Arts & Entertainment

If recession woes, work, or other reasons are keeping you from attending this weekend's Austin City Limits Music Festival, here's some good news. While it won't be quite the same as standing in large, sweaty crowds, having to leave in the middle of one act to catch another one that might be better, or hearing echoes from the other stages, you will have the option of watching parts of the festival from the comforts of your office/home: Hulu will be livestreaming acts starting at 1pm Friday-Sunday. Of course, they won't be streaming the entire fest, but their planned acts include Thievery Corporation, The Dead Weather, John Legend, Andrew Bird, and more. [Hulu Blog] more ›

You might not have heard of Dublin's Bell X1, but in their native Ireland, they are superstars with two #1 albums who now headline festivals and arenas. After significant American touring, though, fans are starting to take notice, as are satellite radio and late-night TV. We suspect it might further pique your interest that most of Bell X1 were originally (in a different format) a band called Juniper, who featured one Damien Rice on vocals and guitar. When Damien left to pursue his folkier style, Juniper became Bell X1, and they've both gone on their separate paths to stardom. Bell X1 play ACL this weekend to support their 2009 Yep Roc disc Blue Lights On The Runway, which mixes portions of their traditional rock sound with electronic textures and some longer, more serious tracks than on past albums. We recently emailed vocalist Paul Noonan to ask him about musical influences, Oxfam, and touring.

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Mates of State are no strangers to Austin. They pop in pretty frequently to play shows at Emos, La Zona Rosa and other typical venues. With class and charm, they present blissful boy-girl harmonies backed by only a drum set and keys. Though simplistic, Mates of State always manage to sound sincere and powerful. more ›

Brett Dennen courtesy Helen Geisler
• Going to the festival? Make a note of Waterloo's signings tent times.
• Austin Town Hall shares David Bazan's Daytrotter session. He'll be in Austin at the Mohawk on October 7.
• Austin Music Minute outlines their Thursday night pre-ACL picks downtown.

Let's spare ourselves too much talk of bands that have been around the block for a decade or more, and take a look at some bands we may still be talking about ten years from now. Some you may have heard, some you may have heard of, and some this weekend may provide the perfect opportunity to discover for the first time. Basically, if we had to come up with a list of two acts every day that you absolutely must check out, especially those that are still mired in those not-standing-room-only (and potentially right up-close) daytime slots, this could be the list. more ›

Nostalgia can pervade in a number of ways. There’s the undeniable scent of objects from the past that can take us down memory lane in a flash, and of course, straightforward outlets such as a photograph or a home video can easily transport us back to a romanticized time and place. Music works pretty well too. Listening to a record you enjoyed repeatedly as a child can help you reminisce endlessly. And then there are bands that just bleed a certain era. Prescott Curlywolf would fall into this final category -- you barely get through a handful of PC’s gritty powerpop ditties before you pine for Austin in the mid to late 90’s. more ›

Think you’ve had it hard before at eleven forty-five am during ACL Festival? Stumbling your way into the blaring Zilker Park sun after the after-show after-party is rough on anyone, but right this moment there are five bands working their asses off in hopeful anticipation of playing to the pitiable ACL crowd at that very hour. The Sound and the Jury, ACL Festival’s annual battle of the bands, is down to the final five contestants. They have been battling it out in venues both physical and digital for months now, trying to network and self-promote their way onto the Dell stage the winners will share with industry goliaths like Andrew Bird, Phoenix, the Decemberists, and Bon Iver this Friday. more ›

A full decade into their careers, Versailles, France group Phoenix have hit a career high point with the release of this year's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. A concise, catchy blend of the potential they've always shown, the record was crafted over an extended period of time, and it shows. Songs like "Lizstomania", "1901", and "Girlfriend" mix a modern production sheen (courtesy of Philippe Zdar of Cassius) with melodies that are completely unafraid of going pop. The results aren't exactly indie, yet given the lack of American radio outlets for this type of thing, Phoenix are a pop-rock band in an era where there simply aren't many contemporaries for them. more ›

In preparation for the sensory overload that is ACL (or just because it’ll be cool), check out Guatemalan Residue, a crazy hodgepodges of visual and aural insanity that’s part of Austin Film Society’s Avant Cinema line of programming. more ›

Fun Fest is offering fans a chance to go to the festival for free utilizing a point system on their web site. Earn 15,000 points and win on-stage credentials (and Danzig bragging rights). Fans simply sign up as a user (1 point), post their picture (25 points) interactive with other users/friends (500 points), get involved in line-up forums (2000 points), create custom schedules (5000 points) to get to the goal. Other prizes include drink tickets, PIP passes, posters, food vouchers and much more. If you're a student and you're just going to purchase tickets, this is the last week for the student discount. If you're hoping to win tickets without participating in points, your chance will happen on Tuesdays @funfunfunfest on Twitter, where Tuesday Trivia will give fans a chance to win tickets. more ›

By now you know the lineup for this year's Fun Fest, and you're already planning your schedule. Once again, the festivities kick off on Friday night at the Mohawk and Club Deville, where Austinist hosts our annual Local Music Is Sexy party and the After the Jump Blogger's Panel along with the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau. more ›

Brooklyn’s Tigercity last graced our fair city during SXSW, when they offered up an NPR-sanctioned take on Leonard Cohen’s immortal “Suzanne” during a mini-tribute set to the great songwriter at Waterloo Records. It was a somewhat unexpected if intriguing exercise for a band better known for infectious disco-influenced pop, but it turned the heads of more than a few casual show-goers and may have won Tigercity a few new fans. Don’t expect them to dwell too long on the maudlin or introspective tonight though—their headlining set at Emo’s will focus on the aforementioned disco with the goal of getting bodies moving. They’ll need to bring their a-game, as they’re following a band that, in addition to being one of Tennessee’s best-kept secrets, provides an excellent reason to head to Emo’s early: Knoxville’s experimental garage-dance-spazz-electro quintet Royal Bangs just released their second album Let it Beep, and it’s a burner. more ›

When Nickel Creek decided to go on indeterminate hiatus, fiddler and singer-songwriter Sara Watkins did what anyone high on the fumes of early success might do -- she launched a solo venture. more ›

Austinites sure are going to be spoilt for choice this weekend. If ten plus hours a day of live music on eight stages at Zilker Park isn’t enough, we get to pick from a plethora of mouth-watering late night gigs to satisfy our yearning ears. And since this turbulent economy has everyone pinching pennies, we’re offering our readers a chance to win tickets to two choice aftershows in town this Friday. more ›

Okay Mountain's latest exhibition, Devin Flynn's SuperStupid is a great example of the shows the gallery puts together. On view through Halloween, the exhibition features work of animation machine and artist, Devin Flynn. After busting his artistic chops in Providence, R.I., Flynn relocated to Brooklyn where his homegrown DIY ethics were challenged by the reality of economics. To stay one step ahead of the game, he created his own market by doing animated music videos for friends in up and coming bands like Providence’s Lightening Bolt and others, which led to several new opportunities. These included a regular spot on MTV's Wondershowzen, a video in the Liverpool Biennial, curating a video program for The Anthology Film Archives, animating the title sequence for Adult Swim's AquaTeen Hunger Force Movie, and the creation of a stream of consciousness webseries on Adultswim.com called Y'all So Stupid. more ›

