Texas Crawfish & Music Festival

For over 18 years, the Texas Crawfish Music Festival has become a tradition to over 30,000 festival goers annually. We combine the best new sounds of Texas with the sounds of South Louisiana; boil up about 50,000 pounds of crawfish & great South Louisiana cookin’ to create the largest crawfish festival outside of Louisiana.
The Texas Crawfish & Music Festival runs the last two weekends in April. The festival is located in Preservation Park in historic Old Town Spring. Come and make a day of it, visit over 150 shops that are in the scenic streets of Old Town Spring, and then venture out to the Crawfish Festival!
So come “pass a good time cher” and LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER (let the good times roll) at the Texas Crawfish & Music Festival in Old Town Spring.

FRIDAY, APRIL 21
5:30p-6:30p
Novice
5:30p-7:00p
Jeremy Todd
5:30p-7:30p
Walter Chenier & the Zydeco Players
7:00p-8:00p
Lazlo
7:30p-9:00p
Max Stalling
8:00p-11:00p
Step Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws
8:30p-9:30p
House of Moist
9:30p-11:00p
Deryl Dodd
10:00p-11:00p
Wide Awake
SATURDAY, APRIL 22
12:00p-1:00p
Jeremy Todd
1:00p-4:00p
J. Paul, Jr. & the Zydeco Nubreeds
1:30p-3:00p
Miss Leslie and her Juke Jointers
3:30p-5:00p
Johnny Falstaff
4:00p-5:00p
TBA
4:30p-7:30p
Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco Roadrunners
5:30p-6:30p
TBA
5:30p-7:00p
Jesse Dayton
7:00p-8:00p
Super Villians
7:30p-9:00p
Cooder Graw
8:00p-11:00p
Brain Jack & the Zydeco Gamblers
8:30p-9:30p
Silverleaf
9:30p-11:00p
Zona Jones
10:00p-11:00p
lass Intrepid
SUNDAY, APRIL 23
12:00p-1:30p
TBA
12:00p-2:00p
Jeremy Todd
12:00p-6:00p
Bon Ton Mickey
2:00p-3:00p
TBA
2:30p-4:00p
Davin James
3:30p-4:30p
BoJones
4:30p-6:00p
Jason Allen
5:00p-6:00p
The Last Place To Look
FRIDAY, APRIL 28
5:30p-6:30p
Melovine
5:30p-7:00p
Kyle Hutton
5:30p-7:30p
Walter Chenier & the Zydeco Players
7:00p-8:00p
Chrome 44
7:30p-9:00p
Hayes Carll
8:00p-11:00p
Brain Jack & the Zydeco Gamblers
8:30p-9:30p
Deep Ella
9:30-11:00p
Ray Wylie Hubbard
10:00p-11:00p
Makeshifte
SATURDAY, APRIL 29
12:00p-3:00p
Posse
1:00p-4:00p
Fred Rusk & the Zydeco High Steppers
3:30p-5:00p
John Evans
4:00p-5:00p
TBA
4:30p-7:30p
Step Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws
5:30p-6:30p
Sand Hill
5:30p-7:00p
Rick Trevino
7:00p-8:00p
Three Fantastic
7:30p-9:00p
Eli Young
8:00p-11:00p
Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco Roadrunners
8:30p-9:30p
Paris Green
9:30p-11:00p
Bleu Edmondson
10:00p-11:00p
Ludo
SUNDAY, APRIL 30
12:00p-2:00p
Jarrod Birmingham
12:00p-6:00p
Bon Ton Mickey
2:00p-3:00p
One Crush
2:30p-4:00p
Jon Wolfe
3:30p-4:30p
The Mighty Orq
4:30p-6:00p
Django Walker
5:00p-6:00p
Shark Attack

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Jason Boland & the Stragglers w/No Justice 4-14-06

