Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: the last place you look + Temporary Insanity + The Eastern Sea + Caddywhompus (Reviewed!/Free Download!) + Lotus Effect + More

And oh, what a weekend it is, y’all. sigh. I doubt I’m going to be able to make it out for any of this stuff — on baby/toddler duty, sadly — but seriously, there’re some amazing shows going on over the next couple of days. Here’s what looks/sounds good to me for tonight, Friday, December 17th:

the last place you look/Floorbound/The Wonderful Future/Bullets in the Sun/Square and Compass @ Warehouse Live (Studio)
It’s been too, too damn long since I last saw heavy-ass emo-rockers {the last place you look}, esp. considering that their most recent full-length, See the Light Inside You, is still living in my car’s CD player. Oh, and that album recently served as an awesome soundtrack for my driving 90-plus mph up 290 to a friend’s wedding way out in the middle of nowhere; I was very nearly late, and I credit TLPYL for keeping the adrenaline going so I could make it in time. Beyond that, they’ve got a “new” drummer since the last time I saw ’em, a brave soul named Mike Garcia, who’s the hopefully-permanent replacement for departed drummer Andy. He’s filling some big shoes, right there…

At any rate, if you’re a fan of heavy, melodic rock (or even an old-school emo kid all growned-up like myself), you really ought to see these guys. They’re what loud, raw, emo-ish rock should sound like.

(Oh, and I’ve heard good, good things about relative newcomers Square & Compass, who mine a similarly heavy seam of emo-ish, heavy-guitar-wielding indie-rock; the one song I’ve heard so far, “Dying Days,” ain’t half bad, reminding me of all those old Emo Diaries comps…)

Temporary Insanity, featuring Born Liars, Something Fierce, Occult Detective Club, The Mahas, Crisis Hotlines, The Fleshlights, Crime Wave, The Stuffies, Davey Crockett, Talk Sick Brats, Vivian Pikkles and the Sweethearts Uber Alles, & The Examples @ Notsuoh/Dean’s Credit Clothing (7PM-2AM; $8)
Talked about this one quite a bit lately (more than once, even), but it’s still a badass lineup, particularly tonight. I dearly, dearly love {Something Fierce} & {Born Liars}, and I’ve been taking a shine lately to {The Mahas} & ex-Guitars outfit {Davey Crockett}, too, not to mention the distinguished pile of out-of-towners. Get on out & get yr garage-punk on. (If you don’t want to take my word for how cool this’ll be, btw, check out Ramon‘s writeup over here…)

The Eastern Sea/Searching for Signal @ The Mink
Mentioned this one earlier on, too, but hot damn, I’ll say it again — I love The Eastern Sea, in all their sweet-voiced, smart-kid indie-pop glory. And you really, really should, too. Check out a video, if you don’t already believe.

Dang, almost forgot — you should love {Searching for Signal}, too, because not only are they awesomely atmospheric indie-popsters (who now split their time between here & Austin), apparently, but they’re turning into darn good songwriters, to boot. The progression over the course of the songs I’ve heard so far has been impressive.

Black Christmas II: Son of Black Christmas, featuring Fat Tony, B L A C K I E, DJ A&A, Caddywhompus, & Jawwaad Ammo @ Mango’s
Yep, {Fat Tony}‘s back with the sequel to last year’s Black Christmas extravaganza, this time with an equally-cool lineup of folks. The show includes not only Tony & local hip-hop supastar {B L A C K I E} (check out Jef‘s super-quick-fast interview with the enigmatic rapper over here), but also transplanted Houstonians Chris Rehm & Sean Hart, in their now-permanent {Caddywhompus} configuration.

If you haven’t seen the latter, btw, you’re missing out — these two guys make enough chaotic-yet-gorgeous spazz-prog-psych-pop noise to rival a band three times their size. They sent us a copy of the most recent CD, Remainder, a while back, and my lazy ass has finally gotten it reviewed; check out the full review here.

And when you’re done with that, go download the damn thing for free & see if my half-assed babbling makes any sense whatsoever:

Caddywhompus, Remainder

And then, um, go hit Mango’s and celebrate the Baby Jesus, or something. Right?

The Lotus Effect @ Fuel Cybercafe (Humble)
And don’t take the fact that these guys’re down here near the bottom to mean this show’s the second string — {The Lotus Effect} are seriously good, good, prefix-defying rock that’s justifiably winning awards, like this year’s “Best Rock” award at the Houston Press Music Awards. I think they’re playing solo at this one, so you’ll be able to get a full dose of the band, with no opening-act filler…

Runners-Up:
The Roller/The State vs. Judd Nelson/Rapeworm/Cop Warmth/The Burden/Female Demand @ Fitzgerald’s
Reckless Endeavor (CD release)/Cadre/Prairie Cadets/Screwtape @ Fitzgerald’s
Steam Punk Christmas Ball, featuring Midnight Carnival, The Wrong Ones, Shut Up Sidney, & Crazydine @ Walter’s (8:30PM-2AM)
Ian Moore @ Listening Room (NiaMoves; 9PM)
A Fistful of Soul, featuring King Ghidora, Bingo Rojo, No Fun, & DJ Modsesitto @ The Mink (front bar; free!)
Runaway Sun/Clory Martin @ Rudyard’s