SIKE: THIS IS YOUR ACTUAL WEEKEND

Sunday Night. Toyota Center. Tickets still Available. Sorry Satin Hooks.

ATTN THIS WEEKEND: HAVE YOU TRIED EM, POWDERMILK?

Oh has your family tried em, Powdermilk? (Powdermilk!)
Yes has your family tried em, Powdermilk? (Powdermilk!)
Well if your family's tried 'em, you know you've satisfied 'em
They're a real hot item, Powdermilk

FRIDAY
Two Star Symphony Orchestra @ Jones Hall (St. Thomas)
We told you about this a little while ago. Two Star will be playing a retrospective of their full career to date on new pro-gear/pro-attitude instruments, with their full bunch-a-hunking members group. Here is what we had to say about it.

SATURDAY
Secret Show @ The Shady Tavern
Last week's SSS was the BEST YET, in spite of the rain and the cold. Curtis on the tables (er, Laptop) always drops the best tunes, and the crowd is fun enough that you generally have a good time regardless of the music. Last week we danced to a Reggae band and had the time of our lives - we hate reggae. Our scientific method predicts that this week's bands will be blues rockers The Tontons, a solo musician (possibly Eric Todd) and who knows who else. DJs start at noon, bands at two. Bring whiskey, they do setups.

Sickish Fest 2 @ The Proletariat
Sickish Fest was just a few weeks ago, and had pretty much the same lineup. But hell, it's a damn solid one, and you've got the gut to take it in again. This is a great opportunity to buy the new Balaclavas record, which an authoritative source has described as the best album of the year - epic. Speaking of which, have you voted in the Sammies yet? Do it. And if it happens to be Saturday night, stop by the Pro to catch them along with A Pink Cloud, Vaarg, MKF Kunst, Tense and Muzak John.

Pong and The Mathletes @ Rudyards
The Mathletes, who will be playing as the Flaming Lips at Hootenanny, have been playing with obscenely large bands lately. Pong, who is not Prong, headlines

SUNDAY
Ringo Deathstar, Satin Hooks, La Snacks @ Rudyards
Austin shoegazers Ringo Deathstar open a bill on which they are the best named band. Not sure what sort of shenanigans Satin Hooks might have planned for this one (last time they were joined on stage by a horn section), but even if it's just the three of them, it's sure to be a good rawk. Hella chellers La Snacks get things started.

DUMB QUESTIONS/SMART ANSWERS: SEW WHAT

Once upon a time, we used to fill your glorious Thursdays with a special treat: a completely set of asinine questions posed to a local of note. Well, in the spirit of all this incoming mistletoe, holly and chestnuts, we can't help but try and put forth the GTD to try and make it happen for you once again. This week we check in with Craft-Core kicker Sew What, who opened up last weeks best-to-date Saturday Secret Show. Check out what she's got for ya:

What are some of your favorite records lately?
The Evens - Get Evens, Karina Nistal - Nistyle

Are there any Houston bands who you've been digging lately?
ALARMA!, Over Sea Under Stone and B.

What's your secret Houston place?
Stir-it-Up cofeehouse on Chenevert and Gray

What is the first sentence of the page you are on in a book you are reading right now?
"Once again I feel that everyone is growing restive"- H. Miller

What's the best thing you have spent money on in the last year?
a new pair of jeans. oh and cigars and AK47s.

What is the best thing you got for free in the last year?
KORG AX 1000 pedal board

What question should we ask the band next week?
Wildfires or floods?

There is a cat in your picture and an bear in your email address, and we seem to recall seeing you at SSS with a dog once. Were you to find yourself suddenly transported to a mythological kingdom where you had an animal companion that chilled at your side all the time, and chatted and perhaps performed heroic tasks, which would you choose?
Well i like animals. So much so that i cannot eat them and if i were to have an animal companion I am tempted to go with the winged unicorn but that may be more of a 13yr old Sew What answer. so a unicorn or a rat.

not a sloth and definitely not a turtle. maybe a dumbo rat....

What does Sew What have going on right now?
Getting ready for the TX GONE GARAGE fest in December. I play on Sunday! Once for free, all ages at Walters, around 3:45pm and then at night at Rudyards, 8p. or so. I am also planning to record alittle this Dec/Jan and will look positively upon the prospect of putting out a 7" in Jan.

Stream: Sew What - Various Tracks

REVIEW: DIZZY PILOT: SH*T OUT THE BONES

It takes about nine seconds for Sh*t Out the Bones, Dizzy Pilot’s unfortunately named though raucously redeeming EP, to get to firing with all cylinders. While the tempo may step down a bit here and there, the swampy strip-stompin’ blister takes anything but the back-seat. For twenty straight minutes, your headphones are a t-top T-bird pummeling through a fuzzed, riffy and non-stop world without burnish, restraint or low-cal salad dressing. Then, you hit the closer, Carmelita, and the sudden change of pace pulls like a rawhide strap on the collar bone.

For a band whose live shows are generally the sort of volumetric exercises that can be almost as easily taken in from the next room, hearing them put down the hard-sticks and electrics to pick up the mallets and pine tops for some chorusing along to a string section doesn’t just show off their range, it, in a funny way, puts the entire recording into a fuller context. Dizzy Pilot, in spite of songs referencing moonshine, devil trains, hurricanes and, well, pooping out bones, has never aimed (best we can tell) to be dumb, balls out, Jack Daniels-inspired rock. While they may frequently hit the same pleasure centers as dumb/wonderful anthems by all the greatest hits in your collection, on Bones they err on the side of nuance that marks the difference between a record by Hum and Electric Six (put down your cattle prods - they sound nothing like either).

The entire record sounds like its been run through an overdrive pedal, and proudly so. It's the sort of dirty electric that could never be powered by a hybrid car; pure coal mine, and not the sort of clean coal technology that we've been sold on the tele lately. Even the sweeter moments, like the aforementioned Carmelita, don't hesitate to remind you that we all live in an unpolished world of addiction and sketchy edges of town. Doing epic well is not the fortune of most bands, but the DP puts it to the 3 Ring test like a champ. This is the first produced (as opposed to tune up, plug in, rock it out live) record that we've heard come out of Pigeon Eater Studio, and it sounds fantastic - which says something given our completely unwavering addiction to the recordings that have come out of Dead City Sound this year. Get yr tuff out, this rippage rules. Recommended

Dizzy Pilot will take the middle spot for crowd-pleasers Melt Banana tonight with WTF MISSLE punks Cop Warmth getting things started @ Walter’s on Washington.

Stream: Dizzy Pilot - Various Tracks

GREERING UP FOR BIG THINGS

We freely admit that sometimes we miss out on the good stuff, especially the good transitions. Like whenever it was in the Transformers story arc that it was explained why Bumblebee went from having his Volkswagon disguise kit altered into one that looked a helluva lot like a Chevy. We totally missed that. We're sure that this level of meddling with our distinct childhood recollections of that fact must have been an excellent subplot that played out on the small screen, or perhaps in a Dark Horse graphic novel. Surely this isn't the sort of transition that was undertaken in, say, a corporate boardroom.

Regardless, when you do miss out on the transitions, sometimes it can be TCBY chill to be met with that next level product. Like Elaine Greer. Last time we checked in with her, she was a cute as buttons folksie, writing catchy little acoustic strummers like "Everything Again" (still one of our favorites, though sadly no longer on her MySpace). No more. Though we've run into her for weeks at the woefully underrated Saturday Secret Shows, we hadn't actually seen her play, but that all came to a cold, roof-leaking end this past week as she took to the stage (er, corner) of the Shady Tavern's back room.

Left in the car was her acoustic, replaced with the most rock of guitars - a P-90 sporting SG Classic (classic!). Standing aside and behind her, a three piece band, whose amplified sound was almost big enough to keep up with her now seriously catalyic-coverterless voice; you simply cannot believe that a sound that big and full can come from a body that small (and there is really no way to write that phrase without it sounding creepy. Apologies). Though the twee-folk is gone, don't think that she's fallen off the cliff into some sort of too-tuff n' snarly Runaways style rebellion - she sings with a smile and made a noticeably 'oh no' face as she realized she was about to say a lyric with a bad word in front of her grandmother (who was in the audience). The band's slightly twangy pop fits well in the collection of anyone who counts Rilo Kiley or The Lemonheads as must-hears, and certainly has a place in ours.

Whats so great is how young this band is, and though that statement makes us sound old and farty (which we are), it is true that they do some of those rather charming things that young bands/musicians do: for example, later in the night, when we went to see them at the Proletariat (yes, after seeing them play for free we went and paid six bucks to hear them again - they're that good) not quite being able to roll with the pretty standard sound challenges that the venue likes to throw at you. BUT - that is not meant to take away from them, just to say we are canned like ham on whats to come from this quartet. Elaine tells us that they'd like to record, and we hope they find the means to do it soon.

Stream: Elaine Greer - Various Tracks
Photo by Grant Hickey

VOTING BEGINS TODAY: THE SAMMIES

LADIES AND GENTLEMAN: PULL OVER THE INTERNET, YOU'VE GOT VOTING TO DO. Announcing the 2007 Sammies Awards, an awards show gala spectacular that has neither a show, nor awards to hand out - just gimmicky end-of-year shenanigans to keep your eyeballs glued to our ultra lucrative advertising banners (PS - we don't have any advertisers right now - anyone wanna be one?) BUT OH SPECTACULAR, SPECTACULAR! Why? Because, just like the National Federation of Board Gamers annual Dicies, you, THE PEOPLE, get to vote in FOUR categories of a seriously pedestrian nature. Yes, we realize it is unfair that our editorial board alone gets to make the call on who wins in categories such as HEART-THROB BASSIST WHOSE SWIMSUIT CALENDAR WE WOULD BUY WITH A QUICKNESS, but atleast you, oh people with choice, get to pick the following:

BEST RECORD:
BEST BAND OR SOLO PERSON:
BEST ON THE STAGE/FLOOR:
BEST THING TO HAPPEN:

And this ain't no Houston Press best-of event, so the rules are both hella strict and hella easy. The record, show or thing that happened must be during the calendar year 2007, and they must be from Houston. People who didn't live here the entire year must have lived here for atleast six months of it. Houston, for the sake of this extremely prestiegious award, includes the greater Houston area, and places like Alvin, Lake Jackson and any other nearby municipality whose bands we have attempted to claim as being part of the 713.

TO VOTE:
Send an email to adifferentryan@gmail.com with your vote for the above four things. Include a photo and a note if you are single, as our intern, Shawn Adolph, needs a date for the winter dance and could really use your help. THANKS. VOTE ONCE. DON'T SUCCUMB TO GROUP THOUGHT. VOTING ENDS DECEMBER 21!

REVIEW: PAPERMOONS 7"

From when much younger, perhaps not quite old enough to be doing it, perhaps barely so, fond and distinct memories of riding around in a faux-wood sided station wagon in rural Wisconsin still remain. Brown County to be exact. Up rolling knolls on dirt and gravel rolls, occasionally intersected with pavement, all bordering farmland and none running too far before requiring a short perpendicular jaunt to make allowance for the ever-rectangular, never-aligned edges of property ownership. Past red barns and green field, and palisades of trees guarding hidden streams; past small towns and smaller cemeteries, Lions Club Halls in parks with wood and metal swings and see-saws. A world too Rockwell to be real, but too immediate to be sentimental.

We have no memory of what we listened to in the Chevy as it sped so fast that the world stood still. Probably it was loud; possibly it was angsty or goofy or both. But if it had to be re-enacted, and in my life I would like it to be (though no measure of Neverland could ever make this man boy again), we would bring along the Papermoons’ 7” for the soundtrack.

Gentle, almost doe-eyed; immune to the rush of the wicked window wind who detracts from the scenery outside. Simple elegance with nuance, each part working toward a whole, as though the shaft, stock, silk and husk of the corn. Musically, there are reminders to pack your harmonica for the next campfire and to throw your guitar in the back seat for when you venture off the road to sit idle in a fallow field. Lyrically, there are truisms that might seem platitude coming from a less skilled pen and mouth.

This seven inch goes a long way towards stacking up to the duo’s sometimes hushing, sometimes romping, entirely blissful set at Walter’s last month. Exist, for example, is no contest one of the best songs to come out of the city this year. The fact that a recording in which no fault can be found but yet still doesn’t quite measure up to them on the stage has us entirely in the sun about their full length, due out next year. Recommended.

The Papermoon’s next show is at the Skyline Network-approved HOOTENANNY!, January 5th, where they’ll be playing as Pedro the Lion.

Stream: Papermoons - Various Tracks

REVIEW: LINUS PAULING QUARTET: ALL THINGS ARE LIGHT

Our favorite thing that any critic has ever written about a Linus Pauling Quartet album is by Q Magazine, who commented "A large red sticker proclaiming WEIRD ALERT could not make things plainer." This was sort of the impression that had always carried with us about LP4, especially considering we knew them more through the man-about-internet writings of their man-about-town guitarist Ramon Medina than any actual first-person encounter with their music (this is not to say that Ramon is especially weird or anything, just that the threat of weirdness is a thread in most writing about them. Ok , actually, the button up silk shirts are a little weird). So, aside from a single (rather hazy) show, we really went into the listening process for this record expecting something that would confuse us like Balaclavas. To the contrary.

The other thing we often read about LP4 is that they are a psychedelic rock band. However, lighter than Philadelphia Cream Cheese is their reliance on flange, delay, loops, phase, chorus or any of the multi-tracking schenanigans that make it easy to tell which Beach Boys songs are from Pet Sounds and which are not. Yes, there is a little trip here and there (how could there not be in a nine minute song about alien abductions, though using a wah pedal on a guitar solo alone hardly makes one psychedelic), but its nothing that couldn't be chalked up to making music in post-modern era (read: there are no influences because everything is an influence).

Nope, if we had to use a single term to describe what was going on here, and you know we are going to use a single term because we are sick of not having this review done, that term would be grunge.

Grunge.

First off - eat it, we like grunge rock and this is not meant as a jab or something. Frankly, we're really over reviewing records (and writing in general) right now and just want to push out our thoughts on them, and so we're not ashamed to go back and resurrect the original meanings of a genre whose earliest prognosticators cannot be held responsible for the number of Candlebox , Creed and Collective Soul records currently inhabiting the cut-out bin at your local record store. We're all about those first couple Soundgarden and Mudhoney records. Never stopped listening to them. We love the bigness of them - sure there was louder and heavier stuff - but it all went too fast, and therefore was a small blur rather than a hulking bantha. And that's grunge for us - not JC Penny clothing collections or DOD effects pedals, but a gigantic hairy beast meandering out of the cold wet Pacific northwest with backpacks made of humbuckers and sleeves made of drop d tuning.

The fact that we take to these two acts in particular (as opposed to doling out Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains as favorites - though real talk, they are as well), has something to do with why we have been listening to this record as much as we have without actually pushing in the clutch and engaging the right mental gears to get a review of it out of the garage. First off - let's do some thematic investigation and correlation. The great thing about Mudhoney , Mark Arm once said (approximately) was that they had songs about dogs and being sick. In other words, they did not wrestle with weighty subjects - and that's whats appealed to us about them. Quick examination of All Things Are Light (isn't the title itself, by the way, telling us not to expect too heavy of material), and we can see similar thematic impulses, those being drunkenness (She Bad, She Throwed, Old Crow, 40oz), fast food (Enchirito), and sword metal (Waiting for the Axe to Fall).

But as much as it was the puerile nature of Mudhoney's lyrics that appealed to our still very teenage mind, it was the aforementioned largeness of Soundgarden that worked antidote to their unfortunate occasional mustering of subject matters inappropriate for an Archie Comic; big crunchy chords that get rode on out while the leaden lead line drives the melody forward; building, tearing down abruptly, building up again. We dig on it, but we wouldn't guess that they necessarily do. There isn't any sort of obvious grabs from the Soundgarden playbook here, more likely it's just a coincidence of tone, equipment and approach - and it works for us.

We've been told repeatedly that LP4 worked really hard on the album, and that shows in the production, the music and the packaging. Frankly, we wished this review did a better job of communicating that to you (or communicating anything at all) - but what just took you two minutes to read took us nine hours to write and we're over it. We're going back to just listening to it. Recommended.

MP3: Linus Pauling Quartet - Alien Abduction

AN APPEAL TO THE TURKEYS: GIVE US SOMETHING TO BE THANKFUL FOR

Open letter from the editor's of this site to members of The Turkeys.

DEAR SIRES,
On this holiday week, as we celebrate the triumph of starvation over xenophobia among our nation's earliest religious crazies, we sometimes loose sight of what is really important about this holiday, Thanksgiving. It’s not just about having a holiday which, due to its eternal Thursdayness, often results in a Friday off too. Nor is it a chance to catch up with family and fill up the tank with the turk before the Blackest of Fridays. Nope, what’s really special about Thanksgiving is that, most likely due it its proximity to Christmas, it’s one of the few holidays that has not marched steadily towards increased commercialization in our lifetimes. Yes, there are TV specials and TV sales and decorations and goodness knows the sweet-potato people must make a killing – but, let’s face it – it’s really only on par with those other abstractly named occasions of the raised flag – Labor and Memorial.

BUT THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL-ER. A timeless tradition that goes back atleast a year. And that tradition is to see The Turkeys play on Thanksgiving. We know we are not alone in this demand. And yes, it does make us feel a little guilty to think that even with the unexpected Friendship reunion that night we are gluttons for more. But, oh, ye The Turkeys, how you are the pecan cobbler to set our minds to giving thanks. We have all seen you play without the entire flock, and seen it done well. We beg you, Nick, J Dagger, Lucas, Will and Joey: reform just one last time. Give us a taste, just a taste, to carry us through to the new year.

And you, people and citizens and readers of this blog, we urge you to contact any Turkeys you know and make a personal appeal for them to play. Likewise you, owner of clubs, houses, apartments, garages and/or corners no one has taken a leak in for several minutes, provide a space for our buckled bucklers to buckle.

Thanksgiving may come without you. It may even pass without you. But why let salty tears fill the space where a glorious outburst against the commercial Christmas creep could have been. Why give our hearts holes, when you could make us whole. We eagery await the announcement that you are playing and where.

Love,

THE EDITORS

HOOTENANNY! UPDATES: THE LAWS OF CREEDENCE; THE DEAL WITH ANIMALS

OH HAI. How is your Tuesday? Saving up for all the Turkey this week? Good - you should be, and don't forget the cranberry sauce. If you're like us, you blow it by forgetting to allocate space for the cran. Oh, the crucial cran. But speaking of things sweet though mysteriously amazing when covered with gravy, we've got more HOOTENANNY! updates for you. Here's the new news:

LAWS has now stated definitively that they will be playing as Credence Clearwater Revival, which is kind of a shock because we had no idea that Bret Shirley and Will Adams had joined this band (jokes). Rules. Also, we've gotten word from the Heart of the Animal herself, Mlee Marie (Kidnaps, Thee Freed, Vaarg, etc) will be serving in various Kim Deal related capacities as The Dimes channel The Pixies. Coolio.

If the once-weekly updates haven't yet put the cornbread stuffing permanently in your bird, here's the lineup confirmed to date:

AWESOME! as Weezer
Blades as Foo Fighters
The Dimes w/Mlee Marie as The Pixies
Fatal Flying Guilloteens as The Jesus Lizard
Indian Jewelry as Depeche Mode
John Sears as Sam Cooke
The Jonx as nomeansno
LAWS as Credence Clearwater Revivial
Mathletes as The Flaming Lips
Papermoons as Pedro the Lion
Satin Hooks as The Wipers

This whole schebang is going down the night of January 5th at the Mink and is gonna cost you a measly five bucks. mmm. Pumpkin Pie.

