Austinist Show Preview: Danielson & Cryptacize at the Mohawk (Early Show!)

We must admit we're impatient and almost painfully curious to see what the fabulous Jersey-nutsos Danielson whip up at the Mohawk this evening. After all, the act has always leaned towards the cultish side, what with everyone taking the last name of lead singer (preacher?) Daniel Smith, whether related to him or not, their regularly matching uniforms, their Sunday school-esque sing-alongs, their in-your-face religiosity, the glassy-eyed what's-in-the-punch joy of it all...when you put all it together, along with the fact that they just released Trying Hartz, a two disc compendium of their back catalog—music that predates their stunning 2006 real world breakthrough album, Ships—it seems like a spectacle far too entrancing to miss, and all of it starting bright and early with doors at 7. Just make sure to bundle up, because it's outside and, if you haven't noticed, outside isn't Texas anymore.

Opening up is a band approved by the now mysteriously non-ubiquitous Sufjan Stevens (only 48 states to go!), Oakland's Cryptacize, a surprisingly spare sounding folky brand of tunery that seems at first glance a strange fit on the oft-overblown Asthmatic Kitty label. Stevens' precocious praise of the trio garnered the band plenty of blogger buzz back in the early summer, but that's cooled off a smidge and now it's time to see if the act can hold up on its own. Early returns say their fragile sounding gentle-pop elicits smiles, but we'll have to see for our own grumpy selves.

And super-duper opening up, probably at the ungodly hour of 8 p.m. or so, is Austin's Loxsly, a somewhat melodramatic take on straightforward indie. Their sound leans towards the dark and/or towards the angsty, but the more buoyant of their tunes gets that foot tapping in that pleasant way that a foot can tap. Toss them on the stage for a solid warm-up, add a side salad of Cryptacize, and top it with what is sure to be a Danielson act ranging anywhere from interesting, to excellent, to flat-out creepy and it's worth hitting downtown early. And then, of course, sticking around gets you Marnie Stern, and that, as you surely know, ain't so bad either.