Yr. Weekend, Pt. 3: The Apples in Stereo + The Wild Moccasins + Magic Kids + Lepers of Melancholy + More

It’s Sunday now, October 7th, and in spite of the day’s usual quiet-ness, there’s actually quite a bit going on this evening. I’m still recovering from last night’s Hold Steady show, personally (seriously, you know you’re getting old when you don’t drink anything but a Coke and still wake up with a hangover…), so tonight’s going to be a stay-at-home, take-care-of-sick-wife night for me, but that doesn’t mean you have to follow that route, obviously.

And before I go any further, I feel compelled to apologize for stupidly having the Joe Pug show still listed for tonight; he’s definitely not playing at the Mucky Duck this evening — instead, they’re doing their fun-sounding “What’s Opera, Duck?” thing, singing & playing opera pieces for the folkie crowd. Sorry about that, folks.

Anyway, here’s what I’m liking for Sunday night:

The Apples in Stereo/Fol Chen/The Wild Moccasins @ Walter’s
I’ve got a confession to make, here. I have to shamefacedly admit that I haven’t been keeping up with The Apples in Stereo — I listened to them quite a bit back during the Elephant 6 indie-pop heyday, but since then, they’ve mostly dropped off the radar for me… And it seems that in the meantime, the band’s gotten somewhat more, er, psychtronic than what I’d heard previously. It’s still pretty intriguing, although I do miss the shimmery-sweet pop gems of yesteryear; the newer stuff makes me think of Money Mark more than anything else. Here’s proof:

And hey, as anybody who reads this site can probably attest, I can’t say enough good things about openers {The Wild Moccasins}, who do pull off that shimmery-sweet pop goodness like few other bands I’ve heard lately can; latest effort Skin Collision Past is a huge, huge step forward for these hardworking kids, one that should (if there’s justice in the universe) get people to take ’em seriously both inside & out of Houston.

Magic Kids/Bosco Delrey/Young Girls @ Numbers
Kind of an odd one for Numbers, I have to say (or for their native Memphis, honestly), but there it is — much like the above folks, Magic Kids are unapologetic, flat-out indie-pop awesomeness, like the Beach Boys dragged forward into the 21st Century. I wasn’t real familiar ’til this week, it’s true, but I’m warming up to ’em quick, digging their Teenage Fanclub-/Holiday-esque sound and sweet, boyish vocals; even the slower, more baroque-sounding tracks are pretty great.

Beyond the Kids, there’s also the kinda-sorta Citizen Cope-ish, electronics-heavy funk-pop of Bosco Delrey, who’s not bad (and happens to be on Mad Decent, which is a definite point in his favor), and local boys {Young Girls}, the latest pop project of Pedro Tijerina ({Program}/{Springfield Riots}), which sounds pretty damn impressive from the songs I’ve been able to check out so far. Should be a good one.

Binarium Sound Series, featuring The Lepers of Melancholy @ The Mekong Underground (8-10PM)
The name “Lepers of Melancholy” may not be familiar, but some of the people in it are, at least to the experimental-music cognoscenti — it’s a project of Chris Becker, a Houston-area composer who graced the Mekong Underground stage a few months back, along with two equally veteran cohorts, Virginian cornet/electronics guy Paul Watson and New York guitarist Lynn Wright, and the little bit I’ve heard has been interesting stuff. Here’s a sample:

The Lepers of Melancholy – “Double”

Runners-Up:
Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm @ Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti/Os Mutantes/Diva @ Fitzgerald’s
Lyle Lovett & His Large Band @ Grand 1894 Opera House (Galveston)
Merle Haggard @ Mo’s Place
“What’s Opera Duck?” @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck