Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Quiet Company (Does Weezer) + J. Roddy Walston + The New Mercies + Save Nance House + Handguns + More

Running late, as always, but yep, it’s Saturday, July 19th, and just like yesterday, there’s a ton of stuff happening tonight. I’m at home nursing a sore back after foolishly spending all day digging up the front yard, but here’s where you should be:

Quiet Company (playing all of Weezer’s Pinkerton)/Austin Jones Band @ Walter’s
The top of the list tonight, without question, is this show over at Walter’s. Austinites Quiet Company are coming through town once again, and this time they’re doing something a little different from their past shows: rather than play their own songs, they’re playing all of Weezer‘s weird-yet-classic second album Pinkerton, from end to end. Which would have me hopping up and down in excitement, actually, if I weren’t in so damn much pain at the moment, because I’m a huge fan of both QC and Pinkerton.

It is a little sad that the band’s not doing its own songs, mind you, because they truly are phenomenal; since first hearing their 2012 release, We Are All Where We Belong, Taylor Muse and his cohorts have been solidly cemented into my list of Favorite Bands Ever. They’re smart and literate even while cutting their collective hearts wide open for all to see, and they can write a ridiculous hook, seriously. I can say without hyperbole that they’re one of the best pop bands you’re likely to ever hear.

Get up there now to catch opening act the Austin Jones Band, by the way; this bunch of local H-towners anthemic and melodic, loud and rocking with hints of old-school emo and ’90s alternarock peeking out from behind the curtain. They remind me of fellow (but long-gone) Houstonians Stadium in the way they do those overlapping harmony vocals, and hey, that’s no bad company to be in.

94.5 The Buzz Weenie Roast, featuring Stone Temple Pilots with Chester Bennington, Blue October, 10 Years, Semi Precious Weapons, & J. Roddy Walston & the Business @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Yeah, I know — if you’re going to be at The Buzz Weenie Roast, you’re already there and are probably already half-dead from heat exhaustion, so you don’t need me to tell you to get out there, right? Even still, I wanted to point an excited finger at J. Roddy Walston & the Business, who are one of the baddest-ass, grittiest roots-rock bands I’ve ever seen ever.

The New Mercies/Fat Tony (DJ set)/Make/Def Perception/Pleasure 2/Nikkhoo + P.L.X.T.X @ Fitzgerald’s
Cool things happening at Fitzgerald’s tonight, as almost always, with the release for the new EP Activated, {The New Mercies}, aka Lucas Gorham of {Grandfather Child} doing his new solo stuff. Which sounds pretty awesome so far, at least to me — Gorham’s gone from blues-soul to more straight-up funky soul/R&B, albeit with a quirky electronic side to it, and the result is like Prince as produced by Daft Punk (and yes, that needs to happen, Universe; make it so, alright?). Check it out.

And while you’re at it, check out the other cool folks playing, like ear-shredding digital hardcore one-man-band {P.L.X.T.X}, {Pleasure 2} (which I’m told is the newest project by Tex of {Indian Jewelry}, and a DJ set by {Fat Tony}, all of whom are cool, cool, cool.

Save the Nance House, featuring P.L.X.T.X, The Bad Drugs, VYSC, Elver is Gone, Keno Sims, Giant Battle Monster, Old Soul, FAG Nazi, & Thundertank @ The Nance House (1503 Nance)
Raise your fists, people (and, um, make sure they’re full of money), because newish DIY show venue The Nance House (which you may also know as The Ponderosa) needs your help. They apparently are running short on funds to get the space up and running, which is a damn shame, because it seems like Houston’s had a definite lack of low-key show spaces of late, and I seriously hope they can get this one kicked-off. So hey, go help ’em, alright? They’ve got some cool folks playing, too, like math-prog-noise guys {Giant Battle Monster}, punks {The Bad Drugs} and the aforementioned P.L.X.T.X (who I guess will be running over to Nance after his Fitz appearance?).

Hundredth/Counterparts/Handguns/Being As An Ocean/Capsize/My Iron Lung @ Fitzgerald’s
Dunno a lot of the folks playing on the other floor of Fitz tonight, I’m afraid, but I have listened a fair bit to Pennsylvanian pop-punk band Handguns over the last few months, and I’ve been pretty damn impressed. They play melodic, punkish rock that never really drifts over the line into metalcore (thankfully) and never outstays its welcome — get in, get out, BOOM, done. Which is right up my alley.

Runners-Up:
Disfrutalo!/Devil Killing Moth/March to the Sea/The Snow Indian @ Rudyard’s
10,000 Maniacs/Emily Elbert @ Dosey Doe (The Woodlands)
Otonana Trio/Mantra Love/Silk Knives/Mother Ghost/Jaeger Wells @ Notsuoh ($5/$10)
Cop Warmth/RU-486/Funeral Parlor/Garbage Mask/Tessa Mawarty Assari/Heel In Mouth/Phoenix Diamond @ Mango’s
H-Town’s Next Up, featuring OG Ron C, Chopstars, & more @ Warehouse Live (Green Room)
Star Trek: Into Darkness, featuring The Houston Symphony @ Jones Hall
Gritsy, featuring Distance, Megalodon, Bukez Finezt, Matty G, Huy Cao, John the Third, Suraj K, Upgreyed, & Full Effect MC @ Warehouse Live
A Really Kool Party, Vol. 3, featuring Mr.V & Bombon @ The Flat (1701 Commonwealth)
Folk Family Revival @ Redneck Country Club (Stafford)