Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Linus Pauling Quartet + Burned Out + Art Institute + Ruckus on the Railway + Gretchen Schmaltz + More

It feels like a slow-moving day to me, for some reason, but today (Saturday, January 21st, that is) is really anything but. There’s a crapload of stuff going on; here’s what I think sounds cool:

Sleeping Ancient/From Beyond/Mothership/Linus Pauling Quartet @ Walter’s (1120 Naylor)
Oh, yes. Headliners {Sleeping Ancient} sound pretty good to me, at least what I’ve listened to so far — they do a nicely murky, sludgy, ISIS-like instro-metal thing — and while I’ve only heard a little of {From Beyond}, they’re intriguing, too, in a stoner-metal kind of way.

Not familiar with Dallas band Mothership, I’m afraid, but I am thankfully familiar with the ever-badass {Linus Pauling Quartet}. God damn, do I love those guys; they’re not only a great bunch of musicians who know their way around a great guitar riff or three, but they’re also fun, never taking themselves even remotely seriously. An LP4 show is like a big, loud party where your best buds get loaded and jump up on the stage, kick the lame hair-metal cover band off, and proceed to rip up the floorboards, all the while continuing to nonchalantly drink, howl, and run around.

Got a bit of not-so-good news recently on the LP4 front, by the way, straight from the band’s hidden Icelandic base: not too long ago, the guys had to push back the release of the hotly-anticipated Bag of Hammers LP (the band’s first in a few years now) from December to February/early March, and now, due to some timing issues with the label (nothing bad, really, mind you), they’re going to have to push it back again, this time to April. sigh. Guess we’re just going to have to hang on ’til then.

Burned Out, featuring Chase Hamblin, The Literary Greats, & The Sideshow Tramps @ Fitzgerald’s
Okay, so I’m not entirely clear on the “Burned Out” title, here — from what I’ve seen so far (i.e., that flyer over there), I think the idea is that a handful of your favoritest, coolest bands (namely, {Chase Hamblin}, {The Literary Greats}, and {The Sideshow Tramps}) will blaze their way through a slew of “overplayed”/classic songs everybody knows and loves. Which could be very entertaining; the prospect of Hamblin doing Bee Gees songs almost seems like a no-brainer, and if Geoffrey of the Tramps really does sing a Prince song, well, that’ll be downright freaking creepy (but still kinda cool). Give it a shot; apparently this is meant to become a whole series of shows like this…

Knifight/A Sky Jet Black/How I Quit Crack/Art Institute @ Fitzgerald’s
And then, on the other floor of Fitz, there’s this one, which includes personal faves {Art Institute}, whose debut full-length, People Like It When You Fail, is very cool (and will be reviewed soon, once I get a chance to crack open the turntable again), and who also reportedly have a split-7″ on the way with Tyler/Austin band and showmates Knifight; keep an eye out for that in March. Excellent, excellent backwards-pointing, ridiculously sharp proto-punk.

Ruckus on the Railway, featuring Pist ‘N’ Broke, The Beltones, Rotten Youth, All City Bootboys, The Ballistics, Ryan Scroggins and the Trenchtown Texans, The Booked, Roots of Exile, Those Unruly, No Resistance, The Stand Alones, & Conflikto @ The Mink
Calling all skinheads and Oi!-punks, hey, this one’s for you. Plenty of old-school streetpunk and Oi!, plus a handful of the more modern stuff and a teeny-tiny helping of ska, courtesy of Ryan Scroggins and the Trenchtown Texans. Get on the braces and boots and head on over to Midtown.

Leatherbag/Tiziano Dominico/Gretchen Schmaltz @ Avant Garden ($7)
Not at all familiar with ex-Houston band Leatherbag, and I sadly have yet to listen to {Tiziano Dominico} (soon, hopefully), but dang it, it’s been far too long since I last saw {Gretchen Schmaltz}, who remains one of the best singer/songwriters I’ve seen/heard. Loved her stuff with sadly-gone band {The Western Civilization} and solo, and I’ve heard her new band, {Frants}, is pretty great, too. Well worth checking out.

Oh, and despite what the flyers say, I’m told the show will now be free. If true, very cool, but I’d bring some cash, just in case.

Eli/The Cravens/Rivers/Silver Blueberry @ Mango’s
Last but not least… I still need to check out {Eli} at some point, but hey, I already know I freaking adore {Rivers}, with their wild, unhinged, don’t-give-a-fuck post-grunge sound. The band’s like a youthful Mudhoney if Mark Arm hadn’t come out of puberty already sounding like an old man, I swear. “Spirit Child” just makes me want to close my eyes, grow my hair long (again), and rock out.

Silver Blueberry may not be playing, btw; some of the listings I’ve seen have newcomers {Rebel Beach} in their place…

Runners-Up:
Brent Nettles/Sergio Trevino @ Heights Vinyl
Cyclea/LIMB/brightbluebeetle/Josiah Gabriel/Carlos Pozo/Chris Becker/Pulse Rifle @ Super Happy Fun Land
The Illegal Wiretaps/Vertigo Blue/Wayside Drive/Call Us People @ Dean’s Credit Clothing
Jimmie Dale Gilmore/Butch Hancock @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Space City Beat Battle Championship, featuring George Young, Tony Dark, Risky Boi, V12, Black Keys Productions, Y Phoenix, Steezilla, & more @ The Mercury Room (1004 Prairie; 8PM-1AM)
One Red Martian/The Beans @ Rudyard’s
Dykes on Bykes/Skeleton Dick/Fuska/Chelsea Hotel/AM Prowlers @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
Jesse Dayton @ Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe (Galveston)