BOT Blog

Words and Photos by B "Café con Leche" Gutierrez.

Late last Winter, a friend of mine played "Love Betsy" on his guitar. I thought it was the saddest, most beautiful song I had heard in a while. It was the first time I'd heard of Big Head Todd and the Monsters.

I didn't think that by the end of the Summer I'd be at one of their shows, hoping to hear that song when BHTM played a set at Crossroads KC on Friday, Aug. 27. They didn’t play it, but the concert was still awesome.

Read the rest of the review and see more photos after the jump.

A few weeks ago, a brand new festival was announced for our fair city of Houston. Taking place on October 30th in Houston's Tom Bass Park, the first ever Ghoulsfest is sure to be a good time. Promising "the most diverse in a one day event," the festival is set to feature headlining sets from legendary hardcore band Bad Brains, indie-rockers We Are Scientists and pop-soul singer Macy Gray. Also featured during this all day, outdoor event are DJ sets from both Hot Chip, Fischerspooner and Peanut Butter Wolf, as well as a host of Texas' best including Daniel Johnston, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and Girl In A Coma. As always, a strong contingent of Houston artist are being represented in form of Fat Tony, Roky Moon & Bolt, Tax The Wolf and several others.

There also seems to be more additions on the way, with one major rumor about an additional headliner – that being Big Boi of Outkast fame. It sure seems to be true, and has been reported by reputable news sources, but really who knows?! Hopefully for Houston's sake, it is.

Check out the full line-up for the inaugural Ghoulsfest after the jump.

This is music for lovers. This is music that is inspired by some of the 70's and 80's greats like Hall & Oats and Bruce Hornsby. This is what happens when you gather a group of today's finest indie rock musicians and they do something completely out of the box. This is porn music.

The only reason I truly know about Gayngs is that they are on the Austin City Limits line-up, and that Bon Iver's Justin Vernon plays a big part in their foundation. I haven't had the chance to listen to much of their music, but I'm hoping they blow me away when it becomes festival time. I've been a huge fan of Bon Iver and Megafaun for quite some time, back to the days of their project together DeYarmond Edison, so when I learned that they were once again collaborating on a completely different type of music with 20 or so other musicians including Rhymesavers' P.O.S. and members of the Rosebuds, I was instantly sold. The video that accompanies my post put a stamp on it and mailed it off. I would've never expected anything Justin Vernon would do to sound so slinky and sultry, and I'm glad that it was an utter surprise upon first listen. They are my new discovery, and my current obsession – one that won't be upstaged for quite some time. I know I will never truly appreciate such an act until I see them in some dank club with four 60 watt light bulbs illuminating the entire room, but the ACL performance, YouTube vids and their debut album Relayted will have to suffice until I get the chance.

This is some of the sexiest music I've heard in my life. Seriously. Anytime Justin Vernon rocks the auto-tune, I simply melt – that doesn't make me gay does it? I can't freaking wait to see them at ACL!

In honor of Jeff Tweedy's 43rd birthday, I decided to post something Wilco related, but came across this little gem first. With Tweedy set to produce legendary soul singer Mavis Staples, they've had plenty of time to collaborate and have some fun. Staples, whom can out sing pretty much anyone I've ever seen live, shines in the following video which finds her covering the Creedence Clearwater Revival tune "Wrote A Song For Everyone" backed by Tweedy on acoustic guitar and vocals. It's a great version of the song, ever so soulful with Staples at the helm. Tweedy, although he had been working with Staples and had become friends with her for some time, still seems as if he's starstruck in her presence – as he should be! Check out the video below...

I'm excited to see what Tweedy does on the production side of the business. I know he's had a heavy hand in the job on all Wilco records, but it'll be nice to see his vision through someone elses work – especially someone as storied and as talented as Staples. The album is due out September 14th, so we don't have to wait too long.

Words and Photos by B "Café con Leche" Gutierrez.

The Ben Miller Band from Joplin, MO is a Fayetteville fave. They play in town often and were fresh back from tour when they came to Gulley Park on July 29th. Their show was part of the Gulley Park Summer Concert Series, put together by Fayetteville Parks and Recreation. Keep reading and see photos after the jump.

