Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Ghoulsfest + Ka-Power!Ween + The Eastern Sea + Colour Revolt + The Tyburn Jig + Co-Pilot + More

Holy crap, there are a lot of things going on today (Saturday, October 30th). So many, in fact, that it almost feels like there’s no way I can even begin to write about ’em. Damn… And yet, I have to try; here goes:

Ghoulsfest, featuring Bad Brains, We Are Scientists, Macy Gray, Hot Chip (DJ set), Giant Princess, Peanut Butter Wolf, Ceeplus Bad Knives, Spain Colored Orange, Daniel Johnston, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Scale The Summit, Girl in a Coma, Roky Moon & BOLT, The Live Lights, Fat Tony, & Tax the Wolf @ Tom Bass Park (1-10PM)
The biggie, and yep, I know I’ve already blathered about it some — just wanted to point to it again…

Ka-Power!Ween Fest, featuring The Caprolites, Crisis Hotlines, Vivian Pikkles and The Sweethearts Uber Alles, Cop Warmth, The Busy Kids, Funboys, Prairie Cadets, Gnome Chomsky, & The Big Deals @ Awesome Street Gallery (4809 Blossom St.; 7PM, $5)
And if you don’t feel like driving out to Pearland and/or spending 50 bucks, but you still want to go to a festival to celebrate the day the dead walk among the living, well, you’re in luck — head on over to the Awesome Street Gallery for this festival. I think it’s being set up by Niki from {Something Fierce}, but sadly, they’re not playing — that’s okay, though, because Niki’s new project/band, {The Busy Kids}, is, and so are {Cop Warmth} & {Prairie Cadets}, both of whom I dig in a fairly major way. And yes, “Gnome Chomsky” still makes me giggle; no idea what they’re like, sorry.

Colour Revolt/Twin Tigers/The Eastern Sea @ Fitzgerald’s
Hell, yeah! I know I’ve said it about a million times, but dammit, I love The Eastern Sea — they are really and truly one of my favorite bands anywhere, and it kills me that I’m going to be missing ’em yet again. Argh… If you haven’t seen ’em, you really should; smart, just-right, complex-but-not-arty songs that sound both familiar and warm and cool and new. Think a weird crossbreed between Conor Oberst and Will Sheff, and you’ll be close (maybe).

Also, I just recently (finally) got a chance to check out Colour Revolt, and I’m regretting not listening to ’em sooner. Wow. They’re a darn good fit for TES, honestly — they both write smart, sharp songs that sound simple but really aren’t, and they both ride the line between rock power and indie-pop melody.

The Tyburn Jig/35 MPH/The Black @ The Mink
Nice one; not real familiar with 35 MPH or Austin’s The Black, but I seriously like {The Tyburn Jig} — their surf-Western-gothic sound is pretty damn unique ’round here, equal parts Nick Cave broodiness and Death Valley spaghetti-Western surfiness. Good, good, good shit, honest.

Co-Pilot @ Cactus Music (3-5PM)
sigh. Speaking of things I’ll be missing again… Although I’ve been forcing {Co-Pilot}‘s new EP, The Course of Empire, on folks all ’round me, praising (rightfully) the band’s new instro-metal edge to the skies, I have yet to actually see them in a long damn time. One of these days, guys, I swear. The rest of y’all?: if you’re not out rocking it in Pearland, you need to be at Cactus at 3PM. (No, really, you do. I’ll know if you wuss out.)

Mimicking Birds/Ghost Mountain/Hiss and Hum @ Fitzgerald’s
Yay! I’d feared {Ghost Mountain} were dead & buried, what with them headed off to college & all. So I’m happy as hell to see my favorite nerdy, shy-boy, electro-tinged hip-hop duo is still kicking. Oh, and what I’ve heard by Mimicking Birds has been darn cool, too.

Runners-Up:
Danzig/Possessed/Marduk/Toxic Holocaust/Withered @ Warehouse Live
Ghoulsfest After Party, featuring Macy Gray & Marnie Stern @ Hard Rock Cafe
Becky & Trevi’s 11th Annual Halloween Hootenanny, featuring Dollyrockers, Flamin’ Hellcats, & The Burns @ Rudyard’s
Ghoulsfest After Party & Reprogram Haunted Bash, featuring Peanut Butter Wolf, Ceeplus Bad Knives, Bobby DJ, DJ Czech One, A&A, Future Blondes, Young Girls, DJ G Wizz, & more @ Groundhall (9:30PM-2AM)
Purapharm/Absolute Pistol/Alkari/Covington @ BFE Rock Club (11528 Jones Rd.; 9:30PM-2AM)