I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone to the HOB, and on this night, I remembered why. I hate the fact that there is nowhere to sit unless you are buying a drink at the bar, for one thing; also, the crowd doesn’t get as wild as it does at other venues…
Written on April 12, 2011 | Posted in
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Okay, so I thought the reason I was looking unshaven and scruffy when I rolled into The Mink on a Saturday night about a month ago was because I’d gotten rushed that week and just didn’t have time to mess with the beard…
Written on April 7, 2011 | Posted in
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Cancer is no joking matter, but if we ever want to be closer to a cure, we need to first try a Linkin Park IV of Mike Shinoda synths and Chester Bennington vocals, with Joe Hahn‘s scratches, Rob Bourdon‘s drumming…
Written on March 9, 2011 | Posted in
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This time I arrived at Warehouse Live right on time for the interview with Cory Brandan Putman, lead singer from Norma Jean. When I called the tour manager, he told us to come inside and hang out during sound check…
Written on March 7, 2011 | Posted in
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Facebook lies. That’s one of the main lessons I learned from the show a week or two ago at The Mink; I could swear the Facebook invite said the doors would be at 8PM, but when a friend and I rolled in at 8:30 or so…
Written on March 2, 2011 | Posted in
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In complete freak-out mode, I headed to Warehouse Live. Not only was I excited, but I was also late for the interview with Stephen Keech, Haste the Day‘s vocalist. To my surprise, however, it all worked out perfectly…
Written on February 22, 2011 | Posted in
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My best friend and I arrived anxious and late at Warehouse Live for The Get Up Kids show, right before the band released its new album, There Are Rules, which came out January 25. The band hails from Kansas City, Missouri…
Written on February 9, 2011 | Posted in
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WAREHOUSE LIVE — 1/20/2011: We arrived at Warehouse Live at around 5PM — we had an interview with Chris from Underoath at 6PM — but wanted to be there a bit early. It was freezing outside and it definitely felt like winter…
Written on January 25, 2011 | Posted in
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I went to the Posies/Brendan Benson/Aqueduct show not really knowing what to expect, and the sparse, rather lifeless crowd that was standing about at Argentum wasn’t very encouraging…
Written on December 14, 2010 | Posted in
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If you’ve heard The Apples in Stereo, then you can probably guess that they put on a pretty good live show. The most accessibly poppy group of the now legendary Elephant 6 collective, they’ve been creating feel-good songs…
Written on November 30, 2010 | Posted in
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Senses Fail rocked the stage in the “Out With The In Crowd” tour at Warehouse Live. The New Jersey post-hardcore band toured with Bayside, Title Fight, and last but not least, Balance and Composure…
Written on November 26, 2010 | Posted in
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Every so often, a group of musicians walk on the stage and really owns every aspect of the performance. They have a magnetic energy that attracts people from both poles and anywhere in between, causing them to migrate…
Written on November 13, 2010 | Posted in
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The last time I saw The Hold Steady, they were playing Walter’s to a packed-in crowd of diehard fans and seemingly new converts, and it was — hand on my heart — one of the most amazing shows I’d ever seen…
Written on November 12, 2010 | Posted in
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Perhaps I should have been prepared for the crowd that I encountered at the Ghostland Observatory show last Friday, it being Halloween weekend and all, but walking into a crowd of Lady Gagas and cartoon characters was pretty surreal…
Written on November 1, 2010 | Posted in
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In our fair city, it’s not often that two meaningful concerts are scheduled for the same day; however, that was the case on Thursday. And those of us who resisted the temptation of squirrely guitars over Afro-pop beats were certainly pleased with one of the best concerts in recent memory…
Written on October 19, 2010 | Posted in
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On September 13, Crystal Castles came to Houston and caused a small amount of mayhem to ensue. It was my first time going to a concert at the House of Blues, and I wasn’t really sure what kind of crowd to expect…
Written on September 28, 2010 | Posted in
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It must be tough to be the offspring of a famous person and then attempt to follow them in the same vocation. The road to success is lettered with the bodies of David Flair, Pete Rose, Jr., Cameron Douglas, and John Henry Williams…
Written on September 13, 2010 | Posted in
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One of the best things about going to a Wild Moccasins concert is the audience. Their signature sugary-but-feisty sound and friendly stage presence have gained them quite an impressive following among Houstonites…
Written on June 20, 2010 | Posted in
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Despite the torrential downpour, a thousand or so people braved the weather to loosely pack the House of Blues. The occasion? Seattle’s Minus the Bear were in town , bringing a heavy dose of bearded indie-rock and quite possibly the rain…
Written on May 31, 2010 | Posted in
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I’ve been a Coheed fan for a long time…pretty much since they played that club tour opening up for Thursday several years ago. I scooped up a copy of Second Stage Turbine Blade after their set, and was immediately hooked…
Written on May 27, 2010 | Posted in
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Are you nostalgic for the man made neon colors of the 1980s? Do you like songs written by committee? Would you like to support the Gulfstream (jet) habits of a barefoot billionaire? Will you settle for 27 lifestyle songs formerly about permanent vacation, now adapted for the lifeless pursuit of a retirement that will never come?…
