Yr. Weekend, Pt. 3: Nada Surf + Jody Seabody & The Whirls (Rev’d!) + Guilt Party (Last Show!) + Jealous Creatures + More

sigh…late, late, late, as seemingly always. It’s late-evening on Saturday, June 30th, and yours truly just got done entertaining friends & friends’ children here at the house, so I’m only now getting back to the laptop and realizing, oh, crap, I never got a chance to do tonight’s writeups. Here goes:

Nada Surf/Waters @ Fitzgerald’s
I know most people are going to know Nada Surf from their ’90s hit “Popular” (which, if you listen to the song lyrics, almost makes their fame & subsequent obscurity a painful joke), but the band’s actually released six albums beyond that first one (1996’s High/Low), and a lot of songs on ’em were far, far better than The Hit Song. My personal fave is “Bacardi,” off second disc The Proximity Effect and a song that seemingly describes the L.A. nightlife (what little I know of it, at least) so well, I was somewhat surprised to learn they’re from NYC… Anyway, forget the long-dead MTV hype, and go into this looking for a genuinely good, smart power-pop band.

Jody Seabody & The Whirls (album release)/Art Institute/Jon Black/Kyle Hubbard @ Fitzgerald’s
Reviewed the brand-new full-length by Jody Seabody & THe Whirls earlier today, and I just wanted to say that I’m totally blown away by it and surprised at that fact. It’s honestly not the type of thing I normally like very much (or, hell, at all), but it’s crept in under my defenses and made itself fully at home in my head. Fans of ’70s prog/classic rock, jam-band rock, or less-crazy psych, this is for you. Check out the full review over here.

Plus, they’re playing with {Art Institute}, another band of throwbacks that I happen to like very, very much — think early-’80s British post-punk, rather than late-’70s American psych-prog — as well as two of the cooler rappers in town these days, {Jon Black} and the excellent, excellent {Kyle Hubbard}…

Guilt Party (7″ release/last show!)/Weird Party/Media Blitz/Abduktion @ Mango’s (10PM)
This one’s a twofer, at least for yours truly. Not only does the show include noise-garage-rock crew {Weird Party}, whose just-released 7″, The Secret Lives of Men, I reviewed here just a day or two ago, but the headliner’s the other “Party” band around, {Guilt Party}, who are simultaneously releasing a new 7″ (I think?) and calling it quits. Yep, the band’s going their separate ways, which is truly, truly sad news, because they are/were a hurricane of hardcore awesomeness. And hey, this show hasn’t even started yet, so get on over to Mango’s now, eh?

Night of the Sirens, featuring Jealous Creatures, Kathy Dare & the Bad Luck Charms, Yello Echo, & Holly Hicks @ The Continental Club
Oooh, cool. This one’s being billed as the “Night of the Sirens,” and given that all four bands playing are most definitely female-fronted, the tag fits quite nicely… I’m not real familiar with everybody playing, but I like what I’ve heard of {Yello Echo}, and I love {Jealous Creatures} — I know I’ve said it before, but again, they’re one of the most promising new(-ish) bands this town’s currently got going. I’m really hoping they keep together and keep making music.

Runners-Up:
Girls Rock Camp Houston Punk Rock Prom, featuring DJ ADR & more @ Spring Street Studios (1824 Spring St.; 7-11PM)
Alibi RankZ Dirty Thirty Birthday Bash, featuring Alibi RankZ, Silent, T2 the Ghetto Hippie, Big Gerb and Hongree Records, Tony Staxx, D-Boe, Krucial, & DJ Kris Krunk @ Jet Lounge
The Witherees/Chris Lively @ Bohemeo’s ($5)
Howard Jones @ House of Blues
Praia Urbana, featuring Danny Howells, Alex Kenji, Alex Clavijo, Bobby Blyss, DJ Gimnz, Bizz, Esteban Torres, Jimmy Skinner, Sasha Braverman, Surain, Mano Grillo, Cesar Belloso, & Tian Chi Chi @ Last Concert Cafe (2-11PM)
10 Years/Fair to Midland/Kyng @ Warehouse Live
Epic Fest, featuring Dykes On Bykes, The Luxurious Panthers, Grizzly, The Punk Rock Project, & H.R.A. @ Numbers
Concert for Conservation, featuring Pat Green, Jerry Jeff Walker, Sammy Kershaw, & Gene Watson @ Sam Houston Race Park
Dissent @ East Side Social Center (4202 Canal)