Another brief round-up kids. I’m still recovering from Terrastock. THIS WEEK’S SPOTLIGHT Saturday, June 28Music Makes ChangeBenefit for Brazos Abiertos, featuringYoung Mammals, The Mathletes, Earnie Banks, The Wild Moccasins, News on the March, The Holly Hall, Piano Vines, & The Eastern Sea@ Avant Garden (7PM; $10)It’s like a pummeling of solid bands I mean 8 bands? That’s a hella lotta music for a mere $10 and it’s a good cause. Young Mammals are the reigning pop kings, The Mathletes return after a long hiatus, The Wild Moccasins will keep you smiling, News On The March will pair well with a ... Read More »

This week we’re having celebrity Hands Up Houston’s mystery poster MOOBS will do the honors… Take it away MOOBS. Future Blondes: In the future, Blondes bring the promise their stereotypes imply through a crucial brew of amibiguous lazer like musical truths affecting their audiences palate like light sabers through butter. This incantation should only be invoked by the spiritually prepared and the sonically seasoned ears of a sage floating over humanity like a cloud bringing rain (slowed, heavy, filled with potentiality, and ready to pour). //TENSE// : Regarless of your minds-eye’s literal nomenclature this band sets the precedence for all ... Read More »

Terrastock is not just a festival, it’s a family. There’s a feeling of community that you won’t get anywhere else and you can’t help but feel caught up in it all. This isn’t Boneroo, Lollapalooza, or Austin City Limits. People aren’t here for spectacle or to be seen – they are here for the music and the community that surrounds the psych genre whose umbrella is the zine Ptolemaic Terrascope. That sense of community extends from the biggest acts to the smallest. This is, when you get down to it, nothing more than a big house party at (founding editor ... Read More »

(Apologies, I am vacation so this is a very quick and abbreviated preview. So check out Skyline and Space City Rock for shows I may have missed. Oh and don’t forget about ongoing free shows at The Shady Tavern on Saturday) THIS WEEK’S SPOTLIGHTIt’s a tough call but I gotta go with Keiji Haino Saturday, June 21Keiji Haino (acoustic set)@ Richmond Hall (The Menil Collection, 1500 Richmond; 7:30PM, free) Sunday, June 22Keiji Haino (electric set)@ Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex (2201 Preston; 7:30PM, $13/$10)Haino has been making some of the most adventurous music out there. Be it his more quiet contemplative pieces ... Read More »

Our on-going weekly post where we shamelessly hype our own weekly badass local showcase because when The Free Press puts on event, you know you need to be there. TONIGHT!The Ton Tons – This band is a monster. Between Asli Omars breathy vocals and Adam Martinez powerful guitar work the band packs a punch like no other band in Houston. At its best, the band sneaks up on you with Asli’s vocals then knocks you out with a heavy ass riff. Kam – Continuing with the brilliant femme singers is Kam who can jump from style to style with so ... Read More »

THIS WEEK SPOTLIGHTGET DOWN WITH DC/NAIROBI POP Saturday, June 14Extra Golden@ The Orange ShowOh man, I have had a rough week and the heat in Houston hasn’t been particularly kind. So, I’m listening to Hera Ma Nono and it’s exactly what I needed. Ahh, the clean African pop guitar lines and Opiyo Bilongo’s gorgeous vocals go down like a tall iced glass of water with a lemon and a sprig of mint. It’s music that’s refreshing and rejuvenating. It makes sense given the group’s casual formation and comeback from a tragic loss. It all starts with a dude from Washington ... Read More »

The Delta Block – This trio demands the masses “wake up!” and the band (John Newton, Dominique Withoff, and X) is going to get through that thick skull of yours with politically charged lyrics atop punk, angsty, and loud riffs! (You may have known them before as MK Ultra.) Basses Loaded – 6 strings are for wusses. You take three guitars in a band and what do you get? The Eagles. Fuck that! Take three basses and what do you get? Basses Loaded. But Mike, Lee, Ben, the other Mike’s three bass and one drum attack is much more than ... Read More »

Well, that’s quite the news to get in the afternoon. Hands Up Houston announced that Frightened Rabbit had canceled their performance due to their van breaking down. That was a shame as I really love this Scottish band’s droll and energetic Sing The Grays album and it sounded like they might translate pretty well live and possibly give the Dimes a run for their money. The upside though was that the always solid Hearts of Animals was called-in to pinch-hit at the last minute – you couldn’t have ask for a better resolution. Now, I don’t know about you but ... Read More »

THIS WEEK’S SPOTLIGHTCRAPPY AND SO SO POSTERS FOR GREAT SHOWS Saturday, June 7The Guilty Hearts/Born Liars/The Welfare Mothers@ Rudyard’sI know what you are thinking. What the hell does that poster have to do with any of the bands playing? I honestly have no clue. So far, this is my pick for poster least likely to convey anything about the bands playing. If I sound a little irked about the poster it’s because this show is just too goddamn good a bill. Jeez, LA’s Guilty Hearts play a dirty bluesy rock and roll that will make even the most cynical bastard ... Read More »

Saturday night was not all right for fighting or much else. Let’s face it, a full day of non-stop fun with your wee tyke makes for a very tired and grumpy adult when he hears the call of a sofa at the end of the day. The good thing is, if the music is good, fatigue usually fades away – at least for the most part. Sure, it makes for a less over the top evening but the upside is it’s easier on the pocketbook when it’s time for me to pay my tab. So while fatigued and mlaa was ... Read More »