Yes. He can be a real douchebag. Even he admits it, so lets get that out the way right at the top here. But for all of his gum-flappin’, media-whorin’, ego-driven hijinks, the one inescapable remains that John Mayer can flat out play guitar. As the last part of her Christmas present, Mrs. WTDP? got a pair of tickets to see Mayer when he rolled through town this weekend on his Battle Studies tour. Both of us were treated to a two-hour show that was much more about music than talking or ego stroking or anything else. Mayer mixed in plenty of old and new tunes – opening with ‘Heartbreak Warfare’ and ending with ‘Gravity’.

Gov’t Mule brought their special brand of boogie blues and roots rock through Houston last weekend, the last stop on a winter tour in support of their latest CD – By A Thread. Warren Haynes and company played two sets and a pair of encores for a packed House of Blues. The band opened the evening with ‘Streamline Woman’ off of 2006’s High & Mighty. Songs played from the new album included ‘Broke Down on the Brazos’, ‘Steppin’ Lightly’, and ‘Railroad Boy’ – the last played with a capo’d Les Paul 12-string. Mule also reached back in their catalog to play tunes like ‘Lay Your Burden Down’ off 2000’s Life Before Insanity and ‘Rockin’ Horse’ from their 1996 debut.

Sweden’s The Soundtrack of Our Lives played in town this past weekend in support of their ambitious double-album Communion released last year. It marks the first time in a while the band has toured the states, and while the crowd was small, there was still plenty enthusiasm to go around from both the band and its fans. The group opened the show with the first single from Communion, ‘Babel On’ – an upbeat, retro guitar blitz. The band sprinkled in newer tunes like ‘Thrill Me’, the poppy ‘Flipside’ and the haunting ‘Second Life Replay’ into the 13-song set, which also included older songs like ‘Instant Repeater ‘99′ and ‘Big Time’.

On a cold Friday in H-town, the WTDP? crew made its way to Walter’s On Washington to take in the sweet 60’s guitar pop group Drug Rug – a collaboration between New England’s Sarah Cronin and Tommy Allen. With plenty of tremolo in tow, the band – just Sarah on guitar (a nice, red Epi hollow body) and Tommy on skins this time out – plowed through a healthy set of newer material off the group’s ‘Paint the Fence Invisible’ release. The set was quick, but had great energy thanks largely to Cronin’s pixie guitar strut during upbeat tunes like ‘Hannah Please’ and ‘Punk Song’. Check out some pics from the gig after the jump… including a set list complete with effects cues!

It was a vulgar display of power at the House of Blues last night as Five Finger Death Punch brought their brand of raw riffage to Houston. There was blood, fist fights and heightened security… and that was outside the venue! The band is touring in support of its ‘War Is The Answer’ album released last year. Gear wise, the boys rocked Marshall, Kustom and Diamond Amps… Gibson, Ibanez and BC Rich gutiars. It was very difficult to get in close to take pictures at this show due to the flailing of limbs and general mayhem. You can check out what we did manage to salvage after the jump!

We hit the Anvil show when it rolled through town this past weekend. By now most know the once-obscure Canadian metalheads due to their funny, poignant rock doc ‘Anvil – The Story of Anvil’. The two main players – guitarist Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner – have bassist Glenn Five in tow for their current US tour. The boys rocked the House of Blues with blistering versions of ‘White Rhino’, complete with drum solo, ‘Metal On Metal’ and encore ‘Jackhammer’ – about a particularly heinous groupie. It was raw and up front… just as a metal show should be. Check out some pics from the gig after the jump!

Chicago instrumental rockers Russian Circles invaded Houston’s Rudyards Pub last weekend with a headlining set jammed with effects-laden loops and dense sonic swirl. The band is touring in support of its just released ‘Geneva’ album, which adds some grander arrangements – including string sections – than on previous records. Led by guitarist Michael Sullivan, Russian Circles ripped though a good mix of old and new tunes in front of a packed house with little vocal interaction with the crowd and no visible set list. As expected, packed pedal boards were on full display. Check out some gear shots from the show after the jump!

