H-Town Rock Was There: Westheimer Block Party

We decided to follow our own suggestion from last week and head on over to the corner of Westheimer and Taft in the heart of the Montrose to attend the Westheimer Block Party, hosted by Free Press Houston. What follows is a breakdown of the bands we happened to see play over the first half of the day.

Tambersauro (1:00pm at Avant Garden, outside)
This proggy art-rock band fought all manner of technical difficulties (including a dead guitar chord and broken drum sticks) during the course of its 30-minute set, but did so with remarkable aplomb and professionalism. When the PA system was working properly, it was easy to tell why this band has the fan base it does: technical precision met with post-apocalyptic lyrical imagery and passionate performance chops to create an engaging live set.

The Western Civilization (1:45pm at Numbers, outside)
We won't hide the fact that we're big fans of the type of upbeat, jangly, indie pop-rock created by this quintet. Reggie, Rachel, and the gang again proved that they're a great live act with solid energy that always loves to have fun on stage together. Admittedly, the band faced some sound issues in the beginning that slowed the start of the set, but the overall mix was much better than average for an outside show, as the band's voices and instruments could be heart quite clearly and distinctly.

The Last Starfighter (2:15pm at Mango's, inside)
This venue was and remained quite packed for the entirety of this high-energy post-hardcore band's set. The walls of the tiny venue started to close in even more severely once the hyperactive lead singer and the crowd started moshing and working up a sweat. Big breakdowns matched the uptempo sections well, and as the crowd got more into the music, the band responded in kind, making me wish we were young and fit enough to actually get into the pit with the rest of the kids.

Meriwether (3:30pm at Numbers, outside)
We met up with our crazy roommate at this point and he was excited to see this Louisiana band perform. This five-piece features three guitarists (one of whom is the lead vocalist, while another occasionally plays keys and provides background vocals), all of whom chug along for most songs with big power chords, while the bassist and drummer provide most of the group's muscle. With three guitar players on stage, we would have preferred to hear a few leads and tasty riffs from this above-average radio-friendly rock band (who probably could easily be on the radio), but they were fairly decent performers, despite the occasional cheesy posturing from the stage left guitarist.

Mechanical Boy (4:00pm at Numbers, inside)
Our crazy roommate, amongst a host of others around town, continually laud this group as one of the best straight-up rock acts in Houston, but until Saturday, we had never seen Mechanical Boy perform. You can now count us as believers, because we were totally won over by these guys. The majority of the crowd seemed quite familiar with the band's music (as evidenced by loud cheers erupting after the merest notes would lead off a new song), and we were more than impressed by this band's talent level, including the outstanding lead vocals and how well the guitar player and bassist interacted and wove together their respective lines.

Wild Moccasins (4:40pm at Austin Layne Hotel, outside)
It doesn't take too long for one to hear exactly how and why this young band is so worthy of all the critical accolades it has been receiving in the local Houston music press. The band performed a host of energetic and upbeat tunes, reminiscent of the best and brightest in clean, fun '60s-meets-'80s pop music. What was most amazing about the band was how effortless this quintet created its pretty, breezy pop textures, and how the songs subconsciously demand the listener to start dancing (and never stop). This was an immense highlight of our day.

Lenny Briscoe (5:15pm at Austin Layne Hotel, outside)
Suffice to say, as a study in contrasting styles that actually works, we thoroughly enjoyed the bare-bones rock music of this quartet as a follow-up to the smile-inducing tones of Wild Moccasins. The set started with a gentleman hopping the stage hoping to do some freestyle rapping, to which Lenny good-naturedly responded by asking the interloper to get out of his personal space and find Cop Warmth's guerrilla performances. What then followed was 30 minutes of an excellent mix of dirty lo-fi blues rock, outlaw country, and punk-folk (with cojones) that we found totally appealing, especially in terms of the band's awesome, middle-finger-in-the-air attitude.

As you can easily discern, there were heaps of bands and performers we didn't have a chance to hear play on Saturday, so we encourage our eleven readers to contribute their recollections from the Westheimer Block Party in the comments section. Let your love for Houston music be heard (and read)!