California's Cold War Kids have been the object of both adulation and derision since their inception in 2004. The band's songs traffic in third-person tales of downhearted and desperate characters, and their music frames the stories rather than overpowering them. After playing SXSW in March, Cold War Kids return to town for both a spot on the ACL Festival bill this Saturday and an aftershow at Stubb's on Sunday evening. Austinist traded emails with......

FRIDAY [27] music • While You Were Out, presented by Bueno Music Bureau, with The Unbearables, She Sir, The Scripts, Friday After Dark at Club de Ville ($5) books • Anita Gonzalez, Ph.D., presents Dancing Between Myth and Reality at CAAAS (UT - Jester A232) (3:00pm) comedy • Tig Notaro and Steve Burr at Cap City Comedy Club comedy • Punchline, open mic stand up comedy at ColdTowne Theater (10pm) dance • Fetish and Other......

Followers of the indie-rock scene may be a little shocked to find out that it has only been two years since Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's debut demos stormed across the blogosphere. The decidedly scruffy demos were a revelation, full of Talking Heads-like vocals, soaring minimal guitar lines, and (perhaps most importantly) a very danceable rhythm section that sounded quite different to the many Interpol-derivatives of the day. Having seen the then-unknown CHYSY win......

MONDAY [23] books • David Sedaris at The Paramount Theatre books • Bill Bradley presents The New American Story at BookPeople (7:30pm) art • Artistic License: WorkSpace Artist Jedediah Caesar at the Blanton Museum of Art at The Blanton Museum of Art, MLK at Congress (Included with Museum Admission, 6-7pm) comedy • "Funniest Person in Austin" Contest, Hosted By Mario DiGiorgio (Winner 1999)" at Cap City Comedy Club dance • The Whirling Dervishes at......

Jesu Conqueror (Hydra Head) J.K. Broadrick's past with Napalm Death and Godflesh might have those anxious for Conqueror baffled -- the dense ambient fog and softly managed vocal work might come as a shock. That being said, the album is undeniably heavy, chugging, distorted and dark. The marriage between the agonizingly paced guitars and the sheer depth of their tone in "Bright Eyes" can overpower the sensitively harmonized vocals and synths. As bands like......

FRIDAY [15] music • Ghostland Observatory and Thee Emergency at The Mohawk (912 Red River) ® party • Earthdance at NiaSpace (7:30pm-10pm, $15) party • Eastside City Limits party with Pink Nasty, Tnlons Fort, I Kill Cars, Missing Tapes, Brothesr and Sisters, Til We're Blue or Destroy, The Black at Red Scoot Inn and Old Austin Daze Compound (9pm-4am, FREE) ® party • Teleport Door presents the Pop Yo Colla' party with DJs Daniel......

It's entirely possible that you aren't at all interested in wandering around Zilker dehydrated and lost all weekend, but there's no reason to worry: there are plenty of things to do and shows to see this weekend that have nothing to do with wristbands or sunscreen. Most notable is the Filter Party at Beauty Bar featuring The Presets, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness and The Secret Machines. In addition to the MSTRKRFT......

Like most attendees, our biggest frustration with last year's Austin City Limits Festival was the wretched dust cloud blanketing Zilker Park after the first day. With tens of thousands of people milling about and the daytime highs between 98-107 degrees, everything was worsened by the fact that the park was already suffering from drought-like conditions. But not anymore, if Capital Sports and Entertainment (CSE) and its massive coffers have anything to say about it. Perhaps......

So word on the street's that John Mayer is coming to Austin City Limits this Fall, at least according to gig repository Pollstar, who, as far as we can tell. are paid to traffic around such information. Make of it what you wish. Meanwhile, Tier I ($90) and Tier 2 ($100) passes are sold out, and they're now going for about $140 a pop, after service fees and shipping's included. Already confirmed, according to aclfest2006rumors.blogspot.com:......

Update: THE SHINS are playing ACL! South by Southwest ended a mere month ago, but there's already an online frenzy building up for this fall's ACLFest -- which, dudes, is still five months away! Early-bird tickets came and went (in less than an hour, much to the chagrin of most people who received their notification emails later that evening), and the regular lot of full-price passes are selling at a healthy clip. So you've......