Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Buxton + Jealous Creatures + The 71’s + American Fangs + Los Skarnales + Reagan Youth + More

Got some previously-scheduled stuff I’m trying to get to tonight, Friday, December 14th, so I’ve got to keep this brief, I’m afraid. There’s a lot of good shows happening, though, so I didn’t want to let ’em fall through the cracks.

Before we get to that, I just want to say that our thoughts here at SCR are with the victims of the horrible attack in Connecticut today; those poor kids and their teachers deserved better. Hug your kids close, y’all, because you never know for sure how long you’ll have them in your life.

And with that, here we go:

Buxton @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
I don’t think this is the first time {Buxton}‘s played the venerable folkie haunt the Mucky Duck, but dangit, it needs to happen more than it does/has. The band’s rough-edged indie-folk-pop is just about perfect for both the venue and the band, bringing in Buxton fans who probably don’t hit the Duck on a regular basis and winning over Duck regulars who don’t necessarily get to hear a lot of the local bands in Houston’s often Montrose-centric scene. Plus, Buxton are flat-out great, crafting gentle-yet-bitter tunes that combine some excellent lyricism with impressive (but still subtle) musicianship, especially in terms of the guitars. They’re one of the best bands Houston has going — I just hope they, like fellow folk-country phenom {Robert Ellis} — don’t forsake this place in favor of a city where music gets a bit more of a spotlight…

Tammy Dowe’s Birthday/Holiday, featuring Jealous Creatures, Whitney Elizabeth Mower & Deseret, Kristine Mills, Charles Peters & The 10%, & Little Joe Washington @ The Continental Club
No clue who Tammy Dowe is, sorry, but this is apparently (maybe?) her birthday party, and she’s got a darn good lineup of bands, particularly headlining band {Jealous Creatures}. I’ve raved about their breed of Western-tinged, serious/thoughtful indie-rock a lot recently, so I won’t get too crazy here, but I will say that they’re one of a handful who have me anxiously looking forward to every bit of new music they make. Don’t miss out.

The 71’s/The Rocketboys/Megafauna/Mechanical Boy @ Fitzgerald’s
And another good one, this time up at Fitz — I like Austin band Megafauna (what I’ve heard, anyway) and ex-Houston band The Rocketboys, and I’m very glad to see local boys {Mechanical Boy} haven’t yet given up the ghost (I thought they’d broken up, to be honest), but the real stars here are headliners The 71’s, whose recent We Are The Seventy-Ones grabbed hold of my preconceptions about the band and kicked them out of town. They’re just a really, really good, no-subgenre-needed rock band, period; what else do you need?

Plus, it seems tonight’s show will be the last for frontman Keeton Coffman, at least for a while — the band stresses that they’re not breaking up, but this past year’s been a wild ride, and they need a break. Expect some acoustic stuff from Coffman after this, but The 71’s proper will be going dark for a bit; go see ’em off.

Los Skarnales/American Fangs/Southern Backtones/Peekaboo Theory/Deep Cuts @ Fitzgerald’s
Nice, nice, nice. Some of the best heavy, cool rock bands in town, all on the same night — with {Los Skarnales}‘ Latino/surfy ska sound, {American Fangs} sharp-edged alternarock, {Southern Backtones} moody Western Gothic vibe, and {Peekaboo Theory}‘s heavy-yet-melodic, hip-hop-tinged rock, they’re quite a disparate bunch, but hell, that’s no bad thing. That just means you get an awesome cross-section of H-town rock, all at once. Get there early so you can see everybody, right?

Side note: in other badass news, I’m told American Fangs have a new album coming out in the spring. Yesssss. About damn time, y’all.

Reagan Youth/Dust Angel/Moral Distrust/Sober Daze/Before Dishonor/The CEO’s @ Mango’s
Old-school punk rawk awesomeness at Mango’s tonight, particularly with headliners Reagan Youth, who’ve been a band since before I was listening to music that didn’t come out of my parents’ music collection. This isn’t the original band, sadly, but since co-founder Dave Rubinstein (aka Dave Insurgent) took his own life back in 1990, that wouldn’t really be possible anyway; this new incarnation is co-founder Paul Bakija (aka Paul Cripple) and a bunch of new members, but hey, they still sound pretty dang good.

Runners-Up:
Super Robot Party/Cozy Blankets/Beach Bones @ Rudyard’s
Architects of Cinema (Y.E. Torres, Chris Nelson, & Sandy Ewen) @ Fresh Arts ARC (2101 Winter St.; 8PM, $5)
Quiet Morning & the Calamity/Josiah Hall/Frants @ Walter’s
Come See My Dead Person/The Invincible Czars @ Union Tavern (Webster)
Blaggards @ Cypress Saloon (Cypress)