Whether or not you plan on attending Austin City Limits Music Festival this weekend you’ve probably already started scoping out the after-parties that the festival’s presence causes to blossom all over town like hypercolor petunias. While it might cost you an arm and a leg to catch an intimate acoustic set with Coldplay at The Victory Grill or a My Morning Jacket DJ set at Threadgills, you can still get a massive bang for your buck by hitting up this unofficially awesome post-ACL fete at going down at Beauty Bar come Saturday evening. more ›

Ahhh. Life on the ranch. After a hard day's work, it's every cowboy’s job to get right on down to the business of relaxation. For example, popping open a cold one and lounging outside under a cool Texas evening breeze. And delighting in the comfort of a fresh, lovingly prepared meal right from your own backyard while chit-chatting with your favorite friends. The folks from Contigo Ranch in South Texas want to bring the taste and culture of ranch living to urban confines of East Austin with their new restaurant endeavor, Contigo, opening May 7. more ›

• Friends and family remember the life of Colton Tooley, a mathematics sophomore at UT. Tooley was responsible for the shooting that closed down the University on Tuesday.
• The UT shooting made the news all over the world.
• Mad Men era hotel in Houston to be torn down soon.

SXSW Music kicks off on Wednesday the 12th, as always with the Annual Austin Music Awards at Austin Music Hall, but it has become clear over the last few years that the music really starts the night before. Just thinking back to last year, we remember walking up and down Red River, watching bands like Golden Bear, White Denim and Broken Teeth at venues such as Beauty Bar, Emo’s and Red 7, and congratulating ourselves for getting started early. more ›

Polls are open from 7am to 7pm. more ›

(512) 236-0008
more ›

Emo’s, as always, powers our evenings with a good amount of solid shows this weekend. Zookeeper and Zykos bring heartfelt indie-rock to the outside stage on Friday while Ume and Haunting Oboe Music take on the inside crowd with belligerent, experimental rock n’ roll. more ›

Tonight's massive Super Tuesday election returns should make for some top notch TV watching, but there's no reason why you should spend the evening yelling at political pundits by yourself. Whether you're a hardcore democrat or republican, plenty of your like-minded brethren are getting together around town to watch the returns and collectively celebrate (or commiserate). Besides the formal meetup spots, you'll probably stand a decent chance of catching some prime time coverage at Brown Bar and the Cloak Room. more ›

Higgins, who apparently didn’t get the memo that nobody puts Lance in the corner, scoffed at the irate Armstrong, who then left to a series of under-breath cat calls and one patron labeling Armstrong as overrated (the cleanest of the insults softly launched his way.) more ›

The Invincible Czars have long had a knack for blending rock with various genres to create entertaining concoctions and unexpected inventions. From ska to metal, from jazz to country, a Czars live show twists and turns through a variety of rhythms and tempos, all while demonstrating their astute musicianship. more ›

Brownout! kick off their tour this week but not before supplying the Beauty Bar with diverse concoctions comprised of Latin funk, Afro-beats, soul and R&B. Following their Tuesday night gig in Austin, the eight-piece plays one more show in the Lone Star State, at Zeppelin’s Pub in El Paso before leaving for California. more ›

Markus with a k and his cohort Bird Peterson will be working their magic to make your excessive inebriation that much more enjoyable, and your Thursday morning hang over that much less of an elephant shitting on your face. Which you totally deserve to allow yourself. more ›

On “Cruel Thing” the soul influence is obvious, as is a touch of Burt Bacharach, on this sweet and smooth song with female backup singers, some keyboard prances and gentle layers of strings. Singer/songwriter Perry Serpa does his best Marvin Gaye on the track off A Moveable Feast. The horns, woodwinds and strings all contribute to the triumphant chorus on “Through With Love,” which has Serpa declaring just that. more ›

