I know I’ve been missing a ton of great shows lately, but dammit, I can’t let this one slip by without a mention. Keeton Coffman, who the longer-memory-having folks among you might remember as the frontman of gone-too-soon band The 71’s, is my absolute favorite guy singer/songwriter in town these days…
So, it looks like Arthur Yoria has come back home to Houston, and oh, man, am I glad to see it. The last I’d heard from Arthur, back in 2010, he was moving up to Brooklyn to try out his sweet-voiced, sometimes stoner-like pop songwriting chops on the hipsters that dwell there…
I don’t get out much these days; it’s a sad, sad truth of my near-suburban Soccer-/Theater-/Cub Scout-Dad existence. When I see a show coming up, even one that sounds truly, truly awesome, my immediate, instinctual response is, “ah, fuck, I’m too damn tired, it’s gonna be too far away, too late a night; I should just stay home and watch TV or read.” So, in a lot of cases, that’s exactly what I do…
I’ve gotta be honest: I was skeptical that White Oak Music Hall, the new purpose-built venue for local music-promotion icons Pegstar, was ever going to really materialize. Ever since the new venue was announced a little over a year ago…
The Wheel Workers are a Houston mainstay, with three albums already under their belts since 2011 (and one on the way), but for anyone outside of Texas, they are criminally not as well-known, despite their obvious greatness. So how does a band go about getting the word out? They hit the road for a six-date tour…
This is one hell of a busy weekend, it’s true, but there’re some cool things that rise to the top of my personal little list, at least. One of those things is happening tonight — Saturday, May 28th, that is — up at Walter’s…
Alright, so I definitely need to quit referring to — and thinking of, beyond that — Adam Bricks as a folksinger. Because with Relations, he’s pretty much taken that label and lit it on fire, smiling, and then roared on past its accepted boundaries like he’s trying to craft something completely different. And yes, that’s a very, very good thing. Best of all, I think he knows exactly what he’s doing…
“A Tale of Two Elvises” — that’s what keeps popping into my head, weirdly, as I listen to John Evans’ new album Polyester. And it does make sense, kind of, as the album rolls on. I’ll explain how in a minute, but at the root, it’s because, see, Polyester isn’t much like what I’ve heard from Evans…
Alright, back with Part 3 of this rundown thing for Madness on Main Street 2016, which may well be the last, since this thing starts in less than 24 hours — see Part 1 and Part 2, over here…
And here we are, back again with the second pile of talky-writy things about the various bands and musicians who’ll be playing at this year’s Madness on Main Street. And oh, what a pile it is, my friends… But before we get to that, there’s a cool thing going on tonight, Thurs., May 5th, up at 8th Wonder Brewery in Downtown…
So…I’ve missed a lot so far this year. 2016, to put it lightly, has been weird, not to mention extremely rapid and tiring and kinda stressful and crappy and neat and oh fuck where did all the days go? SXSW blew past me, as did SXSW Overflow Fest, as did a whole bunch of shows by awesome people like M83 and CHVRCHES…
I never thought I’d say it, but I’m at the point in the whole emo-revival thing where it’s the bands who aren’t truly “emo” anymore that are the most interesting to me. I’m talking about the ones who blend together the original emo/post-emo stuff with, hell, I dunno, folk or prog or barroom rock…
Well, damn. Welcome The Worms, the brand-damn-new full-length from L.A. trio Bleached — two members of which, sisters Jennifer and Jessica Clavin, you might remember from late-2000s band Mika Miko — grabbed tight to my skeptic self from the very first note of “Keep On Keepin’ On” and refused to let go ’til the very end of “Hollywood, We Did It All Wrong”…
Jon Read may not have been born in the sweaty, swampy, dirty depths of Houston, Texas, but the city fits him like a (tattered, weird-smelling) glove. There’s just something about that raw, ripped-open, messy, muddy sound Read’s crafted over the course of his 15 years or so of his musical career…
