Yr. (Early) Weekend, Pt. 1: Mid Main First Thursdays + PartyUp Prince Tribute + Sucré + Lomelda + Adam Bricks + Race to the Moon + More

Hey, people — yeah, I know it’s only Thursday, September 4th, but dangit, there’s stuff going on this evening, and I didn’t want to let it slide completely by.

Before I do that, though, I wanted to point a big-ass happy finger over at the {Free Press Houston} for their local show coverage as of late; writer David Garrick does a fine, fine job, and he’s a hell of a lot more timely than yours truly (see this week’s writeup for proof). Plus, he also talks up local comedy-type stuff, an area about which I’m completely ignorant, sadly… There’s been a big, big hole over there at FPH since Ramon stopped doing his writeups, so I’m very glad to see David picking up the slack & then some. Kudos to you, man.

Anyway, I’ll keep this as short as I can; here goes:

Mid Main First Thursdays: Benefiting Maker Education, featuring Nick Gaitan & The Umbrella Man, Elephant Yard, Reverbnation, Ivadawn, Beetle, Sarah Van Buskirk, & The Working Girls @ The Continental Club/The Alley Kat/Pachinko Hut/The Big Top/Natachee’s/The Art Garden (5-10PM)
Dammit, I will make it to one of these someday, I swear to God… I seriously love the whole Mid Main area of H-town, that quirky, arty strip of Main Street just south of too-trendy, too-crowded Midtown that’s home to The Continental Club, The Alley Kat, Sig’s Lagoon, and The Tinderbox, among other fine, fine establishments, and it makes me happy every time they get together for one of their First Thursday deals.

The shops throw open their doors, there’s drinks to be had, there’s art all around, and yes, there’s good, good music, courtesy of people like Nick Gaitan & The Umbrella Man and the utterly spellbinding {Sara Van Buskirk} — hell, I’d go just to see her, frankly. Plus, the whole thing’s a benefit for Maker Education, a nonprofit that does education programs at the excellent Houston Makerspace. Go, hang out, drink, listen, smile, feel good, all that stuff.

PartyUp: A Prince Tribute, featuring Dirty Minds (mem. of Wild Moccasins, Back to Back, & Rosette) & Hearts of Animals @ Alley Kat Bar & Lounge
Also, if you stay late at the aforementioned Alley Kat, you can roll straight on into PartyUp, a cool-sounding tribute to the Purple One himself, Prince. Cool-ass people will be interpreting Prince’s work all night, including {Hearts of Animals} and a group called Dirty Minds that consists of members of {The Wild Moccasins} and {Back To Back} (among other bands, I believe), and yes, you’re correct: that does sound pretty awesomely fun. Party like it’s 1999, y’all.

Sucré/The Honey Trees/Merriment @ Fitzgerald’s
Fitzgerald’s plays host tonight to Sucré, which is the solo deal of Stacy Dupree-King, who you probably know a bit better from her “other” band, Eisley. Dupree-King brings her glacial, ethereally gorgeous vocals over from her full-time gig, and marries them to gentle keys, playful guitars, and song structures that are somewhat less precious than Eisley’s generally tend to be — no slight to that band, mind you — drifting closer to the realm of more mainstream pop a la Kina Grannis. It’s delicate and sweet, but holds tight to a warm smile as it rolls along.

Lomelda/Adam Bricks/Tomten/Race to the Moon @ Mango’s ($5)
Last on the list is this cool one over at Mango’s tonight, where Waco band Lomelda will be rolling through town with their hazy, heartfelt indie-folk-ness, which kinda-sorta reminds me of Houston’s own The Literary Greats, albeit with vocal harmonies that bring to mind The Milk Carton Kids. Nice, nice, nice. They’re playing with one of my favorite local folkies, to boot, NYC-bred songwriter {Adam Bricks}, who’s far less pastoral and more urban-sounding — and no, I’m not just saying that because his most recent album’s called City Songs, but because he sounds like Bob Dylan back in his Village days — but who is pretty damn stellar.

Also on the bill are {Race to the Moon}, who happen to be damn, damn fine throwbacks to hyper-jangly ’90s indie-pop/rock; they come off like Sebadoh at points, The Posies at others, and Overwhelming Colorfast at others, and all three of those things make me freaking happy beyond belief. Get there early, alright?

Runners-Up:
Kinky Friedman/Bill Kirchen/Redd Volkaert @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Fortunate Youth/Ashes of Babylon/Cassette Tape/The Steppas/Ease Up @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
First Thursday Concert Series, featuring The Wheeler Brothers @ Heritage Place (Conroe)
Ruthie Foster @ Dosey Doe (The Woodlands)
Joe Ely @ Main Street Crossing (Tomball)