H-Town Rock

For the Weekend of May 14th-17th, 2009

Look folks - summer is here in Houston. The weather is nice and warm, the skies will be relatively clear for the next few days, and there's plenty of music around town. Would it really hurt you to make your way out to a few venues to enjoy a show or three? We didn't think so.

While we thought about reliving the music of our college years ironically by heading out to House Of Blues for Live on Thursday, we think that listening to Bonnie Raitt playing bluesy guitar licks for two hours is infinitely superior. Friday catches us in the horns of a dilemma as the rising star that is singer-songwriter Robert Ellis holds his CD Release Show over at Mango's (complete with listenlisten and Buxton!), but we're quite partial to the music of Dubtex and the Urbane Guerilla Soundsystem, as both bands are performing at Dan Electro's. If you toss in the fact that Grupo Fantasma is playing Warehouse Live the same night, well, you can see that we have a tough decision to make.

On Saturday, there's a good chance that we could spend the entire day at The Mink for the ArtStorm Compilation CD Release Party, mostly because all of those bands each put on a quality live set. Then again, our crazy roommate will probably be in attendance for Meriwether and Nothingmore at Warehouse Live and the DIT Fest at Super Happy Fun Land looks quite enticing. With Sunday, the show at Azteca's looks might tasty (apologies for last week's screw-up with the date for this one), but there's something mildly appealing about the indie rock show at Warehouse Live with The Dears, Great Northern, and Eulogies. Whatever you choose to do this weekend, do yourselves a favor and make music a part of it.

Thursday, May 14th
Bonnie Raitt at Verizon Wireless Theater
El Ten Eleven and Novox at Rudyard's
Flowers to Hide and Chris Velan at Mango's
Footsies and Generation:Landslide! at Super Happy Fun Land
Goldenaxe, The Jonx, Stinking Lizaveta, and Darsombra at The Mink
Her Space Holiday and City Light at Walter's on Washington
Kosmic Pearl at The Continental Club
Live at House of Blues
The Waybacks with Warren Hood at McGonigel's Mucky Duck

Friday, May 15th
500 Megatons of Boogie and Come See My Dead Person at Rudyard's
Black Dog and The Fab 5 at Fitzgerald's (Upstairs)
Chin Xaou Ti Won, The They, Serum Fantis, Murex, and Endless Blinding Sunshine at Super Happy Fun Land
Clandestine at McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Edgar Winter and PJ Flowers at The Meridian
Grupo Fantasma and Bayou Monster at Warehouse Live
Ladyheat, The Watermarks, and The Goods at The Mink
Punky Reggae Party 2: featuring Dubtex, Always Guilty, Vicarious Me, and Urbane Guerrilla Sound System at Dan Electro's Guitar Bar
The Hangouts, Ellypseas, The Ex-Optimists, Redmeadow, and Jay Satellite at Notsuoh
Olga Tanon at Arena Theatre
Robert Ellis CD Release Show: featuring listenlisten and Buxton at Mango's
Shake & Pop: featuring Dayta, Elroy Boogie, and DJ Gonz @ Boondocks
Soul Rebels Brass Band at The Continental Club
Young Jeezy and Plies at Verizon Wireless Theater

Saturday, May 16th
Amplified Heat, Sabbath Crow, and Blind Pets at Rudyard's
ArtStorm Compilation CD Release Party: featuring Alpaca, B L A C K I E, The Brood, Buxton, Elaine Greer, Giant Princess, listenlisten, The Mathletes, News on the March, One Hundred Flowers, Roky Moon & Bolt, and Young Mammals at The Mink
Blind Sanctity, Brotherhood, Bloodvoid, Carry The Storm, and Zone Of Inhibition at Fitzgerald's (Upstairs)
The Crisis CD Release Show: featuring Meriwether, Nothingmore, Cerebro, and DJ Looney at Warehouse Live
DIT (Do It Together) Fest: featuring Filler, The Last Rosary, Blackmarket Syndicate, Contagium, Dissent, Battle Rifle, Room 101, Roots of Exile, Cop Warmth, Waldo Wittenmyer and The Wall of Sound, Molotov Compromise, Blindfolded Robbery, The Drafted, Brutally Normal, Mugrero, Death From Afar, The Mumps, Oscuridad Social, Bald Eagle Burger, at Joe Ray at Super Happy Fun Land
Fischerspooner and SSION at House of Blues
Fischerspooner After Party: featuring SSION, Fredster, and Stiletto Chrome (with a surprise guest) at Boondocks
James Taylor at Verizon Wireless Theater
Jesse Winchester at McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Metal Rouge and A Thousand Cranes at Avant Garden
See-I and Halff Nelson at House of Blues
Steve Earle at Cactus Music
The Suspects and Clouseaux at The Continental Club
Takeover In The Lounge, featuring Goodbye Forever, Action Frank, Scarcella 31, RX Effect, This Name's Temporary, The X-Pats, Sometimes Nothing, Four O'Clock, Tod the Fox, Your Amsterdam, Amos Rivera, and Skarma at Fitzgerald's (Downstairs)
Taste! presented by B-Boy Craig at Mango's

Sunday, May 17th
Bside at Super Happy Fun Land
The Dears, Great Northern, and Eulogies at Warehouse Live
Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen at House of Blues
Summer Jammie Jam, featuring Spain Colored Orange, (You)genious, Dizzy Pilot, Neon Collars, The Gold Sounds, Ellypseas, Magnetic, Alkari, Cavernous, Las Imagenes Ocultas, The Journey Agents, and Blak Cyence at Aztecas Bar and Grill
Swingfield Playboys at McGonigel's Mucky Duck

The picture of Robert Ellis comes from his MySpace page.