Yr. (Early) Weekend, Pt. 1: Weird Party (Rev’d!) + Wild Moccasins (Rev’d!) + Dax Riggs + Web Awards + Broncho (MP3!) + More

What the…? Is it really only a Thursday (June 28th, to be exact)? Then how in the hell are there so many damn cool things going on tonight? Seriously, there’s more good stuff on the calendar tonight than there is on Friday, at least in my book.

Weird Party (7″ release)/Ty Mahany @ Sound Exchange (8PM)
Yep, yep, yep. Those {Weird Party} guys are back again with their second(?) 7″, and this new one, The Secret Lives of Men, is freaking great, to the point where I can’t help but listen to it over and over again. (It helps, naturally, that it’s only 4 songs long, but still…) The band channels some awesomely righteous, bile-filled fury through a mid-’90s noise-rock filter and comes out sharp-edged and dirty at the same time, like a razor left to rust in the gutter.

Check out the full review over here, and then hit the band’s release party tonight up at SoundEx to experience ’em live and in-person…

Los Skarnales/The Wild Moccasins @ Discovery Green
And speaking of reviews, yours truly also managed to get the new-ish 7″ from {The Wild Moccasins} reviewed, right on over here, just in time for their show tonight up at Discovery Green with those crazy {Los Skarnales} guys. And yes, it’s also a pretty great little piece of vinyl, an ’80s-tinged pop antidote to the bitter, misanthropic squall mentioned above.

Heck, you can take a listen right here, if you want:

The Wild Moccasins – “Gag Reflections”

As a side note, I heard a few days ago that the band had also been tapped to play the Team Clermont Summer Showcase & Prom over in Athens, Georgia, on Friday, July 26th. They’ll be sharing the stage with folks like Bear In Heaven, Olivia Tremor Control(!), & Crooked Fingers(!!), which sounds pretty damn awesome to me, at least. Congrats, you guys!

Dax Riggs/Slow Motion Rider @ Fitzgerald’s
Ahhh, crap. I’m homebound tonight, so I’ll apparently be missing seeing Dax Riggs live once again. Arggggghhh. One of these damn days, I swear, I have to see this guy — every song I hear makes me more and more convinced of it, seriously. He’s got an Eddie Vedder-/Chris Cornell-ish gruff growl, which he uses to roar or croon over these swampy-sounding, dark-as-hell songs that ride the line between metal and psych-rock, and the result is incredible. No, really; you need to see this guy play, too.

Check out this rendition of “Say Goodnight To The World”, from the HearYa sessions:

2012 Houston Web Awards, featuring DJ Dave Wrangler @ House of Dereon (2204 Crawford)
Already talked about this one a bit, but it’s worth a mention once again, esp. since the {Houston Press} announced the winners of this year’s Houston Web Awards today. It’s a very, very cool slate of winners, actually, and I’m already finding a bunch of stuff I need to either check out or get (like the Houston Emergency Radio app — sweet!). I may even have to start using the personal Twitter account I created a while back; yes, I’m one of the 2% or so of Americans still resisting the pull of The Small Blue Bird. (Just call me a Twitter Luddite.)

A big, big congrats to all the winners, particularly Best Music Blog winner {COOG Radio}, who I’d never heard of before Summerfest (their little fans — the air-cooling kind, mind you — came in very handy) but am pretty impressed by so far. The folks behind the site do some good writing, seriously, and they’re very obviously knowledgeable, hearts-in-the-right-place music fans, so I’m liking it. And hell, I’m not even a UH grad (although I did marry one). Internet High-Five from over here, y’all…

Broncho/Rebel Beach @ Fitzgerald’s
Not super-familiar with Broncho, but I like what little I’ve heard so far quite a bit. The band plays rough-edged, speedy pop-rock that echoes The Replacements in its loose-limbed groove and The Talk in its Kinks-y melodic sense, and those two things combined make for something really damn cool.

Here’s a track to download & check out:

Broncho – “Losers”

And yes, that track will now be firmly stuck in your head, just like it is mine. You’re welcome.

Merle Haggard/Noel Haggard/Folk Family Revival @ Nutty Jerry’s (Winnie)
Last but certainly not least, {Folk Family Revival} — who happen to be one of the best damn bands in this city in any genre, IMHO, HPMAs be damned — are playing way, way, way the hell out east in Winnie, opening for bona fide country legend Merle Haggard at Nutty Jerry’s. If you read this site much, you know I scorn most country music, as a rule, but even I can’t take a jab at Merle Haggard. The man’s an icon. Kudos to the Lankford boys for getting this one.

Runners-Up:
A Sundae Drive/Charles P & The 10%/Beetle @ The Continental Club
Tyagaraja/Chase Hamblin @ Khon’s
New Music Improvisations, featuring Chairs & The Mess @ Avant Garden (7-9PM)
Nick Gaitan & The Umbrella Man @ The Big Top
Hamilton Loomis @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Songswap Rounds, featuring Kimberly M’Carver, Nicholas Altobelli, Bill Cade, & Wayne Wilkerson @ Anderson Fair