Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Andre Williams + Only Beast + The Docs + Fidlar + The Orwells + Cancerstock 2013 + More

Argh. Yep, it’s Saturday (October 5th), and I’m late yet again; spent all day solo with the little guy, and there’s barely been a moment to breathe, so y’know… Anyway, there’s still good stuff happening, even this far into the evening — here we go:

Andre Williams/Renaldo Domino @ The Continental Club
My favorite show of the night, no doubt, and it’s all because of Andre Williams, the man who is possibly the most badass soul artist alive. He may be edging up there in years (as in, close to your granddad’s age), but Williams, aka “The Black Godfather” aka “Bacon Fat,” is raunchy and raw and just plain doesn’t give a fuck. His 2008 album with The New Orleans Hellhounds, Can You Deal With It?, is especially awesome, merging down-and-dirty Nawlins funk with cool-ass big-city soul and gritty, bad-side-of-town blues. If you haven’t heard the man yet, you really need to.

The Docs/Only Beast/DJ[On Hiatus]/DJ Hai Tai @ Topgolf Houston (1030 Memorial Brook Blvd.)
Speaking of bands I’d been meaning to hear, well, there’s {Only Beast} — friends have raved about ’em for a while now, and I wanted to take a listen, but things never matched up, y’know? Now that I have, hey, I get the raves; their blues-tinged prog-rock is pretty damn mesmerizing, especially with frontwoman Danielle on the mic. Definitely going to have to hear more…

They fit pretty nicely with College Station band The Docs, by the way, particularly in the way both bands meld together dark, gritty blues influences with seriously proggy guitars. Unlike with Only Beast, I’d never even heard of these guys before this show, but hell, I’m hooked.

Fidlar/The Orwells @ Fitzgerald’s
Damn. This is one of those shows where I really wish I’d had a chance to give the band a closer listen; I’ve been meaning to, but dangit, time is one of those finite things these days… What I have heard so far of Fidlar, though, is pretty goddamn badass, a snarling, sharp-edged, skate-thrash meets gutterpunk outfit that reminds me of American Fangs at some points and Steel Pole Bathtub at others (and yes, both are good things).

Then there’s The Orwells, who come off like a British Invasion band that fell into our era through a hole in time and fell in love with raggedy punk noise, with plenty of chiming-yet-tough guitars, punchy melodies, and lo-fi fuzz seeping in around the edges. Both are recommended.

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.)
Been meaning to talk about this one for a couple of days now, actually; sorry for the delay… I’ve never been to the Hawg Stop, unfortunately, but the three(?)-day-long benefit they’ve been running, Cancerstock 2013, sounds like a damn cool fundraiser for a cause close to my heart. Quite a few family members and friends have fought cancer over the years, and while some beat it, some didn’t. Anything that moves us closer to a cure is a good thing by me.

Of course, it helps that there’re some cool people playing, like {Black Kennedy} & {Karma Points}. Get on out to West Houston & help out if you can.

Runners-Up:
An Oath of Misdirection/Dead To The World/Ransom Bandits/Color Chemistry @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
Orents Stirner/Ron & Kathy/Disfrutalo! @ Rudyard’s
Rocking for Ali: Benefit for Ali Lowitzer & Texas Equusearch, featuring Erich Avinger, Hellsouth, Feo y Loco, Je Phoenix & The Experience, The JagerBumms, PowerRage, A Beautiful Disgrace, Paco & The Buds, Lazor Vision, & Sirius Fuentes @ Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar
A Birthday Bash for Jason White & Ericka Garner, featuring Straight Line Stitch, Cathercist, Saturate, Reckless High, Ambivalent, Amongst The Living, & more @ BFE Rock Club
Houston Fringe Festival, featuring Beans Barton and the Bi-Peds, The Quiet Persistence of Memory Ensemble, SaulPaul, & more @ Super Happy Fun Land