Austinist Weekend Music Preview: Mason Jennings, Pong, and a Couple of Tribute Shows!
Jennings was recently in Austin for SXSW and shares his experiences via his MySpace page blog, saying, “I went to SXSW and had a different style of fun. It was great to see old friends as well as to meet new ones. I had the honor of being a part of the “Body Of War” show that Iraq veteran Thomas Young put on to bring awareness to his new movie about Iraq. Tom Morello asked me to come sing “This Land Is Your Land” with Serj Tankian and Billy Bragg. I recommend checking out the movie and the soundtrack. I also got to check out fantastic sets by Kimya Dawson (who is so wonderful), She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward’s new project whose songs have been dancing in my heart), and a bunch of other great artists. It was a great time! I am grateful for tortilla chips.”
Head on down to La Zona Rosa on Friday to take in Jennings’ easy-on-the-ears compositions; Brett Dennen and Missy Higgins open.
Dirty Bradley Productions, Cafe Mundi, and East Side Pies bring us Pong’s barmy electro-pop concoctions at The Parish, also on Friday. If you have never seen this veteran Austin act in concert before, we highly recommend their somewhat eccentric but always entertaining set. The exhilarating, experimental live show of Cry Blood Apache (Northern Travelers EP review) can be witnessed twice this weekend. The trio tears down Hole in the Wall on Friday with able support from Attack Formation and Transmography before opening up for Haunting Oboe Music and Red Leaves (CD Release) at Emo’s (Inside).
Other Friday night highlights include Tia Carrera at Emo’s (Inside), DubNautica at Elysium, Grand Champeen at Room 710, and Prince Klassen at Beauty Bar.
DJ Mel and The KNUX at Beauty Bar, and The Lonesome Heroes (CD Release) and Li’l Cap’n Travis at Scoot Inn are some choice selections for a Saturday night out on town. Faceless Werewolves at Lamberts, Chris Boehk at Hole in the Wall, Supersuckers at The Parish, and The Teeners at Beerland offer further options. Meanwhile, Red Line Riot and Spoiled Royals bring the rock to Aussie's Grill & Beach Bar starting at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday; both bands are scheduled to perform two sets each. Langhorne Slim presents selections from his latest album (a self-titled effort released last month on Kemado Records) at The Mohawk with Nic Armstrong and Amy LaVere opening.
There is a tribute to Bono on the occasion of his birthday at Mother Egan’s Irish Pub with a plethora of entertainment in store -- U2 videos, DJ sets, and live performances by the likes of Glynn Wedgewood and mrandmrsmays should make for special evening as fans unite to demonstrate their appreciation of all things Bono. But if you prefer the music of Morrissey and The Smiths, then you best make your way to Club de Ville where California’s Sweet and Tender Hooligans will sift through many classics, no doubt. Per the biography on their MySpace page, “They perform music from Morrissey’s entire career both with The Smiths as well as his solo career. Occasionally, they will perform a song or two in Spanish.” And a few more interesting facts from the same bio -- “Lead singer Jose Maldonado (sometimes called "The Mexican Morrissey") appears in one of Morrissey’s videos (Austinist note -- “Irish Blood, English Heart”) and also portrayed his hero in the feature film "My Life with Morrissey".”
If you weren’t lucky enough to win a pair of tickets to the What Made Milwaukee Famous and The Whigs show at Antone’s, head down there anyway for a solid night of live music; cover at the door is $14.
Wrap up your weekend at the Scoot Inn with the latest installment of Second Sunday Sock Hop. The event’s MySpace page sums it up all too well, “A group of us get together every second Sunday of each month at a cozy little bar in East Austin called the Scoot Inn (1308 E. 4th St.) and play all of our favorite tunes from the 50's through the 70's for people to dance, drink, and socialize to. We play anything from R&B, vintage rock n' roll, doo wop, girl groups, rockabilly, garage, first wave ska, soul, and top it off with baby powder on the floor for those special moves! So next time someone asks what you're doing on the second Sunday of the month, put your index finger to those lips and quickly respond with a "Sssh!"” If you haven’t been yet, get in there this Sunday for a mighty fun time or else you’ll only have yourself to blame for that imminent case of the Mondays.
Images from MySpace / provided by entity.
