Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: Knights of the Fire Kingdom + Grizzly + Brand New Hearts + Young Mammals + Young Girls + Mustard Plug + Dan Potthast + Ian Moore + More

Getting a late start on this, unfortunately; it’s Saturday, December 13th, and it’s been a Christmas-y kind of day with the fam, so I’ve been offline for most of it… Which sucks, because there is a shit-ton of good stuff happening tonight. It’s not too late, though, so here’s a quick rundown of what I think looks/sounds cool:

Charity Gigs Toy Drive, featuring Knights of the Fire Kingdom, Only Beast, Brand New Hearts, & Grizzly Band @ Rudyard’s
This one wins not only because the bands themselves are awesome, but also because it’s a truly, truly great cause. The Charity Gigs folks have put together another benefit show, and it’s excellent; it’s a toy drive for disadvantaged kids, and that’s never a bad thing to me.

Back to the first part, though: {Knights of the Fire Kingdom} is utterly awesome, a full-on rawk blast that brings to mind Rocket From The Crypt, Red Fang, and Drive Like Jehu all at once; {Only Beast} do some truly cool Sleater-Kinney-esque indie-/gloom-rock; {Grizzly} play badass roots-rock; and {Brand New Hearts} plays old-school power-pop that’s impossible to resist. Do. It.

Young Mammals/Young Girls/Major Major Major/Sand Dunes/Seize the Beat DJs @ The Summit (3536 Navigation)
Cool, cool, cool show at The Summit tonight, with two of the best damn bands in town. Indie-rock guys {Young Mammals} recently crawled back out of the cave where they’d been hibernating with new album Alto Seco, and it’s a damn good thing, too, because it finally cements ’em solidly as a band to pay attention to. Then there’s {Young Girls}, a band whose name you should definitely not Google at the office but who plays a nicely buzzy, surfy kind of indie-pop that’s one part Surfer Blood and one part The Posies. Get out there and see ’em, seriously.

Voodoo Glow Skulls/Mustard Plug/Dan Potthast/Dead to the World/Always Guilty @ Fitzgerald’s
Fitzgerald’s has a throwback ska-punk explosion going on tonight, with three bands I loved dearly back in the early days of my ’90s ska addiction. Michiganders Mustard Plug were utterly great back in the day, especially with 1993’s Big Daddy Multitude, Dan Potthast used to front St. Louis band MU330, whom I loved dearly (Press still lives on my CD shelves), and the Voodoo Glow Skulls were one of the originators of the whole dang ska-punk sound. I’m glad to see all three of ’em are still rolling, even now…

Ian Moore @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
On a bit more of a low-key end of things, Texas expat (he lives in the Pacific NW these days, I believe) Ian Moore is at the Mucky Duck tonight. I saw him play around this time last year and was completely blown away; he’s one of those “songwriter’s songwriters” types; he roamed the room playing song after song and explaining the genesis of each, his influences as a musician and songwriter, self-effacing and incredible the whole damn time. Seriously, seriously impressive, and while he’s also got an full, electrified band he plays with some of the time, to me he’s a whole lot better in a solo setting.

Runners-Up:
Punxmas Fest IX, featuring U.Y.U.S., Conflikto, Gutter Rats, Critical Damage, El Desmadre, Some Nerve, Moral Distrust, & Failed Project @ Eastdown Warehouse (7PM-2AM)
DPat/Fat Tony/The New Mercies/Josiah Gabriel/Guilla/Children of Pop (DJ set) @ Walter’s
Seven Deadly Sins Album Release & Multimedia Performance, featuring Two Star Symphony & ms. YET @ 14 Pews
Burnt Skull/Cop Warmth/Commoners/Sketch Driven/Stress33 @ Black Barbie (3621 Canal)
Keep Cody Sad Show, featuring Meraki/Toska, Rahab The Monster, Crimson Arrow, Rome Hero Foxes, Those Like Us, L0RD M0LTVR, & The Wild Berries @ 6719 Harrisburg
Yello Echo/airport noises @ Khon’s
T Bird and the Breaks/The Johnson Band @ The Continental Club
1st Annual Deathcember Show, featuring Lacination, K.T.C.M., Bloodline 713, Insolvent, Thundertank, Sever the Silence, Desecrate the Faith, & Flesheater @ The White Swan
Giant Kitty/Kik Mule/Screech of Death/Tan Dragon Clan @ The Alley Kat
Free Press Houston Holiday Party, featuring Pushermania @ 1505 Westheimer (8-10PM)
dune.TX Christmas Bash, featuring dune.TX @ The Big Top
Dave Burrell @ Latham Hall (Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas)
Bayou Boogie, featuring Reverberation DJs @ Clutch City Squire (410 Main)
Rock Out for Kids! Show & Toy Drive, featuring Reckless High, Burning Winter, Rainchild, Long Point, Overload, Rooster And The Cheeseburger, Blackbird Hill Band with Ryan Tribe Hill, & AP Stark @ BFE Rock Club (3PM-12:30AM)
Ganesha/Disfrutalo! (EP release)/Inzurgo/Handsomebeast/JVS REEL @ Fitzgerald’s
Rekliner, featuring Kyle Geiger, Joe Dismal, Henry Chow, & Sasha Braverman @ Jet Lounge
Anova Skyway/Vanilla Sugar/Remanon @ Union Tavern (Webster)