Now that 2017 is in the books, we can start looking forward to a promising new year, resolutions most of us won't keep, and plenty of entertaining options in the slowest time of year for concerts. But even with that being the case, there's more than enough happening around town over the next seven days. Performances from Big Freedia, Easter Island, and Katy Perry will all happen while locals like Astragal, El Lago and Miears will all help fill in the gaps.
Tonight you can get going over at
Walter's when California's
Diztort will bring their hardcore to town. Touring on
Demo, these guys sound like they can bring chaos at their shows. Missouri's
O.N.E. will be on as direct support while Houston's
Skourge will go on prior. The punk of Houston's
Dress Code will also perform as will
Kept In Line and Denton's
Contact Grid. The all ages show has different lineups between the event page and the poster, so keep that in mind. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $8.
At
Notsuoh, you could catch Houston's
ImposterBoys play their brand of punk. This three piece will drop their debut sooner than later, their shows are pretty energetic, and their
Demo is worth giving an ear to. The post punk of
Branagan will be on as direct support while the alt sounds of
Quinn The Brain will open the 21 & up show. Doors at 8 p.m.; Free.
click to enlarge Nathan Quick will bring his new album to life at Mucky Duck.
Photo by Levi Dunning
On
Thursday you might want to head over to
Mucky Duck for the album release from Houston's
Nathan Quick. Quick has been making his presence known as of late in the last year with
The Los Angeles E.P. and now this new album,
The Other Side. Of course his live sets are always soulful and fun, and this show should be on par with his past sets. The 21 & up show has doors at 7 p.m.; tickets $20 to $22.
At
Rudyard's, the electro-pop sounds of Houston's
Tee Vee will headline their first set of the new year. Supporting last year's
Soft Spot, this sometimes two piece and sometimes solo act really makes seeing a show a fun experience for all. The most intriguing and interesting band in Houston,
Ak'chamel will be on as direct support while the soundscaped and diverse sounds of Houston's
Morning Scales the Mountain will swing by for their debut performance to open the 21 & up show. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $8.
Christmas Island will bring in the almost Replacements tinged punk of Minneapolis'
Constant Insult. This four piece makes the kind of music that stormed college radio for decades before the major label system destroyed all of that. Their latest
Demo is pretty legit and worth checking out. The power infused punk of Houston's
K. Campbell will be on as direct support while the emo punk of
Date & Destroy will go on prior. The black metal of Minnesota's
Changeling will open the all ages show. Doors at 8 p.m.; $5 cover.
Big Top will have the country twang of
Charlie & The Regrets over to get feet moving. These guys dropped a pretty stellar album last year called
Rivers In The Streets that really shows off their old school country sound, and their live shows are a mix of fun and soulful bliss. There's no openers for the 21 & up show. Doors at 10 p.m.; TBD cover.
click to enlarge Second Lovers continue to reinvent themselves again and again.
Photo by Daniel Jackson
Friday you can get going at
White Oak Music Hall upstairs when another reincarnation of Houston's
Second Lovers returns to perform. If I'm correct, this will just be a duo performance from the Americana infused rockers, that have shed the bulk of the members who seemed to blow up a couple of years ago. That being said, they have a new single "
Corner Store" that sounds pretty impressive. The electronica of
MIEARS will be on as direct support and opener for the all ages show. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $5 to $8.
Walter's will give you all the heavy sounds you can handle when Austin's
The Blood Royale swing by to perform. Supporting their latest
The Blood Royale God Fearing Fuck Split, these guys definitely bring an intense sound when they play. Houston's
Cryptic Void will be on as direct support while the metal of
God Fearing Fuck will go on beforehand.
Hell's Engine will also be on the bill as will
Active Shooter, and
Daggerhead who will open the all ages show. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $12.
click to enlarge We Were Wolves bring beer fueled mayhem everywhere they perform.
Photo by K.ndrick
Over at
The Secret Group you can get your rock on when
We Were Wolves bring their full throttled sounds over to headline a set. Supporting their most recent release
Empty Plans, the four piece is definitely a band you should get familiar with sooner than later. Austin's
Black Syrup will be on as direct support while Houston's
Howard & the Nosebleeds will get the all ages show started. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $7.
Satellite Bar will host Houston's
The Tie That Binds. These guys were playing over twenty years ago, but they recently returned from out of nowhere, and their 2017 release
Adding Machine was a return to their emo infused punk past. The indie rock of Austin's
Gentlemen Rogues will be on as direct support and
Date & Destroy will go on before. The grindcore of
Ol' Hag will get the all ages show started. Doors at 8 p.m.; TBD cover.
On
Saturday you could celebrate the birthdays of Elvis and David Bowie at the same time, for the
Splice Records' Bowie Elvis Fest at
Continental Club and
Big Top. The annual event that almost always sells out, will feature some of your favorite acts playing the tunes of Elvis and Bowie. Sets from
Pecos Hank,
Tomar and the FC's,
Nick Gaitan,
Clay Melton,
The Wheel Workers and more will all be set to play the 21 & up show. Doors at 7 p.m.; tickets $20.
click to enlarge After two successful sets at Day For Night, LIMB should bring an intensity to the Rashomon project.
Photo by Dinolion
Of course, the
Rashomon film screening will take place over at
Beta Theater. The ambitious film project featuring the videos of 14 Houston bands intertwined by a story line might be one of the most bonkers things our city will get a chance to see in a good while. Some of the bands in the videos are Black Kite, The Wheel Workers, MIEARS, Guilla, LIMB, Pitter Patter, Whit, and football, etc. to name a few. Half of the proceeds from the screening will go back into the pockets of the bands in the project. The all ages show has doors at 7:30 p.m.; and
tickets for $10.
Upstairs at
White Oak Music Hall, the nineties punk of
U.S. Bombs will return to town. The California based punk band hasn't been here in a minute, and their last release
Hollywood Gong Show is pretty solid. Houston's
Revels will bring their punk sounds on as direct support while
Johnny Rioux and The 713 will go on beforehand. The solid hardcore of Houston's
Liberty & Justice will get the all ages show started. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $18.
Satellite Bar will have the eclectic and intriguing sounds of
Merel & Tony with The Woe Woe Woes. Possibly one of the more interesting sounding bands to call Houston home, their album
Merel & Tony with The Woe Woe Woes from last year was pretty gorgeous to say the least. A support set from
Pitter Patter will also take place while
Traci Lavois Thiebaud+Mannerisms will also perform. A special guest will be on the all ages show as well. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $10.
click to enlarge Big Freedia will bring fire to White Oak Music Hall.
Photo courtesy of United Talent Agency
Downstairs at
White Oak Music Hall, NOLA's
Big Freedia will bring all of the vibe to perform a headlining show. Supporting last year's
Dive, their sets are always amazing and worth catching. The outspoken and glorious sounds of
Boyfriend will be on as direct support and opener for the all ages show. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $20 to $22.
Over at
Avant Garden,
Mantra Love will return with their trippy blend of pop and psych to drop a headlining set. Last year they dropped the single "
Strawberry Milk" to prove that they could keep us all guessing, and their live shows are always a trip. The ambient sounds of Houston's
Small Chair will go on prior while Los Bloos will open the 21 & up show. Doors at 9 p.m.; tickets $3.
On
Sunday you can get all the pop feels at
Toyota Center, when
Katy Perry swings by to perform. Supporting her latest release
Witness, Perry should bring plenty of high scale production to this show. The pop sounds of Canada's
Carly Rae Jepsen will open the all ages show. Doors at 6 p.m.; tickets $50.50 to $200.50.
Satellite Bar will host
Vockfest III. While I would just guess that
Vockah Redu will headline or at least be performing on this show, his name actually isn't on the flyer or the event page, so there's that. It is listed that multiple acts will perform including a set from
Tex Kirschen+Erika Thrasher, which should be a trip while performances from Lucky Lou and
The Sun Machine will also be on hand. There's more bands and information
here for the all ages show. Doors at 7 p.m.; tickets $10 to $15.
Sabbath Assembly will bring their darkness to all at Walter's.
Photo courtesy of Svart Records
Walter's will host the occult rock sounds of
Sabbath Assembly. What can be said about a band that's so original that they not only reside in Texas and New York, but that they believe in a '60s religion so much that they'd form a band in its celebration. This band is intense, dark, and pretty mysterious, and their last release
Rites of Passage is pretty epic sounding. The black metal of Dallas'
Dead To A Dying World will be on as direct support while the high energy doom metal of
Doomstress will go on prior. The intriguing instrumental metal of
Fiddle Witch & The Demons of Doom will open the all ages show. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $10.
On
Monday at Walter's, you could grab your indie emo fix when
Talking Forever will return from tour to melt faces. These guys make traditional emo in the way that it's like they could've existed with bands like Boys Life and Mineral, and their live shows are intense and energetic. Their debut record,
My New Home was one of the best records you could hear last year as well. The jangly indie rock energy of Houston's
Astragal will be on as direct support and
Fight Me will be on as openers for the all ages show. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $8.
click to enlarge El Lago will bring their debut album "Colors" to life at Walter's.
Photo by Danny Garcia and Brandon Walker
Tuesday you can close out the week at
Walter's when the shoe gaze sounds of Galveston's
El Lago headline a set. While a touring act dropped off this show originally, getting to hear more of their lovely debut
Colors is a good thing. The psych sounds of
India Tigers In Texas will be on as direct support while the chill sounds of
Lagmind will open up the all ages evening. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $8
That's about it for the first week of the new year. Like always, remember that you're best bet is to drink like an adult and getting home safe is in the best interests of everyone in town.