Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Purple Rain Party + American Fangs + For The Community V + Night Beds (MP3!) + The 1975 + Circa Paleo + More

Yep, it’s the weekend yet again, and I feel in some ways like I’m still staggering back to my feet after last weekend, with all that FPSF madness… But it’s not last weekend, it’s Fri., June 7th, and we must soldier on.

Before we do that, though, I’ve got a little informational-type stuff to impart regarding a show I was actually seriously psyched about, the Tricky show scheduled for 6/21 at the House of Blues. It seems Tricky’s run into problems getting a Visa to be allowed to come into the U.S., and because of that he’s had to postpone all of his U.S. dates to October. If you’d been hoping to see the trip-hop icon, now you’ll have to wait until 10/13, instead. Dang. But hey, at least the show will still happen, right?

Anyway, that’s still a little ways off; here’s what looks/sounds cool for tonight, at least to me:

Purple Rain Costume Party, featuring Poor Pilate, Knights of the Fire Kingdom, Featherface, DJ Lettuce Prey, & Third World TV DJ @ Khon’s Bar ($5)
It’s seriously a tough call for tonight’s top show, but dangit, Kam Franklin‘s Purple Rain Costume Party — which also serves as a b-day shindig for her, friend Jay Tovar, and yes, The Purple One himself, Prince — wins out on the basis of its creativity.

See, Kam’s not kidding with the whole “costume party” thing; she seriously wants people to come dressed as characters from the movie Purple Rain, or at the very least in ’80s-ish/flamboyantly Prince-like attire. The event invite actually says costumes are mandatory, so take that however you will…

And hey, if you do rise to the challenge, you then get to rock the hell out to the awesome musical awesomeness that is straight-up rockers {Knights of the Fire Kingdom}, clever psych-pop outfit {Featherface}, and cool, low-key Americana crew {Poor Pilate}, all (I’m assuming) dressed up themselves in their best ’80s finery. $5 for the whole thing makes it not a bad deal at all.

Fall Out Boy/American Fangs @ Bayou Music Center
And now, for the runner-up. I’ll be frank, here: I’m not a fan of Fall Out Boy. Don’t hate ’em or anything, don’t blame them for the downfall of music or anything over-the-top like that — I just happen to think they’re not very good, and eh, I don’t give a shit about ’em.

That said, I do give a shit (multiple shits, truth be told) about {American Fangs}. I swear to God, if there was a betting pool as to which H-town band would eventually break out of this town and get some serious attention on a national level, my money’s on either these guys or fellow rocker {the last place you look}. The Fangs guys have me crossing my fingers in a big, big way, especially with the recent release (finally…) of their debut full-length album, American Fangs — it’s a damn fine blast of pure alternarock goodness, with melodies that’ll hook you in and furious energy that’ll then proceed to punch you square in the face. (Which you want to happen here, I promise.)

American Fangs may not be breaking a whole lot of new ground, it’s true, but there’s one thing the Houston scene is weirdly short on, and that’s quality, freaking-great modern rock bands. These guys are at the top of that pile, and climbing higher all the time.

Visionary Noise & The Houston Free Thinkers Present: For The Community V, featuring Days N’ Daze, The Trimms, Josiah Gabriel, Colonial Blue, FLCON FCKER, Jon Black, Mephedrone, Magna Carda, Artificial Earth Machine, Drastik, Lone Star Disciples, Renazons, Worst Nightmare, & EndIsNow @ The Compound (2305 Wheeler; free!)
At the other end of the spectrum, then, we’ve got a bunch of the strangest, hardest-to-categorize bands this city’s got going, banding together to play over the next two days at a place called The Compound (2305 Wheeler). It kinda looks like a benefit show, but I can’t tell what the hell it’s a benefit for, if so, and it’s free, which kind of negates the whole “benefit” thing, to my mind.

shrug. Either way, there’re some cool, cool people performing, notably rapper {Jon Black}, electronic mangler {FLCON FCKER}, and in-your-face folk-punks Days N’ Daze, for three. Go chill and bliss out with some of the most truly countercultural folks in this big ol’ city, eh?

Night Beds/Tristen @ Fitzgerald’s
Fans of Fleet Foxes, sit up & pay attention, because you’ve just found your New Favorite Band. They’re called Night Beds, and frontman Winston Yellen has a road-roughened, weary, but still beautiful voice that seriously brings to mind the serenity and wise-beyond-his-years feel of FF’s Robin Pecknold. That’s married to some truly gorgeous, country-folk arrangements and subtly-crafted songs that, yeah, I can’t help but fall for pretty tremendously.

Grab a download of one of the band’s tracks, from this year’s Country Sleep, below:

Night Beds – “22”

The Neighbourhood/The 1975 @ Fitzgerald’s (sold out!)
Then, on the other floor up at Fitz, there’s darkly-tinged electro-rock band The Neighbourhood. Despite their British-spelled name, the band hails from Newbury Park, CA., but the spelling thing kind of points across The Pond for the group’s primary influences. Listening now, I can’t help but think of Athlete, in particular, or maybe a more languid, less-twitchy Bloc Party.

Tourmates The 1975, on the other hand, actually are from England (Manchester, specifically), and share a similar Britpop-influenced sound. Of the two, though, The 1975 are far more infectious and alluring, riding these excellently catchy, fuzzed-out hooks that make me want to never, ever stop listening. Here’s a remix of “The City,” from the band’s new EP lv:

Damn, I wish I’d heard this earlier, because, well, the show tonight appears to be sold out. sigh…

Circa Paleo @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
A far, far cry from anybody above, McGonigel’s Mucky Duck has RenFest fave Circa Paleo, who play music that’s folky and traditional — almost timeless, even — but that spans cultural boundaries like the music of few folk acts can. They’re truly like olden-time gypsies, incorporating bits and pieces of music from here and there to form something that’s Celtic and Spanish and Gypsy and Asian all at the same time.

Runners-Up:
Amplified Heat/Sideshow Tragedy/Eric Tessmer/Picture Book @ The Continental Club
Water Scarcity Fundraiser for the H. Kumi Foundation, featuring Free Radicals, Hummingbird, Moon Sistars, & more @ Avant Garden (7-11PM)
Aliah Listens/DSGNS/Another Pearl Harbor/Insurgence @ Dean’s
Blaggards @ R&R Sports Bar & Grill (Friendswood)