Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Farewell to KTRU + Phosphorescent (Revd!) + Yppah + Venomous Maximus (Revd!) + Wilco + More

Yep, yep, yep — it’s a Friday (May 6th, to be precise), and here we are again, with a full slate of shows staring us (er, me) right in the face all damn weekend. I’ll try to hit some highlights, or at least what seem to me like highlights.

Foremost in my mind/heart is tonight’s show up at Fitz in honor of long-running college radio station {KTRU} slipping off the FM airwaves last week. I posted a little bit about it earlier on, but it’s worth mentioning again, I think…

The event’s being called KTRU: Farewell to 40 Years of FM, and it’s going to include a ton of awesome musicians, including all-out stoner-rock dudes the {Linus Pauling Quartet} (woo!), murky post-folkies {listenlisten}, proggy indie-rockers {Featherface}, and retro-leaning party animals {Muhammad Ali}, as well as a faceoff between {Hearts of Animals}‘ Mlee and the ever-excellent Joe Mathlete. (And no, I have no idea what said faceoff will consist of.)

The whole thing’s free, and folks of all ages are welcome, so stop on by & bid farewell to what was my favorite station ’round these parts, hands-down, and an integral part of the musical upbringing of a whole lot of us out here in H-town.

Beyond that, you can head on over to the Warehouse Live, where cool, downhome Alabama/NY country-folk gang Phosphorescent will be doing their thing — I finally got a chance to hear their latest album, Here’s to Taking It Easy, and it’s pretty great; see the full review over here. Plus, amazing local boy {Robert Ellis} may or may not be opening for ’em; you’ll have to roll the dice on that one.

There’s also a cool electronic-y show over at Mango’s tonight, with the main draw for me being the under-sung {Yppah} — I saw the band at the second Lost In Space fest a year or two ago, and they seriously blew me away, coming off like a more jazzy, mellow Chemical Brothers if the Bros. were a full band. At one point during their set, an obviously flabbergasted, newly-converted fan yelled out, “Who are you?” See them; no, really.

Metal dudes, you’ve got your pick tonight. Fans of the death metal side of things can head out to Hullabaloos on Hwy 3, wherever the fuck that is, for D’struxion Dethday Assault II, which includes a ton of bands with entertaining names. Personally, I’d stick closer to the Montrose and hit Rudyard’s instead, where Dixie Witch are headlining a show that also includes the very cool {Venomous Maximus}. Much more old-school, less Cookie Monster, you know the deal; check out a long-awaited review of the debut VM 7″ over here…

What else? Wilco at the Verizon, for those who’re into ’em — I respect Jeff Tweedy, absolutely, but I’m more of a Jay Farrar/Son Volt guy, myself… {The Watermarks} opening for Echo & the Bunnymen, also at Warehouse Live… A cool-sounding show at Sedition Books on Richmond, which includes Kim Champion!, Ben & Ciaran, & Days N Daze… G.G. Allin backing band The Murder Junkies at Walter’s with cool locals {The Cutters}, {The Ballistics}, & {All At Sea}… {Arthur Yoria} making a surprise appearance at a champagne bar I’ve never heard of called Cha… And a show at Super Happy Fun Land that has Cincinnati DJ/rapper Evolve playing alongside East Houston strange-os {Saviour Group} and something called “Gmilf Defibulator” that I don’t even want to think about.

Anyway. Here’s the full list:

KTRU: Farewell to 40 Years of FM, featuring The Linus Pauling Quartet, Joe Mathlete, Hearts of Animals, listenlisten, Chris Cascio, Muhammad Ali, Featherface, Winter Wallace, & The Dead Revolt @ Fitzgerald’s
Wilco/Smith Westerns @ Verizon Wireless Theater
Ishi/Yppah/Sensory Memories @ Mango’s
The Murder Junkies/The Ballistics/The Cutters/All At Sea @ Walter’s
Phosphorescent/Robert Ellis @ Warehouse Live (Studio)
Dixie Witch/Venomous Maximus/Wildfires/TeXXXas @ Rudyard’s
The Houston Sound Spring Concert Series, featuring Beetle @ Market Square Park (downtown; 6:30-8:30PM)
Arthur Yoria @ Cha (810 Waugh)
Senor Jukebox Presents!, featuring The Live Lights, Montenegro, La Catrin, & DJ Klandestino @ The Mink
Cinco on Cinco: Art, Revolution and Struggle Exhibit, featuring Omar Herrera-Arizmendi & Yan Shen @ MECA
Echo & the Bunnymen/The Watermarks @ Warehouse Live
Logan Greene/Kim Champion!/Days N Daze/Ben & Ciaran/Adam and the Ancient Gods @ Sedition Books (8PM)
D’struxion Dethday Assault II, featuring Immortal Remains, Owl Witch, Termination Force, Nemontemi, Sever The Silence, & Dead Rotting Hood @ Hullabaloos (716 Hwy 3)
Blaggards @ Big John’s
Skyrocket!/Chango Man @ The Continental Club
Evolve/Savior Group/Gmilf Defibulator @ Super Happy Fun Land
From Guts to Glory/Another Day/The Aftershow/Tyranny of Bella @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
57th Annual Texas Music Festival Village Fair & BBQ Cook-Off, featuring Roger Creager, Cody Rosier Band, & Brian Burke Band @ Walter Hall Park (League City)