There are very few certainties in life, the old saying goes, which is just as true for film festivals as it is for anything else. Just last Friday we were gushing about how excited we were that The Men Who Stare at Goats was one of the Marquee Screenings for the 2009 Austin Film Festival, and not 72 hours later we found out that it had been pulled from the line-up. However, we lucked into a secret screening of the film at Fantastic Fest over the weekend—which was actually the leading factor in the film being nixed from the AFF schedule—and we can pretty confidently tell you that you shouldn't be heartbroken over this development (the film is a big ole' mess), especially considering that you can still get your George Clooney fix with the official closing night film, Up In the Air. more ›

As we've mentioned, this year's Art Outside is going to be bigger and better than ever before. One of the areas where this is most evident is in the ambitious line-up of performance artists that have signed on to participate in the event. In addition to a full scheduled of bands and DJ as well as dozens of visual artists, Art Outside will feature dance, circus acts, puppetry, clowns, and lots of amazing fire art. Performance collective the Art of Such N Such will steal the show with their interactive firey midway show. Among other fabulous contraptions, they've created a Test-Your-Strength Hammer that rewards the mighty with a fiery ball that shoots up into the air. Nothing goes together better than carnies and fire. more ›

From Friday at midnight to Saturday at midnight, they came, they saw, they constructed, and then they conquered. Led by artist Liz Glynn, a team of volunteers recreated the rise and fall of Rome in cardboard and reused building materials in the cleared out gallery space at the Arthouse. At the end of the one day feat, the participants took on the role of invading Visigoths and trampled the city to the ground. more ›

Brown University isn't the first place you'd think of when hearing about a new Americana band full of banjos, fiddles, and pump organs. But that's the point of origin for The Low Anthem, a recent signing to Nonesuch Records who have toured with Bon Iver and Elvis Perkins in support of their reissued disc Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. The album features everything from quiet folk pieces to stomping blues numbers, along with a Tom Waits cover and a healthy dose of weighty lyrics about mortality. We recently emailed The Low Anthem's Jeff Prystowsky, who responded between shows on a lengthy European tour.

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Check out the Hi How Are You iPhone app featuring the art and music of Daniel Johnston. The game is a loving tribute and 3D puzzle that's somewhere between Mario Bros. and Q-bert: work against the clock to unlock artwork and goals, all in an effort to save Laurie, Johnston's real-life love interest. Watch the YouTube live action example or download the app at iTunes. more ›

Austin 360 is reporting that E. North Loop's Sound on Sound records will close for good on Oct. 12. There's a clearance sale in progress now, and their unrivaled punk and hardcore selection is most definitely worth a browse if that's your bag. Don't forget to check the used vinyl section, there's gems in there. Austinist wants to know: who becomes the leading punk rock record store now that Sound on Sound is closing? Tell us where you'll be shopping in the comments. more ›

Providence's Deer Tick started out as a one-man band, but have become a quartet over the past few years. Incorporating influences such as Roy Orbison, Richie Valens, and early Van Morrison, the group plays a fairly minimal and gritty brand of rock that is just as classic as it is indie. Singer/chief songwriter John McCauley's vocals are raspy and full of cigarettes and whisky, lending themselves well to tales of sadness and desperation. The tunes sound capable of appealing equally well to urban hipsters and aging Creedence fans, and frankly, if Quentin Tarantino ever makes a Vietnam movie, these guys will totally be on the soundtrack. The group are touring behind 2009 sophomore album Born On Flag Day, which has made some noise due to both the band's relentless touring and the catchy lead track "Easy" finding a home on a number of music blogs and satellite radio stations. more ›

Trouble Puppet's adaptation of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle begs an important question: Would it be possible to produce an adaptation of The Jungle that didn't use puppets? more ›

There are many great art events taking place this weekend all over town - here's a rundown of the highlights: On Saturday night Monofonus Press is throwing farewell party for the multi-talented Eric Shaw. Shaw has been in town recording with Peter and the Wolf and also apparently hanging out at the Monofonus compound making mystical paintings and drawings. Matthew Palladino and Chaz Ganster will also have art on exhibit. The show will be followed by an after party at Baby Blue Studios (at 1522 E. 12th) with Peter and the Wolf and other musical guests. more ›

For twenty-four hours over this weekend, an artist and a team of volunteers will accomplish a task said to be impossible: they will build Rome in a day. In her first exhibition in Texas, artist Liz Glynn will reprise her 24 Hour Roman Reconstruction Project at the Arthouse. Starting tonight at midnight, Glynn and a group of dedicated (if sleep deprived) volunteers will recreate the rise and fall of Rome in historical order, reenacting approximately 1.238 years of Roman history per minute. At midnight tonight, Romulus and Remus' huts will be built, at midnight tomorrow, Alaric and the Visigoths will destroy the empire of carefully constructed models. Participation in the construction (and ultimately, the destruction) of the model Rome is encouraged; admission to the weekend's festivities are free. more ›

After teasing us for the last couple of weeks with a small taste of what the 2009 Austin Film Festival has in store, yesterday the full line-up was announced (sans the opening and closing night films, which we have been assured are coming soon), including 21 World Premieres. After reading this list, you are going to want to get your pass or badge right away, and if you do so by next Wednesday, September 30th, you'll still get the discounted price. more ›

Photos courtesy Steve Hopson. more ›

The Mohawk offers up a hell of a future-look tonight, as even if the bands on this docket aren't familiar to you yet, give it time: they will be. With a trifold bill featuring not one, but two bands whose debut albums garnered the much sought-after Best New Music designation from the loved or loathed pillar of tastemaking, Pitchfork Media, this is one of those lovely opportunities to go to a show and later brag about it to all the fools who were a step behind. For example, if you saw MGMT at Fun Fun Fun Fest two years ago, when there were about one hundred people in the daytime audience. Surely, a bunch of those people have had ample opportunity for smugness since then, yes? Well, this time, it's The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Cymbals Eat Guitars with the sky-high post-Vivian Girls raw-sound superpotential, with the promising 8-bit plus band The Depreciation Guild as an added bonus. more ›

The Horrors strut into Emo’s on Saturday in support of their Mercury Prize nominated second album Primary Colours. The English five-piece was all the hype across the pond a few years ago on the strength of an eponymous EP and the debut full-length Strange House which featured a not-to-be-missed video in “Sheena Is A Parasite.” With Primary Colours, the band wanders further into the textured terrain that is atmospheric psychedelia, expanding and evolving its sound and successfully avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump. more ›

This Sunday, McClanahan will be the keynote speaker at Breast Cancer Resource Centers of Texas' "Toast to Sisterhood, Support, and Survivorship" champagne brunch at the Austin Renaissance Hotel. Below, she chats with Austinist about female friendship, her favorite roles over the years, and cats in heat. more ›

Local event planning and PR entity Learning Secrets has secured Barcelona, located on Sixth Street between Brazos St. and San Jacinto Blvd., as the home for its latest residency series. The DJ crew at LS is still furnishing the beats regularly at Lanai but the plan is to bring in guest performers for the Barcelona events. The Wurst Music Co.’s My Cousin Roy was the featured artist when the new residency kicked off a couple of weeks ago. more ›

Having changed its name from Volume to Mixx earlier this year, the spot that is 612 E. Sixth Street is now aiming to make the switch from dance club to live music venue. (Information for bands looking to play there can be found on the TwoGroove blog.) This Friday, the club takes a step in right direction by bringing in Rob Dickinson from Catherine Wheel for a solo set. The list of opening acts -- STEREO IS A LIE, Buttercup, and Lost Werks -- is not too shabby either. We fondly remember and still enjoy Catherine Wheel’s brilliant first two albums Ferment (1992) and Chrome (1993). The former contained gems like “Black Metallic,” “She’s My Friend,” and “I Want To Touch You” (which was included in The Brit Box, a Rhino collection from 2007) while “Crank,” “The Nude,” and “I Confess,” were some of our favorites on the latter. Three more full-lengths followed before Catherine Wheel hung up their boots after 2000’s Wishville, although there is no clear record of them officially calling it quits. more ›

