Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Alkari + Sunrise and Ammunition + Geto Boys + Roky Erickson + The Black Angels + B.E. Godfrey + Migrant Kids + More

Start of the weekend, y’all, Friday, February 28th, and there’s plenty, plenty, plenty of good stuff happening. In the interests of actually getting this online tonight, though, I’m gonna keep it as brief as I can; here we go:

Sunrise and Ammunition/Megafauna/Alkari/PuraPharm @ Fitzgerald’s
Top of the pile tonight is a tough one, but dangit, this lineup over at Fitzgerald’s edges out the competition. It’s a full, full slate of excellent, kinda-mathy rock goodness, with the jaw-dropping Sunrise and Ammunition at the head of the bill. The band’s definitely on the young side of things, but holy fuck can they play their instruments; I really liked their most recent release, Tesseract, when it came out back in 2012, but since then I’ve been fortunate to see them live, and trust me, you’ll do a spit-take when you see ’em do whatever the hell it is they do.

If you do the “oh, I only came to see the headliners” thing, though, you’re a dumbass, because all four bands playing are well worth seeing. Austinites Megafauna are cool and mesmerizing, with a rough-edged prog vibe to the band’s soulful rock, and {PuraPharm} are pretty mesmerizing themselves, to boot, albeit in much more of a psychedelic, electronicized, ethereal vein.

Then, of course, there’s {Alkari}. Full disclosure: bassist Jason Smith writes & takes photos for this here site, so it could be argued that we’re a bit biased, but screw that noise. Me, I love Alkari because they’re good, period; they were in that “promising but not quite there yet” realm for a few years, it’s true, but with the release of 2012’s Blackout Falls, they managed to floor me. And they haven’t let up since.

93.7 The Beat Welcome to H-Town Hip-Hop Concert, featuring Geto Boys, Z-Ro, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Lil Keke, & more @ Arena Theater
Alright, honesty time: I cannot believe this isn’t already sold out. And yet, when I go to the site for the Arena Theatre (which is, weirdly, now right next door from where I work), there’re still tickets for sale. Wow, y’all.

I mean, c’mon, this is like the cream of the crop of big-name H-town hip-hop right here, with only a handful of names missing. If you’re into hip-hop at all, and you live here, there’s no way you don’t know who {Slim Thug}, {Paul Wall}, and {Z-Ro} are, much less the legendary Geto Boys. Hell, if I didn’t have to do the Dad Thing tonight, I’d be seriously tempted to stay up at work and run over so I can finally catch the full Geto Boys in concert, after only seeing two-thirds of the group at FPSF last year.

(Of course, that’s assuming Bushwick Bill actually shows up this time, too…)

The Black Angels/Roky Erickson & the Hounds of Baskerville/Golden Animals @ Fitzgerald’s
And then, up on the other floor of Fitz, there’s a show that’s just as impressive, with Texas psych-folk-rock legend Roky Erickson & the Hounds of Baskerville unfurling his strange, tuneful, cracked songs alongside fellow Texans The Black Angels, who are themselves no slouches in the psych-rock department. The Angels, for their part, are a heck of a lot louder, and lately they make me think alternately of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Clinic, but neither of those is a bad thing.

Migrant Kids/B.E. Godfrey/I Am The Albatross @ Mango’s ($7)
A nice bill up at Mango’s tonight, too, with some seriously cool jangly/folky people doing their thing. I’m a big, big fan of Houston’s own B.E. Godfrey, whose debut solo album currently makes me think of a sharper-edged, more sardonic Willie Nelson (in a good way, don’t worry); expect a review of the album, um, as soon as I can whittle down my pile somewhat.

The headliners tonight are another band of Austinites, Migrant Kids — I haven’t heard a lot by them yet (mostly due to running out of time), but what I’ve heard so far has been damned nice, kind of reminiscent of a more raggedy Milk Carton Kids, with lots of delicate guitars and soft-spoken vocals.

Runners-Up:
Second Lovers/Lucas Eason and The Panhandlers @ MKT Bar (1001 Austin; 5-11PM)
Vertigo Blue/Via Voltage/Technicolor Hearts/BLSHS @ Notsuoh
Amplified Heat/Sideshow Tragedy/James Simm/Little Joe Washington @ The Continental Club
Writers in the Round, featuring Jeff Crowder, Paco Estrada, Ryan Holley, Justin Nava, Distant Lights, & DJ Ziebro @ Notsuoh ($10)
Krewe Du Blue Mardi Gras Kick-Off, featuring Sam Pace and the Gilded Grit, Electric Attitude, Platinum Players Zydeco Band, & Lil Brian and The Zydeco Travelers @ House of Blues
Amos Lee/Langhorne Slim @ Bayou Music Center
Kevin Taylor Hendrick/Mathew & the Arrogant Sea/Josiah Hall/Nathan Quick @ Rudyard’s
Espantapajaros/Locos Ajenos/Los Demo/72 Names/Triple @ Walter’s
Acous’mix Re*View, featuring Camille Beil, High Toned 2, & King Apollo @ Alley Kat Bar & Lounge
Steppin 4 A Heartbeat, featuring The King MC, DJ Supastar, DJ Shawney, & DJ Henry @ Stereo Live
6th & West/The Aftervibe/Vanilla Sugar @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)