Tonight: Pomegranates + Golden Triangle + The Energy + Destroyer Of Brains + Sour Notes + More

Busy, busy Monday night, I’ve gotta say — there’s a surprising amount of stuff going on, even for a SXSW-centric time in our fair state. Get on out and support, and screw the SouthBy hype:

Jookabox/ Pomegranates @ The Mink (9PM)
I honestly wasn’t sure if the Pomegranates listed here was the Pomegranates (the Mink site had ’em down as “The Pomegranates,” which, ironically, got me more confused), so I was happy as hell to see that the band I know and like quite a damn bit did indeed have the show listed on their site. Niiiiice. What can I say? They’re not groundbreaking or anything, no, but I enjoy the hell out of these guys’ straight-ahead, sweetly gorgeous indie-pop; it brings me back to the days of my youth, but at the same time, it doesn’t feel anywhere near retro or rehashed. 2008’s Everything Is Alive was pretty great (esp. the charging, grinning fire of “Appreciations”), and last year’s Everybody, Come Outside! followed up quite nicely.

Here’re a handful of tracks to check out from the latter album:

Pomegranates – “Corriander” (MP3)
Pomegranates – “Beachcomber” (MP3)
Pomegranates – “Everybody Come Outside!” (MP3)

They’re playing, btw, with Jookabox, not to be confused with Grampall Jookabox, who’s apparently totally different. Haven’t heard much from this band, but you can check out an MP3 from ’em right here:

Jookabox – “John Kill Meets the Brick People”

Thee Oh Sees/Golden Triangle/The Baths/The Energy @ Mango’s
I still need to see local boys The Energy, and I’m kicking myself, because they do some fine-ass punk rawk, at least going by the Myspace stuff they’ve got up… Beyond that, there’s touring band Golden Triangle, who’re murky and mid-fi, like a Rough Trade version of what a girl-group’s supposed to sound like (and yes, that means it’s good), and Thee Oh Sees (or however that’s spelled, I dunno), who’ve nearly ruptured my skull in years past but who sound like they pretty much rip the roof off, nonetheless. Go watch Mango’s implode.

Destroyer Of Brains (mem. of I Heart Lung & Rare Grooves)/The Cor-Tet @ Avant Garden (downstairs; 9:30PM, free!)
Another interesting one from the Resonant Interval gang, this is actually a combined performance with members of both the “main” bands from their show the other night, I Heart Lung and Rare Grooves, who’re combining forces to make one massive, improv/experimental monster of a band this evening, the appropriately-titled Destroyer Of Brains. (Mmmm, brains…) They’re playing with local folks The Cory Wilson Jazz Quartet, or “Cortet,” which probably shouldn’t be confused with the more heavyweight avant-jazz group that includes Cor Fuhler and John Butcher…

Chase Hamblin/Tyagaraja/Frank Freeman @ Avant Garden (upstairs)
And then, when you’ve melted your skull with noise and strangeness, hey, you can head on downstairs and enjoy the more laidback retro-pop of Chase Hamblin and spiritual-tinged folk stylings of Tyagaraja. Plus, I just saw Frank Freeman, another folk-y guy about whom I’ve heard good things recently, is also playing, so sit back and recuperate a while.

Rice University Spring Concert, featuring The Sour Notes & more @ Rice University
Sadly, I have absolutely zero information about this one, beyond that Austin band The Sour Notes are playing. Is it for Rice students only? Are other bands playing? When the hell is it (the Notes’ Myspace says 6PM, but I dunno how accurate that is)? Not a clue, and searching the Rice Website does me no favors. (Way to promote, y’all…) Which is a shame, because I really liked the Notes the one time I’ve seen ’em so far, with their keys-heavy, somewhat electronicized indie-pop melancholia; they’re like a less-desperate Secret Stars, which is a cool place to be.

SXSW Overflow Fest, featuring Guystorm, Abominable Futuro, Light Pollution, Shellshag, Street Eaters, Las Charades, & Bird by Bird (Jonathan from The Matches) @ Super Happy Fun Land
Yep, SXSW Overflow Fest at Super Happy again tonight; check out the detailed rundown over here…

Runners-Up:
French Horn Rebellion/Glasnost/GRRRL Parts @ Boondocks
Suicide Silence/All The Way To The Bank/Sever The Silence/The Nephilim Terror @ Scout Bar (Clear Lake)