Arts & Entertainment

The album opens with a love note to the fans, which is perhaps an explanation of the self-referential title. "Wilco will love you baby," croons Tweedy as the band rolls through Verlaine-esque guitars and familiar Wilco-ishness. more ›

The 2009 Fun Fun Fun Fest is just a few months away and as always, we’ll be bringing you plenty of previews in the upcoming months, and a good amount of reviews as well once the dust settles. The fourth edition of this annual gathering of punk, hardcore, electro, hip-hop, indie-rock, and comedy will take place on November 7th and 8th at Waterloo Park and Transmission Entertainment has just revealed a few more names on this year’s line-up. more ›

Following yesterday's shocking news, Austin prepares for a Michael Jackson tribute weekend. There's no shortage of ways to remember the Man in the Mirror -- here's a few events we'll be checking out. more ›

Once upon a time a member of Deerhoof, Chris Cohen left that band and has made a new home for his sound in the poppy Cryptacize. After releasing the lovely Mythomania on Asthmatic Kitty, the band has regrouped as a four-piece and are touring in support of the album. more ›

The most recent project facilitated by testsite is Common Sense, a collaboration between venerable New York artist, Sheila Pepe, and curator of Arthouse at the Jones Center, Elizabeth Dunbar. Common Sense is an interactive installation of crocheted "networks" of yarn created by Pepe, who, throughout the show's duration, encourages visitors to deconstruct her art and incorporate her materials into their personal projects. When it was first assembled in late May, two main webs engulfed the living room and dining room of testsite in shades of green and orange. After a few open knitting sessions, the installation has no doubt changed; the exhibit's closing reception and final knitting workshop will be held this Sunday from noon-6pm. more ›

Crust punk is back in Austin tonight, with a threefer of aggressive, stinky bands aiming straight for the jugular. more ›

Daily heat indices are hitting 110+, the Austin electric grid is strained to its limits, and major cultural icons are dropping like flies. It must be time for Almost There Records to drop the newest edition of their annual local-focused Turn compilation series! It’s difficult to believe that it’s been five years since Ty Chandler founded Almost There, a local label that’s best known for the aforementioned compilation series, as well as tribute albums and hoot nights that feature local artists paying homage to legends like Paul McCartney, The Who, and Big Star. more ›

Malone’s been planning on releasing a new album for a while now and has apparently finished it, so keep a look out. He performs at dive bars, house shows and even Stubb’s inside. He’ll be playing at the latter Saturday night alongside The Eastern Sea with their haunting, melodic indie rock with the occasional sax and trombone and Jude/Ross’ melodic, Jonathan Richman-style pop. more ›

For nearly a decade, John Vanderslice has consistently accomplished the difficult task of seamlessly, and seemingly carelessly, blending the streamlined, edgy production he terms "sloppy hi-fi" with complicated lyrics expressed by cryptic characters. more ›

In Zach Scott’s biomusical Love, Janis, Janis makes sure the folks back home know she has no intention of becoming “the poor man’s Cher." This begs the audience to consider what kind of Garden Weasel churning old Pearl would be doing if she could see who passes for top female entertainers today. Hell, Janis, by way of comparison, Cher is Maria damn Callas! If you weren’t there, if you don’t know Janis Joplin’s music and story, it’s hard not to be stunned by the fact that this 23 year-old girl, without the benefit of a star machine, a manager mommy, winning a phone-in talent poll on the TV, or her own clothing line was able to ascend to the place she did and continue to be a subject of interest almost 40 years later. Love, Janis had a run in Austin originally over a decade ago and has also been successful in New York, Cleveland, and Chicago. A recent performance was impressively three-quarters full on a lovely Sunday afternoon, with an enthusiastic crowd of older people who had clearly been in their 20s at the same time Texas native Janis was. The crowd clearly indulged their catharsis. The stage is set up for a rock show with small sets to the left and right for break out vignettes. The dialogue, performed mostly by Sydney Andrews, comprises about half of the play and is taken from letters Janis wrote home and interviews she gave during her brief career. Interspersed are musical numbers, belted out with goose bump inducing grit by Andra Mitrovitch who has had the long-held honor of being the voice of Janis, performing worldwide with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Joplin’s original band. more ›

A couple of Texas’ finest homegrown talents vie for your time on Saturday evening. Take your pick from The Eastern Sea’s easy-on-the-ears indie-rock will be showcased at Stubb’s (Inside) while Ben Kweller will bring his country tinged pop songs to Emo’s (Outside). Get your tickets here for the Stubb’s show which also features sets by Danny Malone and Jude/Ross. Meanwhile, Jones Street Station and Murdocks open for Kweller at Emo’s -- tickets can be purchased here. more ›

The Nylon Summer Music Tour rolled out a quality line-up spearheaded by She Wants Revenge in 2008. This year, the series returns with Patrick Wolf as the headliner. Wolf’s unique brand of folk tinged electro-pop brings to his light his creativity as well as his talent as a multi-instrumentalist. more ›

Austin's first annual fashion week will be like no other, because it doesn't follow any rules. While New York, Milan, and Paris operate on the Fall/Spring schedule, we in the South like to see our fashion at peak season: summertime. From July 13-19, local boutiques will host weekly in-store events to showcase competing designers for the eventual Austin Fashion Awards ceremony, to be held at the Long Center on Sunday, July 19th at 5:30 p.m. more ›

Michael Jackson was rushed from a Los Angeles residence to UCLA Medical Center this afternoon, and passed away. more ›