Written on May 27, 2010 | Posted in
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Two and a half years ago, when it was known as the Zero Arrow Theatre, Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley were in this very space as performers in Sxip Shirey‘s variety revue…
Written on May 26, 2010 | Posted in
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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…
Written on April 28, 2010 | Posted in
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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…
Written on April 28, 2010 | Posted in
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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…
Written on April 25, 2010 | Posted in
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sigh. Okay, so I know this is really, truly after-the-fact, shows-wise — Munchkin #1 and I ended up spending the bulk of our day at Comicpalooza, so that kinda ate into my usual last-minute posting time — but I wanted to get it up here anyway. The main reason is because I finally, finally got […]
Written on March 27, 2010 | Posted in
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“Mutha Fuckin’ Kings of Thrash.” That’s the moniker that Warbeast should start billing themselves as. This band of Texas thrash luminaries walked into Walter’s and laid waste to all in attendance…
Written on March 21, 2010 | Posted in
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I was sweating. I had pulled duty as Space City Rock representative at the Take Action Tour as it pulled into House of Blues one recent Monday night. The Take Action Tour is the signature event…
Written on March 21, 2010 | Posted in
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A dream Asleep was throwing their video release party Sunday night at Rocbar. I had been feening to see this thing since singer Mike Seals texted me saying that they were shooting a video for their first single…
Written on March 9, 2010 | Posted in
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For any national act, playing a hometown gig is a special thing. For their special moment, Scale The Summit got to play to a packed Meridian…
Written on February 5, 2010 | Posted in
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As the single “Mountain Man” moves up the Alternative chart, and “It’s Only Wednesday” takes a ride on an apocalyptic road trip…
Written on February 5, 2010 | Posted in
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I knew it was going to be cold; I mean, the forecasts all said it’d be chilly. But from when co-organizer Marcus Gausepohl (also of Esotype Records & Golden Cities) told me a couple of months back about this “Lost In Space” festival thing he wanted to put together, with a bunch of spacerock/psych-rock bands […]
Written on December 15, 2009 | Posted in
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Been needing to do this for a looooong time; I’m way behind on my updates, sadly… The up-and-coming goes first, this time out — awesomely talented country-rockers The Literary Greats are playing the release show for their second full-length, Ocean, Meet The Valley, this coming Saturday, Nov. 14th. It’s the same night as the Block […]
Written on November 13, 2009 | Posted in
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Houston, I underestimate you! Since I usually go to local and lesser-known national bands’ shows, I’ve become used to thinking, “This band is amazing! Where is everyone?” Finally, Houston, you and I share an affinity for a great pop band…
Written on November 12, 2009 | Posted in
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Long after the days of the punk schism known as “emo” and well before the days of bad haircuts and self-mutilation, there was a period in which bands like Mineral and Indian Summer redefined “emo” music. While the term “emo” now lends itself to stereotypes rather than to a musical genre, it’s hard to imagine what would have happened if Seattle’s Sunny Day Real Estate had never entered the picture…
Written on October 15, 2009 | Posted in
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You have to give Nebula credit. A long Sunday night and a typical Monday night in Houston didn’t slow the band down. While the crowd at Walter’s was “intimate” at best, the stoner trio tore through their 60-minute set as if they were hanging from the rafters. The played songs that spanned their 10-year catalog, highlighting several tracks from new release Heavy Psych…
Written on October 1, 2009 | Posted in
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It’s pathetic as hell, I know, but it seems like it gets harder and harder to force myself out of the house these days, even when it’s to see a band (or bands, as the case may be) I really-truly love. There’s the fam, there’s the ever-present TV, there’s Netflix, there’s the insane pile of […]
Written on September 22, 2009 | Posted in
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I’m not particularly a fan of punk music. Actually, I’m not a fan of punk music at all, but somehow I keep ending up at punk shows by accident. There was the time that Dude Jams! played The Backroom at The Mink. I had never heard of them before, I just knew they were coming through Houston on tour and decided to check them out. I pulled up alongside a Frito-Lay truck that they had pimped out into a tour van…
Written on September 1, 2009 | Posted in
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Yep, it’s late-breaking update time — we’ve got a bunch of good new stuff up this week, in typical kinda-timely fashion… First up is a nice little chat with Toby Butler of The Duke Spirit, courtesy of Houston Calling (which you should really be reading, btw, if you don’t already) headman and SCR contributor David […]
Written on August 21, 2009 | Posted in
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Damn, this one kind of fell by the wayside in all the Summerfest madness… Last week yours truly got some fine new writing-type things up on SCR, and it’d be a shame to let them slip on by without a word, especially since a couple of bits here and there are a sorta-kinda timely. The […]
Written on August 13, 2009 | Posted in
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