buxton

Good friend to the site and kick-ass photographer, Mark C. Austin, has been pimping his new pet project, the Ford Fiesta Movement, in which he procured one of 20 brand-spanking-new Ford Fiesta's to let people here in Houston test out. Always bringing a touch of music into anything he does, Austin and counterpart Amber Roussel have started to invite different local bands into the backseat of the Fiesta for a series they are calling BackSeat Jukebox. The first of hopefully many videos to come features local Houston act, and BOT-favorite, Buxton working their way through the unreleased track "Boy Of 9" with the help of a few non-traditional instruments. Despite being jammed into the back seat, they still pull of a flawless version of the new tune.

We recently caught Buxton performing several of their new tracks, and you can rest assured that they were all brilliant. We will have a full review of that show soon.

Akron/Family, Warpaint and Buxton at Walter's On Washington
Doors at 8pm; Show at 9pm
Tickets are $10 at the door

The 2009 edition of Via Colori took place a few weekends ago, and went off without a hitch – on Sunday. Unfortunately, Saturday's events were rained out, which didn't allow the street painting to even begin. Some musical events did take place on Saturday, though, so it wasn't a complete wash (pun intended). Sunday featured a bunch of our favorite acts, including Elaine Greer, Wild Moccasins and Buxton, on top of the fabulous works of art being created all around.

Read all about Sunday, November 22nd at the 2009 Via Colori Street Painting Festival after the jump.

We've never been shy in claiming our allegiance to Houston's own folk-rockers Buxton, as they've consistently performed unbelievable sets of music to their growing legion of fans while continually staying true to their roots. They've been busy traveling to regional festivals lately, including Bryan, TX's Rock The Republic (where Bacon was in attendance) and a headlining spot at Nacogdoches, TX's Nacstock this weekend.

We happened to catch them a few weeks ago during a 29-95-sponsored event at the Continental Club, and couldn't have been happier with their set. Starting the performance off with a rollicking "Feathers," Buxton played all the favorites including "Holy Water Revival," "Flint," "Flame" and "Doctor." Mid-set, lead singer Sergio Trevino was left alone to run through an acoustic number, a segment they've been adding to their live shows recently to showcase his weary vocal work and to let the rest of the band refill their drinks. The highlight of the set came when they took a stab at a new cover they'd only practiced during their previous evening's rehearsal – Bobby Darin's 1959 hit "Dream Lover" was easily transformed into a hopefully soon-to-be Buxton b-side, and even though it was their debut performance of the track, it seemed as if it had been in their repertoire for years. After about fifty minutes, they called it a night, and we retired to the patio for some good conversation and drinks with the band. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Thursday night!

I came away from the show with a bunch of great pictures. Check them out after the jump.

Listen!Listen!, I Am Mesmer, Peter and the Wolf and Sew What at Mango's.
Doors at 8pm, Show at 9pm.

Buxton, Ha Ha Tonka and Benjamin Wesley at Dean's Credit Clothing.
Doors at 7pm, Show at 8pm.
Tickets are $8.

It's good to be back in Houston. I spent a long time away from the Bayou City, and what better way to get back into the swing of things than a Buxton show. Not just any Buxton show, but their highly lauded 7" release party that also featured the Wild Moccasins first hometown performance since returning from a freshman tour of the states just a few days ago. It was my first time attending a performance at the newly renovated and reopened Mango's, a vegetarian cafe by day, and ripping local venue by night. They've done the best they can with the tiny room, but when it gets packed like it did for this Saturday night performance, it becomes an oven – even Sergio Trevino, lead vocalist and guitarist for Buxton, proclaimed after the show that it was the hottest performance he'd ever been a part of. Come to think of it, it also might have been one of the hottest performances I've ever been a part of – in more ways than one.

Read about the show after the jump

Our favorite local band recently got together with our favorite new local blog to film one of our new favorite songs from one of our new favorite EP's. Just like the Wild Moccasins did before, Houston alt-folksters Buxton sat down for a session in Joe Mathlete's living room, and played through "Flint," the B-side off of their soon to be released eponymous 7" EP.

Our friends over at 29-95 have posted the video and a brief write-up of the day's events. I hope they continue these sessions as it's a good way to showcase our favorite local bands in a much more intimate and stripped down format. You keep making 'em, and we'll keep posting 'em.

The Westheimer Block Party took place on Saturday, and (mostly) went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the daytime portion of the festival, but the expanded line-up during the night time more than made up for it. I made it to Montrose just in time for the last few bands to finish up the free part of the day. Our good friends Buxton were scheduled to take the stage behind the Austin Layne Hotel around 8, so I headed over there to catch their set. The stages were running a bit late, so Listen Listen were just finishing up, but I knew Buxton had a few tricks up their sleeves for the after-dark performance, so I stuck around. Before their set, Buxton and their fans passed out several hundred sparklers to the growing crowd, which were to be lit when the band gave a cue during their song "Feathers." The cue came, the sparklers were lit, and the rest is history...

We'll be posting more from the Block Party soon, including photos and video from St. Vincent, Devin the Dude, Valient Thorr, The Eastern Sea, The Riff Tiffs, Sideshow Tramps, I am Mesmer, B L A C K I E, Cop Warmth, as well as more from Buxton.

While Houston isn't exactly known for its musical prowess (yet!), there's still one event that we here at BOT truly look forward to every spring and fall. Our friends over at Free Press Houston have been working diligently over the past few months, putting together a solid lineup of over 100 local and regional acts to perform at the spring 2009 edition of the bi-annual free outdoor event. Spanning the blocks surrounding Taft and Westheimer in the eclectic Montrose neighborhood, this year's festival is stepping it up from previous events by also featuring a multi-venue night portion which is set to include solid acts like Austin's hip-hop extraordinaire Devin the Dude, Dallas-bred indie darling St. Vincent and a return from last fall's headliner HEALTH.

Check out the full line-up after the jump

One of our favorite musical discoveries of 2008 was Houston's own Buxton, a four-piece band that's a little folk, a little Americana, and a whole lot of awesome. They were featured prominently on the top songs and top albums lists of both Eggs and myself. In fact, I'm listening to A Family Light as I type this, because I simply can't get enough of it. Fortunately for us, Buxton will soon release a 7" with two new songs to tide us over until their next studio effort. I've heard the unmastered cuts of the songs, and all I can say is that I'm super stoked. Tentatively titled "Jam" and "Groovin'," they're possibly the most well-constructed pieces we've heard from this young band so far. The 7" is expected to be released in March – for now, you can catch a glimpse of the band's recording process at SugarHill Studios via the video below. It was made from over 2,000 pictures taken in sequence, then compiled into a video by guitarist/keyboardist/mandolinist Jason Willis and set to the first two minutes of "Jam."

For best viewing results, click through to YouTube and watch the video in high quality.

More Buxton news after the jump