BASSES STOLEN: BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THIS AXE

Well crap. Melissa Lonchambon (Sharks and Sailors) had her 1962 Fender Jazz Reissue stolen from Francisco's last week. If you are the gear shopping type, please keep you eye out for it, serial number V097058. If you or anyone you know has ever stolen gear, fuck you and die.

ATTN THIS WEEKEND: YOU ARE LIKE LISTENING TO A FRANK SINATRA RECORD

And that's a mighty fine thing. We're in the middle of a super secret project where we're listening to lots of old records and collecting our favorite tracks - and we gotta say we're seriously digging on Frank Sinatra right now. And Eddy Arnold. And Marty Robbins. And all these things are almost enough to make us just kick our feet up, chill, and not leave the house again until after the holidays (though we would have to send one of our interns out to buy some egg nog. MMMM. Nog). Of course, if we did that, and succame to the soothing strings, we'd miss all this ACES WEEKEND ACTION:

FRIDAY
Insect Warfare, Iron Lung, Agents of Abhorrence @ Sound Exchange
According to the Houston Press, this may be Insect Warfare's last Houston show ever. Are you freaking kidding? Free 8pm.

Tool, Trans AM @ The Toyota Center
We're mad keen on Trans AM, but we kinda wish this was just them playing in a small club or something, cause let's face it this show is gonna be expensive, wierdly peopled and not really that ideal of a way to spend the evening. But, we think it's only fair to bring it to your attention.

SATURDAY
Saturday Secret Show @ Shady Tavern
It was strongly hinted that the bands you can expect to see this week are going to be Antarctica Starts Here (see comments), A Pink Cloud and The Factory Party. 2pm.

Unguarded Moments: Backstage and Beyond Photo Exhibit Opening @ Sound Exchange
Punk photographer Theresa Kereakes unveils a collection of her work capturing the hillariously mis-titled golden age of punk. As an insider, she has photographed everyone from The Cramps to The Germs to Blondie and, as Rosa tells it, is both "a neat woman" and "a party girl". She claims that she sell her prints at prices "even a fifteen year old could afford." In addition to the standard suite of Sound Exchange free beer, there will be performances by L.A.W.S., The Sporatics and the first ever show by The Welfare Mothers. 7pm

Glass Candy @ The Mink
Never good on record. Always masterful on the stage. Wear your dance shoes.

SUNDAY
The Dwarves, Whorehound @ Rudyards
You will not make it to work on time Monday morning.

The Mathletes, Alarma!, Giant Princess @ Dean's
COOL GIRLS! CUTE DUDES! A BAND WE CANNOT FIND ON THE INTERNET! LIGHT RAIL!

CAPTION THIS PHOTO

Erik Bogle in the driveway where Feagan House once stood. Photo by Chris Ryan. Possible suggestions: FAIL! NOO, THEY BE TAKING MY BUCKET! or all manner of curse words. Leave your suggestion in the comments.

BREAKING NEWS: FEAGAN HOUSE BEING DEMOLISHED AS YOU READ THIS

HEY WOAH. Well, we all knew it was coming, but we just got word from Erik Bogle (via Chris Ryan), that the final fabled House (with a capital H) of the Hands Up era is being torn down RIGHT NOW. The single story corner-hugger, who, over the years was a crucial party and live-show venue, not to mention the home to folks like Erik (Bring Back the Guns, Fatal Flying Guilloteens), Matt Frye (Dead Roses), John Hunter (Dethro Skull, Innoculist), Jana Hunter and Chris Ryan (Dead City Sound, O Pioneers!!!).

More updates soon, what are your some of your favorite Feagan House memories? Share in the comments.

UPDATE: At 4:17, Erik arrives at the house and reports via text "Oh its fucking gone."

HOOTENANNY! UPDATES: AWESOME! WEEZES! BLADES FIGHT FOO! SATIN HOOKS WIPE UP!

YUSS. We've got more exciting news about January's HOOTENANNY! First off, Blades have confirmed that they are playing as the Foo Fighters. Minds are blown. Minds are collected into little plastic bags and poured, via funnel, back into cranial cavity. Not to be outdone, beloved defenders of the realm, AWESOME!, will re-unite yet again to play a set as Weezer. Leave your brain on the floor this time, cause it's in too many pieces to try and pick back up and put together. While you're standing there looking at it, all pink and spaghetti looking, perhaps wrap it around the fact that Satin Hooks are going to be playing as The Wipers, who, more authoritative sources than us insist, are an actual band (and one that Nirvana covered, no less - so BAM - 90'S IN YOUR FACE, KID). These aficionados of Alternative Nation and all that was good about it are joining a lineup that includes:

Fatal Flying Guilloteens as Jesus Lizard
Indian Jewelry as Depeche Mode
The Dimes as The Pixies
The Mathletes as The Flaming Lips
Paper Moons as Pedro the Lion
John Sears as Sam Cooke

We're still waiting to tease out the news as to who specifically Something Fierce, Bring Back the Guns, Satin Hooks and The Jonx will be playing as - plus who knows what surprise announcements we may have hidden up our flannel and silk-lined sleeves. As we previously reported, the whole HOOTENANNY! will go down the night of January 5th at The Mink's Backroom. Yusss.

UPDATE: This is why it is good that other people are involved in the organization of this event, because they tend to remember things that we just simply forget cause we're getting long in the tooth and short in the mind. Yep, we compeltely spaced on the fact that The Jonx has, in fact, already confirmed that they will be playing as (drumroll.....) nomeansno! LUCKY YOU! THANKS JONX!

CLEAR YOUR CHANNELS: THE WATERMARKS ARE CATCHING A BUZZ

Occasionally, Clear Channel gets some things right. Like the time they had approximately half the people we know on their payroll. Or when they thought it would be hilarious to bring the Smashing Pumpkins back to Houston after they swore they would never return. Plus, we’re pretty sure the last time Stereolab came through town, it was a Clear Channel event. Now, we can exchange lots of heated (and generally chorus-preaching) words about how massive network-owning radio conglomerates homogenize broadcasts and remove local flavor vs. the need to consolidate operations and appeal broadly in light of competing new-media outlets for advertising revenue till we’ve bored even ourselves. And we can bitch how the company was the only place ever that our Chief Senior Editor in Chief in Command ever had a job interview for where he wasn’t made an offer. Fortunately, this is not the sort of place where we talk about media ownership laws (and real talk – the overwhelming majority of the time nearly anything on any Clear Channel station is more listenable to that whatever bush-league amateur talking head is spouting off about on KPFT).

Nope, this is a place where we talk about music so whips, we’re apt to put the band’s name on a t-shirt. Among those screened and printed are stalwarts of the hybrid electro indie pop, The Watermarks, who, it seems, are being taken a shine to by more than a few fans of the New Music Alternative.