Jean Paul Sartre's Hell is other people, but the people onstage in Carboni's production of Sartre's No Exit are less effective at creating the discomforting environment one would expect from eternal damnation than the distraction-laden Domy Books gallery, a block off the highway on East Cesar Chavez. more ›

Still lurking under the radar, Post Honeymoon are a Chicago-bred band with a sweet, but melodramatic pop sound. The love sparked between drummer Nick Kraska and keyboardist Rachel Shindelmansummer on a summer night in 2001 during a show at the Empty Bottle in Chicago. Both are former members of Bang! Bang!, New Black, but it took them three years to start playing together and three more before their shared nuptials, went on their first vacation together and started a solo project. Aptly named, their songs dictate that life after the honeymoon isn't almost so sweet. more ›

hey’re not really sad accordions. They’re more like moody guitars, or melancholic keys. But, either way this Austin five-piece’s sound is peppered with folk, indie and atmospheric noise while glistening then dripping and coated with a bittersweet emotional vapor. more ›

The Austin premiere of Touch, written by Toni Press-Coffman and directed by Susie Gidseg, is the sort of performance that raises questions for the audience. Some of them, like whether it's fair to judge a person for how he grieves, are the sort that are comfortable to ask, if a bit sad. Others—for example, whether it's fair for a male critic to be wary of a play written and directed by women that uses a female character's rape and torture to explore a man's pain&mash;are less so. more ›

Austin Shakespeare presents its inaugural "Young Shakespeare" production The Comedy of Errors from June 25- 28 at the Curtain Theatre. Comedy is Shakespeare at his farcical best. Shipwrecks, two sets of twins, love on the rocks, long-lost relatives and a few lusty wenches - what more could one ask for? more ›

Music was a big part of Doug Sahm’s life from a very early age -- he was just 11 when he not only released his first album but also had the honor of performing with the one and only Hank Williams. His esteemed career included a plethora of stellar recordings as a solo artist and with the Sir Douglas Quintet and Texas Tornados, guaranteeing his legendary status in Texas’ music history. Sahm passed away in 1999. more ›

Legendary Brooklyn MC, Blacksmith records CEO, and Ben Kweller sampler Talib Kweli rolls into Austin tonight to headline a jam-packed lineup at Emo’s. Kweli debuted in 1997, and almost immediately became an underground hero thanks to two landmark albums Rawkus albums, Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star, and Train of Thought, his collaboration with DJ Hi-Tek as Reflection Eternal. While Kweli’s solo output has been decidedly spottier, his status as a top-flight lyricist has never been questioned; what has been elusive to him is mainstream success. Although his latest LP Eardrum peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200, Kweli hasn’t yet achieved the commercial powerhouse status of a Jay-Z, Nas, or Kanye West. more ›

Veteran Austin post-rockers The Octopus Project have some exciting news - one, they've got a new EP out next month entitled Golden Beds, and two, they will further sweeten the summer with tour dates and vinyl reissues of their first two releases Identification Parade and One Ten Hundred Thousand Million. more ›

The trio of hardcore balladeers known as Double Dagger have made a big impact as of late not just in their native Baltimore, but all over (including, yes, the blogosphere) after the May release of More. more ›

For many designers and artists, typeface is an obsessive indulgence; after all, we are constantly visually inundated by the twenty six forms that make up our alphabet. An exhibit honoring the art of type is opening tonight at Domy Books. Alphabet will feature dozens of artists and their innovative interpretations of our lettering system including hand drawn illustration, experimental typography, found objects, and mixed media. Work by well known type designers including Ken Barber and Ed Fella will be joined by that of rising artists such as Hjärta Smärta and Andrew Jeffery Wright (who had a solo exhibit at Domy back in March). more ›

If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump. Photos courtesy Eric Uhlir. more ›

Lots of neat vinyl reissues this week, as well as other notable first-runs. B is for Bob comes out today, which is the first collection of Bob Marley's music to be rearranged for children. Also of note is a 7-cd Creedence Clearwater Revival box set, the first two R.E.M. albums remastered and reissued on vinyl, and much more. more ›

The Paramount continues their Depression-era comedy theme for the month with 1936's My Man Godfrey and 1937's Easy Living showing Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Both of these comedies throw everyday folk (if you can call a "forgotten man" everyday folk) into strange circumstances involving wealthy families. more ›

Did Austin music beget Austin City Limits, or vice-versa? Either way, the reputation of our city as the live music capitol would be woefully less true were it not for the thirty-plus years of ACL programming. As much as it is a staple of our music scene, the program itself is also squirrel-y and neatly secretive. It's sequestered away in the Communications building on UT's campus, and students of photojournalism intro class J316 could easily walk the building, overexposing their film and taking blurry photos without realizing history was being made below their feet. more ›

The Invincible Czars, from catchy name to daunting stage presence, are a rare breed. They bring bizarre, but methodical math-rock heavily influenced by classical music, polka, and even some country and jazz. Self-described as "a rock soundtrack to a sci-fi film with interruptions by a myriad of genres," we couldn't agree more. more ›

An aching mix of dewy and caustic, Lewis is at her best when confessional, and will certainly never suffer a shortage of idolatrous confessors. more ›

Held annual since 2006, "Can’t Stop the Serenity" is a global fundraising effort that benefits Equality Now, a nonprofit that works to end violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world. Like its name implies, the event is centered around a screening of writer/director/cult-hero Joss Whedon's sci-fi film, Serenity, which was based on the short-lived TV show, Firefly. more ›