This Saturday at the Paramount you can get a sneak peak of Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Apprentice, the much buzzed-about film starring John C. Reilly, William Dafoe, and Salma Hayek, among others. more ›

Alex Cuba will be playing this Saturday, Sept. 26 at Stubb's (doors open at 10:30 p.m.). Tickets for the indoor show are $12-$14, and are available online from FrontGate. Or, you can enter the giveaway after the jump for a chance to win a pair. more ›

Watch Black Joe Lewis perform "Sugarfoot" live on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. more ›

Guillermo Scott Herren aka Prefuse 73 takes the stage tonight at Ace's Lounge to showcase his eclectic blend of hip-hop, glitchy electronica and dance music. His most recent release, Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian is a somewhat odd collection of brief blasts and thuddy swats of Herren's influences, but should play well against the rest of his catalog. Herren's prolific career has included work under many different monikers (Piano Overlord, Savath y Savalas, Diamond Watch Wrists, Delarosa and Asora) but the Prefuse label has been the most consistent. more ›

What’s the Deal: Ah, supergroups. Where would we be without them - The Highwaymen, Traveling Wilburys, Temple of the Dog, Velvet Revolver, Angels & Airwaves, The Dead Weather, and the list goes on? Now, there’s Them Crooked Vultures, a project sure to sell out tours and churn out crave-worthy songs built on the strength of the millions of albums sold of their independent projects. Them Crooked Vultures is vocalist/guitarist Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), drummer Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and bassist/ keyboardist John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), with Alain Johannes as a live guitarist. They have yet to release a recording, and the only music out there is from snippets of songs released by the band and live recordings on YouTube, which surely, combined with the fact that they haven’t played a date in the U.S. since their debut post-Lollapalooza performance, has hard rock fans chomping at the bit to really see what they’re made of. more ›

With the Austin City Limits Music Festival approaching, Dell Lounge’s annual The Sound and the Jury contest is fast gaining momentum once again. This year’s five finalists, Andrew Tinker, The Bright Light Social Hour, The Bubbles, Mobley, and OK Sweetheart will battle it out next Wednesday (the 30th) at Antone’s for the coveted Dell Stage spot at the fest. The Steps were victorious last year, and this Thursday at Stubb’s, the Austin360 Concert Series give you the opportunity to check up on the winning band from the first installment of the competition in 2007. more ›

Who doesn't like Scotland? The small and perpetually rainy land of just 5 million has brought us great things that are twee (Belle and Sebastian, Travis), tough (whiskey and Irvine Welsh), and even strange (haggis, kilts, and the Loch Ness monster.) We won't even get started on Belhaven and Sean Connery. The latest indie rock sounds from Scotland seem to be of the emotional, anthemic, and up-tempo variety, as evidenced by the triple bill from Brighton's FatCat Records playing The Mohawk on Thursday evening. These songs deserve to be at Erwin Center, but you can see them - cheaply - on Red River, up close. Here's the bill:

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Since his 2000 debut, San Francisco-based singer/songwriter John Vanderslice has earned consistent critical praise for his work. His strong lyrical themes coupled with beautiful production aesthetics have found an audience both in the US and Europe, where Vanderslice is touring this fall. Vanderslice recently phoned us from California to discuss his latest work, 2009's Romanian Names, which he'll be showcasing at the ACL Festival next month.

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New York’s Coheed and Cambria has been ascending the throne of 21st century prog-rock with each successive record, gaining admirers in the not-so-dissimilar realms of metal music and comic books, and acquiring a fan base that boasts a wide ranging age demographic as evidenced by the crowd at their set at Lollapalooza this year. The Amory Wars saga, the brainchild of singer, guitarist, and songwriter Claudio Sanchez, is the running theme throughout their albums and takes us to Heaven’s Fence where we learn about Claudio Kilgannon (“The Crowing”) and the tragic tale of his parents Coheed Kilgannon (“The Beast”) and Cambria Kilgannon (“The Knowledge”). The story ended in their fourth album Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World For Tomorrow; the upcoming record will bring us back to the very beginning. We touched base with Sanchez over email last week to check up on his influences and for an update on the much anticipated fifth full-length. more ›

His nasal voice simply isn’t strong enough to carry the blues or gospel nods he so often attempts on his new album, Be Set Free, which releases September 29th. Its highlights are rather the neo-folk ballad “I Love You, But Goodbye,” and the standard but rousing chorus of “Say Yes,” which as a barstool sing-a-long naturally accommodates his ragged vocals and country appeal and is currently making cameo song-of-the-day appearances on radio stations around the country. more ›

The Troubadour on Santa Monica Blvd. is the cozy club that did it for us. After rock-out worshipping Beth Ditto of The Gossip, witnessing the hypnotic effect Bon Iver has on an audience, and giggle-festing with Chelsea Peretti, we were dead set on finding a way to actually live in one of the best venues on Planet Earth. We could imagine ourselves waking up under the blue glow from the light above the stage and high-fiving Joni Mitchell on our way to pay rent. There’s a unique, comfortable, respectful vibe where the performer rules and being a member of the audience can be pretty darn special. It’s an atmosphere that offers up a multitude of more than memorable nights and it was recreated by club owner and filmmaker Mark Flanagan at Largo on Sunset Blvd. No, you didn’t accidentally click on sibling site LAist; we’re just setting you up for Austin Film Festival’s documentary screening of the stellar, performance-heavy Largo at Alamo Lake Creek this Thursday. It’s a required A/V workout for all Austin music buffs. more ›

Our city’s beloved musical icon Daniel Johnston is having an eventful year. First up, he’s releasing his first album in six years, Is and Always Was, which he recorded with fellow Beatles fanatic Jason Falkner, a solo artist and former member of the power-poppy groups Jellyfish and The Grays. He’s also performing at ACL at the Austin Ventures stage on Friday, and we figured now would be a perfect time to talk to the man. more ›

Benjamin Curtis was the guitarist of the band Secret Machines, which he formed with brother Brandon Curtis and friend Josh Garza. In 2007, he had a change in heart. Joining up with Alejandra and Claudia Deheza from the band On!AirLibrary! (both groups were on tour with Interpol at the time), they regrouped to create School of Seven Bells. Unlike the heavier pummeling of his former group, School of Seven Bells resides more in dreamy, soundscape territory, and the band is currently working on their second record. Benjamin spoke with us in anticipation of his group's appearance at ACL Festival in just a few weeks. more ›

Wilco will be at Cedar Park Center on October 8, supported by Liam Finn. They're supporting this year's Wilco (The Album). The Cedar Park Center is a new venue in (yes) Cedar Park, and you can buy tickets at their web site. Tickets are $35 with a $7.60 convenience charge through Ticketmaster. more ›

Conor Oberst, Jim James, M. Ward and Mike Mogis have partnered in a pubescent version of the Traveling Wilburys and have so far been met with underwhelming response. It's a shame, considering they decided to name their band something worthy of arenas and used their own faces as album art. Never fear, though, the quartet delivers jaunty soft-rock (and better-than-expected) tunes on this long player. Sample "Say Please" at Pitchfork. more ›

