This week there's plenty to beat the heat rolling through Houston. With a final performance from Paul Simon, the insane energy of A Place To Bury Strangers, the sweetness of Peach Kelli Pop and more coming here while locals like Narcons, Alex Riddle, Arthur Yoria and more will fill in the spaces between.
Tonight you can start the week off at
White Oak Music Hall for
Matisyahu &
Stephen Marley. I checked and it's hard to tell if these two are performing together or just Marley is the direct support for the tour. Matisyahu has been dropping rap jams for almost 20 years now, his live shows are usually worth catching, and last year's
Undercurrent was pretty legit. I haven't followed Marley's career enough other than to know he's another of Bob Marley's kids. His latest record is
Revelation Part II The Fruit of Life and you shouldn't be shocked to hear that it's reggae. The all ages show has no other openers. Doors at 6 p.m.; tickets $21.
Over at
Spruce Goose you could check out the energetic sounds of
Jody Seabody & the Whirls. While it's probably time for this band to drop a new record sooner than later, their last one
Holographic Slammer is pretty solid. Denver's
Picture The Waves will be on as direct support while Houston's
Branagan will go on prior. One of the ten or so bands out there called Carbide will open the 21 & up show. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $5.
click to enlarge Obituary will bring their black metal to Clear Lake.
Photo by Ester Segurra
Thursday you could head to
Scout Bar for the black metal mayhem of
Obituary. The Florida based death metal band has been going along since the late eighties, their shows are always a bit crazy, and their latest release
Obituary is on par with their past recordings. Arkansas'
Pallbearer will be on as direct support with
Skeletonwitch on beforehand. Germany's
Dust Bolt will open the all ages show. Doors at 6 p.m.; tickets $26 to $30.
At
Discovery Green, Texas'
Terry Allen will swing by to perform. Allen has been around since the sixties, his sets are still pretty magnetic, and his last release
Lubbock (on everything) is hard to beat. Houston's
Libby Koch will add her charm as direct support and opener for the all ages event. Start 7 p.m.; Free.
Over in the ballroom at
Warehouse Live, you can hear your favorite Joy Division and New Order tracks, when
Peter Hook & the Light perform a set. Hook, a member of both bands, will be with his backing band playing the
Substance records from both acts. The Joy Division
Substance album is a tour de force. While in many ways this is about as close to a cover act as it gets, people seem to really enjoy these shows. Doors at 7 p.m.; tickets $25 to $27.
click to enlarge A Place To Bury Strangers will get loud at The Secret Group.
Photo by Ebru Yldiz
The Secret Group will definitely get loud, when New York's
A Place To Bury Strangers drops by to perform. Easily the loudest band going, these three do more as a trio than many bands can do with double the personnel. There's no denying the sheer power of this band, and their latest
Pinned is their strongest release to date. The proto-punk of L.A.'s
Prettiest Eyes will be on as direct support while Houston's
Narcons will open the all ages show. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $12 to $14.
The singer songwriter blues punk of New York's
Shilpa Ray will make an appearance over at
Spruce Goose. Adored by most, championed by Nick Cave, Ray has been wowing everyone who hears and sees her for a good while now. Here in support of her latest release, last year's
Door Girl, Ray doesn't come here often so this show should be nothing if not extraordinary.
The Wiggins will be on as direct support while
Swimwear Department will go on prior. The all ages show will host an opening set from
Jealous Creatures as well. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $8.
Friday you might consider rolling out to
Dosey Doe, to catch the enigmatic country tunes of
Ronnie Milsap. A large fixture of the seventies country music boom, Milsap has not only had mega hits like "
Smoky Mountain Rain," and "
Daydream About Night Things," but his live show is hard to beat as well. This show, part of Milsap's Farewell Tour means this is your last chance to catch the legend in person for this all ages show. Doors at 6:30 p.m.; tickets $148 to $218. Your ticket includes dinner.
Of course, if you want heavier you could swing by
White Oak Music Hall upstairs for the throw back rock of
Captain Beyond. You probably don't know this group, but they formed in the early seventies in L.A. and made some of the most impressive blues infused rock n' roll you can hear. Add to that their most recent release, last year's
Lost & Found 1972-1973, and you have a show you should check out. The stoner metal of Austin's
Duel will be on as direct support while the innovative heavy rock of Houston's
Josefus will go on beforehand. Houston's
Blues Funeral will open the all ages show. Doors at 7 p.m.; tickets $20.
The Secret Group will get the creep infused punk of Philadelphia's
LOVELORN. Featuring several members of Creepoid, their latest release "
Chains" is intriguing. Texas'
Filthy will bring their off kilter sounds on as direct support while the catchy dark wave of Houston's
Tearful Moon will open the all ages show. Doors at 7 p.m.; tickets $10.
click to enlarge Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore should delight all at Heights Theater.
Photo by Tim Reese
At
The Heights Theater, the always impressive Americana sounds of
Dave Alvin will be on hand with
Jimmie Dale Gilmore will be on hand. Backed by The Guilty Ones, these two have impressive resumes in music. Alvin, the guy who got Americana going and Gilmore a force in country and folk Texas lore. Both of these guys are legends worth seeing, they don't play together often, and they should be impressive nonetheless, playing songs from their upcoming album
Downey to Lubbock at the all ages show. Doors at 7:30 p.m.; tickets $26 to $38.
