Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Race to the Moon + The Ones You Loved + Lower Life Form + Silverstein + Secrets + Frida Festival + Kool & the Gang + More

Hey, folks — it’s Friday once again, so you know what that means: perenially-late show writeups for the evening (which is April 11th, by the way). There’s a fair amount of cool stuff going on, but before we get to that, I just wanted to mention that tonight’s Pure X show that was supposed to be up at Fitzgerald’s has, sadly, been canceled. No word on why, but there you go.

Now, for stuff that is still happening, here we go:

Race to the Moon/The Ones You Loved/The Clergy/1st Ward Sounds @ Notsuoh ($3/$8)
My current favorite of the pile tonight is this show up at the venerable Notsuoh, which is a nice showcase of indie-pop/rock-ish sounds. It’s a release party of sorts for {Race to the Moon}, who do a nicely ’90s-flavored kind of pop-rock with lots of sharp/jangly guitars, sweet melodies and are releasing their brand-new single today, “Burned Out,” with B-side “Take It”. Trust me when I tell you it’s very cool; I’m psyched to hear more from these guys, and soon. And hey, you can take a listen for yourself:

They’re playing with also-cool Dallas band The Ones You Loved, who are far more on the poptronic side of things, coming off like a multi-gendered Lisa’s Sons or a goofier, nerdier, more self-aware Freelance Whales (with, um, a serious fixation on owls and Dungeons & Dragons). Which, yes, is also a good thing. Take a look/listen:

Get over there now, alright?

21 Hump Street Album Release Party, featuring Screwtape, Randlerose, Lower Life Form, & The Low Live @ Big Star Bar (1005 W. 19th St.)
And speaking of release parties… Longtime hip-hop crew {Lower Life Form} are releasing a new album tonight, an effort which is entitled 21 Hump Street because of course it is. I’ve gotten to take a listen, though, and it’s pretty damn impressive — the band’s kind of a holdover from that too-brief era in hip-hop when live bands were a thing, and the fact that The Roots are pretty much the last group standing like that category makes me sad as hell.

Luckily for me, Lower Life Form falls in that same vein, merging a freaking talented band with streetwise lyrics and creative beats; the result makes me think of Mos Def fronting a jazz band. And best of all, they get some help from soul queen Kam Franklin on at least a couple of tracks, which is always cool by me. As a bonus, fellow locals {Screwtape} are also playing; they’re a hybrid rap-rock band that includes rapper {Nosaprise}, and they’re pretty damn cool themselves.

blessthefall/Silverstein/The Amity Affliction/Secrets/Heartist @ Fitzgerald’s
And hey, if you’re seriously in need of a heavy, melodic, post-emo guitar rock fix, well, here’s where you need to be. I’m only intrigued by headliners blessthefall, I’m afraid to say, but I like Silverstein quite a bit; they were once part of that first post-emo band rush, and I didn’t honestly figure they’d be one of the old-timers by this point, y’know? But hey, they do guitar-heavy melodic rock pretty damn well. Plus, I really like what I’ve heard of Secrets, who are one of the newest (I think?) generation of bands like the original post-emo gang.

Down side? I think the show may be sold out. Sorry, y’all…

9th Annual Frida Festival, featuring lots of music & dancing @ East End Studio Gallery (708 Telephone; 6PM)
Yeah, I know this started a while ago, now, but it still sounds cool — it’s over at the East End Studio Gallery, and it’s a celebration of the life and work of Frida Kahlo, one of the most important artists of the last century, and there’s lots of Mexican folk dances and artwork, plus a Frida lookalike contest (so glue that unibrow on, eh?). I like stuff like this a whole heck of a lot; it’s an art opening, sure, and a cultural event, but one that doesn’t take itself anywhere near seriously…

Kool & the Gang @ Bayou Music Center
And finally, there’s this show over at the Bayou Music Center, with funk legends Kool & the Gang (who you know, trust me, even if you think you don’t). The show’s a benefit, actually, supporting a group called Children At Risk, which works to fight human trafficking, among other things; that makes it a double win in my book, especially since Kool & the Gang are freaking classic. If you don’t love “Jungle Boogie,” “Celebration,” “Get Down on It,” “Ladies’ Night,” or “Funky Stuff,” then we are not friends (um, I’ll give you a pass if you’re not a fan of “Cherish,” though; ah, the ’80s).

Runners-Up:
Dirty Bourbon River/Craig Kinsey Band/Little Joe Washington @ The Continental Club
Slick Rick/Rich Williams/ACRE/Kyle Hubbard @ Warehouse Live (Studio)
Double Vision Birthday Booze-Up, featuring Tan Dragon Clan, Yello Echo, Vanity Crimes, GENERATION:landslide, The High Plains Drifters, & Silver Blueberry @ Avant Garden
Abigail Williams/Cardinal/The Nephilim Terror/Irreconcilable Suffering/Sleep Labs @ Walter’s
Bury The Crown/Sans Euphoria @ Rudyard’s
Makj/Oz De Funk/Bizz @ Limelight (2401 San Jacinto)