new monsoon

Eggs and I attended the New Monsoon show that took place at Warehouse Live on September 20, where we heard of an acoustic set three members of the band planned to play the next night. The non-publicized event took place at Club Dub Dub (formerly the Jellyphish Lounge), one of our absolute favorite venues in Houston. We've caught a few acoustic shows there that have blown us away, so we were excited to learn that we'd get to experience another performance in this unique setting so soon.

Read more about the night and watch videos after the jump

Phil Ferlino, Bo Carper and Jeff Miller of New Monsoon

Houston is still dealing with the problems that Hurricane Ike left behind, including restoring power to a good chunk of the city. While we are slowly putting everything back together, so is Houston's music community. Most of Houston's venues now have power pumping into them again, but several shows were canceled or postponed before everything returned to an operational level. We had originally planned to see Redman, Steven Kellogg & the Sixers, and the Silver Jews all last week, but due to the lack of power - and the strict curfew in place - they all ended up moving on to the next city. New Monsoon, as we reported a few weeks ago, were set to record their Houston gig at Warehouse Live on Saturday, and with the help of the venue's staff, they ended up pulling off the show. It started and ended earlier than usual (we arrived at 8:30 and New Monsoon was well into their first set. We ended up missing openers Green Mountain Grass), but it still went on. The highlight of the show included a stirring version "Alaska" which has quickly become one of BOT's favorites. Green Mountain Grass ended up playing an impromptu acoustic jam in the middle of the ballroom floor during New Monsoon's set break, so all wasn't lost after missing their supporting set. Lighting duties were covered by Matt "Jonezy" Jones, who did a brilliant job working the different colors with the mood and pace of the music.

Feel free to browse a selection of images from the night's events after the jump

For some reason, New Monsoon have found a nice little second home here in Texas. Even though they hail from San Francisco, Houston has been very kind to the ever-changing members of this jam-rock group. Their shows are always packed, whether it be an acoustic set at the tiny Jellyphish Lounge or an all-out rock show at the cavernous Warehouse Live. After catching them in several other locations, it's easy to see that they always put forth the extra effort to bring just
a little bit more to their Houston fans. They have held three-night Thanksgiving runs (including dinner) at Last Concert Cafe, their self-declared "Home Away From Home", as well as multi-night, multi-venue stretches throughout the city. They are an impressive live outfit that seem to improve with each line-up change. In a move that proves (at least to me) how much they enjoy playing here, New Monsoon have decided to record their three upcoming Texas dates, including the final stop at Houston's Warehouse Live.

Find out the details after the jump

Wakarusa Music & Camping Festival's third round of artist additions was announced today:

Sound Tribe Sector 9
Ozomatli
New Monsoon
Mates of State
Hot Buttered Rum
That 1 Guy
Bang Camaro
C-Mon & Kypski
Oakhurst
Dirtfoot
Hoots & Hellmouth
American Babies
Big Smith
Stardeath & the White Dwarfs
Wisebird

Ozomatli at Wakarusa '07

Wakarusa also recently added Emmylou Harris, Jennie Arnau, Blue Turtle Seduction, Cornmeal, Family Groove Company, Madahoochi, Future Rock and Forth of July.

More artists will be added soon, so stay tuned! Tickets are currently on sale; visit Wakarusa's official website for more information.

Today the SxSW Music Conference announced their full list of showcasing artists. There are hundreds and hundreds of acts that are going to be making their way to Austin next month for the world renowned multi-media conference. I included the full list after the break for any of you music nerds who need to read every band (like me). For those of you who just want to see some highlights, check out the tags for this post. Also, for all of you Houston readers, I went ahead and bolded all of the bands that are coming from the Bayou City (congrats guys!).

2008 Showcasing Artists for the SxSW Music Conference: