Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Jandek + Caroling at Caroline + El Birthday Metalfest + Jonathan Toubin Benefit + More

On to the next one… Saturday now, December 17th, and while yours truly is currently recovering from a very, very late-night party last night and gearing up for the next, there’s a crap-ton of stuff going on today that is flat-out awesome. I can’t talk about all of it, sadly, but dangit, here’s what I think of some of it:

Jandek @ Menil Collection (7:15PM)
Yep, it’s the man you either love, hate, or (as in my case) are intrigued as hell by. I’m not going to call myself a fan, because honestly, most of what I’ve heard of {Jandek}‘s music is too far down the outsider-art/experimental path for me to really get into. I’m a sappy pop-song fan at heart, folks. That said, I love the freaking myth of the guy, the very fact that this city is home to one of the strangest, most mysterious, most oddball musicians the world’s seen; he’s a local treasure, and I’m hoping he never decides to pack up and leave, seriously.

At any rate, if you don’t know who the guy is, I’d wholeheartedly encourage checking him out at today’s appearance — he doesn’t play live here in town very often (or at all, really, although he’s now playing a whole lot more regularly in general the past few years than he ever has before, at least under the Jandek moniker), and it’s free, so you can’t beat it. Plus, the Menil Collection (which is also free, I’m pretty sure) is awesome in its own right, with one of the best Surrealism collections, well, pretty much anywhere.

This performance is meant to go with the gallery’s current “Seeing Stars: Visionary Drawing from the Collection” exhibit, which showcases — appropriately enough — a different type of outsider art, the kind that’s more visual than aural.

Caroling with The Caroline Sessions, featuring Benjamin Wesley, Clory Martin, Chase Hamblin, Corey Power, Donnie Sands, File Under Jeff, Frank Freeman, Melissa Savcic, Robin Kirby, Tim Qualls, & more @ Caroline Collective (2-8PM)
Okay, so this is just a neat, neat idea, at least to me. Today marks the year’s final installment of the Caroline Sessions, and the Sessions organizers are bringing back “alumni” from earlier in the year to play some of their own songs alongside some holiday-time classics.

Now, I dunno about you, but I would so, so love to see {Benjamin Wesley} doing “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen”; I can’t even put my finger on why, but that seems like it’d be awesome. There’s also the ever-amazing {Clory Martin}, cool dude {Chase Hamblin}, {Ragged Hearts} frontman Corey Power, {Melissa Savcic}, {File Under Jeff} (both of whom our own Robin Babb interviewed several months back), and plenty of others. As always, it’s a potluck BBQ-type thing (with meat and veggies, mind you), and it’s free. Hot damn. Go make some merry.

The El Birthday Metalfest, featuring Project Armageddon, Venomous Maximus, Warbeast, Sanctus Bellum, Las Cruces, Mr. Plow, & Serpent Sun @ Rudyard’s
Punxmas Fest 2011, featuring Molotov Compromise, The Ghost Storys, Blackmarket Syndicate, Fuska, Rats In The Attic, Roots of Exile, Dirty South Revolutionaries, Alimanas, The Freakouts, & The Sellouts @ Mango’s
Of course, if the folk-y crowd at the Caroline Collective is a little lightweight for you, well, here’s Alternative #1 and Alternative #2 — the former metal, the latter punk. There’re some damn good bands playing both shows, particularly {Venomous Maximus}, {Blackmarket Syndicate}, Arlington’s Warbeast, and {Fuska}, so go bang your head and mosh with some holiday spirits and/or copious amounts of booze. And yes, that flyer is creepy as all hell. Wow…

Dream Thieves/March to the Sea/Square and Compass/GOODVIBES! @ The Mink
I dunno much about headliners Dream Thieves, but dangit, I like those {Square and Compass} guys a hell of a lot, not only because I truly dig their seriously Braid-influenced, old-school-sounding emo sound but also because they’re all genuinely nice, friendly, good people. I can’t wait for their new stuff to see the light of day; from everything I’m hearing, it’s going to blow away their already-promising debut EP from earlier this year.

