Yr. Weekend: The Jonx + Sweat Free + Michael Franti + Tim Barry + Peace Fest + Elaine Greer + More

I’ve got a few minutes to spare while the munchkins are napping, so let’s hit the highlights for the rest of the weekend, namely Saturday, March 6th, & Sunday, March 7th. I’ll be off tonight celebrating the happy union of a couple of friends of ours this evening (congrats, Angela & Kevin, in the unlikely event that you ever read this!), but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a crapload of stuff going on. Here’s my list:

Sat., March 6:
Fired For Walking/The Jonx/The Bottom Four @ Rudyard’s (free!)
Fired For Walking are fun — nice, somewhat soulful/bluesy alt-rock with metal tendencies, played by a bunch of dudes who’ve been around the Houston scene block many, many times — but to tell the truth, The Jonx are the reason to check out Rudz tonight. I’m horribly, terribly behind on my reviews, or you’d have wonderfully-written (yeah, that’s the ticket…) electronic type all about the band’s latest release, Vocabularian Herds, which honestly keeps the trend going that the band’s established where every album of muscular, Minutemen-influenced, math-y rock improves upon the previous one to insane levels.

Sweat Free Houston Benefit, featuring Giant Princess, Muhammad Ali, Ghormeh Sabzi, Bambara, Rapeworm, & Cop Warmth @ Mango’s ($5; 8PM)
Good Cause Gig #1 for the evening, looks like — heard about this earlier in the week but didn’t have a chance to post anything about it ’til now, sorry… Beyond being a pretty badass lineup (particularly the throwback, sloppy-great indie-rock of Muhammad Ali and the screw-you garage-y rawk of Giant Princess), it’s also got a very cool goal: to prod the City of Houston, in which many of us live, to adopt a no-sweatshops procurement policy.

The group putting on the show, Sweat Free Houston, wants the city to no longer purchase garments (uniforms, etc.) from companies that use sweatshop labor, and personally, I’m all for that. Hell, I’m saddened to learn that that’s not already the case… Naturally, though, that kind of organizing, petitioning, and legislating takes $$$ — hence the benefit. Get out & support.

Peace Festival, featuring Electric Attitude, listenlisten, Spain Colored Orange, Much Love, Tyagaraja, Zachary Ford, Lapel, Macy McKinzie, Meghan Miller, Jordan Cervantez, & Micah Lamb @ Live Oak Friends Meeting (1318 W. 26th; 1-8PM)
Beyond the fact that a “Peace Festival” is always a cool thing to me — I dig the Quakers/Friends for that — and that there are some great folks playing, like listenlisten, Tyagaraja, Electric Attitude, & Spain Colored Orange, this show’s worth checking out just to see the Live Oak Friends Meeting House up in the Heights. Went there for a wedding a few years ago, and it’s a neat place, not much like any “church” you’re likely to’ve been to before. And then, of course, good music + good cause (this one’s Good Cause Gig #2, naturally). Oh, and dancing, apparently — there’ll be dance performances by Dancepatheater & the Brazilian Arts Foundation. Sounds like a good deal…

Chase Hamblin/The Sour Notes/Spain Colored Orange @ The Continental Club
Not sure who’s headlining and who’s opening, for this one, but hell, it doesn’t matter. Been a Spain Colored Orange fan for a ridiculously long time, now — I really need to rip the old cassette stuff of the “original” SCO, one of these days — even in their current, more orchestral form, I dig Chase Hamblin‘s deceptively sweet/pretty retro-ified power pop, and I finally caught Austinites The Sour Notes (a band that now includes ex-Houstonian Elaine Greer) at the Festival at Mink #2 and was very impressed by their lush, shoegazer-y indie-pop. A bit of an oddball show for The Continental Club, but hey, nothing wrong with that.

John Mayer/Michael Franti @ Toyota Center
Oh, c’mon — you know you want to see this just so you can say you were there when John Mayer had his latest meltdown. Don’t forget about Michael Franti, though; I’ve been a fan of the guy since his Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy days (and yes, that’s still one of the best damn band names ever), and his jazzy, reggae-tinged, smart-yet-laidback funk-rock thing has thankfully remained cool through the years. Most of what I’ve heard lately sounds a heck of a lot like Blackalicious’ more melodic, funky stuff, and that’s a good thing.

Eyes Burn Electric (CD release)/Uprise of the Fallen/The Vettes/Mothers Anthem/The Canvas Waiting @ Fitzgerald’s
Just for clarity’s sake, Eyes Burn Electric is the new-ish name (thank God) for Austin band Dremnt the End, and tonight’s the party/show for their brand-new self-titled CD. Which ain’t bad, in terms of dramatic, melodic, post-emo/Taking Back Sunday-esque rock. If that’s your thing, hey, this is probably where you need to be.

