Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1 (er, 2): The Elected + Featherface + Omotai + A Thousand Cranes + Praia Urbana + More

Sorry I missed last night’s show madness, folks — especially since there was a lot going on. Yours truly is traveling at the moment, and apparently all the nearby wifi networks are locked-down tightly. I had a post all written up & everything, but no way to get it on the site. Dang…

At any rate, I’m not sure when this’ll go up, seeing as my Internet access is so sporadic, but I wanted to at least attempt to post something, since there’s quite a bit going on tonight, too (Saturday, June 18th). Don’t want anybody out there left wanting for things to do/see, right?

For starters, three bands I’d really, really like to see live happen to be playing Fitzgerald’s tonight, namely Blake Sennett‘s “other” band, The Elected, of which I’ve been a fan since 2006’s excellent Sun, Sun, Sun (“Not Going Home” stills knocks me over), awesomely woozy/fiery psych dudes {Featherface}, and moody, Brit-influenced rockers {Wails}. I’d love to see any or all of ’em, seriously.

Over at Mango’s, then, there’s a cool lineup full of metal, metal, metal; I’m not real familiar with headliners Tombs, but I do know {Omotai}, {Venomous Maximus}, and {Defending the Kingdom}, all three, pretty damn well — they’re literally three of the best damn metal bands in town. Omotai, in particular, blows me away, with its Neurosis-heavy, prog-edged stomp.

A little earlier in the day, head on over to the Lee & Joe Jamail Skate Park for the latest in their sporadic “Skate & Rock” series, which this time includes local punks The Dollyrockers, Peruvian surf-rock(?) band Los Area 51, and — um, what? — strange-yet-mesmerizing drone heroes {A Thousand Cranes}. As hinted above, I’m a little surprised at the inclusion of that last band, but I’ll happily high-five to the Skate Park folks for putting ’em on the bill, ’cause that’s a very cool, very different band to have play, seriously. (Oh, and they’ve hinted that it might be one of their last shows, so…sigh.)

Another oddball one over at the Last Concert Cafe — tonight’s the Praia Urbana electronic festival, which seems like a bit of a stretch for the folk/blues/jam venue. But hey, more power to ’em; hopefully DJ/dance fans will be willing to head on up to the edge of Downtown & chill out for a while.

What else? Well, Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest is playing at Club FWD, along with local (and excellent) crew H.I.S.D., and {Poor Dumb Bastards} are playing Rudz, alongside {The Wrong Ones}.

Oh, and The Caroline Sessions are happening over at the Caroline Collective — not on a Sunday, like usual — with band {Reckless Endeavor} playing what’s apparently their final show for the occasion. Damn…

Here’s the full-full list:
The Elected/Featherface/Wails @ Fitzgerald’s
Tombs/Venomous Maximus/Omotai/Defending the Kingdom @ Mango’s
Ali Shaheed Muhammad/H.I.S.D./DJ Nimbus/DJ Burb @ Club FWD
Peloton/The Last Cigarette/Boozehorse @ The Mink (front bar)
JMG Music Group Festival, featuring Parabelle, Spiracell, Black Queen Speaks, The Hectic, The Stick People, Rotting Corpse, Series Six, Driven Livid, Epic, Legion, Metalloyd, Five Eyes Wide, Metavenge, Ethreal, Bullet Cell, Blood Rooted, Rainchild, Souls of Agony, & Fallacy @ Warehouse Live
Poor Dumb Bastards/The Hot Things/Kansas City Faggots/The Wrong Ones @ Rudyard’s
Skate & Rock, featuring The Dollyrockers, A Thousand Cranes, & Los Area 51 @ Lee & Joe Jamail Skate Park (103 Sabine; 7-9PM)
Space City Beat Battle @ Warehouse Live (Green Room)
The Caroline Sessions, featuring Reckless Endeavor (final show!) @ Caroline Collective
Praia Urbana, featuring Boris, Mark Grant, & more @ Last Concert Cafe
Sean Reefer @ The Big Top
Marcia Ball @ Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar
Printers Ball Afterparty, featuring GRRRL Parts, Shawn Rindfuss, Best Legs, & BAGHEERA @ The Mink