Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: B L A C K I E + Muhammadali + Caddywhompus + Hell City Kings + Arthur Yoria + More

Day 2 of the weekend — Saturday, January 30th, to be precise — and yep, there’s plenty going on ’round town. Here’s what I’m thinking sounds good:

Followed By Static/ Muhammadali/ B L A C K I E/ Legsweeper/ Somosuno/Limb @ Notsuoh
Sweeeet. Two of my favorite bands in town right now — misanthropic crush-hop pioneer B L A C K I E and loose-limbed, ambiguously-spelled indie-punks Muhammadali — on the same bill, plus Austinites Followed By Static, who do some nicely droney/rough-edged psych-rock; hard to beat that. The weird thing about this show, though, is that, um, according to the flyer this is a “secret” show at an undisclosed location…and yet, I was under the impression that it was actually going to be at Notsuoh. Hope this isn’t blowing the secret…

Artopia, featuring Runaway Sun, Ryan Scroggins and the Trenchtown Texans, Benjamin Wesley, & Ceeplus Bad Knives @ Winter Street Studios
And another lineup with folks I like, esp. one-man-band Benjamin Wesley, whose laidback, quirkily dark groove-pop is ridiculously addictive, and local ska/reggae heroes Ryan Scroggins and the Trenchtown Texans. Plus plenty of artists, fashion shows, & all kinds of other art-related stuff.

Caddywhompus/Female Demand/Smiley With A Knife @ Mango’s
Already talked a bit about Female Demand yesterday — see here — but I wanted to add my recommendation to definitely, definitely check out fellow hard-rocking duo Caddywhompus, aka Chris Rehm & Sean Hart, ex-(?) of the Riff Tiffs and now splitting their time between here at New Orleans. I still enjoy the hell out of the band’s two EPs so far, and seeing ’em live is pretty impressive, too.

Pride Kills (7″ release)/Hell City Kings/No Talk/Power Trip/The Burden @ Walter’s (8PM; $10, incl. copy of the 7″)
Never known much about headliners Pride Kills, I’m afraid, other than they’re one of the longer-standing hardcore bands in the city, and um, I could swear they actually broke up back in ’08. Am I thinking of another “Pride Kills”? No clue. Either way, I’m thinking this’ll be a good show mostly because of openers the Hell City Kings — who were kind enough to send a copy of their latest full-length my way, although I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet, I’m afraid; I’ve liked their raw, down-and-dirty rawk for quite a while now — and full-on old-school punk/hc band No Talk. And hey, the $10 cover gets you a copy of Pride Kills’ new 7″, which is always a nice touch.

Lee Alexander/Arthur Yoria/Petesimple @ Rudyard’s
Heard really, really good things about singer/songwriter Lee Alexander, but I have to admit it, Arthur Yoria‘s the draw for me on this bill — the guy’s a machine, cranking out album after album of pop-rock that never stays in one stylistic place long enough to get stale. Take his last album, (281), for example; just when I think I’ve got him pegged as a sensitive, murky troubadour, he comes back with a pack of totally bizarro songs, calling himself “stoner-pop.” And yet, still good.

Runners-Up:
Bigga Staar/Mr. Blacc Sheep/D.R.U.M./Kozmic Steel/DJ Meshak @ The Continental Club
Spain Colored Orange/The Laughing/The Journey Agents @ Dean’s Credit Clothing
Carolyn Wonderland/Richard Cagle and the Voodoo Choir/Idol Hands/Mojofromopolis @ The Meridian
Patrick Godbey/Whurm @ Last Concert Cafe
Lethal Aggression/Scum Allegiance/HRA/Termination Force/Owl Witch @ The Mink (8:30PM)
Anti-Climax/The Lion of Wall Street/Days N Daze/Alimanas/Archaic 3 with Chief/U Not I/LSD/Picking Scabs/Molotov Compromise/Rats In The Attic/Action Frank/Pelly Rodgers/The Delta Block/Freddie Goneria and the Guns @ Super Happy Fun Land
Krunkquistadors/Kemo for Emo/Mike Terror/Cynical/Iminent Success @ Gary’s Spot (Tomball)
Safety Suit/Parachute/The Wonderful Future @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)