Yr. Weekend, Pt. 3: Flogging Molly + Dave Hause + Jucifer + Peasant + Life As Lions + Cavernous + More

It’s now Sunday, February 17th, and yep, we’re winding down the weekend, but never fear, there’s still some awesome stuff going on. Here’s what I happen to think looks/sounds cool:

Flogging Molly/Skinny Lister/Dave Hause @ House of Blues
I’ve only seen Flogging Molly live once, sadly, and it was at a pretty far distance, so I’ve been dying to see ’em again for a while now. Not sure if they were one of the first bands to really meld punk-ish rock with Irish folk, but they’re absolutely one of the brightest stars of the whole breed, and pretty much anything I’ve heard ’em do has been golden. They’re loud but not too loud, more mellow than, say, Dropkick Murphys, and with less deep-thinking than The Tossers, but the little niche they occupy all by themselves is pretty awesome.

I haven’t seen either of the openers, unfortunately, but I’ve heard really good things about Dave Hause — he also plays guitar in throwback punks Paint It Black and The Loved Ones, both of which are very cool in my book, so that’s definitely promising.

Jucifer/Peasant/Turbokrieg/Warhounds @ Super Happy Fun Land
First things first — it looks like the lineup for this show’s shifted slightly, with Versklaven dropping off and the apparently-unGoogleable Turbokrieg jumping on, so there’s that. Even still, though, this one kinda-sorta makes me feel warm & fuzzy inside, because it’s damn cool to see Jucifer hitting Super Happy Fun Land on their way through town. SHFL seems to have a hard time getting “name” bands to play there, even in the indie realm, so stuff like this is good to see…

Besides, this is Jucifer we’re talking about; they’re the kind of band that sounds so freaking monstrous and huge it just doesn’t seem possible it could be coming from just those two people up there on the stage. Add to that the promisingly badass black metal of {Peasant}, and this is looking like a damn good show.

Hawthorne Heights/Another Run/An Ivy League Summer/Life As Lions/Cavernous/Caches the Ghost @ Walter’s
Let me be honest on this one, if I could: I like Hawthorne Heights just fine, but the coolest part of this show — for me, at least — is the local dudes opening. What can I say? H-town, represent, y’all.

There’s {Life as Lions}, a damn good post-emo alternarock outfit that formed out of the ashes of the sadly-departed Thee Armada, who were truly gone before their time (their one release that I know about, 2007’s The New You, is still really freaking cool, despite the goofy-ass name), and even better, there’s {Cavernous}, a truly mammoth instro-metal band that includes one of the best damn drummers I’ve ever seen — no exaggeration, seriously. I haven’t caught them in a while, but if you’re at all into heavy, prog-y, technical metal, these guys are right up your alley.

Runners-Up:
All-Star Celebrity Finale, featuring Common & more @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
2013 All-Star Weekend, featuring T.I., Young Jeezy, & Trinidad James @ Ayva Center (9371 Richmond)
Texas Johnny Boy & Milt Hopkins @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
2013 All-Star Weekend/The Cross Over, featuring DJ Clark Kent, DJ Mick Boogie, DJ Neil Armstrong, WaldoRules, DJ Mel, Gracie Chavez, OGT, & MC Aloe Blacc @ Last Concert Cafe