Another Big Night: Friday’s Blowin’ Up

I dunno whether it’s some weird alignment of the stars or the writers’ strike or what, but H-town shows have just been insane lately. Not that they’re not often good, of course, but that in recent weeks they’ve been stacked three deep each and every weekend night. Crazy… At any rate, tonight (Friday, Jan. 11th, that is), is no exception, ’cause there’s some truly good, good shit going down (and sorry, I just can’t do the links right now — trying to get offline — but check the Venues & Bands if you’re looking for more info on a club or band):

Fri., January 11 – Sharks and Sailors/UME/Camp X-Ray @ Rudyard’s ($6)
Yes, yes, yes. And yes. Sharks and Sailors rock — one of the best bands in town, no question, even if they appear to be moving away from The Heaviness just a mite — and they’re paired up not only with H-town expats UME, who also rock in a Heavy-Heavy kinda way, but Austin’s Camp X-Ray, which apparently features Mark Twistworthy, whom old-timers might remember from Twistworthy Recs and the Texas Shows List (which was, incidentally, pretty much the inspiration for our own shows list, back in the day).

Fri., January 11 – Something Fierce/The Monocles (7″ release)/Hoodlum Circus/This Year’s Tiger @ Walter’s on Washington
Already blathered a bit about this one, but I’ll sum it up again here: it’s gonna be badass. Something Fierce really, truly lives up to the name; they blow the damn roof off. And while I haven’t yet caught The Monocles live, they rule on the debut 7″ they put out a while back. Oh, and tonight’s also the release party for the new 7″, a split deal with both bands. Badassssssss.

Fri., January 11 – 500 Megatons of Boogie/Wild Moccasins/Missing Files @ The Backroom (The Mink)
Never seen 500 Megatons of Boogie live, but I liked ’em as The Squishees and I hear the new incarnation’s excellent. Plus, I’ve heard good things about Wild Moccasins, too.

Fri., January 11 – Penny Royal/Lazlo/Two Star Symphony/The Feiros @ Warehouse Live
Nice to be seeing more & more local folk at the Warehouse of late… Two Star Symphony, in particular, are excellent, excellent, excellent, and I really like what I’ve heard so far from Penny Royal, so try to stick around for ’em if you go this route.

Fri., January 11 – Rescue Mission/Death Is Not a Joyride/Audio in the Pregap/Voidmate @ Notsuoh
Ow, this is really starting to hurt… I’ve been meaning to see Audio in the Pregap for a while now, and while I dunno a thing about Voidmate or Rescue Mission, reputable sources tell me out-of-towners Death Is Not a Joyride are pretty great, too.

Fri., January 11 – The Defenestration Unit @ Avant Garden
Gah. Another? Damn… Yes, the D.U.’s at the Avant Garden tonight — go see some crazy improv shit.

Fri., January 11 – P.D. Wilder/Translations/J. Andrew Bobbitt @ Bohemeo’s
And finally, I’m gonna stick a fork in this thing & call it done — dunno P.D. Wilder, but I’ve liked what I’ve heard of Translations, and J. Andrew Bobbitt’s old band Overlight Underdark was freakin’ incredible in its day, so I’m guessing this’ll be worth a listen, as well.

So, there you go. You’ve got no excuse, nada — go out and see a band tonight, dammit. Something for everybody…