New Orleans Comes to Houston
(images by DL Haydon)
Houston got a visit from its sister city the night before July 4, in the form of two New Orleans groups.
Sirens (who have yet to tour before this) and All People (who just got back from touring in Brazil) were set to play at 8th Wonder (yes, the brewery) but ended up at a nice little art house in Northside. A communal house-sized venue that was more than happy to welcome N.O. post-rock. The Facebook post says it better than anything else:
“All People is returning to Houston after playing the final set of the final show at the now deceased Doctor’s Office and it calls for a celebration akin to the festivities and joy with which we would welcome the highly anticipated return of Quetzalcoatl or maybe even that one Nazarene dude that stole his thunder. Riding alongside them in the sidecar of their heavenly chariot are their friends and fellow badasses Sirens. And welcoming these visiting deities at the gates of the Jenner is Houston’s own Kosé.”
Sirens went on first. Though the use of ukuleles and kazoos brings up the philosophical question of what is post-rock, all was made clear. The voices of Kimberly and Michelle fused with the sounds of their bassist Brent and drummer Josh. Especially after they played a damn good cover of Tom Waits’ “Tango Till They’re Sore.” Their articulation was good, even in a packed room with fuzzy amps blasting and reverberating off wooden walls.
All People threw their set together and started laying down on guitars and keyboards and a trombone (and knew how to use it) and jumped around with more energy than anyone should have at midnight and had the place going with people swinging from the ceiling and blaring with the amps -and then the cops showed up.
People grumbled a bit and the manager for All People got on his phone.
“So who wants to pay $1000 for a month-long noise permit?” someone asked.
Was it a good show while it lasted? Well, HPD shut it down because the volume, if that’s any indication. Not to let citations and noise violations cut things off, everyone grabbed their equipment and headed to the second floor in Avant Garden.
Some stragglers from the Anime-themed costume party at Numbers showed up from across the street, and managed to see All People finish their dynamic rock/trombone rich set. Sirens even played a bit after. The only downside was the loss of Kosé, the Houston duo who didn’t get the chance to go one before the cops showed up.
By 2 a.m. the second floor at Avant was packed and chaotic with avid listeners. Sirens and All People were jubilant that they’d defeated the unforeseeable circumstances. “We made it. We fucking made it,” they said to their manager.
For anyone that wants to hear close to what was playing, both groups have free streaming music on communityrecords.org
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