Tonight: The Gold Sounds (Reviewed!) + The Eastern Sea (Reviewed!) + Paris Falls + listenlisten + More

Holy crap, it is some weekend coming up, folks — I hardly know where to start. Okay, that’s not true, not really, because where I pretty much have to start is with my top two shows of this evening (Friday, February 12th), both of which will be utterly badass.

First off, though, some sad news this week; remember how that A Lull show last weekend got cancelled? Well, it turns out the Retribution Gospel Choir show that was supposed to happen this past Wednesday (and that I blathered some about) got cancelled, too, reportedly “due to lack of ticket sales.” Which sucks, obviously, although it does make me feel a bit vindicated for my concern about the band playing at Wired Live/The Meridian — next time, y’all, you need to be at a smaller venue… If anybody read my writeup & tried to make it out to the show, I apologize; I had no idea the whole thing’d been blown. sigh.

To add insult to injury, there’s at least one more show cancelled this week, although it’s not one I know a lot about; apparently the Bob Livingston/Danny Everitt show at The Listening Room (inside NiaMoves studio) is no longer happening, either. Do we Houstonians all smell bad or something? (Okay, don’t answer that.) Yeesh.

Anyway, here’s what I think sounds cool for tonight, headed up by the two best-sounding shows going…er, assuming they don’t all get stuck in snowdrifts north of Austin or catch the Plague or get eaten by zombies or something:

The Gold Sounds (CD release)/Paris Falls/T.V. Torso (ex-Sound Team)/The Small Sounds @ Walter’s (8PM; $6/$8)
Alrighty, first and foremost — I’ve been looking forward to The Gold Sounds‘ long-promised full-length for, oh, about three years now, so when the band was kind enough to send a copy, I didn’t even wait ’til I got home to slap it in the CD player but ripped off the plastic right then & there. And holy shit is it good; I swear, “She’s Got Me Singin So Low” is one of the best album lead-in songs I’ve ever, ever, ever heard. No lie. Full-on, just-raw-enough rawk with great, great melodies lurking underneath. If you’re familiar with the band, you’ve heard some of the songs before, most likely, but even older stuff like the awesome “College Radio” comes off vibrant and rejuvenated here. Check out my full writeup of the new album on over here, should you be so inclined…

Plus, the openers include Paris Falls, who I love but — to my eternal shame — have somehow managed to never see live, missing out on their cool, ragged-sounding retro-pop thing, TV Torso, who I haven’t heard but which apparently includes ex-members of Sound Team (which I liked), and The Small Sounds, rootsy, countrified rockers who hold a place near and dear to my heart. I swear, “Leave Virginia, Girl” still makes my heart hurt a little bit every time I hear it.

listenlisten/The Eastern Sea/Peter and the Wolf/Limb @ Mango’s
Wow, wow, wow. ‘Til today, I’d thought this show was only Austin-via-Houston crew The Eastern Sea, which would’ve been ridiculously cool all on its own, and now I happen to notice today that the lineup’s miraculously expanded to include listenlisten and Peter and the Wolf, both of whom I adore (along with the Sea), and Limb, who/which was pretty intriguing when I saw him (er, them?) at Westfest a while back.

Not sure who I’d most like to see of the Sea, listenlisten, or Peter and the Wolf, honestly; I love listenlisten’s dark, give-up-all-hope, out-of-time dirges and think Hymns From Rhodesia is one of the best albums of ’09 (it sure as hell beats most of what was “hot” this past year…and then stabs it in the back with a knife while it’s not looking), and the last time I saw Peter and the Wolf, Red Hunter and his gang were utterly mesmerizing, scrapping their trademark guitar-based indie-folk to do this crazy hoodie-wearing Afropop thing that they’d been experimenting with.

I think The Eastern Sea wins the fight, though; they make my jaw drop every time I see ’em, and recently-released EP II is also one of the best things to happen in the year past. I’ll forego the raving right now and direct you on over to the full review of the EP, right over here, but trust me when I say that they’re one of the best bands I’ve ever seen. Ever. (No, seriously.) Proof:

The Mountain from Samuel Geer on Vimeo.

So, my recommendation: hit either Walter’s for The Gold Sounds & co., or Mango’s for The Eastern Sea & friends. You won’t be disappointed either way. And hey, if neither one strikes your fancy…

Fuck Your Scene Fest, featuring Nihilistic Outlaw Criminal Order, Lying To Sick Children, HRA, Agenda 88, & IPV @ The White Swan
Okay, I’ve only ever heard of the folks playing at The White Swan tonight, I’ll admit, but c’mon, I’ve got to give points to Lying To Sick Children for coming up with the Best Band Name in the Universe. It’s damned evocative, that’s for sure.

Los FabuLocos/Nick Gaitan & The Umbrella Man/Picture Book @ The Continental Club
Dunno Los FabuLocos, sorry, but I really dig The Umbrella Man in general, and I’ve recently been hearing really, really good things about Picture Book, which I’m told is a British Invasion cover band that includes excellent singer/songwriter guy Chase Hamblin and Derek Dunivan, ex- of legendary teenage rockers Pure Rubbish and also Hamblin’s producer and part of his backing band.

Imaginary City, featuring So Percussion @ DiverseWorks
Just wanted to point out that blogger/writer dude Creg already posted about this one a few days ago; check on over here. And yes, it does sound pretty damn cool.

Runners-Up:
Emmure/Terror/After the Burial/Miss May I/Thick As Blood/Vendetta Diary @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian)
The Ride Home/The Wockets/Doubtful Thomas/Timber!/Jerusalem/Winter Road @ The Junction (8302 N Eldridge Parkway)
The Bottom Four/The Off Season @ Avant Garden
Free Pop/Swamp Tease/Ancestral Diet/Taboo @ Super Happy Fun Land
Snoop Dogg/M-11 @ House of Blues
Larry Tee/Toy Selectah/POSR/GRRRL Parts/CeePlus/Damon Allen/Panchitron @ The Mink
Luxurata @ Rudyard’s

More soon…