Arts and Entertainment: November 2009 Archives

There are many great art events taking place around town this weekend. Here is a rundown of the highlights: Yard Dog Art will be hosting an opening reception for their latest exhibit from 7-9pm on Friday. Over and Under is a group show curated by Jenny Hart from Sublime Stitching. Austin's embroidery queen first exhibited her work at Yard Dog and has now selected work from a list of stitching all-stars. Over and Under showcases the wide range of styles and techniques that stem from the simple stitch - from Emily Eibel's quilt squares that depict modern folk scenes to the delicate hoop-framed work of Veronica Fuentes. The truly inspired can pick up a Sublime Stitching kit and do the over and under all night long.

Alex Ebert was the singer of the LA-based outfit Ima Robot with a major label deal and all the stress that goes with it. So, after some very attitude-changing realizations about himself and his state of mind, he started a new band with new sound and a new outlook on life. Enter Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros with their spirited folk tunes touching down in Ennio Morricone and psychedelic territory from time to time and staying catchy enough to sing along to and dance with the band. We spoke with Ebert before their show in Austin at The Independent to hear about the secret ingredient to a happy band.

Street Dogs hail from Boston's Dorchester neigorborhood, and are damn proud of it. The band features original Dropkick Murphys vocalist Mike McColgan (who left the Murphys for several years work as a fireman before returning to music) and features a mixture of punk and folk stylings in their songs, many of which have a definite political bent. While the 2006 album Fading American Dream addressed the Bush administration's failings and working-class problems with hearts firmly on sleeve, the band's latest, 2008's State Of Grace, feels more positive in its tonality. With heroes like Billy Bragg and Joe Strummer, it would be difficult for anyone not to enjoy spending 45 minutes with Street Dogs this weekend - because they really mean what they're doing, and you'll know it.

Last Sunday during the Texas Book Festival, I sat down for lunch with Jonathan Foer, author of Eating Animals. I wanted to talk about his new book and at the same time introduce him to one of Austin’s treasures: the vegetarian food at Casa de Luz. As we walked into the less-than-full restaurant, he said, "Nice. Wow, if this were Brooklyn, the place would be packed. What's going on?" "New York City prices," I replied. Your book will be released next week. Have you had any reaction so far?

So you missed last night's Bleet Up, the first event leading up to what will surely prove to be the best Fun Fun Fun Fest of all time. Well fear not, music-loving citizen: you have an excellent opportunity to redeem yourself tonight by attending, and definitely not, in any way, shape, or fashion missing, the greatest installment of Local Music is Sexy yet. Even better than the Bleet Up ('cause it's free!), Austinist will take over both stages of the Mohawk and the outside stage Club Deville tonight to present sets by some of our city’s finest practitioners of the rock and roll—not to mention disorderly marching music—to help you celebrate the imminence of the only fest that offers you fun in triplicate.

The music starts at 8pm following the early-ish After the Jump blogger panel (featuring Austinist's own music editor Paige Maguire), and runs until midnight. We’re keeping mum, but there may or may not be a few surprises in store for those who stick around the Mohawk’s inside stage after the clock strikes 12. Let’s run this down one more time: free, sexy, local, music. Those are the makings of a definite must-attend event in our book. Follow the jump for a complete list of bands and set times, and we'll see you tonight!

It might not be a total surprise that one of the underground debut records of the year is a volatile stew of insistent, young and charged vocals, driving guitar and churning, turn-on-a-dime rhythms. It's the stuff that garage, punk and hard-rock legends are made of. But it might be unprecedented that it's a recently-uncovered and nearly 35-year-old recording made by a band that disappeared from the radar screen almost as soon as it popped up.

The fourth edition of Fun Fun Fun Fest officially kicks off at noon tomorrow and naturally, one can be forgiven for looking ahead to day one already. The likes of The Jesus Lizard, Les Savy Fav, Chelsea Peretti, The Sword, Pharcyde, Neon Indian, and Shearwater are all on Saturday’s schedule but let’s hold our horses for we still need to indulge in a full night of revelry before we set up camp at Waterloo Park for the weekend. This evening, Austinist proudly presents the After The Jump blogger’s panel at 5:30 at The Mohawk, followed by the latest installment of our Local Music Is Sexy series, spread across the 'hawk and Club de Ville this year.

