We’re not sure why, but at the tail end of an interview with Jason Molina of Magnolia Electric Co., Pitchfork lists the Bright Men of Learning as one of the bands that will share the stage with Molina and Co. on their fall tour. This marks our first mention in the biggest indie rock Webzine in teh w0rld.

If you read my last post announcing the show on Sunday, then you know it’s true. We are indeed opening for Magnolia Electric Co. at Rudz. But Pitchfork doesn’t typically list every little known local band that gets added to the bill of a national tour. We suspect our sweet Pitchfork mention is the work of the nice guys at Kork Agency, who booked us for the show. Houston locals Erik Carter and Jonathan Frye helm the agency’s Texas branch. Kork has an impressive roster of indie rock’s leading lights. We’re not among their clients (the idea of us touring is truly hilarious), but we’re happy for whatever modest publicity we can get. 

It has been forever + a very long time since we’ve played a show. But we have a good reason. During our long absence, I’ve managed to graduate from law school, take the Texas Bar Exam, spend two celebratory weeks in Spain, and start a new job. No, I don’t have the results from the Bar exam (that comes in November). But, we do have a very fine show coming up this weekend.

We’d like you to come.

Frankly we couldn’t have picked a better show for our autumnal return to the stage. We’re excited to be opening for Magnolia Electric Co., featuring the super-gifted songwriter Jason Molina.

Savvy fans probably remember Molina’s pre-name change group, Songs: Ohia. Same difference, really. Molina’s been operating according to the same desolate western muse for some years now. Here’s a snippet from Pitchfork’s review of his latest:

Molina’s view of the country has more in common with Dust Bowl itinerants or even nineteenth-century landscape painters than with most current touring acts. Sojourner is his largest canvas yet, and perhaps his most detailed and deliberate. The 4xCD/1xDVD set culls tracks from the four recording sessions that fed his 2006 album, Fading Trails, and yet, these generous odds and ends make for a better listening experience than the release for which they were intended. Perhaps it’s the length: Molina’s musings sound like products of long drives spent looking at barren scenery, and it often seems like that’s how they’re best consumed and considered. Sojourner will get you pretty far.

I’ve been a fan for as long as he’s been putting out records under all the various names, so I’m pretty damned thrilled.

If you’re a local music fan, though, you should also note that former Pop Deflation multi-instrumentalist Michael Kapinus now plays keyboards and trumpet with Magnolia Electric Co. This is a reunion of sorts for Mike and his Pop Deflation bandmate Ben Murphy, who currently plays guitar for BMOL. Longtime scenesters who witnessed the frequently amazing Pop Deflation shows are encouraged to say hi.   

Here’s the lineup for Sunday’s show at Rudz (click for teh Myspace):

BMOL - 10:30
Golden Boots - 11:30
Magnolia Electric Co. – 12:30 

Cover is $8. See you there!