Yet another one of those weekends when we Houston-dwelling folks are spoilt for choice, seriously; there's enough good stuff going on tonight & tomorrow that if you claim to be bored & unable to find anything good in Houston, music-wise, you're a fucking idiot. Here goes:

Sat., April 17:
sIngs (CD release)/ Casiotone for the Painfully Alone/Sharks and Sailors/Young Mammals/ B L A C K I E @ Mango's (8PM; $8, incl. CD)
The top pick of the evening, absolutely -- and yeah, I say that even with the next show below looming large, because this one's literally packed full of awesomeness. There're three bands I dearly love playing: brooding, heavy/soft atmospheric rockers Sharks and Sailors, who're thankfully not dead like I thought they might be (see awesome interviews with 'em by David Cobb & Ramon Medina up here and here); smart, catchy, insanely energetic indie-pop heroes Young Mammals; and dark-side-dwelling B L A C K I E, who sounds like he makes his beats using a trash compactor and whatever junk he can find lying around your garage.

On top of that, this also happens to be the CD release gig for sIngs, a local supergroup-ish band that includes members of Buxton, By the End of Tonight, Young Mammals, and probably a dozen other bands I'm forgetting right now. What I've heard of 'em is pretty damn cool, especially the male/female duet songs; the music's nicely dark and murky, sleepy and somewhat electronics-tinged, while still remaining pretty at points, like The Beta Band if they were from Omaha rather than Scotland. And as mentioned previously, tonight's got an added bonus with Casiotone For the Painfully Alone, who always strikes me as being like The Mountain Goats with keyboards & beats...

iFest, featuring Ozomatli, J. Paul Jr. and the Zydeco Nubreeds, Latinology featuring Sarah Fox & Joel Guzman, DJ Kassanova, Mark May Band featuring Miss Molly, Kozzmik Steel, Studio 8 Dancers, Kucheza Ngoma Dancers, Women of Haiti Dancers, Sisters Morales, Grupo Ka-che, Brave Combo, Joe Ely Band featuring David Grissom, Bachata Roja Legends featuring Puerto Plata with the Strictly Street Salsa Dancers, Los Parranderos and Mocko Jumbie Stilt Dancers, Easy Star All-Stars, Marcia Ball, Mariachi Palmview, Mitch Jacobs Band, Truth Universal, LINC International Choir, Ballet Folklorico Palmview, Moving Stars Tassa Group, Shark Attack, Voodoo Brass Band, Irie Time, Baba Ifalade Drum Circle, Anjali School of Indian Dance, & Kuumba House Kids @ Downtown
Yep, iFest is upon us, and I've gotta give it to 'em for putting together an impressive lineup that includes both local folks and out-of-towners. Ozomatli are pretty damn cool, and there's always a soft spot in my soul for Brave Combo...

The Dead Rabbits/Pseudo Section @ The 19th Hole (The Woodlands)
Dunno Pseudo Section, but I've been seriously enjoying "Irish punk rock" crew The Dead Rabbits since I first heard 'em a month or two ago. They're not all that "punk," really, but are closer kin to The Tossers than anything else in their fiery, speedy, folk-with-electric guitars, although there's some resemblance to the more trad-leaning tunes of the Dropkick Murphys & Flogging Molly, too. One of the better "new" bands I've run across lately, I swear.

Record Store Day 2010, featuring Freddie Steady Five, Grandfather Child, & sIngs @ Cactus Music (1PM; free!)
Sig's Lagoon Swap & Bop, featuring The El Orbits, The Umbrella Man, & DJ Psychedelic Sex Panther @ Sig's Lagoon/The Pachinko Hut
Yeah, I already talked about these already, but they bear re-mentioning; go here for the details...

2010 Texas Crawfish & Music Festival, featuring Charlie Robison, Dev Electric, Leon Chavis & the Zydeco Flames, Aaron Watson, Forever Falls, Right to Refuse, Designer Drugs, Nooney & the Zydeco Floaters, John D. Hale, Buxton, Foster, Turnpike Troubadours, Fred Rusk & the Zydeco Hi Steppers, John McConnell, & Without A Face @ Old Town Spring (Spring)
King Britt/DJ Sun/Seth Jones @ Numbers
James Rivera's Birthday Bash, featuring Helstar, Sabbath Judas Sabbath, Phantom X, The Hectic, Force Of Genocide, & Soul Removed @ Fitzgerald's
Vagabond Swing/Jim Trainer @ Notsuoh
Reverberation, featuring DJ Psychedelic Sex Panther, DJ Paisley Pilgrim, DJ Baby Jesus, & DJ Andrew Lee @ Boondocks
Martin Burniston's Bawdy Night @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck

