Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: The Batusis (Cheetah Chrome/Sylvain Sylvain!) + Pik-N-Pak Pre-Party + Mink Anniversary + More

Folks, we have one heck of an amazing-ass weekend in front of us. Seriously, from everything that’s going on, you’d think it was some big holiday weekend or something, not just some random second weekend in December. There’re toy drives and benefits out the wazoo, plus badass reunion shows & double-take-inducing appearances at some surprising places.

First off, in case you hadn’t heard already, the much-anticipated Wu-Tang Clan show that was supposed to be over at The Meridian has since been moved — amid much drama and miscommunication, it sounds like — over to Numbers. Check out photog/writer Marc Brubaker‘s writeup of the mess over here at the Houston Press blogs.

I honest-to-God hope things turn around for the Meridian folks; I’ve been to some very cool shows there, and it’d be a shame to see yet another downtown venue die an untimely death.

Speaking of venues, that kinda-sorta segues into tonight, Fri., December 10th, and the cool-sounding (to me, anyway) things going on then:

Pik-N-Pak Reunion Weekend, featuring Poor Dumb Bastards, Rosebud, Texas Biscuit Bombs, No Love Less, Mydolls, Think Tank, & The Hates @ Rudyard’s
Okay, so I dunno if this is really the official-shmofficial “Pik-N-Pak Reunion Show”, which is unrolling over the next two days over at the Groundhall, but hey, it’s a nice pre-party, if nothing else, with some of that same classic crew from the long-gone Pik-N-Pak.

I missed out on the place’s heyday, sadly, by only a year or so, so I’ve been hearing stories for years about the mindblowing shows & bands that used to frequent the place. If you were there Way Back When or wish you had been, well, you’re in luck this weekend.

The Batusis (feat. Cheetah Chrome & Sylvain Sylvain)/Blower/Chelsea Hotel/Zipperneck @ Mango’s
Another big, big show, this time at a surprisingly small venue… I mean, headliners The Batusis are a band that includes Cheetah Chrome & Sylvain Sylvain, for crying out loud, and they’re playing Mango’s? No offense to the venue, it just seems a little odd.

But hell, who wants to look a gift horse in the mouth? This band’s got two of NY punk’s founding icons, and they’re playing in a place small enough where you can probably reach out & touch ’em (assuming you’re okay with being punched in the face, of course); how often does that happen?

Oh, and I can’t forget locals {Chelsea Hotel}, whose old-school Oi!-punk I happened to like quite a bit…

The Mink’s 5th Anniversary, featuring Young Girls (7″ release), Stephen Farris, Dayta, & Le Hibou @ The Mink (free!)
Yep, already talked about this one, but it still sounds pretty fun to me, so here ’tis again: tonight’s the night to hit Midtown and stroll on down to The Mink, whence you can party down & help ’em celebrate their 5th birthday. Very cool.

Runners-Up:
Holy Fiction/The Quiet Company/Poor Pilate @ Walter’s
Holiday Ho-Ho-Ho-Down, featuring Franki Chan, Gab-E GRRRL Parts, Damon Allen, Angie Audio, Ceeplus Bad Knives, Mr. Castillo, & FREDster @ Fitzgerald’s (9PM-2:30AM)
Blaggards @ Ashford Arms Irish Pub