The Beauty Bar hosts the fascinating Gil Mantera’s Party Dream this Saturday. Hailing from Ohio originally, the duo consists of Gil Mantera and Ultimate Donny, two brothers who combine thumping dance beats and traditional rock music to create an electric smorgasbord of synth-pop that will keep you on the dance floor all night long. The hodgepodge of beats and sounds is as exhilarating as it is intriguing; always entertaining, sometimes cheesy. The duo’s live show seems to be quite a spectacle and a DVD (Live Video Archive [Vol. 01]) showcasing all the glory is also available. Gil Mantera’s Party Dream self-released two records before 2005’s bloodsongs on Audio Eagle Records. more ›

Photo by pisti on stock.xchngAustin City Council will discuss a resolution today that calls for expanding services for the local homeless population. Councilmember Jennifer Kim, citing the need for a "comprehensive and compassionate" strategy in dealing with Austin's estimated 6,000 indigents, sponsored the proposal. From what we've seen, the measure mostly calls for re-prioritizing and increasing social services funding, providing more beds at local shelters, and collecting more data on the homeless. Critics of the... more ›

Image from Electric Six’s MySpace, by Alicia Gbur Electric Six, The Willowz, & We Are The FuryThursday, November 29Emos (603 Red River St)$10 | Doors 9 p.m.[info] | [tickets] | [Electric Six MySpace] | [The Willowz MySpace] | [We Are The Fury MySpace]After moseying around in the Motor City in the late 90’s as The Wildbunch, Detroit’s dance-rock outfit Electric Six released their breakthrough single “Danger! High Voltage” in 2001 under their current moniker. The... more ›

Image via misterjingo on Flickr. Azul (1808 East Caesar Chavez)Now Closed[info]Last week, popular East Side coffee and food spot Azul closed down for good on the day before Thanksgiving. The converted house at E. Cesar Chavez and Chicon had been serving the neighborhood since 2000 with a mix of coffee, sandwiches, and breakfast items. It had been featured as one of Austin's best coffees in both Zagat's Texas restaurant guide and hipster travel guide eat.shop.austin.... more ›

Image from Scion's websiteSo you’re all set for an afternoon with the family and/or friends, tons of food on the horizon, be it Turkey or Tofurkey. Still, you need to scratch that live music itch before heading home. Well, fear not oh lovely residents of Austin, the city has a solid night of gigs on the 21st in store for the common layperson. If you’re not already planning on hitting up the Benko and The... more ›

Glassy-eyed college student:Make me a sandwich robot. Equally glassy-eyed friend:Wait, do you mean "make me a sandwich, robot" or do you mean "make me a sandwich robot"? Like, are you calling me a robot or are you saying you want a robot that specializes in making sandwiches? Girl in the ladies bathroom at Gingerman pub: So I was sleeping with Steve the other night and after we were done I told him that the... more ›

5th Annual Big Reds and BubblesTuesday, November 27Driskill Hotel (604 Brazos St.)6:30-9pm; $75 general admission, $60 for members[info] | [tickets]With Thanksgiving a mere two days away and the holiday season right around the corner, this time of year brings fine wine to all foodie minds. Wine lovers traditionally splurge in December on fancy bottles for both holiday toasts and New Year's Eve celebrations. To welcome this time of year and the wines that complement... more ›

Photo by Felicia Graham courtesy of MySpaceTIL WE'RE BLUE OR DESTROY What’s the Deal: One thing that Austin has plenty of is indie bands. There are multitudes of poppy, lo-fi folky or staggering, swaggering rock groups swelling with intrigue and buzzing around the local scene destined to either shoot straight and swift to national cult favorites standing or be just another weekend bar band. However, Til We’re Blue Or Destroy are one of the groups... more ›

Image from MySpace Trans Am, My Education @ MohawkThursday, Nov. 15The Mohawk (912 Red River)9 PM, All ages, $8[info] | [tickets]It's unfriggingbelievable that these guys are on tour with Tool right now. Seriously, it doesn't seem like it was that long ago, standing in crowded bar somewhere, listening to a song called "Ballbados", feeling like there must not be that many people in the world that want to hear instrumental, testosterone-driven synth-rock performed by some... more ›