Singer songwriter, Steve Earle performing at the Paramount Theater in Austin Texas, June 19, 2009. Due to his uncompromising songs he is known as "the hardcore troubadour". Earle performed songs from his recent tribute to his mentor, Townes Van Zandt. Photo by Steve Hopson. more ›

If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump. Photos courtesy Nari. more ›

After the dreary, drizzling Thursday, day two dawned sunny and beautiful in Toronto. Having missed the explosive rock of Austin's Ume the previous evening due to a schedule conflict, we made it a point to catch the trio's taping for a few blogs at some very interesting locations near the intersection of Spadina Ave. and College St. First up, the band performed a couple of songs in the basketball court of a nearby school, eventually amassed a crowd full of enthusiastic kids very eager to learn more about what was going on. "Who do you work for?" quipped one inquisitive girl. Another brought her guitar down to the court and started mimicking Lauren Larson's guitar chords. The boys were content in teasing their female classmates but eventually garnered enough courage to join in, dribbling the basketball in unison to the beat. more ›

"Every year, over 500 acts from around the world perform for 70,000 music fans and industry delegates at 40 clubs and outdoor stages during the four-day, four-night festival." No, it's not a SXSW marketing blurb from the early days, it's a legitimate summation of NXNE, Canada's own little festival that could. Now in its fifteenth year and much like its older counterpart in Austin, NXNE offers live performances by a fair share of underground and established musicians, tons of educational opportunities via panels, and a healthy dose of film, albeit largely music related. more ›

A few notable art exhibitions are opening this weekend, here's a rundown of the highlights. New American Talent returns to the Arthouse with its twenty-fourth annual juired exhibit. NAT:24 has been juried by Hamza Walker, the Curator and Director of Education for the Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago; he will be at the museum on Saturday at 3pm for a discussion about the latest exhibit. Past New American Talent exhibitions have featured emerging contemporary artists with work in a variety of mediums. Out of the twenty six artists selected to be in this year's show, twelve live and work in Texas. Admission to the talk and the Arthouse is free. New American Talent: 24 runs through August 23. more ›

Lest this come off as a negative review, let’s get a few things straight up front about Capital T Theatre’s production of Killer Joe, currently playing at Hyde Park Theatre. The acting is across the board spot-on. The set, co-designed by Mark Pickell and Tommy Grubbs, is nothing short of spectacular in its authentic, exquisite disgustingness. And Pickell, who also directs, is clearly a man who understands timing, suspense, and recognizes that kid gloves have no place in the staging of this piece. That said, a warning to the faint of heart, past victims of violent crimes, and sufferers of PTSD: you might be better off going to see a matinee screening of UP. Because Killer Joe is, even in its lightest moments, about as light as a pile of bricks buried under a slurry mound of wet cement. And then, as the plot thickens, so, too, does the concrete, until you feel your innards tighten and your organs harden at the spectacle before your eyes. It’s like somebody took MacBeth, All in the Family, and Sylvia Plath, tossed them in a blender, and splattered them inside a beat to fuck trailer out in Dallas County. more ›

Who wouldn’t want to follow Burt (John Krasinski) down the path that is Away We Go, as he and his pregnant girlfriend Verona (Maya Rudolph) take planes, trains and automobiles to visit friends and family searching for a place to raise their baby, and figuring out what life and love are all about, laughing and crying all along the way. more ›

Anyone who's ever seen Sunset Rubdown live knows that Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Swan Lake, every other band you've ever heard of) and crew's mythological, circuitous, and, hell, even byzantine, song structures and brain-busting neuroses play in concert pretty damn well. The last time the Canadian crew did the Mohawk was at an ACL aftershow, and the stoic professionalism and understatement of the band's between-songs approach made all the more stirring the precision execution of their songs, which, in any form, classify as nearly literary in their depth...pretty much, these people are a hair on the smart side, but you wouldn't know it when watching the intensity they pump into their performance. Toss in the fact that they are supporting the newly-released Dragon Slayer, a raw and complex (though less complex than its predecessor, the brutally excellent Random Spirit Lover) peak into one of music's most stunning minds, and Saturday's set at the Mohawk looks to be a standout in what has been an excellent week for concert-goers. more ›

Tuesday night at the KLRU studios saw the Austin City Limits debuts of Esperanza Spalding and Madeleine Peyroux. These two strong and distinct female voices both pulled off gorgeous and evocative performances worthy of the show. However, one outshined the other. more ›

Hit up the Alamo Drafthouse this Sunday for a Father's Day Feast while watching Wes Anderson's dysfunctional family masterpiece, The Royal Tenenbaums. Sure, Royal might be a shitty dad. Okay, maybe he's an asshole and has disappeared for several years. And, true, he fakes his death to force his family closer together. But whatever, it'll just bring you and your dear ol' dad closer together as you can say, relatively, "You are such a great dad, Dad!" more ›

Oh, St. Vincent, how much more talented you seem to be with every passing month. As if your debut album, Marry Me, weren't enough to elicit the swooning of every pasty-faced hipster boy this great nation has to offer, you had to bust loose and break it down with Actor, an album that is harder, more damaged, more demanding, and just plain more rocking than what we'd ever expect. So here's our chance to show our appreciation: tonight, when you'll be ripping your guitar to pieces and embodying a slew of made-up characters all public-style at the Mohawk, where the crowd is sure to be attentive and engaged, and where you'll surely continue building your case as one of music's true up-and-coming dynamos, we can display our gratitude. We mean, what better way to end this American tour, right in Texas where you grew up? There, we can even wish you good luck for your next gig: your NETWORK TELEVISION DEBUT on Letterman this coming Wednesday. more ›

