Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: The Jonx (Reviewed!) + Grandfather Child + Balaclavas + Mia Kat + Skavaganza + More

Wow. Tonight, Friday, April 9th, is shaping up to be one hell of a night, I swear. And yes, I’m saying that primarily because of the slew of H-town’s own who’re playing, not the handful of bigger-name folks touring through town; sorry, y’all, but most nights I’d really rather be blown away by the locals… Anyway, here’s what I think looks good, in quasi-preferential order:

The Jonx/Woozyhelmet/Muhammad Ali/500 Megatons of Boogie @ Rudyard’s
This one wins pride of place not only because I finally, finally got off my ass and reviewed The Jonx‘s latest mindblowing album, Vocabularian Herds — read the review on over here, then come back and read the rest of this — but also because it’s one of those rare lineups where I really, truly want to see all four damn bands. Seriously, this is an awesome show.

The Jonx will knock you flat on the floor with their Minutemen-meet-Fugazi post-punk-y rock and clever, biting wit, but before that you’ll be gaping in awe at the fantastical indie-rock powers of Woozyhelmet, whose 2008 album, Get Down, made my car CD player its home for a long damn time, banging your head to drunken/sloppy/badass throwback indie dudes Muhammad Ali, and enjoying an exceedingly rare performance by too-smart freak-rockers 500 Megatons of Boogie. Go, go, and go. You won’t be disappointed.

Grandfather Child/Warpaint/Balaclavas/Buxton @ Mango’s
Despite the badassedness of the above, this is probably the biggie of the night for most scenesters, honestly; Grandfather Child has been making quite a few waves lately, and rightly so — their raw, heartfelt take on boogie-down blues puts to shame a lot of other bands doing similar things, and watching Lucas Gorham and company wail onstage is a mesmerizing thing, believe me. I know I’ve probably said it a half-dozen times, but they were one of the best things about last year’s Summerfest. I missed Warpaint the last time they came through town, and that’s an unfortunate thing, because all reports were that they were pretty amazing themselves; read over here to see what I said before that gig, so I don’t go crazy repeating myself.

I did see Buxton recently, and am happy to report that yes, they’re honestly getting better every damn time (and I swear I will write that show up, and soon), and the last time I caught Balaclavas, they floored me with their eerily hypnotic Gang of Four-gone-mad jams. Their new album Roman Holiday is freaking great, and I’ll hopefully be reviewing it in the near future, if I can get my shit together. Good shit, all of it.

Mia Kat Presents, featuring Hollywood Black, The Ride Home, The Goods, Framework, & Gretchen Schmaltz @ Fuel Cyber Cafe (Humble)
Sweet! It’s been a while since I’d heard a whole lot from the Mia Kat Recs gang, and every time that happens with local labels & whatnot, my initial thought (based on past experience) is that they’ve called it a day & just didn’t bother to tell anybody. Glad that’s not the case here. I dearly love Gretchen Schmaltz, moreso every time the gorgeous “Fire For Wings” pops up on my iPod, and while it’s been a long time since I last saw/heard The Goods, they’re damn good themselves. Plus, there’s the one-two punch of Hollywood Black and Framework, who share a member — I’ve been up-and-down on ’em in the past, but they’ve both won me over in the end. And The Ride Home is one of those bands I desperately need to hear more by, going from the little glimpses on comps & such here and there. All in all, this is a good one — northsiders, take note…

Skavaganza Fest, featuring Authority Zero, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Always Guilty, Molotov Compromise, & The Failed Attempt @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian)
Yes, yes, many years on, and I am still a sucker for all things ska. Admittedly, I was never as big on the ska-punk end of things as the trad-ska stuff, but I saw the Voodoo Glow Skulls once at Fitz (I think?), many moons ago in my youth, and they were pretty great; happy they’re still around. Beyond that, I like local guys The Failed Attempt and Always Guilty quite a fair bit, and while I dunno Authority Zero very well (except to know that they’re a lot more punk than ska), I did like their track “Revolution,” way back when on the first Rock Against Bush comp.

Soweto Gospel Choir @ Jones Hall
What can I say? I’ve never heard the Soweto Gospel Choir, but they sound pretty neat, and I’ve liked South African gospel-type stuff before, so there you go.

Runners-Up:
Yeasayer/Javelin @ House of Blues
Dead Rabbit/13 Black Coffins/ESE @ The White Swan
Nonsense Music Band (CD release)/Dave Dove/Muzak John @ Super Happy Fun Land
The Iguanas/Picture Book @ The Continental Club
Pacifist/The Nephilim Terror/All The Way To The Bank/Antarctica @ The Junction
2010 Texas Crawfish & Music Festival, featuring Jason Boland & The Stragglers, Grupo Fantasma, Brian Jack & the Zydeco Gamblers, Grand Mullett, Scooter Brown, Idiginis, Runaway Sun, Gerard Delafose Zydeco Band, & Right to Refuse @ Old Town Spring (Spring)
Vatos Locos/Caveman Electric/Black Powder Poets/Kat Kilpatrick @ Fitzgerald’s
AC Slater/Crystal Vision/Linh Nguyen/Touche/Stiletto Chrome & Fredster @ Wired Live (Club Wired)