Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: KTRU Outdoor Show + Ruiners + Christian Kidd + Craig Kinsey + Kerouac Fest + Le Poeme Harmonique + More

Alright, people — the rest of this weekend, yours truly will essentially be lit on fire and running screaming through the streets (okay, metaphorically, but still). So here’s what’s going on tomorrow, Saturday, March 9th, before I run out of time to talk about it:

The 22nd Annual KTRU Outdoor Show, featuring XXYYXX, Cloud Nothings, Fat Tony, Buxton, Delicate Steve, B L A C K I E, Featherface, Swamp Cabbage, & Jesus, The Crazy, & The Bad Kids @ Rice University Central Quad (Rice Univ. campus; 12-10PM, free!)
Ah, the KTRU Outdoor Show; there is a dear, dear place in my soul for the Outdoor Show, going back all the way to when I myself was a wee freshman at Rice, trapped behind The Hedges and unaware of most music outside of my and my friends’ CD collections. The Outdoor Show (and {KTRU} in general) exposed me to music I never realized existed, from Death Valley to Alejandro Escovedo to NoMeansNo, and it was A) right down the road from where I laid my head every night and B) free, which was pretty damn important to a part-time library worker/student like me.

So every year when I see the Outdoor Show roll around again, I can’t help but smile. Awesome bands, in an awesome setting, and all for free. And hey, this year’s bands definitely fit the “awesome bands” bill, with badass local-but-worldwide rappers {Fat Tony} and {B L A C K I E}, stunning roots-folk-pop guys {Buxton}, strangely mesmerizing pop-prog guy Delicate Steve, shiny-sweet psych-pop guys {Featherface}, and Cloud Nothings, about whom I’ve heard a heck of a lot of good things. Stop on by.

Mango’s Overflow 2013, featuring Ruiners, Dead Leaf Echo, Bloody Knives, Empty Shells, & Chateau Nowhere @ Mango’s
A little later in the day, there’s a damn cool lineup over at Mango’s, as well, part of their Mango’s Overflow 2013 series of SXSW-spillover shows. Not only does the show include swirly, hazy NY outfit Dead Leaf Echo, but also Austin noisegaze band Bloody Knives and one of my absolute favorite new bands in town right now, with a seriously ’90s-influenced, yell-along indie-rock sound. Get there early, y’all.

They Might Be Giants/Moon Hooch @ House of Blues
I’m your only friend, I’m not your only friend, but I’m a little glowing friend, but really I’m not actually your friend. Just so we’re clear, alright? Thank you, TMBG, for providing a weird chunk of the soundtrack to my college years.

Just A Houston Punk Meet The Author, featuring The Hates @ Cactus Music (3PM)
In case you hadn’t already heard about it, Christian Kidd from {The Hates} has written a book chronicling his life in the punk scene in this here city, Just A Houston Punk. And yeah, it’s pretty damn good, alternately fun, nostalgic, insane, and touching; when I finished reading it, I found myself wishing it wasn’t yet done. Don’t worry, though, because the Hates’ story definitely isn’t over yet…

Craig Kinsey’s & Sideshow Tramps’ New Album Listening Party, featuring Craig Kinsey & more @ Avant Garden
Alright, so those wild, wild men in {The Sideshow Tramps}, ably led in their pursuit of mayhem by {Craig Kinsey}, have not one album but two albums coming out soon — the Tramps are going to be releasing Sideshow Tramps Live, while Kinsey himself will be releasing his new solo album, American Roots and Blood.

Now, knowing that, who wouldn’t want a chance to hear the new stuff before it’s actually out? Well, you’re in luck, because tomorrow night’s the official listening party for both albums, over at the Avant Garden. And after the recorded stuff gets aired, Kinsey and his band (and maybe his Tramps bandmates) will be taking the stage to do some of it live, as well.

Kerouac Fest 2013: Go! Go! Go!, featuring Free Radicals, The Cory Wilson Trio, poetry readings, & more @ The Orange Show (3-10PM; $10-$15)
Okay, so I can’t claim to be the biggest Jack Kerouac fan, it’s true; I read On the Road after hearing far too much hype about it, I think, and expected it to be darker and more intense than it was.

But hell, I can still recognize that it’s a classic of literature, and I’m psyched to see the Kerouac Fest tomorrow over at The Orange Show, which combines some excellent music courtesy of {Free Radicals} and The Cory Wilson Trio with poetry readings by such cool folks at Chris Wise, Tracy Lyall, and Dean Liscum. Very cool, in my book.

Le Poeme Harmonique @ Cullen Theater (501 Texas; 8PM)
Talk about a retro-sounding band… You think ’60s-ish garage bands are old-school? Think further back, like maybe French ensemble Le Poeme Harmonique ensemble, who play music written and made in Venice in the 1600s, merging it with drama and comedy. Oh, and this performance will apparently be by candlelight, to boot. Whoa.

Oh, and watch this:

Runners-Up:
SXSW Overflow Fest, featuring Friend Roulette, Otonana Trio, Hip Hatchet, & Time and Distance @ Super Happy Fun Land
Waterparks/VerseCity (reunion)/Crimson Arrow/In Memory Of/The Take Over @ Numbers (5:30PM)
Sing Your Life Acoustic Showcase: Pre-SX Edition, featuring The Fox Derby, Dylan Bryson, Jeremy Grisbee, Kara Melton, Zeke Garcia, Charles Peters, Moji Abiola, Jason Long, Tom Lynch, Tank Lisenbe, Brian Jurek, Blake Shepard, & Gilbert Alfaro @ The Big Top
Pinback/JP Incorporated @ Fitzgerald’s
Deep Ella/Sounds Under Radio/Joseph King @ Rudyard’s
Yello Echo @ Khon’s
HFHC Beard and Mustache Competition, featuring Damon Allen & James and the Bondsmen @ Walter’s
MFAH Mixed Media Designed by IKEA, featuring Light Asylum, Max Xandaux, Mike Textbeak, Mr. Dan Castillo, Ceeplus Bad Knives, & B-Boy Craig Long @ MFAH (1001 Bissonnet; 8PM-12AM)
Y&T/Black Queen Speaks @ The Concert Pub North (2470 FM 1960)