Top 5 Shows

1) “I’m not too into reggae.” That’s a pivotal line in Sublime’s “I Don’t Care Too Much for Reggae Dub” off 1994’s Robbin’ the Hood, which is in my top 25 favorite songs I’ve heard in life. I dunno. I just like it, that’s why; but I also like lots of other reggae songs, many of which have been staples of Pablo and the Hemphill 7 sets for what, 15 years? What can I say? Iin my book, they are still the reigning kings of local reggae bands. PH7 is at the Grotto Thursday night (tonight, as it happens), along with another reggae band, Idol Job from Arlingfun. If you’re not too into reggae, there’s still music you might enjoy: Hightower, the full-band vehicle for songwriter Lindsey Hightower, pulls from a wide range of genres (KINDA LIKE HOW SUBLIME DID THAT!) ranging from surf, rock, and country, though this video has some reggae guitar strumming. Sowwy!

2) I don’t want at all to take away from the recognition Chat Room door guy and humorous piano man Andy Pickett has garnered over the past six months or so because he is a really talented songwriter and his album certainly deserves it. But have you heard the new stuff Kevin Aldridge is coming up with? In the fall, he put out a CD single “Winner Leaves Town” that made its way onto KXT’s playlist. That’s probably not the same as “getting signed,” “winning a Grammy,” or whatever other metric you think of when an artist finally exits the Punch in the Balls Freeway (or Slap in the Boobs Freeway if the artist is female) onto Easy Street, bound for the Fame and Fortune Outlet Mall. But it’s a really good song, and so is his new one, “El Juando,” which will also be available in the still-hanging-in-there, compact disc format at the Chat Room when he and his band the Appraisers play there Friday. Also joining Kevin Aldridge and the Appraisers: KAATA-keyboardist Maui Miller’s garage rock project Ded Knight, with Andy Pickett starting the night off. Since the show’s at the Chat, it’ll really feel like a family affair, given who crews these three groups. Here’s Kevin Aldridge and the Appraisers from a recent Lola’s show: 

3) Austin’s BUHU is the centerpiece at Lola’s Saturday night, in town to release their new album, Relationshapes. I swear I’m not trying to sound snarky, but based on the video at the end of this post, I think BUHU sounds like if 311 had come out two years ago (and in Austin) and immediately got rid of SA Martinez and Tim Mahoney. Yes, I know that Tim Mahoney himself wasn’t a founding member, 311 superfan/trivia champion. But hopefully everyone else gets my point – the riff in that song sounds like one 311 would play, and the drummer is wearing a basketball jersey, which seems like a quintessentially 311 thing to do. Panic Volcanic opens the show at 10pm, with The Unlikely Candidates batting cleanup. Here’s that video; feel free to tell me if my opinion is on point or wack (like whenever that show Real World is on):

4) 1912 goes off again on Saturday night with a four-band bill that should scratch your various punk rock itches. Hate Your Friends and The Buzzkills lean toward pop punk, and Bad Times Dead Words seem to be fond of hooks as much as they are overdriven guitars. Hate Your Friends frontman Christian Medrano recently had a birthday, so that band’s set might be especially memorable, since tequila shots at 1912 are something hella cheap like $2 cash (because it’s a cash bar, duh). Hey look! It’s a video of a live Bad Times performance:

5) When was the last time you went to the Curtain Club? Do you even know what that is? What, are you a four year-old or something? Just kidding – unless you live in Dallas, like metal (or active rock, or heavy alternative, or whichever genre descriptor best encompasses a typical Curtain Club show), or are in your mid-30s or older, I don’t know why you would’ve ever set foot in that place. Someone has, though, because the Deep Ellum mainstay is celebrating its 18th (!) anniversary on Saturday. Now, I’m not saying that the Curtain Club only has heavy bands, because I saw Polyphonic Spree there, as well as a lot of other early-aughts Dallas-based, non-metal bands like the Deathray Davies, though admittedly, that was like 14 years ago. And Saturday night’s party’s lineup is indeed pretty heavy; expect to see a lot of backwards baseball caps: In Memory of Man Mad Mexicans Stareview InnrCor Caliber Theory Right on Red are on hand to get the celebratory mosh pits going. The show starts at 7, but you can get started with this IMOM video, which looks to be filmed in Haltom City: