photo reviews

Last month I had the fine privilege to attend not one, but two performances by That 1 Guy. First was a stellar opening set for Keller Williams when we caught him at The Granada in Dallas, and second was when he made it down to Houston for a show at Rudyard's. I only caught the last few songs of the first set, so I made it a priority to get there for the start of his first performance in my hometown in about a year. As I walked in, he was moments into his opening song, and the craziness was abound. Playing his patented "Magic Pipe," along with special guest appearances from his "Magic Boot" and "Magic Saw," That 1 Guy aka Mike Silverman brought along not only his music, but a full show that included comedic interludes and a host of magic tricks as well. While the audience remained seated throughout the set, they were completely sold by Silverman's antics all night. He is a great performer, and if you've never seen him before, I highly recommend it when he inevitably comes to your town. He is unlike any other act going today, and with his odd instruments and signature style he should be a force on the road and at festivals for some time to come.

Check out my photos from the show after the jump!

I was extremely excited going into Thursday night's Yo La Tengo show, mostly because the first three times I've seen them were all excellent. The New Jersey trio which features the husband/wife duo of Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley and longstanding member James McNew, were last in Houston when they opened for My Morning Jacket before SXSW in 2008, so a return trip was well overdue. Their latest album Popular Songs was on full display during the 2-hour performance, but it was their steps back to the classic material and some interesting cover choices that really brought out YLT's true talent.

Read all about the show after the jump

To be completely honest with you, the main reason I went to Metric at Warehouse Live was not because of my love for the band – heck, I really had never heard them before that night – rather it was my infatuation with lead singer Emily Haines. She's sexy. Dead sexy. Like, I want to do extremely naughty things with her. Too far? Her vocal work on the Broken Social Scene classic "Anthem's for a Seventeen Year Old Girl" can not be matched, so despite never really hearing a Metric tune, I was pretty sure I'd like them. I arrived late to a barrage of noise as I opened the double doors leading into Warehouse Live's Ballroom. Metric was full on into their third or fourth song which was a heavy mix of dance music and almost punk rock. I wasn't expecting such an intense sound coming from Metric, but I was immediately pleased with the outcome. Haines leaped and bounded across the stage in her golden mini-dress with an endless amount of energy that would make even Sonic the Hedgehog tired. Her polished band of darkly dressed players, including drummer Joules Scott-Key, guitarist James Shaw and bassist Josh Winstead, never missed a beat throughout the lengthy set of dance-infused pop and indie-rock. With all the energy emitted by Haines and the rest of the band via the music, the crowd seemed to swell with each gradual shift in tempo and rhythm. For a Monday night show, Houston definitely showed its numbers by filling the Ballroom all the way back to the soundboard. Who knew Metric had such a grandiose following? Especially in Space City...

I had a great time shooting Ms. Haines in all her sparkly glory, so feel free to check out my photos from the show after the jump.

I wasn't going to write anything up on Deer Tick's opening set for Neko Case at Warehouse Live, mainly because my photos were already used in the Houston Press Rocks Off review of the show, but after looking through my photo set on Flickr, I decided I wanted to post them here on BoT. I'm not going to go into detail about the show, as Craig Hlavaty over at the Press did a good job with that already, so go check out his review if you want to know how the performance was. Otherwise, take a look at my shots after the jump.

The 2009 edition of Via Colori took place a few weekends ago, and went off without a hitch – on Sunday. Unfortunately, Saturday's events were rained out, which didn't allow the street painting to even begin. Some musical events did take place on Saturday, though, so it wasn't a complete wash (pun intended). Sunday featured a bunch of our favorite acts, including Elaine Greer, Wild Moccasins and Buxton, on top of the fabulous works of art being created all around.

Read all about Sunday, November 22nd at the 2009 Via Colori Street Painting Festival after the jump.

The last Westheimer Block Party as we know it. Switching to a two-day format for the first time since reviving itself from the dust of what used to be known as the Westheimer Street Festival, the Block Party took place in the many Montrose venues surrounding the intersections of Taft and Westheimer. Put on by Omar Afra and his cronies at Free Press Houston, this fall's edition featured over 200 bands on November 14th and 15th. The Saturday, the 14th brought good weather, and great sets of music from the likes of Buxton, Roky Moon & Bolt, Eastern Sea (featuring an incredible collaboration with rapper Fat Tony), Japanther and one of the cleanest sets of hip-hop I've ever seen from Dead Prez. Sunday, the 15th continued the party despite a bit of a rain delay in the early afternoon. I actually put my camera to good use on Sunday, and was able to capture another round of fantastic music from I Am Mesmer, Grandfather Child, Elaine Greer, Wine and Revolution, The Sour Notes, News On The March, The Tontons and a curfew-breaking set by The Sideshow Tramps to close things out.

As soon as I arrived late in the afternoon on Saturday, my agenda was geared towards drinking rather than working, so there aren't many shots from that day, but Sunday I was in full photographer mode all day. Check out my photos from the fall 2009's Westheimer Block Party after the jump.

