Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: the last place you look + Elaine Greer + Jon Dee Graham + Finnegan + Black Wine + Venue/Show News + More

Holy crap, y’all. Busy, busy, busy weekend coming up, seriously, starting tonight, Friday, June 24th (well, it actually started last night, really, but I’m afraid I neglected to post about those shows, sadly; the {football, etc.} show sounded pretty badass…).

Before I get into it, some notes about venues & shows & whatnot. As you’ve probably heard by this point, venerable nightclub/venue Walter’s On Washington is now closed down. Not for good, mind you, but just long enough to be able to finish fixing up its new home somewhere over in the Warehouse District near DiverseWorks. I’m definitely sad to see the last of the Washington Ave. clubs go down — having witnessed the demise of Mary Jane’s/Fat Cat’s/Shimmy Shack, The Abyss, The Fabulous Satellite Lounge, Rockefeller’s, and Walter’s forerunner Silky’s in my time here in H-town — but I’m damn glad that they’re not dead & gone, just moved.

Obviously, that also means some of their shows had to be moved, too; everything last weekend had to be shifted elsewhere, and the upcoming Torche/Big Business show that’d been scheduled for July 7th will still be happening up at Fitzgerald’s, instead. (phew…)

Also on the venue side of things, apparently Groundhall (which was formerly The Engine Room and briefly both Argentum and The Warsaw) is no more, as well. In its place is Underground Live, which kicks off tonight with its very first show. No idea if the same folks are running the show over there, but they’ve got some cool-looking shows planned. (Shonen Knife? Hell, yes.)

In random show-moving news, btw, it appears that glam-rockers Faster Pussycat have moved their show (July 1st) from mostly-rock venue Warehouse Live over to, um, electronic/dance haven Stereo Live. Why? Not a clue, although it seems a little odd to me.

Anyway. Like I said, there’s a crapload of stuff going on, first & foremost of which (to me, anyway), is the show over at Warehouse Live with {the last place you look} — it’s a quasi-official “fundraiser” for the band to be able to record their forthcoming EP (the followup to awesome, awesome 2009 release See the Light Inside You), and they’ve recruited a bunch of cool friends to help out, including {AThousandColours}, which I belatedly realized I have heard (and been mightily impressed by) before…back when they were called {The Streetcar Scandal}.

It’s a lineup chock full of heavy/melodic guitar-rawk goodness, the kind that’ll make you want to viciously mosh and weep your little emo-kid heart out at the same time. Seriously, TLPYL is one of my favorite bands in town, and live they’re really, truly incredible. Did a little interview with guitarist Richard Sherwood prior to the show, actually, so check that out on over here.

Second up comes the album release tonight up at Fitz for ex-Houstonian-now-Austinite Elaine Greer, who moved away to seek her fortune in the more music-friendly sister over there in the middle of the state but has been returning pretty regularly. I’ve been able to listen to a wee bit of her new album, Annotations, and it’s pretty excellent so far; honestly, everything I’ve heard her do has been excellent, in whatever band/form she does it in. The lady’s quite a songwriter. Plus, she’s got {Hearts of Animals} opening up for her tonight, and Mlee Marie is always, always worth watching/listening to. It’s been too long since I have, actually…

Oh, and Fitz has a similarly-cool show on the other floor, to boot, this one with {Finnegan}, whose new full-length I’m enjoying the heck out of lately. They’re playing with {Castle Lights}, about whom I’ve heard great things, and Austin’s The Rocketboys, who I, um, seriously owe a review to. Whoops. Sorry, y’all…

A little bit further down the road in the Heights, one of my favorite Texas songwriters, Jon Dee Graham, is playing up at Heights Live! (which I think is in a church, but I’m not sure). Graham’s a great, great guy, and he (along with Steve Earle & Alejandro Escovedo) was one of a couple of people responsible for making me seriously rethink the disdain I used to have for Texan roots-rock music. Check him out tonight.

What else? Well, there’s that inaugural Underground Live show I mentioned, with stellar rap crew H.I.S.D., and another ex-Houstonian now in Austin, Tody Castillo, is playing down at The Continental Club.

Mango’s has a good show tonight, too, with locals {The Busy Kids}, who I still need to hear, dammit, newcomers {White Crime}, and Black Wine, which I’m told includes an ex-member(s?) of The Ergs. Over at The Mink, there’s another promising one, with {Young Girls}, whose woozy, ’60s-inspired psych-rock swirl I like quite a bit, swampy, gritty quasi-garage rockers {The Examples}, and “vintage” band {Psychic Palms}, who I’d never heard of before now but whose members have been all over this damn city.

Last but not least, the {Houston Press}‘s inimitable Craig Hlavaty will be DJing tonight, over at Leon’s Lounge. Stop on by & hang out with the guy for a while, eh?

Here’s the full (and I do mean “full”) list:

the last place you look/Sounds Under Radio/The Canvas Waiting/AThousandColours/Lockehart @ Warehouse Live
Elaine Greer & Friends (album release)/Hearts of Animals/Trio Musette @ Fitzgerald’s
John Dee Graham @ Heights Live!
Black Wine/The Busy Kids/White Crime @ Mango’s
Tody Castillo/Michael Fracasso/Local 99/Picture Book @ The Continental Club
Brent Nettles/The Rocketboys/Castle Lights/Finnegan @ Fitzgerald’s
Psychic Palms/Young Girls/Dead People/The Examples @ The Mink
H.I.S.D./Phill Wade @ Underground Live (1515 Pease St.)
Streets of Gold, featuring Chisme, Mexican Stepgrandfather, Jehuniko, Babelfish, EVAK, Nikkhoo, & DJ Freeverse @ Notsuoh
DJ Craig Hlavaty @ Leon’s Lounge
Fondue Monks/Changoman @ Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar
Steel Lounge Underground, featuring Ceeplus Bad Knives, Peekaboo Theory, Sasha Braverman, Henry Chow, & DJ Melodic @ CAMH (5216 Montrose; 8PM-12AM)
New York Night Train Soul Clap & Dance-Off, featuring DJ Jonathan Toubin & DJ Psychedelic Sex Panther @ Stereo Live (Terrace)
Reggae Rhythm Revival, featuring D.R.U.M., DJ Zin, DJ MikeOneRhythm, Mr. Blacc Sheep, & Bigga Star @ Last Concert Cafe
Slave to the Beat, featuring Ceeplus Bad Knives, Fredster, & G-Wizz @ Boondocks
Darden Smith/Folk Family Revival @ Dosey Doe Coffee Company (The Woodlands)