WOXY has announced their ACL afterparty taking place Friday, October 2 at the Seaholm Power Plant on Cesar Chavez. The recently transplanted internet radio station will present Broken Social Scene to the 300-capacity venue at 10 pm, free. More details on tickets and Saturday night's lineup coming later in the week. more ›

Photos courtesy Tyler Nutter. more ›

They came out of the same electronica renaissance in the early 2000s that also spawned the mopier Her Space Holiday and The Faint, and like their peers, the intervening years have changed the thrust and direction of the Chicago-based Telefon Tel Aviv. more ›

Tonight the Arthouse and the Paramount are joining forces to present a free screening of Eve Sussman's film The Rape of the Sabine Women. A modern interpretation of the legend that details the founding of Rome, Sussman's five-act film was inspired by paintings by Poussin and David. Originally recounted by Roman historian Livy, The Rape of the Sabine Women tells of how Romulus and his warriors abducted the daughters of the neighboring Sabine tribe in order to capture women who would go on to be the mothers of Rome. In Livy's telling, the term rape is used to mean abduction; Sussman's retelling of the story is more modern in both its setting and interpretation of the language. more ›

Come the first weekend of October, Austin City Limits Music Festival will once again take over our town, with thousands enjoying the likes of Pearl Jam, Kings Of Leon, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs on the newly laid lush green grass of Zilker Park. Although this gathering of top notch talent in one spot is appealing to most, some might prefer to dodge the relentless crowds and the sweltering heat and save themselves for the plethora of official aftershows scattered around downtown Austin all weekend. The late night gigs also offer a second opportunity to watch a band you may have missed because of a conflict, or perhaps the festival set was so darned early, you just couldn’t get there in time. Both The Raveonettes (Saturday) and Here We Go Magic (Sunday) are scheduled for 1:15 p.m. sets on the Xbox 360 Stage. However, night owls rest assured, both bands will perform at The Parish Room once the sun has set and dusk has set in. more ›

Not that we'd ever try adderall without a prescription, but we've heard that effects include heightened concentration, attention to detail, and sudden lack of apathy or fatigue. San Francisco-based author Stephen Elliott, in town for a reading this week, embodies many of those same attributes. His prose is clear, direct, and very human, while his artistic life is a swirl of activity, maintaining constant literary output while editing The Rumpus, a taste-shaping national arts and culture blog. more ›

The Dodos had been playing as a duo (Meric Long and Logan Kroeber) since 2005. In 2007, things kicked up a notch as the band signed to Frenchkiss and prepared to release Visiter, a sprawling psych-folk record full of misty sentiment and pop. That record hurled them into the broader indie spotlight, and they've stayed there quite comfortably ever since. This year, they completed the follow up, Time to Die with Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse) and will play at ACL on Sunday at 12:30 on the Livestrong stage. We had a chance to catch up with Logan Kroeber recently and got his thoughts on working with Ek, bringing a vibraphone into the fold, and finding new places to eat in Austin. more ›

There are many great art events taking place around town this weekend. On Sunday, dozens of museums and galleries will have free and admission and special activities as part of Austin Museum Day. Follow this post after the jump to enter to win a print from photographer Kris Krug who will be participating in Saturday's Front Row photography show at The 5th Gallery. Here's a rundown of the weekend's highlights. more ›

School has been back in session for a few weeks now, meaning students are probably ready to pretend it hasn't. We've got just the event to wash those study worries away. Best Fwends, The Eastern Sea, The Low Lows, No Mas Bodas and Fat Tony are performing at the Mohawk for the annual KVRX Back to School Party. The line up is diverse and has something to please every freshman, grad student and dropout. more ›

Pretty much anything that Tim and Karrie League touch turns to gold, which is why we couldn't be more excited about the progress of their newest bowling alley/restaurant/dancehall/karaoke explosion, The Highball. We've been montitoring the construction over on The Highball blog, and are incredibly excited by the promise that it will be ready for lounging come next weekend, when Fantastic Fest 2009 rips through the Alamo South Lamar. Not only will The Highball offer food and merryment, but it will also offer a place to hang out before any film that you go see, which, if you've ever waited in one of those epic-opening-night lines, you know how welcome this addition to the Drafthouse family will be. more ›

Fully recovered from The Sword’s epic two night stand at The Mohawk last month, Austin metal fans can now look forward to Motörhead’s foray into town this Sunday at Stubb’s. The iconic Lemmy Kilminster formed Motörhead in the 1975 followings stints with numerous bands. Motörhead’s self-titled debut landed in 1977 and in 1980, the band released its most acclaimed album, Ace of Spades. During the course of a career spanning thirty plus years, the band has been through quite a few lineup changes but with Lemmy at the helm throughout. Motörhead has released nineteen full-lengths, including last year’s Motörizer. more ›

It’s been several years since the The Walkmen were considered to be just one of dozens of New York City bands riding the wave of interest generated, in part, by The Strokes. The band, led by gruff-voiced, charismatic frontman Hamilton Leithauser, has long-since proven that it’s much more interesting and dynamic than the garden variety garage revivalists they were initially lumped in with. With the reverb cranked to 10, they’ve maintained the same five-man lineup since their inception in 2000, have continually refined their songwriting, and pushed their sound in new directions—most recently with last year’s widely-praised and arguably best Walkmen album to date, You & Me. In addition to their Friday afternoon slot at ACL, they're headlining an official kickoff show on Thursday, October 1st at Emo's with Blitzen Trapper and Wye Oak. We caught up with Leithauser via email earlier this week to discuss the album they’re currently recording, their experiences playing to festival crowds, and in the process learned about the most miserable touring experience the band’s endured, which happened on a Texas highway en route to ACL 2005. more ›

Fall has arrived and you need something elegantly creepy with pumpkin spice on top. We're going to go out on a dead branch here and say you've seen one too many stories/shows/films revolving around chiseled man-boy vamps in high school; facebook-fed zombie apocalypse tactics probably aren't doing it for you anymore either. We all need an ominous slap in the face—a sinister cold shower! Thank the gods that The Invincible Czars are returning to the Alamo Lake Creek this Sunday to bend genres with their swoon-worthy original score for Fritz Lang's 1921 German silent film Destiny. Paying a little respect to our elders in both film and all-around eeriness—Lang and Death (Mr. Death, to be exact)—is just the thing to get us out of our tween trance. By the end of the night, we want everyone to be contemplating mortality and clutching a baby like actress Lil Dagover. Everyone have a baby they can bring? more ›

Offering up a little something for everybody, Saturday's We Make Stuff party will feature music, skateboarding, roller girl and burlesque dancer models, art, crafts, and fabulous fashion. Presented by Electric Promotions, We Make Stuff will be held at the Scoot Inn. The guys from Find n' Grind Skate Shop will be setting up a half-pipe for skate demos set to music from Hollywood Gossip, Lost Werks, and Panjoma. The evening will include a fashion show featuring designs from Jinxedaposed Clothing, Tara Tonini, Loves Mariessa and others worn by models, members of the TXRD roller derby team, and the Jigglewatts. more ›

During college, San Marcos-based singer-songwriter Terri Hendrix walked away from an opera scholarship and started picking up guitar skills from Marion Williamson, who taught Hendrix in exchange for help around the farm. Now, some years and nine self-released albums later, Hendrix has a grassroots following that stretches not only across Texas's Hill Country, but across the country in general and out into Europe and the rest of the world. more ›

