Even at South by Southwest or the Austin City Limits Music Festival, it's very difficult to hit a show in which two virtually unknown bands take the stage and blow you away with back-to-back performances. Save the trouble and expense of that crap shoot and take the sure thing with The Black Angels and Black Mountain, at Warehouse Live Wednesday night.
Coincidentally, it was SXSW in which I discovered my love for both these bands a couple years back. They were playing different shows at the time, but I remember circling both performances as highlights of the live music-overload weekend. Getting them in the same Houston club at the same time will save tremendously on hotel expenses and additional weight gained by eating too many slices of pizza or street gyros on Sixth Street in Austin as I move from club to club trying to find the latest and greatest rock 'n' roll.
What you need to know before the show:
The Black Angels actually hail from Austin and are continuing a psychedelic rock tradition that began with Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators in the mid-60's. Granted they're doing it with a bit of a harder edge than your average peace-lovin' stoners. An idea of who else influences the band can be gleaned from the band's name, taken from the Velvet Underground song, "The Black Angels Death Song."
With each release since 2006, The Black Angels have lifted themselves from local, to regional and national heights in niche trip-rock circles. The band's third album, the recently released Phosphene Dream, holds promise to take them across much farther. The album charted at No. 50 on the Billboard 200 and hypnotizing guitar layers of first single "Telephone" is already causing a stir at your more eclectic radio hubs.
As for Black Mountain, the only reason this Vancouver-born outfit aren't superstars yet is because the modern rock radio format has lost the power it had 10-15 years ago. In alt-rock circles though, its psychedelic rage lead singer Stephen McBean has been recognized by the Polaris Music Prize committee (which picks the best Canadian album annually) and the Juno awards.
If there was a think tank for out-of-the-box guitar gnashing, Black Mountain would be at the forefront of the discussion and wonderfully, dense new album, 'Wilderness Heart would be the subject of multiple focus groups trying to break down just how they make such lovely noise.
Do yourself a favor and don't miss this concert. Two-for-ones slam dunks like this don't come along that often.
The Black Angels & Black Mountain, 9 p.m. Wednesday at Warehouse Live
Tickets: $15
The Black Angels at Warehouse Live on Wednesday
