Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Art Institute + Fitz Birthday + Sunrise and Ammunition + Bike to Party + Venomous Maximus + More

Yes, yes — it’s now the weekend, and there’s a lot going on. Things’ll get crazier as the weekend goes on, but even tonight, Friday, September 23rd, is pretty damn nuts.

First off (and coming up pretty quick), those crazy art-punks in the aptly-named {Art Institute} have a CD release show this evening at Cactus, starting at 5:30PM; they’re releasing their debut full-length, People Like It When You Fail, and from what I’ve heard of it so far, it’s pretty badass. Snarling, sharp-edged punk that’s more informed by folks like Pere Ubu, Fugazi, and Mission of Burma than by pop-punk and melds rubbery basslines with sarcastic, sung-spoken-yelled vocals, stuttering, fast-moving rhythms, and a wicked finger pointed at politics and pop culture, all of which is good by me.

And hey, snag a limited-edition, first-pressing copy of the LP on vinyl while you can — it features artwork by Raymond Pettibon and the last two tracks are a roulette groove, something the band’s promising they won’t be repeating for the next pressing…

A little bit later in the evening, you can head on up to Fitzgerald’s and party down with the Pegstar/{Free Press Houston} crew in celebration of their 1-year (damn, has it been that long already?) tenure in the revamped venue. A great, great lineup will be providing musical fun/insanity, including excellent noise-crafters {Indian Jewelry}, somnolent drone-pop kids {Searching for Signal}, spacey dance-rockers {The Watermarks}, and a bunch of other folks, to boot, scattered across the two floors.

Speaking of venues, I’m happy to see The Mink is still alive & kicking despite the recent buyout and resulting messiness; they sent an email our way earlier in the week declaring that “The Mink is still alive and supporting local music!”, and pointed to tonight’s show, with very promising rockers {Sunrise and Ammunition} (take a listen to their Aquarius E.P.) and {TameBlonde}. Damn glad to hear it, y’all…

If you’re up for a little physical activity, you can always join the Bike to Party! protest-y event going on tonight, which starts at City Hall and rolls on over to the American Legion at 1216 W. Clay, where the badass {Woozyhelmet} will be doing some serenading, alongside {Frank Freeman}. Expect kooky signs, rollerblades, face paint, and yes, lots and lots of bikes. Go roll some wheels & rock out for climate action. (And hey, it’s free, right?)

Rudyard’s has a good, if less environmentally-aware, show going on tonight, too — I’ve only heard of Gypsyhawk, sadly (although what I’ve heard has been good, and their album art is D&D-nerd awesome), but I truly dig H-town sludge-/stoner-metal dudes {Venomous Maximus}. Down the road a bit at Mango’s, then, there’s a more indie-rock-ish (I think?) bill, with Austinites Mobley playing with Beaumont band We Were Wolves, locals {Osirus}, and I-dunno-where-they’re-from band Ctrl+Alt+Jay.

Stroll on across the parking lot to Avant Garden for yet another good one, this time with a solo set from {Buxton} frontman Sergio Trevino, who’s pretty much awesome at, well, anything he does. He’s playing with {Tiziano Dominico} and {Adam Bricks}, neither of whom I know real well, sorry…

Swerving back up to downtown, I can’t forget the Weird Al show going on at the Verizon Wireless Theater — I can’t help it, I’ve loved the guy since “Nature Trail to Hell” and “Dare to Be Stupid” — or the show over at the House of Blues, which has cool, cool guys {Electric Attitude} and {The Live Lights} (the latter of which I still need to catch, one of these days) opening for Run Run Run.

And lastly for me at the moment, since my fingers are beginning to hurt, The Continental Club has a cool one tonight, too, with blues legend {Little Joe Washington} blazing his way through the happy-hour set in preparation for Michael Kingcaid (whom you might know as the frontman for Austin heroes What Made Milwaukee Famous) and headliner Ana Egge.

Big ol’ list, right here:

Fitzgerald’s Grand Re-Opening Birthday, featuring Indian Jewelry, The Watermarks, Searching for Signal, Future Blondes, //TENSE//, Sorne, & PAPAYA @ Fitzgerald’s
Art Institute @ Cactus Music (5:30PM)
Sergio Trevino (Buxton)/Tiziano Dominico/Adam Bricks @ Avant Garden
Sunrise and Ammunition/Tame Blonde @ The Mink ($5/$6)
We Were Wolves/Mobley/Ctrl+Alt+Jay/Osirus @ Mango’s
Weird Al Yankovic @ Verizon Wireless Theater
Gypsyhawk/Venomous Maximus/Automatic Thrill @ Rudyard’s
Bike to Party! 350 Moving Planet, featuring Woozyhelmet & Frank Freeman @ Houston City Hall (901 Bagby; 7PM-12AM)
Run Run Run/Electric Attitude/The Live Lights @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
Ana Egge/Michael Kingcaid/Little Joe Washington @ The Continental Club
Nameless Sound, featuring Keith Rowe & Kjell Bjorgeengen @ 14 Pews (800 Aurora; 8PM)
Optimo Radio Artist Showcase/Ram and Rapper-K B-Day Bash, featuring K-Rino, Mantis, Rapper K-Sniper, LOS SUC/GBC, Murder One, Point Blank, Justice Allah, Dope E, Cl’Che’, Gritboys, Damfoolz, 40oz Tat, Big DeMo, H-Town Boys, GMan, Unspoken Records, iLL LiaD, Preemo, Big Gerb & Hongree Records Crew, MoCity Menis, T2 The Ghetto Hippie, & Optimo Ram @ Jet Lounge
Def Leppard/Heart/Evan Watson @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Carolyn Wonderland/Jimmy Lee Deen @ Last Concert Cafe
Hank Schyma/Greg Kinsey @ Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe (Galveston)
Wild Texas Galveston Island Shrimp Festival, featuring Cassette Tape @ The Strand (Galveston)