Grizzly Bear (Band)

Last Night: Grizzly Bear at House of Blues

Grizzly Bear House of Blues April 9, 2013 The best move that Grizzly Bear made Tuesday night was possibly their only move. What I imagined to be electric-light squids danced high and low in time as lights flashed in bursts, the band frozen silhouettes in the foreground. The music was at moments po ... More >>

Is Danger Mouse Ruining Rock?

Okay, let's get this out of the way right off the bat. That headline is hyperbole. I don't think one man could possibly ruin the entirety of rock and roll. That takes the combined effort of a movement, such as hair metal in the '80s or nu-metal in the late '90s. Danger Mouse isn't a movement. He is ... More >>

Friday Night: Local Natives at Fitzgerald's

Local Natives, Superhumanoids Fitzgerald's March 15, 2013 So... I was one of the three Rocks Off writers sent to cover Local Natives when the band first played Houston in April 2010. On one hand, my perceptions of the band haven't changed much since then; I supremely dig how tight harmonies, rock e ... More >>

Upcoming: Depeche Mode, Big Boi, Ariel Pink, Peter Murphy, Flying Lotus, etc.

Ariel Pink: Sun., June 16, 8 p.m., $15/$19. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak, Houston. Arum Rae: Fri., May 31, 8 p.m., $8/$11. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak, Houston. Avoxblue: With Andre Obin, Futility Closet, Stereo Telescope., Sun., March 17, 8 p.m., $3-$8. Notsuoh, 314 Main, Houston. Back in Black ... More >>

Coachella 2013 Takes It Back to the '90s

Coachella, the Only Music Festival That Matters (or so we're told), announced its 2013 lineup late Thursday night, no holograms or Rolling Stones included. Instead, two beloved '90s UK acts whose popularity in the U.S. is spotty at best, Blur and the Stone Roses, headline the first night of the tw ... More >>

Upcoming: Grizzly Bear, Bad Religion, NKOTB, R. Kelly, Dillon Francis, Gaslight Anthem, etc.

Adnan Sami: Sat., March 23, 8 p.m., $35.00-$250.00. Arena Theatre, 7326 SW Freeway, Houston. Alejandro Escovedo & the Sensitive Boys: Sat., Feb. 9, 9:30 p.m., $18. Continental Club, 3700 Main, Houston. Bad Religion: With Against Me!, Polar Bear Club., Wed., March 13, 7 p.m., $25-$35. House of Blue ... More >>

Grammy Snubbed: Should We Really Feel Bad for Justin Bieber and Grizzly Bear?

You may have heard that the Grammy nominations were released this past week. It has some great choices from the committee, surprisingly enough. You've got nominations for extremely deserving artists such as Fiona Apple, Frank Ocean, Bjork, and Tom Waits. Even the Album of the Year award is a competi ... More >>

Top 5 Old Songs Ripe for Hipster Updates

After having grown up in a pop-music culture that every day grows more adept at rehashing, re-imagining and (let's be frank) flat-out stealing sounds from those who came before, today's indie bands are no strangers to aping their influences. And unlike post-punk and grunge before them, this class do ... More >>

10 Cool & Cheap Weekenders: November 9-11

Glass the Sky Fitzgerald's, November 9 Glass the Sky has been around about a year, but consider Friday's show a coming-out party. According to bassist and vocalist Michael Mazzella, the five local musicians had been playing in other bands for years and gradually realized they were going through the ... More >>

Glass the Sky

KACC: "Gulf Coast Rocker" Is Houston's Last Great FM Hope

Like a wound that never truly heals, the sorry state of commercial rock radio around here continues to be a sore point for many Houstonians. Not a day goes by that several people search for 103.7 FM on the Houston Press Web site -- almost two months after the station changed formats from Adult Alter ... More >>

Saturday Night: The Tontons at Warehouse Live

The Tontons, Quiet Company, Featherface Warehouse Live Studio September 1, 2012 Rewind: The Tontons Are Deemed Buzzworthy By MTV, Playing PopMontreal It's hard to put my finger on why, but Saturday felt like the most important night for local music since at least Friday's Grandfather Child hoedown ... More >>

Flashbulb Fires

The Hype Machine: Top 10 Indie Buzz Bands You May Have Forgotten

So you're a hipster. Not you specifically. I would never accuse the great Rocks Off readers of being hipsters. But hypothetically, say you're a hipster. How do you choose your favorite bands? Well, you stroll on over to any indie-rock blog and check out all the latest buzz bands obviously. The probl ... More >>

Friday Night: Mountain Goats at Fitzgerald's

Let us be clear from the very beginning -- this member of the Rocks Off Aftermath team isn't the most storied fan of The Mountain Goats. Though we'd heard of the legendary John Darnielle before, out first actual exposure to his music was in 2007 with Heretic Pride, and we were so struck by the power ... More >>

Van Halen, the New Walter's and Radiohead: Things We're Looking Forward to in 2012

Photo by Mark C. AustinRadiohead returns and we're stoked. Do people say "stoked" anymore?​There was a lot to be thankful for in 2011 in the world of music, but, in some ways, it was also a pretty tough year. We lost some great people and almost lost one of our own. It's a crazy, topsy turvy w ... More >>

Gimme Some Truth: What Happens When Rabid Fans & Bands Meet

​We have all been there. You may have had a few drinks, you are at your favorite band's show, and you come to find yourself in the vicinity of one of your heroes. Word vomit. Torrential word vomit. But you mean well. "I really think youse guys is great and your albums really means a lots to ... More >>

Last Night: Twin Shadow At Fitzgerald's

Photos by Neph Basedow​Twin Shadow Fitzgerald's September 15, 2011 Earlier this year, an eager Rocks Off showed up to Fitzgerald's early to catch scheduled Pains of Being Pure at Heart opener, Brooklyn-based New Wave revivalist Twin Shadow. As luck would have it, a handwritten sign adorned F ... More >>

The Best Albums Of 2011 (So Far)

​The year isn't quite half over, but as of today, "summer" is officially here - even if the calendar needs a few weeks to catch up - and by the time summer is over, so will 2011. Or close enough. So Rocks Off asked our staff to give us their favorite two albums of the year so far, plus one out ... More >>

10 Uncool Artists Primed For Hipster Rediscovery

Tumblr"Aw, dammit, I grabbed Dad's iPod by mistake. Paul Simon... is that one guy, or two Beatles?" ​Remember emo kids? Only a few short years ago, the nation's venues of the nation were filled with kids in all black, wearing ultra-skinny jeans, eyeliner, white belts, and identical chopped-mea ... More >>

Karina Longworth's Top Ten Movies of 2010

Sleigh Bells: Not Just For Christmas Anymore

​Christmastime: A time for family, for giving, and much to the displeasure of many, a time for incessantly grating holiday music. Christmas spirit frozen in cheesy songs monopolizes radio stations and relentlessly stalks our every step. A key component of much holiday music is often the percu ... More >>

Nine Rappers About To Be Eaten By Their Own Beards

musiconplay.net​In today's crowded music industry, it's becoming increasingly difficult for artists to stand out from the pack, but sometimes a facial package of ample weight and gargantuan growth will do the trick. Look out, these hip-hoppers are one hair strand away from disappearing into th ... More >>

Eclipse

Brooding folk for the Twilight crowd.

Will The Real Fun Fun Fun Fest Lineup Please Stand Up?

