The Rundown, 10/4/07-10/11/07

Yes, it’s late in the day, and no, I should probably not be attempting this now, but what the hey. There are a ton of good shows going on tonight, so I feel compelled to point ’em up here…

Thurs., October 4:
The Octopus Project/Bring Back The Guns/Satin Hooks @ Numbers
Hot damn. I’m hard-pressed to pick a winner tonight, but this one’s right up there in the running. The Octopus Project make some of th coolest electronicized music you’ll ever hear, playing a whole slew of freaky devices (some homemade?) to form these really neat bumping soundscape thingies. (Sorry, that’s the best my sleep-deprived brain can do right now.) And then there’s Bring Back The Guns, who are heroes to me by virtue of the fact that if they moved pretty much anywhere else in the damn country that’s got a functioning music scene, they’d be snatched up from near-obscurity in a heartbeat. Yes, they’re that good, make-you-want-to-never-write-a-song-again good. Starting things off, as well, is the excellent Satin Hooks, who have a really cool video up right now for their new song “Kevlar” that makes store mannequins look downright dangerous.

Aiden/Drop Dead, Gorgeous/Still Remains/1997 @ The Meridian
I’ve been listening a bit to the new Aiden, and while it ain’t perfect, it’s leaps & bounds better than Our Gang’s Dark Oath, the last thing I heard by ’em. Nice to see the band more fully embracing their Goth side. Plus, Chicago’s awesome 1997 may or may not be opening — they’re listed in a few places and not in others, so go fig.

The Scattered PAGES @ Brasil
Argh. Y’know, tonight would have to be the night when I literally can’t leave the house… Apparently, the PAGES have declared that this will be their final show for the forseeable future — not that they’re breaking up, no, but their drummer/engineer is moving, thus making live shows somewhat difficult to pull together. Dammit.

Nina Nastasia & Jim White/Basses Loaded/Make Tapes @ The Orange Show
Whoa. Can’t believe I hadn’t heard about this before now, but here it is, at least… Jim White used to be in the very cool Dirty Three, while Nina Nastasia (in addition to having the most KGB seductress-like name I’ve ever heard outside of a Bond film) has done a bunch of cool/creepy, slowly-unfolding folk albums that are pretty intriguing, even if they may not be everybody’s cup of tea. Apparently the duo collaborated on the latest disc, You Follow Me. And hey, local bass-guitars-only combo Basses Loaded open, which is cool in itself.

Go Motion @ Walter’s on Washington
Not a clue about these guys, but dangit, David over at Houston Calling sings their praises, so I’ll take his word for their goodness.

The Defenestration Unit/Two Star Symphony @ Avant Garden (Helios)
Hot damn. I have yet to make it out to the refurbished/reopened Helios — er, Avant Garden, sorry — but this seems like as good a reason as one might need. TDU do some neat improv-type stuff (and are very nice people, to boot), while Two Star Symphony make strange classical music about goblins & whatnot.

Unearth/Darkest Hour/August Burns Red/Suicide Silence @ Warehouse Live
Dunno most of these bands, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by what I’ve heard off of Darkest Hour’s last two albums, Deliver Us and Undoing Ruin — both times I’ve thrown the CD on, expecting to be turning it back off pretty promptly, but I’ve instead gotten sucked in just about all the way. Fans of the metalcore thing, this is where you should probably be tonight.

H.R./Dubb Agents/Shark Attack/Cosmic Force @ Fitzdown
Yep, it’s H.R. of Bad Brains. Will he be any good? Can’t say. From what I’ve heard, he’s notoriously inconsistent live, so you’re kinda rolling the dice, here. Still, the man’s a living legend, albeit a somewhat crazy one. And hey, I like what I’ve heard by G-town boys Shark Attack…

The Factory Party/Latintron @ The Mink
Ah, my new favorite band, The Factory Party. See here for in-depth blathering, then go see ’em.

Slammin’ The Infinite @ DiverseWorks (8PM)
This one’s put on by the good people over at Nameless Sound, so if all else fails, you know it’s going to be mind-expanding. Not for everyone, but if you’re into free jazz, improv, or just interesting way-the-hell-out-there music, this’ll be a good one.

Fri., October 5:
Rilo Kiley/Grand Ole Party/Art in Manila @ Warehouse Live
Do I really need to say anything about this one? Nope, I don’t.

Ryan Scroggins & The Trenchtown Texans (CD release)/Hub City Stompers/The Pocket/Angry Banana @ Fitzgerald’s
Ooh, yeah. I snagged the brand-new Trenchtown Texans CD off the Megalith Recs site recently (as in, in the past 3 or 4 days), and it is hands-down great. Brings me back to the good ol’ days of ska with some rocksteady rhythms and soul-ska vibes a la The Pietasters or The Adjusters. It’s the CD release, so go and buy yourself a copy, eh?

Benefit for the Statewide Anti-Death Penalty March, featuring The Dimes, Program, & Wicked Poseur @ The Proletariat
I’m up and down on the death penalty, personally. I’m not against executing people, per se, but I’m convinced that there are currently flaws in our legal system that are so major we run the risk of killing a whole lot of innocent people (and probably already have) — I don’t have a problem seeing rapists and murderers taken out of the population, as heartless as that may sound, but I do not want to do it at the risk of killing the wrong guy for expediency’s sake. ‘Til we can fix things, I’m with these folks; that’s just my take on it, so do with that what you will. Either way, all three of these bands are great, great, great, so the show’ll be worth it just to see ’em play.