This Saturday night sees Red River institution Emo's put on a different suit than it's used to, as the outdoor stage is momentarily retiring the drum kit and throwing up a single mike for a four-deep display of both nationally-known and locally-bred comedy. Headlining the show is a formidable twosome, as stand-up staple Janeane Garofalo and former SNL and Daily Show man-on-the-rise Rob Riggle lend their unique talents to the stage. That alone should be enough of a draw for any audience; throw in the locals, edgy JT Habersaat and wild man Chris Trew and, you know, something funny is bound to happen. more ›

The folks at Bloodshot Records have taken upon themselves to celebrate their Quinceañera by reconstructing the singular atmosphere of Austin on one of those spring afternoons so heady, the calendar must read South By Southwest. A worthy project, indeed, if we do say so ourselves. more ›

What’s the Deal: This New York dance rock foursome will be stopping in at this year’s Austin City Limits between shows in Germany and France to give Austin a taste of the music that’s been scuffing up dance floors in New York City clubs since before the release of their self-titled debut last year. They’re a little funky, a little new wavy and a whole lot of club pop. With at least one former model in the group and a whole heap of songs about young hook ups and coke brunches, the band would be an ideal candidate for shows like Gossip Girl. It will be interesting to see music with such a metropolitan feel make an impact in the heat of Zilker park. more ›

The Avett Brothers formed in 2001 in Charlotte, North Carolina when banjoist Scott Avett and guitarist Seth Avett joined forces with bass player Bob Crawford. At the time, the brothers fronted a neo-punk band called Nemo. They soon lost interest in Nemo and found themselves pining for the acoustic folk and country music they acquired from their father's musical taste. more ›

This weekend, the Alamo Village is screening 2007 sci-fi movie-with-a-message in FREE-D! Saturday and Sunday mornings at 11, you can come let adorably giant-eyed CGI aliens jump off the screen and dip their little alien appendages into your mimosa. more ›

The anti-KUT league, led by former mayor Lee Cooke, are throwing a party called Twant Dang Doodle, which is supposed to 'save KUT' without embarrassing its attendees. more ›

When Sound Team—one of Austin's more recent ill-fated major label breakthrough contenders—split up in 2007, the two principal songwriters Bill Baird and Matt Oliver went their separate ways and, as principal songwriters often do, formed new vehicles for their creative impulses. Baird had already been working as Sunset as early as 2006, and he continues to consistently release music and perform around town with that group. Until recently though, Oliver had been flying under the radar a bit. After playing a few shows earlier this year with his new trio, initially named The Minotaur, he renamed the band TV Torso (which, perhaps not incidentally, is the title of a Sound Team song), and… continued to fly underneath the radar. Until late last month that is: with a move copped straight from the Use Your Illusion playbook, Oliver & co. dropped two 7” singles on the same day. It was worth the wait for their recorded debut; both singles, whose a-sides are "The Black Mask" and "Days of Being Wild," are excellent displays of moody, intelligent, fuzzed-out pop, and are more direct than much of Oliver’s previous work with Sound Team. more ›

Having trouble getting over the hump? Midweek malaise got you down? Turn that frown upside down at Beerland this Wednesday. Better Than The Van and Do512 have put together a nice little free happy hour show featuring Ringo Deathstarr, Visitors, and O’Brother to nudge us towards the promised land that is the weekend. more ›

The third wave of content for Fantastic Fest was recently announced, and it totally rocks. That's especially true if you dig vampires, ninjas and super scary stories about spooky things. We couldn’t be more enthused about the programming if we’d been abducted by an alien ship and had the special "Fantastic Fest souvenir mind control device" implanted in our brains. more ›

We're pleased to announce our favorite hippie troupe is headed to Austin in November. That's right, the rag-tag, bus-dwelling clan of neu-folk rockers are playing at the Independent on November 6. If you're not familiar, get with it: KUT has been playing their record pretty regularly, and their Letterman appearance (they played "Home") was incredible. Fill out the form below for a chance to win tickets and be patient -- if you don't win now you'll have another chance in November.Buy tickets here. more ›

Every Friday and almost-every-Saturday for the next four weeks the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz will host Master Pancake Theatre as they board something science fiction-y on their way to Mars (which has been scientifically identified as the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz) and lampoon the world of Philip K. Dick. There will be California Governors, Kuatos, and Sharon Stones at the mercy of the comedic minds of the Pancake troupe. more ›

As a member of the Soft Boys, as a solo artist or with his band the Egyptians or Venus 3, Robyn Hitchcock has kept an alternately high and low profile - high, because he's a cult favorite, a critical darling, and a busy collaborator with other influential musicians - and low, because mainstream fame has more or less alluded him. more ›

Club 1808 is hosting a show this evening featuring local artists and bands from our sound-alike Massachusetts sister city. Boston. That's the city we're talking about. more ›

David Sylvian has been fluttering around the avant and esoteric edges of pop music since the '70s, fronting Japen. Since then, he's worked with everyone from Ryuichi Sakamoto to Robert Fripp. more ›

By now you know the lineup for this year's Fun Fest, and you're already planning your schedule. Once again, the festivities kick off on Friday night at the Mohawk and Club Deville, where Austinist hosts our annual Local Music Is Sexy party and the After the Jump Blogger's Panel along with the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau. more ›

Typical (and typically fantastic) of Austin Film Society’s selections, The Windmill Movie is difficult to explain in one breath. It’s a bittersweet tale&mdas;a creative spirit named Richard P. Rogers is born into a world of wealth and prominence and spends a lifetime attempting to document, illustrate and explain his own existence, yet he never finishes the self-assigned project. He amasses hours of video footage (lavish parties, pretty women, personal interviews) and simultaneously earns a reputation as a respectable documentarian and professor of experimental film, yet his true life’s work remains unfinished at the time of his death. more ›

The intriguing collective that is Soulsavers performs at Stubb’s tonight in support of their third full-length Broken. English duo Ian Glover and Rich Machin formed Soulsavers at the start of the century, releasing a numerous EPs and singles before garnering further fame with remixes of Starsailor’s “Good Souls” and “Poor Misguided Fools” and Doves’ “Satellites.” Rich, textured tracks boasting a slew of instruments, perfectly assembled by producers Glover and Machin, are the basic building blocks of Soulsavers’ soundscapes. Add a handful of notable vocalists and a brilliant lyricist or two to the mix and the already impressive songs, which run the gamut in terms of genre, take on new vitality. more ›

For the past four years, Art Outside was a community based art show tucked away in the Enchanted Forest during the week of South By Southwest. Both an alternate venue and haven for those who were hipster-weary and overwhelmed with the scene downtown, Art Outside focused on bringing art and performance out of the galleries and theaters and into the great outdoors. Fast forward to 2009, and with the closure of the forest, the fate of the event was uncertain. With Maker Faire also not returning to Austin this year, the city faced a significant shortage of inspiring art festivals. Luckily, Art Seen Alliance and their fearless founder, Warren McKinney picked up the project and Art Outside will continue at a new venue with an expanded schedule. Taking place over the weekend of October 9th through 11th, the event will be held at Apache Pass, an outdoor events and camping venue North East of Austin. We sat down with Warren, who told us all about Art Outside's ambitious new incarnation. more ›

