Archive - May 2010

Dallas has not rocked this hard since Red Animal War, from Denton, in 2002; I finally had the same feeling as when I watched them absolutely dismantle The Gypsy Tea Room (RIP). The feeling that I am addressing is the possessive tribal energy that comes when you witness something that kicks ass and everyone around agrees that it does indeed, kick ass. Finally, after a recent string of concerts which featured a below average band or fanbase, I was able to revel in a band that enjoyed the hell out of playing and a crowd beaming with adoration. of Montreal had come a long way from their lo fi pop beginnings. Read on after the jump.

The easiest way to describe Mason Jennings style is to say he and his guitar are one. Yeah. One. Like Yoda and the force. His style was amplified in his acoustic set at the Granada in Dallas. Jennings doesn't have the most beautiful voice, but it's powerful. And when it's paired in it's odd canter to his guitar in an equally odd canter.. all I can say is it's delicious. Read on after the jump.

John Prine is an under-appreciated treasure of American music. The best of his songwriting is damn near unparalleled. He has long been recognized by fellow musicians for his talent, and soon he’ll have a tribute album filled with the best of them. Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows, featuring the likes of My Morning Jacket, the Avett Brothers, Justin Vernon, and the Drive-by Truckers, releases on June 22nd. Prine and Jim James performed a beautiful version of MMJ’s cover from the album, “All the Best,” on Letterman last night. Enjoy.

The artists and tracklist for the album should get you pretty excited.

01 Justin Vernon - “Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)”
02 Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - “Wedding Day in Funeralville”
03 My Morning Jacket - “All the Best”
04 Josh Ritter - “Mexican Home”
05 Lambchop - “Six O’Clock News”
06 Justin Townes Earle - “Far From Me”
07 The Avett Brothers - “Spanish Pipedream”
08 Old Crow Medicine Show - “Angel From Montgomery”
09 Sara Watkins - “The Late John Garfield Blues”
10 Drive-By Truckers - “Daddy’s Little Pumpkin”
11 Deer Tick - “Unwed Fathers” [ft. Liz Isenberg]
12 Those Darlins - “Let’s Talk Dirty in Hawaiian”

I go to too many damn shows – to the point where my excitement level seems to taper off for each random one I attend. Now and again, though, a line-up of bands will come to town that make me feel as if I'm about to go to my first show again. Before even entering the venue, butterflies build a tiny little flutter in my belly, and I start to get quite giddy. It hasn't happened many times this year, but the times it has have generally lead to an all around party. The most recent occasion of my 12 year old nervousness and excitement was when one of my current favorites, Dr. Dog, and their road-tested group of openers, Deer Tick, made their way to the jam-packed Studio at Warehouse Live. I made it just in time for the start of Deer Tick's set, and was glued to the stage for the next three-and-a-half hours.

Read all about the show and browse a bunch of my shots after the jump.

If you've been following the site regularly for the past year, you've realized that we can't get enough of the young Scottish lads known as Frightened Rabbit. I finally had the chance to see the quintet perform at SXSW this year (twice, actually), and they blew me away more than I ever thought they could. Unfortunately, due to that damn volcano, they had to cancel their Houston gig, but I am certainly satisfied with the time I've spent with them this year. Last night, Frightened Rabbit made their network television debut on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to perform the rocker "Nothing Like You" from their latest album, The Winter Of Mixed Drinks. Check it out...

They certainly nailed this performance, even inspiring Roots drummer and musical mastermind ?uestlove to give props to the band via twitter. I hope they make good on their semi-promise to reschedule their Houston gig later this year, as I am already jonesing for another performance.

DJ's are a dime a dozen these days, and only a handful have ever truly excited me enough to catch in a live setting. With the amount of festivals I go to, I'm exposed to a pretty large amount of electronic music, especially during the witching hours of said events. As you know, Wakarusa is a favorite festival of mine, mainly for the reason that there are so many smaller acts that I'm force fed while there. Standing in one of the main tents late at night, I saw a swelling crowd packing the smaller dance tent, so I meandered over to find Pretty Lights deep into his set. The music was great, much different than that of most of the other late night DJ's I'd heard that weekend, and after hearing a few crazy remixes involving a host of classic rock songs, I was instantly sold and remained until the very end. Flash forward to a few weeks ago when Pretty Lights, aka Derek Vincent Smith, made his way to the Ballroom at Warehouse Live, which was filled to the seems with youngsters aplenty. Didn't matter, because the entire crowd, filled with a bunch of drug addled minds, were all about getting a groove on that night. I was incredibly impressed by the interplay between Smith and drummer Cory Eberhard throughout the set – never hearing either of them miss a change all night. The set was solid from start to finish, and had me sweating out pretty much all of my demons by the end.

I had a lot of fun that night, and will never miss an opportunity to check out Pretty Lights again. I also had a blast shooting the duo, as their name stood true to their lighting rig. Check out my shots after the jump.

In my final gallery from the Houston International Festival, I highlight the concluding day of the entire event. Closing out the festival were a host of bands that I'd yet to see before including Steel Pulse and Baaba Maal, as well as local and regional flair from the likes of Rebirth Brass Band, Wild Moccasins and Sideshow Tramps.

Check out the last pictures from iFest after the jump.

We are excited to be giving away 2 pairs of tickets to see Common and Biz Markie at Houston's Warehouse Live on Friday, May 28. All you have to do to win is leave a comment with your full name and either an e-mail address or phone number in which you can receive text messages. You must leave a way for us to get a hold of you in case you win the tickets, or else you'll be shit outta luck. The winners will be announced at noon on Friday, day of show, so be available around then to confirm if you win.

Both Common and Biz Markie are guaranteed to put on a good show, as they are some of the best at what they do, so these tickets are a pretty hot commodity. If you are down on your luck, or just have too many friends that these tickets can accommodate, feel free to pick up as many as you need at Warehouse Live's official Frontgate ticketing site before they sell out. As always, big thanks to Warehouse Live, The Messina Group and AEG Live for allowing us to give away these tickets.

The third day, second weekend, of Houston International Festival was originally the most action packed, but due to a late cancellation by King Sunny Ade, the choices were a bit more spread out. All I really cared about was getting another chance to catch headliners George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic for as long as I could.

Check out my shots from the day after the jump!

Buxton are playing at Discovery Green Thursday with The Small Sounds in support
Another week brings another allotment of shows to the Houston area. See what's coming our way from May 24th to the 30th.

Monday, May 24th
The Gong Show with Sideshow Tramps
Mango's
9 PM

Wednesday, May 26th
Anna Egge, Michael Kingcaid (of What Made Milwaukee Famous) and Frank Smith
Rudyard's
9 PM

Robert Ellis & the Boys
Mango's
9 PM

Thursday, May 27
Raul Malo
Dosey Doe's
8 PM

Buxton and The Small Sounds
Discovery Green
6:30 PM

See what else is coming to Houston this week after the jump.