Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Dax Riggs + LIMB + Castle Lights + Adelaine + Dead Audio Fest + Chase Hamblin + More

Busy, busy, busy weekend upon us, y’all, so here’s a first taste of what’s going on… Before I get there though, a bit of possibly-depressing news — if you hadn’t heard already, Joanna Newsom‘s show this evening down at the Stafford Centre (in, duh, Stafford) has been cancelled, reportedly due to “soft” ticket sales.

Which isn’t a huge surprise, honestly; Stafford Centre is a fairly big venue — my daughter once got to perform on-stage there with her ballet class, the result of which was that she decided she wanted to never do ballet again — and Newsom, while an intriguing, absolutely unique performer and a relatively big-name in the whole indie-folk world, is likely not a big name to most Houstonians, particularly those who live down on the SW side of town. And those Houstonians who like are familiar with her most likely live in the Montrose and/or Heights and ain’t likely to drive down to the Stafford boondocks to see her.

That’s my feeling on it, anyway. I hope she’ll come back sometime soon and play someplace a bit closer-in and lower-key…

With that out of the way, here’s what looks & sounds cool to me for tonight, Friday, November 12th:

Dax Riggs/Tim Campbell @ Fitzgerald’s
Yes, yes, yes. Have I mentioned lately how much I freaking love Dax Riggs? Have I? No? Well, here it comes again: the guy’s amazing. The way he’s mashed together Southern-bred rock, down-home, haunted blues, and skull-crushing metal is nothing short of awesome, at least to me — it’s one of those things that I’ve heard other people almost pull off (Federation X comes close), but they’ve never quite hit the mark. He’s like Jack White fronting Pantera while they play covers of previously-unknown Robert Johnson songs.

What’s he like live? Okay, I’ll admit it: I have no idea. Only ever heard the recorded version, sadly. But if the live show’s anything like his recorded output, tonight should be mind-blowing (not to mention ear-destroying).

Bioluminaries/Evak1/LIMB & Himself/Mantis @ Walter’s
Whoa. Odd, odd lineup, here, assuming I’m reading it correctly. Dunno Bioluminaries, but {EVAK1}, if I’m remembering right, is some wild-ass hip-hop stuff…which makes sense with “LIMB & Himself”, which I suspect is some configuration of the jaw-dropping {LIMB} offshoot of By the End of Tonight. But then there’s Mantis, which (if it’s the same band) has confounded me for literally a couple of years now. Who the hell are these guys? I loved their bluesy, soulful rawk when I heard it back when, but now all I can find is something called “MantiSparrow Productions,” and I’ve got no idea if it’s the same thing. Anybody know?

Castle Lights (CD release)/Courrier/Adelaine/The Hight @ 2016 Mainstage ($10, incl. CD)
Heard good things about {Castle Lights} lately — most recently from the {Houston Press}‘s Jef With One F, who penned a fine, fine review of their new CD right over here. And from what I’ve listened to so far, they’re definitely not bad. I’m somewhat more intrigued by openers {Adelaine}, though, I have to say; every time I hear ’em, they get better and better. Hey, I’m a sucker for female-fronted post-emo bands…

Dead Audio Fest, featuring The Haters, RU-486, Astrogenic Hallucinauting, Derek Rogers, Screamin’ Fetus, Goat, Ze’ro-Sum, Ascites, Peiiste, Breakdancing Ronald Reagan, Protists of Nebula, Four Flies, Serum Fantis, Concrete Violin, So Boring, Thule, Jackie Kennedy, Carbon & Water, Painful Vigil, White Gimp Mask, Sigulda, Steel Hook Prostheses, Endless Blinding Sunshine, Third World Abortion, Priest in Shit, R.S.P., Hierchiss, Zahava, ATWA, The Vomit Arsonist, Lychgate, A Fail Association, Static Storm System, Awen, Churner, Immaculate:Grotesque, Bereft, Goatlab, Arvo Zylo, Mike Payne, Fight Trannys, In the Land of Archers, Pusdrainer, Kai-ros, T.E.F., Skwaarmalar Machine, Skönhet, & The Annoysters @ Super Happy Fun Land
Holy freaking wow. Like noise? Enjoy bizarre, insane, experimental sounds? Well, you very literally have no other choice for this evening — hell, for this weekend — but to hit the Dead Audio Fest at Super Happy Fun Land. Personally, it’s not my thing, I’ll admit, but I fully salute those who love and make this type of, er, “music.” (Quotes meant in playful jest, y’all…) Plus, just read over that list of band names, there; you couldn’t make shit like that up if you tried.

And hey, head on over to Post Punk’d for a nicely impassioned promo for the Fest; PPD says it far, far better than I can.

Chase Hamblin/Cadre/Phyllis Chen @ Groundhall
Dunno most of these folks, but {Chase Hamblin} is always, always worth watching. Paisley-colored, unashamedly retro-sounding pop, pure and simple, the way it’s meant to be done. Somewhere up above, Lennon’s smiling.

(I am wondering, however, how the heck he’s going to pull off both this gig and his show with ’60s tribute band {Picture Book}, over at The Continental Club. Has a Houston musician finally broken the code to human cloning? Damn, that’d be cool.)

The Fakeboys/Crimewave/Gnome Chomsky @ The Mink
Why am I mentioning this one? Well, I’ve heard raves about Crimewave (or is it Crime Wave?), which is supposedly ex-/current members of {Janitor}, {No Talk}, and a billion other seminal, well-respected H-town bands. But if I’m being honest, yeah, it’s because I giggle like an idiot every time I read “Gnome Chomsky”.

(I should note, btw, that these guys aren’t the first to make that particular connection; apparently you can buy your very own “Gnome Chomsky” garden gnome. Ah, humanity, how you continue to surprise and terrify me…)

Runners-Up:
Tim & Eric/Neil Hamburger/Pussywhip Banggang @ Fitzgerald’s
Ryan Scroggins & The Trenchtown Texans/Channel One/Plump/Picture Book @ The Continental Club
The Matt Mayo Band/Jeff Boortz @ Rudyard’s
Blaggards @ Ashford Arms Irish Pub
Dash Rip Rock @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)