This was a lot of fun. Galveston favorites Darwin’s Finches came by my house and played a few songs; it’d been almost half a year since I’d done one of these but hopefully this is the first of a long string this summer before I get evicted, or whatever happens when you stop paying rent on time or at all. Bonus points for whoever names the song they’re covering at the beginning.

I first saw Darwin’s Finches at the Shady Tavern at one of the late, lamented Secret Saturday Shows (a great concept someone somewhere should really resuscitate). They played a long, loud, high-energy set in the mid-day sun that recalled nothing less than a swampy, Southern Gothic version of Mudhoney. I was an instant fan. Talking to wild-eyed, perpetually-cheerful frontman Justino Saladino after the show, I learned that they were from Galveston, which only a month and some change before had been royally gutterfucked by Hurricane Ike. “How have you guys been holding up?”

“Oh, you know… It’s been kind of weird. We’ve been living in our van since then.”

I thought about how I’d almost moved to Oregon after being without electricity for 72 hours after the storm, then thought about the absolute powerhouse of a set I’d just seen. It is possible (unlikely, but possible) that Darwin’s Finches are the living embodiment of old school, elemental, capital-R Rock and Roll (which, being the devil’s music, would explain why God would try to kill them with a hurricane).

But yeah – one natural disaster and a month-plus in a van later, they completely blew the motherloving roof off of a mid-afternoon outdoor set playing in front of a handful of strangers. Hey, Every Other Band In Town: what’s your excuse for anything, ever?

Darwin’s Finches finally release their debut CD, Old Skatillivich, this Friday at Walter’s on Washington. Giant Princess, American Sharks, MuhamadAli and Tow The Line are also on the bill.