Found Blind: The Best of The Week
Avi Buffalo, Photo: PR
Last week was a doozy filled with the craziness that was Day for Night. Well, this week isn’t as stacked as it does contain a major holiday. However that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of options to keep you busy. Artists like Avi Buffalo pictured above will be rolling through town. Houston, here’s how to escape your family this holiday week.
Wednesday you could head over to MKT Bar to attend the Splice Records Fan Appreciation and Charitable Food Drive Extravaganza. Complete with a DJ set from Shaun Brennan, the event will have plenty of Saint Arnold’s brews for you to enjoy while the record label asks that you bring non perishable food items for donation. There’s also a couple of “special guests” that will perform on the show. They ask that you bring at least one item to donate per person on the event that starts at 7:00, it’s all ages, and 100% FREE.
You can get your laugh on, when Houston comic Kristin Lindner headlines at Joke Joint Comedy Showcase. Easily one of Houston’s funnier comics, Lindner has made quite the name for herself appearing on Nickelodeon and making pretty much every audience she’s in front of laugh until it hurts. As per all of these shows, two of Houston’s better up and coming comics will perform the duties of host and feature acts. The 18 & up show starts at 8:00, with tickets between $16.00 and $18.00, as well as two sets on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 and 10:30, also with tickets between $16.00 and $18.00.
You might want to make your way over to Under The Volcano to catch Sergio’s Christmas Extravaganza. The show, hosted by Sergio Trevino of Buxton, Ancient Cat Society, and Guess Genes will feature music from a ton of locals including JERK, Children of Pop, Craig Kinsey, Adam Bricks, Deep Cuts, The Lories and many more. The 21 & up show has doors at 8:00, and as far as I know, it’s 100% FREE.
B L A C K I E, Photo: Daniel Jackson
Over at Walters you can catch another scorching set from B L A C K I E. If you somehow missed his performing “Spred Luv” in its entirety at Houston Whatever Fest, or if you even missed him perform at Day For Night, then this is your chance to see one of the best artists Houston has to offer. I can’t tell you what you’ll see, but it’ll definitely be mind blowing, and last year’s “Imagine Yourself In A Free And Natural World” was definitely ahead of its time. The art rock jams of San Antonio’s PINKO will go on prior. This band is intense, they mix experimental with punk, and this year’s “PINKO” is pretty damn great. Mouthing, featuring members of Houston’s MOTHS will be on the bill as well, while P.L.X.T.X. will open the all ages show with doors at 8:00 and tickets between $5.00 and $10.00.
Continental Club will have the album Release party for garage rock troubadours, Houston’s Mikey & The Drags. That album, “Make You Mine,” was my favorite local album of this year. It sounds like it was recorded in the sixties, and add to that the energized performance of this band, and you’re left with a killer show. They’ll have the indie rock songbird of Houston, Dollie Barnes on as direct support. Barnes should be releasing an album in the first quarter of next year, and her engaging live show is something everyone should check out. Houston’s Lucas Gorham, now LA transplant will bring his Hevin Spacey project to life as opener. Soulful and jam heavy, you should catch him before he heads back to California because he’s kind of like the Frank Zappa of Houston. The 21 & up show has doors at 9:00 and a $6.00 ticket price.
Thursday is one of those days of the year that’s almost always light as far as entertainment options. However, if you just have to get out, I’d suggest heading to Discovery Green and ice skating. The all ages affair runs from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, and tickets run between $14.00 and $30.00.
You could also ride off those unwanted mash potato pounds at the HTX Full Moon Cruise starting at Moon Tower Inn. The ride will have a meet up at 11:30 pm, and all of the details are available here.
