The Guest Groupie: Saints of Valory, The Canvas Waiting & The 71s at Echo Lounge

I wanted to go three-for-three with The 71's when they played Friday night at Echo Lounge, but it was my brother's birthday and I bailed on him last year to see Rooney. I couldn't very well do that to him again, so I was absolutely thrilled when my good friend and one of my favorite concert pals Angela asked if she could write a guest post for my blog on the show. Hopefully it won't be her last! (Thanks to Amanda for suggesting "The Guest Groupie" - love it!)

Hello, everyone!

This is my very first time guest blogging for The Good Groupie and let me tell you that it is such an honor. My name is Angela, and I am a wedding photographer turned elementary school teacher with a love for all things local and indie - especially music.

This post, for me, is extra special because it coincides with my turning a quarter of a century old, and it features two of my favorite bands I discovered this year (with the help of The Good Groupie, of course) and one new favorite I saw for the first time Friday night.

I first saw The Canvas Waiting earlier this summer when they played at Fitz here in Houston. It was only the third show I'd ever gone to with The Good Groupie and our first to attend together without the mutual friend who introduced us. Ever since that first Quiet Company show I went to with her WAY back in December, I've trusted her musical tastes completely, hence taking her word for it that the show at Fitz was well worth the $15. And it was, of course.

Dia de los Toadies at White Water Amphitheater

This weekend while the east coast was enjoying the luxurious rain provided by being pummeled by Hurricane Irene, Texas was hitting record highs (109 in my neck of the woods Saturday), pushing the state's power grid to the max and generally feeling like we would burst into flames any second.

In other words, a perfect weekend to attend an outdoor music festival.

When I bought my Dia de los Toadies ticket back in May, I was on a Quiet Company high and decided my summer goal was to see them as many times as (reasonably) possible. (One summer and five shows later, I'm a pretty happy girl.) I wasn't really sure what to expect from the rest of the festival seeing as I bought the ticket for one band, and once the state-wide temperatures skyrocketed last week I wasn't even sure if I'd go - The Good Groupie & heat do not mix well. (Ask Katie about ACL and how I screwed her out of seeing the Eagles because of the heat last year...)

My need for live music won out though, and Saturday I ventured over to New Braunfels for the afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised by a music festival that was just my size: two stages, 12 bands, cheap water, lots of shade and seating at a venue smack dab in the middle of the picturesque Texas hill country. It might have been 108. There might have been little to no breeze. I might have drank my weight in water in a mere two hours...but it was - dare I say it, anti-festival girl I am? - fun.

Rock & Roll Portraits

Jackson shooting The 71s Saturday night.

I first heard of Jackson Potts II in early July when my friend Daniel over at Vivogig met him at The 71s CD release party. Jackson was shadowing the band for the day as their photographer, snapping shots from practice space to under the stage lights at Warehouse Live - check out a few of his shots here.

Did I mention he's 11?

Needless to say, I may be a bit jealous since I only do what I can with my own point-and-shoot Canon. (And, well, let's be honest - I suck...see above.) Turns out Jackson was shadowing The 71s that day for his first solo show, Rock & Roll Portraits, which opened Saturday night at Catalina Coffee and runs through Oct. 2. I highly recommend checking it out if you're in Houston - his shot of Soldier Thread is probably my favorite in the show. (Rumor has it Vivogig will be helping Jackson bring the show to Austin as well!)

The 71s at Mainstreet Crossing

Friday night, explained by video concept? Yeah, kinda.

If ever there were a musical pigeonhole that perfectly describes my personality, it would be tour mom.

It's not very rock-n-roll, but I always have to have a plan. I'm usually the one who knows what day tickets go on sale and how much they are (with fees, of course); I'm the navigator and driver; I know who all the bands on the bill are and can usually tell you at least one fact about them; and I'm the one shepherding my friends to shows, excited to share the experience with them. In short, I might be a bit of a control freak.

So last Thursday when I found out The 71s were playing in Tomball Friday evening - not so far from my little corner of suburbia here in Houston - at a venue I've been wanting to check out...I wasn't all that disappointed when I put out the call on Facebook and was met with resounding silence.

A show all to myself? Yes, please.

We are all where we belong...

Quiet Company soundchecking for their house show at Haley's.

It occurred to me Saturday night as I sat outside in the summer heat, enjoying Quiet Company's first-ever house show, that it's been nearly a year since I first fell for this band at the Granada Theater in Dallas. It doesn't feel possible that it's been that long, yet it feels like I've been listening to them for so much longer.

I'm a firm believe in music - the kind that makes a difference in your life, soundtracks a year or truly moves you - finding you, not the other way around. Quiet Company could not have 'found' me at a more perfect time: I was in the middle of major life upheaval. Prior to my musical road trip that landed me at a show they were opening, I was deep in the throes of job hunting. I wanted a single, permanent job instead of running 17 hours between two part-time positions. Nothing about my life was certain, everything was constantly changing, and I craved the stability I had before the economy bottomed-out, rendering me jobless.

Music has always been one of the few constants in my life. The band may change, but the fact that music gets me through everything has never changed - and probably never will. For the past year, my musical stability has come from Quiet Company.