Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Defeat the Noise Ordinance Fundraiser + Southern Backtones (Rev’d!) + Lisa’s Sons + Darkest Hour + More

Argh. Late again, late again, dangit… It’s Saturday, February 11th, and there’s some very cool stuff going on; some of it I’ve already missed out on, sadly, like the 3PM show over at Cactus with {The Wheel Workers} and the Fifth Annual Rory Miggins Memorial Irish Stew Cook-off & Music Festival, which ended at 6PM. sigh. Sorry about that, y’all.

But hey, there’s still plenty of other things going on, some of which are most likely starting right now or very shortly. Here goes:

Defeat the Noise Ordinance Fundraiser, featuring The Literary Greats, Lucas Gorham, Ancient Astronaut Theory, Clockpole, Vipers, & DJ Meshak @ Fitzgerald’s
Meant to mention this one earlier in the week, when I first heard about it, but things got away from me, as they do. Not only is this a very, very cool show, but it’s a fundraiser for something that’s needed to happen in this city for a very long time, namely that Houston-area musicians are finally attempting to band together politically to represent their mutual interests in City Hall.

I’ll air my own grievances at greater length later on, but for now I just want to give a big Virtual High-Five to the organizers of the Greater Houston Entertainment Coalition PAC and urge folks to support ’em in any way they can, including attending tonight’s Defeat the Noise Ordinance Fundraiser up at Fitz. Plus, there’re some badass people playing, including {The Literary Greats}, {Grandfather Child} main man Lucas Gorham, and {Clockpole}. It’s time to start the fightback, y’all.

Southern Backtones (CD release)/Craig Kinsey/Jo Bird/John Evans Band/Emily Bell/Johnny Falstaff @ The Capitol (705 B Main St.)
And coming in a close-close-close second, there’s the awesome-sounding release show for the new {Southern Backtones} album, La Vie En Noir. I’ve been living with it for a couple of weeks now, and I swear, each day it seeps into my brain more and more, even when I don’t think it is; it’s a ridiculously great disc, even subliminally, and I catch myself humming along regularly now. See over here for the full review.

Not only are Hank & co. ripping the roof off tonight downtown, but they’re bringing along some very cool friends, too, namely {Craig Kinsey} (of {The Sideshow Tramps}), Jo Bird (of {Two Star Symphony}), and {John Evans}. Very, very, very cool.

Wicked Poseur/Sphynx/Lisa’s Sons @ Walter’s (1120 Naylor)
It does my heart all kinds of good to see those Lisa’s Sons guys back in action, it really does; as I’ve mentioned before, I’d all but given up hope that they would return & grace us with a followup to 2008’s Digital Nozzle, but here they are again, four years down the line, hard at work on Losing Skull. Hot damn. Can’t wait to hear it, y’all.

Oh, and they apparently submitted one of their new songs to Epitaph Records Demo-Lition page, which I think lets you listen & vote on songs you like so they’ll maybe-maybe be heard by the folks at Epitaph. Head on over and make your voice heard. (Seriously — there’s no way a band named “Pizza Fish” should be allowed to beat ’em…)

Machine Head/Suicide Silence/Darkest Hour @ House of Blues
And last but not least, fans of things heavy as hell can rejoice, because there’s this little show over at the House of Blues. I’m not a huge Machine Head fan myself — although other folks here are — but I do dig Darkest Hour a hell of a lot. They play metal that’s technical and sharp-edged and raw but never falls into the usual Cookie Monster/sludge traps, and that seems like a rare thing these days.

Runners-Up:
Ryan Scroggins & The Trenchtown Texans/Jimmy Lee Deen @ Last Concert Cafe
The Swamps/Zavala Band/The Beans/Black Kennedy @ The Mink
Johnny Hootrock/The Down & Dirties/The Dollyrockers/DJ Big E @ The Continental Club
The 7th Annual Valentine Gala & Wine Auction for BMI and Eye Care in the Third World, featuring Double Vision @ Firehouse Saloon
Continuum presents KALI @ The Orange Show
To Hell With Love: Coffin Case Girls Fashion Show & Concert, featuring ERASEtheVIRUS, I.D.R., South, Grizzly, & Static Collision @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)