The Buzzcocks are one of the greatest punk bands of all time.  That is a universally-accepted truth.  See them live to find out why.
- Thursday @ The Mohawk, Austin

Cracker may be slightly more commercial than its immediate predecessor Camper Van Beethoven but it doesn’t feel as smarmy and insider-jokey and can flat out rock.  That they are opening for The Reverend Horton Heat on this tour is just icing on the cake.
- Thursday @ Stubbs, Austin

Folks who know me know that I am a huge fan of instrumental post-rock.  One of the best bands these days cooking from that recipe is Mono.
- Thursday @ Rudyards, Houston

GBH = hardcore punk.  Hulk smash punk rock.
- Thursday @ Warehouse Live, Houston & Saturday @ Emos, Austin

Austin’s The Great Nostalgic makes pretty, melodic and melodramatic indie pop with winsome girl/boy vocals.  Wish they were better at writing choruses, but that’s pretty much how modern indie rock bands roll these days.  Mood over hook.
- Thursday @ The Stafford, Bryan w/Subrosa opening.

I cannot believe that over 30 years later Iron Maiden is still cranking it out and continuing to blow minds with their trademark strident prog-esque heavy metal.  Many imitate, but these guys are pioneers that continue to stun today.
- Friday @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston w/awesome modern prog-metalists Dream Theater opening.  What a one-two punch!

Imagine classic rock through the modern through the modern indie rock filter and you’ve got Austin’s Bright Light Social Hour.  I mean, both crowds already got the crazy Al diMeola beards in common, right?
- Friday @ Revolution Cafe & Bar, Bryan w/Austin fashion plates Wine & Revolution opening.

C’mon shorty, party like it’s 2005 with 50 Cent.
- Saturday @ Arena Theater, Houston

Who’d go spend two hours with The Village People live?  They only got two songs, right?  So?  I bet this one would be really fun, if only to do the YMCA dance without about 20,000 other people.
- Saturday @ Sam Houston Raceway Park, Houston

Get some more of that sound over substance indie rock business from Austin’s Foe Destroyer (formerly known as Oso Closo).
- Saturday @ Revolution Cafe & Bar, Bryan

How do you pick just one band to single out for Married To Mayhem ?  I mean, there’s a dozen good punk rock bands beating the daylights out of the rock at The Stafford in Bryan Saturday night in celebration of the nuptials of Gene and Kristen.  Y’all all know Gene, right?  Drummer/guitarist/Irishman (well, Irish-descended).  Getting hitched.  In The Stafford.  Officiated by Wonko The Sane?  And punk rock action from The Flak Jackets, Stay In Touch, The Beasts, Kill The State and The Hangouts. If you are into punk rock then this is indeed THE show of the year for you.

Erykah Badu started innocent enough in the mid ’90s on the smooth neo-soul new jack hip-hop tip and then went pretty much over the edge into her own steez, turning the genre inside out, innovating and setting herself up as one of the new millennium’s most interesting soul artists.
- Sunday @ Verizon Wireless Theater, Houston

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For the rest of my life I will associate Lynyrd Skynyrd with my former Korean immigrant neighbor in Seattle, Arnell.  I will never forget the sound of his lovely voice singing “That Smell” while mowing the lawn in summertime.  “Ooh dat smale!”  Such a beautiful melody.
- Sunday @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston w/Southern rock survivors .38 Special and hairspray metal progenitor turned reality show pretender Bret Michaels opening.

Get a full dose of modern blast-beat drop D brocore at The Stafford in Bryan Sunday with AM Feelgood, High Five Jersey, Heaven Declares War, Zero & Falling, Surrounded By Monsters, Somewhere In September, Falsetta Metal, Love Loud and Fit For rivals.

I worship Lou Barlow.  I think it’s pretty fair to say that I would have his babies if he and I weren’t having babies with other people.  Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, Sentridoh, Folk Implosion…man, those bands mean so much to me.
- Monday @ The Mohawk, Austin

People talk so much about the birth of alt-country and how it came fully-formed from the two-headed splitting Zeus of Tweedy & Farrar, but I think folks tend to forget the true alt-country forefathers, Canada’s Cowboy Junkies.  I’ve never liked anything they’ve done as much as their debut album (it was much more hoodoo than the more country approach they became famous for) but Margo Timmins has one of the sexiest voices in modern music.
- Tuesday @ House of Blues, Houston

Louisiana’s Villain For a Moment comes to The Stafford in Bryan Wednesday night with their radio-friendly modern rock.  Imagine Evanescence if you stripped the interesting parts (the gothic creepiness) and voila!  We Are The New Year opens.

