Giant Princess opened a bit earlier than I expected and, when I got there, they were likely about halfway through their set of 60's garagey pop. The songs were great and the band sounded phenomenal but let me just go on about the band's secret weapon - their keyboardist and, in particular, his cheap-ass organ. To me, he's the element that makes this band stand out. It's a vintage sound that recalls the best of 60s garage and the beautiful thing is I'm not sure the band even recognizes how cool it sounds. As if to seal the deal on my appreciation for the keyboardist, during a short break (the band was forced to stop due to some power issues) the keyboardist walked around playing his little Casio while surrounded by a small swarm of amused attendees including B L A C K I E. Unfortunately, despite the goading, B L A C K I E never gave into the requests to rap over the improvised Casio. Bummer, but the little moment was pretty inspiring nonetheless. That kind of moment captures the anything goes, sure why the hell not spirit of the best of Houston Bands.
Following was Paris Falls who kept preventing me from getting a beer throughout their set. The fellow behind the counter was probably not used to swinging orders like a bartender so ordering a beer took a bit of a wait and, each time he got close to taking my order, Paris Falls would launch into a song like Lucky or Shelter and I'd have to forsake my chance at a beer least I miss an awesome song. The band played great - Jen's guitar lines were sweet, Ray's vocals were raspy goodness, and I was really digging Michael's 70's style drum fills - but the show was ultimately frustrating because I wanted everyone to hear them like I'd heard them before with a lovely mix. The sad matter of it is, the guitar was too loud and so the interaction between the Hammond and the guitar was lost. That's a shame because that is the sound that defines this band. This is, after all, the band that made me dust off my copy of Let It Be. Afterwards I was telling Jodie of the McKenzies about how I wished they had gotten a better mix and she simply replied "Dumbass, you should have told them; bands need to know that!" She was right, how stupid of me not to have told them. They are playing Boondocks tonight and that is an intimate environment where they should sound amazing. Head out there tonight if you can.
The Mckenzies followed with an energetic set that went from a tropical disturbance to a hurricane by the end of the evening. While Jodie and Miguel generally take front and center, the rhythm section really deserves some props because they give the songs some heavy duty rhythmic muscle. They stood aside to let Miguel and Jodie duet for a lovely version of This Lonely Heart but, when they came back, the band roared through to it's finish to everyone's thrill. Jodie is likely the most engaging member of the band with her stage banter and she easily pulled the sweetest tambourine move ever. "Dude," I said to the person just to my right, "did she just do a Pete Townsend windmill with her tambourine?!!! YUSSS!" Solid driving pop roaring over a cool Houston night with tambourine windmills? All right! That's it! I'm done! It can't get better than that!
You may think I'm kidding about that but I wasn't, I had completely forgotten that Harlem was closing after the McKenzies. Perhaps it was because I spent the entire day at Galveston running around and getting sunburned but a fourth band just seemed a bit much to me right then and I couldn't help but wonder how odd it was to close the first Indie Houston show with an Austin band. Still, once Harlem took the stage with a drunken (or fatigued) swagger, I realized why everyone was so excited to see these guys. It was dirty filthy straight up rock and roll garage and the band played with the an energy and a volume that made everyone wonder "How long until the cops shut this down?" Thankfully that never happened and the band packed it up with style.
The show ended a bit before 11PM with everyone in a good mood and pretty happy all the way around. Music, Beer, Pizza - you can't do much better than that. Sure someone pointed to the MFAH event as a bigger alternative venue event that night. I thought about it and - no ofense to the MFAH series which is great - but there is a huge difference between some corporate sponsored event with millions behind it and a more modest one that was built with sweat and hard work. If I can smell the sweat of DIY, that's where I want to be and this show stunk of it. Thank goodness! So cheers Indie Houston, let's do it again!
A brief power outage forced Giant Pricess to take a break.
This fuzzy photo is of the keyboardist walking around
playing his Casio and trying to get B L A C K I E to rap over it.
Giant Princess' secret weapon in all its glory!
Paris Falls' guitar goes to 11. 
It's one thing to play some bad-ass guitar lines.
It's another thing to do it in high heels.
Paris Falls showing some love for New Jersey's finest.
John Sears searches for magic nose goblins
while John read (Wiggins) looks on.
Wild Moccasins fan hot-line may I help you?
Jodie of the McKenzies - the Pete Townsend of the tambourine!
The McKenzies head for a frantic coda!
The McKenzies bring it on home!
Indie Houston masterminds Robert De Los Santos (l)
and Frank Soto (r).
Harlem gets all hot and sweaty
and this is just one song into their set.
Ex-Blades (back left) discuss the finer points of Harlem's set.
Andrew Moccasin takes another call while his bandmates watch the set.
Collin Hedrick (Giant Princess) looks on in fine Mickey Mouse headgear.
Kyle Gionis (Welfare Mothers) raises his beer to Harlem while
Brent (Dull Knife Records) prepares to attack them with his laser vision.
A pretty successful opening round for indie Houston:
Wild Moccasins, Welfare Mothers, Blades, Giant Princess, and others
all representin' and, hey, look Andrew is finally off the phone!
Links:
More Pictures on My Flickr (Link)
Giant Princess (Link)
Paris Falls (Link)
The McKenzies (Link)
Harlem (Link)
Indie Houston on myspace (Link)
IndieHouston.Org (Link)
