Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: New York City Queens + Second Lovers + Young Girls + Blackmarket Syndicate + Le Castle Vania + Mills-McCoin + More

What a freaking week… I’ve had a lot on my mind besides music, and I’m running way, way behind, but I’m still psyched to see a pretty packed weekend coming up, starting tonight, Friday, October 4th. I’ll keep it brief so I can get this out the door quick; here goes:

New York City Queens/Fulton Read/The Wheel Workers/Second Lovers @ Fitzgerald’s
Tonight at Fitzgerald’s is my favorite of the night, although it’s a bit of a close fight this time around… It’s the first show in a while for the truly-cool {New York City Queens}, who I think have been off touring the country, and I’m glad to see ’em back around; they’re a damn fine band, one that makes a surprisingly urgent-sounding kind of indie-pop/rock with a bit of a retro-’70s glam tinge to it. You really ought to hear their 2012 release, Burn Out Like Roman Candles, if you haven’t already.

That doesn’t mean the other folks playing aren’t also damn good, mind you. I’ve raved recently about {The Wheel Workers}, so I won’t go back into that too much, except to say that they’re one of the best bands going ’round this city right now, period. And then there’s openers {Second Lovers}, who live in a folky, countryish realm not far removed from the likes of Buxton or The Moondoggies and whose most recent EP is truly, truly gorgeous and awesome.

Franz Ferdinand/Young Girls @ House of Blues
Alright, I’ll get this out of the way up front: I am ambivalent, honestly, about Franz Ferdinand. I hate to say it, but it’s true; don’t love ’em, don’t hate ’em, just meh. Which sounds pretty bad, I know, but what can I say? You like what you like, and so far the FF guys haven’t done much for me.

On the other hand, however, there’s {Young Girls}, who are loud and vibrant and sunshiny in the best possible way, melding hazy dreampop guitars with surf-rock washes and a general sunny day vibe. They’re a little like Beach House, or maybe a less-raggedy Surfer Blood, but either way, they’re really freaking good. Granted, it may seem a little steep to pay Franz Ferdinand prices to see Young Girls, but hey — you do what you gotta do.

The Businessmen/Blackmarket Syndicate/The Inanimate Objects/Dead to the World @ Fitzgerald’s
On the top floor of Fitz tonight, there’s a full, full slate of punk rock awesomeness. Not familiar with everybody on the list, but I dearly love {Blackmarket Syndicate}, who I finally got to witness live at FPSF this year. They’re loud-yet-smart, rough-around-the-edges punk that points backwards to The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers, and other bands from that early era in punk rock, but they’ve got an undeniably Texan thing going, too; it’s kind of hard to explain, but listening to the band, you know they’re from here.

Plus, there’s {Dead to the World}, who are pretty great in their own right; the vocals, in particular, are awesomely gravelly and in-your-face confrontational, even if the lyrics don’t have the poetic style (no, seriously) of the Syndicate boys’. Get there soon, if you can.

Le Castle Vania @ Kryptonite
I can’t claim to be the biggest EDM head out there, no, but dangit, I know what I like. I didn’t know much about Le Castle Vania before Karen H. interviewed him last year, but after listening (and listening, and listening some more), I really, truly love the guy. He makes dancefloor anthems that could double as soundtracks for grim, dystopian sci-fi movies (a little like M83 in that respect, actually), and he seems to like to dance on the lines between genres, which is always good by me. Take a listen to “Incarnation,” from new album Prophication, below, and tell me it shouldn’t be the soundtrack for some gritty sci-fi reboot:

The Friday Night with Mills-McCoin, Omar Al-Bochi, & Austin Smith @ Rudyard’s
Finally, over at Rudyard’s tonight there’s a cool-sounding new (I think?) venture, which builds on local music-scene maven/swank dude Mills-McCoin‘s now-regular “Rock and Roll Circus” shows. This time out, Mills-McCoin’s hosting something called “The Friday Night with Mills-McCoin,” which the Rudz site describes as a late-night talk show and which apparently has musical (and non-musical?) guests, a house band, and the inimitable Mills-McCoin serving as Leno/Letterman/Carson/etc. Tonight’s show will apparently feature Austin Smith of local outfit {A Sea Es} as the guest, and Lord only knows what else’ll happen besides. Stop by & check it out.

Runners-Up:
Oil Boom/Fire Moth/Poor Pilate/Picture Book @ The Continental Club
The Ogres/The Ugly Beats/Thrill @ The Big Top
Cancerstock 2013, featuring I Come Alive, The Analog People, Photometric, Aliah Listens, Riffe, The Russ Driver Band, Slug, Swinging Teresa, Thraxis, Death From Afar, Steve Straker Band, Souls on Monday, Izzy’s Thorn, The Hero Must Die, Black Kennedy, RPM, The Black 13, The Ninjas From Texas, A.P. Stark, The Minx Delilah, Vessel, A.D., Me, The Hero?, Brothers Grymn, Threadbelly, Soul In Tension, Twisted Karma, Tyler Lenius, Blackout Iris, Buddy Costlow, Cisco Nonother, Satisfied Drive, Karma Points, Rex Robards, & The Sideshow @ Hawg Stop (11335 Sheldon Rd.)
Houston Fringe Festival, featuring Beans Barton and the Bi-Peds, The Quiet Persistence of Memory Ensemble, SaulPaul, & more @ Super Happy Fun Land
Grand Old Grizzly/Captain Legendary Band @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
Johnwayneisdead/Quiet Morning and The Calamity/The Witherees @ Notsuoh ($5/$10)
Otonana Trio/P.L.X.T.X/Zoofeelia/Puppet @ Ponde rosa (2AM)
White Ghost Shivers @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Straight Line Stitich/Saturate/Cathercist @ Pier 30 Bar & Grill (Freeport)