Frog Hair is JJ White (Drillbox Ignition, Dizzy Pilot) abusing a guitar, singing lead, and doing most of the songwriting. It was previously a two-piece (literally one guitar and one drum), and for their first demos, which recall the earliest, fuzziest Pixies…
Sometimes the process is as cool as the product. (Well, almost as cool, anyway.) That’s definitely how I’m feeling about singer/songwriter and sometime The Rebecca West frontwoman Cameron Dezen Hammon’s latest…
Damn. In case you hadn’t already heard, this past month has been rough for the Houston music scene. Most recently, longtime Warehouse Live staffer and all-round awesome booster of H-town music Morrow “L.A.” Potts passed away last week at the way, way too young age of 38, apparently due to a heart attack…
Simple works. It just does, just about every damn time. And with This Stupid Stuff, four-piece punk rock crew Giant Kitty prove that over and over and over again. Even for a punk band these days, they’re refreshingly old-school, dancing across the grey area…
Okay, y’all. So anybody who’s read this here site for more than a few days knows that I (meaning Jeremy) loves me some emo. The second-wave, post-hardcore emo surge hit just as I was nearing the end of college, playing in a band…
I’ve been sorely neglecting things on the upcoming-show front lately, so updating the list these past couple of weeks has made me nearly freaking giddy with excitement about some of the shows we’ve got coming down the pipe. I don’t have time go into details about ’em now (sorry), but I do want to point to two that are coming up real fast, as in, um, tonight, Friday, January 15th. See, apparently the Hoary Gods of Houston Musicks decided that not only should there be one…
Bad news first: no, this isn’t a brand-new full-length from quirky, beach-loving popsters Deep Cuts. That release is coming, yes, but this isn’t it, not yet. Instead, Gulf Coast Companion Vol. 1 is an everything-up-to-now compilation of all the music the supremely talented quintet has thrown out there, all cleaned up and shiny and bubbly and sunshiny. Oh, and it’s a cassette, that least-beloved of formats for seemingly everybody but me. I’ve gotten grief from multiple people about my love for cassettes…
Yeah, yeah — technically speaking, Elvis Presley and David Bowie were born on January 8th, not January 9th, but what the hell, right? I seriously doubt either man would disapprove of all the good people who’ll be celebrating their joint birthday tonight, the 9th, up at The Continental Club and The Big Top…
And now, here we are. After much hyping, Day for Night is finally here, bursting into life tomorrow, Saturday, December 19th, and Sunday, December 20th, over at Silver Street Studios (2000 Edwards St.). And to me, at least, said hyping looks very much justified…
More and more these days, I find myself admiring bravery when it comes to rock music; it’s a whole lot cooler, to me, to do something strange and different than it is to ride the same damn riffs and song structures and whatnot (well, okay, as long as the music itself works, but we’ll get to that)…
Hey, all — I know, it’s been a while, right? This past fall yours truly has been somewhat on hiatus, swamped with work and home-related things and reluctant to even touch the damn keyboard (unless it has to do with stupid-ass political debates on Facebook, mind you, because people are stupid and because yes, I’m one of those stupid people who argues with other stupid people online even though it makes no difference)…
Short notice, I know — I’d blame it on being sick for the past 48 hours, but let’s be honest, I’d probably be late even if I was well…sigh — but there’s a truly great show happening tonight (Thurs., October 8th) up at new-ish venue The Nightingale Room…
Today’s the day, folks — the official lineup for brand-new music (and other stuff) festival Day for Night, which takes place at Silver Street Studios on December 19th & 20th, was just released a short while ago. And yeah, it’s pretty damn impressive, both in scope and diversity…
Holy shit, y’all. Okay, so I’d heard the rumors that this was happening for a few months now, but I was afraid to take ’em to heart and potentially be let down. And yet, it’s actually happened: KTRU, long the only radio station I would listen to in this here city and a place where I myself used to DJ many moons ago, will be back on the FM radio waves as of next Friday, October 2nd…
