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... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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:... more ›

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.... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

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,... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

MONDAY [15] [music] The Wood Brothers Featuring Chris Wood of Medeski Martin & Wood at Stubb's (link) [music] Wood Brothers at Waterloo Records (Free, 5pm) (link) [music] El Ten Eleven at Cactus Café (Free, 8:30pm) (link) [film] Taxi Driver at Austin Java (8pm, FREE) (link) [film] Soma at Café Mundi (8pm, FREE) (link) [film] Anime Monday at Ventana del Sol (7:30pm) (link) [film] American Beer with Amazing Beer Sampling (Sold Out) at Alamo Downtown (7pm)... more ›

Tonight, Antone's is hosting one hell of a fundraiser, replete with music, art displays, and a runway show. The GAT5 Showcase, put on by the "interdisciplinary art collective," features works by Charles and James Ferraro, Dustin Downing, Bonner Fowles, Sam Evans and Val Brown, accompanied by sets by Alpha Rev, Johnny Goudie, 54 Seconds and 3 Balls of Fire. And, more interestingly, sometime during the evening the Chronicle's gossip/fashionista Stephen M. Moser is debuting... more ›

Chow at one of 70 local restaurants tonight (Monday, September 12th) and benefit AIDS Services of Austin. Here is a list of participating restaurants. Everyone's tastebuds should be covered. Isn't it nice to know that so often here in Austin you can eat well and be charitable? more ›

This week is perhaps best summed up by the words of the English poet William Blake, who remarked: "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom." As much as we'd like to claim that we've actually read Blake, we stole that from 24-Hour Party People. Did we forget anything? Let us know. M O N D A Y film · The Austin Film Society presents the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund screening of "The... more ›

::FRIDAY:: [music] Rogue Wave and Helio Sequence at the Parish Room [fashion] FactoryPeople Fridays with DJ Joel Mozersky, 10% of proceeds to benefit AIDS Services of Austin [music] South Side Musical Festivus, 6pm @ Jovita's - $7 [music] Willie Graham Benefit, 6pm @ Continental Club, $25/$30 ::SATURDAY:: [film] Splash Movie Night presents "Spy Kids 3D" @ Deep Eddy [film] Alamo Drafthouse Free Matinee [comedy] Michael Winslow and Police Academy, 7pm & 9:45pm @ Alamo... more ›

MONDAY [music] The Fags at Stubb's [film] A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, 9:45pm. One Dollar! [film] East of Eden and Rebel Without a Case at The Paramount Theatre. Through Thursday. [reading] BookPeople's UTTER Reading Series, 7pm TUESDAY [music] Neko Case at Antone's [film] Austin Film Society screens Godard's Une Femme Est Une Femme at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, 7pm [art/books] Luis Alberto Urrea discusses his novel, The Hummingbird's... more ›