Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Gypsy Camp + Tilly and The Wall + dead horse + Barely Blind + Fallcore + Stephen Farris + More

Had a long, busy day with the fam at the Renaissance Festival today, so this is running a bit late, I’m afraid; plenty going on this Saturday, November 17th, so get on out there if you haven’t already. Here we go:

Craig Kinsey’s Gypsy Camp @ The Artery (5401 Jackson)
Already talked about this one, but it’s still extremely cool, worth checking out — not sure if they still have tickets, but if you hurry, you might still be in time to join the wild, raucous gypsy party…

Tilly and The Wall/Sphynx @ Fitzgerald’s
I’ll admit that I’m not super knowledgeable about Omaha’s Tilly and the Wall, but what I have heard over the years has always been cool. “The Freest Man,” in particular, off the band’s 2006 release Bottoms of Barrels, lives near the top of my iPod playlist, with its clean-cut, smart-yet-honest prettiness; they’ve always struck me as being like Rilo Kiley without the preciousness, and I dig the hell out of it.

Check out the video for “Beat Control,” right here:

They’re touring with Sphynx, too, who are a darn good electro-pop band that’s funky and full of party-down awesomeness while still staying true to their ’80s New Wave roots. Get there early for this one, y’all.

dead horse (DVD release)/Blunt Force Trauma/Squadryn/Demon Driver/Bleeding By Example/Shaving Susie/The Black 13/Diminished @ The Engine Room
I honestly wasn’t expecting this one; I had no clue dead horse were reunited in any sense, much less releasing a DVD, but hey, there you go. At any rate, I’m damn glad to see/hear about it, because DH were and are one of the best bands to come out of this city pretty much…well, ever, honestly. I haven’t seen the DVD myself, sadly, but I think I may have to get a copy of my own…

Shadows Fall/God Forbid/Thy Will Be Done/Trumpet The Harlot/Fallacy/Carry The Storm @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
Sweet! I’ve been a fan of Massachusetts-bred metal band Shadows Fall for a while now, and they seem to visit here fairly infrequently, which sucks in general; but hey, they’re here now, right? Smart, sharp-edged, technical metal with a great sense of melody, and on top of all that, they’ve got excellent local dudes {Carry The Storm} opening for ’em. Well worth the drive south, in my book.

Driver Friendly/Barely Blind/Hello Chief/Waterparks @ Mango’s
I think this was originally over at Fitz, but now it’s moved to Mango’s, for some reason — either way, it’s a cool bundle of poppy-punky goodness. Houston-by-way-of-Austin band Barely Blind are pretty great, at least from the one EP I’ve heard, 2007’s The Way We Operate, putting together some ridiculously catchy tunes, and I was lucky enough to catch Beaumont band Hello Chief a couple of months ago & was pleasantly surprised. Catch ’em if you can…

Fallcore 2012, featuring Wisdom in Chains, Folsom, Pride Kills, Will to Live, Killer Ape, Band of Mercy, Fingers Crossed, Cast Away, One Against Many, & Walk the Graves @ Walter’s
Yeah, it’s Fallcore time, which means that this is where the hardcore kids (and metal fans who can’t be bothered to drive down to Clear Lake) are going to be tonight. And with good reason, because local hardcore legends {Will to Live} and Pride Kills are both bona-fide badasses, as are newcomers {Cast Away} and, best of all to my mind, at least, vegancore crew {Band of Mercy}. Growling, facepunching hardcore songs about running free like wild animals in the woods and eating vegetables and nuts; I know it sounds crazy, but trust me, it works.

No Sir E/Stephen Farris/Jay Lotus/Josiah Gabriel/FLCON FCKER/Babel Fishh/Crooked Teeth/Taurus/Skeezer @ 6745 Hurst St.
Dunno a whole lot about this one — heck, I didn’t even know the location ’til tonight — but it’s the creation of a new label/booking outfit called Campus Presents, and it sounds like quite a cool pile of quirky/experimentally-minded hip-hop/electronic folks, including {FLCON FCKER}, about whom I keep hearing good things, {Stephen Farris}, who’s one-half of much-adored duo {Ghost Mountain} and these days does crazy shit with VHS tapes, and enigmatic rapper {Babel Fishh}, whom I truly need to see again one of these days. Go, and join the fun.

Runners-Up:
The Trimms/Second Lovers/March to the Sea/DeadEnd Cowboys/Fox and Cats/The Bad Drugs/Easy Credit Dance Theater/8etribe @ Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar
Houston “Undead” Music Scene, featuring Lower Life Form, Born From Ruins, Adamantium, Fighting Gemini, & Last Ones Left @ House of Blues
Glambilly/Chelsea Hotel/Automatic Thrill @ Rudyard’s
Houston Artcrawl, featuring Welcome to Wanderland screening, Bayuco Social, Ak’chamel (ex-Chairs), Charlie McAllister, Film Score Project, $lut*$tud, & Geeves @ Super Happy Fun Land
Nick Hennies @ Fresh Arts ARC (2101 Winter St.; 8PM)
Paul Ramirez Band (CD release)/Jonathan “Boogie” Long/Nick Gaitan & the Umbrella Man @ The Continental Club
Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk/Cowjazz/Electric Attitude @ Last Concert Cafe
Sean McConnell @ Dosey Doe Coffee Company (The Woodlands)
Gritsy, featuring Distance, Tunnidge, & District @ Warehouse Live
Blaggards @ Olde City Pub (14124 Stuebner Airline)
Acous’Mix Re*View, featuring Depth & Current, Empty Shells, Hunter Nelson, & Kerry Melonson @ Notsuoh
Ribbon Awareness Night, featuring Justin Bradley @ The Mullet (10902 Kingspoint)
Kill Devil Hill/Hindsight/Aramite/Wellborn Road @ The Concert Pub North (2470 FM 1960)