Norway’s Beach House might be the reigning royalty for the Chillwave movement.  Their records are kinda boring in a good way.  Not entirely sure how well that will go over live.
Thursday @ Emos, Austin & Friday @ Walters, Houston

Now that they’s all out of jail Cleveland hip-hoppers Bone Thugs N Harmony are taking you back to the crossroads just like they did 15 years ago.
Thursday @ House of Blues, Houston & Saturday @ Emos, Austin

If you are a serious student of hip-hop then you already know that one of the most interesting and influential MC’s of all time is Del The Funky Homosapien.  Almost completely unsung when his original round of releases came out in the early ’90s Del has found an audience thanks to his appearance on the first Gorillaz album and other cool releases, like the Rainydayz remixes of the most recent Radiohead album.  Get yiggity with Del in person this week.
Thursday @ Warehouse Live, Houston

Get some commercial rock with Dirty Little Mouth, Fareview and Trebuchet at The Stafford in Bryan Thursday night.

Austin Psych Fest 3 is going on all weekend in Austin, featuring dozens of great ’60s influenced garage bands from the past and the present.  Headliners are ’60s Bay Area electronic pioneers Silver Apples and retro garage punters The Raveonettes and many, many others.
Friday – Sunday @ The Mohawk, Austin

The beef has been called off and Houston’s most successful dirty south hip-hop exports Chamillionaire and Paul Wall have kissed and made up and are touring together.
Friday @ House of Blues, Houston

I hardly ever recommend anyone go see a tribute band, but in this instance I make the rare exception.  My friends and former practice room roommates Hells Belles are on the road.  They are awesome and have AC/DC’s stamp of approval, having opened for them for several European dates.
Friday @ Continental Club, Houston & Saturday @ Continental Club, Austin

Wow.  Coolio is sure looking kinda scary these days, but at least he’s alive and working right?  And coming to College Station Friday night for Duck Jam at Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater.

These guys kinda snuck through here earlier in the year and wowed the hell out of the fortunate few who caught them.  Now you can rectify that mistake and catch Canadian alt-country duo Twilight Hotel Friday night at Revolution Cafe & Bar in Bryan.

Jeff Beck really nailed it at this year’s Grammys, and I was surprised to learn that Beck has been leading a shit-hot band for the past few years that roams stylistically from rockabilly through heavy rock and fusion with the greatest of ease.  At his age to be still as vital a performer as he is, well, that’s no small feat.
Saturday @ Verizon Wireless Theater, Houston

I am beyond pissed that now that I live in King’s X‘s backyard that everytime they play near here I can’t go for some reason or another (usually because I’m playing my own show).  And it’s happening again, dammit.
Saturday @ Old town Spring, Spring

The iconic Willie Nelson headlines Duck Jam at Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater in College Station Saturday night.  Wild-eyed southern boys .38 Special opens.

It’s loud punk rock & roll you’ll hear streaming from out The Stafford’s doors in Bryan Saturday night.  Captain Fantastic, Blunt Force and The Hangouts are all on the bill.

If you want indie and punk instead you can walk across the way to Revolution Cafe & Bar Saturday night for The Ex-Optimists, Almost Handsome, Jay Satellite and Stay In Touch.

Or you can stay at Northgate Saturday night and get some commercial alternative at Schotzis with Literary Greats.

It’s sometimes easy to forget in all the showbiz that has surrounded ZZ Top since the early ’80s that they are probably one of the finest swamp boogie bands to ever pick up guitars and grow serious beards.  Of course, they’ll be lots of lights and sparkle but these dudes are still pretty darn awesome.
Sunday @ The Backyard, Bee Cave

How those dudes don’t have whiplash I’ll never know.  Bonnie Blue plays The Stafford in Bryan Sunday night.  Since it’s Sunday and it’s a metal show expect the Boys in Blue to also make a performance.

Old school thrash metal.  Overkill will show you how it’s done, son.
Monday @ Emos, Austin & Tuesday @ Scout Bar, Clear Lake

Coheed and Cambria is one of the strangest bands to be so commercially successful.  What do you call those dudes?  Helium-voiced indie art prog-metal?  Chick repellent?  Atarimatt would just say “fucking awesome” and so should you.
Tuesday @ Warehouse Live, Houston & Wednesday @ Stubbs, Austin

HUGE Punk show tonight at the Stafford, including the return of The (elusive and not-so-aptly named) Hangouts!

Hutto’s Vast Massive Satellite blends the post-punk darkness of The Cure and Comsat Angels with the loud guitar pop of early ’90s Britain and Minneapolis.

College Station’s The Ex-Optimists rip their playlist straight from a 1991 issue of CMJ, stealing their moves from indie rock radio before Nirvana burst forth.

Austin’s OneGoodLung take the Seattle sound and smoke it out in Joshua Tree, bringing a stoner metal languidness to their grunge metal.

Opening the show is College Station’s Stay In Touch who bring over-the-top melody back to big punk rock.