Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Peloton + Omotai + The Fox Derby (Rev’d!) + Poor Pilate + George Baba + More

Yes, folks, it’s now Friday, February 17th, and don’t let the rain get you down, because there’s a ton of stuff going on tonight, a lot of which is very, very cool. I’ll get right to it:

Muhammad Ali/Peloton (7″ release)/Omotai/Sleuth @ Walter’s (1120 Naylor)
Ouch. Tough call for tonight, I’ve gotta say. In one corner (i.e., the new Walter’s), there’s the release show for the new {Peloton} 10″, Twist Off Your Head, which I have sadly not yet heard but which promises to be pretty dang badass; I was mightily, mightily impressed by these guys’ debut EP last year, and that was before they added Denniz Trauma on vocals, so… I can only imagine it’s made their proggy/stoner-y rawk thunder even better.

Oh, and they’ve brought along some friends, namely scuzzy-yet-melodic rockers {Muhammad Ali}, whom I freaking love to death, the sound of Odin’s fist crushing you into dust, otherwise known as {Omotai}, and newcomers Sleuth, which I’m told includes one of the guys from {Ghost Town Electric}. (They’ll also be playing at some point this evening over at Vinyl Junkie, btw.)

The Revival/Placid Blue/Cedar Moon/The Fox Derby @ Mango’s
I’ll be up-front about it and admit I know zero about most of the bands playing Mango’s this evening, but eh, I’m not bovvered. Why? Well, because I’ve been listening to {The Fox Derby}‘s latest, Life Apart, quite a bit this week, and as its slowly seeped its way in there, I’ve found myself caring less and less who else these folks are playing with, so long as they themselves are playing.

Now, I won’t lie; I was a little thrown off at first by the new album, because I had some fairly concrete hopes after adoring 2009’s Regular Dreams, and the Derby crew pretty much did the opposite of what I’d been crossing my fingers for. Oddly enough, though, I’m really digging the hell out of Life Apart now, too, despite my misgivings. Check out the full review here.

Poor Pilate/T. Bird and the Breaks/B L A C K I E @ Warehouse Live (Studio)
Alright, so I’ve fudged a wee bit on this one. The Warehouse Live site listed “Blackie Dammett” on the lineup for the show tonight, and I possibly-naively assumed that would actually be quasi-legendary hip-hop-as-combat dude {B L A C K I E}. Since then, however, I’ve seen “Blackie Dammett” on a few other lineups, so I’ve got no clue whether this is some real project or joke or what.

But never mind that, right? Because frankly, {Poor Pilate} are really, truly great, so great that I seriously regret not talking ’em up more in this here blog. I saw them last year at The Mink, and after some initial hesitation, I was fully won over; apparently I’m not the only one, either. David Lascoe & company do some great stuff.

David Rosenfield/George Baba/The C-4 Band @ Super Happy Fun Land
Hrm. Okay, so {The Dead Revolt} were listed as playing this one, but now it’s just TDR frontman George Baba on the bill. Weird; hopefully that doesn’t mean the band’s back on “hiatus” or anything like that — that gave us here at SCR a bit of a freakout, I have to say. Anyway, George is pretty great both in TDR and in {Rivers}, so he’s well worth checking out, and I’ve heard good, good things about David Rosenfield, as well. Give it a shot…

Runners-Up:
Dash Rip Rock/Ragged Hearts/Picture Book @ The Continental Club
Cronophage/Peasant/Sleuth/Noguey @ Vinyl Junkie (4202 E. Canal; 7PM, $4)
Clandestine @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Matt The Electrician @ Anderson Fair
3rd Annual Texas Yoga Conference, featuring David Newman, Sean Johnson & Wild Lotus Band, & Tyagaraja @ University of Houston Recreation Center
Sons of Hercules/Modfag/The Freakouts @ Rudyard’s
A Fistful of Soul, featuring No Fun, King Ghidora, Bingo Rash, & DJ Brett Koshkin @ The Big Top
Nameless Sound, featuring Marilyn Crispell & Henry Grimes @ Cullen Hall (Univ. of St. Thomas campus; 8PM)
Days Drive/Blondes Make Better Victims/Test Flight Fire/23 Shades @ The Mink
From Guts to Glory/Six Gun Sound/Abolition Formula/Small Dog Syndrome @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)