Pairing local music with a good local cause seems like a good way to increase support in the community for a project or event. That’s exactly what The Will Evans Project ,a band who are no strangers to blending their music with a good cause, are doing for their CD release party Saturday at The Belmont. This eclectic Austin rock group who blend soul, blues and experimentalism into a sonically potent mix is releasing their debut studio full length, Planténga, with a portion of the evening’s proceeds benefiting Grounded in Music, which is a program bringing music education to kids. Opening the show is native Nigerian folk rocker Kalu James and the pop rock of Love at War. more ›

You already know the great Steve Earle, who just released his tribute to Townes Van Zandt with Townes. Earle is performing at The Paramount this evening, and relative newbie Joe Pug will open. Click through the jump to win tickets! more ›

This Friday at midnight, the Alamo North hosts a free screening of The Bloody Fists aka Deadly Buddhist Raiders or Death Beach (hard to decide which is a better name). more ›

The Meat Puppets, currently comprised of Curt and Cris Kirkwood and Ted Marcus, have been churning out stellar rock albums for almost three decades. Inspired by punk and hardcore, the brothers Kirkwood formed the band in 1980 in Phoenix with Derrick Bostrom on drums and dropped the In A Car EP on World Imitation a year later. Greg Ginn (Black Flag) took a fancy to the band’s sound and signed them to his label, SST Records. The first six Meat Puppets full-lengths and the Out My Way EP were all released on SST; In A Car was re-released by the California based label in 1985. more ›

You know what’s fun? Movies. About food. With painted up dwarves. And young comedians in purple coats. Under the stars. Sounds like a perfect Friday night, right? Well, we’ve got your golden ticket for this Friday, June 19th—the Alamo Drafthouse and Whole Foods present Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory outdoors, on the roof of their flagship store at 6th and Lamar. more ›

Rarely these days is a jazz musician able to puncture the mainstream and even make a dent in contemporary music outside of music schools and dank jazz clubs serving gin and tonics and unfiltered ‘cool’ by the glass. But, there is a small niche of young jazz artists around these days who are keeping the music alive and in some cases taking it places the old guard never did. Christian Scott is a trumpeter from New Orleans who graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2004 and has since released two full-length recordings and a live CD/DVD from his performance at the 2008 Newport Jazz Fest. more ›

KGSR's Blues on the Green 2009, Week 2 with Cyril Neville and Tribe 13. Photos by Steve Hopson. more ›

his old band (who performed at Coachella and released a new album last year) and a habit of late which involves appearing onstage with Trent Reznor at nine inch nails shows. more ›

Proving that not everyone is letting the ungodly summer heat slow them down, the Blanton Museum of Art and the Austin Film Festival are teaming up to present the New Directions Film Series, which will feature the intelligent voices of emerging independent filmmakers. The five chosen films will screen at the Blanton on Third Thursdays and a few selected Sundays from now until July 19. Kicking off the indie fun is Gretchen, the story of an awkward 17-year-old trying to survive the indignities of adolescence. more ›

Red Collar has been rocking the pants off concertgoers in North Carolina for a few years now. Tonight, you too can get a taste of the Durham outfit’s frenetic live show. more ›

While righteous indignation can certainly feel good from time to time, it is not necessarily the most attractive or productive posture to take in all cases, especially when you aren't privy to all of the facts and context that surround a situation. Instead of pulling out our ole' jump-to-conclusions mat, perhaps the better reaction to would be to stop feeling like some injustice is being perpetrated on our community by horrible dictators and just take a deep breath already. In an open letter to the Austin community, Richard Linklater reminds us all to do just that, dispelling some of the recent gossip around what is happening at Austin Studios, and what it all means for Austin's film community. We're sure that any decisions made regarding the future of Austin Studios' tenant pool are carefully considered and if you wish to be more involved in the process, you should attend the open forum to discuss the pending new tenant, Soundcheck Austin, on June 25th at 11am. more ›

Buddy Holly, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Janis Joplin, Townes Van Zandt, Roky Erickson, ZZ Top, Spoon, the list is endless. Texas has nurtured plenty of legendary musicians over the course of the century and it could be argued that Powell St. John merits a mention in the annals of state’s esteemed music history for his songwriting alone. He has penned a number of ditties for the 13th Floor Elevators and many of his songs have been covered by the likes of Joplin, Erickson, Doug Sahm, and Boz Scaggs. A prodigious harmonica player, St. John was inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame in 2005 during SXSW; and while he was in town, he recorded Right Track Now, his first solo disc containing new material as well as a few gems he had written in the past. more ›

At 18, Wimberley native Sarah Jarosz is already a veteran of the modern bluegrass and Americana scenes. She’s been riding the festival circuit since the age of 12, and listening to her debut album Song Up In Her Head, you get the sense that Jarosz is well on her way to developing into a serious force as a songwriter and performer. A testament to this is that, while somewhat uncommon for such a young artist, the record is comprised of 11 strong original songs that sit comfortably beside impeccably performed covers of tunes by Tom Waits and Colin Meloy. more ›

Sally Jacques, visionary dynamo behind Blue Lapis Light, is at it again. more ›

Photos courtesy Chad Wadsworth. more ›

They’ve started a major summer tour, The Album is set to drop in just a few days and they’ve released an engaging and enjoyable DVD of live concert footage and behind the scenes band interaction. Wilco is on a roll, people, and if you’re really excited about that, then you belong at the Lake Creek Alamo on Thursday night. more ›

