Tonight: football, etc. + Reverse the Curse + Pswingset + Yes, Inferno + Square & Compass, at Vinyl Junkie

While I’ll admit that part of me is desperately wishing I could hang with Mos Def & Talib Kweli at the House of Blues tonight as they perform Black Star in its entirety, there’s another very, very cool show going on this evening (Thursday, September 8th) that’s got my attention, as well…

Just a little ways east of the HOB, across 59, Vinyl Junkie‘s hosting a pretty great lineup. Ultra-promising, Braid-like emo guys Square & Compass, who I like quite a bit, kick things off, followed by San Antonians Yes, Inferno, who blaze their way through some nicely urgent instro-rock with chunks of both Dischord post-rock and more proggy metal sticking out the sides.

Then there’s Pswingset, who I’d heard of but had never gotten a chance to listen to before now (I don’t think, anyway) — the band apparently includes Daniel Hawkins of Papermoons/Little Compass, which is one hell of a recommendation for it right there, but what I’m hearing now is pretty great, too. Like S&C, it’s also somewhat on the Braid side of things, but there’s also a neat droney thing going on in there, and I’m liking the heck out of it. Might have to pick up their forthcoming full-length on Top Shelf, whenever that happens…

Reverse the Curse are/were a new one on me, I’m afraid, but whoa, they’re good shit. Not in the same sort of emo/post-emo vein as the rest, but instead heavier and more raw, almost reminiscent of the best Foo Fighters songs.

And last but definitely not least, there’s headliner football, etc., about whom I’ve waxed rhapsodic in the past; I swear, each time I hear ’em, I like the band more and more.

They drag me back to those confused, earnest college days, when “emo” was this new thing I stumbled into and loved nearly immediately — Lindsay Minton‘s vocals make me think of a tougher, more bitter Kobi Finley (from the criminally underrated Pohgoh), or maybe the awesome Elizabeth Elmore, and the guitars and drums swoon and sway with a sweet-yet-defiant gorgeousness, deliberately stepping their way along and getting loud exactly where they need to.

Seriously, I’d recommend the whole damn thing. Tonight, at Vinyl Junkie (4202 E. Canal), from 7-10PM, and it’s a measly $3-$5 for the touring folks. Check it out.