Tired of the same old gay bar scene in Austin? Want to bust the mold a bit and cut loose on the dance floor without getting sandwiched by two sweaty, shirtless, writhing circuit boys? Go Dance Studios on Anderson Lane is launching a new program for same-sex partners called Out Dancing....

Thru 2/23, St Idiots Collective's You Are Pretty is about sex workers' struggles to find love within the harsh environs of a legal brothel. The yap about YAP is the megawatt heft behind it—the production is chock full of local luminaries. [tickets] // Thru 2/17, roving new kids NxNW Theatre are staging "wickedly funny" Five Women Wearing the Same Dress downtown at the Hideout. The titular characters do a little cussin' here, a little pot smokin' there, and cover topics with plenty of chops (religion, sexuality, AIDS). [tickets] ...

When I graduated from college, there's weren't a lot of gay characters in movies and TV. This was the mid-90's so when there was a gay character, he was usually dying of AIDS. I saw every one of these movies, but I was desperate to see characters more like myself....

With Beirut’s ads proclaiming, “Nudity. Sexually Explicit Material. Adults Only,” audiences might think they'll be seeing a titillating show. While there is plenty of nudity, it isn’t of the arousing sort. In this hour-long saga of love, lust and sexual deprivation, the actors (and real-life newlyweds) Patterson and Vogt-Patterson go at each other with a clawing intensity and emotional rawness that pulls you into their dark tale of doomed love....

Photo by red clover on flickrIt seems State Representative Borris Miles might want to get his temper in check after his behavior at party in Houston landed him in hot water this past weekend. Miles, 42, is being sued for a laundry list of items after witnesses claim he crashed a holiday party, yelled obscenities, brandished a gun and got his snog on with another man's wife. Oh, and in addition to compensatory and punitive......

The Vortex has remounted one of its first big hits, Alan Bowne's Beirut. The original production put Vortex on the map as the place to go for cutting-edge, indeed bleeding-edge, work. With a script that's a tad dated but still meaty, the show explores the political, social, and emotional fallout of the AIDS crisis. It includes full nudity and sexually explicit material, all done to serve a story that's weighty and intense. Thu-Sun, 8pm, through 1/26. [Reservations: 478-5282]...

Photo of Frantz Fanon courtesy of AFS website AFS Essentials: Black Is, Black Ain’t and Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White MaskTuesday, November 20thAlamo Drafthouse South Lamar (1120 S. Lamar)$4 / Free to AFS Members, 7PM[info] | [tickets]Most of the time it is easier to just blend in with everything around you, to not be different, to avoid rocking the proverbial boat, perhaps to the detriment of your true identity and eventually your soul. In the......

Highlights for this week: The Royal Family bids adieu to the east side with a giant Halloween bash, featuring DJ sets by Stay Gold, a costume contest, and a whopping 75% off the entire store inventory The Blanton Museum of Art opens up afterhours on Friday for its monthly B scene, with art from the American West and music by the Unfortunate Heads and DJ Spooky Texas Fun Fun Fun Fest takes over Waterloo Park......

Jenna Bush, one of Austin's native daughters and progeny of our current president, wrote a book. We'll pause here for the knee-jerk snickering, eye-rolling, jokes, and so on. Ok. Now let's move on with an open mind and not judge her by the sins of the father, but instead by her own merits. Jenna's book, Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope, is based on her experiences interning for UNICEF. It's the true story of a......

While lounging amongst hundreds of lesbians at HRC’s Dinah Lakeshore event two weekends ago, we noticed a few people emerge from the mass of tank tops in full-on Western-wear: they were there to spread the word about the Texas Gay Rodeo Association’s Capitol City Rodeo. Hopelessly hypnotized by the man’s Southern drawl and his ability to delve into the most fascinating details concerning the art of calf roping, we were already sold on the event......

Have you been wanting to eat out at a great restaurant lately but just needed a good reason? If so, then we've got just the reason to get you out of the house tonight. Dining for Life is Monday and Tuesday night and is a great, and very easy, way to help benefit Aids Services of Austin. More than 60 of Austin's best restaurants donate 15% of their dinner proceeds to AIDS Services of......

