Yr. (Late) Weekend, Pt. 1: Knights of the Fire Kingdom + Holder + Ex-Optimists + Midnight Norma Lane + Ian Moore + Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks + More

Argh, argh, argh. Running very late today, and as a result, a whole hell of a lot of things have gotten dropped, including the show rundown for tonight, Friday, March 7th. Sorry about that, y’all; there’s still to get out there, though, so here’s where to jump in the car & go right damn now:

Knights of the Fire Kingdom/Holder/Ex-Optimists/Midnight Norma Lane @ Fitzgerald’s
Alright, people: go here now. There, I said it; this is hands-down the best damn show going tonight, and I’m kicking myself already for not being able to be there. Get there quick, too, so you’ll be in time to catch the fuzzed-out, oddly sharp-edged shoegaze roar of {Midnight Norma Lane} and College Station-dwelling ’90s indie-rock revivalists The Ex-Optimists (who, by the by, are damn cool dudes, too).

Then there’s emo throwbacks {Holder}, which is at least two of the guys from long-dead scene icons {The Tie That Binds}, and which is one hell of a great band in itself, and lastly, the night’s headliners, the should-be-legendary {Knights of the Fire Kingdom}. I’m not sure I can fully articulate how much I love this freaking band; they’re like all of the best rough-edged indie-rock/punk bands from back in the ’90s, ripped into metallic shreds of wire and then all wound up into one solid, heavy, unfuckwithable ball of awesome. Think Rocket From The Crypt, think Squirrel Bait, think Drive Like Jehu, think Jawbreaker, think The Pixies, and you’ll kind of get the idea.

They’ve got a real-live full-length coming out soon(?), by the by — yes, I’ve heard it, and yes, it’s fucking great. Get up to Fitzgerald’s, immediately. Alright?

Ian Moore & The Lossy Coils/Buenos Diaz @ The Continental Club
Okay, okay, so maybe raw-throated, guitars-in-your-face ’90s rawk isn’t for everybody. In that case, I’d seriously recommend checking out The Continental Club tonight to catch Ian Moore & The Lossy Coils.

I’d only ever heard of Moore since my first days of living in this city a couple of decades ago, but my wife’s a fan and had raved about him for years, so as a special treat a month or two ago, I took her to Haven for their (apparently) annual dinner-and-a-concert with Ian Moore himself. Turns out the guy’s good friends with chef Randy Evans, so they cooked up this dinner thing, and I honestly walked away stuned (and very, very full, to boot). With just his guitar and a mandolin(?)-playing cohort, Moore turned the restaurant into something like VH1’s Storytellers, only much cooler, roaming the room singing and playing and telling tales and explaining songs.

And yeah, it was phenomenal. I generally think it’s the height of pretentiousness to hear a songwriter ramble on about what a particular song means right before they play the damn thing, but in Moore’s case, it was just plain fascinating; it was really more like observing a master class on how to write a perfect song, and watching and hearing him do what he does bowled me over. I’m guessing it’s a little bit different with his band and his more “rock” songs, but even still, I’m betting this’ll be amazing.

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks/Purling Hiss @ Fitzgerald’s
And actually, now that I’m thinking about it, tonight’s really all about the ’90s, so why not cap it off with the kind of indie-slacker-rock, Stephen Malkmus? I’ll freely admit that yeah, I was hot-and-cold on Pavement when they were around — I was more in the Superchunk/Sebadoh camp, myself, and for whatever reason, Malkmus and his friends never quite clicked for me back then.

With a little distance, though, sometimes it comes into focus, and these days I’m finding myself appreciating Pavement’s loose-limbed quirkiness a whole hell of a lot more than I ever did back then. Granted, this isn’t Pavement, right here — it’s Malkmus’ “new” band, The Jicks, but y’know, it’s still That Guy with That Voice, so I’m thinking it won’t be too far removed from “Cut Your Hair” or “Gold Soundz”…although hey, I could be wrong. Either way, it’ll be worth seeing/hearing.

Runners-Up:
Buddy Guy/Ana Popovic @ House of Blues
Narrow Head/Prayer Chain/Fairlane/Chemistry/Valens @ Mango’s ($5; 7PM)
Mojave Red/Quiet Morning & The Calamity/Little Ghost/Shellee Coley/Maryanna Sokol @ Notsuoh ($5/$10)
DIT Fest 3, featuring IPV, Electric Sleep, Fifi The Virgin, These Are Your Parents, & Golden Sombrero @ Super Happy Fun Land
Deep Ella/Joseph King/three33 @ Rudyard’s
Puppet/Worst Nightmare/Wayword/Ensane/Kloanoa/Justin @ Notsuoh