Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Jealous Creatures (Rev’d!) + Quiet Company + Something Fierce + Band of Mercy + Artopia + Heights Vinyl + More

Whoa. Big, big, big night tonight — Saturday, January 26th, that is — with a whole heck of a lot of good shows vying for your attention. Here’s what I think sounds cool, at least:

Jealous Creatures (CD release)/Kathy Dare and the Bad Luck Charms/Elect Trick City/A Sundae Drive @ Fitzgerald’s (free!)
It’s a tough fight for the #1 spot tonight, but yeah, the {Jealous Creatures} CD release show up at Fitz pretty much has to win out. Why? Well, they’re a freaking great band, for starters, but it’s also because I’ve been living with their newly-released 2nd album, Bazooka, for a week or so now and am head-over-heels in love with it.

Now, don’t get me wrong — I definitely still love 2011’s Little Heaven Big Sky, but Bazooka takes the sprawling, bleak/angry Western rock of that album and focuses it down tightly on one little corner of the universe, and the result is awesome. Check out the full review over here, and listen to/watch the band performing “Something’s Out There,” off the new album, for Alternative Scream TV:

Added bonus time: they’ve got another of my current favorite bands in town, {A Sundae Drive}, playing as openers. They bounce between being gentle and quiet & hard-edged and math-rock-ish, all while making it seem like it’s no big deal to shift between the two. I’d heartily recommend their one EP so far (more, please, you guys/gals?), You’re Gonna Get Me, especially for fans of all things shoegazery.

Quiet Company/Benjamin Wesley/Adam Bricks @ Walter’s ($8)
Oww. And here’s Part 1 of why tonight’s a hard, hard choice, at least for me, because Austin band Quiet Company has been pretty much living in my brain since this time last year, after I finally heard their most recent album, We Are All Where We Belong. It’s honestly one of the best albums, start-to-finish, that I’ve ever, ever, ever heard. Not kidding, not even remotely.

Beyond singer/songwriter/guitarist Taylor Muse‘s intensely thoughtful, insanely personal lyrics about losing faith, finding love, and exploding everything he thought he knew about the world in the process, there’s just this raw, bouncing, exuberant energy that can’t be denied. Add to that the fact that every dang song is ridiculously catchy, and…well, you get the idea. See here for a glimpse:

Of course, I’d be seriously remiss if I didn’t also mention the openers for the show — I haven’t yet heard {Adam Bricks}, but I’ve heard good things about him (and plan to hear him real soon), and multi-instrumentalist {Benjamin Wesley} is always amazing to watch & hear, whatever the hell it is he’s doing these days. It’s hard to beat that raspy, soulful, just-scratched-up-enough voice.

Something Fierce/Occult Detective Club/The Pastees/Key Bumpz @ Rudyard’s ($5)
And here’s Part 2 of why tonight makes my brain/heart hurt. sigh. It’s been too, too, too damn long since I last saw H-town punk heroes {Something Fierce}, dammit, and I can practically feel my soul starting to shrivel and die away bit by bit because of that. Argh.

If you’ve never heard the band — especially if you, like me, live in Houston — you have truly missed out and need to rectify the situation. Something Fierce play punk that’s smart, melodic, sharp, angry, and hopeful, all at the same time, pulling in sounds from The Jam, The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers, The Boys, The Ramones, and NOFX, and they’re brilliant. Period. Listen, and be amazed:

Will to Live/Band of Mercy/Altered Minds/Black Coffee @ Walter’s (4:30PM; $5)
And for the hardcore heads… Happy to see {Will to Live} are still alive & kicking — those guys have been around long enough they’re practically the godfathers of the H-town hardcore scene — and I’m very happy to see vegancore dudes {Band of Mercy} on the bill, too. Heard their debut EP, Conquest, this past year and was mightily impressed; if you still don’t buy that heavy, loud music can also be thought-provoking, well, you’re either an idiot or you haven’t yet heard this band. Time to change your mind:

As an added bonus, there’s also {Black Coffee}, a pseudo-spinoff of {Peloton}, I believe, who’re less on the true-blue hardcore side of things and closer kin to ’90s NYC noise-rock bands like Barkmarket, or maybe Unsane. Oh, and they’re damn good. (BTW, check the time above — this is an early “matinee” show, so all you early-nighters can definitely make it out, eh?)

Houston Press Artopia, featuring Poor Pilate, Bang Bangz, & Bagheera @ Winter Street Studios (2101 Winter St.; 8-11PM)
I hate to admit it, but I tend to forget about the {Houston Press}‘s annual Artopia festival — in part because I think it’s the one local music/etc. festival I’ve never been to, but also because it gets a little overshadowed by the HPMAs & Free Press Summerfest. Artopia’s like the arty younger brother, the one who sits alone up in his room frantically drawing in a sketchbook while his older siblings party and beat on the walls downstairs.

Nevertheless, the HP‘s putting on a great-looking show this year, marrying the art & drinks & all the rest of it to some damn fine bands, namely folky, melancholy country-indie-rock guys {Poor Pilate} (who I desperately need to see again), murky, sultry electro-soul trio {Bang Bangz} (who are truly pretty unique in this town), and electronica artist {Bagheera}, about whom I’ve heard good things.

And no, the latter musician’s not local prog-metal band Bagheera (yes, there are two “Bagheera”s in Houston alone), or now-dead California hardcore band Bagheera, or French thrashers Bagheera, or St. Louis indie-rock band Bagheera…holy fucking crap, people. How many damn bands named “Bagheera” are there, for crying out loud?

Heights Vinyl 1 Year Anniversary, featuring Electric Attitude, Come See My Dead Person, Heights Boogaloo All-Stars, & Brandon West @ Heights Vinyl (3-9PM)
Last but definitely not least, cool-ass record store Heights Vinyl celebrates their one-year anniversary today with a full-on party, including beer, food, and some excellent bands, including funky rockers {Electric Attitude} & Galveston-bred strange people {Come See My Dead Person}. Get on up there and celebrate this afternoon, and then you’ll still have time to hit one of the other shows above tonight, right?

Runners-Up:
Brompton (EP release)/Crimson Arrow/Nava (mem. of the last place you look)/David Ooi (mem. of Toology) @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
Versklaven (record release)/Abduktion/Turbokrieg/K.T.C.M./Rotten Waters @ Mango’s
Trinity Jazz Festival, featuring Robin Eubanks & Sebastian Whittaker @ Trinity Episcopal Church (1015 Holman)
Lost Bayou Ramblers/Umbrella Man @ The Continental Club
Bill Frisell @ Wortham Theater Center
Not In The Face @ The Big Top