Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Killswitch Engage + Adam Bricks + The Heligoats + Mobb Deep + White Ghost Shivers + More

So…what’s up this weekend? Isn’t there some kind of big-ass festival thing going on up on the edge of downtown? Could’ve sworn I heard something about that… Anyway. There’s some very cool stuff going on tomorrow, Saturday, June 1st, for those who didn’t get their wristbands in time (or just didn’t want to, either way). Here’s what I think sounds/looks cool:

Killswitch Engage/As I Lay Dying/Miss May I/Affiance @ House of Blues
This one hurts, honestly, because after spending the day at FPSF, I know there’s no way I’m going to be able to spend 3-4 more hours standing up at the House of Blues and rocking the fuck out to Killswitch Engage (even assuming my wife didn’t murder me with a kitchen knife the second I suggested it). And believe me, I would dearly, truly love to see this band, finally — over the past several albums, they’ve risen to the top of my personal metal band pile, effortlessly combining monolithic slabs of metal heaviness with gorgeous melodies, ridiculously great riffs, and freaking operatic vocals. sigh. I’m getting old, dammit.

Heligoats/Adam Bricks/Andrew Karnavas/Clory Martin @ Rudyard’s
Rudyard’s has a very impressive lineup of folky-type people tonight, and I, for one, and glad to see it, especially since a lot of folks like this seem to have gotten dropped by the wayside at FPSF this year. If you can, head up on to Montrose to catch {Adam Bricks}, in particular, as he’s one of my current favorite people in this little scene we have here; his City Songs is a resolutely urban-sounding chunk of Dylan-esque folk, and it’s well worth paying attention to.

The same goes for {Clory Martin}, a husky-voiced singer/songwriter whose unassuming-yet-great music won me over a while ago now, and {Runaway Sun} frontman Andrew Karnavas, out doing his solo thing; I have yet to hear him on his own, but I like his band, so I’ve got my fingers crossed, and so should you. Then there’s headliners The Heligoats, who I heard for the first time earlier this week, and who does a nicely understated jangle-folk-pop-rock thing that brings to mind The Femurs more than anything else. Very cool.

Mobb Deep @ Warehouse Live (Studio)
Gangsta rap hasn’t aged all that well, to my ears. Listening back to my NWA albums, they almost seem quaint, y’know? They’re a product of a different time. Going back to Mobb Deep‘s classic Murda Muzik, though, I was surprised at how well that album has stood the test of time, even if I’ve got no clue how it happened. The rhymes still feel vital, and the beats still make me want to jump in the car and cruise out in the dark. Not many hip-hop acts can get that kind of reaction from me, nearly 15 years beyond their prime…

White Ghost Shivers @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
And hey, feel like stepping back in time? Like to, say, the Roaring ’20s? Well, you’re in luck, because here comes the White Ghost Shivers, an Austin band that damn near defines the word “throwback” all by themselves. They’re a pitch-perfect band of speakeasy-playing gypsies, the kind who sound like they’d be most at home in a dingy, smoke-filled room where the muttered conversations never drown out the music, and the singer stretches out like a cat by the piano. They also go more fully for the gypsy aesthetic in some areas, speeding up and spinning out like a top while the violin plays. Hrm. I think I need to drag my wife out to see these folks.

Runners-Up:
24th Annual Accordion Kings & Queens, featuring Rosie Ledet, Peter Anzaldua, & more @ Miller Outdoor Theatre (6:30PM)
The Dead Revolt/Fire Moth/Darwin’s Finches @ The Continental Club
First Saturday Arts Market, featuring Jedidiah Crisp & Alexis A. Moore @ 548 W. 19th Street (6-10PM)
Come See My Dead Person @ Yaga’s Cafe (Galveston)
Dave Alvin and the Guilty Ones/Mike Stinson @ Crighton Theatre (Conroe)