Tonight: The Mathletes (& One Happy Island/RTFO Bandwagon)! + The Motion Sick!

Just a quick, quick mention of where you should probably be this evening — 7PM! free! — and that’s up at Sound Exchange on Richmond, (gently) rocking out to the quirky, ridiculously clever (yet not pretentious) nerd-pop of The Mathletes. Imagine the sweetest, friendliest bunch of people you know, throw in large heaping helpings of musical talent, and set them loose on a bunch of songs about sad robots, bitter unicorns, record collections, and deadly, planet-killing asteroids (among other things), and you’ve got The Mathletes. I’ve been singing Joe Mathlete & co.’s praises to everybody I know, lately, because I honestly think the band — and Joe in particular — are a freaking local treasure that must be cherished and loved. I don’t want them skipping town, folks, and neither should you.

They’re playing, btw, with New Englanders One Happy Island, who do a quasi-“old timey”-sounding variant of pop that blends cabaret with cheeky pop and who do things with theremins that more people probably should. I’ve only listened to ’em briefly, but they sound promising. And again: free! Plus, after the show winds down, all are sorta-secretly invited to wander over to Joe Mathlete’s house to see third band RTFO Bandwagon rock very, very quietly (so as to not get busted by the po-po) and eat free barbecue. Which yes, sounds far better than standing in lines or enduring a constant barrage of Austin-flooding hipsterism. Standard “Be Cool, It’s a House Party” Rules apply, so don’t make an ass of yourself.

If, however, you’re in need of a Plan B, I’d also heartily recommend checking out The Motion Sick, also from the Northeast, who’re playing with Modern Hoax & Megasapien (I think) up at downtown haunt Notsuoh. While I love The Mathletes the mostest, The Motion Sick play some damn fine sweet pop themselves, the kind that makes me think fondly of The Posies and Teenage Fanclub, incorporating cool-ass trumpet bits with the jangly guitars and cleverly sensitive lyrics (“I can walk on water / like one of the chosen / I can walk on water / as long as it’s frozen…”).

For a bonus, here’s some real-live Mathletes for you, courtesy of Joe M. (and no, I have no idea how anybody could crank something like this out at 1AM on a whim; I’m too damn lazy, personally):

Have a good Thursday, folks, and brace yourself for the badass weekend to come…