Y'know, it always seems to go this way, dammit. I've got the best of intentions, have wondrous visions of deeply insightful blog posts I'm gonna put up in time for you, Dear Reader, to decide what the hell to do for the evening...and then an afternoon full of meetings swings my way, and I'm screwed.

sigh. That's how things happen sometimes, unfortunately, at least in the lives of poor-ass bloggers like yours truly who can't afford to kick back at the casa all day and, y'know, blog for a living. If only... Anyway, there's a veritable ton of cool (and some not-quite-so-cool) shows coming up, so I figured I'd throw 'em up here for your edification.

Before I do that, though, there's some stuff worth mentioning in terms of new/rescheduled shows coming up in the not-far-off future:

• The Ignite Tour show w/Just Jinjer, Lynden, & Zack Hexum @ The Meridian: Sorry, but this one's been cancelled. It'd mean more to me, honestly, if I had any clue who any of these folks are, but eh, there you go. Information transmitted.
• The Cure @ Toyota Center: Yep, the band had to cancel & reschedule, so instead of playing Houston on 10/16, they'll be here 6/9 of, um, next year. As in, "next summer." Damn, man.
• Kelly Clarkson @ Verizon Wireless: In case you missed it, Kelly Clarkson's rescheduled her cancelled tour, too, and she'll be here 11/25 @ the Verizon.
• Silverchair @ The Meridian (11/28): Guys, I get that you're not kids anymore. Honest. You really didn't have to grow those godawful 'staches just to try and look grown-up. Hate to say it, but they look like you made 'em out of cotton balls & glued 'em to your lips...

Now for the real shit. Here goes:

Fri., September 21:
Bloc Party/Deerhoof/J versus K @ Warehouse Live
With A Weekend in the City, Bloc Party managed to toss out the best damn Brit-rock record I've heard in ages; there are very, very few musicians that scream "London!" to me, but this album's now on that list. (That's good, by the by.) Plus, Deerhoof rock, albeit weirdly.

Tody Castillo/Patricia Vonne/Molly & the Ringwalds @ The Continental Club
Tody's The Man. He writes better songs than you & me combined.

Sleeping In The Aviary/Fired for Walking/Novox @ Rudyard's
I'm annoyed at myself about this one, 'cause I've got the Sleeping In The Aviary disc in hand but couldn't get it reviewed & on the site in time for their show...fuck. I'm especially pissed 'cause, well, it's really damn good -- crazed, hyper pop-rock like The Buzzcocks, The Subways, Harvey Danger, and Ohioan weird-rockers Machine Go Boom all locked in a closet and fed bad speed. Listen to the songs off their album, Oh, This Old Thing? here.

The Defenestration Unit @ Brasil
Somehow, I keep missing posting TDU's shows -- which is bad, 'cause they're a lot of fun (and nice folks, besides), sorry, guys...

St. Jude Benefit, featuring Fire Team Charlie, Elaine Greer, & Paula May @ Notsuoh
Don't know the bands really well, but I've heard good things about Elaine Greer. And hey, it benefits sick kids, so y'know.

Greenbelt Collective/Come See My Dead Person/The Hungry Villagers @ Super Happy Fun Land
I just like this show 'cause there's a band playing called "Come See My Dead Person," which I find disturbingly funny on multiple levels.

La Porte Fall Back Festival, featuring B, The Church of Philadelphia, Buxton, Goodnight Belle, The Sam Dinkins III Quintet, & Wilfred Chevis @ 300 West Main St. (La Porte; 6PM, free)
Yep, this weekend's also the La Porte "Fall Back Festival," which has something to do with harking back to the heady days of the 1920s in, um, La Porte. Seriously? This isn't just a big freakin' joke? Hell, I didn't think La Porte was that old... At any rate, there are some excellent bands playing Fri. & Sat., including the heartbreakingly good Church of Philadelphia, Buxton, perpetual faves The Western Civilization, and excellent folksters Papermoons and Listen Listen. If you're in the La Porte 'hood, or maybe feel like making the drive down...

Sat., September 22:
VHS or Beta/Walter Meego @ The Mink
Okay, so I've got no idea if this is really happening; emails from VHS or Beta's PR people say they're playing The Mink tomorrow night, but The Mink's Website says otherwise. Go fig. (If they are playing, btw, it'll be good, honest.)

Houston Metal Fest, featuring PinHed, Brutally Mutilated, Hypodermik, BludStreem, Lay To Waste, Virus, Consumned, Lycophile, 28th St., Dead Trip, All Severed, Suffer Stream, Last Rosary, Prototype 13, Deep Above Surface, Nhuvasarim, Anguish In Exile, Eternal Decimation, BloodVoid, Volatile, Demuredin, Lao Tzu, Burnt Face Jack, SoulDenied, Cymblem, Lifes Hand, Sever The Silence, Vehement, & Hidrolyx @ The Meridian
Urgh. Rrrraawwwr. snort.

Starbucks Mixed Media Music Series, featuring Notorious MSG, Peekaboo Theory, BBC, Karina Nistal, DJ Ceeplus Bad Knives, & Extraman @ MFAH (5601 Main)
Good DJs spinning, emcees spitting, and all of it happening in the august confines of the MFA. Fucking awesome. (And I've gotta love somebody who calls himself "Notorious MSG"...)

The Gold Sounds/Poorman's Sharp Knives @ Super Happy Fun Land
The Gold Sounds are Deer Park, TX's answer to the Kings of Leon -- raw, bluesy, Southern-tinged rawk that's been given a dose of brown acid, handed guitars, and unleashed onstage. They get trippy and downhome, but no matter what they do, it's still pretty inspired rock. Need to hear more of 'em, actually...

