The Black Angels (Band)

Depeche Mode, The Cure, Kings of Leon, Phoenix, Lionel Richie Head 2013 ACL Fest Lineup

Moments ago, Depeche Mode, The Cure, MUSE, Kings of Leon, Atoms For Peace (featuring Thom Yorke and Flea), Lionel Richie, Phoenix, Wilco, Vampire Weekend, The National, and Eric Church were announced as the headliners of the 2013 Austin City Limits Music Festival, which plans to expand to identical ... More >>

Last Night: The Zombies at Fitzgerald's

The Zombies, Elephant Stone Fitzgerald's March 17, 2013 There's something about The Zombies that has always set them off from the other bands of the British Invasion. Maybe it's the orchestral, minor chords, or the ethereal breathiness of singer Colin Blunstone's delivery, or the impeccable timing ... 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 >>

Upcoming: The Zombies, Jewel, Knife Party, King Khan, Paramore, Son Volt, etc.

The Airborne Toxic Event: Mon., April 29, 8 p.m., $18/$25. House of Blues, 1204 Caroline, Houston. The Black Angels: With Hanni El-Khatib, Wall of Death., Fri., May 24, 8 p.m., TBA. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak, Houston. Blowfly: Sun., Feb. 10, 8 p.m., $10. Walter's, 1120 Naylor St., Houston. Blu ... 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 >>

The Biggest Surprises From the Texas 30 Ballots

Perusing the final ballots for the Texas 30 with a few highlighters this past week was a blessed odyssey into the past three decades of all things Texas music. For as many no-brainers as there were, there were plenty of head-scratchin' exclusions. Rewind: The 30 Best Texas Albums (cover story) Sl ... More >>

Fun Fun Fun Fest Sunday In Review: Turbonegro, De La Soul, Araab Muzik & More

The last day of Fun Fun Fun Fest 2012 was another dusty affair. I can feel about a pound of crud in my lungs, and my ears are ringing like a mother-fluffer, which means I had a great Sabbath at Auditorium Shores. SLIDESHOWS: The Girls of Fun Fun Fun Fest Turbonegro, De La Soul and Edward Sharpe: F ... More >>

Wouldn't It Be Cool If the Houston Texans Only Played Texas Music at Games?

Much like most Houstonians, I will be in front of a television on Sunday watching our Houston Texans play the Miami Dolphins at Reliant Stadium. It's a big and promising year for our team, one of only professional sports franchises in town that are successful. Did you know that Billy Ray Cyrus is ... More >>

Fun Fun Fun Fest Releases Daily Schedule

This morning Fun Fun Fun Fest organizers released the daily schedule for November's three-day orgy of booze, denim, and loudness in the middle of Austin's Auditorium Shores. The color-coded stages -- black, yellow, orange, and blue -- are set up according to genre and size of the act. Last year th ... More >>

Your 33 Black Angels Pick 10 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

​Sunday night, Notsuoh plays host to Your 33 Black Angels, a manic garage-psych group from Brooklyn, N. Y. The band sometimes boasts eight members, and reminds us of a less-pretentious Brian Jonestown Massacre or trance-driven Black Lips. And there's the "96 Tears" organ that chimes in here a ... More >>

Chafing 101: Rocks Off's 2011 Music Festival Odyssey

Music festivals are now a part of our lives, just like deadlines, angry commenters, lack of sleep, and eye fatigue. And eating at our desk. That sucks. But at least we have food and a desk, right? Rocks Off ventured all over the state -- OK, really mostly Austin -- to cover festivals for the blog. ... More >>

Our Top Ten Picks For Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011

Photo By Marc BrubakerBest Coast at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010​This weekend the Rocks Off team will cover their third Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, at the festival's new home Auditorium Shores. Each year this fest seems to get bigger and better, without losing it's grimy luster. Is it the Austin City ... More >>

Last Night: The Black Angels At Fitzgerald's

Photos By Marc Brubaker​Rocks Off hopes that this observation is wrong, but we don't think that people give the Black Angels enough due credit as a Texas band, even though everything about them encapsulates the 50 years of Texas rock. The spookiness of everything Roky Erickson touched, the swi ... More >>

Black Angels

You In Color: The Black Angels' Christian Bland Talks Film Scores

Photo By Craig HlavatyThe Black Angels' Alex Maas at Free Press Summerfest in June​Tomorrow night the Black Angels hit Houston for the third time in about a year, with a gig over at Fitzgerald's with fellow retro-doomers Dead Meadow and Spindrift. The last time the Angels were in Houston it wa ... More >>

ACL Find: The Cave Singers At The Vista Equity Tent

Craig Hlavaty​ We found ourselves in front the Cave Singers on Friday afternoon with a few hundred folks, escaping the Sun and the cheerfulness and pomp of the other bands going at the same time (Big Boi, Foster The People) for some dark art at the Vista Equity Tent. About halfway through t ... More >>

Summer Fest Sunday: Peak Fun With B L A C K I E, Hayes Carll, Guitar Wolf, Yeasayer, Robert Ellis & More

Jim BrickerGood ole boy done good: Hayes Carll had a productive homecoming.​Chris Gray: Not long after I got to Summer Fest Sunday, I spotted festival honcho Omar Afra finishing up one of local musician/yogi Tyagaraja's yoga workshops in the wooden glade known temporarily as the Budweiser Beer ... More >>

Summer Fest Critic's Guide: Who We're Seeing At Tinsley

Jermaine Rogers​In three very short years, Free Press Summer Fest has gone from an experiment most people thought would fail to destination music festival most people wouldn't dare miss even if it is going to be 105 degrees outside. Rocks Off has seen quite a bit of online chatter from people ... 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 >>

Summer Fest Releases Stage Schedule, Set Times

Jermaine Rogers​If Rocks Off learned anything at iFest these past two weekends, it's that we should have started our own bottled-water franchise. And that when you go to a music festival, it's a good idea to know who is playing and when. Running around willy-nilly is all well and good unless i ... More >>

The Five Most Texan Types Of Music

​Happy San Jacinto Day, fellow Texans and people who wish they were; i.e. everyone else. If you don't know why today is special, shame on you. But since us Texans are a friendly sort, allow Rocks Off to fill you in. On April 21, 1836, Texian forces under Gen. Sam Houston (aka "Big Drunk") lau ... More >>

Shot In The Dark: How The Whole Mess Started

Mark C. AustinKings of Leon at Verizon Wireless Theater, October 2008​Just a couple of days now before Rocks Off - the person and the blog - proudly presents Shot In the Dark: Houston Press Concert Photography, our first-ever exhibit of live pics we've collected in about three and a half years ... More >>

SXSW: The 10 Best Of The Fest This Year

Photos by Craig Hlavaty​

SXSW Last Night: Queens Of The Stone Age At La Zona Rosa

Craig Hlavaty​Rolling Stone magazine surely knows how to throw a showcase, bringing forth Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis, Mini Mansions, and Black Angels to open for a reinvigorated Queens Of The Stone Age on Wednesday night. Every band on the bill coalesced with each other beautifully and succinctl ... More >>

Rocks Off's Must-See Music Picks For SXSW '11

​As you may have heard, there's a teeny-tiny little music festival going on in Austin later this week. Some of the early birds on team Rocks Off are either already there or well on their way, as a matter of fact. With more than 2,000 artists playing the official part of SXSW alone, trying to ... More >>

MCM: More Local Music News Than Fried Food At The Rodeo

Each week Rocks Off navigates the treacherous seas of the mysterious Internet, casting nets to bring you the finest and freshest music news from around Houston. Enjoy. ​Scale The Summit's new album, The Collective, was released this week, and the entire thing is up for streaming on Soundcloud ... More >>

Weezer, Ween, Sharon Jones, Bun B Head Summer Fest Lineup

"I'm gonna pull out some shit on stage that will make the Flaming Lips cry and possibly retire in awe." - Hayes Carll, via @hprocksoff GroovehouseYeasayer at House of Blues, April 2010​Weezer, Ween, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Yeasayer and Houston rappers Z-Ro and Bun B head up the lineup ... More >>

Music's Top Five Hottest Trends For 2011

Photo illustrations by John Seaborn Gray​Every year-end Rocks Off prognosticates the likeliest trends in music for the upcoming year. So far, we've got a 100 percent success rate, although since the FBI made us take down all of our previous predictions, we have no way to prove it. So you'll j ... More >>

Last Night: The Black Angels And Black Mountain At Warehouse Live

Photos by Marc BrubakerSee more photos from Wednesday's fever dream in our slideshow.​The Black Angels, Black Mountain Warehouse Live November 17, 2010 Some music is so evocative and overwhelming it can cause you to flash back to before you were even born. Not all of it - when a Mozart sympho ... More >>

The Black Angels

Upcoming: Amos Lee, Mogwai, Wu-Tang Clan, Etc.

​Adolescents, Lower Class Brats: Sat., Jan. 1. Walter's On Washington. A.J. Croce: Thu., Feb. 10. McGonigel's Mucky Duck. Amos Lee: Sat., Feb. 12. House of Blues. Black Angels: Wed., Nov. 17. Cactus Music & Video. Cradle Of Filth, Nachtmystium, Turisas, Daniel Lioneye: Tue., Feb. 1. Wareh ... More >>

Post-Apocalyptic Videos, Rap Cartoons And Plenty Of Punk History

Catastrophic Skies (extended cut) from Chase Rees on Vimeo. • Pale, the mainstream-y dark rock band from Houston, has a new video out for their song "Catostrophic Skies," featuring a high-concept post-apocalyptic motorcycle gang. It's kinda goofy. But hell, look at those production values. • L ... More >>

SXSW: Dios And The Black Angels Warm Up A Frigid Saturday Night

Photos by Craig HlavatyDios​ Saturday night was a frigid one for the last full night of SXSW, and Aftermath's musical choices seemed to fall directly in line with the torrid temperament of the weather gods. The night before we found ourselves dabbing sweat of our brows, and exactly 24 hours later ... More >>

Still Not Sold On SXSW? How About Smokey Robinson, High On Fire, She & Him, Band Of Horses, Drive-By Truckers, Deer Tick, Anya Marina, Black Angels, Major Lazer...

Today the organizers of the SXSW Music Festival announced their showcase schedule for the music portion of the industry fest starting on March 17. This is the news Rocks Off has been looking for, so let's get it on. We are now one month away from Sixth Street and one of the world's biggest conglome ... More >>

R.I.P. Blue Cheer Founder and Bassist Dickie Peterson

​Front man and bassist Dickie Peterson of pioneering metallers Blue Cheer was found dead Monday morning in Germany. He was 61 years old and had reportedly been battling cancer for the past year. Blue Cheer's lasting influence on modern heavy rock is insurmountable. With their devastating low ends ... More >>

Ghosts of Washington Avenue

Noise goes whistling through the scenester artery's music venue graveyard.

MP3 of the Day: Passengers' Leather-Scented Death Dirges

​Somewhere down our dark and booze-addled alley lies the sound of Passengers. Rising from the pieces of mod-punks Teenage Kicks, comes copious amounts of grimy leather-scented organ-infused Krautrock. This is the kind of music that the Brian Jonestown Massacre was making in the mid-'90s before Ant ... More >>

I Walked With a Zombie: A Roky Erickson Primer

Chris GrayOkkervil River's Will Sheff (left) and Roky Erickson at the 2008 Austin Music AwardsRocks Off is starting to get really excited about Roky Erickson's show at the Continental Club Wednesday night. As of around noon Tuesday, about 50 tickets were left, available at Sig's Lagoon. Sig's owner ... More >>

Ex-13th Floor Elevator Tommy Hall Is Still Psychedelic

A Long, Strange Trip

Vinyl Heads

They're turning to needles, looking for purity