High & Dry: The Best of The Week

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Allah-Las. Photo:Paradigm Agency

Well, things are slowing down a bit after SXSW as there aren’t countless acts vying for your attention this week, but there’s still plenty happening. Bands like the Allah-Las and legends like Southern Culture on The Skids and Reverend Horton Heat will be here while locals The Wheel Workers, The Mighty Orq and more will be on hand for all to enjoy. Houston, here’s how to spend the next week.

On Wednesday you can get going at Walter’s when the post hardcore meets Nintendocore of California’s HORSE the Band swings by. These guys are screamy, they mix in video game sounds, and they’re all kinds of nutty in a live setting. This show should be interesting, as their last release was over eight years ago with Desperate Living. The post metal electronica of New York’s Infinity Shred will be on as direct support while the grindcore of LA’s Graf Orlock will also be on hand while the noise experimental thrash intensity of Houston’s MOTHS will open up the all ages show with doors at 7 pm and tickets between $12 and $14.

Soul Creatures, Photo: Vincent Dumlao

In the studio at Warehouse Live you can get down with the Argentine reggae of Dread Mar I. You don’t have to know who this guy is to realize that his mix of reggae and Spanish lyrics are pretty catchy, and he’s huge around the globe. He’s here in support of his latest, 10 Anos (En Vivo) from last year. The roots reggae of Galveston’s Dem will be on as direct support and Houston’s Soul Creatures will be openers for the all ages show with doors at 7 pm and tickets between $20 and $23.

We Were Wolves. Photo: Randy Edwards

At Continental Club you can get down with the rock n roll of Houston’s We Were Wolves. I’ve always said that these guys are like getting punched in the face with riffs and beer, and their last EP Ruin Your Weekend just proved they aren’t slowing. NOLA’s Bantam Foxes will bring their throwback sound mixed with guitar grandiose and swamp sludge riffs that comes out like a heavy indie rock on last year’s Gold Record on as direct support. Austin’s Otis The Destroyer will be on as opener for the 21 & up show with doors at 8 pm and a measly $7 cover.

At the Foundation Room at House of Blues, another edition of The Rush will take place, this time with Houston’s Alycia Miles and Michele Thibeaux. Things get kicked off by DJ 4k and the 21 & up show has doors at 7 pm, and it’s FREE for musicians with an instrument until 9:30 or $10 after.

Thursday you could find yourself wanting to get all of that indie rock goodness, but acoustic, and if you do then you should go to White Oak Music Hall for a solo set from Andy Hull. Hull, best known as half of Bad Books and the lead singer for Manchester Orchestra, should have a couple of new songs as well as tracks from all of his projects to play. Dustin Kensrue, best known for leading the band Thrice, will be on as direct support and should bring tunes from his latest Thoughts That Float On A Different Blood. The indie goodness of Atlanta’s Gobotron will open the SOLD OUT all ages show with doors at 7 pm.

Rockefeller’s will host the always entertaining roots Americana of Shinyribs. This band has been grinding hard as of late and their latest album, I Got Your Medicine from this year, is fun and full of energy. The enigmatic roots blues of Houston’s The Mighty Orq will be on as direct support and opener for the all ages show with doors at 7 pm and tickets between $20 and $25.

Mucky Duck will host the phantom voiced beauty of Nashville’s Shannon LaBrie. I’d be lying if I said that the genre defying sounds of this singer songwriter weren’t as intriguing as they were engaging, and her latest release War & Peace from last year is hard not to love. The 21 & up show has doors at 9:30 and tickets between $20 and $22.

Friday you can help celebrate the One Year Anniversary of The Clinic in an all-day blowout before they move to a new spot. Over 25 bands will commence on the DIY venue for a show that should go down in the history books. Sets from Dallas’ I AM, St Louis’ Welcome Home, Houston’s Delivery Boy and many more will be on hand. The all ages show has doors at 2 pm and tickets for $10 with all of the information available here.

