1.) The Phantom Sensation releases its debut album tonight (Friday) at Lola’s Saloon, which is also a kickoff show for the Gothic folk band’s weeklong tour up and down I-35, so be sure to pick up a CD if you’re going to this show —- besides putting money in cofounders Jessica and “Broke String” Burnett’s gas tank, the album itself is worth your while. Convoy and the Cattlemen headline this show, which also has Mean Motor Scooter and Caliche Burnout in the opening spots. Nice, sonically diverse bill mixing bluegrass, country, and rock ’n’ roll. A friend of the Phantom Sensation made this rad commercial for the show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d9VBTbu9uo&feature=youtu.be
2.) The Aardvark has a hard rock/metal show tonight/Friday, headlined by Phoenix’s Antique Scream. I am not a huge fan of Phoenix [INSERT: JOKE ABOUT ARIZONA AND THE OLD PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE DESPITE ITS CRIPPLING HEAT], but I won’t hold that against Ancient Scream, because they’re a pretty good fuzz-rock duo who remind me of a sleazier, more biker-y version of Nebula. Granbury’s Tungsten Wake and local heavy bands Silvertonguedevil and Novakain also play. For more information about what Antique Scream sounds like, consult this video.
3.) Girls Rock Fort Worth wraps up its July rock camp (a week of empowering girls ages 8-17 with music education and other self-esteem-building activities, including self-defense!) at The Live Oak Music Hall on Saturday with its first-ever Summer Showcase. The inaugural event features the 2016 camp bands. Cover is $7, and the show is all-ages (of course) and open to the public. The doors are at 1:15pm, and the music starts at 2pm. If you’re annoyed/enraged by people who tell female musicians, “You’re pretty good for a girl!” Girls Rock is an excellent organization to support. Nothing builds confidence like a crowd of people admiring your hard work, so show up and show these girls your rock hands.
4.) Shipping & Receiving’s Saturday night show is headlined by Austin’s brainy, experimental rock band Hikes and Florida-based “synthwave” band PLEASURES, which also describes its music as “dark psych” and “sex music for robots.” That sounds pretty easy for me to get on board with. I should probably mention that I listened to the opening theme for Stranger Things for 30 minutes straight the other day, a song for which PLEASURES’ self-descriptors might also apply. Local psych-surf-pop band Animal Spirit (you know those peeps, right?) are on the bill as well. Here’s an extended version of the Stranger Things theme for your convenience. I could watch that title sequence over and over for an hour!
5.) Grant Baird has been booking shows at 515 Bar lately. I went there last Saturday for the first time to check out Sealion’s set during Solidarity Fest. If you’re curious as to what a show is like there, it’s loud, hot, sweaty, low-ceilinged, and fun. It’s also kind of hard to get a drink, so pre-game, I guess, or buy drinks two at a time. Saturday night’s show at 515 is free, and its lineup, featuring The Fibs, Movie the Band, and Treehouse Cabaret, is definitely loud, punk, and ferocious. For example, this is what Treehouse Cabaret looks and sounds like:
