Yr. Weekend, Pt. 3: Mustard Plug + Caroline Sessions + Haute Wheels + Ivan & Alyosha (MP3!) + Ragged Hearts + More

Last day of the weekend nearly upon us, y’all — Sunday, May 15th, and it’s looking pretty good, even if it’s not quite as jam-packed as today was…

Tonight’s biggie, at least to me, is up at Warehouse Live; there’s a full-on ska-punk throwback night going on, with headliners Voodoo Glow Skulls, who I like, and the thought-they-were-dead Mustard Plug, who I absolutely loved back in those heady ska-fanatic days of my youth. 1993’s Big Daddy Multitude, in particular, was pretty great (for its time, anyway).

Beyond that, some awesome locals are playing beforehand, including {The Failed Attempt}, who I keep meaning to see, and {Los Skarnales}, who I have yet to see since their triumphant rebirth but loved back in the day even more than MP, probably.

Next up on my list is tomorrow’s installment of the Caroline Sessions quasi-weekly (monthly?) show series over at the Caroline Collective — this weekend features {Runaway Sun}, whose frontman, Andrew Karnavas, writer Robin Babb was able to chat with recently about his many musical personalities & whatnot. It’s a very cool interview; check it out over here. Oh, and Tim Qualls, about whom I’ve heard plenty of good things, is also playing, too…

Tomorrow’s also the second day of the Haute Wheels Houston Food Truck Fest, which promises to be about the same as Day 1, which I posted about earlier, only with different music playing. This time around there’ll be performances by awesome alt-rockers {Peekaboo Theory}, rollicking band {The Sideshow Tramps}, and {Ancient Cat Society}, which is a kinda-sorta new band that includes Sergio & Austin from {Buxton}, and which I hear is pretty badass.

Over at Rudz tomorrow evening, Seattle quartet Ivan & Alyosha (none of whom are named “Ivan” or “Alyosha,” for those who care about such things) are playing, and I’m seriously liking their sweet, sun-kissed indie-pop sound; to my ears, at least, it’s less Pacific Northwest and more Pacific Coast Highway, all California shimmer and jangle with gorgeously Fleet Foxes-like harmonies.

The band’s offering their latest EP, Fathers Be Kind, for download for free on their Website in exchange for an email address, which is very cool. If you just want a taste of it, though, here you go:

Ivan & Alyosha – “Glorify”

As an added burst of coolness, they’re playing with Houston’s own {Ragged Hearts}, a band I really-and-truly like quite a damn bit. If you haven’t yet tracked down a copy of the band’s 2006 release, Her Bright White Light, you’re seriously missing out; despite the band’s glam-rock past, they play some amazing roots-rock/country-type stuff.

Gah, my brain hurts. Here’s the list of all of it:

Voodoo Glow Skulls/Mustard Plug/Los Skarnales/The Failed Attempt/Skaretas/Fuska/Always Guilty/DJ Moonstomp @ Warehouse Live
Haute Wheels Houston Food Truck Festival, featuring Sideshow Tramps, Ancient Cat Society, & Peekaboo Theory @ HCC West Loop Campus (5601 W. Loop S.; 12-5PM)
Ivan & Alyosha/Ragged Hearts @ Rudyard’s
The Caroline Sessions, featuring Runaway Sun & Tim Qualls @ Caroline Collective (2-5PM)
Lovers/Vivian Pikkles & The Sweethearts Über Alles/Vaginal Reconstruction Surgery/Kim Champion! @ Mango’s
Gipsy Kings @ Arena Theatre
25th Annual Texas Crawfish & Music Festival, featuring Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jabo & Southern Choice Zydeco, Phil Pritchett, & Brian Burns & Davin James @ Old Town Spring