ACL Previews Interview: Patterson Hood Del McCoury Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band Jon Dee Graham, Kevin Devine, and Ike Reilly Assassination Beau Soleil & Will Hoges Rail Road Earth It's Official: Bob Dylan & His Band Set to Play Stubb's Aftershow So You Wanna See An ACL Taping Trent Summar, Steve Earle, & DeVotchKa Interview: Crowded House It's Official: Bob Dylan & His Band Set to Play Stubb's Aftershow Weekly Features The Accidental Gentrifist:......

Let’s be honest—on your average trip to an adult store, you're likely to experience omnipresent feelings of shame, paranoia, and pressure from the moment you cross the threshold. Sure, you may feel a little uncomfortable and out of place if you don’t often find yourself surrounded by an array of dildos and sex slings, but the employees in most adult establishments make no effort to alleviate the tension or create an open, welcoming environment.......

Black Nasty Feed From Me It's hard not to start by saying "This music is totally offensive, completely cringe-worthy, and absolutely not appropriate in almost any situation you can imagine." There, we didn't start by saying that. Feed From Me is a maxi single (not an EP, CD or regular single, these are different times, folks) with ten songs that push the boundaries of what most normal people consider music. Influenced by the olden days......

In this week's edition of the IST List: AIDS Services of Austin hosts its annual Viva! Las Vegas faux-casino soiree at La Zona Rosa, replete with top-notch catering and silent auction Transmission Entertainment's back at it again with another special guest at The Mohawk. Our lips are sealed, but the comments section certainly isn't! London's electro-dance-punk wizardess Dandi Wind works her magic at the Beauty Bar The final installment of the Harry Potter series......

Our pals at Project Transitions will host the 12th Annual Texas Swing fundraiser this Friday. Project Transitions - the only nonprofit organization in Central Texas that provides hospice and housing programs for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS - raised more than $37,000 during last year's Texas Swing with more than 700 people attending. Texas Swing is a family-friendly event that features live music by local favorite Alvin Crow, barbeque by Scholz’s, and free......

The kids at Top Drawer Thrift will host their second annual fashion show, Top Drawer Couture ’07 on May 6, 2007. Almost Impatient Productions and local fashion designers will create a runway show featuring both original works and items taken from the racks of the store. The Austin Chronicle’s Stephen MacMillan Moser will play host with the most again this year. Organizers say the evening will feature drinks, hors d’oeuvres, a DJ, and live......

If you have already failed and re-upped your New Year’s resolutions more times than you can count, take heart – tomorrow is another day (to fail). No, but seriously, we're fortunate to live in a town where there's a whole subculture of masochists who organize events around such activities as running, biking, swimming, and various combinations thereof. Looking for a torturous fun way to get outside and get your body moving? Then why not......

East Austin's Saltillo Lofts will host its first annual "Sidewalk Celebration" this Sunday, kicking things off with the official opening of the New East Arts Gallery. New East is the latest venture by DiverseArts, a local nonprofit producer of multidisciplinary art and culture projects such as East End Fourth Fridays and the former Downtown Arts Magazine. Their inaugural exhibit, entitled "Fresh Black Paint," features works by New Orleans artist/musician Terrence Moline, who relocated, post-Katrina,......

AIDS Services of Austin (ASA), which provides critical services for some 1,500 local individuals with HIV each year, derives a significant portion of its operating income from its annual ArtErotica fundraising event. Unfortunately, last week's venue closures have rendered their former space, Blue Genie, no longer viable for the 700-person event. As such, ArtErotica 2007, originally scheduled for this Saturday evening, is now postponed. The Octopus Club, the volunteer arm of ASA that coordinates this......

The Austin Tennis Club (ATC) will be hosting its Fifth Annual Heart of Texas Classic—or HOT5—this weekend, March 10-12 at UT Intramural Courts and the South Austin Tennis Center. This year, the organization has designated Out Youth as their charity of choice. Out Youth, long a staple in the Austin lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) community, is the only organization for LGBTQ youth ages 12-19 in Central Texas. Out Youth services include counseling,......