Holder, Photo: Courtesy of Artist/Facebook
Friday, if you want to escape the family, there are several options to help you out. Fitzgerald’s will host the annual 30 Foot Fall Christmas show. In its 21st year, the always entertaining show will be headlined by the pop punks who’ve been around longer than some of you have been alive. If you’ve never seen 30 Foot Fall, this is your chance, as they don’t really perform very often. their last album to my knowledge, was 1999’s “Ever Revolving, Never Evolving.” Speaking of bands that rarely perform live anymore, Houston’s Bickley will be on hand as direct support. Their 1998 album, “Kiss The Bunny” was my jam back in the day. The emo punk of Houston’s Holder will also be on the show, and will bring their melodic heavy guitars to the billing. Their single “Shut It Down” from this year was pretty damn good, and they’re definitely worth seeing live. The hardcore punk of Khobretti will open the all ages show with doors at 8:00 and tickets for $15.00.
You can laugh over at Traffic Premium Lounge when Lafftown Comedy presents a set from their founder, Steven Padilla. So, Padilla gets a hard time sometimes, but aside from Rich Williams, you won’t find another comic who busts their tail more for the scene in Houston. Open mics, promoting shows, and booking shows are all part of what Steven does. Add to that a set filled with jokes about kids and marriage, and you have a guy you should check out. Robert Turo will also drop a set at the show, while Alan Ponce will serve as the show’s host. The 21 & up evening has doors at 9:00 and a measly $5.00 cover.
If you like great country music, then you should sashay over to Continental Club to check out Houston’s Grand Old Grizzly. These guys are a force to see perform, they always keep me entertained with their energy, and their latest release, “Cosmonada” from this year was pretty great. The Americana meets bluesy twang of Charlie and The Regrets will serve as openers. The 21 & up show has doors at 9:30 and a TBA cover.
A little later you can groove to the sounds of Smooth & Faded on the A Really Smooth Party show at Avant Garden. The show will also have sets from DJ Flash Gordon Parks, Act Badd, Vic G, and GRRRL Parts on the patio. The 21 & up show has doors at 10:00 and it’s 100% FREE.
Saturday you can get started over at Cactus Records for an in-store performance from Houston’s Mikey & the Drags. If you like your garage rock to sound like it was actually made when garage rock started, then you need to see this band. Their latest album, “Make You Mine” has psych elements while embodying all that the genre stands for. The all ages affair will have gratis beer for the adults, it gets going at 3:00, and it’s 100% FREE.
You can follow that at Continental Club, when Houston’s The Wheel Workers will headline a show at the Main street venue. This band is pretty insane that they drop a fully fleshed out album complete with vinyl & CD pressings each year. Their live performances are always a mix of inventive and engaging, and this year’s “Citizens” is a truly amazing album. Performing in the middle slot, will be the dreamy emo shoegaze of Houston’s My Twilight Pilot, and Mojave Red will open the 21 & up show with doors at 7:00 and a TBA cover.
Mystikal, Photo: ETV
Warehouse Live will have an interesting show with a headlining set from NOLA rapper, Mystikal. The rapper hasn’t had the high profile he once had with that single, “Shake Ya Ass,” but he dropped a new single this year with “Fell Back.” The hip hop of Miami’s Trina will be on as direct support. She just dropped a single called “F**ck Boy,” and she’s known for a crazy live show. There might be a bunch of openers but none are listed. The all ages show has doors at 8:00 and tickets between $45.00 and $100.00 in the ballroom.
Over at Alley Kat, you can get your groove on at the Props To The Producer show. The lineup looks like Hakeem will be headlining the evening, and they’ll bring their tripped out soundscapes to life. Mixing hip hop and dance based electronics, this duo should be dropping new music sometime next year. On prior, the beat heavy tunes of REZ will go on. This guy dropped a two song jam in october called “Midnight/Stardust” that’s a trip and something that should be heard live. Zech will also perform on this show, and as someone who’s seen this guy drop a set, I’ll tell you to get there and check his stuff out. Eroda will get things started, and possibly give those who attend some samplings from his upcoming release, “FLEX III.” The 21 & up show has doors at 8:30, and it’s 100% FREE.