Bunny Galore. Photo: Cherry Bones

At Numbers you can catch another solid set from the ladies of Dem Damn Dames at their Cabaret Hideaway show. Featuring Bunny Galore debuting what are called “fire tassels,” this show should be pretty stellar. Performances from May Hemmer of NOLA, Maria Bella of Baltimore, Paul Garbanzo of Virginia and more as well as the Dames themselves. Hosted by Nick The Vegan and Skabz the Clown, the 18 & up show has doors at 7 pm and tickets between $15 and $30.

House of Blues will have the popular hip hop of Atlanta’s 21 Savage. While this guy has only been solo for a short time, last year’s Savage Mode threw the rapper into the mainstream and he’s become quite the act to watch. Brooklyn hardcore female rapper Young M.A. will bring her intensity on as direct support while Detroit’s Tee Grizzley will go on prior. The hip hop of Young Nudy will open the all ages show with doors at 7 pm and tickets for $29.50.

Walter’s will have the psych doom of Dallas’ Wo Fat. Their latest release, last year’s Midnight Cometh, is a steady stream of heavy riffs, thick and murky bass lines, and thunderous drums mixed with psych undertones that’s worth hearing live. The trippy psych blues of Austin’s The Well will be on hand as direct support while the prog meets doom of Houston’s Blues Funeral goes on beforehand. Warlung will open the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets for $10.

Southern Culture on the Skids. Photo: The Billions Corporation

Continental Club will host their annual shows with Southern Culture on The Skids. This three piece never disappoints in a live setting, their music is a mix of hanky and panky, and last year’s The Electric Pinecones is their best album to date. Nakia and the Blues Grifters will be on as direct support and openers for night one of the 21 & up show with doors at 8 pm and tickets for $17.

Satellite Bar will have the punk sounds of Austin’s The Awful Lot. These guys sound like they’re fans of Rancid and British punk, so they could be pretty tight to catch live. The three piece punk of Yikes will provide direct support while the punk ska reggae of Bottom of The Food Chain will go one before. The hardcore of Houston’s Feels Like Murder is also on the bill and the all ages show with doors at 8 pm will get opened by Baytown’s The Drafted with an $8 cover.

The popular indie folk duo of Shovels & Rope will be over at White Oak Music Hall in the big room downstairs. This married couple from South Carolina have gotten bigger and bigger with time, and their latest album Little Seeds from last year has made them a household name. Matthew Logan Vasquez will be on as direct support and opener for the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets between $18 and $22.

Merel and Tony. Photo: Ralph Elliott

On Saturday you could get started at Cactus Music for an in-store set from Merel and Tony with The Woe Woe Woes. There for their EP release, you should know that Merel and Tony make some of the most intriguing and interesting music coming out of our city today. Mixing electronica with orchestral influence, the best way to describe them is to hear last year’s Protest Psalms for yourself. The all ages event gets going around 1 pm, there’s gratis beer for the adults, and it’s 100% FREE.

Later on at Rockefeller’s you can get your laugh on with the comedy of Rick Gutierrez. Known for his appearances on BET and Comedy Central, Gutierrez has been making audiences laugh for years. The feature act on the show will be Whiskey Brother and all around funny man Sam Demaris, while Matt Golightly will open and host the all ages show with doors at 7 pm and tickets between $20 and $25.

Rec Room will host Beta Theater’s April Fools Thing. Sets from The Mustn’ts, YouTube sensation Colby Beserra, Gino Sandoval, and much more will greet you when you attend. The diverse mixture of improv, music, comedy and more should delight anyone who’s into the funnier side of things with doors at 7:30 pm and a $10 ticket.

The Wheel Workers. Photo: Allison McPhail

Upstairs at White Oak Music Hall you can get down for a double release show from Houston’s A Sundae Drive and Glass The Sky. The new A Sundae Drive album Versailles is pretty amazing while offering up a more Sonic Youth type of sound to the indie rockers. The Glass The Sky album is lush with detail and full of pop that should delight anyone who’s unfamiliar with the band’s sound. Houston’s The Wheel Workers will go on prior while College Station’s The Ex-Optimists will open the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and a $7 cover.

