Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Finnegan + Cavern Hymnal + Joe Pug + Sera Cahoone + Phantom Lakes + Punk & Metal Fest + The Rads + More

Yes, folks — it’s that time again, and yes, it’s also already pretty late. All I can say in my defense is that I’ve pretty much lost the past two days completely due to a nasty illness…sigh. Anyway, It’s Friday, November 22nd, and wow, there’s quite a big pile of awesome-looking/-sounding stuff going on. Without further ado, here we go:

Finnegan/B.E. Godfrey/Whitney Mower/Cavern Hymnal @ Walter’s
Arrrrgh. This freaking kills me, dammit — one of my absolute-favorite bands is playing after something like a year away, due to band members getting married and/or having children, and here I am, laid up at home with a nasty sinus infection. Damn, damn, damn. I really, truly love those {Finnegan} folks, and it’s been far too long since I’ve seen ’em live. They ride the line between that whole roots-folk thing and more straight-up indie-rock, and on their one album so far, 2012’s What Happened To Jacqueline?, they do it absolutely flawlessly. It doesn’t hurt, mind you, that Taylor Lee and Sara Van Buskirk do some of the best damn duets you’ll ever hear.

Earlier on this evening — i.e., get up there now — there’s also some other good folks playing, to boot, like mustachioed {listenlisten} frontman B.E. Godfrey, who’s excellently murky and backwoodsy on his own, {Whitney Mower}, about whom I’ve heard good things, and {Cavern Hymnal}, whom I’ve recently been introduced to and who I’m liking quite a bit already…

Joe Pug/Sera Cahoone @ Fitzgerald’s
Fitzgerald’s tonight has some of the bigger names tonight, notably rootsy, solidly blue-collar singer/songwriter Joe Pug, who happens to be one of those guys who writes songs you want to punch yourself for not writing already (at least, until you realize that you could never have come up with ’em anyway). Also playing is Sera Cahoone, formerly of Carissa’s Weird and a player on some of Band of Horses early stuff; these days she’s out on her own as a one-woman-band of sorts, and while I’m not real familiar with much she’s done recently, I’ve liked what I’ve heard in years past.

Phantom Lakes/Hoofprints @ Mango’s
Wish I’d gotten to these guys sooner, because damn, I’m really liking what little I’ve had a chance to hear so far from Austin band Phantom Lakes; the group includes members of the sadly-deceased Pop Unknown, who were one of my emo-ish faves from back in the early ’00s, and what I’m hearing brings back memories of those days, which is never a bad thing.

As an added bonus, the openers are fellow post-emo rockers {Hoofprints}, who are already coming pretty close to transcending their “ex-members of Stadium” status to become their own awesome thing entirely. And yeah, they remind me fondly of back-in-the-day emo, too.

1st Annual Punk & Metal Fest, featuring Zimmerman’s Gun, Talk Sick Brats, Amero, Stay At Home Mom, Pink Eye, Bloon on The Strand, Drown, Dykes On Bykes, Clockpole, Agamemnon, Virulent, Fat Mannequin, COMExCLEAN, ENDisNOW, Ryan Valadez’s Band, Destroy My Everything, The Heroin Kids, Unveil The Villain, & 8eTribe @ Stereo Live ($10)
Ready for this one, EDM-heads? Yes, tonight the almost-always-electronic venue Stereo Live has been taken over by streetpunks and metalheads, and hey, don’t blame us if they smash up the lasers and fancy lights… I dunno most of the names, it’s true, but the ones I do recognize are damn good, like snarlers {Talk Sick Brats}, the frequently-naked {Clockpole}, and promising punks {Stay at Home Mom}. Get over there and try either some new music or a new venue, whichever.

The Rads @ Union Tavern (435 El Dorado; Clear Lake)
And finally, if you can make it on down to the Union Tavern in Clear Lake tonight, definitely do, because ’80s-worshippers The Rads — a band that includes members of {A Sundae Drive}, {Jealous Creatures}, & {Dethkultur BBQ} — are a whole hell of a lot of fun. If you’re lucky, maybe Zeek will be wearing his ridiculously-authentic Ghostbusters costume.

Runners-Up:
Rusko/Roni Size/Dynamite MC/DJ Kyle Berg @ House of Blues
Built To Spill/Slam Dunk/Genders @ Fitzgerald’s
Folk Family Revival @ Main Street Crossing (Tomball)
Disfrutalo!/TransContinental Trip/Groove Think/Cable @ Jet Lounge
Fluffy Whip/Another Pearl Harbor/Kenny The Spider/Super Thief @ Notsuoh
Dead Confederate/Equals/duneTX @ Rudyard’s
Shellee Coley @ The Corner Pub (Conroe)
Locate/Trial By Bourbon/Little Outfit @ Super Happy Fun Land
The Giving Tree Band @ Last Concert Cafe
Jesse Dayton @ Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe (Galveston)
Trae Tha Truth (video shoot)/Petey Godson/Kang Swami Tha Khrist/Money Green Ent./Naughty Dawg Ent./Tru-Stylez/JTB Ent./Yetti Squad/Young Prince/Royale/Baby/Da Prophet Makin Da Profit/Valentine/2 Trill/Hammer Head Records/KDB Gang/Gonzo/Y&R/Shadow Family/Remedy/2 Throwed Mindz/Noyemad Music Group/South East/Ronnie Spencer/Point Blank @ TOC Bar (112 Travis; 9PM-4AM)
Helstar @ The Concert Pub North (2470 FM 1960)
B.B. King @ The Grand 1894 Opera House (Galveston)