One of the things I love best about the scene here (and yes, I’m well aware that lots of other cities have music scenes that are similar in this respect) is that after a while, you start to see a lot of the same characters roaming in and around, joining up in different configurations and doing stuff that they’ve maybe never tried before. Sure, people do leave, and it’s a bummer when that happens, but if you look at a lot of the coolest, most interesting bands in H-town…
Hey, folks — we’re back again with the second bunch of writeups for Yes, Indeed! Music Fest 2015, which happens tomorrow, Saturday, September 19th, and which promises to a hell of a good time with much awesome music involved. Head on over to the magical near-Downtown nexus known as Mid-Main and enjoy bouncing…
And speaking of festival-type things… Yup, this coming Saturday, September 19th, is the 2015 installment of the ever-excellent Yes, Indeed! Music Festival run by SCR‘s own Jason Smith and Energizer Bunny-like cohort Phil “Bassman Pep” Peterson…
Oh, yes. Ever since the very first-ever Free Press Summer Fest hit this city, there’s been grumbling and griping out there (and from me right here, it’s true) about why in the sweet fuck did Omar Afra and his Free Press Houston crew decide to schedule their big-ass music fest for the hottest part of the H-town summer? And could we please-please-please make it “Fallfest” or “Winter Fest” or something?…
Okay, here I am typing this, and part of me is snickering and saying, seriously, who am I kidding? If you’re a fan of craft beers and/or music, odds are pretty good you’re already well aware of Untapped Houston, the H-town installment of the now Texas-wide music-and-brews showcase Untapped…
I wasn’t sure what to make of David Ramirez’s latest full-length, Fables, not at first. I was expecting something more like the fiery Rooster, or maybe the downtrodden reconciliation of Apologies, but what I heard instead was a slate of (mostly) low-key, almost fragile songs that were slow-moving to the point of somnolence at times. I didn’t feel let down, not exactly, but I didn’t feel entirely satisfied, either…
Ever met someone who was, say, in a relationship with somebody, and you knew immediately that it wasn’t going to work — that something just wasn’t quite right, didn’t quite fit the way it was supposed to? Not that either person was bad, but that they weren’t right for one another? That’s how I feel about Hank Schyma, aka Pecos Hank, tornado-chaser, musician, videographer, and all-round larger-than-life dude…
Okay, I know it’s short notice, but I didn’t want to let this one slip past… There’s a cool little show happening tonight, Thursday, August 27th, up at a place I’ve only recently started seeing in the show listings called Ladybirds. No idea what it’s like, but I do know who’s playing, and that’s the important part…
Ever since the news first broke about local booking maestros Pegstar opening their very own purpose-built venue, the sweet-looking White Oak Music Hall, it’s felt like it was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped…
Yep, I’m waaaay late to this party, unfortunately, but not quite too late, which is always good. The ever-excellent Houston Press Music Awards are still open for voting, right up until August 12th (i.e., tomorrow), at 11:59PM (i.e., midnight). If you have not yet cast your vote — you can only do it once, sorry — well, you’re in luck…
Hey, folks — I know it’s been quiet ’round here lately. Apologies for that; I’m attempting to get back on the writing horse, so to speak, after quite a while spent doing other necessary-for-life things involving house, children, etc. I’ll definitely be posting more stuff very soon. Let me preface this particular post, though, by saying that I’m not a beer drinker. Tried it many, many times, hoping it’d somehow click, and suddenly I’d be a fan, but I’m afraid that’s never been the case…
Alright, so I’m gonna go out on a little bit of a limb, here: I think Jealous Creatures’ latest full-length, The Night Goes on for Days, is a sneaky, semi-secret, undeclared concept album of sorts. No, I’m serious. If I’m wrong, I’m sure the folks in the band will set me straight, but after repeated listenings to Night, it’s hard for me to escape the idea…