Clear Channel, which owns The Buzz and quite a number of few other similarly programmed stations across the country, have started letting unsigned bands submit their jams (sweet or otherwise) to the network, which are posted online. The more the songs are played, the higher they rise in the charts. Granted, you could see this as a cynical ploy to unwittingly enlist working musicians as street teams to drive traffic (and therefore eyeballs and therefore ad clicks and therefore cash) to CC’s various local sites, but in the end, successful acts get some broader exposure as well, and so everybody wins (bands that make it to the top ten, for example, get featured on the ‘New Music’ section of The Buzz’s website).

SO – WHAT OF THE WATERMARKS? Well, they submitted a track of their own, and why the heck not. Free publicity is free publicity. As of this morning (the charts are updated in real time), their song ‘Face The Wall’ had risen above thousands of other tracks to claim #82 on the charts. Fantastic. Granted, the number one song has been listened to over 500 times for every instance of someone hearing The ‘marks, but that just illustrates the serious promotional appeal of being in the top ten (ATTN PEOPLE IN BANDS – Did any of the rest of you throw a track in the ring?).

So – if you haven’t heard the watermarks in a while (and we sheepishly admit we hadn’t heard anything studio-produced since their ACES debut ep), here’s as good a chance as any to take a listen to what their up to. Bzzzzz.

Stream: The Watermarks - Face the Wall

BLACK MATH EXPERIMENT PEN THEIR WAY TO MISFITS OPENING SLOT

HA! Leave it to Black Math Experiment to pull this one out. We just got word from Jef (with one F) that the trusty old mare of White Oak, Fitzgerald's, held an essay contest to determine who among you would be the opening act for The Misfits when they swing through town later this month. Among the hundred or so entries, BME, The Hates and Snowplow ended up in the top three; when announced, an avalanche of emails to the club from fans put our blood-needing buddies up on top. Here it is, guitarist Bill Curtner's essay in it's entirety :

Why The Black Math Experiment Should Open for The Misfits on November 20.
By Bill Curtner

I have been a hardcore, registered fan and fanatic of The Misfits since 1982. Throughout all their member changes and incarnations, I have never lost faith in their ability to push the envelope and deliver a performance worthy of their legend. If I had a time machine, I would not stop JFK’s assassination. I would not warn the Titanic of impending danger. I would not give Hitler a wedgie. I would, instead, travel to New York in 1980 on Halloween to watch The Misfits play.

In many ways, I have based The Black Math Experiment on The Misfits. I feel they embody the true meaning of punk and DIY ethos, something that has been a cornerstone of The Black Math Experiment since its inception. Like the Misfits, we believe in unification through a uniform and defining look, and in high-energy performances that scream towards shocking conclusion with little or no pause. We long ago decided, as The Misfits did, that giving the audience a show unlike any other entertainment option available was a higher priority than attempting to win them over with “musicianship”. And that is the primary reason that we should open for them. The show will be a circus, a carnival, and a freak show. There is no other band in Houston capable of bringing The Misfits level of showmanship and insanity to the stage. We refuse to hide ourselves in the safe boundaries of the punk genre like so many other acts in Houston. Should Houston honor the Misfits by providing them an opening act that timidly treads water in the genre that they helped define, or should we show them that the spirit of punk is alive and well, kicking and screaming its way through the world of music with no regard to what has been done before. They deserve it. They deserve The Black Math Experiment.

Nice. And Congratz. As for The Misfits, this isn't necessarily like Beach-Boys-With-John-Stamos-On-Drums incarnations of the band that we've heard about in the past. On this outing, they're sporting original members Jerry Only and Robo, plus Dez Cadena from Black Flag. Sadly, Danzig tested positive for performance enhancing steroids and will not be joining them on this tour.

Catch the Black Math Experiment with The Misfits @ Fitzgeralds November 20th, and while you're at it, read our review of their recent All You Need is Blood ep.

Stream: Black Math Experiment - Various Tracks

AMERICAN SHARKS RECORD 7”, PLAN TOUR, HAVE NO PHOTO WHERE ALL MEMBERS ARE PRESENT

You heard it here first, hard rock party boys American Sharks spent two full days in Pigeon Eater Studios this past weekend, laying down tape for an upcoming four song seven inch. Though the songs currently on their MySpace page were also recorded in the scruffy up-and-comer next door to Walter’s (sorry, not the old Silky’s space – but how much badness would that be?), what they worked on over the weekend wasn’t just a live plug-n-rock session, but full on pro-tools pro-ness. We got the word from recent Shark Jay Merritt, who is now tinkling the ivories for the quintet and will presumably be more audible on the recording then at their Proletariat Halloween show.

Jay also tipped us off that They Who Write of More Skunk than Sublime will be heading to the East Coast this spring for a tour, noting as motor-coachingly massive at it aught to be, just a little jaunt (baby steps). We’ll tie you up with the details as soon as we know em. We have no idea when American Sharks is playing a show next, but presumably, if you throw a house party and point your spotlight towards the heavens, they will be there in mere minutes.

Photo by Chester Soria

Video: American Sharks – Untitled (Weed)

ANNOUNCED: THE MOST EPIC WAREHOUSE PARTY IN RECENT MEMORY

uhh. we dunno if this is the flyer or a hoax or what. but whatever it is, this is certain to be the most epic warehouse party of your holiday season. The only other thing we know is that it is scheduled to be December 22 at Keene Street. Uhh. More details when we know them.

TWO STAR SYMPHONY GETS HOOKED UP LUTHIER STYLE, PLAYS RETROSPECTIVE, SELLS YOU DVD

HEY – The other day, when doing a little planning for Hootenanny! at Rudz, we couldn’t help but notice that the rather extended Two Star Symphony family was sitting at a table next to us, all a-flurry and a-business, with a-calendars a-ready. Right about that time, we got the idea of asking them if they wanted to play the day as another band, but sadly they could not due to a scheduling conflict (turns out that, when you write an original score for a piece of work by Proust, it doesn’t leave you much time to bone up on Iron Maiden).

But Proust isn’t the only thing our couldn’t-be-prouder-of bowers of the catgut have hiding in their quiver. Turns our, they’re being given the distinct honor of being the only string quartet in the country to be playing on a matched set of instruments created by the presumably noted luthier Anton Krutz of K.C. Strings. Here, read these words that someone else wrote:

These unique instruments were created by Anton personally from the same batch of wood and have gone through the exact same varnishing process,creating a full, rich tone, with complementary sounds across the entire musical spectrum. You have never heard a set of instruments sound like this before!

To celebrate, and prolly to show of just a little, the entire extended Two Star Symphony Orchestra (as opposed to when you see them play as a quartet) will be playing a selection of all of their original compositions as a group, including works done in collaborations with Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theater, The Dominic Walsh Dance Company, The American Ballet Theater, FrenetiCore and some of those silent film scores they came up with. Score.