Marc Savlov interviews Danzig. "I do a record when I have something to say, and I want it to be better or bigger or stronger each time. Because otherwise, why do it? There's no money in music anymore, so I'm not doing it for the money."

Okay, now on to the fun! Co-sponsored by Austin Eavesdropper and Ultra 8201, the Bleet-Up this year is a conglomeration of partners including press outlets (ahem), PR Teams, restaurants and more.

As is the nature of myth, the classical Greek plays are more or less timeless—they've endured for millennia, after all, because their themes continue to resonate—and none are more relevant to any given situation than this one. As Troy has fallen, the men are dead and the women await being divvied up among the conquerers. Hecuba, queen of Troy, leads her daughters in preparation for their new life as slaves. This is the core of The Trojan Women in every adaptation, and it's not hard to note its relevance to every war men have fought. But when a work is as timeless as this one, the need to update it for a new generation is called into question: Do we need to hear Hecuba call the conquering Menelaus a son of a bitch to understand that she's really, really mad?

What’s the Deal: Fun Fun Fun Fest has built a reputation of bringing in “What the… I never thought I’d ever have a chance to see that band” bands over the past few years with groups like Dead Milkmen, Bad Brains, Danzig and The Jesus Lizard. In most cities, The Jesus Lizard reunion shows probably wouldn’t be a main event to the masses. But, here in Austin, where an almost unnatural lust for the music we loved from a bygone era (even though the 90s aren’t that long gone) mixes with the fact that the group formed here about 20 years ago before relocating to Chicago, their performance is at the top of many Fun Fest goers’ must-see lists. Also, it doesn’t hurt that the group has a reputation for putting on exciting and ferocious live shows.

Brazos’ debut LPs has been in the works for a while now. It’s been two years since principal member Martin Crane released the first EPs to fly the Brazos banner, A City Just as Tall and Feeding Frenzy, which he wrote and recorded entirely on his own. The fact that those EPs were essentially bedroom recording projects, coupled with the two year absence of any new material during which Crane assembled a (mostly) steady lineup for the band, may account for why Phosphorescent Blues is such a compelling departure from the original Brazos recordings. The album is beautifully recorded, and filled, for lack of a better phrase, with a kind of joyful nostalgia—both for the past and the future, if that’s even possible.

Orange stagers take note: Fun Fun Fun Fest derives much of its credentials from what could only be named the Black Stage, an uncanny gathering of punk and metal legends you won’t see in any one place anywhere else. Even Especially if your neti pot is the most hardcore element of your daily routine, take our advice and spend a few hours at the Black Stage this weekend; the carnage you’ll witness features the blue blood of many a noble music lineage. One such act is D.R.I (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles), one of the very first bands to fuse punk with thrash metal way back in the mid-80s. Their 1987 album Crossover, virtually gave birth to this eponymous movement. Among D.R.I.’s earliest tour experience is “Rock Against Reagan” with the Dead Kennedys.

Glasstire is reporting that Art Palace, Arturo Palacio's aptly named East Side gallery, will move to Houston in January. The move will indeed be a significant loss for Austin's contemporary gallery scene - it seems as though we are still recovering from Gallery Lombardi's closure - but acquiring space in gallery row on Houston's Main Street will allow Art Palace to expand and grow. Palacios has signed a lease on a space that used to house Finesilver Gallery in the Spanish revival style Isabella Court building. Meanwhile, Art Palace's Austin gallery recently opened a group show, One on One on One featuring work by Matthew Rodrigez, Sonya Berg, and collaborative works by Michael Sieben and Nathan Green among others. One on One... closes on December 5th.

An update to our earlier post about Fun Fest early pick-up at Club Deville: if you're buying tickets there, you'll be set at will call on Saturday, no physical tickets will be mailed

They were just here, but Royal Bangs, out of Knoxville, obviously can't get enough of Austin.