After a fun acoustic set from the boys of Delta Spirit at Cactus Music, they headed across town to Warehouse Live to headline a packed room of Houston hipsters and bro's. They aborted their acoustic instruments of earlier in the day, and dawned their electrified cousins as soon as they made their way to the stage. After a sneak peak at the setlist, I saw that they were starting with one of the many songs I was longing to hear, "People, Turn Around," so I decided to leave the rest of the set a secret and stopped reading from there. After an abbreviated version of the sing-a-long, Delta Spirit tore into a run of songs alternating between cuts from the new album, including "Bushwick Blues," "911" and "White Table," as well as a choice of classic songs like "Strange Vine" and "Streetwalker." The energy was in abundance during the first half of the set, but didn't really explode until an off-the-cuff cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" that led into the always fun to hear "Trashcan." Two of my favorites from the new album, "St. Francis" and "Vivian" followed, and the set ended with the one-two Ode To Sunshine punch of "Children" and "People C'mon." After a quick encore break, the group returned for what was supposed to be a run through their scorcher, "Crippler King," but was really a cover of the Isley Brothers "Shout" that found frontman Matt Vasquez joining us in the audience and bringing everyone to their knees – ala the scene from Animal House – before bringing everyone back up for a huge dance party. The show finished with a classic cut, "Gimme Some Motivation" which kept the energy going, and left everyone dripping with sweat after jumping up and down throughout the end.

Even after seeing them six times, they always seem to amaze me with ease. They are a solid young band that has a huge career ahead of them. They write songs that are easy to relate to, yet also fun to dance or sway along to. Vasquez is what you want in a front man, with unbridled energy from start to finish and a personality to match. With his Houston roots, it was a great homecoming for him, and the rest of the band also seemed very comfortable here in the Bayou City. I can't wait until I get another chance to see Delta Spirit again – I'm guessing by the size of their crowd for this show, that they will definitely be making a return trip to Houston on their next go-around.

I took a bunch of photos from the show, which you can find after the jump.

Over a month has passed since Bacon and my last Phish experience at Alpharetta, GA's Encore Park Amphitheatre on the 3rd and 4th of July, and we are still suffering from minor hangovers. To help us finally get over them, Phish has released a high quality HD video of their Farmhouse tune "Gotta Jibboo." Used as a set closer for the third of four sets of the weekend, Phish extended the usual jam in "Jibboo" for a funky 12 minutes of booty-shaking that sent everyone in the crowd into the fourth and final set with their dancing shoes on. For me, this version was overshadowed by the ferocious final set that night, but after watching this video and seeing the quality and intensity of playing, I realize how great of a choice for set closer it really was. Give it a watch, and judge for yourself...

Now, if only Phish would release that segment in the final set that was smashed in between Mike's Groove. I would die to see a clear video of that "Harpua," which included a full interpolation of Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name." That shit was the shit.

A while back, San Diego indie-rockers Delta Spirit came to town for a headlining spot at Houston's Warehouse Live. Before that show, which I have a ton of pictures and video to post from, they made their way to our fair city's best record store, Cactus Music. Frontman Matt Vasquez held the reins, performing 6 acoustic numbers with additional support from the rest of the band on auxiliary instrumentation. The set started with four of their best new tracks including "White Table," "Bushwick Blues," "Random Man" and "Ballad Of Vitaly," as well as a rare gem that left Vasquez alone and a rollicking countrified full band version of "Trashcan" to close out the short in-store performance. It was a great showcase by a great band, which only got our group of friends in attendance even more excited for the ensuing electrified performance later in the night.

You'll soon hear more about the Warehouse Live show, but for now browse a collection of my photos from the Cactus Music performance after the jump.

Words by Julianne "Cranberry Scone" Rice. Photos by Anna "HashBrowns" Vernon.

Note from HashBrowns with a side of ketchup: We seem to be ever-expanding our musical horizons here at BoT, and I'd like to welcome a new guest writer Julianne "Cranberry Scone" Rice. She is a native Dallas-ite working at a local magazine and has a powerfully sweet voice of her own. She's being recruited by a local band but seems to be a bit stage-shy. Maybe sharing her love of music will spur her to the stage.

After a four year hiatus from the recording spotlight, UK singer-sonwriter Corinne Bailey Rae released her second album, The Sea — following her self-title debut album—this past January. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner and has sold more than four million records, and she was in Dallas on Thursday night at the Granada Theater promoting the album and satisfying a major craving for live jazz-influenced pop/rock. Click here to read more after the jump.

Words by Russ Kirk. Photos by Anna "HashBrowns" Vernon.

The Hold Steady (THS) has come under some criticism of late since the departure of former keyboardist Franz Nicoli. Complaints have been made that the band no longer possesses the swagger and raw energy that vaulted them into the popularity that they now enjoy - that THS had abandoned what had endeared them to so many. The band’s most recent album, Heaven is Whenever, has not been greeted with open arms by all listeners. However, naysayers were nowhere to be found at the Granada Theater in Dallas, Texas on Saturday July 10. Opening with the first track from their new album, Sweet Part of the City, THS showed that they are indeed back to their old selves. As heard on Heaven is Whenever, lead singer Craig Finn’s vocal style has evolved, resulting in more singing and greater vocal range with less of the talk-based performance that he has been associated with in the past. The result made for a phenomenal sound from the front man as his newly strengthened singing meshed with Tad Kubler’s guitar as THS performed pure, fun, rock and roll.

Read on for the full review after the jump.