In advance of tonight's show, The Free Press gets exclusive interviews with the Pixies, Madonna, The White Stripes, The Mummies, and organizer Bob Geldof. Read More »
$22 bucks is the kind of ticket price that makes me think twice but Daniel Johnton’s show in Houston on Saturday night was one where I couldn’t imagine anyone left the place thinking they didn’t get their $22 worth and then some. The hook that got me over that $22 was the ensemble that had been cast for this show. My understanding (please, correct me if I am wrong here) is that Joe Mathlete was assigned the task of playing Nick Fury and “assemble Earth’s mightiest superheroes” or in this case some of Houston’s mightiest musicians. In addition to himself, ... Read More »
Tonight the Young Mammals release a new 7″ – their first since releasing Carrots a bit over two years ago. The band has been somewhat quiet over the past couple of years so I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of you may be unfamiliar with them but when the band roared into the scene with its high energy indie pop they made a huge splash and arguably led the way for bands like Wild Moccasins, The Ton Tons, and Buxton by helping expand what was happening in the local music scene. Tonight at Walters, the band roars back into ... Read More »
There most certainly is. On Friday, Houston will see whiny, emo, AP darlings, Hawthorne Heights at Warehouse. Make sure you get your tickets to that one early or those kids’ parents will first. A better choice however would probably be kickass multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Wesley at Dean’s Credit Clothing. Walter’s on Washington will also have a smorgasbord of local bands including B L A C K I E, Fat Tony, and Ghost Town Electric. On Saturday the dashing Young Mammals will be kicking off their tour with Eastern Sea and Buxton. But if you feeling like partying as if it were ... Read More »
Yes, you’ve probably been wondering where our posts have been over SXSW. Well, first off, only I was supposed to to do daily blogging; Levi and April were going to do theirs this week as recaps. So why no posts? Well, lets just say that the rest of my posse showed up Thursday and when you are in the middle of a hurricane you just try to make it through alive. See here is the thing about SXSW, sure you have all the issues revolving around this big overblown marketing beast where small independent bands scream to be heard above ... Read More »
OK folks, let’s get one thing out of the way here. If you go to a hardcore show there is this thing called a circle pit. People run in a circle that’s very much like the running of the bulls where, if you jump in, you may get hurt but, if you stay out, you will likely be less likely to be hurt. I say less likely because, of course, you’ll sometimes get pushed, shoved, or even elbowed but that’s not done on purpose but is the result of a simple accident that goes with the territory. Let’s face it, ... Read More »
Well here it is, Monday, and not only did I survive the Hootenanny (link) but I also survived the Houston Press Music Awards. Having these two things back to back, admittedly, is pretty rough. So Sunday, being a bit worse for wear, I stayed away from the free booze and stuck to the vitamin water. One thing I have to say about the HPMAs this year is that the venues seemed farther apart than in previous years. Whereas last year you could step out of the Rice Hotel and immediately walk across to see say Insect Warfare, this year you ... Read More »
As if to counter the John Lomax’s “our scene sucks” mantra, Saturday’s Creature Comforts art opening at Art Storm (located within Caroline Collective) was a raving success. Unfortunately, the traffic from Galveston resulted in my arriving just in time to hear Wicked Poseur’s last notes ring but, judging from the wild applause, they did pretty alright indeed. I wish Wicked Poseur had traded slots with Hard Place because I honestly could have done without them. You know that Spongebob Squarepants episode where Squidward is assigned to lead the half-time ceremonies at a football game and the orchestra plays this terrible ... Read More »
Is it me or is this a year of exodus for great musicians from Houston? Earlier Danny Mee of the Jonx moved to Austin and Jenny Westbury also announced her imminent departure to Seattle. Now word comes down the line of a continued talent drain. First Iram Guerrero of Young Mammals (aka The Dimes) is down to his last three shows before he leaves Houston. That’s a huge blow given that he’s one of the premier drummers in Houston and a defining part of the band’s sound. Then, Papermoons announced that after their upcoming tour, they too will also be ... 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 »
