Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Axiom 25th Anniversary (Day One) + The Wrong Ones + Fox and Cats + Folk Family Revival + More

Gah. Fighting the post-Thanksgiving malaise — and feeling a bit cabin fever-ish, too, since there’s nowhere you can really go today and not hit massive crowds — this Friday, November 23rd, so this is a little slow in coming, but there’s still some damn good stuff going on. Here goes:

Axiom 25th Anniversary Reunion Show, featuring Pain Teens, Krullur, Insecticide, Poor Dumb Bastards, Hickoids, Basilisk, HRA, Toho Ehio, Anarchitex, Bad Samaritans, & Bliss Blood @ Fitzgerald’s (8PM-2AM)
No offense to other folks playing today, but this show’s the biggie by far — it’s Day One of the 25th Anniversary Reunion Show of The Axiom, that long-gone but fondly-remembered venue over in the warehouses east of Downtown (look here for some history), and there’s a full slate of excellent, excellent bands of the Houston scene’s Days of Yore. I missed most of the place’s heyday, sadly, but was lucky enough to catch a handful of bands there in its last few years, then more in its various future incarnations.

Headlining are the legendary Pain Teens, a band who were a big deal by the time I first moved here but were playing infrequently before they broke up in ’93. They were noisy and raw and loud, but frontwoman Bliss Blood provided a great focus — these days she lives in NYC, and she’s doing a solo set tonight, too. After the breakup, the band basically laid the foundation for all of Houston’s burgeoning noise scene.

Along with the Teens, tonight’s also got appearances by longtime drunk-punks the {Poor Dumb Bastards}, Insecticide, Toho Ehio, and {Anarchitex}, among others, all for a measly $10. There’s also spoken-word/poetry stuff in between the various sets; go by and relive the (early) glory days of H-town…

Acous’Mix Re*View Presents: Tryptophan Antidote Show, featuring The Wrong Ones, Sunrise and Ammunition, Fox and Cats, The Grey Hours, & Lion Among Men @ Dean’s
A close second is over at Dean’s, with a bunch of cool bands doing the Acous’Mix Re*View‘s post-Thanksgiving showcase. There’s badass, sleazy punks {The Wrong Ones}, cool jazz-prog-y rockers {Sunrise and Ammunition}, endearing indie-pop band Fox and Cats, and countrified/jangly indie-rock band {Grey Hours}, all of whom I’ve been liking a whole heck of a lot lately. If old-school punk and noise isn’t your thing, this is a damn fine alternative.

Thank God For Texas Music Festival, featuring George Jones, Hayes Carll, & Folk Family Revival @ Nutty Jerry’s (Winnie)
And for the folks way, way, waaaay out in the east-of-Houston boondocks, there’s the first night of the aptly-named Thank God For Texas Music Festival out at Nutty Jerry’s in Winnie. The headliner is country legend George Jones, who needs no real introduction from me, and preceding him is Woodlands native {Hayes Carll}, who I’ve always meant to hear but never got a chance to check out. The openers, though, are the real draw for me — playing first is the incredible Magnolia band {Folk Family Revival}, whose Unfolding is one of the best albums I’ve heard in several years. Well, well worth checking out.

Runners-Up:
Reverend Horton Heat/Pinata Protest @ House of Blues
Junior Brown @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Paul Van Dyk/Jeff Chen/Lullaby @ Stereo Live
Blaggards @ Ashford Arms Pub
Authority Zero @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
Dale Watson/Little Joe Washington @ The Continental Club
Provision/Morgue City/Vertigo Blue @ Rudyard’s