The Music Crumudgeon’s preview for the Week of April 3rd 2024
THIS WEEK’S SPOTLIGHT
Featuring
@ Jet Lounge
Here is an interesting idea The International Noise Conference draws bands from around the world to its Miami home. Nice, but what if the tables were flipped and the INC came to you? Well, that’s the idea here. Miami’s Laundry Room Squelchers are touring from city to city and having local noise artists curate the evening. The Houston leg is being assembled By Domokos (Pink Cloud) and Shawn and Carol Kelly (Rotten Piece, Ouroboros, Sad Pygmy, Etc.). They’ve assembled quite a cast and it should be a dizzying night as sets are geared to last no more than 15 minutes. Too many bands to describe but I promise it will be a blast of sound and creativity. If you are not familiar with any of this, you may want to check out this short video that was made for Current TV.Current TV: INC2008
Oh the lowly Casio hated by many but admired by many more. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is definitely a case for this lowly keyboard. Owen Ashworth writes simple hummable pop songs whose keyboard arrangements are horribly endearing. Now sure his vocals are… umm… not the strongest but mercifully Ashworth isn’t egotistical and in his recordings he employs a rotating cast of singers who fill in and flesh out his songs in a way that his own voice cannot. If you haven’t heard his stuff you should give it a whirl. If you find the Casio too cold and electronic then maybe Australia’s Clue for Kalo may be more your bag. With rich instrumentation and a lush sense of melody Mark Mitchell is savvy enough to never let the production overtake the songs but instead utilizes his spaces and textures to great effect. Lovely stuff and quite organic. Opener Hearts of Animals (just back from playing SXSW) needs no introduction in this column. Yes, Lemming Baby was one of the best albums from 2024 , and yes, you should listen to the 7″ EP on Dull Knife which features song from her previously issued CDRs (Lemming Baby and Grey Ghost) but there is something very warm and unassuming about her live performances that always make it worth catching too. If you haven’t seen her live, this may be a good chance to do so. As Skyline Network’s ADR would say “ACES!”
Xiu Xiu/Thao and the Get Down Stay Down
@ The Orange Show
If you like subtlety and nuance the histrionic Xiu Xiu may not be up your alley but if you like your instrumentation densely layered and vocals hyper-emotive this will be manna from heaven. A nice contrast to the more laid back Thao whose Bag of Hammers is much too cute a pop song for me to resist.
The Wiggins/Majic Jewels/A Thousand Cranes/Giant Princess
@ Notsuoh
($2, 9PM)
Jon Read is the Wiggins and his one man guitar/echoed vocals/drum machine ensemble is always a blast. Fat on the drums and thick on the guitar you may find yourself even dancing to his madness if you are not too careful. A Thousand Cranes favor more the drone and space that would really go well with that water pipe you bought recently - the one you bought to smoke tobacco with. You know that 60’s teen horror B film and there’s this scene with some fucked up poppy but gritty garage band playing in the background in some party? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about when I hear Giant Princess’ songs like Adventure or Oh Delilah.
Penny Royal/Dreamt
the End
@ Rudyard’s
Omar really likes Penny Royal.
Saturday, April 5 -
This just in(!!!)
Punk Rock Show at Starbucks!! 5PM!!
Something Fierce / Be My Doppelgange / Alarma
@ the Starbucks across from the Starbucks on West Gray
Wow, if you can make it this is going to rule. Or let just steal Matt Brownlie’s post on Handus Up becasue it’s brilliant. He writes:“Punk Show at Starbucks” would make an awesome title for a Wesley Willis song: To whit:THERE WAS A PUNK SHOW AT THE STARBUCKS.
IT WAS ACROSS THE STREET FROM STARBUCKS.
THERE WERE 400 PEOPLE AT THE PUNK ROCK SHOW.
THE SHOW WAS TOTALLY AWESOME.PUUUUUUUNK SHOW AT STAAAAARRBUCKS!
PUUUUUUUNK SHOW AT STAAAAARRBUCKS!
PUUUUUUUNK SHOW AT STAAAAARRBUCKS!
PUUUUUUUNK SHOW AT STAAAAARRBUCKS!THE BAND SOMETHING FIERCE PLAYED.
THEY BROUGHT ON THE VERY TIGHT JAMS.
THE PEOPLE AT THE SHOW WENT CRAZY.
THEY REALLY WHIPPED A CAMEL’S BOOTYHOLE.PUUUUUUUNK SHOW AT STAAAAARRBUCKS!
PUUUUUUUNK SHOW AT STAAAAARRBUCKS!
PUUUUUUUNK SHOW AT STAAAAARRBUCKS!
PUUUUUUUNK SHOW AT STAAAAARRBUCKS!”Lazy Horse
@ NotsuohI’ve not heard Lazy Horse and it’s impossible to judge a band by its myspace so let me just say they’ve gotten a lot of props from people I trust, dig?
Hypo Christians / Hasbeen / PLF / Chocolate CrucifixCancelled see comments
@ The Pitt (Pasadena)
Hypo Christians (that’s hippo as in Hypocrite not high-po as in Hypodermic) prove that you can be goofy, have a sense of humor and still kick ass. Yes, that’s right you can come out and get mutilated by a grindcore band with a Hello Kitty fetish. This will be Hasbeen’s final show and they are so bad ass that they don’t have a myspace. Grindcore gods PLF just got back from touring California - woohoo! They alone should make it worth your while. The fact that Chocolate Crucifix’s “band website” links to the Smarties (candy) website should tell you that it has members from Hypo Christians.Blashpherian
and a hella lot of other bands (see poster whiteswan4508.jpg)
@ The White Swan
OK so the Pitt show was canceled, try this on for size instead. $15 bucks is pretty steep (really really steep) but supposedly there are a lot of bands playing.American Sharks / Be My Doppelganger / Something Fierce / The Takes / Cop Warmth
@ The Crocker House (9PM)Yes Crocker House party. We have an office pool as to how long until the cops shut it down. JOKE! No, seriously this is going to be the an awesome house busting garage fest. Plus short shorts. Lots of ‘em!
Metal Mayhem 08
featuring
Sever the Silence/Cane and Able/Bloodvoid/Lycophile
@ The Engine Room
You know why I love Metal? Because the prototype singer is a blue muppet with googly eyes and the prototype drummer is a coked-up jackhammer! I freaking love that!
Sunday, April 6 - (see above)
Sabra Laval / The Dead of Night /Cory Derden
@ Notsuoh
Get Your Folk ON! This will be a good aperitif to the barrage of Sunday night. Nothing complicated here, just singular and confident voices. Sabra Laval’s quiet music has been among Houston’s best and her strong and assured voice easily stands out in a crowd. Brooklyn’s Dead of Night is Texas ex-pat Nancy Beth Brown who performs a capella songs in a manner that are direct, simple, and tactile yet hauntingly atmospheric. Corey Derden also deals in the quiet and the atmospheric. It’s gonna be chill.
