Yr. Week, Pt. 2: Bad Religion + Elvis Costello + Keeton Coffman + Shane’s BDay + Lincoln Durham + KTRU x SoS + Only Beast + Craig Kinsey + Eisley + More

This weekend, y’all — I mean, seriously. There’s so much going on that I’m having to split it up and skip a whole bunch of stuff…or else I’ll never have enough damn time to post about any of it. Not a bad problem to have, all things considered. So here’s what’s happening just tonight, Friday, October 14th; away we go…

Bad Religion/Against Me!/Dave Hause @ Warehouse Live
I have a big, big soft spot for Bad Religion; they were one of the first truly political punk bands I was ever interested in, one of the first to seriously articulate the things my college-age self thought and felt, and they did it without being morons or pedantic assholes. (Yes, I know that that’s high praise.) Recipe For Hate is still a badass album. And I can’t forget Against Me!, who I finally got to see this summer at FPSF after years of rave reviews from friends; they’re one hell of a band, with music that’s simultaneously tough and intelligent and melodic, and live they were even better.

Elvis Costello/Larkin Poe @ Revention Music Center
Painful admission time: I’ve only seen Elvis Costello live once, and it didn’t get beyond “meh” for me. He was opening for The Police several years back, and playing out at the Woodlands Pavilion, and I dunno — it just didn’t feel right. It was too big, too distant, for his thinking-man’s pop songwriting to truly shine through; there wasn’t enough of a connection.

I’ve maintained since then that if he’d been playing a smaller, more intimate venue, rather than a mega-stadium where his songs couldn’t really be properly heard, it would’ve been a far better show. And tonight, at the Revention Music Center, yeah, that could definitely work. I sure as hell hope it does, at least, because Costello is one of my favorite songwriters bar none, from classic stuff like This Year’s Model to the shinier, sweeter taste of Mighty Like a Rose.

Keeton Coffman @ Hidden Cellar (Cypress)
Speaking of excellent songwriters…okay, so it may be a stretch to compare North Houston singer/songwriter {Keeton Coffman} to a legend like Elvis Costello, but I swear I can see the promise of that level of craftsmanship in Coffman’s work, up to and definitely including new album Killer Eyes. I mean, songs like “The Prayer” and “The Magician” are flat-out stellar, songs that make my soul ache every single time I hear ’em. And that voice of his…damn. Hear him now, before the rest of the world does.

Shane’s BDay Bash, featuring The Tyburn Jig, Spain Colored Orange, & Fire Moth @ Rudyard’s
There’s a cool-ass slate of bands playing tonight at Rudz for Easy Credit Group main man Shane Burke‘s birthday-ness, spanning a slew of different genres even though there’s only three of ’em. See, there’s {The Tyburn Jig}, who plays a strange, murky breed of Westernized surf-rock (at least, they did the last time I heard ’em), {Spain Colored Orange}, who dance between various kinds of pop music, and {Fire Moth}, who combine down-and-dirty blues with funky rock. Good stuff, all three.

Lincoln Durham @ The Secret Group (2101 Polk)
Lincoln Durham is one cool guy. He sorta-kinda lives in the Americana realm, except the part of that realm where he lurks is dark and dismal and eerie, like a spooky shack out deep in the backwoods somewhere. There’re parts that remind me strongly of Dax Riggs, except with less distortion and more garage-rock peeking in around the edges. Imagine Riggs combined with Jerry Lee Lewis, and you’ll get the idea.

KTRU x SOS, featuring Open Mike Eagle, Young Mammals, & Us. @ Valhalla (Rice Univ. campus; free!)
Strange though it sounds, I can count the number of times I’ve been inside Valhalla on one hand, even though I lived at Rice University for four years. I was an undergrad, and back then it just wasn’t somewhere most non-grad students hung out, y’know? So it’s neat to see venerable once-and-again Rice radio station KTRU putting on shows down in that dank basement below Chem Lec.

I’ve heard good, good things about Open Mike Eagle, but I’m far more knowledgeable about {Young Mammals}, who are real-live indie-rock heroes in these parts, and Us., who plays some neat, atmospheric, electronicized pop. Oh, and this is both part of KTRU’s 50th Anniversary concert series and a preview of the upcoming Sound On Sound Fest next month, and it’s all free. Go hang with them there Rice nerds, alright? (And yes, I can say that because I am one.)

Only Beast/Ranson Bandits @ The Nightingale Room
I am going to review last month’s Yes, Indeed! Fest, I swear to all that is holy I am. I just haven’t had a chance to get it finished just yet, despite all my best efforts, which sucks, because as part of that festival I was finally able to see {Only Beast} live and in their natural environment…and that’s a whole different thing from their recorded output, which is mostly what I’d heard up to then. Live, frontwoman Danielle Renee is a ball of fire, drummer John is deadly calm but still loud as hell, and guitarist Peter somehow manages to play both guitar and bass at once, which blew my mind.

Craig Kinsey @ House of Blues (Foundation Room)
I’m really liking the House of Blues‘ new Elevate series of shows, through which they’re showcasing “regional buzz bands and homegrown heavy hitters” — it’s a nice change from their previous trend of seemingly booking nothing but national touring bands and local tribute acts. Tonight’s show is pretty sweet, too, with The Reverend himself, true-blue American troubadour {Craig Kinsey} doing his thing. He’s a fine musician and songwriter, the kind that pulls from every era of musical history and makes it all his own.

The Dear Hunter/Eisley/Gavin Castleton @ White Oak Music Hall
Last but not least, White Oak Music Hall‘s got some good stuff going on; I like what I’ve heard The Dear Hunter, but I have to admit that it’s Eisley that’s the draw for me. They do that ethereal-yet-powerful, post-emo, arena-sized indie-rock thing better than most, and they sound like a band of pixies playing songs by, say, Neutral Milk Hotel through amps the size of small buildings. I dig that.

Runners-Up:
The Mowgli’s/Colony House/Dreamers @ House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room)
The Gooch Palms/Cleen Teens/The Hammer Party/Fetish @ Walter’s
Rooney/Royal Teeth/Swimming With Bears @ Raven Tower
Another Run/Otis The Destroyer/King Finn @ The Waughford (15 Waughford; $10)
Echo and the Bunnymen @ House of Blues
Runaway Sun @ Goode’s Armadillo Palace
Kansas @ Cullen Performance Hall
Bloodline/Luther Kane/Daggerwound/Sleeping Ancient @ The Clinic (7444 Harrisburg)
One Way System/Total Chaos @ Eastdown Warehouse
Dark Spark Rays/Metanoia/Buddha Deerhead/Civeta Dei @ Avant Garden
Ozomatli/Gio Chamba @ White Oak Music Hall
Blaggards @ Molly’s Pub (Humble)
Camera Cult/DJ Squincy Jones @ Axelrad (1517 Alabama; 7PM, free!)
Dia de la Hispanidad, featuring Aymee Nuviola @ Miller Outdoor Theater (7-9:30PM; free!)
Cody Canada & the Departed/Libby Koch/Johnny Cooper/Rivers @ Fitzgerald’s