Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Warped Tour (MP3!) + Pride Fest/Prideapalooza + Other Lives + Oax (MP3!) + Gritsy + More
Yeah, I’m attempting to not let the rest of the weekend get the jump on me, this time; let’s see how it goes, eh? Cross yr fingers, y’all…
The big item on the list, at least in the physical sense, is this year’s edition of the Vans Warped Tour, held these days waaaaaaaay out on the west side of H-town at Sam Houston Race Park. I went several years ago, now (2005? holy crap…), back when it was held over at Reliant Arena (which was brutal, in the H-town summer sun), and while I definitely had some issues with the setup, I got to see some pretty damn awesome bands (particularly Armor For Sleep & The Explosion), even still.
This year, I must confess to not knowing a damn things about most of the bands on the list, but the handful I do recognize — Lucero, Street Dogs, Big D and the Kids Table, Less Than Jake, Against Me! — are worth the drive out and enduring the heat, all by themselves.
But hey, I’ve heard good, good things about several of the other bands playing, and I’ve listened to a couple of ’em, at least. Here’s a sample from one of the more interesting bands, Neo Geo:
And hey, tomorrow’s apparently only Day 2 of the whole damn tour, so all the bands should be well-rested & chipper, rarin’ to go. (Or something.)
Then, back in the heart of the city itself, there’s the Houston Pride Festival madness going on. I can’t actually find a slate performers for this year’s Pridefest — the only list I’ve been able to dig up looks to be from last year — but there’s definitely plenty going on.
I know {Yello Echo} — who SCR writer Robin Babb interviewed not long ago — are playing at EVO at 5PM, and then there’s a big pile of bands playing at both the Avant Garden & Mango’s.
They’re calling it Prideapalooza 2011, and it looks to be a damn good lineup, mixing a bunch of DJs ({Damon Allen}, Mr. Castillo) in with some awesome hip-hop-like people (B L A C K I E, {iLL LiaD}, {Hollywood Floss}) and a good helping of quirky/neat bands ({Wicked Poseur}, {Tyagaraja}, {Young Girls}, {Electric Attitude}, {Tax the Wolf}), all partying down together to celebrate Houston’s gay and lesbian community.
Over at Fitzgerald’s, then, there’s a cool show full of gentle-hearted indie-rockers. There’s headliners The Rosebuds, who I haven’t really heard much from since 2006’s Birds Make Good Neighbors (although I did like that one back then), Oklahomans Other Lives, whose recently-released full-length, Tamer Animals, has spent a lot of time in my CD player this week, and Oax, a one-man-band (ex- of Bishop Allen, I’m told) that’s recently sprung up right here in Houston.
The latter is somewhat of a mystery to me, but I’m liking the one track I’ve heard so far — hat tip to DrunkenWerewolf for that one — which you can check out for yourself right here:
- Oax – “Love and Crashing”
It’s rough-edged and rambling, like all my favorite Silkworm songs, but with a warmer, rootsier vibe to it that’s never, ever a bad thing.
And hey, Other Lives has a very cool, awesomely serene, 2001-esque video for their song “For 12,” and I’m enjoying the hell out of it:
Let’s see, what else… The Continental Club has a good one, with Austin’s Mobley and H-town’s own {Ozeal} and {Grizzly} — and yeah, that is one heck of a mixed bag, right there — and then there’s the Gritsy 5th Anniversary over at Warehouse Live. I can’t claim any kind of expertise when it comes to dubstep, but hell, I like what I’ve heard ’em do.
Oh, and there’s also the Box Social show at The Mink, which pairs up a bunch of local up-and-coming hip-hop acts, like {Kyle Hubbard} & {The Killafornianz}, with quasi-classic rockers {Jody Seabody and The Whirls} and utterly awesome prog-metal dudes {Cavernous}.
Now, full list time:
Vans Warped Tour, featuring 30H!3, A Day to Remember, A Skylit Drive, Against Me!, Asking Alexandria, Attack Attack!, August Burns Red, Bad Rabbits, Big B, Big Chocolate, Big D and the Kids Table, Black Veil Brides, Blood on the Dance Floor, Cold Forty Three, Dance Gavin Dance, Enter Shikari, Every Avenue, Foxy Shazam, Freshman 15, Go Radio, Good Guys In Black, Grieves With Budo, Hellogoodbye, I Set My Friends On Fire, illScarlett, It Boys!, Larry and His Flask, Less Than Jake, Lionize, Lucero, Madina Lake, MC Lars with Weerd Science, Miss May I, Moving Mountains, New Years Day, Of Mice and Men, Passafire, Pepper, Places and Numbers, Relient K, Set Your Goals, Sharks, Shut Up and Deal, Simple Plan, Stephen Jerzak, Street Dogs, Terrible Things, The Acacia Strain, The Aggrolites, The BOTS, The Dance Party, The Dangerous Summer, The Devil Wears Prada, The Expendables, The Exposed, The Ready Set, The Sheds, The Wonder Years, The Word Alive, There For Tomorrow, Unwritten Law, Vonnegutt, We Came As Romans, Winds of Plague, & Woe Is Me @ Sam Houston Race Park
Prideapalooza 2011, featuring B L A C K I E, Wicked Poseur, Alex English, Mike Rhythm, Tax the Wolf, GRRRL Parts, Senior Jukebox, Damon Allen, Electric Attitude, Panchitron, //TENSE// (DJ set), Speculator, Papaya, Achachay, Boyfriend, Ceeplus Bad Knives, DJ Hyro, Young Girls, Best Legs, Black Transmission, Tyagaraja, Mr. Castillo, La Catrin, Bending Villa, iLL LiaD, Vivian Pikkles & the Sweethearts Über Alles, Fredster, Shawn Rindfuss, Cuba Gooding Jr., Abstract Cannon, Hollywood Floss, ADD, Hit it or Quit it, & dontkidurself @ Avant Garden/Mango’s
The Rosebuds/Other Lives/Oax @ Fitzgerald’s
Box Social, featuring DJ Creap, The Killafornianz, Jody Seabody and the Whirls, Parking, Cavernous, Kyle Hubbard, Richie Roc, & Chane @ The Mink
Southern Backtones/The Crazy Ivans @ Rudyard’s
Mobley/Ozeal/Grizzly @ The Continental Club
Royal Pride Party, featuring Don Vaughn, Glasnost, Motel Aviv, Brandon West & the Black Hats, DJ Grizzle, DJ Status, Chelsi, & Jonathan Luke @ Royal Oak (1318 Westheimer; 2PM-2AM)
Joe Ely @ Firehouse Saloon
Deep Ella @ NJ’s (3815 Mangum)
Gritsy 5th Anniversary, featuring Mala, MartyParty, Suraj K, John The Third, Squincy Jones, Upgreyed, Full Effect MC, & Kam @ Warehouse Live
The Last Cigarette/Fired For Walking/Jay Satellite/Handsome Ransom @ Dean’s Credit Clothing
Other Lives @ Cactus Music (5PM)
Basix: Oh Good Grief!, featuring DJ Good Grief, BBC, Soul One, TKNC, & D-Risha @ Cellar Bar
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