Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: A Day of Music + The Lotus Effect + Space City Sonic Array + Vestibule + Brand New Hearts + More

Alrighty; it’s late, but here I am, attempting to get a jump on things (for once). I’m pretty fried, though, so I’ll have to keep this short, alright? Here’s what I think looks/sounds cool for Saturday, July 13th — allons-y, Alonzo:

The Houston Symphony Presents A Day of Music, featuring Houston Symphony, Percussion One, ROCO Brass Quartet, Conrad Johnson Orchestra, AFA Chamber Ensemble, Bobbly Lyle Trio, Jack Saunders, Houston Brass Band, Keyun & the Zydeco Masters, Gay Men’s Chorus of Houston, Windsor Village Mass Choir, Texas Brass Band, The Wheel Workers, KTSU Jazz Quartet, Aldine High School Blue Steel Drum Ensemble, Houston Symphonic Band, Mercury, Tricia Fox & Ray Younkin, Milton Hopkins and the Hit City Blues Band, Joy of Djembe Drumming, Kaminari Taiko, Mariachi MECA, The Best Little Klezmer Band in Texas, Clandestine, & Greenbriar Consortium @ Jones Hall (9AM-10PM; free!)
Sweet, sweet — I’ve been wanting to take the kids to the Houston Symphony‘s annual Day of Music deal downtown for the past couple of years, and this year, we’re finally going to be able to make it there. Which is awesome, because it really, truly is a very neat thing, especially for kids; you get to roam around Jones Hall, listening to various supremely talented musicians do what they do best, making crafts, “petting” the Symphony’s instruments, learning to play harmonica, and chowing down on excellent food truck food, and all for free, y’all.

Seriously, this only happens once a year, and it always sounds insanely neat. This year’s especially cool to me, with great, great political-indie-pop-rockers {The Wheel Workers} and Celtic folk institution {Clandestine} both plaing, not to mention {Kaminari Taiko} and Mariachi MECA, both of which I’ve wanted to see for years. Go Downtown tomorrow morning & afternoon and check it out.

The Lotus Effect/72Names/PuraPharm/Boxing Lessons @ Walter’s
Alright, so fair warning time: this show’s been scheduled for a while now, but it’s mysteriously not on the Walter’s shows list, and I’m not sure why. There’s still an FB event invite for it, though, so hey, hopefully that means it’s still on. Which, obviously, I’m rooting for, because it’s a pretty cool lineup, especially with soulful/proggy alternarockers {The Lotus Effect} on the bill; I’m still waiting on the edge of my seat to see what this extremely promising band does for their long-promised full-length, and I’d suspect they’ve got some new songs to play.

The Space City Sonic Array, featuring Illicit Relationship (Sonia Flores/Thomas Helton/Andrew Siefert/Damon Smith), Robert Pearson/James Arch-Savage/Chris Lopez, Kathy Fay Mahdoubi, Paul Connolly & Hsin-Jung Tsai, & Charlie Naked @ Spring Street Studios (1824 Spring)
On the other side of the musical spectrum, the {Linus Pauling Quartet}‘s Charlie Ebersbaker — who’s a damn cool dude all ’round, by the by — has organized an impressive gang of local improv/experimental/avant garde noise-makers to play tomorrow at Spring Street Studios. Believe it or not, Houston’s a freaking treasure trove of experimental music, and this show includes some of the leading lights of that whole little sub-scene (which is criminally under-recognized here but known to music afficionados elsewhere).

Vestibule/A Fetish Vendetta @ Jet Lounge
A little more low-key, the dead-or-is-it? venue Jet Lounge, on the southern edge of Downtown, is hosting a neat little bill tonight, with the very-promising indie-pop crew {Vestibule}, who play some sweetly melodic, mostly (if I remember correctly) guitar-less music. The high-pitched vocals soar and swoop impressively, and the songs are intricate and damn decent, at least from what I’ve heard so far. I’ve got pretty high hopes for these guys, and I’m psyched to hear their forthcoming new album…

Brand New Hearts @ Cactus Music (1PM)
And finally, I’d seriously suggest getting out & about early in the afternoon and on over to Cactus Music to see relatively-new badass emo/indie-rock/power-pop dudes {Brand New Hearts}. If you’re a fan of Jimmy Eat World, The Jealous Sound, Superchunk, Elliott, or, um, most of the rest of my music collection, this band will quickly turn into your favorite band of at least the last couple of years. They’re sweet but rocking, gorgeous but distorted, and damn, those guitars freaking rule. Check out a few songs from the band’s upcoming cassette release:

Runners-Up:
The Freakouts (7″ release)/Born Liars/Something Fierce/The Hangouts/The Ookami Kids @ Fitzgerald’s
Born Again Virgins/Bald Eagle Burger/Piss Poor @ Rudyard’s
Junior Brown @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
OBNiii’s/The Secret Prostitutes/Weird Party @ Mango’s
Punk Rock Pool Party, featuring The Hates & Darwin’s Finches @ Lee & Joe Jamail Skatepark (free!; 7-9PM)
Texas Massacre XIV, featuring Paul Wall, K-Rino, Lil Keke, Juan Gotti, Roosh Williams, G-Man, Kyle Hubbard, Renzo, D-Risha, Chieff, Cassette Tape, Mo City Menis, & Conflict @ Fitzgerald’s
Dirty Bourbon River Show/The Bluebonnets @ The Continental Club