continental club

We've never been shy in claiming our allegiance to Houston's own folk-rockers Buxton, as they've consistently performed unbelievable sets of music to their growing legion of fans while continually staying true to their roots. They've been busy traveling to regional festivals lately, including Bryan, TX's Rock The Republic (where Bacon was in attendance) and a headlining spot at Nacogdoches, TX's Nacstock this weekend.

We happened to catch them a few weeks ago during a 29-95-sponsored event at the Continental Club, and couldn't have been happier with their set. Starting the performance off with a rollicking "Feathers," Buxton played all the favorites including "Holy Water Revival," "Flint," "Flame" and "Doctor." Mid-set, lead singer Sergio Trevino was left alone to run through an acoustic number, a segment they've been adding to their live shows recently to showcase his weary vocal work and to let the rest of the band refill their drinks. The highlight of the set came when they took a stab at a new cover they'd only practiced during their previous evening's rehearsal – Bobby Darin's 1959 hit "Dream Lover" was easily transformed into a hopefully soon-to-be Buxton b-side, and even though it was their debut performance of the track, it seemed as if it had been in their repertoire for years. After about fifty minutes, they called it a night, and we retired to the patio for some good conversation and drinks with the band. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Thursday night!

I came away from the show with a bunch of great pictures. Check them out after the jump.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect as I walked through the doors of Houston's Continental Club for a performance by South Memphis String Band on April 25th. I found the Saturday night crowd being entertained by opener Cory Branan. The last notes of his set ended just as I moved into viewing range, but the attentive crowd surely found him entertaining. As he's garnered comparisons to Ryan Adams and Pete Yorn, I wouldn't mind checking him out at a later date.

The real reason I was there was to see the third-ever performance by the South Memphis String Band. This southern blues/bluegrass/swamp/gypsy/klezmer 'supergroup' consists of Luther Dickinson from the North Mississippi Allstars and, more recently, The Black Crowes, Jimbo Mathus of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, and critically acclaimed bluesman Alvin Youngblood Hart. All three members spent the entire set switching between different acoustic string instruments – mainly guitars and mandolins with an occasional banjo, jawbone and harmonica thrown in for good measure. Dickinson, Mathus and Youngblood Hart all shared lead duties, trading off on vocals during every song. Their set consisted of several traditional bluegrass numbers, a handful of originals, and a few covers, including a stellar version of Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning" sung by Youngblood Hart. Their stage interaction was as natural as any band that had been playing together for years, never flubbing a solo opportunity or missing a chord progression throughout the entire two-plus hour set. While they had a full paying audience in attendance to witness their playing, you could tell that Dickinson, Mathus and Youngblood Hart would have been just as happy performing for their families on the porches of their backwoods Mississippi homes.

I have a feeling that we'll be seeing this project progress over the next few months, and maybe added to a few different festivals (I'm talking to you, Wakarusa and Mulberry Mountain) this summer. For now, check out the photos and videos from their Houston performance after the jump.

Son Volt and Doug Burr at Continental Club
Doors open at 8:30pm

We've got your headies:

The Bridge at Continental Club Houston
Thursday, February 5
Show starts at 10pm, 21+
Tickets $7

Legendary Latin/funk fusion eleven-piece Grupo Fantasma made the journey from Austin to Houston last Friday, November 7 for a stop at the Continental Club. We'd missed their set earlier in the year at the Houston International Festival, and were ready for the opportunity to see them again. They tore through many tight numbers that made the overfilled Continental Club gyrate to their infectious beat. We were impressed by their loyal and diverse fanbase, as well as the tightness of their playing, but it was mostly their overwhelming individual talent that won us over throughout the night. We took some videos and pictures from the evening's events, so feel free to take a look after the jump.

Friday night was full of music in Houston, something that has happened only rarely over the past few months. We had already attended Cat Power's show at Warehouse Live earlier in the evening, but were by no means finished, as we still had a full night of music ahead of us. Local favorites Sideshow Tramps and current in-town buzz-makers Buxton descended upon the dingy Continental Club to share a few sets with a host of their fans.

Read about the show after the jump

This Friday, October 10, two of our favorite Houston-based bands are teaming up for what promises to be a great night of music at the Continental Club. Swampy bluegrass gypsy punks Sideshow Tramps will be headlining the show and are slated to begin playing at 11pm. Whenever the Tramps play, fun is never far away - their shows always morph into full-on revival-style dance fests, and you're guaranteed to have a great time.

La Porte-bred indie-folk virtuosos Buxton will get things moving starting at 10. This talented young band has been receiving rave reviews since releasing their excellent full-length debut, A Family Light, earlier this year. Responses to their live shows have been no less positive, and they seem to improve even more each time we see them. Tickets are only $10, so strap on your dancing shoes and spend Friday evening gettin' down at the Continental Club.

See the show poster and watch videos of each band after the jump

Geoffrey "Uncle Tick" Muller of Sideshow Tramps

Sergio Trevino, Jason Willis and Chris Wise of Buxton

Saturday, August 9th, brought the triple billing of Craig Kinsey, Ryan Scroggins and the Trenchtown Texans and Clouseaux to the Continental Club for a nice mixture of Houston's local sounds. We walked into the half-full venue just in time to catch the last notes of Ryan Scroggins, who played a fusion of rock, punk, ska, and reggae tones quite similar to one of my old favorites, Operation Ivy. We didn't come to the Continental to see The Trenchtown Texans, however; rather, our intentions were to find out how well the Sideshow Tramps' Craig Kinsey could translate his solo songs to such a large room.

Read the full review after the jump

For The Lee Boys, making joyful, funky Gospel music is a family affair. The group consists of three brothers and their three nephews serving up 'sacred steel' sounds. True, their sound was born out of the House of God church where their father (or grandfather) served as pastor, but this ain't your grandma's church music. The Lee Boys want to get the crowd involved -- dancing and shouting out are encouraged, if not expected.

Full Lee Boys review after the jump

Moses Guest delivered Breakfast On Tour's first live music experience of 2008 on Saturday, January 5 at the Continental Club. We'd never caught this Houston-based Southern rock/jam band before, and were unprepared for what we encountered upon entering the venue: complete chaos. Okay, not really, but it was definitely more crowded than we'd ever seen the place.

Full Moses Guest review after the jump