Yr. Weekend, Pt. 3: WOMAN Benefit for Girls Rock Camp Houston + SoulShine Benefit + The Reaction + More

On to Sunday, July 24th, and believe it or not, there’s still plenty going on. At the top of my personal list is a show going on up at Fitzgerald’s tonight called WOMAN: A Day of Music to Benefit Girls Rock Camp Houston, which is (duh) a benefit for the local Girls Rock Camp, an awesome, awesome week-long summer camp that teaches girls ages 8 to 18 how to rock out and builds confidence at the same time. It’s a great thing, seriously, and I desperately hope to see it continue beyond it’s second year (the 2011 camp runs the first week of August; sorry, registration’s all filled up already).

The “WOMAN” part of the show, btw, is actually an organization, Women of Montrose Action Network (WOMAN) — they’re sponsoring the show and raising money for GRCH, so my baseball cap’s off to ’em. (And okay, I’ll admit to being a little biased, since I know at least one of the WOMAN head honchettes; but hey, it’s still a cool group & a damn good cause.)

Anyway, the show organizers have pulled together a cool gang of local music-makers, including entertaining rockers {The Kimonos}, murky noisesters {Dead Roses}, and raw-edged, snarling rock crew {Born Again Virgins}. On top of that, the show will apparently also include a silent auction and a raffle with all kinds of neat prizes (see the event FB page for a full list of what you could win). The show’s free for the of-age set and only $5 for the under-agers, although I’m sure the GRCH/WOMAN folks would welcome any kind of additional donation you can muster.

Speaking of benefits, there’s another one going on tonight over at the Firehouse Saloon, and while it’s admittedly not my crowd, it still sounds like a worthwhile deal. The show’s called A Day of Celebration. An Evening of Acoustic Healing, and (snarky Marvin Gaye references aside) the proceeds go to the SoulShine Scholarship Foundation, which gives an annual scholarship to a deserving student who wants to go on and study music in college. It’s in memory of two Austin guitarists, Chase Alan Monks and Kyle Schroeder, who were killed last year by a drunk driver.

For the benefit, the folks in charge have gotten two up-and-coming country/roots-rock guys, Stoney LaRue and Bleu Edmondson to play, as well as Jason Eady, Hunter McKithan & the Offenders, and a handful of others I’m not real familiar with. There’s also an auction for all kinds of neat stuff, even if the music’s not strictly your thing. Well worth checking out…

On the non-benefit side of things, Super Happy Fun Land‘s got a good lineup tonight, with local proto-art-punks {Art Institute}, who are very cool, opening up for both fellow (resurrected) punks {Mydolls} and San Franciscans The Reaction. The latter are excellent, btw, in a seriously Hüsker Dü-like way; hadn’t heard ’em before now, but I’m fairly impressed.

Over at Dean’s in downtown, //TENSE// is also playing, along with {Future Blondes} — I’ve never managed to see either one, sadly, but I’ve heard good things. And folky singer/songwriter {Paige Lewis}, who I’ve been liking more & more lately, is playing up at The Usual in the Heights.

Full list, down here:

WOMAN: A Day of Music to Benefit Girls Rock Camp Houston, featuring Born Again Virgins, No Love Less, Dead Roses, Dear Tess, & The Kimonos @ Fitzgerald’s
The Reaction/The Mydolls/Art Institute @ Super Happy Fun Land
//TENSE// /Future Blondes @ Dean’s
A Day of Celebration. An Evening of Acoustic Healing: Benefit for SoulShine Scholarship Foundation, featuring Stoney LaRue, Bleu Edmondson, Jason Eady, Hunter McKithan & the Offenders, Stewart Mann & the Statesboro Review, & The Will Callers @ Firehouse Saloon
Paige Lewis @ The Usual
Dayglow Houston, featuring a bunch of DJ-type people @ Stereo Live