Over at
Rudyard's, El Paso's
The March Divide will be on hand to offer up his indie rock meets power emo pop sounds. While this guy has a new album out in August, his last release
Five Years of The March Divide: The Singles 2013-2017 is hard not to bop your head to. Houston's
Goodnight Gallows will be on as direct support while the acoustic melodies of Houston's
Brightwire will open the 21 & up show. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $8.
At
The Dive, Houston's
Wrestlers will return to live performing. To be fair, they've been performing for a bit since reforming and changing up their sound. Parra Bros will be on as support while Andy V will get the 21 & up show started. Doors at 9 p.m.; Free.
click to enlarge Black Joe Lewis will get Jamail Skatepark moving.
Photo by Pooneh Ghana
Saturday you can head to the
Jamail Skatepark downtown for their
Tenth Anniversary celebration. Alongside plenty of skateboarding, music from
Black Joe Lewis,
The Cops,
Texas Massacre and
DJ Baby Roo will all be on hand for the festivities. Doors at 5 p.m.; free.
A little later on, the one and only
Paul Simon will bring his parade of tunes over to
Toyota Center. This is the last time we'll see Simon in Houston due to this being his farewell tour. That means if you want to hear hits like "
Kodachrome," "
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard," "
You Can Call Me Al," "
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes," and many many more; this is your last chance. I would guess you'll hear a couple of his tracks from the Simon and Garfunkel years as well. Respected and successful, Simon is an act you should catch while you still can. There's no opener for the all ages show. Doors at 7 p.m.; tickets $49.50 to $159.50.
Mucky Duck will get pretty soulful when
Sam Baker drops by to perform. Baker, hailing from Austin is a force when it comes to eclectic and intriguing tunes, and his latest album
Land of Doubt is definitely deep. There's no openers on the 21 & up show. Doors at 7 p.m.; tickets $20 to $22.
click to enlarge Minus The Bear will bring Planet of Ice to life.
Photo courtesy of Clarion Call
Downstairs at
White Oak Music Hall, Seattle's
Minus The Bear will bring their indie jams over. These guys have made some intriguing tunes over the past couple of years, and their live show is usually worth making it out for. Their new album,
Voids just adds to what they've done in the past, but this show will celebrate the tenth anniversary of their album
Planet of Ice. That means they'll perform it in its entirety at this show. California's
The New Trust will be on as direct support and opener for the all ages show. Doors at 7 p.m.; tickets $22.50.
The folk of Indiana's
Josh Garrels will be on hand over at
The Heights Theater. Garrels has received praise for his soulful voice and folky sounds, and his latest drop
The Light Came Down is pretty splendid to say the least. The folk of New Zealand's
Strahan will be on the all ages show as direct support and opener. Doors at 7:30 p.m.; tickets $46.
Upstairs at
White Oak Music Hall, Houston's
Alex Riddle will headline a set. Riddle has been trucking along the path many artists head down, his live sets are worth seeing, and his latest singles "
Snow White" and "
Hosting Ghosts" show plenty of heartfelt diversity. The alt rock of Houston's
East of Eado will be on as direct support while Joseph Tracy will get the all ages show started. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets $5 for under 21 and free for the adults.
Arthur Yoria delights anyone who catches him perform.
Photo by Jay Dryden
Continental Club will host the rhythm & soul of
Maggie Belle Band. The New Orleans based four piece has plenty of soul with Belle's vocals, and plenty of groove in their sounds all over their album
Runnin' Out. Austin's
Altamesa will be on as direct support while Houston's
Arthur Yoria will get the 21 & up show started. Doors at 8 p.m.; tickets TBD.
At
Spruce Goose, after some time hibernating, Houston's
Dirty & Nasty will finally drop their new album
Knowledge Is Queen. After what feels like a year or two of hearing about the release, these two definitely get a room popping at their shows. Wazeer will be on as support and opener for the 21 & up show. Doors at 10 p.m.; tickets $5.
On
Sunday you can swing by
House of Blues to catch the power pop rock of
The Posies. Part of their 30th anniversary tour, these guys created some of the strongest hooks to come out of the nineties, and their last release
Solid States proves they never really slowed down. Canada's
Terra Lightfoot will be on the all ages show as direct support and opener. Doors at 7 p.m.; tickets $20.
click to enlarge Peach Kelli Pop have all the garage pop goodness.
Photo by Gina Negrini
On
Monday at
Satellite Bar, the garage rock pop of Canada's
Peach Kelli Pop will be in town. Infectious music is what this four piece is all about, their live shows are energetic and fun, and their last drop
Peach Kelli Pop III is pretty lovable. Houston's
One Night Lamp will be on the all ages show as opener. Doors at 7 p.m.; tickets $8 to $12.
Tuesday at
White Oak Music Hall upstairs, the electronica of
Chad Valley will be on hand. Valley, a British producer and artist, has dropped some pretty memorable jams. His latest release
Imaginary Music is a mix of electro pop and ambient sounds. There's no word of support or openers, but that could change on the all ages show. Doors at 7 p.m.; tickets $12.
That's it for this week. No matter what you do, remember that being a drunken idiot is in no one's best interest, and that a safe ride home is just an app away.