Generally, we wouldn’t write about this sort of thing so far in advance, but, because it’s a seriously rare opportunity to see them at a proper concert hall (Jones Hall at the University of St Thomas) and because the hall isn’t that large, we thought we’d give you, our beautiful readers, a jump on the other folks out there who are no doubt more inclined to make reservations in advance than we generally are. Also, you’ll want to go to be the first person on your block to get your hands on a copy of the Cabinet of Dr. Kilgari DVD that features their score, available at a Blockbuster-bankrupting $10. Here’s all the deets:

Jones Hall
University of St. Thomas campus
Friday November 30th
Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
Recital starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets - $20
Students - $13
Reservations - (713) 478-2334

You can catch Two Star Symphony for free every Thursday at Avante Garden (the old Helios, but hella renovated and seriously worth your time now).

VIDEO: Two Star Symphony - A Night of Christmas

WIN FREE TICKETS: THE EVENS

ok ok ok, so, you are not what you own, but saving a few bucks here and there is still a hella rad thing, especially when that savings is to a whips show. That's why were're stoked like a fire to be able to offer up to you a pair of tickets to Wednesday night's show by The Evens at Notsuoh. Not heard of The Evens? It's a duo with Ian MacKaye (Graustark) and Amy Farina (The(e) Freed). Ok actually they cut their teeth in the bands Fugazi and The Warmers, but just because neither of them has been in a group with Will Freed doesn't mean that this duo of drums and baritone guitar won't put on a good show. This joke is going nowhere - back to the free(d) tickets.

SO, if you wanna save your scratch and still make it to the starting gates, send an email to adifferentryan@gmail.com and we'll throw your name in the hat. Drawing will be held Wednesday at noon. Big thanks to the guys at I Heart You Productions who mad these tickets possible. For all you winners and non-winners alike, note that the show starts promptly at 8:30, and that there is no opening band. $5.

MP3: The Evens - Pushed Up Against the Wall

Photo by Evens

ATTN: ATTN THIS WEEKEND - YOU ARE IN NEED OF AMENDMENT

HEY - the constitution wasn't perfect, and neither are we. Which is why we forgot to tell you about how KICKS this show Sunday is gonna be. Much Purple Rain to Mlee who hit us with the reminder, Bronx Style.

SUNDAY
Crime Novels, Kidnaps and Extra Man @ The Proletariat
This is Kidnap's first and last show. Kidnap is Mlee (Hearts of Animals + one million other bands), Amy (Wols) and Gina (DiverseWosks). Yep, first and last show, so we guess that you can make that "one million minus one" once the Monday sun rolls around. We are reminded that it is kind of a big deal and that we are a dummy. Like all of us combined equal up to just one dummy. This show = not to be missed.

Hannah Montana @ Toyota Center
You know what, on second thought, screw that. We're going to see some CYRUS!

ATTN THIS WEEKEND: YOU REMIND US OF THE CONFLICT ADDRESSED ONE AE HOUSMAN POEM IN PARTICULAR

And that poem is ‘Terence, this is Stupid Stuff’. EXCERPTED QUOTE:

Oh many a peer of England brews
Livelier liquor than the Muse,
And malt does more than Milton can
To justify God’s ways to man.
Ale, man, ale’s the stuff to drink
For fellows whom it hurts to think:
Look into the pewter pot
To see the world as the world’s not.

In other words, the constant struggle – whether to spend a weekend wasting, or to take in some of the finer arts. Fortunately for you, there’s always plenty to do – and often you can do both. Here’s our picks:

FRIDAY
The Jonx, Studemont Project @ Valhalla
HOLLA! Shows at Rice are the jam. The Jonx @ 6pm, Studemont Project to follow

Devendra Banhart’s Some Drawings Opening @ Diverseworks
Peep our heads up on the event here, and recall there will be three secret performers. Also, there’s still time to enter our drawing for tickets to Performance (career ender) taking place at DiverseWorks that night too.

Whorehound/New Disaster/Rustler @ Rudyards
Blue denim tuffness. Whorehound and Rustler are two of our heavy favorites.

Manifesto @ The Mink’s Backroom
This dance party benefits Workshop Houston, the fine folks who brought you Third Ward Bikes, among other completely whips outreach program for children.

The Ugly Beats, Sabra Laval, Black Black Gold @ The Jet Lounge
The Ugly Beats are alleged to be doing two sets. Could this be the show that ends our embargo on visiting the Jet?

SATURDAY
Saturday Secret Show @ The Shady Tavern
Last week featured Teenage Kicks, Sabra Laval and Brooklyn’s Animal. Who’s playing this week? Gonna have to show up to find out. DJs start at noon, bands at two

Spain Colored Orange, Invisible Czars, Western Civilization @ Rudyards
SCO’s record release got pushed back, so you’ll have to go see em live for a while longer to get yr fix. This is Western Civilization’s first show back since their tour, go check em out and demand a tale or two.

Linus Pauling Quartet Record Release Party @ The Proletariat
All Things Are Light hits the street! And LP4 is joined on the stage by The Matletes (featuring The Dimes), The Jonx and Jenny Westbury.

Tody Castillo, The Small Sounds and Travis Hopper @ Warehouse Live
This show is a benefit to raise money for pancreatic cancer research. Good cause – support it.

ANNOUNCING: HOOTENANNY! HOUSTON ROCKERS PLAY AS BANDS WE MAKE FUN OF THEM FOR SOUNDING LIKE

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH SUKKI! DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN 28S! and how about a big old YUSSSSSSSSS! to top it all off. We are pleased as polesliders to be the ones to break this news to you, because its pretty whips to know that you already have your first big show in 2008 to attend. Yes, AG/BDM/TSN present HOOTENANNY!, an afternoon of some of the Bayou City’s best playing sets as other bands. Two stages, all day long and all day strong. Here’s who’s confirmed so far:

Fatal Flying Guilloteens as Scratch Acid/Jesus Lizard
Indian Jewelry as Depeche Mode
The Dimes as The Pixies
The Mathletes as Guided by VoicesThe Flaming Lips
Paper Moons as Pedro the Lion
John Sears as Sam Cooke

Also on the bill, but yet to confirm precisely which band they will be playing as are Bring Back the Guns, The Jonx, BLADES, Satin Hooks, Something Fierce and other slammin' slammers sure to be confirmed very very soon.

The whole schebang will take place in The Mink’s Backroom and will cost you a paltry $5. More details coming soon – but mark out January 5th on your calendar; you’ve got a date with distinction.