The Collection, a play written by Harold Pinter and currently showing at Hyde Park Theatre, is purposefully ambiguous and, at times, flat out intentionally confusing. That said, the truly puzzling thing about the performance, which is directed by (and also features) Austin’s own gift-to-the-stage, Ken Webster, is this: In this town where the standing ovation is de rigeur, to the point that a gaggle of pre-schoolers toddling across the street can merit wild vertical applause, Webster and company did not receive a sustained, leap-to-their feet round of deafening clapping from the near full house in attendance last Friday night. Which is not to say the crowd was unappreciative. Oh no. From the laughter that punctuated the evening at all the right moments, it was clear folks got what was going on— as much as one could get it. Maybe, then, everyone was just stunned into ass-stuck-in-seat mode at the end. Or perhaps they stayed down in hopes that the cast would come back out and run through the entire 73 minutes a second time. That would’ve been just fine. more ›

Photos of Kill Hannah before and during their show at Emo's on September 11, 2009. Photos by Steve Hopson. more ›

A couple months ago, we told you about God Says No, the stellar debut novel from erstwhile Austinite and Michener Center for Writers alumnus James Hannaham. If you haven't checked it out yet (you should), it's a funny and moving tale of boy-meets-boy, boy-meets-Jesus, Jesus-doesn't-approve-of-boy, boy-chases-Jesus-while-also-chasing-boys. As you can guess, things get complicated. more ›

Austinist is sponsoring a party at Scoot Inn tonight, featuring Butcher Bear and Charlie, The Hearts and The Minds, Young Mammals, and DJ sets by DJ Jester the Filipino Fist, Ceeplus Bad Knives, Richard Henry, and Voxtrot's Ramesh. more ›

Beginning September 28 and running through the creepy month of October, you'll have the chance to get freaked out for free every Monday night during the Harry Ransom Center's Edgar Allen Poe Film Series. The festival will offer not one, but TWO versions of The Fall of the House of Usher (the silent and the talkie); three Roger Corman-directed movies (Fall of the House of Usher, Pit and the Pendulum, and The Raven); and the Fellini/Malle/Vadim-directed Spirits of the Dead. more ›

An album release show is always fluttering with excitement. Performers know it represents the grand finale of countless hours of hard work and back-tracking. A special sparkle is in the air and everyone knows they're getting a taste of excitement and magic. Tonight is that night for Sour Notes. The group will celebrate its long-anticipated release on its 7-inch, Never Mix Never Worry, at the Parlor. more ›

There are lots of great art events taking place around town this weekend (especially on Saturday!). Here's a rundown of a few of the highlights... Domy Books is celebrating new exhibits in their gallery and project space. Head over to the store on Saturday from 7-9pm to see the debut of Your Heart is Not a Museum, new work by Levi Dugat and Leah DeVun. The pair's second collaborative show, Your Heart includes kitsch-meets-hipster portraits by Dugat and amazingly intricate drawings of diamonds done by DeVun. Over in the project space, Jade Walker has put together an installation that reflects themes of sports, gender, the human body, and injury. more ›

What’s the Deal: The Night Marchers are the latest project of singer/guitarist John Reis, whom you might remember from Rocket from the Crypt, Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu or the Sultans. And, if you are hoping for the same badass guitar riffs and SoCal punk style vocals you’ve come to expect from Reis, then you’re in luck. However, The Night Marchers’ debut, See You in Magic, is more expansive in terms of musical influence than much of Reis’ previous work. On the debut record, released on Vagrant Records and Reis’ own Swami Records, the music this foursome creates bops around between the sounds of hammering alt punk, surf guitar rock, soulful garage rock and other. more ›

Check out the Austinist Weekend Music Preview Slideshow for details on a number of events in town this weekend. more ›

With nothing but an EP (produced by Yeasayer’s Anand Wilder) under their belts, Brooklyn's Suckers slip into their first ACL appearance this year on the XBox stage Sunday afternoon. more ›

Austin’s own Brownout!, the not-so-secret Latin funk alter-ego of the grammy-recognized, Prince-backing Grupo Fantasma, are celebrating the release of their sophomore album Aguilas and Cobras tomorrow night at the Mohawk. While their first record, the mostly instrumental Homenaje (literal translation, Homage) paid tribute to the band’s funk and soul forebears, Aguilas and Cobras sees the group experimenting with vocals, adding psychedelic elements, and even coloring a song or two with the occasional tinge of disco, without sacrificing the vintage beats and hard-edged soul that is the core of the group’s sound. more ›

Don't want to stay in but not sure you want to go out? Split the difference tonight at the Cole Street House and see four talented bands from near and afar. more ›

After doing the rounds of the L.A. club scene, Adam 12 (Adam Bravin) and Justin Warfield found mainstream success a few years ago via the electro-rock outfit She Wants Revenge. With driving guitars, synth nuances, and an Ian Curtis-esque drawl, all encased in a sense of gloom and doom, the duo delved into the 21st century new-wave and scored legitimate hits with undeniably catchy singles like “These Things” and “Tear You Apart.” A modern day Joy Division? Unlikely. An Interpol rip-off? Not really. Three years removed from the release of their stellar self-titled debut, She Wants Revenge soldiers on, withstanding the aforementioned comparisons, and is set to release a new EP Up and Down this month. more ›

The Clouds are Ghosts celebrate the release of their self-titled debut full-length tonight at Beauty Bar. The local outfit harvests textured atmospheres, imagined on soothing electro backdrops, sustained by Jason Morris’ delicate voice, and decorated with enchanting embellishments from choice instruments such as the piano, violin, and organ. We caught up with the band this week to check up on their background, influences, and recording process. more ›

Super Secret have a large roster that includes so many local, punky bands, including Sparkle Motion, Black Panda and Faceless Werewolves. more ›

A trio of local entities, SureFire Media & Promotion, Launch787, and Direct Events invite you to spend Friday night (the 18th) at La Zona Rosa with three talented Austin bands. Headliners Alpha Rev spent the early part of the year in New York, honing their sweeping, soaring melodies and recording a first full-length for Hollywood Records. In town, they were named “Best Pop/Rock Band” in Rare Magazine’s The Rarest Issue this past May. more ›

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

Remembering our time in the central Texas school system, we can tell you that while our public school teachers do a pretty darn good job of coaxing some interesting writing out of their students, sometimes they are expected to teach kiddos how to write to pass an exam, not necessarily to express themselves. The Austin Bat Cave hopes to augment their efforts through free after-school tutoring programs, in-school programs, book groups and special workshops that include music and songwriting. If anyone could get behind fostering expressive and creative writing in our youth, it would have been Van Zandt, who believed that achieving greatness required constant practice, that you had to continually try to achieve your best. more ›

The Lemurs have been a huge part of Austin's power pop scene for years now. This most recent year, however, has brought huge changes to the group. Members leaving, new ones coming on board, a transitional EP and a full-length in the works combine to make the Lemurs a band to keep a keen eye on once again. Tonight, they'll play at the Mohawk with Michael Kingcaid (What Made Milwaukee Famous) and do a couple of new tunes. We had a chance to catch up with singer / guitarist Mitch Billeaud and talked about the scene, what's been going on, and what's around the corner for the Lemurs. more ›

In 2007, Jake Bryer and Joel Ganucheau began devoting their weekends to starting a gallery for local artists and local art buyers. Six months later, they quit their day jobs and Austin Art Garage became their full time gig. Tonight, the savvy entrepreneurs are celebrating the grand opening of Austin Art Garage's new exhibit space, an expansion that nearly doubles the size of the existing gallery. The first exhibit in the new space showcases over forty pieces by Catherine Hart. Her abstract illustrations are soft and organic, reminiscent of natural forms, particularly underwater scenes. more ›

