Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Thee Armada Says Goodbye + Chris Rehm + Springfield Riots + More

Not a huge pile of things going on tonight (Saturday, January 16th), and not much at all tomorrow that appeals to me, but what is going on is particularly cool. Here goes…

Thee Armada (final show)/ Mechanical Boy/Select Start/the last place you look/This Year’s Tiger/Amber Skyline @ Warehouse Live
They weren’t universally loved, I know, but hell, I don’t care; since first hearing their debut EP, The New You, I’ve been pretty impressed by North Houston kids Thee Armada. They do/did a really nice Jimmy Eat World-ish thing, with a serious nod back to the ’80s, melody-wise, and while I never got hear their new album, I like what I’ve heard of it online. Sadly, it turns out the band’s breaking up, in part due to lead singer Josh Caddy being offered a gig as frontman for an as-yet-unnamed bigger band. The other guys in the band are reportedly already working on something new, too, but I have yet to hear what exactly that’ll be.

Anyway, they’re going out with a bang tonight up at Warehouse Live, surrounded by friends & fellow post-emo rockers like Mechanical Boy, Amber Skyline, and the last place you look, plus raw-throated indie-punk dudes This Year’s Tiger and Select Start, who I’ve never heard of before. On top of the Armada guys, I dig Mechanical Boy (esp. live) and am glad to see TYT still alive & kicking, and I really love the last place you look, who’s most recent album’s one of the best I heard last year. (Seriously.) Good way to call it a day, if you ask me…

sIngs/Chris Rehm/Giant Cloud/Cedar Boy Bailey @ Mango’s ($5; 9PM)
Damn — I really need to check out sIngs one of these days, I swear, ’cause everything I hear about ’em is pretty damn impressive. They’re headlining tonight, but it’s a big show for Riff Tiffs/ Caddywhompus guitarist/singer Chris Rehm, too; he’s putting out a cassette-only release that sounds very cool, and I love just about everything the guy’s done ’til now, so hey… Added bonus? Sergio from Buxton as Cedar Boy Bailey, which I’m told really has to be seen to be believed.

The Lymbyc Systym/ Springfield Riots/Smoky Mountain @ Rudyard’s
I hate to admit it, but the one time I saw The Lymbyc Systym, they were just kinda “eh,” at least to me. But who cares, so long as Springfield Riots are playing? Really, truly liking these guys, with their warm, fuzzy, retro-psych-pop sound, like Pink Floyd if they came from the American Heartland rather than the UK. Check ’em out — you won’t be disappointed.

Cass’s Birthday Party, featuring The Drunks & Hell City Kings @ Big Star Bar
Okay, so I’m not entirely sure this is open to everybody, since it’s a birthday party & all that, but what the hell. Hell City Kings are always worth checking out, even if you have to party-crash…

Runners-Up:
Kids At The Bar/American Sharks/Glasnost (DJ set) @ Boondocks
Ian Moore @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck