The Gaslight Anthem

Friday Night: Alkaline Trio at House of Blues

Alkaline Trio House of Blues May 3, 2013 "I don't deserve this!" Matt Skiba shouted, his veins pushing against his neck as he strained his voice, the crowd chanting along, nearly drowning out his band, Alkaline Trio. "No, I don't deserve this!" Donning a pink cowboy hat and pink converse to match ... More >>

Last Night: Gaslight Anthem at House of Blues

Gaslight Anthem House of Blues April 25, 2013 At 10 p.m. sharp Thursday night, as Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight" blared on the speakers overheard, the Jersey-born and -bred, punk rock five-piece The Gaslight Anthem sauntered out onto the stage at House of Blues. Fans cheered, a ... More >>

Last Night: Foals and Surfer Blood at Fitzgerald's

Foals, Surfer Blood Fitzgerald's April 25, 2013 Thursday was quite the busy night in Houston, with most of the city's venues hosting national touring acts. Paramore and Gaslight Anthem were at the bigger rooms, but the real hot ticket was a sold-out showing of Foals and Surfer Blood at Fitzgerald's ... More >>

The Best Concerts In Houston This Week: Carrie Underwood, Filter, Paramore, etc.

Carrie Underwood Toyota Center, April 23 Seemingly shoved off the queen-of-country throne by Taylor Swift's ascendancy, Carrie Underwood may have taken the title right back now that Swift has crossed over completely into the pop realm. No one will ever mistake Underwood for Loretta Lynn, of course, ... More >>

10 Signs Your Band Won't Make It at SXSW

Being a successful musician really has to be a slice of heaven. And of course the chicks are great. It's why from the beginning of time men (and women) have taken up instruments in the chance that they will be played in front of many, many others, some of whom could possibly want to have sex with ... More >>

SXSW's Class of 2008: Where Are They Now? (w/VIDEO)

My first true SXSW with the Houston Press and Rocks Off was way back in March 2008, when I was given a wristband to explore/maraud Austin looking for trouble and new bands. This was a time when Justice and MSTRKRFT were what would be called EDM now, and Israel's Monotonix was flipping every wig in t ... 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 >>

Radioactive Duo

Classic-rock station 93.7 The Arrow yanks controversial morning DJs Walton and Johnson off the air.

Rocks Off's 10 Biggest Musical Disappointments of 2012

Everyone's mother once told them, or should have, that life is not always going to be a puppy mill full of unicorns and rainbows. Remember why all those puppies are there. Sometimes life -- and especially pop music -- doesn't turn out like you were expecting, so now we present Rocks Off's Biggest Mu ... More >>

Saturday: The American Heist, Venomous Maximus Rawk Dallas' Riot Fest

Riot Fest Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas Saturday, September 22 See "The People of Riot Fest 2012" in our sister paper Dallas Observer's slideshow. If you couldn't get enough of Rise Against and The Gaslight Anthem the other night -- and were willing to drive four hours up to Dallas -- the first Tex ... More >>

Last Night: The Gaslight Anthem, Rise Against, And Hot Water Music At Bayou Music Center

Houston punks had two choices last night: Rise Against and the Gaslight Anthem, with Hot Water Music at Bayou Music Center -- still getting used to that name -- or OFF! and Negative Approach at Warehouse Live a few miles east. I ended up catching both somehow, though our Nathan Smith would write w ... More >>

Revisiting Gaslight Anthem and Other "Baby Boss Bands"

This past year and a half was a pretty Springsteen-centric one for me. It was just last summer that we lost The Big Man, Clarence Clemons, the E Street Band's mascot and longtime saxophonist at the age of 69 due to stroke complications. Rewind: Springsteen Stumbles On Pedestrian New Album Wrecking ... More >>

The 5 Best Shows In Houston This Week: Blondie/Devo, Uncle Lucius, etc.

Houston's football, etc., who package the spidery and poignant guitar passages of '90s bands like Mineral and Rainer Maria into a super-crunchy outer shell, went to the UK this summer and released a three-song split with Square Business in July. Monday, see if you can talk the trio out of a T-shirt ... More >>

Katy's Point to Infinity Wins Spot on Lollapalooza Stage

This is one of those stories that can't help raise even the most cynical journalist's cockles a few degrees: Band fresh out of high school, with a disposition as sunny as its melodic brand of pop-rock, wins a spot at one of America's biggest, most important music festivals. Any Hollywood producer wo ... More >>

Upcoming: Guided By Voices, English Beat, Gaslight Anthem, Yanni, Cave Singers, Etc.

3 Doors Down: Sat., June 23, 7 p.m., $35-$65. Bayou Music Center, 520 Texas, Houston. Big Pokey, Lil Flip, ESG, Lil Keke, Yungster: Wed., June 27, 8 p.m., $25/$30. Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, Houston. The Cave Singers: Sun., June 10, 8 p.m., $8. Continental Club, 3700 Main, Houston. Citizen ... More >>

Springsteen Stumbles On Pedestrian New Album Wrecking Ball

Today sees the release of Bruce Springsteen's newest album, the compact and confounding Wrecking Ball, his first since 2009's Working On a Dream. Recorded and inspired partly by the recent Occupy protests, with most songs coming before the movement was even a physical thing, in any other year it cou ... More >>

Bruce Springsteen's New Single and a Preemptive Review of His Upcoming Album

Like any red-blooded American rock and roll fan, I am looking forward to the next year to be filled with Bruce Springsteen. The man has a new album, Wrecking Ball, coming on March 6, a massive tour in the planning stages, and he's set to be the keynote speaker at this year's South By Southwest in Au ... More >>

2 Become 1: Musical Match-Ups We'd Like To See

​Kanye "Hitler" West and Jay-Z released their (overused music writer word alert) epic Watch the Throne album this week, to mostly great reviews. This fall the first fruits from the recently announced Lou Reed/Metallica collaboration should be on the store shelves, which still sorta weirds us o ... More >>

Top 10 Worst Top 10 Lists Of 2010

​Now that's a headline, ladies and germs. It has the added benefit of being succinct as well. That's exactly what we're summing up here, the worst Top 10 lists our peers have written this year. Let's get started, as we've got a lot of ground to cover. 10. This One Not really, this is just t ... More >>

ACL Day 2 Recap: Gaslight Anthem, Local Natives, Kinky, Muse

Photos by Marco Torres​ For more images from ACL Saturday, see our slideshow here. Complaining about crowds at an event like ACL is like complaining about the smell of livestock at the Houston Rodeo, but it does take some getting used to. And for the folks who think that Saturday was too hot ... More >>

Live From The Austin City Limits Festival, Day 2

Brittanie Shey: When you go to a festival lit this, you're always looking for the discovery. The one band that either blows you away or causes you to alter all your expectations. Today it was Dan Black, a performer we caught only because there was nothing else going on. As soon as we get home, we' ... More >>

Last Night: Gaslight Anthem At Warehouse Live

Photos by Jason Wolter​Gaslight Anthem Warehouse Live October 7, 2010 Quite a great deal of press - too much, really - has been given to the similarities between New Jersey's Gaslight Anthem and that other guy from the Garden State - Jon Bon J... er, Bruce Springsteen. Both Springsteen and GA ... More >>

Gaslight Anthem

Springsteen 2.0: Can Baby Bosses Cruise The Backstreets?

Daniel Kramer​This fall, Houstonians salivating for another touring run by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band don't have to search to hard to find bands heavily influenced by the man's sound and work ethic. Even though Springsteen and his merry band of musicians may be cooling their road ... More >>

ACL: What Could Possibly Be Worse Than Last Year's Mudbath?

Mark C. AustinCan't WAIT to go back!​In exactly one week, Rocks Off will be broadcasting live from the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin's Zilker Park. This will be our fourth spin around the grounds since 2007, and every year we swear we won't fall in love with a bartender in the me ... More >>

Upcoming: Atari Teenage Riot, Heart, Rocks Off's "Reduxion," Etc.

Poster by DUAL​Atari Teenage Riot, Black Congress, Female Demand: Wed., Sept. 29. Numbers. Betty Wright, Willie Clayton: Sat., Oct. 2. Arena Theatre. Cory Morrow: Mon., Aug. 30, 5:30 p.m. Cactus Music & Video. Devil Driver, Kataklysm, Kittie: Tue., Aug. 31. Scout Bar Clear Lake. Flyleaf, ... More >>

How Is Houston Doing ACL-Wise?

Marco TorresThe Eagles have flown, at least as far as Houston is concerned.​If you have even bothered to venture out of doors during these days of 105-degree heat indices and "Unhealthy" air-quality advisories, you may have noticed that things have been a little light on the roadshow front lat ... More >>

Last Night: Silversun Pickups And Against Me! At Warehouse Live

Photos by Faith SilvaAgainst Me!​Silversun Pickups, Against Me! Warehouse Live July 20, 2010 Against Me! opening up for Silversun Pickups would be like the Replacements opening up for My Bloody Valentine in 1991. Except that Against Me! isn't on the wane of their career and Silversun has way ... More >>

ACL Fest Releases Schedule; Adds Black Lips, Silversun Pickups

black-lips.com via FlickrBrand-new ACL 2010 adds The Black Lips​The Austin City Limits Music Festival released the schedule grid for this year's gathering in Zilker Park Oct. 7-9. The festival also added several bands, including Atlanta garage-punks (and recovering exhibitionists) the Black Li ... More >>

Friday: The (Very Wet) Vans Warped Tour At Sam Houston Race Park

Photos by Marc BrubakerTyson Ritter of the All-American Rejects​Vans Warped Tour Sam Houston Race Park July 2, 2010 As they always have, teenagers get a bad rap these days. In our minds, any kid who was willing to brave the dirty side of Hurricane Alex on Friday afternoon to see their favorit ... More >>

2010 ACL Line-Up Goes Live And (Early) By Surprise

The line-up for the 2010 Austin City Limits Music Festival went live at the fest's website at midnight this morning while the rest of the world was snoozing. Luckily we are up and stirring to bring it to you. No Pavement and no Soundgarden, but we do have the Strokes down. More commentary coming in ... More >>

I'm Bound To Pack It Up: A Playlist for Team Coco

​Former management at NBC was smart enough to stick with Conan O'Brien's Late Night franchise despite an unsteady beginning, and were rewarded when Coco went on to build one of the most reliably solid shows in late-night history. He was afforded no such wisdom from Jeff "Soul Suckin' Jerk" Zucker, ... More >>

Previewing the Year Ahead In Local Releases

​ 2010 looks like it's going to be a banner year for music in general. We can look forward to a new Arcade Fire opus, another Spoon outing, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and a Beach House record that is already getting Animal Collective-like buzz. Rocks Off is chomping a ... More >>

Aftermath: Fake Problems and Born Anchor at Walter's on Washington

Photos by Craig Hlavaty On a Monday night, all you can really look forward to is a decent evening of lackluster television and maybe some leftover barbecue from the weekend's flame-kissed debauchery. But last night at Walter's was the exact anecdote for a "case of da Mondays" in so many ways. In rec ... More >>

Don't Forget Record Store Day is Saturday

Well, it looks like the weather gods are laughing at Houston again, and have decided to ring in iFest with a good round of drenching rain. So if you'd prefer to remain indoors, don't forget Saturday is Record Store Day - there's even a Web site. Be a good consumer and help out your neighborhood ... More >>

Against Me!

New Wave