Tonight and tomorrow night, the Paramount Theater will be screening two classic favorites starring Cary Grant: 1940's The Philadelphia Story and 1937's The Awful Truth. Both films feature Grant as a wealthy divorcee and both are certain to make you laugh. more ›

All photos courtesy Eric Uhlir. more ›

Sadly, the Dark Horse still hasn't received a proper collection of his work. This album (one of a string of half-hearted EMI releases) includes a handful of songs considered by many to be some of his greatest, but offers them as "2009 digitally remastered" versions that either a) poop on the Spector-produced originals or b) poop on the Harrison-produced versions. more ›

The doe-eyed foursome of Ed Droste, Daniel Rossen, Christopher Bear, and Chris Taylor, better known as Grizzly Bear, have been on nothing less than a carnivorous rampage (haha, get it, BEARS) ever since their sophomore album, 2006's Yellow House, slowly but surely worked its way onto a bevy of best-o'-year lists. And when the band made the ballsy move of debuting an as-yet-unheard "Two Weeks" on Letterman last July, the anticipation for a third album reached absolutely fawning proportions. more ›

World music icon Goran Bregovic is making a stop in Austin this week during his eight-city tour of the United States. We're giving away tickets for Wednesday's show . . . try your luck by filling in the form here. more ›

Seattle's Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band will be stopping by The Mohawk tonight as part of their tour of their summer tour. more ›

Glasgow's Camera Obscura are about as pretty a pop band as one is ever likely to encounter. The "moods" column on AllMusic.com's review of their latest album is comically accurate: "warm, stylish, springlike, sophisticated, soothing, pastoral, lush, and innocent." The band have been honing a sound that mixes a love of Phil Spector production and Belle and Sebastian twee for nearly fourteen years, and have quietly become one of the most reliable indie-pop acts out there in terms of consistency and quality. more ›

Audacious and lovely, Santigold has stepped to the forefront of the electro-rap following amoung us. With somewhat of an identity crisis in media coverage, let the debate be settled. She was originally called Santgold—hence her debut album title—but has officially changed to Santigold. The "o" was dropped after she was sued by film maker by the name of Santo Gold. No biggie, the new moniker more closely resembles her birth name, Santi White, anyway. Formerly the singer of punk band Stiffed, she has waned far away from her ska roots, but holds on to the funkiness and originality. more ›

White Rabbits will be performing on the inside stage with The Subjects and The Boxing Lesson. Also a New York band, The Subjects say they're "like Nickelback but less ballsy," but in reality the music is closer to the quirky rock of their Brooklyn ilk. Hardworking locals The Boxing Lesson (who cover "White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane...coincidence?) will also perform. more ›

Austinist is proud to announce a new concert series showcasing local talent, appropriately titled the New Music Discovery Series, and is kicking off its inauguration at Stubb's inside with Ringo Deathstarr and True Widow. more ›

What’s the Deal: It almost doesn’t make sense. This guy should be a huge mainstream success. He’s played with John Mayer and David Gray, and he even shares the melodically raspy vocal style of the former. His recordings are near spotless, with gorgeous acoustics and catchy choruses. It’s got to be his total lack of interest in writing meaningless, rhyming lyrics for the club about a girl and how her body is a “wonderland” Instead, his songs, which stay true to the storytelling style of folk songwriting, involve subject matter that’s much more serious and at times pretty dark. He sings about the Iraq war, his brother’s drug addiction, cancer, vengeance and even the Holocaust. There’s a definite dichotomy of light and dark, heavy and weightless going on in his music. The words are weighty, the sounds are airy. He sings some about God and an afterlife, but with a certain amount of fear, honesty and vulnerability. The self-destructive and fragile nature of the human condition is a major theme. more ›

GadjoDisko, our favorite “Eastern Bloc Party” in town returns this Saturday to furnish Club Cockpit with a wide variety of music from quite a few different parts of the world. Expect to hear diverse genres including Immigrant Punk, Balkan Beats, Funk Carioca / Favela Funk, Slavic Hip-Hop, Ghettotech, Diskoteka, Ethnotechno, and Electrochalga at this veritable dance party. Whew! Yeah, we had to Wikipedia a couple of those! The list of entertainers is quite extensive -- the dancers known as the Brass Ovaries will be performing some amazing feats on the poles while live music will be provided by Beauty Queens of Chernobyl featuring Mistress Stephanie (of Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat) and Christeene Vale. And as intriguing and eclectic these performances might be, Angeliska Polacheck (one of GadjoDisko’s organizers) informs us that they will be short ‘n’ sweet since the main purpose of the night is to get everyone moving on the dance floor to DJ Chicken Kiev’s endless beats. GadjoDisko’s resident DJ will be spinning music from all over the globe throughout the evening and apparently has a hankering for Eurodisko at the moment. We sure hope to hear some Boney M. classics. more ›

The cast of Annie, which played last weekend at Bass Concert Hall had the proverbial big shoes to fill. For the most part they succeeded admirably and the overall performance experience was one not to forget. more ›

Despite the bluntly, perhaps cynically attention-grabbing name, Holy Fuck have earned their position by figuring out what hasn't been done before and doing it very well. more ›

Focusing specifically on Austin’s fashion community this year, local bear designers include Estilo, Peyton’s Place, Valentine’s Too, By George, Underwear, Blue Elephant, Hem, Strut, Wish, Mercury Design Studio, Luxe Apothetique, Kendra Scott, Lance Avery Morgan, C. Jane, Kick Pleat, Lindsey White for Cream Vintage, Bill Peck for Patricia Wolfe, Baby Coco and Austin Baby. Local emcee Mandy Lauderdale will serve as auctioneer, and Beaux Loy will provide the tunes. Complimentary food and cocktails will also be served - so be sure to drink up and spend, spend, spend! more ›