Keka’s Benefit Show, featuring Always Guilty, Los Desconocidos, The Failed Attempt, Dun Bin Had, Skaretas, & Ska Bones @ Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar (8PM; $5)
Yep, ska, of all things, at Dan Electro’s. I’m sure it’s happened before — in fact, I remember seeing Bone Simple, who were sorta-kinda a ska band, play there once — but it doesn’t happen real often. And hey, it’s a cheap-ass benefit show (call it Good Cause Gig #3) with some decent bands (namely Always Guilty & The Failed Attempt), so where’s the downside?

Strangers Family Band/Passengers @ The Pachinko Hut (3714 Main, in backyard; 9PM)
The Watermarks/Mobley/Smoky Mountain/Corners/Stiletto Chrome @ The Mink
Sisters Morales @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Dirty Honey, featuring Brett Koshkin & DJ La Zola @ Boondocks
Austin Collins & The Rainbirds @ West Alabama Ice House (4PM; show benefits The Avon Walk For Breast Cancer)
Pisces Party, featuring Clockpole & Darwin’s Finches @ Super Happy Fun Land
Stephen Kellogg @ Cactus Music (3PM)
Needtobreathe/Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers/Graham Colton @ Warehouse Live

Sun., March 7:
Shock Treatment, featuring Brutally Normal, Penny Arcade, & Latch Key Kids @ Rocbar
Tough call as to which show I like best for Sunday, but this one wins out by virtue of old-school pop-punk/ hardcore guys Latch Key Kids being on the bill. They told me they were headlining the show, but it looks like they might be playing first, so I dunno what the deal is… Anyway, they’re damn good, nearly legendary Back in the Day and reportedly even better now, and I’m told they’re recording new stuff to release later in the year. Check ’em out.

Tim Barry/Ninja Gun/Mama Tried/Elaine Greer @ Walter’s (8PM; $10)
I’m one of those folks who fondly remembers Virginia-bred punks Avail — 1998’s Over The James was really a defining moment for me, music-wise — so I’m very happy frontman Tim Barry is out on his own these days (Avail being “on permanent standby,” as Barry’s said in interviews), doing a cool, down-to-earth indie-country/folk thing reminiscent of, say, Lucero or an Americana-ized Billy Bragg. It’s good shit. And hey, Elaine Greer‘s reportedly opening the show, too, with her jangly, delicately pretty (yet still nicely rustic) folk-pop.

Elaine Greer/Clory Martin/Gretchen Schmaltz @ Khon’s (rooftop; 3PM)
The second (er, first) Elaine Greer appearance of the day, and the third of the weekend, counting her Sour Notes gig tonight… This one’s kind of a fun deal — it’s a mid-afternoon (3PM) rooftop show up on the roof/parking lot of Khon’s in Midtown, put on by Nikki, the new editor at Citysearch Houston, a Website I’ll shamefacedly admit I, um, didn’t realize was still a going concern these days. (Sorry!) Sounds like fun, though; I like Elaine quite a bit, obviously, and I love Gretchen Schmaltz‘s fragile, unpainted folky stuff, too…

Resonant Interval Sound Series, featuring Six Strings That Divine Water (mem. of Wasp & Pear, Kai/ros, & Chiasma) & Josiah Gabriel @ The Husk (2808 Milam; 7:45PM, $5)
Yep, another Resonant Interval show, this time featuring a joint project of Donald from Wasp & Pear and J.D. of Kai/ros, Chiasma, & a bunch of other bands, entitled Six Strings That Divine Water. Sounds pretty intriguing, at the very least.

Rodeo Houston, featuring The Jonas Brothers & Demi Lovato @ Reliant Stadium
Yeah, yeah — not proud of it, no, but I have to admit that Demi Lovato‘s album, well…it’s actually surprisingly decent. Beats the hell out of the JoBros or Miley Cyrus, at least, although that ain’t saying much. Don’t you judge me, fool.

Rock For Layla Benefit,featuring The Canvas Waiting, Murder Plot, Marzi, Heavy as Texas, Tejas Heat, Strait Up, Chelle, & Sarah Alexander @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian)
The Texas Buzz, featuring Vallejo, Rockett Queen, & Days Drive @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
Russian Spring Festival, featuring Flying Balalaika Brothers @ Under The Volcano (3PM)
Great Big Sea @ House of Blues