WTDP? has a chance to check out Los Angeles-based instrumental rock group Red Sparowes last weekend in Houston. The group had released an EP earlier in the summer, Aphorisms, and is starting work on a full length album with Toshi Kasai. The seven song set at Rudyard’s was highlighted by touches of pedal steel and effects-ladened breakdowns. The triple guitar attack of Bryant Meyer, Andy Arahood and Emma Rundle was a cool thing to behold in the flesh. If you haven’t had the pleasure, and like post-rock instrumental groups in the vein of Isis and Pelican, check them out! And check out pics from the show after the jump!

Jazz, rock, blues, comedy? You get a lot when you attend a concert from Israeli-born, New York-based guitarist Oz Noy. Celebrating the release of his latest album ‘Schizophrenic’, Oz set out on a mini-tour of release party dates, which included a pair of gigs in Austin, Texas last weekend. Oz being an early adopter to WTDP? and us never having seen him live, we packed up the car and headed west two hours to see the man in action. A late start at The Saxon Club was no damper on the hour and a half set that saw Oz, bassist Roscoe Beck and drummer Anton Fig rip through several of his new tunes. Oh yeah… and Eric Johnson showed up. Pics and music after the jump!

I had never seen Billy Squier live, but had always been a fan of his music. I’ve got my copy of Don’t Say No, arguably one of a very few perfect rock records. I’ve got the greatest hits package for other tunes like ‘She’s A Runner’ and ‘She Goes Down’, so I was pretty jazzed about finally seeing him live. Did he disappoint? No… not even close. Squier, 59, came out on stage in his loose fitting white t-shirt and jeans and ripped through a hit-filled set in front of a decent Sunday evening crowd in rainy Houston, Texas. Opening with a high-octane version of ‘Lonely Is The Night’… and it was off to the races! Take a look at some pics from the show after the jump!

Chicago prog-jam sextet Umphrey’s McGee brought the Mantis tour to the House of Blues in Houston last week. The band – known for its extended jams and wicked improvisations – is about half way through the current tour which will carry them until the end of the year. The crowd was treated to a two-set, near three-hour journey that included two songs off the new album – lead track Made To Measure and the sprawling Cemetary Walk. The night also included one cover tune – Pink Floyd’s Young Lust. WTDP? hung out with the band in advance of the show as part of a super secret project that we can’t talk about just yet. Interest piqued? Good! Photos after the jump!

Fred and Toody Cole (ex-Dead Moon) brought their own brand of Oregon-based garage rock to Olso’s John Dee this weekend. The three-piece played a set of around 15 tunes plus encores, all from the Pierced Arrows catalog, highlighted by tunes like Shades, C-U and Frankenstein. Fred turned 61 last month and proved without a doubt that he can still rock with the best of them. He played a battered and bruised Guild S-200 Thunderbird through a red Marshall JCM-800 head and VT cab. No pedals. The guitar contains an internal boost for solos. Toody plays her equally ‘loved’ Vox Wyman bass back through an Ampeg head and VT cab. See a trio of crappy iPhone shots from the show after the jump!

The guys in Tantric paid a visit to the Houston area last Saturday night and blew the roof off of Clear Lake’s Scout Bar. The Kentucky-based five-piece, touring the country promoting their new album Mind Control, proved once again – like the great show at Scout Bar last year – they can bring it! Mind Control, a 12-track offering produced by former Virgos/Dark New Day frontman Brett Hestla, was released last month on Silent Majority Group. The album is heavier than their last (The End Begins)… and that’s by design. The band calls it ‘angrier’… and the Scout Bar crowd ate it up.

J Mascis brought his wall of sound and the rest of Dinosaur Jr to Oslo, Norway this weekend in support of the band’s new album – Farm. The show was a short, but raucous affair with the band covering a lot of common ground spanning its quarter century plus career. The band did little interaction with the enthusiastic Norwegian crowd, tossing out the odd ‘thank you’ before plunging into the next buzzing, melodic gem. It didn’t seem to phase the near capacity crowd at Rockefeller, which responded most favorably to the trip down grunge’s memory lane.