Daniel Johnston and the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, in New York for David Bowie’s High Line Festival, both happen to be playing shows in Greenpoint tonight. Johnston is at an old Polish ballroom/club house, Warsaw at the Polish National Home, and the Ledge is at the Polish disco Europa. A Texas grotesque myself, I’ll attest that it isn’t often that you see this caliber of ambassadors of our state’s weirdness playing shows down the street from one another… even at home.

The last time I saw Johnston live he put on the most boring show I’ve ever seen himm do with a really mediocre band in front of a brand new super-square audience who I’d bet my old cassette of Hi How Are You were attracted by a Sony Classics documentary about his extraordinary life that was as aesthetically corny as it was popular. Outside of the singer/songwriter’s recent flirtation with Nazi-ism, there hasn’t been much interesting activity from either the man or his music for around fifteen years.

Hence, I’m hedging all of my bets tonight on a rare New York performance by the enigmatic and seldom-touring Ledge. You can read why in greater depth here.

Speaking of musical oddities from my native state, a little bird outside by my window told me that Roky Erickson, who’s exquisite voice has hardly lost a nuance, and whose band has jammed both econo and heavy the last couple of time I saw him, will be playing a free Battery Park show this summer with the less-eccentric Texas legend Alejandro Escavedo.