Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1 (er, 2): Text of Light + Eternal Summers (Rev’d!) + The Manichean + Menil Collection B-Day + More

sigh. Sorry, everybody — yours truly spent the bulk of yesterday in the air, flying back home to Houston from Cambridge, Mass., and so the whole show-rundown thing got dropped, I’m afraid. By the time I got home & settled (and got the kids settled, to boot) half the evening’s shows were already done & gone. Apologies to all for the letdown on that one…

Moving on, though, there’s still quite a bit happening tonight, Saturday, September 22nd. Here’s what I think sounds cool, at least:

Text of Light, featuring Lee Ranaldo (mem. of Sonic Youth), Alan Licht, Ulrich Krieger, & Tim Barnes @ Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex (7:30PM)
This one right here’s been looking very cool for quite some time, honestly. Part of the Aurora Picture Show‘s 9th Annual Media Archaeology Festival, Text of Light is both film and music, combining the work of experimental film icon Stan Brakhage with the talents of four of the most accomplished avant-garde musicians on the freaking planet. While the film plays on the screen, these four musicians — Lee Ranaldo (probably best known as part of Sonic Youth), Alan Licht, Ulrich Krieger, & Tim Barnes — improvise on their respective instruments, creating something that’s unique every time but which also fits the images. The Nameless Sound folks (who are partnering with APS for this show) had me at “Lee Ranaldo,” to tell the truth, but the rest sounds pretty incredible, too.

Fitzgerald’s 2nd Grand Reopening Anniversary Weekend, featuring Eternal Summers, Bleeding Rainbow, & Bad Drugs @ Fitzgerald’s
Fitzgerald’s 2nd Grand Reopening Anniversary Weekend, featuring Cherub, Mansions On The Moon, & Infinite Apaches @ Fitzgerald’s
Oh, yes. This weekend up at Fitzgerald’s is looking good for many, many reasons. Not only is it the 1st anniversary of the revamped/reopened Fitz, but they’ve got some very, very cool people playing for the festivities, to boot. I’m most psyched about Virginia-bred dream-pop-rockers Eternal Summers, after enjoying the heck out of both last year’s Prisoner EP and this year’s full-length, Correct Behavior. For a full review of the latter, btw, check out Spencer‘s writeup on over here.

Plus, they’re playing with Bleeding Rainbow, about whom I’ve heard good things (and who win points for the snarky pop-culture referencing of their name alone), and locals {Infinite Apaches}, who are high on my list of Bands I Need To See currently, are on the other floor, opening for Cherub & Mansions On The Moon. Oh, and if I’m reading the flyers correctly, the thing costs something like $2 (or is that per floor?). Get on up there.

The Manichean Innocence Listening Party, featuring Ryan Butcher @ Forma Revivo Gallery (2500 Crockett; 7-10PM, $5; sold out!)
Okay, so I’d planned on posting about this pseudo-show — it’s the listening party for excellent/dramatic rockers {The Manichean}‘s long-in-the-works next release, Innocence — but it seems that, well, I no longer need to. See, this was a super-ultra-limited edition-type show, with only 50 tickets being released to the public, and lo and behold, they’re sold out. Which sucks for those several million Houstonians who won’t be at this evening’s preview of the band’s new stuff, because they’re pretty badass. You snooze, you lose, people…

The Menil Collection 25th Birthday, featuring Kashmere Reunion Stage Band & TSU Jazz Ensemble @ The Menil Collection (1533 Sul Ross; 3PM)
I don’t have a whole lot of details on this particular show, unfortunately, other than it’s the 25th anniversary of The Menil Collection, which is someplace I think everybody who lives in or visits Houston needs to see at least once. Seriously, it blows me away every time I go (and it’s been too damn long, now that I’m thinking about it). At ny rate, I’m sure there’s plenty going on, but the most important for me, at least, is that the legendary Kashmere Reunion Stage Band will be performing, alongside the much more recent TSU Jazz Ensemble. Old school, meet the new school.

The Invincible Czars @ The Orange Show (7-10PM)
And finally, The Orange Show has Austin’s The Invincible Czars back down here this evening, this time performing what they’re calling the Napoleonic 1812 Bicentennial Celebration, which yes, will include Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.” They’ll also be performing a bunch of other works by different French & Russian composers, pitting the two nations & cultures against one another in true Napoleonic style. There will also apparently be comedians, hula hoops, costumes, and face painting; stuff for all ages, it sounds like…

Runners-Up:
Black Magic Marker/Moths/Josiah Gabriel/P.L.X.T.X @ Dean’s
PuraPharm/The Dry Season/Disfrutalo! @ Rudyard’s
Brains For Dinner/The Umbrella Man @ Mango’s
Twenty Mondays/The Dead Links/Lee Alexander @ The Continental Club
Custom Car & Body Art Festival, featuring From Guts to Glory, Los Skarnales, Hot Rod Hillbillies, & more @ Sam Houston Race Park
Boogie Blues & Brews, featuring Los Lonely Boys, Jimmie Vaughn with LouAnn Barton, Grady Gaines and The Texas Upsetters, Marcia Ball, Texas Johnny Brown & The Quality Blues Band, Step Rideau & The Zydeco Outlaws, Luther and The Healers, The Octanes, & The Umbrella Man @ Walter Hall Park (League City)
2012 Galveston Island Wild Texas Shrimp Festival, featuring The Line Up, Strawberry Jam, Caitie Taylor @ The Strand (Galveston)