Gender lines will be blurred, sexual references both obvious and indirect will be tossed, and bold electronic pop will pump and throb from the speakers of Emo’s outside Thursday as Peaches (aka Merrill Nisker) and her backing band Sweet Machine make blood pressures rise throughout the eager, dancing crowd. Expect high energy sometimes compelling Peaches to ride a giant phallus into the crowd while rocking wild and sexy, tight outfits of leather and spandex. Her songs will leave you with a feeling of sexual liberation that no conservative, family values organization can shake. more ›

Les Claypool photos by Arnold Wells; Matisyahu and Austin Music Hall photos by Steve Hopson. more ›

But compared to Arcade Fire’s thunderous aspirations, Clues seems happily intent on a tempest-in-teapot sound that is refreshing in an era chock full of bands bent on sounding bigger than they really are by at least two members. It’s clear that the eccentric charm of the Montreal rock scene and its gifted musicians are going to just keep giving. more ›

Extreme emo experimentalism on the left, post-punk prom ballads on the right. more ›

Whether you’re a longtime Austinite with many years of “it was much cooler back in the day” to speak of, or you’ve just moved here to join the beardeoisie, you probably have some film school friends who love the Coen brothers. From the whip-smart pacing and whacked-out dialog of Raising Arizona to the intense emotion and sheer badass-ness of No Country for Old Men, these guys have become film legends. more ›

Photos courtesy Pooneh Ghana. more ›

Photos courtesy Pooneh Ghana. more ›

Legendary NYC band Sonic Youth dropped The Eternal (their 16th studio album) on Matador Records today. We’re guessing that you’re not going to make it to the band’s official release event in California but fear not because Matador, Waterloo Records, and yours truly are proud to present The Eternal - Austin: A Sonic Youth Release Party here in town at The Mohawk. Join us from 5 to 8 p.m. this evening to listen to the new record while taking advantage of some recession-friendly drink specials at the bar. We’ll be giving away a couple of copies of The Eternal; a DJ set by Gerard Cosloy (Air Traffic Controllers) is also on the schedule. And since you’re going to love the album oh so much, Waterloo Records will be on hand to allow you to purchase the CD and LP instantly. more ›

Much to our delight, L.A.’s Little Joy, a band who are casually referred to as a Strokes side project but are truly so much more, return to Austin tonight to help brighten up your Monday evening. They’ll be on hand to help break in our fair city's newest venue, the Independent at 501 studios (here’s what we had to say about the new club back in May). The L.A. trio, which features Los Hermanos’ Rodrigo Amarante - Little Joy’s principal songwriter and lead singer - multi-instrumentalist Binki Shapiro, and Strokes’ drummer Fabrizio Moretti, played an exuberant and absolutely charming set of their breezy, MPB-inflected, Strokes-esque tunes at the Parish Room in November. Expect more of the same tonight, as it should be a perfect early summer show augmented by the Independent’s intimate space. more ›

Drag City darling Will Oldham, aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, performed Friday evening at the Mohawk with Neil Hagerty's Howling Hex. Mixing old ("New Partner") and new tunes, Oldham wowed the sold-out crowd with a two hour set. Photos courtesy Nash Cook. more ›

This weekend, June 5-7 at 8pm, Annie appears at the Bass Concert Hall. Part of the Broadway Across America series, this is the 30th anniversary tour of a production that took home the Tony for Best Musical in 1977 and earned a nomination for Revival in 1997. more ›

Washington state’s Wolves in the Throne Room are somewhat of an anomaly. Typically boxed into the ambient black metal sub-style of the black metal sub-genre (stay with us here), the band is one of the luminaries on the U.S. black metal landscape that’s making a conscious effort to push the boundaries of a genre that has a tendency to remain stagnant. The band incorporates an ecologically conscious worldview, not only into their music but also their lifestyle (members live on a sustainable farming compound outside of Olympia that they call “Calliope”), and an emphasis on catharsis and spiritual well-being rather than black metal’s more traditional nihilism and misanthropy. more ›

Laid-back, absurdist stoner comedy may appear to have reached its apex during Mitch Hedberg's all-to-brief tenure on this planet, but that doesn't mean that there aren't still trailblazers out there working in the medium. While Daily Show contributor Demetri Martin has recently scored a TV show where he showcases his approach, Chicago's Hannibal Buress is still out working the clubs, bringing weird-ass jokes constructed on premises that just shouldn't work to audiences every night, and twice on weekends. more ›

Au Revoir Simone’s signature sound is created with three vintage Casios, a drum machine, and silky vocals producing melancholy yet frank harmonies. All of these sound wrapped in gauze, creating the effect of an impressionist statement in which, despite the almost military crispness of their lyrics, there are no sharp edges to be found. more ›

All photos courtesy of Nari. more ›

During SXSW, Passion Pit were the last featured performance during an outdoor party that also included beloved and established acts including The Wrens and Daniel Johnston. more ›

Animal Collective, about as much a musical lightning rod as three chill dudes with questionable fashion taste can be, are here, tonight. With them we expect a seizure-inducing sound and light display, several stacks of synths, maybe a guitar if we're lucky, and of course the head-shaking Geologist, yelping Avey Tare, and soft-spoken Brian Wilson clone, Panda Bear. more ›

