Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: The Escatones (Rev’d!) + Linus Pauling Quartet + From Beyond + BowiElvis Night + Fuzzyfest + More

Yep, we’re well into Saturday, January 5th, now, and weirdly, things seem a little quiet on the show front (unless, of course, I’m just plain missing a bunch of shows or something, which is a possibility). But hey, what’s on is largely pretty damn good, so don’t miss out. Here we go:

The Escatones (45 release)/Poor Pilate/The Linus Pauling Quartet @ Rudyard’s
This one makes it into first place by virtue of having one of my absolute-favorite bands — stoned-out rock/metal/psych dudes the {Linus Pauling Quartet}, whose 3-CD anthology/game module release Assault On the Vault of the Ancient Bonglords I’ve been showing off to amazed friends & coworkers in recent weeks — and two of the coolest up-and-comers I’ve heard/seen lately, gloomy country-folkies {Poor Pilate} and Galveston-bred surf-psych-rockers {The Escatones}.

Tonight’s show at Rudz is the 7″ release party for the latter, whose brand-new record is pretty freaking great; label Artificial Head Records and Tapes (run by none other than the awesomely cool Paul Chavez, ex-Art Institute frontman) managed to somehow corral the Butthole Surfers‘ Paul Leary to play guitar on A-side “Out of Sight Out of Mind,” which starts off melancholy and jangly and winds up a crazed, echo-ified psych mess, and B-side instrumental “East Beach Stomp” takes Ennio Morricone and dumps him out on the G-town beaches after dark, leaving him only a guitar and a can-opener with which to fend off the drunken, over-tattooed hordes.

Full review over here, but be warned that I wrote it late at night and, um, waxed a little bit more poetical than usual…

Wo Fat/From Beyond/Project Armageddon/Sleeping Ancient @ Fitzgerald’s
If the little taste of openers LP4 above just doesn’t cut it for you, well, Fitz may be where you need to be tonight, instead. I dunno Wo Fat — although I like them for the Hawaii Five-O reference alone — but I have heard {From Beyond}, and they’re pretty badass. Tonight’s the release of their new EP, The Color Out of Space, which I sadly still need to check out (kicking myself already for that one), but I’ve enjoyed the hell out of their previous EP, One Year, which is sludgy and heavy and brings to mind ISIS, Soundgarden, and Priestess all at once (and yes, that’s good). And hey, anybody who names an album after a Lovecraft story can do little wrong by me…

Also playing is {Sleeping Ancient}, who I’ve only gotten a taste of so far but have also been impressed by; they’re heavy and doom-y like From Beyond, but with an intriguing “Eastern”-sounding influence thrown in there for good measure. Get there early to catch those guys, too.

BowiElvis Night, featuring Southern Backtones, Craig Kinsey, Chase Hamblin & The Roustabouts, & The Heights Vinyl DJ Dames @ Fitzgerald’s
Also at Fitz, it’s the twofer birthday extravaganza organizers are calling BowiElvis Night, paying homage to both Elvis and David Bowie, who happen to share the same birthday (January 8th, technically, but who wants to do stuff like this on a Tuesday?).

I’m not entirely clear on whether the folks participating will be playing only Bowie/Elvis songs — doing Elvis songs while dressed like Ziggy Stardust, maybe? — but either way, this promises to be damn good. I really dig the {Southern Backtones} darkened, way-out-West style of rock, and {Chase Hamblin}‘s throwback ’60s-ish pop is great, too, as is, well, pretty much anything {Craig Kinsey} turns his hand to. As an added bonus, The Heights Vinyl DJ Dames, which I think is Sarah Gregory and Brittany Holland, will be spinning some tunes in-between(?) sets. Hit Fitz for the doom-metal, above, and stay for the Bowie/Elvis festivities (or vice-versa)…

Fuzzyfest, featuring Joystick, Days N’ Daze, Lazy Eye, The Dead Rabbits, Cervical Mucus Meltdown, Moral Distrust, Brainwash, Garbage Dump, Chelsea Mofuggin Rainwater, & Thistle! @ Super Happy Fun Land
Lastly, the perennially strange-yet-friendly people over at Super Happy Fun Land are hosting Night #1 of something called Fuzzyfest tonight. I was originally a little nervous about the “Fuzzy” part, thinking maybe this was some kind of gathering of Furries or something, but it’s apparently a benefit, instead, for jailed Animal Liberation Front activists.

Now, I’m actually pretty sympathetic to the ALF, myself, but hey, not everybody is. Even so, though, I like the heck out of quirky protest-folk-punks Days N’ Daze, and Irish folk-rockers {The Dead Rabbits} are damned neat, too, so this show gets a hearty thumbs-up from me even based on the lineup alone. Check it out if you can, eh?

Runners-Up:
John Hiatt & the Combo @ House of Blues
Sound & Pressure Reggae Club, featuring A Fistful of Soul @ Mango’s (free!)