Funeral Horse frontman/guitarist Paul Bearer, aka Paul Chavez, aka Walter Carlos, is something of an enigma to me. I’ve met the guy a few times over the years, live and electronically, and each time he’s been doing something seemingly completely different, sometimes using a different name, and every damn one of those things has been pretty great. First there was the sadly-overlooked art-punk/New Wave trio Art Institute; then came along sleazy, gritty gutterpunks…
Written on June 13, 2014 | Posted in
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On into Saturday now, June 7th, and there’s a pretty damn large pile of stuff going on, large enough that yours truly can’t cover all of it. I’ll hit as many as I can, though; here goes…
Written on June 7, 2014 | Posted in
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Man. I honestly feel like I’ve spent most of this week recuperating from FPSF 2014 — when I wasn’t at the Day Job or doing jury duty, at least — just trying to regain my sanity and reconnect with the world beyond mud, music, and masses of sweaty, stoned/drunk people…
Written on June 6, 2014 | Posted in
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I’ve been a fanatic fan of a singer named Jimmy Gnecco for 15 years now. Gnecco is the singer of the band OURS that made its debut back in 1999 with Distorted Lullabies and has done four albums plus a Jimmy Gnecco solo album…
Written on June 1, 2014 | Posted in
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Okay, y’all — after a week of randomly-selected previews (see here, here, and here, plus interviews with {Venomous Maximus} and {New York City Queens} here and here (and there’s a more to come on that front), we’re nearly there…
Written on May 31, 2014 | Posted in
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In the six years or so I have been following The Tontons, I’ve seen them play at least two dozen times, but I’ve never actually sat down to interview any of their band members…
Written on May 31, 2014 | Posted in
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In our preparation for Space City Rock‘s coverage of FPSF 2014, I realized that New York City Queens were holed up in the studio tracking their third LP, tentatively titled Glass House, set for release this fall. What a great chance for me to make an excuse to sneak in to hear some tracks in progress…
Written on May 30, 2014 | Posted in
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Yes, yes, yes. We’re on Part 3 of our rundown series (here’s Part 2 and Part 1) for this year’s Free Press Summer Festival…
Written on May 30, 2014 | Posted in
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Howdy, all — back again with Part 2 of this year’s previews/rundowns/whatevers for Free Press Summer Festival, which will be exploding this coming weekend, Sat., May 31st, and Sun., June 1st, in the sweaty, muddy, noise-filled bowl formerly known as Eleanor Tinsley Park (i.e., just west of the big pointy parts of Downtown)…
Written on May 28, 2014 | Posted in
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Yes, friends, it’s time. Well, almost time. This year’s Free Press Summer Festival is approaching fast, a mere handful of days away, and yeah, passes are running out — don’t be stuck like last year, when the whole damn thing sold out, right? I haven’t seen word yet that there are no more passes available, but odds are pretty good it’ll happen, seriously…
Written on May 27, 2014 | Posted in
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Yes, the Caroline Collective may be dead and gone — long may she wave — but The Caroline Sessions ride again today, Sunday, May 25th. Earlier this year, organizer Tom Paynter resurrected the eponymous music series that used to be hosted at the co-working space, and that’s a very cool thing…
Written on May 25, 2014 | Posted in
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Gah. Sorry, folks, for being so dang late tonight — I was out at Johnette Napolitano Thursday, then The Winery Dogs (in Clear Lake) last night, then spent the bulk of today roaming the halls at Comicpalooza, so tonight’s writeup kinda fell by the wayside…
Written on May 24, 2014 | Posted in
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Yep, here we are — it’s now Friday, May 23rd, and while tonight’s not as busy-full with cool shows to see/hear as a lot of Fridays, there’s still a respectable pile of excellent things going on. Here goes…
Written on May 23, 2014 | Posted in
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Well, holy crap. I just happened to glance at ye olde calendar for tonight, Thursday, May 22nd, and realized that there’s a ton of things going on, way more than I’d thought there would be. I’m running short on time, but trust me, there’s pretty much something for everybody happening this evening…
Written on May 22, 2014 | Posted in
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On into Saturday now, May 17th, and there’s still a ton of stuff going on, so much I can barely get a hold of all of it; going to have to pick and choose a bit for tonight. Here goes…
Written on May 17, 2014 | Posted in
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Hey, all — kind of scrambling to get some things done this week, so this weekend’s rundown of shows is likely to be a little on the light side (yeah, like it hasn’t lately anyway? sigh). There’s still a ton of stuff going on, though; here’s a very late list of what looks cool for tonight, Friday, May 16th…
Written on May 16, 2014 | Posted in
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I’ve always been a little disheartened by the state of the blues here in sweaty, grimy Houston, Texas, the town I call home. Unless you’re a serious student of the genre (or, you know, actually live here, and maybe not even then), odds are pretty good you’ve got no idea…
Written on May 16, 2014 | Posted in
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Dangit, this one crept up on me, so I’m posting about it a wee bit late, I’m afraid… There’s a very cool-sounding event going on tonight (Friday, May 16th) called Dinner with Dos, which is essentially what it says: dinner, chatting, and hanging-out with all-bass duo Dos, possibly better known (to some, anyway) separately as California punk/post-punk legends Mike Watt (The Minutement, fIREHOSE, J Mascis and the Fog, The Stooges) and Kira Roessler (Black Flag)…
Written on May 16, 2014 | Posted in
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After Band of Skulls last release, 2012’s Sweet Sour, which I liked a fair bit but didn’t quite love, I’ve been looking forward to seeing where the band would be headed next. I’d kind of assumed they’d stick with the heavy stuff for Himalayan, their brand-new followup, with plenty more of that sludgy guitar and those sneering vocals; and don’t get me wrong…
Written on May 13, 2014 | Posted in
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Yeah, so I’ve been a wee bit preoccupied this week, but dammit, shows are still happening, even tonight — Friday, May 9th, to be exact — so I’m going to try to point to the good ones, at the very least. Here we go…
