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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.

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.

I've been meaning to get something up from the hot-as-hell rooftop Lightning Bolt show that took place at Khon's a while back, a newer music venue in Midtown Houston, but it's taken me this long. The show was noisy and the attendees were packed in like sardines as close to the thrashing two-some as they could possibly be. I secured my camera strap around my wrist, jumped into the pit and fortunately found a spot in between guitarist Brian Gibson and his stack of amps. Not the best place to take in the noisiest show I've been to in a while, but at least I could take some picture while not being raped by a pack of sweaty, smelly hipsters. As I snapped away, the duo, which also includes Brian Chippendale on drums and distorted vocals, eagerly fought off the crowd while destroying their brand of noise rock. After escaping the mess, I enjoyed the show from the back of the crowd in the breeze of the humid Houston summer night with a cold Bombshell Blonde in each hand. I was dripping in sweat, but it didn't matter because everyone else was too. It was a new experience for many in attendance, as Khon's hasn't been open for that long, and it was on a freaking rooftop with a perfect view of Downtown. I hope that Khon's keeps having these rooftop musical events, but later in the year please, when it's not 95 degrees at 11 pm.

As I mentioned, I happened to take a few pictures, even with sweat constantly dripping in my eyes. Check them all out after the jump.

The 2010 edition of Fun Fun Fun Fest, taking place the 5th, 6th and 7th of November, announced its line-up yesterday, and oh boy it's a strong one. The annual indie, punk, hip-hop and hardcore festival held in Austin's Waterloo Park is set to feature an assorted list of performers including Devo, MGMT, Slick Rick, Man Man, RJD2, Pharoahe Monch, The Hold Steady, Mastodon, Animal Collective's Deakin, Bad Religion, GWAR and nostalgic 90's funnyman "Weird Al" Yankovic.

This four stage festival is sure to delight many with its wide range of performers – see who else will be performing over the course of the three days after the jump.

I will never miss an opportunity to see Mates of State whenever they either come to town or perform at a festival I'm attending. Their brand of indie pop is tried and tested, and has been as consistent as any band I've seen perform on numerous occasions. Husband/wife duo Jason Hammell and Kori Gardner brought a couple of additional auxiliary instrumentalists for this performance to fill out their sound, and it made songs like "My Only Offer" and "Rearrange Us" take on many new dimensions. They performed with a certain vigor, and made openers Free Energy look paltry in comparison – and I really enjoyed Free Energy's energetic and youthful performance. Both bands provided quite a nice soundtrack for a packed weekday performance in Warehouse Live's Studio. I happily drank and danced and sweated out what was still left in me from the previous weekends adventure to Atlanta for Phish's Fourth of July run. This show, on top of the Edward Sharpe show we caught in Dallas a few days prior, was the perfect hangover cure for one of the best weekends ever.

I took a whole bunch of pictures of both Free Energy and Mates of State, which you can check out after the jump.

Editors note: I want to welcome a new Houston-based writer to the fold, one I'm quite excited to have working with us here on BOT. Brett "Biscuit" Forsberg will hopefully be attempting several show reviews in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for his fluffy, buttery goodness.

The closer you can get to Octopus Project the better. Last night at Warehouse Live, and on their much smaller side stage, nowhere was too far away. Ryan, Josh, and Toto were clad in their usual white shirts and black ties, and Yvonne, the theremin and glockenspiel girl, looked fantastic as ever performing for her hometown. The ticket booth sold out after I purchased my ticket, but luckily there was no crushing pressure of some mainstream shows I have seen at Warehouse Live’s main stage.

Read all about the show after the jump