Orents Stirner & the Spirit Noise Academy/Slivered/The Soarce @ Jet Lounge
I'm gonna get out to see Slivered one of these days, I swear. Frontman Robin used to play bass for Hayflick Limit, one of my all-time favorite H-town bands, and while he's doing something a little more "standard rock"-like these days, it's still good.

La Porte Fall Back Fest, featuring Science Monsters Galore, Hollywood Black, Papermoons, Listen Listen, The Western Civilization, Keaton Branch, The Alsace Lorraine, Roly's Vaudeville Review, Sideshow Tramps, The Octanes, Abel Salazar, Step Rideau and the Zydeco Outlaws, & Shape Shifters @ @ 300 West Main St. (La Porte; 4PM, free)
Yep, Day 2...

Sun., September 23:
Average White Band/Fondue Monks @ The Meridian
Hey, shut up. "Cut the Cake" is a great song, and I refuse to hear otherwise. It's the best song equating sex to eating that you'll ever hear, dammit.

Tokyo Electron/Born Liars/The Monocles @ Rudyard's
Dunno Tokyo Electron, but Born Liars & The Monocles are two of the best bands repping that grimy Houston garage-rock sound these days; well worth checking out.

Mon., September 24:
Dan Deacon/White Williams @ Walter's on Washington
Yeah, I'll admit that I don't entirely "get" Dan Deacon, but even still, "Crystal Cat" is strangely alluring. And I've heard his live shows rip the roof off.

Tues., September 25:
Interpol/Liars @ Verizon Wireless Theater
Haven't heard the latest Interpol, but I've still got a soft spot for 'em. And besides, Liars are pretty interesting...

Pinback @ Numbers
I just don't get the mania surrounding these guys (er, guy). The music's alright, but it's nothing mindblowing, and certainly not to the point of blog-adulation I've seen.

Wed., September 26:
William Elliott Whitmore/Tim Barry/Josh Small @ Walter's on Washington
Crap. I really wanted to review Josh Small's disc before this show, 'cause it's pretty great. These guys are all part of the new wave of "old-new" country that's out there now; think O Brother Where Art Thou, and you might get close. Oh, and Tim Barry used to play in a little band called Avail.

Thurs., September 27:
The Points/Maaster Gaiden/American Sharks @ Rudyard's
Garage-y punk out your ass.

Punky Reggae Party, featuring Grimy Styles, Queen Majesty, Witnes, & Dayta @ The Proletariat
Not a clue who these folks are (other than local DJs Witnes & Dayta, who're good), but "punky reggae" sounds intriguing.

Jeff Scott Soto (former lead vocalist for Journey)/Stalking Chloe/Sound Breaking Ground @ The Meridian Red Room
I hate to say it, but this show's really just more sad than anything, y'know? I hate to break it to any of Soto's fans out there, but "Journey" without Steve Perry wasn't Journey. Sorry.

Fri., September 28:
The Western Civilization (tour kickoff)/Hollywood Black/Papermoons/Elbows as Weapons @ Walter's on Washington
Yes, yes, yes. I love the Western Civ like they were my own kids (um, if I were fifty rather than thirtysomething, that is). They write some damn good songs, enough to make me brave ridicule by wearing their T-shirt to work (it always gets draws odd/confused comments, for some reason). Oh, and Papermoons are great -- I'm eagerly awaiting my very own copy of their newly-released 7" in the mail now.

High on Fire/Mono/Panthers/Coliseum @ The Meridian
That's a hell of a bill, right there -- it's like the Monsters of Post-Rock tour, with loud guitars, drums, and bass smacking you down from all sides. Personally, I'm a fan of Mono more than Panthers or High on Fire, but I get more into those noisy soundscapes, these days...

The Factory Party @ Dean's Credit Clothing
Only recently gotten into these guys, but they're great; see here.

Do Make Say Think/The Jonx @ The Engine Room
I'm so-so on DMST, but hot damn, The Jonx rock. Expect a "Featured Band" writeup very, very soon. (I promise.)

Velvet Revolver/Alice in Chains/Sparta @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
I could care less about VR, and Alice in Chains is going to be, ah, a bit weird minus one of the more crucial band members. Sparta, though, I'd love to see live.

Lanky/Tody Castillo/Hank Schyma @ Rudyard's
Again: Tody rocks. And not too surprisingly, so does Hank Schyma, frontman for the Southern Backtones -- I saw him do his solo thing at Rudz a while back, and he was great on both the covers and his own stuff (still love "Blue in July").

Sat., September 29:
5th Anniversary Party (in honor of The Skyline Network), featuring Wicked Poseur, Ugenius, Cliché, Spain Colored Orange, & more @ The Proletariat
This one's a dual-purpose celebration, apparently -- it's both The Prolo's 5th Anniversary shindig and a little par-tay in honor of scenester-blog The Skyline Network. Good reasons to party, plus some damn good bands.

The McKenzies/The Factory Party @ The White Swan
Second chance to check out The Factory Party...

Earnie Banks/Piano Vines/Joy In Tomorrow/Seraphim/The Mechanical Boy @ Fitzdown
Woo-hoo! Cool, cool, cool indie-folk people Piano Vines are playing Fitz, and it should be awesome. I'm gonna try to make it out to this one.

That's it for now, 'cause I've gotta fight traffic down 610 & go put a midget to bed...

Labels: Pseudo-Reviews, Things To Do, Things To Hear

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