Cory Graves
This Week, Old 97's Kept It Up.
Each week, we take a survey of the local music scene and try to determine which acts in town are really putting in work and seeing it pay off. Which bands have the most intriguing shows coming up? Which bands are getting the most press around town? Which bands have accomplished the most notable feats of late? Based off these criteria, our music writers submit a list to be weighted and compiled into a master list revealed each week in this here space. We like to think it's fairly revealing. Check out our previous Buzz Rankings here.
Make that two straight weeks atop the local music power rankings for local darlings Old 97's.
And why not? What a hell of a week it's been for the act that just celebrated the local release of its upcoming tenth studio effort at a nearly-sold-out show at Strauss Square. During that show, you might recall, the band also announced its plans to launch a Dia de los Toadies-esque outdoor festival of its own next year called the All the Way Weekend.
But it's not just us locals who've been gushing over the outfit's stellar new disc of late; this week, Rolling Stone also gave Most Messed Up a four-star review.
That magazine also named Toadies' Rubberneck one of the best mainstream alternative records of 1994 this week. And, ahead of its headlining turn at next month's fifth annual Homegrown Music & Arts Festival, the band also turned in a four-song session for the Daytrotter website.
Other locals earning national buzz were St. Vincent, who was announced as the musical guest for an upcoming, Andy Samberg-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live. And Symoblyc One was praised via Madonna's Instagram account for the pair's recent work together in the studio.
Then there was Madison King, whose band performed three sets in a 24-hour period this past weekend — twice while opening for the Old 97's in New Braunfels and Dallas, respectively, and a third time as part of Good Records' 7th annual Record Store Day bash. Other performers at that affair included Midlake, Oil Boom, Ice Eater, Son of Stan, Nervous Curtains, Kaela Sinclair, Dovetail, Air Review, Buffalo Black, Foxtrot Uniform and Pinkish Black.
And Pinkish Black, we might add, will also perform at Texas Theatre this weekend as part of a national tour with Italian prog-rock legends Goblin.
Elsewhere: Jessie Frye won a contest to open this weekend's EdgeFest; Blackstone Rangers, Cutter and Hex Cult opened last week's Red Bull Sound Select show; Chambers premiered a new track; Richard Haskins is set to perform his first show since being released from prison last week; and Dark Rooms made an appearance in our first-ever vlog.
(Also receiving votes this week: Nervous Curtains, Slobberbone, Buffalo Black, -topic, The Outfit, TX, The Birds of Night, Pass The 40, Colton Carlyle, Crit Morris, The Bird Dogs, Two Knights, Wiving, Picnictyme, Things of Earth, Final Club, Somebody's Darling, Calhoun, The Orbans, Goodnight Ned, Ronnie Fauss, Party Static, James Talambas, In Memory of Man, Sealion, RC & The Gritz, Jenny Robinson, Fever Dreamer, Bashe, Bobby Sessions, Fallen From the Nest.)
