This Week’s Best Concerts | Houston Press

After reading my colleague Bob Ruggiero’s review of the new book Giant Steps: My Improbable Journey from Stage Lights to Executive Heights, which traces the career of Derek Shulman, who went from fronting the prog rock band Gentle Giant to working as a record company executive, I got to thinking about others who have made similar career renavigations.

While it is true that spending time in the trenches of the music biz as an artist does give a person a rare and valuable perspective regarding the business, the fact is that most musicians do not possess the skills to both perform music and negotiate a recording contract. Nor could most record company honchos confidently sit in with professional musicians. As a rule, you can either do one or the other. Kind of a left brain / right brain thing.

There are, of course, other exceptions. One individual who comes to mind is Warren Entner. He was a member of the Grass Roots who played guitar and keyboards, additionally contributing memorable vocal parts, e.g. the bridge in “Midnight Confessions” (“There’s a little gold ring you wear on your hand…”). After the Grass Roots dried up, Entner became a manager, guiding the careers of acts like Quiet Riot, Faith No More and Rage Against the Machine.

Trumpeter Herb Alpert maintained parallel careers as a recording artist (leader of the Tijuana Brass) and as co-owner (with Jerry Moss) of A&M Records, which was home to Peter Frampton, George Benson, the Carpenters, Soundgarden and numerous others.

Most bands without representation have a person in the group who deals with club owners, concert promoters and the like. If that individual in your band always ensures that everyone is paid what was promised and sometimes negotiates some sort of lagniappe as well, then bask in your good fortune. That person may well have “manager” written all over him.

Ticket Alert
H-town rapper and hamburger magnate Bun B will present a one-off show at the House of Blues on Saturday, October 18, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of his debut solo release Trill. The show is billed as “Trill Unplugged,” meaning that the album with be “reimagined,” with special guests, live instruments and stories detailing the making of the album. A few seats remain, with plenty of tickets available on the resale market.

It is perhaps fitting that Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti’s current tour is operating under the banner of “Antagonist.”  Carti has certainly gotten on the wrong side of many folks.  The tour was scheduled for 2023, but fates evidently conspired against it. A prime cause for the delay may have been various legal issues that Carti has been forced to deal with over the past few years. In any case, all systems seem to be “go” for Carti’s performance at Toyota Center on Thursday, November 20. Presales are in progress now, and the general sale is set for Friday.

Austin musician Ty Myers is only 18, but he has been at it for a while, writing his first songs when he was in grade school, encouraged by his singer-songwriter father. Myers released his first album, The Select, earlier this year, achieving significant chart success. While marketed as a country artist, Myers slides in some R&B and blues influences to keep things interesting. Catch him at the 713 Music Hall on Saturday, February 7.

Alter Bridge was formed in the early noughts when former members of Creed – guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips – joined with vocalist / guitarist Myles Kennedy. The band will release a new album early in 2026 and tour behind it next spring, stopping at the Bayou Music Center on Tuesday, April 28.

Concerts This Week
There are few bands with a better name than Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives. Not only does the group have a great name, its ranks include some major players, most notably Stuart, who developed his guitar chops backing Johnny Cash during the early ‘80s. Stuart and the Superlatives will perform tonight at the Centrum (part of the Cypress Creek Christian Community Center, though the concert is presented by Main Street Crossing), spotlighting tunes from their most recent all-instrumental album Space Junk.
Nine Inch Nails is the name of the band, but in point of fact, the “band” is founder Trent Reznor, collaborator Atticus Ross, and whomever else they feel is necessary to fill out the sound for recordings and concerts. Sort of like a really intense Steely Dan. Though Reznor has been busy with film and television soundtracks over the past several years (The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Watchmen, Tron: Ares), it appears that he hasn’t forgotten his industrial / rock and roll roots. Reports from the current “Peel It Back” tour indicate that fans can expect plenty of signature NIN material like “Closer” and “Hurt.” Catch Reznor and company on Friday at Toyota Center.
What’s better than a Carolyn Wonderland show at the Continental Club on a Saturday night? This weekend’s concert should be a good one, as Wonderland will do doubt be featuring a number of songs from her most recent (and most outstanding) album Truth Is in her set. Frequent Wonderland collaborator Shelley King and her trio will open.
The hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse has been pissing people off for over 30 years with a combination of rap, creepy clowns, questionable lyrics, professional wrestling and a propensity to engage in physical confrontations both onstage and at Waffle Houses. Not only that, the ICP faithful known as Juggalos were, at one time, viewed as a dangerous “gang” by the FBI. This all being the case, it’s bound to get wild on Sunday at the White Oak Music Hall. As the band and its fans like to say, “WOOP WOOP!”