Tonight: Muhammad Ali at White Swan

By Craig Hlavaty in Only In Houston, Playbill

Wed., Apr. 15 2009 @ 3:45PM

With a helluva live show and already garnering a devoted following, Muhammad Ali is knocking 'em dead left and right. (OK, we had to get the boxing reference out of the way, because as much as we tried to sidestep it, we couldn't resist.) Since releasing a split cassette with party boys Black Congress in early February, MA has been jumping on bills all over town at house parties and clubs.

When the tape hit the streets, we instantly heard in influences as heady as The Jesus Lizard, Helmet and even detected a taste of Mudhoney. John Zambrano and artist Jeff Smith create hopeful, chaotic, hooky three-minute blasts of grungy pop that wouldn't sound out of place on Nirvana's Sliver.

Check out first track "I Believe" to see what we are gushing about. Like the mannekids on Reading Rainbow used to say, "Don't take our word for it!" Now if you folks could just start spelling "Muhammad" right...

With Sohns, Finisher, Furnace and Barkus Sly & the Golden Egg, 9 p.m. tonight at the White Swan, 4419 Navigation Blvd., 713-923-2837 or www.myspace.com/whiteswanhouston.