Yr. Weekend: Lost In Space + The Gary + Western Civ + Deer Tick (MP3!) + Fiesta Movement + Mayday Mayhem + Alkari + More

Before I sign off for a bit, though, I wanted to hit some weekend highlights — and yeah, there’re quite a few, so I’m afraid I’m going to just have to list ’em off, for the most part.

Tonight (Fri., April 30th) is a rough one, forcing yours truly to choose between the 2nd installment of the Lost In Space Festival (see here for more on that), checking out coolly old-school indie-rockers The Gary (feat. Trey Pool of Sad Like Crazy, Trompedo, & Celindine; their full-length, Logan, is pretty badass, btw, and I am lame, lame, lame for not yet reviewing the damn thing…) at Rudz, finally enjoying The Western Civilization again after too damn long a time, blissing out to The Crystal Method at Rich’s (okay, I’ll admit that that ain’t real likely; love the Method, tho’), doing the throwback thing to Danneurysm‘s take on Nirvana, getting my growly, guttural Viking folk-metal on with Finntroll, or grooving down to Chaka Khan at the Arena Theater (okay, that’s not likely to happen, either, but the lady’s a legend & still deserves a shout-out).

Tomorrow night (Sat., May 1st) is almost as bad. I’m a little ambivalent on The Dead Weather — while I like The White Stripes and love(d) both The Kills and Discount, so far TDW just hasn’t grabbed me like I’d hoped it would — but it’s still bound to be an interesting show. Plus, there’s the Mayday Mayhem On Main thing going on over in and around The Continental Club, which has some damn cool people (Something Fierce! Roky Moon & Bolt! woo!), a cool Sedition Books benefit show over at Mango’s, and the previously-mentioned Fiesta Movement Houston Battle of the Bands (see here), which also features a ton of cool people. On a closer-to-home note, pal Jason Smith of Alkari will be celebrating the big four-oh over at Rudz — glass raised in his direction — and The Mink has Passengers, who I’m looking forward to seeing tonight, and The Tyburn Jig, who do an awesome mashup of countrified surf-rock and Nick Cave gloominess.

On the negative side, I’m told that Van Morrison has decreed that for his show at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Saturday, there will be no alcoholic beverages sold or allowed in. Seriously? Dude, you’re fucking Irish — drinking is practically part of our genetic code, and while I’m not a drinker in general, I find it utterly retarded that Morrison’s fans should be expected to just sit back & be teetotalers for the whole damn set. Fair warning, folks who’re planning to drive out to The Woodlands for the show…

Then there’s Sunday, May 2nd, where we’ve got Dr. Dog and Deer Tick, the latter of whom is pretty damn good & has been steadily growing on me the past couple of years, so to celebrate them/him coming back through town, here’s a cool track off new album The Black Dirt Sessions:

Deer Tick – “20 Miles”

Oh, and reggae legends Toots and the Maytals will be at the House of Blues, playing a show that’s honestly probably the one I’m most likely to check out, at least… Beyond that, Sunday also includes cool shows with The Umbrella Man & the Mark May Band at Dan Electro’s, stripper-turned-blues diva Candye Kane at The Continental Club, and — what, you thought I forgot? — the headshake-inducing Buzzfest XXIV. Whoa, roll that back. You mean to tell me that Buzzfest has now been running for twenty-four fucking years? That cannot be right. I didn’t even think The Buzz had been around that long, honestly — I’m fairly sure they appeared after I got here, and I only got here about 20 years ago, myself.

Anyway, whatever crazy-ass numbering scheme they’re using, the ‘fest never fails to make me snicker, and this year’s no exception — Limp Bizkit? Really? Jesus… I have to hand it to ’em, though, for bringing in the Deftones (who I love), Metric, and Cage the Elephant. Guess there’s always some good lumped in with the godawful, right?

Here’s the full list of yr weekend entertainment:

Fri., April 30:
Lost In Space Fest 2, featuring My Education, Yppah, Many Birthdays, The Manichean, Passengers, Exterminating Angels, Golden Cities, Inner Lights, & Together We Are Instruments @ Rooftop of Khon’s Bar (2808 Milam; 7PM, $9.99)
Six Bands Six Bucks, featuring The Factory Party, Built By Snow, listenlisten, The Seas, Red Falcon, The Rocketboys, The Western Civilization, & DJ Czech One @ Walter’s ($6)
Bright Men of Learning/Arthur Yoria/The Gary @ Rudyard’s
The Crystal Method @ Rich’s (10PM; $10)
Danneurysm (Nirvana tribute)/The Energy (record release) @ Mango’s (9PM; $5)
Nashville Pussy/Green Jelly/Psychostick/The Bloody Mushrooms/Dogz On Parole @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian)
Finntroll/Moonsorrow/Swallow The Sun/Survivors Zero @ Wired Live (formerly The Meridian; The Channel)
Mount Righteous/Somosuno/B L A C K I E/Limb/Patsy/Cosmic Sound @ Super Happy Fun Land
Phoenix/Two Door Cinema Club @ Verizon Wireless Theater
Fired For Walking/Language Room/Days Drive @ Dean’s Credit Clothing (9PM; $5/$10)
Making Moves: Indie Dance Party and Art Show, featuring Ceeplus Bad Knives, G-Wizz, & Glasnost @ Warehouse Live
Carl Hayn and the Holdouts @ The Big Top
Chaka Khan @ Arena Theater

Sat., May 1:
The Dead Weather/The Ettes @ House of Blues
Mayday Mayhem On Main, featuring George Kinney & The Golden Dawn, Shapes Have Fangs, Something Fierce, Roky Moon & Bolt, Spain Colored Orange, The Mahas, Brandon West & the Black Hats, The Big Black Spiders, Davey Crockett (ex-Guitars), No Resistance, Anarchitex, & Reverberation DJs @ The Continental Club
Fiesta Movement Houston Battle of the Bands, featuring B L A C K I E, Peekaboo Theory, Black Queen Speaks, The Tontons, Tyagaraja, Versecity, Wayside Drive, & Robert Ellis & The Boys @ Warehouse Live (6PM)
Alkari/HRstrut (CD release)/Dune.tx @ Rudyard’s
Dead Weather Aftershow, featuring American Sharks, DJ Fredster, & DJ Stiletto @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
Sedition Books Benefit, featuring Cop Warmth, Dissent, The Delta Block, Los Area 51, & Redriver @ Mango’s
BURNOUT Afterparty, featuring Passengers, The Bottom Four, & The Tyburn Jig @ The Mink
Van Morrison @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Mike Stinson @ Cactus Music (3PM)
Radio One/Achachay! @ Fitzgerald’s
Smile Smile/Jeff Boortz @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
Corners/Satin Hooks/Stolen Library @ Trash Bar (Humble)
Clockpole/Darwin’s Finches @ The Float (Galveston)

Sun., May 2:
Dr. Dog/Deer Tick @ Warehouse Live
Buzzfest XXIV, featuring Limp Bizkit, Flyleaf, 30 Seconds to Mars, Three Days Grace, Cage the Elephant, Deftones, Metric, Violent Soho, Crash Kings, Sick Puppies, Seether, 10 Years, Switchfoot, Anchored, & more @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (sold out)
Toots and the Maytals/Johnny King and the Solrockers @ House of Blues
Candye Kane @ The Continental Club
Mark May Band/The Umbrella Man/Mojofromopolis @ Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar