Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Death Threat + Will to Live + Creepers + Children of Pop + Jamestown Revival + Nikki Lane + Sebastian Bach + Theremin Fest + D.R.I. + More

Well, damn. There is a massive pile of good-sounding things happening tonight, so many that I’m only going to be able to scratch the surface, I’m afraid. And I’m late getting started, besides, after helping my dear wife set up for the ornament-exchange party from which I’ve been exiled… Here’s a quick blast of what I think sound like the coolest shows of the pile:

Fallcore 2014, featuring Death Threat, Will to Live, Snakeway, Black Coffee, Common Ignorance, Dress Code, & United Races @ Walter’s (6:30PM; $10)
First off, tonight’s the first night of the now-venerable Fallcore fest over at Walter’s, and just as it does every year, this year the fest boasts a heck of a lineup of raw, heavy hardcore, metalcore, and noise-rock. Connecticut hardcore heroes Death Threat top the bill tonight, playing a seriously old-school style of hardcore that’ll sound pretty familiar to fans of the Northeast-style ’90s sound — which makes sense, considering the band was formed by a couple of dudes who used to be in Hatebreed.

Beyond that, there’s metalcore icons {Will to Live}, still as rough and as uncompromising as ever. I’d forgotten they released a new EP last year, actually, and now that I’ve had a little time to listen to it, I wish I’d done it sooner, because Old Habits Die Hard is pretty damn awesome. They’re joined by fellow locals {Black Coffee}, who I also like a hell of a lot; still haven’t seen ’em live, dammit…

Children of Pop/SHMU (mem. of Zorch)/Creepers (mem. of Deafheaven)/Whit/Demonic Hen @ House of Creeps (807 William)
Over at the House of Creeps is another cool-looking lineup, one that kind of straddles the line between noisy rock and pop. There’s excellent local electro-popsters {Children of Pop}, who are great, but there’s also the moodier, murkier, significantly heavier Creepers, which is a side project of some of the guys from Deafheaven and sounds like that band if they were covering Radiohead or something.

Speaking of side projects, the show also includes SHMU, which is Sam Chown, drummer of Austin two-man band Zorch, now forging out on his own and getting more funky and (believe it or not) quirky than with his “real” band (and playing bass and keys and singing, BTW, rather than being stuck behind a drumkit). It’s intriguing, strangely alluring stuff.

Jamestown Revival/Nikki Lane/Pete Molinari @ Fitzgerald’s
Fitzgerald’s tonight has another good one, this time with multiple artists I’ve recently gotten into. The headliners are Jamestown Revival, a band that hails originally from Magnolia, apparently, and that plays jangly, gorgeously-harmonized Americana-pop; they’re kind of like a cross between fellow Magnolians Folk Family Revival and The Milk Carton Kids, and damn, they do it well.

Then there’s Nikki Lane, whose lazy drawl brings to mind a sleepier, more countrified Neko Case, but with more of a trad-country underpinning like that of somebody like Miss Leslie. She threw me off a bit at first, but once the songs got their hooks in me, I couldn’t escape.

Sebastian Bach @ The Concert Pub North
Yes, you’re reading that right. The one-and-only Sebastia Bach is in town tonight, rocking the hell out of The Concert Pub North. Okay, stop laughing; no, really, stop, because I’ve gotta say, the guy’s new album, Give ‘Em Hell, well…it’s not bad.

In fact, it’s actually pretty darn good, and trust me, I did not think I’d be saying that, not at all. But there it is; Bach can still sing, surprisingly enough, far better than a lot of his remaining contemporaries from the ’80s hair-metal wave, and even better, the songs themselves are freaking catchy and appropriately crunchy and solid. Again: not what I’d expected to be saying about this show. Hey, you never know…

Theremin Festival, featuring Rob Schwimmer, The Pretty Lady and the Electronic Musicians screening, & Thereminist Downtown Tour @ 14 Pews (800 Aurora)
I talked about this a bit yesterday, so I won’t go over the whole thing again, but this is Night #2 of the Theremin Festival being put on over at 14 Pews this year as part of the Bayou Music and Film Festival. It’s a full-on celebration of the theremin, and frankly, I think that’s awesome. Tonight features a screening of The Pretty Lady and the Electronic Musicians, which is apparently a short animated film that involves theremin-like instruments, and then there’s a performance by theremin master Rob Schwimmer, who I’m told is a hell of a performer.

D.R.I./Owl Witch/Thraxis/Gallion/Legion @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
And last but not least, this one wins because I’ve still got a soft spot in my heart for late-’80s skate thrash; I was too much of a klutz to be a skater, but I was a fan back in the day of anything that was heavy and fast, and yeah, I went through a serious skate-thrash phase. When I moved to Houston, ironically, I had no idea D.R.I. were from here at all, although I was a big fan of the band; I’m happy beyond words to see they’re still touring and playing…

Runners-Up:
Atomic Opera (reunion!)/Kemper Crabb/Dane Sonnier @ Fitzgerald’s
Talk Sick Brats/Alimanas/Zero Heros/Silver Blueberry/Screech of Death @ Black Barbie (3621 Canal)
Rosanne Cash @ The Clarion at Brazosport College (Brazosport)
Preservation Hall Jazz Band @ Jones Hall
Nikki Hill with The Belmont Four/Picture Book @ The Continental Club
Velostacks/Living Dolls/Vatos Locos @ Rudyard’s
Junior Brown @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Nina Diaz/The Skatastrophics/Elyse/Ashley Franklin @ Eastdown Warehouse
House Party, featuring GRRRL Parts, Angie Audio, Bombon DJs, G8oh8, & DJ Hyro @ Avant Garden
13th Sky/Brumes/DJ Hex/DJ Deathchurch @ Mango’s
Jessica Hernandez and The Deltas/Jenny and The Reincarnation/Moji @ Warehouse Live (Green Room)
Battle of the Beats, featuring Parker Clark vs. Seb & Valko, Kaito vs. Vance Lawrence, DJ Ambition vs. 2t0ne, Leerx vs. Sam Thompson DJ RN, RIP vs. Jerry Wellner, Albert Fix vs. Mitch Fu, BRKLW vs. Lost Prophet, & Tim Vz vs. Joe Dubstick @ Stereo Live
We Do It For The Love, featuring Henry Chow, Sasha Braverman, & Noey Lopez @ The Alley Kat
Urbindex/Broken Keys/Man-of-the-Downtrodden/REZ/Eroda One/android genius @ Notsuoh
Drowning Pool/Inner Image/The Black 13/Aramite/Awaken The Siren/Citta @ BFE Rock Club
Texas Johnny Boy @ The Big Easy
Benefit for Child Advocates, featuring The Gift Remains The Same @ The Concert Pub North