With or without the outburst-inclined pop-culture phenom, the Austonian is playing host to the second annual Runway to Heaven Charity Fashion Show this Saturday night. Versace, Linda Asaf, Poleci and emerging designer Alexandra King will be showing off fancy designs on the runway, while local restaurants, distillers and brewers will be providing delectable catering. Proceeds benefit the Austin Children's Shelter and Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas.

To reduce your time spent waiting in lines this weekend, the good folks at Fun Fun Fun Fest are giving you plenty of opportunities to pick up your tickets early.

Update! If you've been planning your Fun Fun Fun Fest according to the map on their site, we've got a couple notes for you. The main difference is those little green boxes, which designate exclusive areas accessible by those who have purchased PIP passes. The poster show has also moved from the north side of the park to the middle, near the orange stage.

An Austin band by way of Brooklyn, Neon Indian is the elusive new project of Alan Palamo (also behind the one-man electro project Vega). The name Neon Indian itself gives due justice to the type of music Palamo produces—mystical synth noise, kooky hooks, and sensual vocals. The project started as a bunch of lo-fi recordings before the No Way Down EP was made in 2008. Full of reverb and distortion, song titles like "Should Have Taken Acid With You," add to the mystique of the project.

The local boys in Harlem have been helping Austinites relearn how to dance to rock and roll with their catchy garage pop since their arrival on the scene not too long before their first record, Free Drugs, dropped last year. So, it wasn’t a big surprise when Matador Records made things official with the band in a marriage that means a multi-record, worldwide deal. We grabbed Harlem bassist, Jose Boyer, before their Fun Fun Fun Fest performance this weekend to get a quick word on their next album, playing house parties, girls and drugs.

Over the last decade, the music industry has undergone numerous changes, and today, musicians, booking agents, labels, and journalists all have to adapt constantly to implement new tactics to make their mark in this oft-shifting landscape. We’re gearing up for our After The Jump panel on Friday at The Mohawk where many of today’s top bloggers will discuss new media and offer their expertise. But before the Fun Fest juggernaut truly gets rolling, Austin Music Foundation presents an opportunity to learn many tricks of the trade from a true visionary in the music realm. Join Martin Atkins (Public Image Ltd., Pigface) at Red 7 this Wednesday as he imparts advice from his recent publication Tour:Smart And Break The Band.

Starting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday evening, Maura Johnston (Idolator), Justin Gage (Aquarium Drunkard), Peter Gaston (SPIN), David Prince (Billboard, Daily Swarm), Joe Gross (Austin American-Statesman) and Paige Maguire (Austinist, WOXY) will be discussing the ever-thinning line between new media and the mainstream. There will be a question period and cocktails after the panel.

Local heroes and In The Red-signees The Strange Boys will bring their 60s pastiche and summer fun party vibe to Fun Fun Fun Fest’s yellow stage on Sunday afternoon. While The Strange Boys do seem to fit into the lately omnipresent, and as some may argue, moribund lo-fi garage pop genre, they also manage to transcend many of their contemporaries.

So you’ve put away the Halloween costumes for another year and adjusted your clocks. The beautiful weather outside makes those hours spent in your cubicle tick away oh so slowly. And the promise of turkey ‘n’ fixins is still a few weeks away. It all adds up to thing -- Fun Fun Fun Fest is here! Two days of amazing music, comedy, and entertainment at Waterloo Park beckon and we’re going to alleviate your case of the Mondays by offering up two weekend passes to the fourth edition of the festival. Enter your information in the form below for a chance to win.

Few bands do a better job tossing catchy melodies and choruses into such a mucky stew of noise and deliberately crappy recording techniques than Columbus, Ohio's Times New Viking. The trio, critically-lauded yet still dodging most of the mainstream love they probably deserve, is riding high on perhaps their crispest and most complete LP yet, Born Again Revisited, a batch of concoctions that sticks in the mind even though about 80% of its words are unintelligible. In preparation for their performance (which, if their other concerts are any indication, will be a nonstop onslaught of energy) at Fun Fun Fun Fest this Saturday, we shot some questions across the internet at Times New Viking, and guitarist Jared Phillips shot back some answers, including this little nugget: "fuck art." Enjoy.