Night two of the Southern Culture On The Skids weekend will commence at Continental Club. The honky tonk hanky pankers will play their second set in support of last year’s The Electric Pinecones, and the trio is always a trip to see live. San Antonio’s matador surf rocker King Pelican will be on as direct support and opener for the 21 & up show with doors at 8 pm and tickets for $17.

Nashville’s Starlito and Don Trip will be in the studio at Warehouse Live. The rapper has been reinventing himself after leaving Cash Money Records, and his latest drop with Don Trip Step Brothers THREE is impressive enough for Trip to perform on this show as well. Houston producer and DJ Trakksounds will be on as direct support and opener for the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets between $20 and $50, the latter being a meet and greet option.

Reverend Horton Heat. Photo:Victory Records

Downstairs at White Oak Music Hall, the Dallas based rockabilly meets psychobilly of Reverend Horton Heat returns. This guy is hell on a stage, his live shows are always amazing and full of energy, and his latest release Rev from 2024 is his best since Liquor In The Front. The strange yet entertaining honky tonk of Unknown Hinson will be on as direct support while The Goddamn Gallows will bring their crazed country folklore on beforehand. Nashville folk female duo Birdcloud will open the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets between $18 and $22.

Sunday you can get going at Insomnia for the Sticky Fingers 3 Sticker Art show. Diablo Macabre, Honeybones, Dre Forgotten and so many more will have art in sticker form on display and for sale. The all ages event gets started around 6 pm and it’s 100% FREE.

Over at the Marquee Moon Lounge, Houston’s The Cops will co-headline a set with Alabama’s Daikaiju. Daikaiju play furious surf punk, they go into the crowd, they light things on fire, and their latest single Cock Lobster is a trip. The Cops dress like cops, sing from their point of view, and the tongue in cheek band sounds closest to Hot Snakes on their series of singles like “Street Hooker.” The 21 & up show gets going around 7 pm with a TBA cover, and should be fun no matter what.

Robyn Hitchcock. Photo: Yep Roc Records

House of Blues will host the return of new wave legends The Psychedelic Furs. The London group has been a big deal since the eighties, and with tracks like “Love My Way,” “The Ghost In You,” and “Pretty In Pink,” it’s no wonder. British singer songwriter and legend in his own right Robyn Hitchcock will be on as direct support and opener. His latest single “Mad Shelley’s Letterbox” just proves he’s not slowing down anytime soon. The all ages show has doors at 7 pm and tickets between $26 and $32.50.

Rudyard’s will host the stoner rock of Detroit’s Bison Machine. This four piece plays riff heavy tunes that are hard not to like, and their latest single “Cloak & Bones” is like saying you should check them out. The squeal heavy stoner doom of Houston’s Funeral Horse will bring their energized sound on as direct support and The Satanic Overlords of Rock N Roll will bring their riff heavy punk on as openers. The show has doors at 8 pm and a $10 cover.

Monday you should find yourself at Walter’s for the psych sounds of Allah-Las. Mixing the surf sensibilities of California and the grit of garage psych, this LA four piece has gotten pretty popular as of late and their new album Calico Review from last year is pretty solid. Australia’s The Babe Rainbow will be on as direct support and openers for the all ages show with doors at 7 pm and tickets between $15 and $17.

Tuesday you can head to Mucky Duck for the funny and strange sounds of the Austin Lounge Lizards. Lampooning religion and politics in their songs, this group definitely “keeps Austin weird,” and their latest release Home and Deranged from 2024 is pretty fantastic. The 21 & up show has doors at 7:30 pm and tickets between $25 and $27.

The Octopus Project. Photo:Greenbelt Touring

If you’d rather get a little weirder, you can head to Walter’s for the fun and electro pop sounds of Austin’s The Octopus Project. While their album Identification Parade will always be near and dear to my heart, their upcoming album Memory Mirror sounds pretty amazing. Couple with that a fun and crazed live show and this is where you should be on a Tuesday. The electronica of Houston’s Pitter Patter will open things up with his intensity for the all ages show with doors at 8 pm and tickets between $12 and $15.

That’s about all that’s happening around town this week. No matter what you decide to do, please remember that being responsible is in everyone’s best interest; and a safe ride home is just an app away.