Sun., April 18:
The Texas Buzz, featuring Local H, Kinch, & The Gold Sounds @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
No, you read that right -- heavy rock duo and moderately-big '90s icons Local H are indeed playing down in Clear Lake at The Scout Bar. Turns out the band never actually called it a day, but after "Bound for the Floor" faded from the radiowaves, they just continued plugging away below the surface, bouncing from label to label while staying relatively big in their Chicago 'hood. Glad to see they're still alive & kicking. Adding to the fun are Deer Park's own garage-y/glam-y Gold Sounds, one of my all-time favorite bands around the Houston area & a fine matchup for the Chicagoans. Head south, young man...

Michale Graves/Los Desconocidos /Always Guilty/The Dead Rabbits/Days N' Daze/Joe Ray @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar (8PM; $10/$13)
No, I'm not particularly a fan of The Misfits; I missed the boat the first time around and just didn't get it when I finally did hear 'em in college, y'know? I can appreciate their legacy, though, and so a show with 2nd Gen Misfits frontman Michale Graves is pretty notable for that alone, even to a non-afficionado like me. Plus, a second Dead Rabbits show in a weekend's no bad thing. (You really ought to check out Mel House's review of Graves' last show 'round here, too.)

Toxic Noise, featuring DJ Bakka @ Big Star Bar
Not a "show," per se, but this one's notable for being a shindig in quasi-honor of Houston Press scribe Craig Hlavaty, who's a good writer, damn funny, and good people in general. Go buy the dude a beer. (Oh, and DJ Bakka will apparently be spinning lots of Mötörhead in Craig's honor...)

Resonant Interval Sound Series, featuring Conference Call @ Mekong Shopping Center rooftop (8PM; $12)
I'm afraid I dunno a thing about Conference Call, sorry, but I'm pretty psyched on the Resonant Interval Sound Series in general; anybody they bring in is guaranteed to be interesting, at the very least. And hey: a rooftop show? Always cool.

Gorilla Productions Battle of the Bands, featuring Krunkquistadors, G.S., John Farley & the Wild Turkeys, Axion, Robert Len Stallard, Bud Playground, Blackfield Asylum, Lay to Waist, Adelaine, The Paperwaits, & Gun Wielding Cougars @ Fitzgerald's
Dunno most of these folks, I'll freely admit -- isn't that the cool part of "Battle of the Bands" shows, anyway? -- but I do know Adelaine somewhat and have been really liking their Cruiserweight-like post-emo rock. They're one of the best local bands I've run across lately, at least in the alt-rock vein...

Heard good things by/about Krunkquistadors and The Paperwaits, too; they're both worth checking out. A headshake and skeptical look goes to the awfully-named Gun Wielding Cougars, however -- really, guys, you had to go there? All I can hope is that you're referring to mountain lions...

Shock Treatment, featuring Nurse Ratched & Society of Bandits @ Rocbar
This one's not so much "good" as "entertaining"; I've got no idea what they sound like, but Nurse Ratched apparently consists of ex-members of hair-metal outfits Brittney Fox and the Bullet Boyz. Both of which were, um, something for their time, that's for damn sure.

iFest, featuring Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band, Tab Benoit, Karina Nistal, New Orleans Hustlers Brass Band, Truth Universal, DJ Jason and the Catalyst, Ambassadors International Ballet Folklorico, DrumBREAK, Lourdes Jimenez, Chris Bell & 100% Blues, Norma Zenteno Band, Marcia Ball, Mighty Diamonds, Neutral Sister with Mr. Blacc Sheep and Yard Band, Bachata Roja Legends featuring Puerto Plata with Strictly Street Salsa Dancers, Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba, Curtis Poullard and the Creole Zydeco Band, Tekumbe, Robert Ellis & The Boys, Women of Haiti Dancers, Young Harmonies of Houston, Ballet Folklorico Palmview, Stephanie Coley Caribbean Poet, Mariachi Palmview, Houston Caribbean All-Star Dancers, Stamina and Mocko Jumbie Stilt Dancers, Sean Richards, Natya Upasana Indian Dance Academy, & Cookie Joe's Dancin' School @ Downtown
Hamilton Loomis @ Dan Electro's Guitar Bar (4-7PM)
2010 Texas Crawfish & Music Festival, featuring Gary P. Nunn, Bo Cox, Davin James Band, Chuck Allen Floyd, Bon Ton Mickey, Maximus, & Country Allstars @ Old Town Spring (Spring)

Labels: Flyeration, H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do, Things To Read

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