Dance Party for the Soul: A Benefit for Jonathan Toubin, featuring Ceeplus Bad Knives, Psychedelic Sex Panther, Mr. Castillo, Stagger Lee, & more @ Grand Prize Bar (9PM-2AM)
Oh, man. I just heard about Houton native Jonathan Toubin, NY-dwelling DJ and party promoter extraordinaire and the man behind the New York Night Train Soul Clap and Dance-Off (which we mentioned back in 2009 when the tour first hit town)…

Apparently last Thursday, while Toubin was in Portland, Oregon, for a show, the driver of a taxicab lost control of her car, which plowed through the wall of the hotel where Toubin was staying and came to rest on fucking top of him while he lay in bed. Holy crap. I wish I were kidding about this, I really do, because Jonathan’s a sweet, sweet guy; he’s alive, but he’s in extremely critical condition, and like a lot of musicians, I’m thinking he probably doesn’t have any kind of insurance, so… Those hospital bills are bound to be phenomenal.

People all across the country are coming together to help raise money for Toubin’s recovery, including some of his hometown friends like {Ceeplus Bad Knives}, Stagger Lee, Psychedelic Sex Panther, Mr. Castillo, and others. Look over here for details on tonight’s benefit and other ways you can help. We’ll be thinking about you, Jonathan; hang in there, man.

Witness Progression Party, featuring H.I.S.D., T.H.E.M. (hasHBrown, Hollywood FLOSS, John Dew, Dustin Prestige, Thurogood Wordsmith, & Kidd the Great), The Niceguys, Uzoy, & Doughbeezy @ Main Stage 2016
Oh, wow. Seriously? Okay, so while I like H.I.S.D. and {The Niceguys} quite a bit, I have to say that H-town hip-hop supergroup T.H.E.M. — which includes, as you can see above, hasHBrown, {Hollywood FLOSS}, & {Thurogood Wordsmith}, among others — looks fucking incredible, as in Roots-like levels of awesomeness.

Now for the bad part: I can’t find this show listed on the 2016 Mainstage Website, and The Niceguys are also listed as playing a show at Villains (see below) today/tonight, too. On the positive side, they’re selling tickets to the thing online. So is this happening? Sadly, I really have no idea; cross your fingers.

Runners-Up:
Carolyn Wonderland @ Dosey Doe Coffee Company (The Woodlands)
Tiziano Dominico/Sergio Trevino/Adam Bricks @ Avant Garden ($5)
John Lefler/The Fox Derby/Aimless Gun/The Sweetsops @ Dean’s Credit Clothing
King Fantastic/bBLOCC (DJ Raw)/Troublemaker/DJ Bizz/Propain/Wes Walz/The Niceguys/DJ Jasmine Rose/Rapid Ric/BMC/Damon Allen/Rob Bass/iLL LiaD/DJ Red/DJ Psycho/The Avengers Dance Crew @ Villains (2001 Commerce)
Merry Metal Fest, featuring Carry The Storm, Decimation Theory (CD release), Will to Live, Carrion Sun (CD release), Elder Gods, & Mohawk Steve @ House of Blues
Gritsy: Freebie!, featuring Huy Cao, John The Third, Juxta, Knome, Pejman, Rastaar, Suraj K, Sines, Upgreyed, Werm, & Full Effect MC @ Warehouse Live
The 999 Eyes Freakshow and Surreal Sideshow/Braggart Family Sideshow @ Super Happy Fun Land
John Evans @ Goode’s Armadillo Palace
Provision/TENSE/Post Faction/DJ Rob/DJ Xcess @ Fitzgerald’s
Kelly Doyle @ Cactus Music (1PM)
Merry XXXmas Party, featuring LoneStar PornStar (reunion), Jonny Pecker & The Beaver Bustin Pickle Weasels, & Rainchild @ The Concert Pub North (2470 FM 1960 W)