Austin's own R&B dreamboats The Strange Boys supply the perfect groove for long nights of awkward shuffling, excessive drinking and desperate sidelong glances at the object of one's affection. more ›

One half of The Gentle Guest’s songs sound like an American hobo ho-down that might go on in the very latest hours of the night after they’ve abandoned their stoops and street corners and headed down to the old railroad tracks. The songs are full of clamoring drums, tambourines, plucked and bowed stringed instruments, eerie horns, and shanty-esque group singing that sounds like a dark and folky good time. The other half of the songs are moody, acoustic pieces featuring just Eric Rykal, his voice and a guitar. more ›

This pair of Drag City folk heroes aren't the type of musicians to be taken lightly. more ›

The brothers Carney, better known as Pontiak, line The Mohawk’s walls with sludgy psychedelic soundscapes this Saturday evening. Prior to that, at 5 p.m., the trio will supply the patrons of End of an Ear with ample drone as well. Lain, Van, and Jennings were born in Virginia and moved away to Maryland where they first started playing together, only to return to their farm in Virginia to build themselves a studio. After self-releasing their early efforts, they signed on with Thrill Jockey Records in 2008. The label re-released 2007’s Sun on Sun and Pontiak followed that up with a split record (with Arbouretum) containing new material along with John Cale covers. more ›

The Austin Lyric Opera is starting a summer music series at the sprawling Italian food buffet, featuring Mezzo soprano Liz Cass, selections from Hansel and Gretel, and a host of young performers for the Armstrong Community Music School Family Music Nite. more ›

Last night, Rare Magazine celebrated at the Long Center with local bands, food and beverages from local vendors, and fireworks. Harlem, White Denim and Grupo Fantasma were on hand, as well as DJ Manny. All photos courtesy Pooneh Ghana. more ›

Faster Than the Speed of Light is a triumph on so many levels that it's more or less fair to dismiss the fact that the show's plot is almost indiscernible. more ›

Can any band compare to the New York Dolls? The Dolls combined elements of punk, glam, and ol' fashioned rock and roll - and did it all in platform shoes. The genre and gender-bending released their self-titled debut in 1973, simultaneously paving the way for the Sex Pistols and a million hairspray abusing Sunset Strip bands. more ›

Produced by Neil Diaz and NCD Resources, the show will feature apparel from local Austin designers and boutiques, including Loves, Mariessa, Pink Salon and Gallery, Renee Geneava, Ryan Nicole Vintage, Soigné, Team Fabrication, Tripp, and GAT5. Models will be strutting to music by all-girl band Tribella and DJ Prep Mode, while guests enjoy sno-cones from Frosty Slim, live screenprinting by Twin Villain, and various installations from local artists. more ›

Sir Richard Bishop has been challenging listeners to follow him on a fascinating, diabolical, and occasionally hilarious journey for nearly thirty years. First as the guitarist with experimental pranksters Sun City Girls, then through his early involvement with the superlative Sublime Frequencies label, Bishop has synthesized his wide-ranging influences, including esoteric mysticism and the occult, Hinduism, and Django Reinhardt through field recordings, solo performances, and outright psychedelic freakouts. more ›

Ozomatli live in Republic Park as part of the Solar Powered Concert Series. Photos courtesy Arnold Wells. more ›

One Community, One Pride is a fitting theme for this year’s Austin Pride, which takes place this weekend. In previous years, Equality Texas handled the Pride Festival while the Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce handled the Pride Parade. But in 2008 the two groups worked together to host the events on the same day. Further proving the efficiency of the gay community, this year’s combined event was organized by the community via the Pride Coalition, an AGLCC program that includes seven representative LGBT organizations. more ›

The University of North Texas has a world renowned music program, known primarily for their high ranking jazz program and associated bands. But while Denton has spawned many notable jazz and classical musicians, their ranks have also inspired many other acts, including the "acid-punk" band Brutal Juice, who first appeared in the early nineties and have more recently reunited for shows, which included many appearances at the now-defunct Fry Street Fair in Denton. more ›

Photos from KGSR's Blues on the Green at Waterloo Park, Austin Texas, Jume 3, 2009 with Ruthie Foster. All photos courtesy Steve Hopson. more ›

The Helio Sequence is a lovely balance of enchanting and inspiring musical variety. Birthed in a Portland suburb in 1999, the group consists of Brandon Summers contributing vocals and guitar and Benjamin Weikel on keyboards and drums. The indie power-rock outfit has got it pretty well made in the music biz. But things weren't always so sweet. Following two epic, self-produced albums on Portland’s Cavity Search and six months of touring with major indie bands, Summers damaged his vocal chords and was unable to sing. After losing his voice, he was still optimistic for awhile until a doctor forbade him to sing for two months. Then it dawned on him—what will I do if I lose my voice permanently? more ›

Long Day’s Journey into Night by Eugene O’Neill will be presented at The Off Center directed by Lucien Douglas, Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and starring long-time Austin theatre bastions Ev Lunning, Jr. and Patricia Pearcy. more ›

For post-psych and prog fans everywhere, Cave's Psychic Psummer (Important Records) is a dream come true. Following the Chicago outfit's Hunt Like Devil/Jamz EP, this new full-length brings the group to a new level, offering major riffs, expert jams, percussion freakouts and repeating phrases that build into throbbing crescendos that would make Explosions in the Sky pee their pants. Pulling from Can's influential horizon-focused approach to songwriting, Cave takes intricate, crunchy guitar hooks and builds each song from the ground up. There's a lot of stuff in here for the metal stoner, but for fans of phrase elevation, Reich and digression, there's even more. Don't let the tie-dye and long hair fool you: these are thoughtful, talented guys with a serious devotion to the organized, detail-oriented jam. more ›

