Austinist Midweek Show Jumpstart: Shearwater, Hole In the Wall 34th Anniversary, Busdriver, The Crack Pipes

On this day in music history, David Bowie released the "Space Oddity" single to coincide with humankind's first lunar landing. And now, onward! Here's your Midweek Show Jumpstart:

Did you know? Certain breeds of the shearwater, an ocean-faring bird and namesake of Austin's Shearwater, will travel 14,000 kilometers from their homes in search of food? This afternoon, Shearwater glides into Waterloo Records for a free, in-store performance at 5:00 p.m. Afterward, the band will travel thousands upon thousands of kilometers from its home on a nationwide tour in support of their latest release, Rook, which has already garnered strong reviews from critics. Just this morning, frontman Jonathan Meiburg was over at KUT performing a few songs and talking about crocodile trapping. Check it out here.

This weekend, the Hole in the Wall celebrates its 34th Anniversary with three (3) nights of free shows, starting Thursday and ending Saturday. Highlights include Haunting Oboe Music on Thursday and Chris Brecht on Saturday. Hole in the Wall has changed its layout a bit in recent years by making a portion of the venue open-air, making it more comfortable for all. If you haven't been in a while, you'll also be surprised by the new stage in the back room, providing performers with quite a bit more breathing room than the front window corner used to. Get on out there and support one of Austin's oldest music venues, and don't forget to tip your bartenders and waitstaff!

This Saturday, category and genre-defying hiphop extraordinaire Busdriver hits a special Austin date at The Mohawk with some fresh messy jams. In the words of Busdriver himself: "In the mid and late '90s, Austin became known as our safe haven ... I need to keep the idea of Austin in tact, for my own well-being it seems. Old fans, neophytes, idle listeners and all, show yourselves when we roll through. I promise to revive the old Afterlifer ethic for an evening.". Doors are at 8:00 p.m.

Also this Saturday: A celebration of blues legend Howlin' Wolf's birthday at Beerland, featuring Bigfoot Chester and Austin garage rock legends The Crack Pipes. According to Beerland's MySpace, the show begins at 7:00 p.m. (that's early for a Saturday night in Austin), so roll out before the sun goes down to take in some cheap Lone Stars and covers of everyone's favorite loudmouthed Mississippi bluesman.