It was quite the change from years past. The dusty fields replaced by a lush green meadow and now, the insistent rain to ensure that heat exhaustion was no longer an issue. A wet day two at the 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival was never going to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd, already enjoying Flogging Molly at the AMD Stage despite the relentless downpour during the late afternoon hours. En route to the Xbox 360 Stage for …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead’s set at 5 p.m., we couldn’t help but admire the assorted rain gear, casting color below the grey sky. …Trail of Dead has been around for over a decade, starting out with just Conrad Keely and Jason Reece in the mid-90’s and plying their trade as a six-piece of late. Their catalogue encompasses a few different genres but the underlying aspect is that these guys just plain rock out. Be it ethereal soundscapes, punk thrashers, epic prog-rock, or the occasional tender ballad, …Trail of Dead deliver an amazing live show, two drummers and all. The locals kicked off with “Will You Smile Again?” and what followed was a 50 minute blitzkrieg consisting of choice tracks from the band’s extensive discography. Reece and Keely swapped vocal duties at times, each showcasing his distinct style via “Days Of Being Wild” and “How Near, How Far” respectively. While Keely seemed content swaying side to side, Reece pranced all over the stage like a man possessed, pounding his drums, picking up the guitar when needed, jumping down to the photo pit to sing to his audience, and even playing cheerleader occasionally. The highlight had to be the raucous “A Perfect Teenhood” although we were pleased that fellow Madonna selection “Clair De Lune” was included. All in all the band was in fine form and it is heartening to see them get some love from their hometown. They deserve it. more ›

Every year, come December, we face a barrage of office holiday parties and family get-togethers, and then there’s this. Local photographer Aasim Syed has turned an evening at Red 7 into a veritable festival with this Saturday’s appropriately named “Aasim Holiday Party.” The outside stage will feature sets by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, the legendary (to us) Glorium (performing Close Your Eyes to mark the ten year anniversary of the album’s release), and Those Peabodys, while the spacious inside area will be entertained by Ume, The Black, and Diagonals. DJ sets by Fuckin’ A and Ramesh Srivastava (Voxtrot) to keep everyone warm and busy during the set changes are also a part of this stellar line-up. more ›

Jason Reece and Conrad Keely formed …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead as a duo in the mid-‘90s after moving to Austin from Olympia, Washington. Kevin Allen and Neil Busch joined soon after, but the band has undergone a few line-up tweaks since those early days. …Trail of Dead’s self-titled debut and Madonna were landmarks in the Austin music scene towards the end of the century; their rousing live shows were apocalyptic and exhilarating where no instrument or organism was spared if it interfered with the belligerent performance. The band has churned out one inventive record after another, sifting through noisy dream-rock, thunderous post-punk, and intricate chamber-pop during an illustrious even if sometimes underrated career. But there is little doubt in our mind that …Trail of Dead is one of the most influential and relevant bands to come out of our city despite often taking a backseat to the likes of Spoon, Ghostland Observatory, and more recently, White Denim. Although their live performances are not as intense as they used to be, there is no denying their talent and their penchant to deliver melodious rock ‘n’ roll mayhem at the drop of a dime. We caught up with Reece recently to quiz him on the state of the band and the city of Austin. more ›

Friday night's Glorium reunion show marks the final pinnacle of Emo's 15th anniversary celebration. Glorium are one of the vital pages in Austin's long musical history. The band originally formed in San Antonio in 1991 and immediately began to make a name for themselves by using avant-garde aesthetics with lessons learned from the hardcore punk scene. The result was an explosion of emotional and musical creativity; pushing the boundaries of lyrical imagery and human... more ›

The Narrator All That to the Wall (Flameshovel) The Chicago group’s interlocking skeletal structures of stark clean guitars and bouncy, thick elastic rhythms might remind one of Foolish era Superchunk or …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead at their most mild. However, it is the vocal arrangements on the album that are the most interesting. The hooks are like dissonant harmonic cries for help so catchy they urge you to sing... more ›

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead So Divided Self-indulgence has always been central to the Trail of Dead's MO. Early albums whooshed by in a maelstrom of guitar noise, complex time changes, and punk-derived sneering. Who would bother constructing such intricate cacophony—or naming themselves a ten-word quote from a Mayan war chant— without a definitive musical axe to grind? Co-bandleaders Conrad Keely and Jason Reece, working-class kids with poetic inclinations, wrote... more ›

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead has been supplying inventive rock music and raucous live performances for over a decade now. What started out as a two man entertainment outfit headed by Conrad Keely and Jason Reece has grown over the years into a five-piece, dual-drums-pronged machine that abides no discernible formula when it comes to expansive rock. In 2003, the band found its mature side, employing the Tosca String... more ›

“This is the closest I’ll ever get to him,” remarked a fan as Frank Black waded his way through a gathering of collected faithful at Waterloo Records this rain hit Austin afternoon. The magic of in-store performances in the capitol has been evoked regularly by the city’s most visible record store, whether it be local icons like ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead or SxSW week imports like Doves. And, arguably, that fan was right, this is the closest the 100+ that crammed Waterloo Records would ever come to the Pixies legend. Starting off with Surfer Rosa classic, “Cactus,” Black treated the audience to a series of acoustic versions of his material, old and new, solo and not. Constantly stirring the crowd with questions and anecdotes, Black is promoting his new Americana tinged double disc, Fastman Raiderman. Soulful renditions of “I Burn Today” and (‘the song about’) “Manitoba” followed before Black truly appeased the crowd with “Where Is My Mind?” The short performance ended with some new tracks, including “Raiderman” and a plug for his evening performance at La Zona Rosa. more ›

After SXSW trashes our fair town, Coachella layers the California desert with dusty beer cans, and Wall of Sound leaves Fort Worth a city ... well, much the same, we're probably heading over to Sasquatch, the annual Pacific Northwest festival at Washingon State's scenic Gorge Amphitheatre. Scheduled to perform during the three-day Memorial Weekend blitz are Austinites Trail of Dead and Iron & Wine, plus a salivatory stew of sweet, sweet bands: FRIDAY, MAY 26... more ›

The post-SXSW music lull keeps our list of recommended night time activities a bit sparse, but with a CD release party that's sure to turn into dance mayhem, a local rock showcase of talented men in bear suits, and a show by a band who sings about shipping routes in the 1700's, we think you'll find something to do. As usual, if there's a show you think is notable that we've forgotten, drop it in... more ›