Sad songs. Bad haircuts. Makeoutclub. Those are but a few things that come to mind the minute the word "emo" is uttered, for better or worse. For a long while emo was rock music's baby brother to be picked on, to make jokes about all the crying and the sadness and the overdramatic song lyrics, but in the last few years it's made a resurgence, with bands like Into It. Over it., Pianos Become the Teeth and Houston's own football, etc. putting out really good releases.

Fans of the genre, of course, have never stopped loving it. Why would they? The connection you make to music when you're young is a special thing, and it can only be more powerful when that genre is literally named after emotion.

Well good news, emo kids, you don't have to wait for that Get Up Kids show next month for your next big emo singalong. Barbarella is giving you a night of your own, courtesy of the H-Town Emo Club. It's called Saves the Tuesday.

The night is a spinoff of sorts of an idea that Alex Chavez tried out in Austin, inspired by the many punk/emo nights that exist across the country. Dubbed Jimmy Eat Wednesday, the idea worked and is coming to Houston.

And no, it's not just a bunch of people in black standing around, crying into their drinks.

“What's funny is that most of the first hour at Jimmy Eat Wednesday was people standing alongside the walls singing to themselves with a beer in their hands,” says Chavez. “Once it got into full swing, it turned into one big singalong. Eventually people started crowd-surfing too. It turns into a full-on party.“


According to the Facebook event page for Saves the Tuesday, there are quite a few folks in the greater Houston area looking to dance their Tuesday away to some of the classics. For Chavez, it's about creating a night that allows folks who felt like outsiders a chance to connect with people just like them.

“The goal is to make it a night for those of us who didn't always fit in. Whether you are 33 or 23, you can have a few beers, grab a stranger and sing some of your favorite songs out loud!”

So yeah, a bunch of people are going to head to a dance club and sing Brand New, Dashboard Confessional and Saves the Day songs at each other. So what it if sounds weird, it's really no different than any other sort of night out at a dance club, just with fewer drops and more references to late night drives in cars and crushing heartbreaks. Plus, emo kids love to sing out loud; it's when we feel the least alone, after all.

Which is why, even after all the jokes and regrettable haircuts and AIM profile quotes, emo holds a special place in the hearts of people who love it. Chavez puts it nicely when asked what emo means to him.

“Getting hit with the feels, then realizing you're not the only one who feels them feels.”

Save the Tuesday takes place tonight at Barbarella Houston, 2404 San Jacinto.