The Cleveland-dwelling duo of Nicole Barrile and Sam Meister, better known as mr. Gnome, are honestly one of those bands that have to be witnessed live and in-person to truly be believed. Without seeing the pair onstage, both band members pounding away on their respective instruments (guitar and drums) and vocalist Barrile alternately quietly crooning and howling, you'd almost be forgiven for assuming the crushing, ever-shifting stewpot of a sound the band's crafted must come out of a small orchestra of people... (mr. Gnome play Thursday, April 8th, at Rudyard's.) [more] || [Jeremy Hart] || [04/08/10]

Patti Smith came to the University of Houston Monday night before last to read from her new book Just Kids and play songs from her 40+ years on the New York music scene. The show was advertised as $5 at the door, and no one would get turned away. From the stage, Smith immediately announced that she was there as a volunteer to support Voices Breaking Boundaries, a local nonprofit group... [more] || [Creg Lovett] || [04/28/10]

It seems that being a musician these days is more about finesse than power. Where volume may have sufficed more than a decade ago, the listening public has softened and heightened their musical palette. Beach House's recent success -- if not completely because of their latest release, Teen Dream, and its brilliance -- could be due to the fact that fans have become more sympathetic to music that might be not-so-instantly-gratifying... [more] || [Chris Galis] || [04/28/10]

The first Saturday in April brought a tour by Los Angeles instrumental metal band Red Sparowes to the cozy environs of Rudyard's pub, where they were joined by Boston tourmates Doomriders and Austin's My Education. The tidy three-band bill made for an odd juxtaposition of musical styles but still managed to yield moments of great beauty and not a little brutality... [more] || [Thomas McLuhan] || [04/25/10]