Photo by Marina Chavez; Image from MySpace. The Hold Steady + Art BrutThursday, November 15La Zona Rosa (612 W. 4th Street)$21 Advance, $23 Day Of Show[info] | [tickets]Brooklyn's The Hold Steady may well be America's best bar band. Their 2006 release Boys and Girls In America made Austinist's 2006 top albums list (and everyone else's) by combining sharp lyrical wit, meat and potatoes power chords, and dry vocals that the listener either loves or hates.... more ›

Image courtesy of The Pinker Tones’ MySpace The Pinker TonesTuesday, November 13Beauty Bar (7th St. at Red River)$5, 11 p.m.[info] The Pinker Tones had to cancel their show at the Mohawk in July but the Barcelona based duo of Mister Furia (Salvador Ray) and Professor Manso (Alex Llovet) return to Austin this Tuesday, fresh on the heels of a new remix record titled More Colours!. The Pinker Tones have two prior full-lengths, and compositions for... more ›

Flyer distributed by Pangaea AustinFor better or worse, Austin's new safari-themed nightclub in the Warehouse District will host its (doubtlessly) over-the-top grand opening next Friday, November 16. Pangaea, a so-called "ultra-lounge," takes over the former Alamo Drafthouse space. It was originally scheduled to open on Halloween, but evidently the tribal accoutrements didn't show up in time. Here's what you guys had to say when we first posted about it: "I think they want to go... more ›

Blazing Saddles Quote-Along & Bar-B-Que RunQuote-Along: Thursday, Nov. 8th @ 7:00pm, Saturday, Nov. 10th and Thursday, Nov. 15th @ 7:15pm / BBQ Run: Saturday, Nov. 10th @ NoonAlamo Drafthouse Downtown (320 E 6th Street)Quote-Along: $10 / Quote-Along & BBQ Run: $75[info] | [tickets]Hey you! Yeah, YOU! Quit yer lollygaggin'! Don't you know that we're rounding up cutthroats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican... more ›

Image from MySpaceBONAPARTE What's the Deal: Chances are slim to none at the moment if you are in the United States and you want to see this odd rock and roll force that's catchy, boisterous and riddled with pop culture references. Bonaparte is the name taken by the project’s mastermind and frontman who is from unknown international origins. His MySpace says he hails from Berlin, but it also claims St. Helena as well as saying... more ›

Zookeeper Becoming All Things (Belle City Pop) Chris Simpson (formerly Gloria Record, Mineral), has completed his first full-length under the moniker Zookeeper, and old pal Brian Malone has released it on his Belle City Pop record label. The album careens between honky tonk dissonance and dissolving harmony ("Trumpets" sounds like the closing tune in your favorite dive bar) against whimsical banjo, organ and horns. Simpson's voice plays well with the Wilco-ish (Being There era)... more ›

FRIDAY: Mohawk: Cracker / Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit Club Deville: Robbers on High Street, Great Northern - FREE! Sponsored by The Onion/Sweet Leaf Tea Beauty Bar: DJ Tim Sweeney (DFA records), Learning Secrets, Farah SATURDAY: Red 7: The Paper Chase, Stinking Lizaveta, Death Is Not A Joyride Club Deville: Mates of State, Small Sins, Immaculate Machine Mohawk: Murder City Devils, Those Peabodys Beauty Bar: Bus Driver, Daedelus, Antimc (DJs Mel and Klassen)... more ›

Post by Paige Davis Join Austin's globally-aware and sustainability-conscious for this month's Green Drinks Happy Hour at Opal Divine's. These monthly gatherings are open to anyone involved and interested in finding innovative ways to meet the challenges of a sustainable future. Mix and mingle with the folks from Meridian Solar who will be on hand to talk about their success in creating renewable energy systems. Spread the green word and chat it up with other... more ›