Sister K and I headed out to the Firehouse to see Jason. When we got there, there were very few cars in the parking lot and we thought a lot of people might have gone to see Mike McClure or whoever else was playing...I can't remember who all was in town but there were several acts that I wouldn't mind seeing. But since Jason was in town, he was IT and No Justice made it easier for me to make my choice since I like them. I like them so much, I bought another t-shirt though...at least it wasn't black. I've got enough black t-shirts that I wouldn't have to do laundry for 3 months even if I wore one every damn day. Eek...I'm babbling again...back to the story. We got there kind of early and I didn't have a chance to eat before we left so I got a snack while there and had decided earlier in the evening that I was NOT going to drink. Friend H met up with us there, hung with us most of the night and bought Sister K's beer...most of the night. Seems she wanted to catch a little buzzzz...to fit right in with the crowd, I'm sure. When No Justice hit the stage, there weren't that many people there but by the time Jason hit the stage, the place was packed elbow to asshole. For awhile, we stayed on the right side of the stage to avoid the clusterfuck in front but then we decided to go to the left side of the stage where the merch was being sold. Friend L & Husband J were working merch for No Justice and they didn't have to do much working in order to get me to purchase a t-shirt. I talked to them for awhile then decided that I needed to talk to Monty and apologize for my drunk cousin the previous weekend in El Paso. For some reason Cousin H was in El Paso and went to see Jason the Friday night before and call me from there. (Thanks Cousin B for giving him the number) But of course, he was drunk but according to Monty he wasn't drunk enough to be thrown out of the bar like they did. I talked to Monty on the phone from El Paso and could hear Cousin H in the background...oh no!!! When he was ousted, his last quote according to Sister K was "I'm sorry, officer. What seems to be the problem here?" (yes, he was calling Sister K also..so proud of his accomplishment to see Jason Boland & the Stragglers) Jason's "non-drinking" has made a big difference in him...sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. I know...I know...I should be proud of him for changing his ways but there seemed to be no middle for Jason. Either he was drunk off his ass or sober as the pope and I don't know which I like better. Of course, his voice is sounding much better than before and he doesn't forget the words anymore but I still miss the old Jason that would cut up and dance on stage and sometimes frighten me with things he would say to me...I'm sure it was things to get rid of me...lol Anyway, we had a good time and if he's ever in your area be sure to go out and see him. You won't regret it!!!
http://www.nojustice.com/

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Texas Liberty Festival

Cooder Graw 4-13-06 @ Rowdy Buck's

So I wound up going to Crosby to see my favorites, Cooder Graw, all alone. I had talked to a friend of mine earlier in the week about going since he's from that side of town and we decided to meet up there. I didn't hear from Sister K so I assumed that meant that she didn't want to go or couldn't go for some strange reason and Niece C was too young to go...this is a 21+ bar and there is most definitely a reason this place is called "Rowdy Buck's". I think there were 8-10 people (men) that were thrown out of the bar at the same time and the women that were with them were somewhat distressed by this. I'm not quite sure what happened but I think the problem started around the pool table area. (no surprise) Anyway, I got there around 9 or so and I decided to call my friend and see if he was going to show up. He was already inside of the bar he said but he gave me no hint that I wouldn't recognize him. The guy I once knew with long gray hair and a beard was now shaved bald with only a mustache...never would've recognized him. I saw Laura and her husband and friends there, also Bubba and Debbie, but no one else that I recognized...sometimes that's a good thing. The first band played soon after I arrived but damn if I can remember their name or what they sounded like...too much chit-chat going on. We listened to them for a few minutes then decided that it was time for a smoke break eventhough you can smoke in the bar. We had to get out of there for a few minutes if you catch my drift. On the way back inside, we saw some of the guys in the band hanging around outside near their van and decided to stop by and say hi to them before they hit the stage. Friend H had plenty to say to them but I only wanted to say "HI" so he did most of the talking while I stood around looking like an idiot. I'm used to it since I seem to find myself doing that a lot lately. After our (his) brief conversation, we went inside to listen to the band. This place is set up kind of strangely but once you get used to it, you figure out where the music sounds best and of course, it sounded best if you're seated or standing at the bar. I guess that's one way to make people order drinks...have the music sounding the best there. They were sounding as good as ever but I caught myself saying "That's where a fiddle player should be playing or that's the part where a steel guitar is needed" but hopefully soon, they'll have a replacement. All in all, I had a good time and actually got to talk to someone that hadn't spoke to me in months. Next time you think about going out, be sure to check out the live music venues and, as usual:

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Davin James, Max Stalling, Larry Joe Taylor & Keith Sykes

www.davinjames.com
http://www.keithsykes.com/
www.maxstalling.com
www.larryjoetaylor.com

Yes...I was at Puffabelly's and saw all of those guys but where was Matt Martindale?

