Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: 30footFALL + The Suspects + Jody Seabody & The Whirls + We Were Wolves + The Wandering Bufaleros + More

Dammit, dammit, dammit. I’m ridiculously late on this again, but in case you’re not already out and about, here’s what’s going on tonight (Saturday, August 30th) that I think sounds cool. Away we go:

30footFALL/The Suspects/Bury the Crown/Thrill @ Fitzgerald’s
The Number one show on this list includes two of my absolute-favorite bands ever, both of whom have been around pretty much the entire time I’ve been paying attention to music in our fair city. {30footFALL} are poppy punk (although not really “pop-punk,” per se) legends around these parts, and for good reason — I caught ’em at FPSF a couple of years ago, and despite some gray hairs and added wrinkles, they hadn’t missed a step since I first saw ’em in college, waaaaay back in the mid-’90s. They’re like Houston’s answer to NOFX, but with less goofiness and big-picture politics and a far better frontman (sorry, Fat Mike) in Butch Klotz.

Then there’s {The Suspects}, about whom I’ve raved a few times (okay, more than a few) over the years. They’ve long been and still are H-town’s best ska band, hands down, and in my book, they’re one of the best ska bands I’ve ever had the privilege of hearing and seeing. No, seriously; I saw them open for a number of big-name Third Wave bands over the years, including several from the Moon Records stable, and The Suspects wiped the floor with ’em every time.

Oh, and by the way, it seems to reason for this show — which the bands are calling their Back To School Bash — is because Butch from 30footFALL has finally moved back to Houston from Virginia, where he’s spent most of the last decade. And the band’s started recording a new album, their first in four years. Hot damn, y’all.

Jody Seabody & The Whirls (7″ release) @ Heights Vinyl (7PM)
Argh. Alright, so I really needed to post about this earlier, because the whole thing started at 7PM — hopefully the Jody Seabody & The Whirls guys are still playing. Tonight up at Heights Vinyl is the official release of the guys’ brand-new 7″, Some Witch (out on Artificial Head Records), which I’ve been looking forward to hearing for a little while now.

If you’re not familiar with the band, you really should be; they’re one of a small, small number of bands I’ve heard in recent years who can take a throwback, ’70s-ish classic rock sound and make it truly their own, without coming off like just another retread. Live they’re loud but hazy and wide-grinning at the same time, although what I’ve heard of the new record, title track “Some Witch,” they’ve gotten rougher around the edges lately, almost with a little bit of a punk edge to it. Even if you miss ’em tonight (sorry, guys!), you really need to hear ’em, and soon.

We Were Wolves/Perdition/Action Frank/Fat Mannequin @ Warehouse Live (Green Room)
Over at Warehouse Live, then, Sailor Jerry Rum is sponsoring a cool-ass show with some good, good bands, notably transplanted Beaumont band {We Were Wolves}, who with the release this spring of their debut full-length, Wolf House, lunged upwards into my list of favorite bands.

They’re raw and rowdy, loud as hell and roaring through a pile of unrelentingly rawk tunes; they remind me of Red Fang at points, Early Man at others, and Federation X at still others. They’re full-on and a whole lot of fucking fun, seriously. Hell, don’t listen to me; just watch and gape in open-mouthed amazement at the video for “Space Whip,” right here:

Horse Police/Field of Bronze/The Wandering Bufaleros/Sydney Harkreader @ The Continental Club
Last but not least, I’m psyched to see {The Wandering Bufaleros} out and about again and playing at The Continental Club. I saw ’em on that very stage not long ago, as part of Madness on Main Street, and was pretty damn blown away by the band; they were tight as hell, all obviously very, very talented musicians (which makes sense, since the Bufaleros are basically a supergroup of H-town roots-rock musicians), but beyond that, they all looked like they were having fun up there, just grinning and playing and cracking off-mic jokes to one another as each song rolled along.

Watching ’em play felt like being at a party where a bunch of musician friends just happen to get up there and start playing songs for the hell of it, except that they turn out to be freaking fantastic. Get over to the Continental soon to catch both them and {Sydney Harkreader}, who’s pretty darn good herself, alright?

Runners-Up:
Benefit Show for Danny G.A.M.C., featuring Folsom, Sudden Death, Vulgar Display, Snake Way, Blunt, & Regulate @ Walter’s (6:30PM; $15)
Basketball Shorts/Big Bill/Kosé/Holder @ Mango’s
The Official Labor Day Concert, featuring Z-Ro, Mike D, Just Brittany, & more @ Warehouse Live
Legion/The Nephilim Terror/Aggravator/Nihilist @ Fitzgerald’s
G. Love & Special Sauce/Keb’ Mo’ @ House of Blue
Folk Family Revival @ Woody’s Beach Bar (Galveston)
Carolyn Wonderland @ Memorial Park (Freeport)
Dimefest 8 Houston: Benefit for the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, featuring Powderburn, Epic, Immortal Guardian, & more @ BFE Rock Club
Harry Chrisman/Piper Jones @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly/Patti LaBelle/Ruben Studdard @ Toyota Center