Yr. Weekend, Pt. 3: Red Fang + Ghost Town Electric + Hits from the Hill + The Droids + More

I’ve been letting Sunday slip by these past few weekends, I’ll admit it, but I honestly can’t this week, because there’s some stuff going on tonight (December 4th) that’s just as cool as what’s been on the past couple of days. Here we go:

Red Fang/Maleveller/Ghost Town Electric @ Fitzgerald’s
Yep, I have so been looking forward to this one, so much so that I pre-cleared it all with the wife, bought tickets online, etc., etc., and am fully prepared to hike over from wherever the hell I can park (I swear, I never thought back in the show-going days of my youth that parking would one day be worse than it was then; I was very, very wrong) over to Fitzgerald’s, rain or no rain.

Why? Well, because I was started to despair of ever seeing Portland metal dudes Red Fang live and in-person. On their self-titled debut, these guys managed to pretty much crown themselves the perfect backwoodsy, bass-heavy metal, with lead-in track “Prehistoric Dog” as the cornerstone of the whole thing. And then, of course, there’s this:

Goddamn, I love that song. And video — I mean, c’mon, how can you not love a band like this that totally doesn’t take itself seriously? The band’s new album, Murder the Mountains, is pretty good so far, although it’s less of a let’s-get-shitfaced-and-party album and more like Priestess’s Prior to the Fire, melding the proggy stuff with the meathead riffs and thundering rhythms. Either way, they’re badass.

And hey, there’s also local boys {Ghost Town Electric}, who dwell in an adjacent metal realm, playing stoner-metal but with an interesting countrified twist; I’ve seen ’em a handful of times now, and I have to say, they’ve got to be one of the best metal bands in town these days. Recommended on all fronts.

I should note, btw, that barring any unforeseen mishaps, this is where yours truly’ll be tonight — I’ll be the graying-bearded guy in the Roky Moon & BOLT! t-shirt (or a sweatshirt with musical instrument-playing army men on it, depending on how cold it is), should anybody want to say “hey,” or buy me a Coke, or punch me in the kidneys, or berate me for not listening to their band in a timely fashion, whichever.

Hits from the Hill CD Release, featuring Allen Oldies Band, Roy Head, Don Sanders, Champion Sisters, Chet Daniels, Kenny Cordray’s Love Street, John Evans, Glenna Bell, & Row Zero @ The Continental Club (2-6PM)
This one’s the other biggie of the day, at least in my book, although just to warn you, it’s already going on…sorry ’bout that. sigh. At any rate, this is the official CD release for the excellent-sounding Hits from the Hill, Volume 1 compilation, which is sort of a companion piece to Andy Bradley & Roger Wood‘s House of Hits: The Story of Houston’s Gold Star/SugarHill Recording Studios, the recent book on the history of the legendary SugarHill Studios. What I’ve heard of the comp sounds pretty great, and the lineup today is pretty damn good, as well. Get on over to The Continental Club as quick as you can, eh?

Koffin Kats/The Returners/Radio Blackout/The Droids @ Mango’s
Dunno the Koffin Kats at all, sorry, beyond the fact that they’re a gothabilly band, but I’ve heard {Radio Blackout} are pretty good… Beyond that, though, I’m loving the idea behind {The Droids}, who are a self-proclaimed “robobilly” band — and honestly, isn’t that a genre whose time really needs to come?

They, Who Sound, featuring Fernando Vigueras, David Dove, & Damon Smith @ Avant Garden (6-8PM)
This is the latest installment of the They, Who Sound series over at the Avant Garden, and this time it’s a two-parter — showcased musician Fernando Vigeueros, who’s an improvisational guitarist from Mexico, will be playing tongiht and tomorrow night with a handful of Houston-based musicians. Tonight’s cohorts will be improv scene icon David Dove and {Damon Smith}, who’re well worth checking out on their own, so take that for what it’s worth, right there…