We were initially pretty thrown off by the lineup for the Davila 666 show at Mango's on Saturday night. It was mixed bag of indie pop openers and rock 'n roll headliners.
We're all about diversity, but there wasn't anything distinctive about Kingwood indie rockers New York City Queens. It's clear that the project is the brainchild of frontman John Stephens, but the pop riffs and boy-girl harmonies didn't save them from looking and sounding forced and gimmicky.
Their music has been in rotation on 104 KRBE, though and we're eating beans out of a can right now, so what do we really know?
Young Girls began setting up quickly after NYCQ was finished. The local indie pop trio consists of Charlie and Pete Tijerina on bass and guitar, and drummer Luis. They're going to the studio to record new music, so Saturday was the last time they'll play in Houston for a while.
They played cuts from their CD, of which local musician Keno Sims had a healthy stack. As he passed them out, he told us that he owed a lot to Young Girls, who influence his own music. Pete sang his ass off and Luis and Pete switched instruments back and forth for a few songs.
Around 11 p.m., we noticed a shift in the crowd. By the time the Barreracudas came on stage, things started to get a little weirder. On their Facebook page, they categorize their style as Clam Punk/Plymouth Rock, so they don't take themselves too seriously. Their set was full of puns and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, starting with a sing-a-long called "Diet Coke."
They also played a sensual song about footjobs from the album they released earlier this year, Nocturnal Missions. Here's what we heard: "I'll treat you like a queen and I'll use my feet to show you what I mean."
When the Barreracudas were done and wished their friend a happy birthday, it was time for Davila 666, the rock and roll band from Puerto Rico. From what we've read online, they're the "world's greatest party band." We missed them when they came to Rudyard's not too long ago, so we were excited to see them based on the stories we'd heard.
What's cool about Davila is that the six members have taken the same last name, a la the Ramones family. But 666 reminded us more of The Stooges than the Ramones, mixed with a little bit of lo-fi fuzz.
It seemed like there were 12 people on stage rather than six, but that could have been because they each had the energy of two adult men. They played a few tracks from Tan Bajo, including "Obsesionao", which had the packed crowd bouncing around together while Charles Davila teetered over the edge of the stage.
Personal Bias: Garage rock en Espanol, we couldn't have been more pleased.
The Crowd: Friends of the bands. Also, Noguey was in full attendance.
Overheard in The Crowd: English and Spanish, it was increíble.
Random Notebook Dump: Don't take menudo lightly.