D&W Lounge will a set from a Pavement cover band called davement, which should be either great or terrible. However, Houston’s Buoyant Spirit will also be on the show, meaning that will be really cool to see. The darkwave trio makes tripped out music that keeps getting all sorts of praise. John Zambrano of Muhammadali will open the all ages show with doors at 9:00 on the 100% FREE show.
You can close the night off over at Fox Hollow for the first of many No Diggity shows, as this will be the new home for them. The show with throwback classics full of R&B and hip hop jams from the 80’s to the present should be a lot of fun. Sets from Dayta and a guest spot from DJ Sober will fill the night up. The 21 & up show has doors at 10:00 and it’s 100% FREE.
Sunday you can make your way to House of Blues to catch nineties alt rockers, Toadies. You might not like these guys, but they have sold a boat load of albums, and honestly they’re strong to see live. Their latest album, “Heretics” from this year includes acoustic versions of all of your favorites including “Possum Kingdom,” “Tyler,” and “Backslider.” Girl In A Coma’s Nina Diaz will be on the bill as direct support, while Houston’s We Were Wolves will go on prior. These guys are like a rock n’ roll punch to the face, their live shows are always energy heavy, and this year’s “Ruin Your Weekend” EP placed the band on a higher plane. Dallas’ PVC Street Gang opens the all ages show with doors at 7:00 and tickets between $25.00 and $40.00.
In the studio at Warehouse Live, you can catch the hip hop of Houston’s Maxo Kream. Kream dropped a pretty dope album this year with “#Maxo187” and he’s known for his live sets. The hip hop of Trill Sammy & Dice Squad will go on prior, and Chief Aleel will open things up. the all ages show has doors at 7:30 and tickets between $30.00 and $35.00.
Shakey Graves, Photo: Matthew B. Thompson
Monday Warehouse Live will host the hobo folk of Austin’s Shakey Graves over in the ballroom. One of the more interesting folk acts I’ve seen in a while, last year’s “And The War Came” was pretty epic. The dreary psych folk of T. Hardy Morris will open the all ages show. Morris makes interesting music, and 2024’s “Audition Tapes” proved it. The doors are at 7:00 with tickets between $18.00 and $20.00.
If that’s not your thing, Walters will have the ever popular sounds of Avi Buffalo. So, I don’t know if this is a solo set or a full band, but after “calling it quits” earlier this year, this could be your last chance to see them. Last year’s “At Best Cuckold” received tons of critical praise, and this set should be one not to miss. New Houston act, Birthday Club will bring their indie rock goodness as direct support. Don’t let the fact that it has a member of Featherface in it be why you see them, make it that they’re on point in a live setting and they should have some music out sooner than later. The folk-fi indie sounds of Guess Genes will open things up, and the fact that Sergio of Buxton sings in this band should be enough for you. However if you couple that with the always interesting musical ideas of Children of Pop’s Chase DeMaster, what you get is a band everyone should go see. The all ages show has doors at 8:00 and tickets between $7.00 and $10.00.
On Tuesday you can head over to Wonky Power Live to belt out your favorite Radiohead tunes at The Radiohead Open Mic show. They’ll have instruments on hand if you really want to take it to the limit. The sign up starts at 6:30, it’s BYOB, and the all ages evening has a measly $5.00 cover.
Kay Odyssey, Photo: Courtesy of Artist/Facebook
Satellite Bar will have a fun show when the rock n’ roll psych jams of Kay Odyssey performs. The female four piece makes groovy tunes that will either make you want to do drugs or make love, and this year’s “Chimera” is pretty amazeballs. The psych pop of Austin five piece, The Sun Machine will be on as direct support, while Houston’s Vodi will open the I think all ages show with a paltry $5.00 cover.
That’s about it as far as goings on around town. No matter what you decide to do, please be mindful of the fact that this is a holiday week, so be careful out there.