Guess who's coming to dinner. It might be you - if you're down with eating at the homes of local dignitaries while benefitting Project Transitions (a non-profit organization that provides housing, hospice and support services for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS in Central Texas). On Saturday, February 3, 2007, Project Transitions hosts the 10th Annual Guess Who's Coming to Dinner fundraiser to benefit people living with HIV/AIDS. Over 350 guests are anticipated to......

THURSDAY [11] Some of you have asked that we publish the Weekend IST List on Thursdays, in order to better help you plan your goings-on. We're happy to oblige. Starting today, we'll be including Friday-Sunday listings both on Thursday and Fridays. --Ed. Note party/fundraiser • Kickoff party for 2007 Hill Country Ride for AIDS at La Zona Rosa (7:30pm) party/theatre • Launch party for film/theatre magazine Caught in the Act at Molotov Lounge (7-10pm)......

Say what you will about the Austin music scene, if there's one thing we've got in spades, it's heart. And breakfast tacos. But that's another story altogether. Our bands can take any other city's bands on when it comes to sheer per capita productivity and playing out, never leaving their respective constituencies on the sidelines. And albums? Lordy, just walk into Waterloo Records and check out the local music section: 2006 was a banner......

TUESDAY [5] benefit • Holiday Mix and Mingle for AIDS Services of Austin at Firehouse Lounge (6-8pm, $10 donation with complimentary drink tickets) books • Annual Day of the Ninja books • The Utter Reading Series with Carrie Fountain and Steve Moore at BookPeople (7:00pm) film • AFS Essential: Millennium Actress at Alamo Downtown (7pm) film • Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) film • Fuck: A Documentary at Alamo......

This Friday at the Vortex, Sinsations Adult Boutique is hosting an Erotic Carnival benefiting AIDS Services of Austin. People are encouraged to dress up and enjoy burlesque performances by Red Light Burlesque, Vixen Nixon, Cardinal Cyn, Bonbon Vivant, Sindee Lux, The Oriah, Wesleann, Nicole Labry, Ruby Lamb, Lacy Graves and Cherry Freeze of Satan’s Cheerleaders, plus "suspension performances" by Diablo Rojo and rope bondage by Mark Yu and guests. As if that weren't enough lovely......

Starting today (actually, you are probably missing some of it right now, so hurry up and finish reading) The Queer Students Alliance of The University of Texas at Austin will be kicking off their sixth annual Pride Week. Until next Monday, October 16th, the QSA will be holding events from early in the morning til late in the evening--from rallies, conferences, workshops, movies and an AIDS walk at Waterloo Park. The theme for this year's......

Looking for a way to indulge your gluttony while supporting a great cause? Aids Services of Austin has the answer – the 14th Annual Dining For Life 2 day event. Today and tomorrow, go stuff your face at some of Austin’s best restaurants and 15% of your dinner proceeds go to HIV and AIDS prevention, education and support services such as ASA's Helping Hands Food Pantry, Jack Sansing Dental Clinic and Capital Area AIDS......

Cue movie-preview voice:...In a world where Pirates of The Caribbean 2 can break box office records, it’s almost a given that smaller independent films are going to slip through the cracks. Given the state of the world these days, there really is no contest between a finely crafted intimate drama and watching Johnny Depp swordfight an octopus. Which brings us to The Night Listener, a film that begins promisingly, has its moments of inspiration,......

FRIDAY [19] [music] Cross Canadian Ragweed w/ Micky & the Motorcars at Stubb's (link) [music] Clint Small Jr. Middle School's Phat Cats Jazz Ensemble at Waterloo Records (Free, 6pm) (link) [music] Moth Fight! at End of an Ear (Free, 7pm) (link) [music] Faceless Werewolves, Hotrails, Tokyo Nites at Beerland (link) [music] Dynah CD release at Red Eyed Fly (link) [music] Wilco Hoot Night with "many, many Austin bands" at Trophy's (link) [music] Pudge Zeppelin with......