokey for the night. How fucking punk is that? Damn, I miss Emo's.

Matinee Local Band Showcase, featuring Curbside Project, Darwin's Finches, Somnambulists, Devin Dildine, & more @ Super Happy Fun Land
I can't speak to the bands themselves, but I just love the idea of local band showcases like this; go support these folks if you can. (I think it starts in the afternoon, by the by.)

Sun., May 6:
Son Volt/The High Strung @ The Continental Club
Fuck. I foolishly waited to get tix to Son Volt, and now they are apparently sold out of the presales; if you've got more stamina than me, though, you could maybe get there real early and snag one of the few they've held back at the door. I haven't heard their new album, but Trace still lives in my car stereo, a decade-plus on.

Awesome Color/Satin Hooks/Graustark @ Rudyard's
Satin Hooks is one of those bands I really need to catch more frequently; it seems like it's always in passing that I see 'em, and I need to get a bigger dose, 'cause what I have caught has been excellent...

Gwen Stefani/Akon/Lady Sovereign @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Gwen Stefani: Throat polyps, do your work, please... Akon: Um. No idea. Lady Sov: Hell, yeah. London's biggest midget, reprazent. How the hell did you get tacked onto this show, of all the rap acts touring the country right now?

Mute Math/Somebody Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin/The Cinematics @ The Meridian
Mute Math I'm "eh" on, but I've got some SSLYBY songs in the ol' iPod, and they're darn decent.

Mon., May 7:
Finally Punk/Cop Warmth/Total Abuse/Silver Daggers/That Was Scary @ Notsuoh
Dunno most of these, but Cop Warmth ain't bad, and I heard a rumor that That Was Scary is actually the remains of Sinews. Did they break up? Fuck...

Arthur Yoria @ The Corkscrew
Arthur is The Man. Seriously. This sounds like it'll be an acoustic gig, so check it out to see his (slightly) softer side.

Tues., May 8:
Birds of Avalon/Bring Back the Guns/Woozyhelmet/Nancy Brown @ Rudyard's
Oooooh. I already dig Birds of Avalon, but then Rudz goes and puts two of the best local-ish (H-town and A-town) bands I know on the bill and, to make things even neater, stick a stand-up comic in as the opener. Rudz, I love you.

Wed., May 9:
Elf Power/LOXSLY/The Mathletes/Frank From Accounting @ The Proletariat
I'm kinda weirded out that Elf Power are playing the Prolo, of all places -- no offense to the good people there, but I can remember a time not that long ago when the whole Elefant 6 magic had taken hold of the universe, and Elf Power seemed pretty golden...

Thurs., May 10:
Caspian/Loren Dent/Antarctica Starts Here @ The Proletariat (6PM!)
What I've heard of Loren Dent has been good so far, but Antarctica Starts Here is the draw for me on this one -- good, spacey rock...

The Gougers @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Unless I miss my guess, these folks used to be known as The Sidehill Gougers; if that's the case, they play some mean Irish folk music.

The Mockingbyrds @ The Continental Club
A Byrds tribute band. No, really. What the hell -- this may be your only chance to hear "Eight Miles High" played live in your lifetime...

Fri., May 11:
The Western Civilization/Explorers/The Church of Philadelphia @ Walter's on Washington
Co-Pilot/Storms Threaten to Destroy/A Revolution of Kings/Margot @ Notsuoh
Oh, man. This hurts. I love both The Western Civ and Co-Pilot, and desperately want to hear The Church of Philadelphia and Margot. I was planning on trying to hit a show this night, but I may have to try to be The Flash and superhumanly get from one to the other... Dammit, why aren't clubs in this city closer together?

Pontiak/The Neptones/EE:Environmental Encroachment @ Super Happy Fun Land
Heard some of Pontiak's songs on MySpace on a whim, and they're good, murky, dangerous-sounding rock. Plus, if these're the same Neptones that used to play Mary Jane's back in the day (Toby Blunt in the house?), they do some cool surf-rock.

That's it for now. Have a good weekend, whatever the hell you end up doing...

Labels: H-Town News, Things To Do

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