Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: A Sundae Drive + Catch Fever + The Suffers + DJ Shadow + Cut Chemist + ’90s Burned Out + More

Alright, y’all — I’m still feeling like hell, but I’m at least vertical now (relatively, anyway), and I didn’t want to not mention the cool things going on this evening, Saturday, September 20th. I may have to keep the blather brief, but here we go, either way:

A Concert to Benefit Westside Homeless Partnership, featuring A Sundae Drive, PuraPharm, Thanks For Socializing, Catch Fever, Fire Moth, Colonel Peter’s Pig, Super Robot Party, & Jaeger Wells @ Notsuoh (5PM-2AM; $8)
First on the list — and most crucial of the bunch, for reasons that’ll hopefully be really obvious — is this benefit deal set up by Scott Sofer‘s excellent, excellent Charity Gigs group, which sets up shows with local bands specifically to raise money/awareness for various charities and nonprofits. It’s a damn fine idea, and one I seriously want to see continue on for a good long while.

Of course, having a great lineup helps. And they’ve definitely got that going tonight, with indie-dream-pop cool folks {A Sundae Drive}, gritty blues-rockers {Fire Moth}, quirky oddballs {Super Robot Party}, dark, moody rockers {PuraPharm}, and excellent, sleek, almost Brit-rock-ish band {Catch Fever}. I’ve seen the first and last of those bands, and trust me, the two of them alone would be worth seeing, right there. Tonight’s show is a benefit for the Westside Homeless Partnership, which helps out homeless families in Houston, primarily in the Spring Branch area; a good, good cause, if you ask me. Good music, good cause — what more do you want?

Untapped Houston Indoor Party, featuring The Suffers @ 8th Wonder Brewery (2202 Dallas; 6-9PM, free!)
As most folks probably already know, yes, the Untapped Festival that was supposed to happen today down at Discovery Green didn’t, thanks to the torrential rain we’ve had all week; I’m guessing the Green is pretty much a swamp right now, and the festival organizers and park administrators didn’t want to destroy the place by having a bunch of beer/music fans tromp all over it. Pretty understandable, but definitely a bummer.

Still, the Untapped Houston organizers are doing what they can to not leave us all hanging, and part of that is a free party tonight up at 8th Wonder Brewery, where awesome soul-reggae-rocksteady outfit {The Suffers} — who you need to hear, if you haven’t already — will be doing their damnedest to make you forget all about those other bands that were scheduled to play today. I’ve seen them play, and believe me, once they get rolling, you’ll be all, “Toadies who? Weren’t they that band from the ’90s?” (If you weren’t already doing that, obviously.)

Plus, after that the Suffers do their thing, you can follow Kam Franklin on down to the MKT Bar for the Untapped Karaoke Party that’ll be there starting around 10:30PM (the same one we’d previously mentioned as the official Untapped after-party), and which might also include expat Houston troubadour {Robert Ellis} as co-host. It may not be a full day of brews and tunes, but hey, it ain’t bad.

DJ Shadow/Cut Chemist/Edan & Paten Locke @ House of Blues
Over at the House of Blues, too, there’s a very cool, once-in-a-lifetime event happening, with DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist‘s joint Renegades of Rhythm tour. The tour’s meant to celebrate the work of Afrika Bambaataa, one of the earliest progenitors of hip-hop, and that means the duo is hauling around and performing with Bambaataa’s own personal vinyl collection, which, I’ve gotta say, is as close as you can get to a bona-fide treasure trove of vinyl and which undoubtedly contains some awesome gems nobody else has ever gotten a hold of. Vinyl heads, this is for you.

Besides, hell, this is DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist we’re talking about, here. Afrika Bambaataa may be one of the founding fathers of hip-hop, but Shadow and Chemist are themselves two of the founding fathers of modern EDM, and that’s nothing to sneeze at, either.

’90s Burned Out, featuring Hayden Jones, Shadow Hound, Thrill, & Craig Kinsey @ Fitzgerald’s
Last but certainly not least, Fitzgerald’s tonight is hosting the latest edition of the Burned Out series of cover/tribute/whatever parties, and it promises to be a lot of fun. It’s hosted by the Reverend himself, {Craig Kinsey}, aka The Only Guy I’ve Ever Met in Person Who Can Pull Off a Top Hat, and the theme is The ’90s, that decade where yours truly did most of his growing up.

Expect all your favorite — and probably not-favorite — tunes from that era, as performed by {Hayden Jones}, {Shadow Hound}, and Thrill, with Kinsey as the MC. Not sure what all’s on the playlist, but the poster over teases that there’ll be stuff by The Cardigans, Third Eye Blind, and Nirvana, so that’s already casting a pretty wide net, if you ask me. Get on up there and have a blast reliving your misspent youth, eh?

Runners-Up:
Honoring the Life of Josh “Justice” Fergeson: Memorial Show to Benefit the Fergeson Family, featuring Iron Age, My Luck, Pride Kills, Your Mistake, & Goon Life @ Walter’s ($10)
Gritsy, featuring Mala, Hannya, Suraj K, Upgreyed, Baud Optics, E Cube, & MC Gray @ XL (213 Milam)
RUN HOU, featuring Hollywood FLOSS, J. Austin, Rob Jay, & Kidd The Great @ Fitzgerald’s
Praia Urbana, featuring Pirupa, Gonzalo Menoyo, Ape Drums, Alex Sibley, Alex Clavijo, Bobby Blyss, Steven Towers, Little Martin, Charles Bell, Joe Ross, Athenz, & David Ubel @ Last Concert Cafe (2-11PM)
Amazing Lights, featuring Surain, Leerx, JKB, Vance Lawrence, Albert Fix, DJ Cruz, DJ Carlos, DJ Ramping, Tim Vz, & Coquet @ Stereo Live
The Official Blues Brothers Revue @ The Grand 1894 Opera House (Galveston)