Written on May 9, 2014 | Posted in
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Alright, folks — back again with installment #3 of the previews (see installments #1 and #2 over here and here) for the rapidly-approaching Madness on Main Street Music Fest, coming up this Saturday, May 9th over on the Mid-Main strip. Get your advance tickets now, BTW; I’m told they’re running out fast…
Written on May 9, 2014 | Posted in
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And here we are, friends, back with the second installment of previews for this coming Saturday‘s Madness on Main Street Music Fest, which — as previously noted — promises to be a badass, laidback night of music along the Mid-Main strip that contains The Continental Club…
Written on May 8, 2014 | Posted in
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Now, just because there’s lots of blathering going on about FPSF, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing else awesome and festival-y coming up. In fact, I’ve been horribly, ridiculously remiss ’til now by not mentioning…
Written on May 8, 2014 | Posted in
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Apologies to all for dropping the ball last weekend; I had to go out of town for a family thing and didn’t have a whole lot of time when I could do the actual show writeups. sigh. But hey, I’m back now, and as we roll into the weekend on this Friday, May 2nd, there’s plenty going on…
Written on May 2, 2014 | Posted in
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Ah, anticipation; sometimes, I hate you, when you string me along and make me wait eagerly for something that turns out to not be very good at all. But then sometimes, just sometimes, you deliver. It’s a little odd to be listening now to the cleaned-up, finished version of the last place you look’s latest EP, Rip It Out, because it feels like I’ve been listening to these songs for a few years now…
Written on May 2, 2014 | Posted in
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It was about four tracks into Scottish postrock quintet Mogwai’s most recent release, Rave Tapes, when it hits me: the mainstream has passed the band by. No, scratch that; the mainstream hasn’t zoomed past Mogwai, but rather has swallowed the band whole…
Written on April 25, 2014 | Posted in
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Alright, we’re on into Saturday, April 19th, this year’s Record Store Day, and if you couldn’t make it out today & snag some RSD-exclusive vinyl and whatnot, well, you can rest easy in the knowledge that there are a ton of cool shows going tonight, too. Here goes…
Written on April 19, 2014 | Posted in
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If you follow anything relating to local music stores, you’re probably already well aware, but if you don’t and you’re not: tomorrow (Saturday, April 19th) is Record Store Day. It’s grown from its somewhat humble beginnings…
Written on April 19, 2014 | Posted in
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Hey, all — it’s Friday, April 18th, crawling/dragging halfway through the month, and holy crap is it a busy weekend (in a good way, mind you). First, though, a little bad news: got word earlier in the week that EDM hero Avicii has had to cancel his May 11th date here in H-town, due to having to recently undergoing gallbladder surgery. He’s okay, which is good, but…
Written on April 18, 2014 | Posted in
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It’s Saturday, April 12th, now, and there’s a ton of good stuff going on, but I’m going to have to keep it kinda brief; I’m in the car right now, heading down to Surfside with the munchkins. Here’s what you ought to try to catch today & tonight: Third Annual Mills-McCoin Rock ‘N Roll Circus, […]
Written on April 12, 2014 | Posted in
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Hey, folks — it’s Friday once again, so you know what that means: perenially-late show writeups for the evening (which is April 11th, by the way). There’s a fair amount of cool stuff going on, but before we get to that, I just wanted to mention that tonight’s…
Written on April 11, 2014 | Posted in
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Argh. Completely blew it for Saturday, unfortunately — gotta spend the time with the kids while I can, y’know? — so I didn’t want to let Sunday (April 6th, if you’re keeping track) slide past, as well. Especially because there’s still plenty of good things happening; here’s what I’ve got…
Written on April 6, 2014 | Posted in
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Holy crap, y’all. It’s now Friday, April 4th, and somehow, there’s a massive number of excellent, excellent shows going on tonight. I feel bad because I’m really only able to touch on a few of ’em specifically, but I figure that’s better than nothing, right? (Right?) Anyway, here goes…
Written on April 4, 2014 | Posted in
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Yep, we’re kicking things off a little early this week — it’s Thursday, April 3rd, at the moment — because damn, there’s just a lot of excellent stuff going on for a mere Thursday. Here’s what looks/sounds cool to me…
Written on April 3, 2014 | Posted in
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On to Saturday, y’all, March 29th, and oh, yes, is there good stuff going on. Tonight’s a tough choice, honestly; I’m hoping to get out myself, assuming the kids and wife don’t take a turn for the worse (again)… Here goes…
Written on March 29, 2014 | Posted in
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Alright, y’all — it’s Friday, March 28th, and yes, there are most definitely good, cool, awesome things going on here in Houston and in the surrounding environs. Here goes…
Written on March 28, 2014 | Posted in
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Alright, so this may sound a little familiar, but…do you remember last month, when we got all psyched about the return of Roky Moon & BOLT!? Of course you do! And why in the hell am I bringing it up yet again?…
Written on March 27, 2014 | Posted in
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Roy Zimmerman is on the cutting edge of political satire in America. Like Stephen Colbert’s facetious TV persona, Zimmerman works with irony at the highest levels, playing with words and ideas…
Written on March 26, 2014 | Posted in
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Okay, so you remember last month, when we got all psyched about the (temporary, apparently) return of Roky Moon & BOLT!? Well, it turns out the guys & gals in the band just couldn’t wait…
Written on March 23, 2014 | Posted in
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Saturday now, March 15th, and despite the off-and-on rain today, there’s a ton of good stuff happening. Without further ado, here we go…
Written on March 15, 2014 | Posted in
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