Austinist Weekend Music Preview: Ethan, Rosa, & Mötley Crüe

Kick off your weekend at End of An Ear with Ethan, Master of the Hawaiian Ukele's (Le Diamant Brut) poignant tales at 6 p.m. Light-hearted ditties like “If You’re Acting Like A Baby (How’re You Gonna Be Her Man)?” and “Out Of A Rut” are just two of the aural delights that can be found on his record, So Real. He plays another set at the 21st St. Co-op at 9 p.m. For late evening activities away from downtown proper, the United States Art Authority offers up 60’s style psychedelic folk from Brothers and Sisters along with a set by Love lovers Forever Changes. Headdress and Poor People round off this eclectic bill. The Continental Club is home to the wacky compositions of Pong and The Horsies while Cactus Cafe hosts veteran singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked. Southern rock, blues 'n metal from Amplified Heat at Trophy’s is another alternative.

And what’s up with The Mohawk this weekend? Stellar back to back line-ups this Friday and Saturday may cause us to bring in some sleeping bags for an impromptu weekend slumber party in their much improved, extremely comfortable green room. Especially if breakfast tacos are made available and tomahawks (the drink, not the axe) are free-flowing. On Friday, Elephant 6 offspring Elf Power and local electro-pop outfit Belaire headline the inside and outside stage respectively. Masonic, Loxsly, The Black and White Years, and Yellow Fever complete the line-up at the venue this night. All in all it promises to be a special evening. But perhaps not as special as Saturday night when local booking goddess Rosa Madriz (Green Potato Ventures) celebrates her birthday with entertainment from the likes of Til We’re Blue Or Destroy, Golden Bear, The Bronze Age, and Frank Smith.

Image from Artoprium Roving Festival’s MySpace

Although we could not obtain comprehensive details, Beerland is having a “battle of the bands” of some kind with The Teeners vs. The Shitty Beach Boys being one of the intriguing match-ups. Some other choice picks for Friday night include Diagonals and Attack Formation at Emo’s Inside, and Crash Gallery and Sputnick Monroe at Emo’s Lounge. Prince Klassen brings the beats to Beauty Bar with live performances by Pataphysics, Shapes Have Fangs, and Basic also on the schedule. Klassen’s latest mix is set to be featured on Spank Rock’s Fully Fitted blog but no need to wait on that when you can check it out here. Ume and La Snacks fuel the Friday night fire at Club de Ville with strong doses of energetic rock n’ roll. The former’s powerful, noisy sets are a must for fans of Sonic Youth and the like, while the latter just recorded a new EP titled Newfangled, due in late August. La Snacks is also curating the Connect The Dots Festival at The Vortex in Beaumont on August 22nd and 23rd. Red 7 presents Texas Hardcore: The Way It Is Fest on Friday and Saturday -- featured acts include Career Criminal, Total Abuse, Mammoth Grinder, Neighborhood Villain, and Complete Control. Broken Teeth rocks the outside stage at the venue on Friday as well.

Emo’s counters Red 7, Beerland, and The Mohawk’s offerings with a pop-fest of sorts on Saturday -- Kissinger celebrate the release of their latest record Underwater at the Lounge while Dynamite Boy re-unite on the outside stage in support of their new, digital album Time Flies. Cruiserweight and Born To Lose ready the attendees with jolts of melodious pop-punk.

Image from Dans La Lune’s MySpace

If Eeyore’s Birthday Party (45th edition!) at Pease Park gets too boring for you, make your way to the Pearl St. Co-op for Love In 2 presented by the Artoprium Roving Festival for live music, belly dancing, body painting, and what not. Per their MySpace, “Starting out in Austin, Texas, Artopium's Roving Festival is the coming together of many new and unique artists featured on Artopium.com to perform and create art together. Witness live art being created by the artists on the spot while listening to some of the hottest new sounds performed by a myriad of up-and-coming local bands and musicians. Be prepared to see crazy new fashions designed by local fashion designers and many screenings of film shorts and trailers by local filmmakers. And all in one place!” The shindig kicks off at 2 p.m. and is scheduled to last until 1 a.m; cover is $5.

The Ugly Beats at Lambert’s, DJ Mel at Beauty Bar, The Crack Pipes at Beerland, Cry Blood Apache at the Broken Neck, Foot Patrol at Victory Grill, Dans La Lune at Trophy’s, and The Bulemics at Room 710 are the best of the rest of Saturday evening’s choices.

Caribou and Fuck Buttons at Emo's is a solid option for Sunday evening. Or you can go to Stubb's for Rockstar Energy Drink's Get a Life Tour where The Used and Straylight Run are two of the bands on the roster. You can enjoy live renditions of anthems like “Take It Away” and “The Taste of Ink” by The Used. The lead singer for the Utah act (and formerly Kelly Osbourne's significant other), Bert McCracken can be counted on to belt out choice lyrics such as “I guess it's ok I puked the day away” (“Buried Myself Alive”), prance around stage like a man possessed, and make plenty of small talk with the audience. Don't miss it -- get your tickets here!

P.S. Tickets to Mötley Crüe’s latest tour titled Crüe Fest are on sale now -- get ‘em via Live Nation here. Texas dates include a stop at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Selma on July 23rd. The band plans to release its ninth record Saints of Los Angeles in June -- you can check out the video for the title track on MySpace. The song boasts appearances by the singers of all the other Crüe Fest acts -- Josh Todd (Buckcherry), Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach), Chris Brown (Trapt), and James Michael ( Sixx:A.M.).

P.P.S. Don't forget to get your tickets to these fabulous concerts -- both shows are next Wednesday the 30th -- John Butler Trio at Stubb's (Tickets) & the massive Kanye West Glow in the Dark Tour that stops in at the Frank Erwin Center (Tickets).

Images from MySpace / provided by entity.

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