Vampire Brats

Hank Williams III vs. Shooter Jennings
By JONNY WHITESIDE
Wednesday, April 5, 2006 - 6:00 pm
Cursed, plain and simple. That looks to be the fate of Shooter Jennings (son of Waylon) and Hank Williams III (grandson of Hank, son of Hank Jr.). Both inherited a family weakness for drugs and drink, both were raised without a steady fatherly presence, and both live in the shadow of their forebears’ incalculable mythic power. Likewise, these boys face a common vortex where audience expectation is likely to tear apart even the baddest of country asses. And they share one more thing: They hate each other’s guts.
The dimensions of the curse are clearly reflected in two new albums, Jennings’ Electric Rodeo and Williams’ Straight to Hell. Williams’ is a two-disc barrage of frustration and toxic aggression, its spectral hillbilly dub effects rendering the atmosphere as sulfurous as its titular destination. Bristling with condemnation, it’s an emotional holocaust that aims to destroy everyone from ex-girlfriends to Music City’s current chart toppers. The fast-moving Electric Rodeo, by contrast, is swathed in swanky cat clothes and illuminated by the twinkling party lights so peculiarly suited to celeb spawn.
Each trades in the family country franchise, yet both artists started their professional lives in rock & roll. Williams — despite Mike Curb’s staunch refusal to release any of it — still regularly dives into the “hellbilly” thrash of his Assjack band, and Jennings toughed it out for years with the cringingly named hard rockers Stargunn. Where Williams has collected an avid confederacy of disenfranchised lowlife fanatics, Jennings’ Sunset Strip highlife music has reached for a crowd more likely to be found sipping cocktails at Chateau Marmont than sucking flasks in the men’s room.
Electric Rodeo’s title track is a chewy slab of shimmering Southern rock, a tale of Jennings’ recent nonstop road work that suddenly implodes, allowing him to channel several lines from Waylon’s 1974 breakout “This Time” before lurching back into his Jimmy Page–Dickey Betts skirl. While eerily authentic, the transition is baffling; Jennings’ propensity for vacillation, though, never completely derails the proceedings. There’s plenty of doping and drinking (“Little White Lines,” “Hair of the Dog”), pining for poon (“Some Rowdy Women”), and musing on life as an artist, particularly “The Song Is Still Slipping Away” (“Your heroes turn out to be assholes/The light in the tunnel that you’re chasin’ is a train”), the single strongest argument for the 27-year-old Shooter as a creative force. He closes with a straight cover of Hank Jr.’s “Living Proof” that climaxes with a sudden shift into brassy disco — obviously as much of a fuck-you to Hank III as his handlers would permit.
As soon as he could, Hank Williams III cut and ran far from the Nashville hothouse, raging in a series of Southern thrash and punk bands, hanging out with rockabilly slop genius Hasil Adkins and dodging dung at GG Allin shows before cleaning up enough to take the Grand Ole Opry stage in 1996 and cry Granddaddy’s “Lovesick Blues.” For the past decade, when not playing bass in metal king Phil Anselmo’s Superjoint Ritual, he’s been running a schizo show where he does a set of classic honky-tonk, then invites fans to leave or suffer a blast of Assjack, whose music III is so desperate to get out, he bootlegs it himself.
Now 33, Williams mixes the Assjack attitude with accelerated honky-tonk on Straight to Hell. Opening with a spliced verse from the Louvin Brothers’ “Satan Is Real,” right through to Cheech & Chong’s “Up in Smoke,” which he transforms into a chilling junkie blues, Hank covers a lot of frequently disturbing ground. When he does Hank Sr., it’s profoundly creepy; a ghostly version of “I Could Never Be Ashamed of You” is spewed with tormented bile. III’s vocals are clenched up, wound tight, his music graced with Sr.’s sense of melody and propelled by the mixture of austere hillbilly and hot boogie that made the Drifting Cowboy such a prize hell-raising unit. The blunt nature of III’s lyrics (“the kind of country I’m hearing these days is a bunch of fuckin’ shit to me”; “If you think Kid Rock is a son of Hank, goddamn you’re fuckin’ dumb”), though, keeps the show firmly in his own ramshackle playhouse. Appealing in its sheer brutality and definitely not for the KZLA listener, Straight to Hell is, at the very least, the most beautifully ugly country album of all time.
When all is said and done, these two are uncomfortably alike, and the bitching about each other in the press only proves it. While Shooter occasionally and rather unconvincingly gags on the silver spoon, III keeps it handy in case anybody needs something to cook dope in. Ultimately, barring an official Assjack release, both have allowed themselves to be chained to simulacrums that pay the bills even as they further damage their authors’ independence. Well, shit, hoss, you do need some extra cash to get high on.

Miss Leslie & her Juke Jointers 3-31-06

I know...it always starts the same. Sister K and I went to the Armadillo Palace and saw Miss Leslie and her Juke Jointers Friday night. This is some real country music...none of that "Nashvegas" crap. We had a good time and believe it or not, I only drank 2 beers. I've been practicing my "social" drinking and did quite well that night. I managed to dance to one song with some guy but he left after he dance with me. Think he was trying to tell me that I couldn't dance? Do you honestly think I care? I saw a couple of people that I recognized but I didn't want to talk to them...conceited? Yes, I was that night...first time in a long, long time and I'm damn proud of myself. I was acting just like everyone else...

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