If you've ever seen the movie Once, than you know who The Swell Season are, but if you haven't, there's a good chance you probably don't. The Oscar award-winning duo is made up of Glen Hansard, front-man of Irish rock group The Frames, and Marketa Irglova, a Czech singer-songwriter who performs predominantly on piano. They write some of the most inspirational folk music I've heard in quite some time, and a live performance by the duo is unlike any other. I first caught them live at Austin City Limits last year, and left their show glowing from its genius. They were the first act I've ever witnessed that have made being in an over-sized festival crowd feel like you were in a much smaller, more intimate venue. Hansard has a certain way of involving the crowd that makes them feel more like they are performing the set with them, rather than just being a witness. Their set was definitely a sight to see, but was too short at forty-five minutes amongst all the other great bands playing that day at ACL. Fortunately it wasn't too long before The Swell Season hit the road again, this time in support of their latest release, Strict Joy. They found themselves back in Texas at Houston's Warehouse Live for a headlining set featuring up-and-coming singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata filling the support slot.

Read all about the show, browse my photos and watch a host of videos after the jump.

One of my favorite jambands at one of my favorite local venues. House Of Blues layed host to New York quintet moe. for a Thursday night two-set performance. I walked in the dark venue to a meager crowd of about 50 or so. It was kind of early, but not nearly early enough to warrant such a small group of people at a moe. show. They came on pretty soon after I arrived, and thankfully a big chunk of people arrived who filled out the floor during the "Tailspin" opener. The show was great, and featured several of my favorites including "Happy Hour Hero," "32 Things," "Head" and a nasty rendition of "Brent Black" at the request of an some wook who'd been holding up a sign from the beginning of the show. They played for a good two-and-a-half hours, not including a thirty minute break, and each second of their playing was fire. Of all the times that I've seen moe., this might have been the most solid showing from the group. After seeing jam counterparts Umphrey's McGee on the same stage a few months back, who didn't seem too happy to be playing in front of a Houston crowd, watching moe. made me realize that they aren't just up there going through the motions – after twenty years as a band, they still visibly enjoy every minute of playing together. I'm glad I hit this moe. show up, because my love and following of jambands has diminished over the past year or so, and this only helped to reestablish the need for jam and improvisational music in my life.

I'm not sure what so many people's problems with jambands are. It might be their lack of attention span, or just pure distaste for anything that will make you dance, but for some reason tons of people have so much hate for improvisational music and the groups that are best at it. If more people would give bands like moe. a chance in the live format, I think they'd walk away surprised and satisfied. Come on hipsters, open up your ears and form your own opinions!

As always, I had my camera in tow – you can browse my shots after the jump.

New Orleans funksters Galactic brought their live show back to Houston's Warehouse Live with vibraphone extraordinaire Mike Dillon and his Go-Go Jungle in tow. Galactic always brings a pretty great live offering, even after seeing them as many times as I have at festivals and tour stops over the past decade. They freshen things up every couple of years by adding and dispensing of different members including vocalists, MC's and horn players. Their current incarnation features the original five members – Stanton Moore on drums, Ben Ellmen on saxophone, Robert Mercurio on bass, Rich Vogel on organ and Jeff Raines on guitar – and additional support on trombone and vocals for this tour by former Rebirth Brass Band player Corey Henry. They rely heavily on the two horns to front the band, but the true funkiest moments come when the other four lock into a groove. After an intriguing opening set of his own, vibraphonist Mike Dillon stepped up with Galactic to lay down some serious licks. The matching of Moore and Dillon was almost too much talent in the percussion section to handle, but their skills gelled nicely. The set rapped up with a nice round of hip-hop, closing with the title track to their funk/rap fusion album, From The Corner To The Block. A quick instrumental encore closed out the night, giving us a good preview of what to expect on their new back-to-the-roots LP, Ya Ka May, that will be in stores on February 9, 2010.

I brought the camera along, so feel free to browse my shots after the jump.

For many years, a tiny establishment located deep in Houston proper has been dishing up nightly live music and quality Mexican food to the masses. The place I'm speaking of is the famed Last Concert Cafe. Many budding jambands have cut their teeth on the wood stage surrounded by the massive sandpit that serves as the outdoor venues dance-floor. Hoola-hoopers and djembe players come to this refuge on a regular basis to surround themselves by a host of like-minded, kind people who make it incredibly easy to allow you to be yourself. Ever since my tenure in Houston began almost 5 years ago, I've been making regular stops to this storied venue for many great shows from both national touring acts, and local groups with weekly residencies like Potroast and The Hightailers. I always know that I'm going to have an incredible time when I go there, and will always leave with a beaming smile on my face.

My most recent experience at Last Concert Cafe was for a tour stop by North Carolina's Toubab Krewe. I couldn't miss Toubab's first trip back to Houston since their inaugural visit to the Bayou City at The JellyPhish Lounge several years back, so instead of sticking around Warehouse Live to see Dinosaur Jr., we headed to LCC to see the Krewe. The Malian-influenced afro-beat group blends several genres, including rock, funk and reggae, to make their own unique fusion. The addition of the not-used-enough-in-live-music kora adds a completely new dimension to their overall sound, which is always the cherry on top of the stellar soundtrack they provide. As always, us BOTheads made sure to spend the night shaking our asses and shuffling our bare feet in the cool sand during Toubab Krewe's two hour set.

Bacon and I brought our cameras along to capture the evenings events, so feel free to browse my shots and his video after the jump.