If luck was not on your side when you attempted to win tickets on Monday and you're still interested in catching Langhorne Slim at The Parish tonight, enter your information in the form below for another shot at going to the show on us: more ›

C3 Presents, along with yours truly, is proud to bring one of the long standing purveyors of the Madchester music scene to Austin this October. Initially a part of baggy movement, The Charlatans U.K. have stood the test of time since forming in 1989. Multiple number one albums in the U.K. have guaranteed the band legendary status across the pond but they never quite reached that level of success in the U.S. Still, records like Some Friendly, Up To Our Hips, and The Charlatans are classics in our opinion, and having seen them at Liberty Lunch in 1997 and again at Stubb’s at SXSW 2006, we can attest to their astute musicianship and impressive live show. more ›

Ahh, Passion Pit. A band named after a drive-in theater where prepubescents go to make out. The imagery pouring from their music indeed strikes feelings of school-kid age simplicity, fun and love of life. But there's something deeper. Beyond the synthesizers and electronic back beats, sincerity collides with a wistful narrative. They first hit the scene in early 2009 with their Chunk of Change LP, sufficiently snowballing into an "it band." By the time South by Southwest rolled around, the alliterated name was being muttered left and right and up and down. more ›

You've had one chance today for the Windy & Carl show this evening at Central Presbyterian Church, but why not offer it again? The duo's performance marks the first non-SXSW show at the church (that we're aware of), and considering the frequency with which they tour (almost never), we've got two really compelling reasons to go. We're happy to give you one more nudge: fill out the form below and stay tuned: we'll notify two winners this afternoon and give them a pair of tickets to the show, on us. more ›

Rare Magazine’s 2nd annual “Rarest of Them All” awards will be held this Wednesday, June 3rd at the Long Center for the Performing Arts, from 6-10 p.m. The “Rarest of them All” issue, on stands now, highlights Austin’s favorite local businesses and people. The awards ceremony for the winners will be brimming with complimentary booze, food, music, and even fireworks after dark hosted by Wolf Stuntworks. In addition to performances by DJ Manny, Harlem, White Denim and headliner Grupo Fantasma, local reader’s choice vendors will host interactive booths to keep everyone entertained and out of trouble. more ›

In what will surely prove to be one of this year’s more inspired bookings, Dearborn, Michigan’s ambient heroes Windy & Carl will feature in the ecumenical confines of downtown Austin’s Central Presbyterian Church tonight. The husband and wife duo have been playing their brand of strangely comforting, guitar-generated soundscapes since 1993. For twelve of those last sixteen years, the duo have been releasing albums on Chicago’s haven for experimental and ambient recording artists, Kranky records, also home to former Austinites and Windy & Carl contemporaries Stars of the Lid. more ›

Known largely for its metal, punk, and hardcore shows, Red 7 mixes things up this evening by hosting one of the most gifted emcees around at the moment. Boston’s Mr. Lif (a.k.a. Jeffrey Haynes) first gained prominence at the turn of the century with a couple of stellar EPs on Definitive Jux Records. In 2004, Mr. Lif formed The Perceptionists with Akrobatik and DJ Fakts One; the trio’s debut record Black Dialogue arrived in 2005 on Definitive Jux. Mr. Lif’s prior full-lengths were also released on Definitive Jux but his latest, I Heard It Today dropped this past April on his own Bloodbot Tactical Enterprises. The new album, sans El-P produced soundscapes, is chock-full of Mr. Lif’s commentary on current events such as the dismal state of the economy. Although the lyrical content can get a bit tedious in this era of “Hope” and “Change,” there are plenty of invigorating beats to keep the listener engaged and we’re expecting quite a powerful show tonight. more ›

Before falling open-armed into all that Max Tundra has to offer, you must first forgo your suspicion. Vintage electronics and unrepentant geekiness could point toward arty bliss or instead to a repetitious, ironic love of irony. more ›

Also out this week: Neil Young's Neil Young Archives, Vol. 1: 1963-1972, spanning the first decade of the legendary artist's career and featuring eight CDs with loads of previously unreleased and rare material. Another album we recommend checking out is Elvis Costello's latest, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, produced by T Bone Burnett and currently streaming on Costello's Web site. more ›

Austinist is hosting a listening party and happy hour in the Mohawk's green room on June 9 to celebrate the release of Sonic Youth's The Eternal. Gerard Cosloy will DJ and Waterloo Records will be on-hand selling copies of the album. more ›

Wit, charm, and an affecting voice aren’t the only things that Langhorne Slim (a.k.a. Sean Scolnick) has going for him. A penchant for addictive melody and the backing of talented duo Jeff Ratner and Malachi DeLorenzo (The War Eagles) further advance Scolnick’s wistful lyricism. And on record, especially 2008’s self-titled release on Kemado Records, Langhorne Slim’s brand of Americana is refined and accentuated by a variety of instruments like the tuba, accordion, and cello. Witnessing a spirited live performance by this hat wearing, guitar strumming troubadour puts a cherry on top of an already excellent offering, and we want to send you to the show for free! Enter your information in the form below for a chance to win two tickets to Wednesday’s show at The Parish. The evening of folk ditties kicks off with Samantha Crain & The Midnight Shivers and Sam Lowry & The Circumstance. more ›