Free Press Summerfest 2012 is here! You can already smell the sweet, aromatic mix of beer, B.O., sun block, and swamp ass so unique to outdoor festivals in Houston. But before you plan on skipping out on the daytime acts (you know you thought about it), think about what this festival is really about…
Okay, so I know the “big” news of this week is Summerfest, but what the hell, it’s not like the musical world’s stopped turning completely in anticipation of that, the same way it doesn’t for SXSW. Shows still happen, and some of them, yes, are badass…
On to the next one, y’all. Here’s the third installment of our little writeups/rundowns/previews of Free Press Summerfest 2012, aka The Best Music Festival in H-Town, Period…
I used to be able to complete an entire thought. That is, until a coworker gave me a copy of Lick Lick’s Good Touch/Bad Touch to write about. The second effort by Matt Kelly (Sprawl, Middlefinger) and Eric Roach (Baby Got Bacteria) has the ability to…
And here we are again, with the second installment of preview-type writeups for the looming-on-the-horizon Free Press Summerfest, which will explode into physical being this coming Sat.-Sun., June 2nd-3rd. It occurred to me this weekend, btw, that while I’ve talked about FPSF 2012 a few times now, I haven’t really recommended the damn thing as a whole…
When I first put on The D.A.’s latest album, entitled You Kids!, my immediate thought was, “Yes! Finally! A new Franz Ferdinand album!” And as I continued listening to this album, I discovered that I wasn’t really that far off in that comparison…
And here we are, heading into Sunday, May 27th; it’s a wee bit quieter than the past two days, but there is still some great stuff going on…
Whoa. Tonight, Saturday, May 26th, is a full, full night of cool stuff, so much so that I’m having a hard time picking a favorite show. Damn. Here’s what I’m liking…
I’ve been very, very remiss when it comes to posting about the impending Free Press Summerfest, I’m afraid, and now here we are, and it’s just over a week from today…
Hey, folks — on to the Memorial Day weekend, and there’s plenty happening for those of us not heading out on beach trips or campouts or visits to relatives or wherever the hell else people go when it’s a holiday. The fun starts tonight, Friday, May 25th…
I’ve been seeing John Mills-McCoin around at Houston shows for years now. I finally introduced myself to him at Mark C. Austin‘s Houston Invasion shindig at SXSW; anyone he meets is an instant friend. There are a handful of Houstonians that I see more than anyone else at shows I attend…
Yep, I missed some things while I was out of town, and some of ’em I’m only just now getting caught up on. Like this announcement from the Houston Press/{Rocks Off} gang about their revamped, rejuvenated, extremely cool Concert Calendar…
Got an email from the folks in {The Manichean} late last week, about a very cool show they’ve got coming up. In an astoundingly appropriate twist, the band, who tend to meld their music-making with a very sincere, intense kind of stagecraft and poetic drama…
I don’t recall the first time that I heard the name Alabama Shakes. To me, it sounded like some kind of condition you would get from either living in the state of Alabama for too long or perhaps simply by drinking their water. That’s just my personal opinion…
And now here we are at Sunday, May 20th, and it’s a little slower than previous nights this weekend; there’re only a couple of things going on that sound good to me, really. Here’s what I’m liking…
And on we go, to Saturday, May 19th, when there’s still plenty going on across our fair city; some of it’s earlier in the day than the rest, so get out there early. Here’s what looks/sounds good to me…
Looking like a crazy, crazy evening tonight, Friday, May 18th, and a damn good one, besides. In the interest of getting this online quickly, though, I’ll skip the chitchat and get right to it…
Got word about two different little bits of good news today, and since both hit that same general nostalgia-fueled ’90s indie-rock region of my black little heart, I figured I’d lump ’em in together. First off, I’m psyched as hell to hear that the reunited Guided By Voices will be coming back through Houston…
When you have a band named Cafeteria Dance Fever, you set a level of certain amount of energy for which your band must contribute to its songs. You simply cannot have a band named Cafeteria Dance Fever and have the songs come off as something…
Life is telling me to grow up. With a few extra degrees under my belt, it’s time that I end my life as a professional graduate student and land a real job. Goodbye, t-shirt and jeans; hello to the shackles of button-up shirts tucked into slacks…
Said the Whale is a band like far too many others I have heard, yet I am not all that turned off by them. They have this sort of rock-pop storytelling quality to their music that borders The Beatles, David Bowie, and Queen on one side, yet on the other side…
A bit of a quieter day today (Sunday, May 13th, that is), which makes a little sense, both in that it’s a Sunday and Mother’s Day, and hell, musicians have mothers, too. Well, most of them, at least. There’re a few that I’m pretty sure were hatched in a lab somewhere…
On to Saturday, May 12th, and if anything, it looks like there’s more going on today than there was yesterday. Before I get to that, though, I wanted to mention a couple of things. First, in case you didn’t see the very nice {Rocks Off} post about it…
I’ll freely admit that I’m addicted to music; it’s the truth, and hell, I could definitely be addicted to worse. It’s not all music that gets me, though, but those certain special moments, those songs or albums where it all just clicks somehow…
And yes, we’re back. Okay, I am, at any rate — sorry there weren’t any of these “Yr. Weekend” things for the past couple of weeks, but I’ve been way, way out of town, hiking the Grand Canyon with my dad & little brothers…
Okay, so I’ll admit that a little chunk of my soul crumbled and died when I heard that Roky Moon & BOLT! were soon to be no more, splintered off to different cities and future projects and whatnot; I really, truly love/loved that damn band…
The second full-length album from Scottish band We Were Promised Jetpacks opens with a furious guitar rumble and then comes out sounding like the bands Rise Against and Hot Water Music had a baby — a sound which remains throughout…
The Five Colors opens with a nearly six-and-a-half-minute song that’s all instrumental. This sets the entire pace for the album, which isn’t completely instrumental but definitely is for the most part…
SXSW is amazing. Sure, “amazing” is a clichéd word, but it just fits when describing the overwhelming clusterf*** that is the four (now five!) days of music at SXSW. (Unfortunately, I found out about the 5th day a little late…)
My first and only question for this album is whether or not the title is said in an offhand manner to someone at random or if it’s a direct question to the son of God. In either case, The Illegal Wiretaps are back with a vengeance. Of these ten songs, the band explores through three different styles…
Marvel’s The Avengers isn’t the Second Coming — though it feels like it’s been in the works almost as long as — but as far as big summer entertainment goes, you’ll rarely get much better. For those who may not have been following along, the Powers That Be of the Marvel films…
Delicate Steve plays mostly instrumental music on its/his debut, Wondervisions. The band’s mastermind, Steve Marion, is a very creative (and skilled) guitar player, with a good sense of arrangement. He has a good melodic sense, as well…
I will be the first to admit that I had never heard of AWOLNATION before I heard the song “Sail” on the radio. I immediately liked the simple-yet-complex nature of the song and wondered if perhaps the band was either Muse or the new Cage the Elephant…
