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MUSIC reviewsFree Week Live ShotS Part 2for free week photo galleries, see austinchronicle.comShakey GravesThe Parish, Jan. 9As the Parish stage lights silhouette Shakey Graves, hispose comes into relief: legs bent, stance fixed, large-bodiedguitar slung high on his rail-thin frame with the neck angledslightly toward the heavens. On his head, a crisply bentcowboy hat. He looks a little like Townes Van Zandt and alot like Woody from Toy Story. The heels of his leather shoesrest on drum pedals that beat on a suitcase outfitted witha drumhead and a tambourine. His black-and-tan archtopguitar rings out with a high gain matching his trebly howl. Notsimply a young, pretty face, Graves fingerpicks minor chordsin jumpy patterns, with notable intensity and interesting noteselection. Over the last year, the Austin native’s risen out ofthe singer-songwriter scrap heap and amassed a big enoughfan base to merit a weekly residency at the Parish, whichhe’s filled to near capacity on the first two Wednesdays inJanuary. Sadly, the local troubadour’s performance for FreeWeek comes off ... shakey. After connecting with a sinuousversion of “Unlucky Skin,” he does little to capitalize on theroom’s ample energy, offering awkward banter and unexceptionaldelivery instead. Perhaps it’s the early set tequila shotmaking his guitar playing unfocused and his raspy, ramblingvocals delivered with more obligation than fervor. Even hissignature move of following a quiet passage with a drawnout “awhoooo” and snapping back into a stomp-n-shakedrumbeat can’t enliven the capacity crowd. Lucky for ShakeyGraves, there’s always next week.– Kevin Curtinj o h n a n d e r s o nWhiskey Shivers, Guns of Navarone,Holiday Style, Slowtrain, WiretreeHoly Mountain, Jan. 10As bespectacled local quartet Wiretree warms up, thecrowd inside Red River revival Holy Mountain counts rathersparse on this cold Thursday evening. A blink later andthe former Beauty Bar, now reconfigured, is packed savefor a two-foot space around the stage. KUTX evening hostand Good Music Club face Laurie Gallardo introducesthe evening, and it’s off and running and never short ofraucous. Wiretree fires off two new cuts slated for a summerrelease, keeping with the band’s no-frills power pop.Roots-rock collective Slowtrain crams the stage to bursting,swelling rich tones into twanged tracks like “WhenI Walk Into a Room.” Formed from ex-Zykos, the GloriaRecord, and Frank Smith members, Holiday Style debuts atHoly Mountain, lax vocals barely audible above the churningupheaval of guitar, but it’s easy to pinpoint the intersectionof influences, as well as to spot the potential ofthis fledgling group. Southern rocker Cory Reinisch leadsquartet Guns of Navarone through a country-strong rockset with a punked-up spirit, blazing through its 45 minuteswith infectious enthusiasm. As indicated by the titteringwhispers while they set up and the uproarious applausewith the first note, the pièce de résistance rushes thestage: Whiskey Shivers. It doesn’t matter if you’ve seenthem once or 100 times. This shit-kicking, bluegrass-loving,barefoot hillbilly troupe never delivers anything shortof exhilarating.– Abby Johnstonwhiskeyshiverss h e l l e y h i a ms h e l l e y h i a mriverboatGamblersRiverboat Gamblers, East CameronFolkcore, American SharksMohawk, Jan. 11“We’re called American Sharks. You don’t mind if westart off with some fast rock & roll, do you?” So askedthe burly Mike Hardin before the local trio exploded intoa tsunami that left nothing but blood in the water fromall the headbanging. Hardin, recently relocated to Austinfrom Houston after fronting the stoner glam of Roky Moonand BOLT!, vied for the most lovable man in metal bythreatening to bear-hug the entire audience in appreciation.It was a complete contrast to the Sharks’ massiveriffage, which rightfully earned them a recent openingslot on tour with the Sword. Though the set timed out tooshort, it fed well into the Southern rock explosion of EastCameron Folkcore, the notoriously sprawling outfit packingthe stage as a 10-piece and sounding like a Lucerohootenany. Moody and gravelly beyond desperation, AllenDennard and Blue Mongeon competed in stomping acrossthe stage, showcasing tunes from February’s upcomingFor Sale, including lead anthem “Salinger Is Dead,” thedark “Ophelia,” and biting “Sallie Mae,” all proving ECFCis perched for breakout. Mohawk’s outside stage remainsideally constructed for any Riverboat Gamblers’ slot, itsrafters begging for Mike Wiebe’s acrobatics. The frontmandidn’t disappoint, diving from the balcony to crowd surfand ripping his shirt as he pinballed against the concretewalls. Digging deep, the veteran Austin punk quintet roaredthrough “Hey! Hey! Hey!,” “True Crime,” and dished grittygutter glory with “The Ol’ Smash and Grab.” Still swinging,still knocking it out.– Doug FreemanBlind Pets’Josh Loganj o h n a n d e r s o nPsychedelic Light & Sound Does Free WeekHotel vegas, Jan. 12Local promotion entity Psychedelic Light &Sound put its motto of “a festival designed tooverload the senses” to the test with this sprawling,12-hour lineup. The improvisational ambienceof Lattice, Cream-y power trio traditionalismof Pi, and Wolfmother worship of Fort Worth’sSonic Buffalo barely registered, but thingspicked up with Surly Gates. The quartet stayedsober, but its well-crafted Crosby, Stills, Nash& Crazy Horse approach needed no psilocybin.Fueled by surf music and Americana, Modrag’ssnappy garage pop injected caffeine energy intoa Nuggets core, the local trio’s sharp songwritingtrumping any lack of originality. Invading thepaisley underground with Eighties synthesizer,ambitious songs, and some post-punk hip shake,Obscured by Echoes became the most distinctiveand sophisticated band on the bill. BlackTabs’ grunge stripped down to just riff, beat,and voice, fronted by a blues mama who makesup in enthusiasm what she lacks in technique.Furthest flung of the bill, Denver’s Thee DangDangs bounced through straight garage rock,highlighted by Rebecca Williams’ reverb-drenchedyelp and catchy tuneage. “I wish I was on acid,”proclaimed Blind Pets singer/guitarist Josh Logan,whose mother was in attendance. “I hope someonehere is.” An annoying amp hum nearly obliteratedthe first half of the local trio’s hard-rockingpunk (or is that punked-up hard rock?), but onceit took off, the Pets played as if this was boththe most fun experience of their lives and thelast. Led by Psychedelic Light & Sound’s RobbieD Love, Deep Space took advantage of host dutyto soak in self-indulgent but sincere “free yourmind” psychobabble, as well as spacey acid jams.The antithesis of Deep Space, San Antonio’s RichHands celebrated the virtues of pre-weed rock withrefreshingly simple lyrics, catchy tunes, and a goodbeat the kids could dance to. – Michael Toland46 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E JANUARY 18, 2013 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m