A Weekend of Benefits: Sedition Books + Weird Party + Nathan Hart + Pencils 4 Ghana + Wesfest

Man, there sure seem to be a ton of these types of shows lately; I can’t say that’s a good thing, since they arise in a lot of cases out of some kind of tragedy, but y’know, they’re all good causes, and I can’t grumble about that (particularly since they’ve got some darn good bands/musicians playing, generally).

Still, this weekend seems awfully heavy with benefit shows, so I wanted to point ’em out specifically:

Fri., September 10:
Sedition Books Benefit Show, featuring Butch (30footFALL), Joe Ray, Adam and the Ancient Gods, Kim Champion!, & Radio Flyer @ Sedition Books (901 Richmond; $5 donation, 8PM)
Local anarchist “infoshop” (read: “bookstore”) Sedition Books has already had a rough September, it seems. I hadn’t heard much about it ’til a day or two ago, but some asshat/bunch of asshats apparently broke in and robbed the place around the start of the month, on top of the fine, fine City of Houston slapping the store with fines of some sort.

The latter of which is ridiculous in and of itself; how is it places like Sedition and Super Happy Fun Land get fined by the City, and yet the fuckwits who ran the body shop behind where I used to live never got a slap on the wrist for spraying without proper equipment, right into our backyard, in spite of multiple complaints? And c’mon, these are anarchists we’re talking about, here; can you honestly expect ’em to have all the proper forms filled out? It’s just a bookstore, for crying out loud…

Anyway, they’re in dire need of some monetary assistance, so help ’em out if you can. Tonight’s show up at the store features some cool-sounding indie-folk-y types like Adam & The Ancient Gods, {Joe Ray}, Kim Champion!, Radio Flyer, and yes, Butch Klotz, formerly/currently of longtime Houston punk stalwarts {30footFALL}. I saw Butch play a solo show a few years back, and it was pretty great; definitely worth checking out. Go & support, eh?

The Cynics/The Ugly Beats/Weird Party @ Rudyard’s
This is sort of a strange — and extremely unfortunate — one. The show’s been set up for quite a while now, but the end of August gave it somewhat of a new purpose. Here’s the info from {Weird Party} guitarist Bryan Agan:

I am asking all who can come out Friday September the 10th for the Cynics/Weird Party show to please come. It has become a sort of collection for the passing of my cousin Patrick Russell Carver. He was tragically taken away from us Aug. 31st. Any donation would be greatly appreciated as this was very unexpected. You can drop off donations down stairs if you do not want to go to the show. Or you can email me at “agan dot bryan” at “gmail dot com”. If you have any details with the case at all please call 713-222-TIPS.

The folks over at the {Houston Press} have some details up here, but the gist is that Carver was attacked and killed in his own home, seemingly at random, and the cops have yet to say much about it publicly. It’s a damn shame. And, of course, losing a loved one also hits you in the wallet pretty freaking hard, right when you need it to least, which is why the WP guys are asking for donations at the show to help the family with the expenses. Agan’s also got a PayPal account set up at the email address above, should you feel like donating but can’t make it to the show in person.

I know it might seem a little crass, but I also feel like I should point out how good Weird Party is — they’re like the perfect snarling, snotty garage-punk band, with the dumb stripped out and replaced by a leaking car battery or something. I saw ’em at Summerfest this year, and they were easily one of the best bands I caught the whole damn day.

Sat., September 11:
Fuck Cancer Party/Benefit for Nathan Hart, featuring the Hell City Kings & more @ Catty Corner Icehouse (895 Wakefield; 12-8:30PM)
Nope, not a relation, but Nathan Hart‘s still worthy of a benefit show, nonetheless. The guy’s been diagnosed with oral cancer — which is ridiculously bad and something I wouldn’t wish on anybody, so my heart goes out to him — and his friends & cohorts and throwing what they’re calling a “Fuck Cancer” party for him this Saturday at Catty Corner Icehouse (which I’d never heard of before; 895 Wakefield).

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to dig up anything on the full lineup; the only band that I know is supposed to play is the {Hell City Kings} (they go on at 1:30PM), who I like quite a bit, especially they’re most recent(?) EP, The Wolf. If anybody out there knows who all else is playing, definitely put it in the comments below, eh? Otherwise, roll the dice & show up to help out.

School Blaze Benefit Event for Pencils 4 Ghana @ Avant Garden
Okay, I’ll give: I have no idea who’s playing this show, but The Pencils Project (aka “Pencils 4 Ghana”) sounds interesting, at least. The idea is to raise money to donate 50,000 pencils to school-age children in Ghana who can’t afford to purchase even such a basic school supply. The charity’s based right here in Houston, and the folks running it sound like they’ve got their collective heart in the right place, so if you want to help ’em out show up at the Avant Garden & see what’s up.

Sun., September 12:
Wesfest: Benefit for Wesley Gonzales, featuring Muhammad Ali, Alimanas, Atrocity, Kruller, Skeleton Dick, Suckerfish, No Worries, U.Y.U.S., Contortion Session, Idiginis, The Alien8ed, & Talk Sick Brats @ Groundhall (1515 Pease; 1PM-2AM)
Never knew Wesley Gonzales, I’m afraid, but the folks who’ve behind what they’re calling Wesfest have put it together both to celebrate the guy’s memory and (again) help raise funds for his family to be able to pay funeral costs & such. Have I mentioned how much it sucks that even dying costs insane amounts of money in this day and age? Fuck…

Anyway, here’re the details from the organizers:

A benefit show to help the parents of Wesley Gonazales to pay off funeral costs. This will be a celebration of his life and to remember all our loved friends and family who are no longer with us. BBQ will be cooked from 1pm to 4 pm and served until it runs out. Bands are (in no specific order):

Here is the updated list of bands in order of appearance:

Talk Sick Brats
The Alien8ed
Idiginis
Contortion Session
U.Y.U.S.
No Worries
Suckerfish
Skeleton Dick
Kruller
Atrocity
Alimanas
Muhammedali

This will be an all ages event, families welcome!

Some darn cool punk(-ish) bands on that list (and as the note indicates above, the lineup’s changed somewhat since I first saw it), definitely, esp. {Muhammad Ali}, who I dearly, dearly, dearly freaking love. Get out there, eat some grilled meat, raise your fist in the air, and help out Wesley’s family.

There you go. Pick one (or several), then go assuage your conscience for the weekend…