WE GIVE YOU FREE STUFF: TICKETS TO CLAUDE WAMPLER'S PERFORMANCE (CAREER ENDER)

YUSS. With a big thanks to our friends over at DiverseWorks, The Skyline Network has two pairs of tickets (one each for the 8 and 10pm showings) to give away for this Friday's opening of Claude Wampler's PERFORMANCE (career ender). Here's the deets:

The piece completes Wampler’s ten-year cycle of creating experimental artworks that combine elements of visual art and performance and that call attention to the viewers’ role as audience. Presenting this work in The DiverseWorks theater, the artist demonstrates her continued interest in how both the formality and playfulness that are present in a theatrical context regulate an audience’s behavior and expectations that, when either dashed or met, complete the work and act as the essential final touch. In an effort to relieve viewers of their typical media-specific responses, Wampler cancels out the distinction between object and performance to allow for a new beginning or a clean ending.

So, in other words, after you hit up the Devendra Banhart art opening and take in the drawerings and the tunage of whomever the three mystery performers are, head on into the theater for opening night! Choice.

To enter, send an email to adifferentryan@gmail.com with your name and which show-time you prefer. ACT FAST! The drawing is tomorrow at noon. Yuss.

BONUS VIDEO: FATAL FLYING GUILLOTEENS - REVEAL THE RATS

Eh what the heck. So the first several seconds of the song are cut off cause the 'record' button wasn't hit. Big deal. It's not like the dude who was shooting it has a film degree with honors from UT or anything. Oh wait. This song kills, as you shall see, and it's worth even a truncated viewing.

VIDEO: FATAL FLYING GUILLOTEENS - TIGER VS. GATOR

In this very special Halloween episode of Gilligan's Island, something is made of a banana that could get them rescued, but in the end, little buddy, sad to say they're still stuck there.

VIDEO: AMERICAN SHARKS @ THE PROLETARIAT

HEY! Remember when American Sharks played Halloween and ended their set with that song presumably about weed? No? Maybe this will jog your memory. Special thanks to Ben Murphy for writing the Skyline Video jingle.

DEVENDRA BANHART'S SOME DRAWINGS OPENS AT DIVERSEWORKS

You gotta dig Devendra Banhart. He’s like the Don Ho of contemporary folk music. But instead of inspiring people to buy Hawaiian guitars, we can credit him with putting enough earth tones and tape hiss into iPods to beat back the ever rising rivers of slick and shtick. And as if his own output wasn’t enough, he was also smart enough to do a split with our still-claimed Jana Hunter and even put out her latest record, There’s No Home, on his label. Turns out, though, then when he’s not busy doing any of the above or making face paint look cool outside of Mad Max films, he’s doing a bit of drawing. So much so, in fact, that he’s got a show opening up this Friday at Diverseworks, the Grand Central Station of places to go in Houston when it’s time to ingest a bit of the finer arts without all the stodge and stiff.

SAYETH THE PRESS RELEASE:

Small, fine-line ink drawings combine strange and sometimes beastly human and animal figures, ornamental framing devices, abstract symbols and bits of language to create oddly charming works that defy definition. Intimate and hypnotic, Banhart’s works on paper share affinities to Tantric diagrams and Indian narratives, giving rise to fantastic private worlds.

Awesome. For the opening reception, which is free and held concurrently with one for Claude Wampler’s PERFORMANCE (career ender), there will be sets by three local chanteuses, the names of who DiverseWorks PR master Shawna Forney absolutely refuses to disclose to us (What is it with all the secret shows lately?). However, she did give the hint that all three were present for the Unusual Animals event, so go back and take a look at our photos of the day and see if you can figure it out. Our prediction: Bret Shirley in a wig, Will Adams in a Wig and Claire Sprouse’s debut performance as the Reggae Weed Crab. Or not.

More information about the exhibition, which runs until December 15th, is available on the DW website. Free. Starts at 6pm.

Photo by Lauren Dukoff

AFTER FRIDAY, THERE’S EVEN MORE CHILL STUFF TO ENJOY

So, once Friday has finished destroying you and you’ve had your traditional Saturday breakfast of coffee and Steak-N-Eggs, what are you going to do with yourself?! Well, if you’re like us, you’re totally on top of everything and don’t even remotely need the weekend to accomplish such man-tasks as gardening, re-paving the driveway or dredging the moat. So, for those of you rudderless scooners out there, we’re more than happy to provide a keel and a compass for how the weekend should go down. Dig:

SATURDAY AFTERNOON: SECRET SATURDAY SHOW
This weekend is the first of what we are told by the mystery organizer (who, rumor and IP address has it, is none-other than local solo-rocker Broman) will be a weekly series of shows on Saturday afternoons at the Shady Tavern, a total neighborhood ice-house of a spot in the Heights. Every week they’ll be DJs (starting at noon) and 3-4 bands (starting at 2pm) – but who they are will remain a mystery until they hit the stage. Indeed, the bands themselves won’t even know who else is playing. The shows are free and 21+. We would say check out their MySpace page for more information, but not having any is kind of the point.

EARLY EVENING: PUNK HOUSE @ DOMY BOOKS
Writer/photographer Abby Banks brings her book and movie Punkhouse to Domy. Punkhouse, which was edited by Thurston Moore, “features anarchist warehouses, feminist collectives, tree houses, workshops, artists’ studios, self-sufficient farms, hobo squats, community centers, basement bike shops, speakeasies, and all varieties of communal living spaces.” So, sort of like if someone made a coffee table book about Nevada Street, Lamar House and Faegen House. They’ll also be acoustic sets from Tim Finden and Pat the Bunny. Good opportunity to pick up the next Grey Ghost release too(which is 13 new freaking tracks from Golden Axe!!!!). 7pm. Free.

NITE TIME: DON CABELLERO, BLADES, ANIMAL @ THE PROLETARIAT
Betcha thought we were gonna suggest the Bodog Battle of the Bands! You know us so well.

SUNDAY: FOG, LISTEN LISTEN, THE DIMES @ THE PROLETARIAT
The reason why The Dimes make sense on this bill: They are bad ass. Same for Listen Listen.

ITS OFFICIAL: THE PROLETARIAT HAS A DATE WITH METRO'S BULLDOZERS

So. You've no doubt heard about it, talked about it, mused about it, and made atleast one “Cecils is buring down due to left turns on it” joke about the just approved new Richmond Rail Line. Sounds kinda cool, right? Take a train from UH nearly all the way to Dave and Busters, right? Herm. Sadly, there are many many kinda whips businesses along said rail route, including Tapatia, Sound Exchange, James Coney Island - and nearest and dearest to our hearts, The Proletariat. While we were in Midland scoping out the local emo-cover scene and doing a 'Sights of Heroes' walking tour, we got a call from the scene's most assuredly eligible bachelorette and the maven behind the red and black walls, our friend Denise Ramos.

