Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: The Phlegmatics + Valens + Darwin’s Finches + Hear You Me + Dustin Prinz + Yetlanezi + Dokken + More

Alright, y’all — here we are again, attempting to do our happy-little Yr. Weekend writeups; hopefully this weekend my laptop won’t decide to die on me (glad it was recoverable, at least). Anyway, there’s plenty of great stuff going on, starting tonight, Friday, June 27th. Away we go:

The Phlegmatics/Love Knife/Metacrisis @ BFE Rock Club
First up, I dunno much about most of the folks playing up at BFE Rock Club tonight, but I do know {The Phlegmatics}, and holy fucking hell, are they great. Smart, insanely melodic, Weezer-/The Stereo-/Cheap Trick-tinged power pop with full-on guitars and songs about D&D, stalking, Homerian epics, and — obviously — girls. They’ve grown up a bit, apparently, as evidenced by last year’s stellar Life Is Better with a Soundtrack, but their no-fucks-given outlook and great songwriting is still fully intact.

Beyond all that, though, these guys don’t play more than a couple of times a year at most, so this show is technically more rare than a sighting of Sasquatch. Get on up to Jones Rd. to catch a glimpse.

Hear You Me/Valens/Darwin’s Finches @ Walter’s
Good, good, kinda-strange lineup at Walter’s this evening, featuring one of my favorite new-ish bands of the past couple of years, {Valens}, who firmly and defiantly dwell in that realm of Braid-esque, twisty-yet-melodic emo-rock that I love so damn much. If you haven’t heard the Angleton-bred band yet (and you’re at all into late-’90s emo, in particular), you truly need to check these guys out, and quick. Here’s a taste, from their recently-released Sessions at The Hive: 2013-2014:

They’re playing with Galveston-dwellers Darwin’s Finches, who bring the “kinda-strange” bit to the initial description above. I really like these guys, and haven’t given ’em nearly they attention they deserve, but trust me when I say that they’re quirky and loud in the best way possible, countrified and raggedy but not “country” and smelling distinctly of refinery sludge. They’re like G-Town’s answer to the Butthole Surfers, and I mean that as a compliment.

Headlining the night is {Hear You Me}, who also have their oddball moments themselves, but who dwell in more of a punkish indie-rock area that’s halfway between Pavement’s slacker-hood and Superchunk’s buzzing melodicism. I need to hear more of these guys, definitely.

Dustin Prinz @ Dunn Brothers Coffee (Friendswood)
Been meaning to post something about this guy for a while now, and seeing as Dustin Prinz is in town the next couple of days (he’s also playing The Tasting Room in Uptown Park tomorrow), I figured it was time. The Oklahoma-based Prinz is one of those maddening people who can not only play their chosen instrument like a fucking wizard, but they write awesome songs, to boot. He plays mostly-acoustic folk-pop that transcends the label by being smart as hell and incorporating a ton of ridiculously technical guitar work; if you’ve never seen it before now, watch his (excellent to begin with) song “You + Me = Drugs,” below, and prepare to feel your mind pop like a balloon:

Yetlanezi @ MECA Dow Auditorium (8PM)
A bit of an oddball show over at MECA tonight, too, in the East End. The duo Yetlanezi takes indigenous Mexican/pre-Columbian instrumentation and uses it to make music that’s solidly in the modern era and wildly addictive, to boot. I haven’t listened to a whole lot yet, unfortunately, but what I have heard makes me think of Daft Punk if they eschewed keys and electronic drums in favor of instruments made of logs and sticks. It’s surprisingly funky, so much so it’s hard not to move when you listen, but at the same time otherworldly and spiritual. Whoa. Listen for yourself:

Blackhorse Limo Free Concert Series, featuring Dokken, Warrant, & Firehouse @ Warehouse Live (free w/RSVP!)
Last but not least, if you work real quickly, you can check out a full slate of late-’80s (and now somewhat aged) hair metal over at Warehouse Live, for free. The show is courtesy of the Blackhorse Limo folks, and you have to RSVP to them at the link I just included to be able to go.

And hey, why not? Granted, it’s Warrant without Jani Lane (R.I.P.), which sucks, but I still have a warm spot in my soul for Dokken. And Firehouse…well, okay, I never really liked that band, sorry. But two out of three ain’t bad, especially for free…

Runners-Up:
Vertigo Blue TM/Frank./DJ Kool Emdee @ Notsuoh ($5/$10)
The Foreign Exchange @ Fitzgerald’s
MFAH Mixed Media, featuring Lunice, DJ Sun, Gracie Chavez & Navó, John the Third, & The New Mercies @ Museum of Fine Arts Houston (1001 Bissonnet; 8PM-12AM)
Sussy Summer Fest, featuring Dress Code, BadXRat, Primal League, Sketch Driven, Drown, Gain, Blunt, & New Rules @ Mango’s
Goo Goo Dolls/Daughtry/Plain White T’s @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Everything Is Bigger In Texas Showcase, featuring Shadows Before Us, Sins of the Sinless, An Oath of Misdirection, What Lies Behind, Air Or Ivory, & Buried Beneath @ Acadia Bar & Grill
Skin In The Game Street Fest, featuring BoomBaptist, Proflogik, Ikabod Bum, Android Genius, Eversive, Eroda One, & MOTD @ 8th Wonder Brewery (2202 Dallas)