Like I said before, not enough time to hit everything -- and even on a relatively light weekend, there's a lot to hit. Sunday'll have to wait, though, because honestly, the stuff going on both Saturday and Sunday deserve special attention. First (er, second) up, then, is the stuff for tomorrow, Saturday, April 4th:

The McKenzies/Giant Battle Monster/Paris Falls @ The Mink
Yes, yes, yes. Two of my favorite local bands, plus one I've heard many good things about. Openers Paris Falls do some seriously '60s-infuenced, semi-psychedelic rock, with nicely tortured, raw vocals & catchy hooks; both albums they've got out now are pretty great (and yes, there's supposedly a third on the way). Headliners The McKenzies, on the other hand, are a bit more straightforwardly pop-rock-ish, and I sadly still haven't heard their recent full-length, but holy fuck are they good live. They blaze with an energy you can't fake, and it's extremely cool to see. Giant Battle Monster are the odd man out, seeing as I have yet to hear 'em, but I've heard they're worth seeing, so take that for what it's worth, eh?

NeoPopStreetFunk First Annual Art Show After Party, featuring Stadium & more @ Lucky's Pub (801 St. Emanuel)
This one's a twofer, really -- there's the NeoPopStreetFunk art show, first of all, going on at Nance Street Gallery (1310 Nance), in the warehouses just east of downtown, which'll feature art from a ton of intriguing-sounding folks (I think my wife may actually know a couple of them from her days as an undergrad in the UH Art Dept., now that I'm looking at the list).

DJ Saba spins the tunes over there, but then there's the afterparty down the road at Lucky's Pub (801 St. Emanuel), which Jeff from awesome, mind-blowing post-emo rockers Stadium told me his band would be playing, apparently along with Potbelly. He promised a much longer set than the little taste at the Block Party, which is good.

Note, btw, that Lucky's is not where this was originally scheduled -- it was supposed to be at the Last Concert Cafe, but got moved for some reason. Go figure...

Lazy Squid Rekkids Showcase(?), featuring Exterminating Angels, The Homopolice, The Delta Block, & Thou Shall Not Kill...Except @ Super Happy Fun Land
Okay, so this might not actually be the "Lazy Squid Rekkids Showcase" anymore -- that's just how I saw it billed originally at SHFL, before any bands but Exterminating Angels (which is Scott Ayers of the Pain Teens, Walking Timebombs, & about a million other batshit-crazy Houston legends, plus Shaun Kelly & Carol Sandin of Sad Pygmy & even more other bands) were listed. Now they just list the bands themselves, so eh, your mileage may vary. What's in a name, anyway? Personally, I'd say go to this one to check out The Homopolice in all their faux-homoerotic authority-figure glory, then stick around to see what the hell Ayers is up to these days.

Two Star Symphony/Chiara String Quartet @ Avant Garden
I dunno the Chiara String Quartet, but Two Star Symphony are pretty amazing, I hear -- they play quirky, spooky chamber music about trolls and goblins and whatnot. And I love just the concept of "Classical in a Club"; there should be more events like this.

Lick Lick/The Invincible Czars/Opposite Day @ Rudyard's
Back in the day, Matt from Austin band Lick Lick used to live here, singing for a couple of little, kinda-known (yeah, right) bands called Sprawl & Middlefinger. I'm honestly not sure what his "new" band's like, but I've heard fellow Austinites The Invincible Czars and have been intrigued by the bizarre Russian-folk/klezmer/rock hybrid they play (including a polka cover of Metallica's "Blackened," I'm told). And hey, the show's also their CD release, which makes it extra-special cool, right?

6th Annual Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Crawfish Boil and Music Festival, featuring Bleu Edmondson, Kyle Park, Robert Frith, Rich O'Toole, The Kyle Bennett Band, & Bourbon Street @ Warehouse Live
I'm afraid I know nobody playing this show, but who cares? It's a crawfish boil, a music festival, and a damn good cause, all rolled into one event. Get out & help.

Runners-Up:
D.R.U.M./The Mighty Orq/The Tiles @ The Continental Club
Strangefeather/Tod the Fox @ Notsuoh

Labels: Charitable Things, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

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