Weird Weeds are continuing their month-long residency at Progress Coffee with a change-up for their second to last performance.... [continue]

The Mohawk stacked their bill last night, giving attendees much more than their money’s worth for six bands on both stages.... [continue]

The tastelessly named Canadian quartet AIDS Wolf surfaced in 2005 around the time wolf names were in vogue, but the band's shock-noise set them way apart from more traditionally palatable groups like fellow Canucks Wolf Parade, for example... [continue]

Matisyahu returning to Stubb’s on Tuesday night is more than your average homecoming: it was here, in early 2005, that he recorded his album Live at Stubb’s, which gave his career the push it needed to propel songs like “King Without a Crown” to the forefront of public consciousness and to capture a fervent fan base. ... [continue]

The three bands in this pictorial took a different route: the neo-psychedelic Ume work on their songs in an office enclosed in a business park off of 183, Brothers and Sisters rent a storage space in north Austin, and the Pillow Queens practice in a warehouse off Burleson road. While different, the unifying factors of sweat, inexpensive beer, clutter and a getting-shit-done mantra were there for all three. ... [continue]

Dark Developments is what you get when you combine the experience and oddness of the singer-songwriter Athens mainstay Vic Chesnutt with the power-pop punch of the underrated Elephant Six rockers Elf Power. Lead singer Andrew Reiger told us about the album during an interview we did with the band during SXSW, and with the album out on the Orange Twin label in mid-October, the two acts have embarked on a U.S. tour that extends to the end of this month. ... [continue]

Now here’s something different: Graham Reynolds and his Golden Arm Trio will bring their progressive jazz fusion to what’s turning out to be the most diverse Fun Fun Fun Fest ever. ... [continue]

The mysterious and (and mysteriously soothing) instrumental project Silent Land Time Machine will release its debut album &hope still in conjunction with a performance at The Parish alongside Silver Pines and Andrew Tinker, the latter being one of millions formerly in The Polyphonic Spree. ... [continue]

The excitement surrounding Texan Annie Clark's solo project St. Vincent began long before the release of her debut Marry Me, thanks to the strength of a few early tracks, much blog love, and of course, a stellar live show. Clark is bringing the St. Vincent experience to Fun Fun Fun Fest this year after generally touring all over with acts including John Vanderslice and Pattern is Movement. Clark talked to us via email about her likes (tea, Phil Collins), dislikes (certain Alaskan politicians) and kept mum about the future.... [continue]

T.J. Wade and Hung Nguyen are double-teaming Saturday night at Room 710. Their acclaimed feet and funk loving (and funky feet loving?) act Foot Patrol are planning one of their insane dance parties, but it’s their gangsta rap side project MC Terroristic whose cd release is really the focus of the evening. The latter’s tracks are brittle, confrontational, bumpin’, and contain the requisite amount of profanities. ... [continue]

World-famous radio station WFMU made a special appearance in Austin this past Monday when the weekly show Sound and Safe with Trent roadtripped its way into a south Austin back yard. WFMU has a long history of creatively unhinged musical programs, beginning its broadcasts in 1958 and more lately enlisting the DJ talents of notables including Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum, Matador records main man Gerard Cosloy, author Irwin Chusid, etc. ... [continue]

We often hear about the traveler who visits our city for the immense SXSW festival and then refuses to leave (perhaps you, dear reader, are one), but how often does an extended or permanent visit also become the perfect opportunity to record an EP? Well, maybe the term perfect is a little off. When folk singer Tom Schraeder hit Austin for the festival, he turned it into a six-week recording process for his latest release, the Lying Through Dinner EP, and his visit here ended up consisting of not just nights on couches and floors but even a trip to one of our homeless shelters... [continue]

The film stars Flaming Lips members Steven Drozd, Michael Ivins, and Wayne Coyne, with the latter playing a benevolent Martian. During the first Christmas on a newly-colonized Mars, the human inhabitants are facing difficulties from both technical (gravity control pod malfunctions) and emotional (suicide and loneliness) fronts. When Major Syrtis, played by Drozd, finds an unlikely ally in the Martian played by Coyne, it looks as though Christmas on Mars might be saved after all. ... [continue]

Monotonix, the Israeli garage rock three-piece, have a reputation for craziness that precedes them. We’re talking drenching themselves in alcohol, pyrotechnics, extreme audience interaction, all that. It’s no surprise they’ve palled up with Athens mega-band Dark Meat, who tried to brain us with stage monitors during SXSW and who more conservatively enchanted us with glitter and a marching band months later. Monotonix have recently signed to Drag City, who released their debut EP Body Language this April. If you’ve any taste for punky, high-energy rock and roll stripped from its embellishments (and even bass!) a la The Black Lips, Monotonix have your number. ... [continue]

With the ravaging of our coasts by hurricanes and the continued downturn of world markets, it’s not uncommon to momentarily forget that we’re also in big trouble overseas, especially in regard to the un-winnable quagmire we call the War in Iraq. Local jazz musician Alex Coke first put aired his thoughts on the war and the act of terrorism that supposedly provoked it back in 2005, and called it Iraqnophobia. Some three years later we’re still as entrenched as ever, and Coke is joining with the Creative Opportunity Orchestra to perform this piece today at the Salvage Vanguard Theater as part of the Church of the Friendly Ghost’s ongoing concert series. ... [continue]

Festival season is in full swing, with most of Austin looking forward to this weekend's Austin City Limits Festival and Fun Fun Fun Fest in November. Meanwhile, our neighboring states have also thrown some pretty big shindigs, including Bumbershoot, Sasquatch, Musicfest Northwest and Denver, Co.'s Monolith Festival. The latter came complete with a built-in natural beauty, a plethora of acts from near and far including Austinites White Denim, Erin Ivey and Alyse Black and big names such as Justice, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Atmosphere, and more.... [continue]

Whether it’s at the forefront in an all-timpani ensemble or artificially inseminated into your favorite techno jam, percussion moves and shapes music differently but just as substantially as any other instrument. From technically robust prog-rock players to minimalist and simple garage rock bangers, a good percussionist knows when to be subtle and when to go all out, when to drive the beat and when to sit behind it. Austin has a community of talented percussionists who do far more than the bare minimum – but you can bet each of the quartet of talented drummers profiled here have great respect for the pursuit of accuracy and tasteful playing over showboating or pesky gong solos. Our gang of four -Thor Harris, Sarah Norris, Chris Cogburn and Erik Conn - are different in many respects but are united in their ability to perform amazing feats of slamming, banging, scraping and much more with remarkable skill and a good taste not always synonymous with the word “drums.”... [continue]

You might be surprised to learn that Death Vessel isn’t a morbid metal band, but instead a Sub Pop signee and the folk project of one Joel Thibodeau – just as surprising, perhaps, as hearing Thibodeau’s voice for the first time and being bowled over by the pitch. Of all of this band’s notable features, it’s Thibodeau’s high-octave vox that commands your attention, but you’ll stay for the songs themselves and their tendency to sound epic and truncated all at once.... [continue]

September is a big month for locals The Black and White Years, starting with the much-anticipated release of their self-titled debut and continuing with their noon set at ACL on Saturday. The group’s funk-addled rock and roll makes for energetic sets and possibly dancing, so come prepared. ... [continue]

Welcome to our ACL Stage Preview posts, where we give you a taste and idea of what to expect and what to look for when you attend Austin City Limits this year from September 26th to the 28th. First up, we have the WaMU stage on Sunday. Starting at 11:30 on this stage will kick off a day of music with some gospel followed by sets of country, funk, and eclectic Americana.... [continue]