It List: Monday

You know, this shit can really suck sometimes. The local music scene. Sometimes it's just a real drag, and I wonder why I'm involved on any level. Saturday night at the Chat Room, however, was one of those nights that almost completely redeems the whole endeavor in my eyes-- no shitty attitudes, no "spinning," no talk of "Pitchfork approval" or "blog impact" or "tweets" or whatever else. Just mostly nice, mostly interesting people packed in to an infinitely inviting and friendly venue watching some of the most interesting local music around right now. Akkolyte was as punishing as it comes, Darktown Strutters were infectious, Great Tyrant was brutal, and the whole thing was just a great deal of fun. I know some of you are probably thinking that I'm writing this as a round about attack on the Observer showcase thing, but I'm really not, because there were a few good bands playing those showcases, and they're certainly worthy of your attention. I Just wanted to give a shout out to Ben Rogers and Fort Worth for a fantastic night at the Chat Room. Shows:

Mayhem Mondays (Fallout Lounge): Could be a very nice little one two punch in Expo Park tonight. Mayhem Mondays is a new weekly event hosted by Stefan Gonzalez of Akkolyte and Yells at Eels and his friend DJ Meco Seco. They'll be playing hardcore/grindcore/thrash/black metal, etc. all night long starting at 10PM, and if anyone knows what the fuck they're doing when it comes to all the aforementioned genres, its one of the Gonzalez brothers. Should be an excellent time, but if the music gets a little too intense for you, you can always take a break by hopping next door to catch:

Bad Ass Jazz (Amsterdam)

Cool Out (The Cavern)