Austinist theater writer Dan Solomon recently made his directorial debut with Katherine Craft's No One Else Will Ever Love You, which runs through September 12th at private residences in Austin. In the interest of turnabout being fair play, we offered the opportunity to review his production to the directors of the plays that Solomon has reviewed so far in 2009. All theatermakers who directed a full-length play reviewed by Solomon before mid-August were invited to participate, and two of them—Touch's Susie Gidseg and Orestes' Will Hollis Snider—agreed to offer their thoughts. more ›

Lee Barber is not some new-to-the-scene hipster. He doesn’t have a schtick or a gimmick. And though he was once in the band The Barbers, which released two CDs, Thief and Rescue marks his debut as a solo artist. more ›

With Elvis Costello, it's all about timing. The restless nature of the man's creativity seems to dictate that he never stay in one place for too long, be that physically or creatively. As such, fans hoping for a pass through Costello's greatest pop hits were likely disappointed at the setlists that emerged last week both at Austin City Limits and at Bass Concert Hall. We suspect, though, that those fans were in the minority. As fans of Costello's great mid-80's record King Of America, we welcomed the chance to see Elvis return to a genre he seems awfully good at given that he's not exactly a folk or country lifer. more ›

The Sunday ACL schedule got two new holes last week after Sonic Youth and Marva Wright canceled. Today, ACL announces their replacements, Dirty Projectors and Mike Posner. more ›

Check out the full schedule for this year's Fun Fun Fun Fest, happening Nov. 7-8 at Waterloo Park in downtown Austin. Headliners (as expected) include Ratatat, of Montreal, Kid Sister, Pharcyde, Destroyer, the Jesus Lizard and GZA (Genius). More info here. more ›

Local photographer Todd V. Wolfson has captured iconic images of some of Austin's best-known performers and musicians. A successful freelancer, his work has appeared in numerous publications and graced the albums of more than a few bands. This summer, however, Wolfson was faced with the kind of crisis that all freelancers have nightmares about: a bicycle accident put the shutterbug out of commission. more ›

Chairlift’s sound is one of perpetual suspension, as if the band were all performing in a martial arts movie, flying around on wires. The signature acrobatics described in their candy-colored, Ipod-promoting single "Bruises," ("I tried to do handstands for you…") emanate from Caroline Polachek’s tumbling vocals. Her voice provides much of the lift promised by the band’s moniker on their 2008 debut, *Does You Inspire You.* more ›

For all of those die hard readers who are checking us out right now: Do you have plans tonight? Like, right nowish? Well, if not, you should hop over to the Dobie Theater to check out Former UT student, Bradley Jackson's new comedy Play Land tonight at the Dobie theater. The film is a finalist in the prestigious Doorpost Film Project, competing with nine other film makers from around the world to win a grand prize of $100,000. The film stars local Austin comedian John Ramsey (Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, Funniest Person in Austin 2005) and features a soundtrack with vocals by Matt Bray, lead singer of popular 80s cover band L.C Rocks. The first screening was at 7 p.m., but there is a second at 7:40 p.m., and a third at 8:20 p.m. Don't wait. Act now! more ›

A Perfect World is by far our favorite John Lee Hancock work (he also wrote the screen adaptations of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and this year's upcoming football feel-good The Blind Side, as well as the unfortunate The Alamo) and as the final offering in their Made in Texas Film Series, the Austin Film Festival and Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum will be presenting not only a screening of this Clint Eastwood directed slow-burner, but will also host a conversation with Hancock himself. more ›

The 22nd annual Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival kicks off today and runs through Sunday at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. This year's trimmed-down programming lineup includes heavy dramas like I Can't Think Straight, a 2007 film about a romance between a Jordanian woman and an Indian woman (and the cultural conflicts therein), and more light-hearted fare, such as The Big Gay Musical, which features over-the-top musical numbers like "God Loves Gays" and "I Wanna Be a Slut." Documentaries, short films, and a trio of parties round out the schedule. [Schedule] [aGLIFF Official Site] more ›

Last year, when Allison Orr and Forklift Danceworks presented Skate! A Night at the Rink it was one of the most uplifting performances of 2008. The event brought together professional dancers on skates with dedicated longtime rink skaters in a breathtaking series of dances that were both fresh and nostalgic. This weekend, for one night only, Orr is once again employing her gift of taking ordinary folk (which is to say, non-professional dancers) and shining a spotlight on their inner dancers. The show is called The Trash Project and you needn’t be psychic to know this is going to wind up as one of 2009’s most uplifting performances. more ›

When Terry Galloway read last week at BookPeople from her new memoir, Mean Little Deaf Queer, the standing room only crowd went wild. Galloway, a former Austinite and forever-honorary citizen of our town, is not only a writer of stunning prose that simultaneously straddles hilarious/poignant/horrific/brutally honest, she is also an incredible comic actress. And so she did not merely read about her experience as a child at a camp for “crippled children.” She recreated her time there with astonishing physical comedy. But this is not a review, it is a call for those of you who missed it (and those of you who didn’t but rightfully want more) to be certain not to skip Galloway’s remaining two readings. more ›

WOXY celebrated their arrival in Austin from Ohio Sunday night at the Scoot Inn. TV Torso, Black Before Red, Martin Crane and English Teeth performed. Chad Wadsworth was there to capture the mood. WOXY began broadcasting live from Austin this morning, check it out at their web site. more ›

The Deli is sharing a new video for "Hometown Fantasy" from local minimalist darlings the Wooden Birds. more ›

Amidst the sticky rhetoric and hysterical screaming that surrounds the current debate over health care, it's refreshingly difficult to argue with the good intentions and good times planned for the Heart Beats fundraiser this Sunday. more ›

Joe Gross over on Austin360 broke the news that Sonic Youth is the latest headlining act to bow out of ACL Fest, owing to an injury. The band has also canceled its scheduled KLRU ACL taping on October 5. [Austin360] more ›

Reviewing YouTube videos of The Cult's work over the years, it starts to make a lot of sense why they still sport such a fierce following across the pond, why Oliver Stone would ask that old ham sandwich, lead singer Ian Astbury, to play Jim Morrision in The Doors (which he turned down, obviously), and why 2.5 decades after their inception, they still appear to be badasses in their own frilly-wristed way. Arguably, they are the Diet Guns and Roses of Britain, the Tab to G'n'R's Coke. more ›

If you're wondering if the people always shout whenever the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey goes out, we suspect the answer is no, as the trio produces music that we'd generally categorize more as "listening music" than "shouting music." JFJO's three-piece setup includes pianist Brian Haas, drummer Josh Raymer, upright bassist Matt Hayes, and guitarist Chris Combs. more ›

Located just east of I-35 on 4th St., the getaway from Red River St. that is Scoot Inn hosts three inviting nights of music this weekend. On Friday, when the wind blows in The Low Lows’ doleful lo-fi beauty, ponder upon Brothers and Sisters’ affecting Americana, tango with Mr. Lewis & The Funeral 5’s experiments in punk ‘n’ polka, and order your whiskey neat to The Sideshow Tragedy’s country fried rock. Return and recover on Saturday with a substantial serving of Black Panda’s garage ditties, sample and savor Kingdom of Suicide Lovers’ dark concoctions, dip into Manikin’s absorbing rhythms, and save room for some guest acts (and Sunday’s show) as well. more ›

