Best Club for Local Acts

Houston has an oddly schizophrenic relationship with its local bands, showering attention and affection on a select few and all but ignoring others until they give up and move on to greener pastures. Luckily, the Continental Club is one of the few rooms in town that is not only unafraid to book Houston bands into its critical weekend-night slots, but that actually seems to prefer it. But then, when it's got a crowd-pleasing stable of talent like Blaggards, Felipe Galvan y Sus Carnales, Ryan Scroggins & the Trenchtown Texans, Disco Expressions, duneTX, John Evans, Flamin' Hellcats and the reliable happy-hour tandem of Beetle (Thursdays) and Molly & the Ringwalds (Fridays), that's not hard to imagine. Furthermore, the Continental's early weeknights are almost exclusively local bands' domain. And if there's something really special coming down the pike, like the full-orchestra re-creation of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band or the periodic "Masters of Soul" revues with the likes of Archie Bell, Roy Head and Barbara Lynn, guess where it's going to happen?