Numbers/Hearts of Animals/Indian Jewelry Hong Kong @ Rudyard’s
Another good un’. Not real familiar with Numbers — the songs I’ve heard have left me “eh, it’s okay,” for the most part — but HoA and IJHK are among the best, quirkiest bands in town right now. If you like the poppier stuff, head to the Prolo or Warehouse Live, but if you’re up for something different, check this one out.

Mando Saenz/Katie Stuckey & The Swagger/Molly & the Ringwalds @ The Continental Club
Hmm. I wonder if this means Mando Saenz is back in town? Probably not, but that’s even more of a reason to go see the guy — he’s an excellent, somewhat country-folk singer/songwriter.

Sat., October 6:
Okkervil River/Damien Jurado/Colour Revolt @ Walter’s on Washington
This one’s gotta be my “Maybe I Can Escape the Couch…” night for the week. Austin’s Okkervil River are consistently incredible live (even when drunk off their asses, honest), write amazing songs

Black Lips/The Selmanaires/The Wiggins/Cop Warmth @ The Engine Room
Talked about these guys already recently (anybody know who won the Buffalo Exchange deal?), but what the heck — they’re a good band, although the music sounds a bit tamer than you’d expect from reports of their live shows (something about urine and spitting?). Oh, and the Wiggins and Cop Warmth are both crazy, strange, and entertaining, although not in that order.

A Memorial for Hunter Ward, featuring Poor Dumb Bastards, DollyRockers, Whorehound, The Drunks, Vatos Locos, Bark Hard, Novox, Ese, Something Fierce, Econo, & The American Sharks @ The Meridian
I didn’t know the guy, but this seems like it’ll be a good show and a fitting tribute to him. I wonder if he would’ve guessed the impact his passing would have on the scene here…

The Gowns/A Pink Cloud/Blades @ Valhalla (Rice Univ. campus; 3-6PM)
Blades Blades Blades Blades. Mmmmm, good. How did I not hear about this ’til today? Damn.

Meat Puppets/Dizzy Pilot/Dead Roses @ The Proletariat
Wow, the Meat Puppets are playing the Prolo? How far the mighty have fallen… Still, they were good back in the day; can’t say what they’re like now, but they should be worth a listen.

Rock for Houston’s Youth Concert, featuring The Hunger, The Crisis, Cerebro, Deafening, Rowe, Paris Green, Saturate, Bayou City Beach Party, Peekaboo Theory, The Black Math Experiment, Fulton Read, & Terra Technic @ Warehouse Live
Good, good, good, good cause. Some good bands, too, like Peekaboo Theory & Deafening. Dunno most of the rest, sadly, but what the hell, man — it’s for the freakin’ kids, dude. What more do you need to know?

Sun., October 7:
HorrorPops/Roger Miret & The Disasters/The Applicators @ The Meridian
Never heard the HorrorPops, but Roger Miret’s a bona fide hero, so punk he almost didn’t survive the Reagan years. He attempted to keep Agnostic Front going for a few years there, but the stuff he’s done with The Disasters sounds a lot better, to me. Think the more Oi! elements of Rancid, and you’ll be on track.

Harptallica @ Super Happy Fun Land
Yes, you know what this is about just from the name. C’mon, say it: “harpists playing covers of Metallica songs?” ding! It’s the novelty factor, to be sure, but hey, there ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Mon., October 8:
Adam Franklin/Flowers To Hide/Antarctica Starts Here @ The Proletariat
I was never a big fan of Swervedriver, sorry — they were the dreampop band I didn’t care for, for some reason. I do, however, love Antarctica Starts Here, who’ve taken the blueprint Adam Franklin & co. helped to create and built something new upon it.

Loreena McKennitt @ Jones Hall
Hey, quit snickering. McKennitt makes some really beautiful, world-folk-influenced music — most of her albums seem to’ve been pretty Celtic folk-based, but the latest (which my wife really likes) is sort of a musical trip down the ancient Silk Road from the Mediterranean to China.

Tues., October 9:
Dashboard Confessional/Augustana/John Ralston @ Warehouse Live
Yes, I like Dashboard Confessional, even if that means the last shreds of my indie cred just went poof. Dusk and Summer was a surprisingly good album, so I’m actually looking forward to the new one (don’t have it yet). Unfortunately, no, I most likely won’t be going to the show, mostly ’cause it would make me feel really, really old.

Wed., October 10:
Brimstone Howl/The Monocles/Something Fierce/!Alarma! @ The Proletariat
Something Fierce! Whoo, yeah! Teenage ruins, teenage ruins…

Thurs., October 11:
Jesu/Wolves in the Throne Room/AWAKE @ Walter’s on Washington
Holy shit. I’ve been wondering when Jesu would tour, yeah, but they’re touring with Wolves in the freakin’ Throne Room? These guys are some kind of half-crazy “collective” that live (or used to live, anyway) in the woods way up in the Pacific Northwest and did nothing all day but sit around and craft these immense, Isis-like doom-metal-sludge epics. Very weird, but somehow still enticing. And, of course, there’s Jesu, which is Justin Broadrick’s “new” ambient-ish project & should be worth a look.

Finntroll @ The Meridian
Geeararrrrrgghhh. Finnish death-metal, played (partly) on traditional instruments in a distinctly Finnish style of folk-singing. Oh, and the lyrics are all about trolls and murder and warriors and all that. (By the by, their videos are a trip; just don’t ask me what the hell the storyline is.)