Mi and L’au met in Paris, where the Mira Romantschuk was working as a model and Laurent Leclère was a soundtrack musician. The Finnish woman and the French man fell in love, and then tucked themselves away in a cabin for four years in Helsinki writing songs and living humbly. The music that arose from those fire-side song sessions is sparse and emotionally rich folk music often relying on only guitar, voice and a light speckling of other random instruments, making a sound that would no doubt woo Devendra Banhart fans with great ease. more ›

In 2006, photographer and craft fair founder Faythe Levine traveled to fifteen cities to interview the crafty movers and shakers around the country. At the end of her trip, she had enough material for a movie and book. Levine's documentary, Handmade Nation, is premiering in Austin at the Alamo Drafthouse this Sunday. A weekend-long celebration of all things hand-crafted begins on Saturday with a book signing at Domy Books. Levine will be accompanied by a number of artists who are featured in Handmade Nation including the fabulous Whitney Lee, who has perfected the art of latch-hook porn (slightly NSFW). more ›

Despite the fact that it is still pretty sweltering outside, this evening offers the perfect opportunity to check out a few Austin galleries after hours. Art Palace, on East Cesar Chavez, is presenting two solo exhibitions: Use Your Illusion: Sterling Allen and Rx Garden: Jessica Halonen. The exhibitions will be on view through October 10, and the opening reception will take place tonight from 8 to 10pm. The aptly titled Use Your Illusion, features a new works by Austin-based artist and co-founder of Okay Mountain Gallery, Sterling Allen. Through video, photography, sculpture, and drawing, Allen plays out his experiences with optical illusion, visual perception, and trickery. more ›

Photos courtesy Chad Wadsworth. more ›

For many, contemporary art is hit or miss - overly conceptual installations can confuse more than inspire. But when presented well, contemporary exhibits can speak to both lovers of abstract art and the casual observer. The latest incarnation of Arthouse's annual summer exhibit, New American Talent, is a great example of how contemporary art can be accessible to many audiences. Curated by Hamza Walker of the University of Chicago's Rennaissance Society, New American Talent features twenty-six artists from around the country with a particularly strong showing from Texas. New American Talent closes after this weekend, admission to Arthouse is free and they are open until 9pm on Thursday. more ›

In a summer dominated by films about robots, super heroes, and teenage wizards, doesn’t a classic movie sound nice? Sort of a palate cleanser for your moviegoing mind. Well get ready for one of the classic-est movies of all time—this Saturday night, you can catch Gone With the Wind at...well, where else but the historic Paramount Theatre. more ›

AustinSurreal, a vital source for local hip-hop news, mp3s, and more, presents its latest show tonight at Red 7. Invincible from Detroit headlines -- check out the video for “Sledgehammer” on YouTube. She will be preceded on stage by some of our state’s finest hip-hop acts. Houston is represented by PersephOne but the most of the line-up is powered by Central Texas artists like Blacklisted Individuals, Crew54, and DJ Crop Diggie (Superstar DJs). This evening’s gig also includes a first ever performance by local all-stars The League of Extraordinary G’z, featuring members of DA C.O.D., Dred Skott, and SouthBound. DJ Hot Bologna, Drank & Gravy pilots the beats inside in The Wreck Room. more ›

On behalf of this staff of writers, photographers and section editors, we'd like to offer our heartfelt thanks to you guys for voting us Best of Austin for the fourth year in a row! Like in 2008, our incredible readers voted us 'Best Local Blog' and 'Best Local Entertainment Website' for 2009; we're truly honored, and vow to keep up our daily coverage of what's going on around town. more ›

When it's time for some booty shakin', look no further than Bright Light Social Hour. The local indie group combines raw, jazzy vocals with poppy musicality enough to make any crowd dance. Tonight, they become another member of the 101X Homegrown Live concert series which has brought us many organic specialties as of late. BLSH is no exception. more ›

It wasn’t until we saw the troupe that we finally understood why people had mourned the death of vaudeville and the end of the era where burlesque was a popular public amusement. Before seeing the Jigglewatts, we’d never really gotten the entertainment value of boobs before. Yet those girls converted us! more ›

Eric Johnson, the sole constant member of Seattle via Chicago’s Fruit Bats, cut his teeth as a touring member of the windy city’s excellent ramshackle avant-folk combo Califone, and released the first Fruit Bats album, Echolocation, in 2001. On the strength of that album, the group signed to Sub Pop and released Mouthfuls in 2003; a huge leap forward for Johnson in terms of the refinement of his songwriting and vocal arrangements, Mouthfuls saw him performing most of the music. The record earned the band a good bit of attention, Johnson's harmonizing with former member Gillian Lisée especially winning over early fans and critics. Their second Sub Pop LP Spelled in Bones followed roughly the same template in 2005, so when setting out to write and record its follow-up, the just-released The Ruminant Band, Johnson purposefully loosened his grip on the performance aspect of the record, choosing instead to trust the talents of the players he’d assembled. more ›

We've said it before and we'll say it again: our motto is "If it's free, it's me." Nothing makes us happier than a couple of gratis drinks and a silver screen, which is exactly what you can get from the ole' Home Box Office, who will be hosting the Austin premier of their new series Bored to Death at our very own Alamo Drafthouse. BtD stars the target of our omnipresent dirty-shiksa-crush (Jason Schwartzman, doi), as a young Brooklyn writer-turned-private-eye-sleuth, as well as Ted Danson(!) and Zach Galifianakis, neither of which need any character description to convince us that this is going to be good. The show doesn't air on cable until September 20th, but since you are a superfan, you just might get to see it a couple days early, if you're lucky. All the details can be found on the Alamo Drafthouse website. more ›

If listening to Mozart for fifteen minutes a day will make you smarter, imagine what watching a two hour movie can do! There's definitely something good for your brain to absorb when you check out Amadeus at the Paramount Wednesday or Thursday night. more ›

Animal lovers, general do-gooders and anyone who likes to party for a good cause should plan to attend Thursday night’s Fur & Film Fete, a yearly event that raises funds for Emancipet. more ›

In the late sixties, Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry) was one of the artists whose experimentation and innovations eventually led to the creation of reggae and dub, two genres that defined the sound of Jamaica and continue to inspire both genuine devotees and rank imitators forty years later. more ›

Somehow, nestled among the antlers and fur and teeth of indie rock, like Max in his wolf suit, the new feels primal, and the young feel wise. But enough speculation…one thing is for sure, tonight’s lineup is a wild romp. The woozy, warm impressionist tones of Wye Oak will give way to the raucous processional through craggy terrain that is Blitzen Trapper. This is a band that could have sprung fully formed from the pages of a German Romantic novella- their sensibility is textbook witching hour. And like Halloween, it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Check out "Woof & Warp of the Quiet Giant's Hem" off their 2007 bohemian primer “Wild Mountain Nation,” for example. more ›

The idea for a Gainsbourg/Brigitte Bardot-inspired duet album with Johansson actually came to Pete Yorn long before her collection of Tom Waits covers (Anywhere I Lay My Head, reviewed here) released last year. This album's single, "Relator" is a jaunty pop duet that sticks, with little depth. The album also has a cover of Big Star's "I Am the Cosmos", which sounds deeper than we're betting this duo can muster. more ›

Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and long-time Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones have joined forces in Them Crooked Vultures creating a super-group of epic proportions, or at least of ACL proportions. The group has been added to the October festival's lineup, filling in the spot left vacant by Lily Allen on the new XBox stage. They'll also be performing at Stubb's on Oct. 1 and tickets for that go on sale Saturday. more ›