Shows to look out for in 2012

I’ve been pulling out my hair a lot this week, both in sheer excitement and in anxiety-induced stress over not regularly updating this blog with my sheer excitement. It’s a great year for music, especially for the city of Houston. While we’ve always proven to be a fervent place for local music, H-town is once again proving itself to be an ideal stop for independent-yet-renowned national artists, and the next couple of months look to make 2012 Houston’s best year for live music since 1986 and Rendezvous Houston. As a way of playing catch-up, here’s a look at just a few of the crazy-good acts coming to Houston in the coming months.

July 15th – Daniel Johnston, Grandfather Child, Waldo & the Naturals, Mikey and the Drags, Wicked Poseur – Fitzgerald’s

It’s rare to catch the sweet-yet-satanic-inspired Texas legend even for us Houstonians, despite him only living a short hour away in Waller, TX. So those few  times when he does decide to grace Houston-proper with his presence, YOU MUST BE THERE. Hopefully he’ll feel more inclined to stop by and visit when his favorite local record shop, Vinal Edge, makes its move to the Heights July 1st, but until that happens there’s still July 15th, Fitzgerald’s, some really awesome local acts, and Texas’s favorite folk hero – Daniel Johnston.

Sept. 15th – Swans, Xiu Xiu – Fitzgerald’s

“Whoa, WAT” is all I could say when I saw this on the Fitz calendar. Not only is one of the most prestigious names in experimental rock coming (you can’t google images of Devendra Banhart without seeing him with their shirt on, not that I do that often…), but they’re coming with Xiu Xiu?! High school “just-getting-into-art-rock” me is totally jealous.

Oct. 10th – David Byrne & St. Vincent – Hobby Center

This dream-collaboration between avant-pop geniuses David Byrne and St. Vincent has apparently been in the works for quite some time now, so it’s good to finally see the full work, both record and live show, come to fruition. Love This Giant is out September 11th via 4AD, and its first single, “Who”, is full driving horn lines, whimsical woodwinds, a bumpin’ rhythm section, and Byrne’s classic quirky-chord phrasing and existential/nonsensical lyricism paired with St. Vincent’s bi-polar musical personality; pitting her angelic vocal styling against her strangled fuzz-coated lazer-beam guitar lines (can you tell how excited I am about this by my over-drawn explanation?). What I’m trying to say is that the song has a lot of umph (literally when referring to Annie’s “tough girl” grunts), and if this track is any indication as to what’s in store October 10th, be prepared for a very charismatic and lively performance more than worthy of the Hobby Center’s theatrical clout.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urJZfwaRyFg

December 1st – Morrissey – Jefferson Theater

Yes, Morrissey is coming to Houston. Well, not quite. The former Smiths member is actually coming to Beaumont, TX. But a little hour and 40 minute drive won’t stop die-hard Morrissey fans, and with a city who’s population is just around 37% hispanic, there’s bound to be some die-hard Morrissey fans out there. There’s not much else to say about the significance of this concert, but to give light to the power of Steven P. Morrissey’s presence on our own city, here’s a video the guys over at Rock’s Off dug up of the pop-icon when we came into town in 1992.

These are just a few of the MANY acts coming to the space city in the next couple of months which also include Fiona Apple, Beach House, Twin Shadow, Charles Bradley, Lindsay, Buckingham, Dan Deacon, Dinosaur Jr, and tons more. So like I said, it’s an exciting time for our city, our scene, and our station. We’ve got a lot in store for the future, stay tuned…