Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Buxton + The Literary Greats + Biscuit Bombs + Glitch Mob + Alps + Sarah Jaffe + More

Whoa. Got a fairly substantial pile for tonight, Friday, July 8th, so I’ll attempt to get through as much of it as I possibly can…

First off, this evening’s a one-two punch in terms of awesome rootsy/folky H-town rockers, with both {Buxton} playing all by their lonesome over at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck (kudos to the Duckers for expanding out to encompass more “indie”-ish folks lately, btw) and {The Literary Greats} headlining over at The Continental Club.

For the former, I swear, those Buxton guys knock me down every time I see ’em; even catching just a couple of songs at the end of Summerfest was enough to send me spinning. (It helped, of course, that one of those songs was “Feathers,” which I could bliss out to all damn day.) I’m happy as hell to see ’em signed to New West and getting more exposure — apparently they got back just a week or so ago from a trip eastward with {The Wild Moccasins} & {Robert Ellis} to Athens, GA, to play AthFest. I’ve seen some nice writeups of the crew’s AthFest performances, which is very cool.

Oh, and the band’s playing an extra-super-long show tonight at the Duck, starting at 7:30PM — none of that punk-club ~10/11PM crap…

Now, as for the latter, I’ve steadily grown more & more psyched about the Greats — spent a few hours recently listening to both Black Blizzard and Ocean, Meet the Valley, actually, and re-remembering why I like ’em so damn much. Sweet, smart songs with a little bite and a distinctly rootsy vibe to ’em; it doesn’t get any better, as far as I’m concerned.

I saw these guys the last time they played the Continental, by the by, with excellent DFW band The Orbans, and it was phenomenal. The Greats are playing tonight with sometime band member {Sara Van Buskirk} as the opener, too, which makes it even better. “The Place Where You Are” makes me want to weep every time I hear it, although now I can’t help but think of her banter during that last CC show — at one point she declared, “I’m wearing shorts; bring me some whiskey!”

Oh, and {Poor Pilate}‘s apparently playing, as well (although they’re not on the Continental Club’s calendar); saw those guys a while back at The Mink and was mightily impressed. They go on last, I’m told, so stick around & check ’em out…

Beyond the roots-pop, there’s plenty of other fun going on, don’t worry; over at Rudyard’s, punk rocker/author David Ensminger is hosting Night #1 of a two-night deal to celebrate the release of his new book this weekend — I’ll hopefully post about the book itself this evening, but the show’s going to be fun all on its own, with resurrected band {The Kimonos}, {Zipperneck}, and Texas punk icons The Biscuit Bombs. (Unfortunately, {Jealous Creatures} had to cancel, but {Mydolls} may be playing, too, although I’m not sure…) Go get loaded and rock the fuck out.

Or, alternatively, you can head on over to Warehouse Live to catch The Glitch Mob and dance your ass off — I’ve been listening to 2010’s Drink The Sea a lot this week, and it’s pretty awesome, in a brightly-colored, squishy-synth kind of way. Think of The Crystal Method but less cold and robotic, with more of a “world music” vibe to it, and you’ll be in the neighborhood.

Up at Super Happy Fun Land, there’s a night full of bizarreness unfolding, with headliners Alps (from Australia) and Terrence McManus (from NY, I think), along with local weirdos {Rapeworm} and — reportedly — the newly renamed {Saviour Group}, now called {Guwange}. Expect a raw, paint-peeling aural assault…

Fitzgerald’s has excellent indie-folk artist Sarah Jaffe tonight, playing with Centro-Matic, who I’d swear I liked at one point but cannot for the life of me remember very well (sorry!). Go for Sarah, stick around for Centro, alright? Fitz also has The Blow on the other floor, a band that’s apparently pretty much Khaela Maricich, ex- of The Microphones, who I like/liked quite a bit.

Aaaaand that’s all I can write about for right now, y’all. Here’s the full list:

Buxton @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
The Literary Greats/Sara Van Buskirk/Poor Pilate/Changoman @ The Continental Club
Hot Punk City, featuring The Kimonos, Biscuit Bombs, & Zipperneck @ Rudyard’s
Centro-Matic/Sarah Jaffe @ Fitzgerald’s
Alps/Terrence McManus/Rapeworm/Guwange (ex-Saviour Group) @ Super Happy Fun Land
Glitch Mob/Com Truise/ R/D @ Warehouse Live (Studio)
The Blow/Love Inks @ Fitzgerald’s
Come See My Dead Person/Blaggards @ Union Tavern (Webster)
Lexi Condon/Glasnost/GRRRL Parts @ Stereo Live
Clory Martin @ Bohemeos
Plex in the City, featuring Rapid Ric, Go Go Garcia, & Squincy Jones @ Boondocks
Dwight Yoakam @ Arena Theatre
Bands on the Sand, featuring D.R.U.M. @ Moody Gardens (Galveston)