This Weekend: Texas Goes Garage, And So Do I

It’s gonna be a good weekend, y’all. Why? Well, because starting tonight we’ve got the damn-cool-sounding Texas Gone Garage festival going on at Rudyard’s and Walter’s on Washington, with a couple dozen of the best garage-y bands around (some local, some not) gracing the stage and getting rowdy (okay, I’m guessing on that one).

Not only will talented here-and-now heroes like Something Fierce, Born Liars, Linus Pauling Quartet, Hearts of Animals, The Monocles, American Sharks, & The Takes be playing their little hearts out, but this weekend will also see the triumphant return of not one, not two, but three H-town greats of days gone by: classic pop-punkers Dig Dug, psych-rock legends The Mike Gunn, and Houston’s once-upon-a-time garage-rock darlings The Mirrors (plus a solo set by Mirrors frontman Greg Ashley and an appearance by Omari, ex-The Jewws, current Alright Tonight). Holy fucking shit, people.

The Rudz shows, regrettably, are 21+ only, but Travis at He Said She Said is looking out for The Kids, too — the Walter’s shows on Saturday & Sunday are both daytime gigs and are all-ages. And I’m not totally positive, but I think the $10 cover gets you a wristband for the whole shebang. Although I could be wrong about that…

Either way, I’m really psyched about this one — I can’t make it out tonight, sadly (company Christmas party), or tomorrow (friend flying in from France), but I’m gonna try my best to get on out on Sunday to check out the lineup that night at Rudz. Here’s the latest schedule I’ve seen — check the He Said She Said Myspace for up-to-the-minute details:

Friday, December 14th – Rudyard’s (Night Show; $10)
8:00 – 8:25 – The Monocles
8:45 – 9:05 – Welfare Mothers
9:20 – 9:45 – Bad Rackets
10:00 – 10:30 – Born Liars
10:45 – 11:15 – The Matt Mayo Band
11:30 – 12:00 – Alright Tonight
12:15 – 1:00 – The Ugly Beats
1:15 – 2:00 – Amplified Heat

Saturday, December 15th – Walter’s on Washington (Day Show; Free)
3:00 – 3:20 – Teenage Kicks
3:35 – 4:00 – Bad Sports
4:15 – 4:45 – The Uptown Bums
5:00 – 5:30 – American Sharks
5:45 – 6:15 – Something Fierce

Saturday, December 15th – Rudyard’s (Night Show; $10)
8:00 – 8:20 – The Takes
8:35 – 9:00 – Maaster Gaiden
9:15 – 9:45 – The Teeners
10:00 – 10:30 – The Ape-Shits
10:45 – 11:20 – Something Fierce
11:35 – 12:05 – Dig Dug
12:20 – 12:50 – The Hex Dispensers
1:05 – 1:45 – The Pumpers

Sunday, December 16th – Walter’s on Washington (Day Show; Free)
3:00 – 3:30 – Eat Grapes
3:45 – 4:15 – Sew What
4:30 – 5:00 – Black Black Gold
5:15 – ??? – Greg Ashley (solo)

Sunday, December 16th – Rudyard’s (Night Show; $10)
8:00 – 8:30 – Sew What
8:45 – 9:15 – The(e) Freed
9:30 – 10:00 – Hearts of Animals
10:15 – 11:30 – The Mike Gunn
11:45 – 12:45 – Linus Pauling Quartet
1:00 – 2:00 – The Mirrors

Hope you can make it out; it’ll definitely be worth vacating the couch for a while, I’d say. Hell, what with the writers’ strike and all, it’s not like there’s much good on TV right now anyway, right?