Far from being in the dumps about the decision, which - and we cannot be clear enough on this point - will mean that the building that The Proletariat is currently housed in will have to be torn down, Denise described the week as one of the fabled fader's best ever. Coming in for a drink after the decision was handed down, she and the entire weekly crowd that has grown around Thursday's Rockbox, were joined by some heavy hitters from Swisha House, including founder Michael Watt, President G-Dash and rapper Archie Lee. In tow was recent signee Lil Keke, who did a short secret set, showing off his two new slammers "I'm A G" and "South Side." Denise said simply "The energy was off the chain!!!!!"

Then on Saturday night, barback Mike B had his first big fight at the Toyota Center as part of the Ultimate Fighting phenomenon. C'mon, you know you watch it, and now you know why those posters are often hanging up in there. And, that same evening, Golden Axe and Satin Hooks played a show organized by Chris Davis, who dumped all the proceeds into a new bike rack for the bar (the previous two were stolen). "It's by far the nicest thing our patrons have ever done for us," she said.

And that's just it. More than any other place in the scene, the Proletariat was a place that people don't just go to, don't just belong, but actually feel a measure of ownership in. It's hard to put a finger on why, or how that came about. Maybe it's all the first shows, first stolen glances, first introductions or first fall-outs. This scrappy centerpiece of our scene has more than her share of faults, but it’s as hard to call it out for them as it is to stay away. It's going to suck alot alot alot alot when the last call lights go on for the final time. Frankly, we can't think of anyplace since The Oven or Metropol whose demise is going to have such a scattering effect.

As far as what happens when the bulldozers come, or even what day that might be, Denise has one simple answer: "I Don't Know. Will we relocate and when..........I cant really say because I'm not sure." But she did assure us that when things get a bit more firm, we'll be the first to know - and you'll be the second. In the meantime, make a few more memories and a few more firsts. Cheers.

YO! GI JOE AND COBRA ARE TOTALLY READY TO HELP YOU PICK OUT A SHOW TO SEE TONIGHT. STOKED?!

HEY! There are one million good things going on this weekend, and it all kicks off tonight with a formidable set of barn-burners. Sadly, we're in a total House of Pain due to last night's Shamrocks and Shenanigans, and barely able to even type out this fairly perfunctory introduction. Fortunately for you though, the forces of Good and Evil have teamed up to help you get a handle on everything going on tonight. We're not quite sure how, but apparently not a single local is playing. Phew. Fighting to save the day!

	I got all these skittles stuck in my grill, but its chill cause I picked em out using my British Knights. Also, does anyone have a can opener? I really would like to carve some bigger ear holes for the show tonight in my totally sinister all metal helmet. DIE DIE DIE! My pick is MIA, Paul Wall, Cool Kids @ Verizon
	Oh, hello children. Look at all your pretty matching hats! I'm the freaking dance machine all over the floor tonight for Of Montreal and Grand Buffet @ Numbers. No seriously children, I am all over it. Steaks anyone?
	I know what you're thinking - what's up with the mask? We'll it's kind of a personal thing and I feeling a little vulnerable right now so I need you to take a Nuprin and just lay off ok please? Alright, you're pretty nice - tell you what, I'll take it off at the Poison Idea show at Walters.
	So, like, I was listening to The Buzz the other night and I was all what IS THIS MUSIC in this commercial, and it turns out they were totally giving away tickets to Control which is about the life of Ian Flemming. Anyway, I'm totally going with my manager at Hot Topic to see She Wants Revenge at The Meridian. He has no idea this is a date. Yuss, Baroness STRIKES AGAIN!
	WHAT? HELLO! Ugh, good gravy Boost Mobile sucks. So anyways, I was walking down the street just minding my own business when this liz-wait hold on. HELLO? HELLO! I CAN BARELY HEAR YOU. YOU WHERE YOU AT FROG? I SAID WHERE YOU AT! OH YEAH, YOU HEARD ME FOO! OH FOR CHAMELEON? NO LIZARD? ANGRY SAMOANS AT FITZ? WELL WHY ARE THEY SO ANGRY, ITS NOT LIKE GATERS ARE ALL ANTI-SAMOAN AROUND HERE OR SOMETHING? OH THE BAND? CHILL! LATER KEMODO.
	I can't even imagine how pissed people are gonna be when they figure out that Fishbone is totally sandwiched in the middle of this otherwise unremarkable lineup at Warehouse Live and that they didn't hide there with me overnight after seeing Spoon so they didn't have to pay cover again. God being a ninja rules.

UPDATE

WOAH. Sorry I'm late dudes, I totally was scouting ahead and found out that that bitchin sweet as candycorn strummer and hummer Elaine Greer is playing at the Mink's Backroom tonight around nine. Woah, sure glad I check the comments section bro, might not have found that. Tite. So, has anyone seen Dog? He sure has been on that bounty a while. He never hangs out anymore. What a boscoe.

ATTN THURSDAY AND FRIDAY: ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING?

Usually, this sort of thing only happens around SXSW or Austin City Limits. But for whatever reason Houston, your stars are lining up for the next few nights and it’s going to freak you out to have to choose between all these shows. Of course, you already knew everything that was about to happen, due to your dutiful incorporation of our own GCal show-list into your own, but just for the sake of FREAKING OUT, here’s whats going on tonight.

GIRL TALK
ok, so REAL TALK: Night Ripper has been ruling our dancing shoes, cook-outs and victory-commutes home for the past year or so - but the magic is totally undiminished. Returning for the first time since last year’s Proletariat anniversary party, probably our number one favorite thing coming out of Pittsburgh that isn’t a girl named Erin. Whatevez. If DANCE DANCE FREAK OUT I KNOW THAT SAMPLE, MAHN is your thing tonight, this is where you should be. With Busdriver and Daedelus @ The Engine Room.

SPOON AND THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
Yeah. Spoon and Girl Talk are the same night. Who are the ad wizards that came up with that one? GaGaGaGaGa is one of our favorite releases this year, and we think Spoon’s best since Girls Can Tell. Though talented, catchy, and frequently starring on many a house-party playlist, we can’t quite get over how big a crybaby the she-vocalist in the New Pornographers was that time they played Mary Janes a few years back. Seriously. You are on tour with Spoon. Time to start acting a bit more rock and roll. Still, you cannot detract from the main event.

PARTY GARBAGE AND COP WARMTH
Atleast you won’t have to miss this one, and if you’ve ever not been a fan, today is the day to become one. As is the way of too many local candles that burn too bright and out too fast, this is rumored to be Cop Warmth’s last show in quite a while. Dammit. Austin punks Party Garbage headline this happy hour show with Das Kapital and The Takes at The Proletariat.

So yeah. Get Brit on it. We'll scoop on Friday tomorrow.