Fans of dirtbags and leather boots will converge on Mango’s to hear two of Houston’s most volatile bands skronk out long-gestating new material, with Austin’s No No No Hopes opening with their own brand of garage-skuzz. There is simply no more lethal band right now in Houston than Black Congress, led by Bryan Jackson and rounded out by a 713 Who’s Who of metal and hardcore, including everyone’s drummer Chris Ryan and former Fatal Flying Guilloteen Roy Mata. Where BC traffics in disaster tales and AC/DC-style disease, the life-addled Balaclavas has recently been trolling through the Stooges’ Fun House-era sonics, bolstering their already austere Wire-y sound, with lead singer Tyler Morris ferally yelping in the feedback. Austin’s No No No Hopes seem to have invented a brave new genre with their stabby biker-garage rumble and acidic mouthwash vocals.
This article appears in Sep 10-16, 2009.