Marc BrubakerMetallagher at Fun Fun Fest 2009​Lots of late-night intrigue in the Twitterverse, as anticipation for the announcement of the lineup for Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 builds to a boil. Late Wednesday, Austin blog Party Ends published a list including Animal Collective, Gang Gang Dance, Ga ... More >>

Jeremy Messersmith, Obsessed With Death In A Cheerful Way

​With The Reluctant Graveyard, indie-pop singer-songwriter Jeremy Messersmith has crafted the most gorgeous, lush, and sunny record ever about death and dying. Corpses, organ donors, coffin salesmen, shot-down gangster doppelgangers, and zombies (both literally and the '60s Colin Blunstone va ... More >>

Acts We Think - OK, Hope - Are Playing ACL Fest This Year

​By this time Tuesday, we will all know who is playing the Austin City Limits Music Festival in October. Damn, it seems like we have speculating about the line-up since, well, we got the last of the "Dillo Dirt" out the middle of our toes after last year's muddy and rainy ACL weekend. Tuesday brig ... More >>

Aftermath: Three (Count 'Em) Takes On SXSW Heroes Local Natives At Mango's

Ed. Note: As anyone who followed our SXSW coverage would know, perhaps no band got as much critical love thrown its way as L.A.'s Local Natives. So much so that, when the Natives returned to Mango's this past Saturday, somehow Rocks Off wound up with three reviewers at the show. It might have been f ... More >>

Yeasayer

Thanks, But No Thanks: See What Dallas Has to Deal With All the Time?

We know, we know... it's just too easy.​ Rocks Off would like to thank Force Field PR and, we suppose, Neon Indian for sending the above picture to our email this morning. It nearly made us spray coffee all over our monitor. We don't quite know where to start, except to venture a guess that if you ... More >>

Critiquing the Critics

Readers disagree with our statement that the AP's rock critics are assholes.

Uprising

2009 wasn't a great year for albums, but songs were a different story.

The AP's Year-End Album List Proves What We Already Knew: Rock Critics Are Assholes

​Rocks Off has previously lamented the dearth of critically popular acts that truly rock many times. We just can't get over the fact that adding distortion to your guitar is a virtual guarantee you won't get scads of rock critics jizzing all over you with steamy loads of orgasmic praise (unless yo ... More >>

Artist of the Week: Sigur Ros-Sampling White Rappers Guerilla Foco Clan

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. ​ At a recent Devin the ... More >>

ACL 2009 Day Three: Aftermath

Photos by Mark C. AustinDavid Garza​So, what happens to freshly laid grass in a public park after a day full of rain and thousands of people walking back and forth across it at the same time? Well, as anyone who was present for Day Three of Austin City Limits Festival 2009 (ACL) could tell you ... More >>

ACL 2009 Day Two: Aftermath

Photo by Mark C. Austin​Was it something we said or did? Aftermath openly gushed about how great the weather was on Friday and how it seemed that maybe, just maybe, we were going to finally attend an Austin City Limits (ACL) that didn't consist of heat and dust. Well, it seems that the powers ... More >>

ACL 2009 Day Three: Mud!

Photo by Craig HlavatyNo, that is not Rocks Off.​At this point Rocks Off is so jaded from mud, rain, bro-dudes, and janky taxi-cab politics that Eddie Vedder himself could be standing before us and we wouldn't know him from Adam Lambert. As Willem Dafoe said in Platoon "The worm has turned for you ... More >>

ACL 2009 Day Two: Live Shots

Photos by Mark C. AustinMute Math​The second day of the festival was so busy (and so rainy) that we barely had time to get back to our laptops and card readers to upload photos. So - one day late - enjoy our favorite shots from Day Two of ACL, featuring Bon Iver, Citizen Cope, Grizzly Bear, Mute M ... More >>

Live From ACL: Buckets of Rain, and a Bright Spot or Two

Photos by Chris GrayThis photo was NOT taken Saturday. Trust us.​ The streak is over. In eight years, Austin City Limits has seen plenty of days of unbearable heat, but hardly any rain. The most significant time was during Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' headlining 2006 set, but even that was m ... More >>

Defending the Jonas Brothers: You Got a Problem With That?

​We have spent days wrestling throw pillows and chain-smoking cigarettes in the sun, sweatily contemplating why it is that we can't hate the Jonas Brothers. We can honestly say this isn't some crass devil's advocate playing rock journalist devilry. We can't find a reasonable flaw in the wares they ... More >>

Summer Stock

Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest