Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Bad Religion + Ghost Town Electric + Appleseed Cast + Co-Pilot + Benjamin Wesley + Prince Paul + More

Got house-y type stuff to do tonight, so I’ve got to keep this relatively speedy, I’m afraid, but I didn’t want to let yet another night of awesome-looking musical-ness pass me (and you, possibly) by…

Before I go into that, though, there’ve been a few noteworthy changes to the various schedules & shows & whatnot of late. In particular, the Crocodiles/Golden Triangle show that was scheduled for tomorrow night (Sat., November 6th) has apparently been cancelled, which sucks, because I’ve heard Golden Triangle’s CD, and it ain’t bad.

In lesser-to-not-bad news, also, the Stars show has been moved up to Fitzgerald’s, where it sits happily amidst all the other Pegstar shows scheduled off into the far, far future at the revamped venue. The opener’s changed, too, from Delays (whoever that was) to Geographer (whoever that is; I will endeavor to learn before the show actually happens).

Now, as for tonight, Friday, November 5th, here’s what looks/sounds good to me:

Bad Religion/The Aggrolites/Off With Their Heads @ Warehouse Live
Whoa. I’m an old-time pop-punk fanboy, and I will freely admit it without shame or regret; if I hadn’t heard Bad Religion‘s Recipe For Hate back in college, well…hell, I dunno what my musical life would be like, but it’d definitely be different. Even now, few bands do honest-to-God smart punk rock like these guys; they’re the kind of band that’d be fun not just to party with but to hang out and talk politics/religion/philosophy/etc. with, at least in my book.

Ghost Town Electric/Blind Pets/We Were Wolves/Defending the Kingdom @ The Mink
Oh, hell yeah. Now I’m really, really torn, because this show’s got two bands, {Ghost Town Electric} and {Defending the Kingdom}, who utterly blew me away on their recent split-release; I love the hell out of GTE’s slightly backwoodsy, heavy-ass take on stoner-rock and DtK’s more somber, metallic doominess, and the two tastes go surprisingly well together, honest. This show promises to blow the doors off of The Mink.

The Appleseed Cast/Analog Rebellion/Co-Pilot @ Fitzgerald’s
And here’s yet another reason I’m torn. Damn… Not only are The Appleseed Cast arguably the only truly “emo” band to survive The Great Emo Implosion of the early ’00s (okay, so Jimmy Eat World survived, too…) and come out the other side way more intricate and brilliant than their contemporaries, but Austin/Houston boys {Co-Pilot} recently released one of the best EPs I’ve heard in a while with their disc The Course of Empire (review over here). The latter band’s reach-the-sky (and increasingly instro-metal) tendencies will be a badass lead-in to the Cast’s intriguingly experimental indie-rock thing.

Benjamin Wesley/Hiss & Hum @ Cafe Brasil (9PM-2AM)
Almost missed this one… Never seen one-man-band dude {Benjamin Wesley} play at Brasil before, but I have seen him in more intimate, low-key environments before, and honestly, I think it’s where he works best. You really need to be able to sit and chill out and just focus on listening to make his slowly-unfolding, almost impromptu compositions work. So sit back and let it do its thing; it’ll be worth it, trust me.

Prince Paul/The Tontons/Hollywood Floss/La Catrin @ Fitzgerald’s
And no, I can’t let this one go by without a mention — I mean, c’mon, one of my favorite DJs ever, Prince Paul (cracked open Gravediggaz‘ 6 Feet Deep the other day, and holy shit, had I forgotten how good that is/was…), right alongside one of my favorite “um, they sound like themselves?” bands ever, {The Tontons}. And really, while that might sound weird, I suspect it’ll end up being an awesome match-up, with the Tontons’ grimy/smooth psych-soul thing pressed right up against that De La-and-beyond groove.

Oh, and this show’s free if you’re 21-and-up; sorry, underagers…

Runners-Up:
Floorbound/Aerial Second/Knifight/Sour Soul/Another Run @ The Meridian
GWAR/The Casualties/Infernaeon/Mobile Deathcamp @ House of Blues
Junior Brown/Herb Remington Trio @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Trashed, featuring Le Castle Vania, GRRRL Parts, & Best Legs @ Boondocks
Yo Gabba Gabba Live!, featuring fun., Steel Train, & Gold Motel @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
Cruel Hand/Backtrack/Losing Grip/Gain @ Walter’s