Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: these days + Black Coffee + Little Rhianna Benefit + Folk Family Revival + Youth Brigade + Blackmarket Syndicate + More

Well into Saturday, January 4th, now, and while it’s still a little on the quiet side yet — everybody’s still recovering from the fact that it’s a new year, I guess? — don’t worry, there are still a few damn good shows happening tonight. Like, say, these:

these days (EP release)/Black Coffee/Chipped Teeth/Bowel/Will to Live @ Walter’s
Yessss. Been meaning to talk about {these days} for a while now, actually, after running across ’em earlier this year; I heard a couple of early songs, looked at the FB page, and then thought, “hey, these guys seem weirdly familiar somehow…” I realized the reason for that familiarity the next time I jumped in the car and put on Victory Records hardcore outfit Close Your Eyes‘ 2011 album, Empty Hands and Heavy Hearts (which kind of lives in my car): the guy fronting these days is none other than ex-CYE frontman Shane Raymond, who quit the band back in 2012.

I’m psyched to see he’s back in the ring with these days, though, and that they’re releasing their debut EP; I’ve heard a handful of songs, and so far they’re everything I liked about CYE but with even more surging, snap-your-neck hardcore guitars and energy, believe it or not. I’ve never been big on screamers, honestly, but Raymond does a damn fine job of it — take a listen to a track from the EP they’re releasing tonight:

And hey, they’ve also got rough-edged hardcore dudes {Black Coffee}, who I desperately need to see live sometime soon, and local (and non-local, actually) metalcore icons {Will to Live}, who are still fixtures in the scene despite being, um, my age. More power to ’em…

The Little Rhianna Benefit Event, featuring Devil’s Holy Adversary, There Was Madness, Rest When We’re Dead, 86within, Reckless High, & The Lotus Effect @ BFE Rock Club (4PM; $10)
Yeah, yeah — I know this one started quite a few hours ago now, but it’s still going on, I believe, and it’s a very good cause. A little six-year-old named Rhianna is at Texas Children’s right now, where the doctors are fighting for both her life and her foot after she stepped on a rusty nail; even if she (cross fingers) makes it through, she’s got a long, expensive recovery ahead of her, and her family needs all the help they can get to cover the medical bills that will no doubt ensue. Texas Children’s is a great hospital, but as a parent who’s had to take a child there in the past, I can tell you that they are not cheap, even if you have insurance.

The proceeds from tonight’s show (the cover’s $10) all go to Rhianna’s family, and they’ve got some good folks played besides, especially {The Lotus Effect}, who are a freaking great alt-rock band (and whom I’m told are currently working on a new video & album, so keep an ear out for new songs). Get on out to Jones Rd. and give however much you can, alright?

Folk Family Revival/Thieving Birds @ Firehouse Saloon
The Firehouse Saloon has a cool-looking show tonight, too, a welcome, rare inside-the-Beltway appearance of Magnolia-bred roots-rockers {Folk Family Revival}. I seriously, seriously love these guys, having been bowled over by their album Unfolding a few years back, and I’m very happy to hear they’re finally working on a followup.

In fact, they’ve got a Pledge up on PledgeMusic to raise money to get the new album done & out to the public — check it out here. Plenty of perks for the various donation levels (I especially like the disposable camera one), so please-please-please pledge, because dangit, I need this album to happen, okay? Oh, and as an added bonus, the Pledge also benefits the Panther Creek Inspiration Ranch, which helps kids with special needs through horse therapy (which, yes, is awesome).

Youth Brigade/Lower Class Brats/Blackmarket Syndicate/Dead to the World @ Fitzgerald’s
And last but nowhere near least, Fitzgerald’s has a full slate of badass, street-level punk rawk tonight, with the headliners seminal early punks Youth Brigade. To which, let me say: hot damn.

They happen to be playing with a couple of my absolute-favorite local punk crews, too, namely {Dead to the World} and the utterly awesome {Blackmarket Syndicate}, who I finally got to see last year at FPSF. If you haven’t yet heard the Syndicate’s 2012 release, And the Peasants Rejoiced, you really, really need to — it’s the best personal/political punk album I’ve heard in a very long time, capturing a lot of what I thought/felt about the whole Occupy movement when it was at its peak. Check ’em out; you won’t regret it.

Runners-Up:
Butch Hancock/Jimmie Dale Gilmore @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
The Fuzzlers/We Are Computers/The Heroin Kids/Don’t Feed the Animal @ Super Happy Fun Land
Fox Parlor/Darwin’s Finches/DJ MitteNns @ Avant Garden
EnSane (album release)/Disfrutalo!/Freddie Guatemala/Mannequin On The Moon/Dirty & Nasty/Don Dino Bonaparte & Yung Rell/Alley Kat/Jordan W. Meija @ Notsuoh ($5)