Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Jolie Holland + Eels + The Submarines + Rock Baby Rock It + Slow Poisoner + More

Damn — slow, slow, slow tonight; sorry about that, folks, but family stuff intervenes… There’s quite a bit going on tonight (Friday, July 22nd), too, so we’ll get on it in a sec.

First, though, I just wanted to mention that the original date of Dayglow Houston festival/tour/”paint party” thing, Saturday, July 23rd, is already sold out, so the organizers have set up a second day, Sunday, July 24th, over at Stereo Live. No clue who’s playing the second day, but if you missed out on the tickets for the first, jump on the Sunday tickets…

Tonight, on the other hand, I’d be headed on up to Fitzgerald’s to see woozy trad-folk revivalist Jolie Holland — I’ll admit that when I first heard her, I wasn’t real sure about her heavy-lidded style, but it’s seriously grown on me in the time in-between. Holland’s like a singer out-of-time, one who should by rights be singing with Bessie Smith or Scott Joplin.

Here’re a few tracks to check out:

Jolie Holland – “Goodbye California” (MP3)
Jolie Holland – “A Crush in the Ghetto” (MP3)

Holland’s playing with fellow retro-stylists Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, who hark from a different era but wouldn’t have sounded out-of-place in your Baby Boomer parents’ record collection; Ford herself comes off like a combination between Grace Slick and Shirley Bassey, if you can imagine it. Check ’em out:

Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside – I Swear from Matthew Ross on Vimeo.

A close tie for the evening is up at Warehouse Live, with Eels (or “The Eels”? no clue) and The Submarines. The former I’m not super familiar with, but I’ve been fascinated by the guy; Mark Oliver Everett (or E, as he used to be known) is one of the strangest, most skilled pop songwriters going these days, and everything I’ve heard him do has been pretty neat.

I must confess, though, that I’m more psyched about L.A.-dwelling pop duo The Submarines, who do a bright, candy-sheen indie-pop thing that’s gorgeous and melodic and catchy and sad, all at once. In case you haven’t heard ’em — they’ve been popping up on a lot of TV shows the past couple of years — here’s my favorite Submarines song:

The Submarines – “The Wake Up Song” (MP3)

Over at The Continental Club, tonight’s the first night of the 11th(!) Rock Baby Rock It mini-festival thrown every year by DJ Big E — it’s a two-day deal, and while I think most of my faves are tomorrow night, it still merits a mention tonight, with Mack Stevens, Drop Top Rockets, local boys {The Octanes}, and Danger*Cakes. If you’re into garage-y, street-grimy rockabilly, this is where you need to be.

If you’re into weird rock, however, Super Happy Fun Land is probably the place for you. I was skeptical of horror-shlock-y headliner The Slow Poisoner at first, but he won me over pretty quickly on latest release Magic Casket, which bridges the gap between Cramps-style horror-rock and Quintron-like swamp boogie and does it well. Full review on over here. Plus, I’ve heard good things about both {Clockpole} and {Will Schorre}, so there’s that…

Over at the 2016 Mainstage club — which may just be calling itself “Mainstage” these days; not sure on that — local electro-pop gang {Glasnost} are celebrating the release of their new video/single, “Valis.” I haven’t heard it yet, but I’ve liked some of what I’ve heard these guys do in the past. Definitely need to hear some more.

Here’s the full list:

Jolie Holland/Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside @ Fitzgerald’s
Eels/The Submarines @ Warehouse Live
Rock Baby Rock It #11, featuring Mack Stevens, Drop Top Rockets, The Octanes, & Danger Cakes @ The Continental Club
The Slow Poisoner/Rob Rippa/Clockpole/Muzak John/Will Schorre/GMILF Defibrillator @ Super Happy Fun Land
Glasnost (video release)/La Catrin/GRRRL Parts/Angie Audio @ 2016 Mainstage
Don’t Fuck With Texas Fest, featuring Poor Dumb Bastards, Legion, Snake Skin Prison, Silenced Within, & A Tragedy Lost @ BFE Rock Club
Sean Reefer & The Resin Valley Boys @ The Big Top
Real Life Real Music Camp Showcase @ Dosey Doe Coffee Company (The Woodlands)
Courrier/Plain Jane Automobile/Castle Lights/The Urgent Young @ Jet Lounge/ECHO
Fastball/Trey Gadler and Dead Man’s Hand @ The Flamingo Room
skyblue72 @ The Usual (free!)
The Gourds/Doyle Bramhall @ Miller Outdoor Theatre (free!)