This Week's Best Concerts

Ah, the bliss of youthful ignorance, a totally misplaced sense of confidence and an unswerving conviction that “it will be fine.” This thought crossed my mind when I read about an amusement park ride at Six Flags Mexico that ceased operation for ten minutes during a storm this past weekend, leaving stranded passenger hanging about 250 feet in the air. For the record, the name of the ride is “The Sky Screamer.” I’ll bet!

I’m pretty sure that none of the kids on the ride worried for an instant about such an incident prior to boarding the ride. When it comes to rides, kids don’t think twice before jumping on the Nausea Whirl in a shopping center parking lot, unconcerned by the fact that the ride was assembled by a bunch of toothless carny tweakers just hours before. But I was one of those kids in the early days of Astroworld. The only thing I ever really worried about was some yahoo next to me in the Barrel of Fun throwing up and, thanks to centrifugal force, having the effluvia hit me in the face. For more cheap thrills, please see below.

Ticket Alert
The Rev. Horton Heat, a true Texas treasure, will play at Main Street Crossing on Wednesday, January 8. Tickets are on sale now, so snag them quickly if you are looking for a serious psychobilly fix.

Iconic metal band Judas Priest will be on tour this fall, performing in support of its latest album, Invincible Shield . Incredible as it seems, lead vocalist Rob Halford (“The Metal God”) can still hit all of the high notes, or at least most of them. The Houston show is on Tuesday, October 22, at the Smart Financial Centre , and good seats are still available.

Concerts This Week
It has been said that most rock stars would like to be actors (e.g. Mick Jagger in Freejack ) and most actors would like to be rock stars (e.g. Corey Feldman opening for Limp Bizkit on the band’s current tour). Add to the latter category Jared Leto, who will perform with his band Thirty Seconds to Mars on Thursday at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion .

To be fair, Leto and his crew have been at it for over 20 years, releasing their debut album, produced by industry legend Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Kiss, Pink Floyd), in 2001. Considering that Leto’s mega-bummer film Requiem for a Dream was released just before work on the album began, it makes sense that Leto would have been looking for a rock and roll distraction at that point.
The early ‘80s music scene will be represented on Thursday at the 713 Music Hall by beloved British band Squeeze (“Tempted,” “Black Coffee in Bed’) and Boy George, formerly of Culture Club (“Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” “Karma Chameleon”). Both acts were leaders of the new wave movement and seen often in the early days of MTV, so the billing makes sense. Squeeze and Boy George are alternating opening and closing the evening on this tour, so if you have a particular favorite of the two, get there early and don’t miss out.
America doesn’t usually get mentioned in the first breath when “bands of the ‘70s” are discussed, but that isn’t necessarily fair. Sure, the group’s first single, “Horse with No Name,” was viewed by some as a crass Neil Young rip off. Even Young’s father thought that America was Neil and called to complement his son when he heard the song on the radio.

Nevertheless, a hit-filled career followed, helped in no small part by the fact that Beatles producer George Martin was behind the board for singles like “Tin Man,” “Sister Golden Hair” and “Lonely People.” America will perform at the Smart Financial Centre on Sunday, with Al Stewart (“Year of the Cat”) opening. Gotta love a guy like Stewart, who name checks Peter Lorre in a pop song.
Charley Crockett could be viewed as a savior of country music. These days, few artists are able to capture the sound and the heart of classic country better than Crockett. For an example, check out the performance of the title track from his latest album, $10 Cowboy . But Crockett is more than a latter-day Ernest Tubb. He’s one hell of a bluesman, making him a favorite of those who dig a rootsy sound. Crockett performs on Tuesday at the 713 Music Hall .