Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Daniel Johnston + Roky Erickson + Square and Compass + Holder + The Lotus Effect + The Dead Revolt + More

Now on to Saturday, July 14th, and while it’s not the busiest Saturday we’ve had lately, no, there’s still some very, very cool stuff going on, even though I’m getting this up a little bit late…

First, though, some notes on upcoming (or not, in this case) shows & such. If you’d been planning on going to see The Jacksons “Unity Tour” show at the Bayou Music Center tonight, then yeah, you’re probably already aware that it was cancelled a while back, but just this week we got word that tonight’s Joan Sebastian show up at Toyota Center has been cancelled, too. Sorry, y’all.

These next few weeks, we’ve got a little more bad news — the Enanitos Verdes show scheduled for 7/19 at the House of Blues has now been shifted to 9/8 at the same venue, for one thing. Then there’s the show 7/28 at The Continental Club; Jimmie Vaughan was going to be playing, but now it’s apparently just Lou Ann Barton (who played in Vaughan’s younger brother Stevie Ray‘s old band, Double Trouble, if memory serves) on the bill.

Alright, with that out of the way, here we go:

Daniel Johnston/Grandfather Child/Waldo and the Naturals/Tax the Wolf/Mikey and The Drags/Wicked Poseur @ Fitzgerald’s
Roky Erickson/Hounds of Baskerville @ The Continental Club
Does anybody but me think it’s a pretty crazy coincidence that two world-renowned icons of “outsider” music, Daniel Johnston and Roky Erickson, both happen to be playing tonight here in H-town. If the Powers-That-Be could’ve somehow turned this into a double-bill, how freaking cool would that have been?

Anyway, of the two, I have to admit that the show that appeals to me the most is Johnston’s, over at Fitzgerald’s, although that’s mostly because of the openers he’s got playing with him. There’s stompin’, moanin’, slide guitar-heavy blues outfit {Grandfather Child}, who are freaking awesome, and before that there’s {Tax the Wolf}, a crew of excellent, prog-tinged indie-rockers whom I like quite a bit, and Mikey & The Drags, which is the new band of Miguel from The McKenzies. A damn, damn cool lineup.

For his part, Erickson’s playing with his son Jegar Erickson‘s band, The Hounds of Baskerville; I dunno much about the younger Erickson, honestly, except from reading decade-old articles about how he was finally (then) trying to connect with his dad’s past, the legendary stuff he never knew about as a kid. I’m afraid I have no idea what the Hounds sound like, but hell, seeing the elder Erickson should be enough anyway — the guy pretty much invented a large chunk of psychedelic rock, and a ton of people owe him a heavy debt for that alone…

Square and Compass/Holder/Gentlemen Rogues/Llorona @ Mango’s ($5)
Okay, this makes it an even tougher call, because alongside the dual psych-rock-weirdness blowouts going on, there’s also this awesome-sounding lineup of nu-emo rockers, headlined by {Square and Compass}, whose smart, sharp-edged, heavy-yet-melodic take on the emo stuff I (and, I’m fairly sure, they) grew up with is pretty dang great. I finally got to see ’em at Summerfest and was mightily, mightily impressed.

They’re playing with {Holder}, as well, which makes this show cooler still, I have to say — Holder’s the newest project by the Duarte brothers, Steve & Rudy (as well as Jacob, who I’m not entirely sure is related), who not only played in three of the best bands I’ve ever run across in this city, the long-long-gone {Badger}, the almost-as-long-gone {The Tie That Binds}, and the sadly-departed Radio Pioneer, who I had high hopes for, but whom I’ve also been dressed up in zombie makeup with for a very weird, very fun music video (no, really). They’re good dudes, and talented as hell, besides.

The guys were kind enough to send some demos my way, but unfortunately, the week got away from me yet again, and I haven’t been able to really give ’em a good listen just yet. Need to do that really freaking soon, though, I swear.

The Lotus Effect/Goodnight Neverland/The Dead Revolt/Electric Heights @ The Mink
Last but far from least, there’s this cool-sounding show at The Mink. The guys in {The Lotus Effect} have had something of a rough year, losing their drummer and having to essentially rework their sound after getting partway done with recording the followup to their seriously promising debut EP, Rabbits & Royalty.

Either way, I’m glad to see the rest of the band’s still together & moving forward, because they’re a very, very cool band (and very, very cool people, to boot). Check out the interview frontman Dre did this week with Jef With One F over at the {Houston Press}, right over here. And hey, as an added bonus, {The Dead Revolt} are playing, too — I still need to give ’em a serious listen, but they come highly recommended.

Runners-Up:
Shana Falana/The Illegal Wiretaps/Enloom @ Super Happy Fun Land
Indigo Girls @ House of Blues
Fresh Fest, featuring Bloody Knives, Kerry Melonson (Satin Hooks), & Grupo Gacho @ Notsuoh ($3)
Gritsy 6th Anniversary, featuring Digital Mystikz & more @ Warehouse Live
Amplified Heat/Slow Motion Rider @ Rudyard’s