Austinist Weekend Music Preview: Ground Zero Texas festival & Manu Chao vinyl giveaway

The first annual Ground Zero Texas fest kicks off their weekend schedule of events on Thursday, with the opening ceremony at Sound On Sound Records at 6 p.m. (featuring a performance by the official GZT mascot NOBUNNY), followed by opening night action at Beerland with music from The Spits, The Wax Museums, and The Hibachi Stranglers. Denton’s The Reds will also re-unite and rock this special evening. The plethora of local and out-of-town acts playing the first year event is exciting to say the least, and founder Max Dropout deserves recognition for mustering a line-up that genuinely stays true to its punk ethics. No Hot Topic merch, no Warped Tour veterans, just plain and simple “noisy, sloppy, aggressive, and fun” punk music. Saturday features two events as well -- early at 3:30 p.m. (with “tailgating” recommended!) at the Skatepark of Austin (1615 Rutherford Lane, 78754), and of course the late show, again at Beerland with The Bad Times (featuring Jay Reatard), Tunnel Of Love, and The Barbaras on tap. On Saturday evening, Beerland hosts arguably the best line-up of the weekend with Pissed Jeans and Total Abuse providing the punk n’ roll, while the event wraps up on Sunday with an all day bash at the same venue (with free BBQ!) Music from The Hex Dispensers and The Pepperonis sandwich the nine hour final day showcase featuring a very special guest at 1 a.m. after The Hex Dispensers’ set. There is also a host of day shows and after parties with bands such as Black Power In Veitnam, The Teeners, and Snake Apartment promising to bring the noise at these shindigs. We could definitely use a Band Slam! this weekend!

Check out the rest of this weekend's quality gigs, and enter to win Manu Chao’s La Radiolina on vinyl, after the jump.

Two events worth noting for Thursday evening are the formerly postponed Casino El Camino Thirteenth Anniversary Party (with The Golden Boys and Ripe) while Brian Keane and Rachel Loy’s Farewell Jam is scheduled at The Continental Club. Keane and Loy are moving to Nashville and this special show will feature jam sessions with some of their local musician buddies, including Suzanna Choffel and Guy Forsyth.

Legendary noise brokers Dinosaur Jr. take the stage at Emo’s (outside) on Friday with local pop connoisseurs Grand Champeen assisting. Emo’s smaller stages are also on full display with Manejo Beto conjuring up latin infused new-wave offerings at the Lounge (Manejo Beto Le Diamant Brut) and iKiLLCaRs presenting their versatile rock sounds on the inside stage. Another multi-talented rock act from town, White Denim tear up The Mohawk with Corto Maltese and The Carrots on the special occasion of Strut’s Christmas Party. The latest installment of The Karaoke Apocalypse also takes place this Friday at the Hole In The Wall. This is your chance to take the mic and sing your favorite tunes with a rocking band (TheDeadMotleySexMaidens) backing you up. Belt out some Pet Benatar or Iron Maiden and feel like a rock star, all for an affordable $5. Lastly, Rio Rita Cafe y Cantina and Rock-A-Round Entertainment host the Ready Steady Go! “retro dance party” with beats furnished by DJ Mike Hooker, Shorty Stump, The Lollipop Shoppe, and Scotty Upton, and entertainment courtesy of The Ready Steady Go-Go Girls. Mod or retro outfits are recommended big time!

Start off Saturday at 6 p.m. at End of an Ear with the eclectic sounds of The Weird Weeds. Flipnotics hosts the soothing harmonies of Dana Falconberry at 9 p.m. For the late hours, choose from a wide variety of local music to end your Saturday night. Besides the final Clap!Clap! show, and (the Austinist sponsored) Milk featuring music by Black Joe Lewis and The RX Family (along with DJ Orion and Abominatron), there’s a host of gifted acts playing all over the city. Chillin’ in Hyde Park? Have a slice of pizza and a pint of beer at The Parlor with the intriguingly named Count Dracula’s Weed Smuggling Jam Engine. Down south? Trophy’s provides explosive jam sessions and medleys courtesy of Muchos Backflips!. Or stick around downtown either with the hard rockin’ guitar blitz of Broken Teeth at Room 710 or the Dazzling King Solomon Band’s retro flavored servings at Club DeVille.

And a special giveaway this weekend! Our friends at Nacional Records are giving away two limited edition vinyl copies of Manu Chao’s La Radiolina. Enter below for your chance to score the sweet prize:
This contest is closed - congrats to our winners!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By adi anand in Arts & Entertainment, Other on December 6, 2007 1:02 PM 0 Comments

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Joel Nihlean

Jay Reatard is so damn rad...

adi

i will try and do a better job of organizing the post going forward, thanks for the feedback!

but check out the IST list always for a line-up of fun stuff!