Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Keep Calm//Fight Cancer (II) + Project Grimm + Funeral Horse + My Education + The Witherees + Chase Hamblin + More

Getting on the ball a little bit earlier today, thankfully; we’re still in the midst of Renovation Madness (which is like the hell that is moving, except you don’t actually go anywhere new), but I’m currently waiting for things to dry, so I figured I’d take a minute and post about all the cool things happening tonight, Saturday, September 7th. Here goes:

Keep Calm//Fight Cancer Event Benefiting Pam Robinson, featuring Pride Kills, Black Congress, Knights of the Fire Kingdom, Bury the Crown, Peloton, & Bastard Cult @ Walter’s
Yep, it’s Night #2 of the massively awesome Keep Calm//Fight Cancer benefit that’s going on all weekend up at Walter’s to benefit Walter’s owner and Houston music scene mainstay (and hero) Pam Robinson, who’s undergoing treatment for cancer right now and needs our help. There’s been an amazing outpouring of support for Ms. Robinson, and it’s well-deserved, truly, because she’s helped more bands and musicians than she’ll probably ever realize get their start at the various venues she’s owned over the years.

Tonight’s kind of the “Heavy Night” of the three — because, c’mon, Walter’s — and the lineup’s just as stellar as last night’s, with noise-punks {Black Congress} and {Peloton}, full-on Drive Like Jehu-esque rockers {Knights of the Fire Kingdom}, and old-school hardcore dudes {Pride Kills}, who I think are reuniting for this event.

Plus the music, I neglected to mention in last night’s post that there’s also stuff up for silent auction, including artwork, concert tickets, Houston BrewFest passes, and a crap-ton more. All the proceeds — as in “100%” — of the shows and the auction go to Ms. Robinson herself (I don’t know her personally, so I feel weird calling her “Pam”), which is a very cool thing. It’s a measly $10 to get in; get on off your ass tonight & be there.

Proceeds to Pam, featuring Poor Dumb Bastards, Project Grimm, & Funeral Horse @ Rudyard’s
Also on the Helping-Pam-Robinson front, there’s a second benefit show happening tonight, over at Rudyard’s. As with the “big” show over at Walter’s, all of the proceeds from the door over at Rudz this evening will go to help Ms. Robinson with her medical expenses, and hey, it’s another damn-cool slate of bands, to boot. There’s old-old-old-time drunk-punks {Poor Dumb Bastards}, the headliners, who have literally been playing shows in this city since I first moved here — I remember seeing ads for their shows in the Public News back in 1991, for crying out loud — and despite slowing down in terms of playing live, hey, they’re still standing. (Er, leaning drunkenly. Whichever.)

Then there’s {Project Grimm}, who I’m pretty sure went on hiatus back in the early ’00s but who’ve come back together in recent years to play a few times a year. That’s a very good thing, by the way, because this self-described “dagger in the side of joy,” fronted by cool dude John Cramer, is one of that handful of bands from that era in Houston music that needed resurrecting. I’ll admit to being ambivalent on ’em back then — what can I say? I was fully into emo at the time — but as the years roll on, I’m liking ’em more and more.

Opening out the night is {Funeral Horse}, a band that includes at least one member of gone-too-soon outfit Art Institute and which I’ve heard described as being less of a “band” and more of a disaster. I’ve really liked the ultra-heavy, sludgy, messy rawk I’ve heard from these folks, either way, and now that they’ve apparently lost their bassist, the new two-man configuration they’ll be employing this evening will definitely make things interesting…

Collide, featuring NobleMotion & My Education @ The Hobby Center
I’m afraid I shamefully skipped over this one yesterday, and I hang my head abashedly for it. I’ve steadily grown fonder and fonder of Austin orchestral-sounding instro-rockers My Education — and most recent album A Drink for All My Friends only cemented that love further — and part of why is their willingness to charge into things that, well, most “rock bands” wouldn’t attempt. In the past they’ve scored silent films and played at some oddball venues, and now they’ve take things a step further, with a two-night (tonight’s the second and final night) collaborative show up at Hobby Center.

This time out they’re working with a dance troupe, Houston-based NobleMotion Dance, on new performance Collide, which combines the band’s music with high-tech light installations and avant-garde (and apparently very “athletic,” which I take to mean “holy fuck, what did that guy just do?”) dance performances to make something totally amazing-sounding. No word yet on what last night’s performance was like, but I think this sounds truly promising all around.

The Witherees/Quiet Morning and the Calamity/Margo May @ Super Happy Fun Land
Over at Super Happy Fun Land, there’s a much more low-key show happening — although in this case, at least “low-key” doesn’t mean it’s not good compared to everything else. Heading up the bill is minimalist indie-folk duo {The Witherees}, whom I’ve been liking a lot in recent months (glad to see ’em out & about again), and whom I feel compelled to compare to both The Mountain Goats and Damien Jurado…and I definitely don’t make those comparisons lightly, because I’m a huge fan of both.

There’s also Quiet Morning & the Calamity, a fellow gang of locals who also tread a folk-y path, albeit one that’s more alt-country and indie-rock than the Witherees generally get. What I’ve heard so far’s been awesome; I seriously need to hear more, and soon.

Chase Hamblin & The Roustabouts @ Sugar Land Town Square (Sugar Land; 7:30-9:30PM)
Finally, for those situated down in the Southwest side of town, there’s a cool (and free, I’m assuming) show happening out at Sugar Land Town Square, with the ever-cool Chase Hamblin & The Roustabouts playing live for all & sundry. If you have yet to see or hear ’em, you really need to, especially now; their more straightforward ’60s-revival stuff was good, but this year’s VAUdeVILLE is absolutely stellar (not to mention true to its title).

Runners-Up:
K Rino/Lower Life Form/The Aspiring Me/Johnny Parelli/Kidd Da Great/Da Kid Kam/Van Solo @ Fitzgerald’s
Flametrick Subs/Sean Reefer and the Resin Valley Boys @ The Continental Club
Joe Satriani/Steve Morse @ House of Blues
Chelsea Wolfe/True Widow @ Fitzgerald’s
Only Beast @ The Big Top
2013 Houston Brazilian Festival, featuring Batala Houston, Eta Carinae, Silva Dance Company, Capoeira Luanda Houston, Samba Soul, Bombrasil, & Trio Baru @ Jones Plaza (601 Louisiana; 2-10PM)
Mala Suerte/Dead Label/Anguish in Exile (last show!)/Curse The Heaven/Closed Eyes Open @ The White Swan