Results tagged “emos”

Kansas City’s The Get Up Kids formed in 1995 and fast became an integral part of the emo movement that captured many a heart in the latter half of the decade. Chock-full of enduring melodies and introspective lyricism, the band’s seminal recordings (full-lengths Four Minute Mile and Something To Write Home About, and the Woodson and Red Letter Day EPs) positioned them at the forefront of a genre that has inspired much of today’s rampant pop-punk scene. Sure, “emo” was originally utilized to refer to hardcore bands in both the ‘80s and the early ‘90s but after the music world got a taste of Weezer’s Pinkerton as well as artists such as The Get Up Kids, Jimmy Eat World, The Promise Ring, and Texas’ own Mineral, the use of the term shifted to signify a slightly softer side of punk -- a mainstream-ready, pop-friendly sound marked by poignant tales of personal plight. You could probably blame thank attribute much of the Warped Tour’s 21st century roster to the lingering effects of The Get Up Kids’ heyday and the influence of those aforementioned albums.

With Gossip, you're going to get a seasoned group of creative minds who are truly talented. They've got ten years under their belt in which time they've pumped out four full-length albums, a bunch of EPs and a live album. They've toured with Cindy Lauper, Le Tigre and CSS and have been remixed by MSTRKRFT, among others. Self-proclaimed feminists, Gossip must have thought it'd be cute to call their latest album "Music for Men."

Photos courtesy Pooneh Ghana.

The Pablove Foundation is a California-based organization whose aim is to "improve the lives of children with cancer, at both a national level as well as a local level here in Los Angeles."

Pinback, an indie rock alternative duo from San Diego, is known for presentation of nimble lyrics and inventive musicality with a high drum mix. Their records are full of pulsating beats that march into the brain by rote, but the mesmerizing brilliance can only be truly appreciated after multiple listens. The cryptic messages lying beneath the musical layering mean Pinback's capabilities are only truly realized after witnessing a live performance.

Two is a magic number when applied to garage bands. This year has seen a glut of talented duos ripping it up - WAVVES and Lullabye Arkestra are just a few examples - and similarly, the Vancouver band Japandroids have been pushing their own "maximal," duo-driven agenda since 2006.

Photos courtesy Tyler Nutter.

Johannesburg’s Blk Jks made more than a few new fans during their last stop in Austin for SXSW. Having built up a good head of steam with their first EP, they were one of the bands that everyone seemed to be buzzing about. Seven months later, they return to Emo’s outside with a brand-new full length under their belt, the ambitious After Robots. The record is a cavernous-sounding, guitar-based rock record that fuses elements of prog, mbaqanga, experimental noise, metal, and dub, and stands in stark contrast to Kwaito, the popular music of South Africa’s post-apartheid generation. Overall, the band and album are one of the few bright exports from a city with a 37% unemployment rate, in a country that's still struggling to build a reliable infrastructure.

We’ll admit it. We’re still not fully recovered from the mud-a-thon that was this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival. And the 2009 Fun Fun Fun Fest, which has us licking our chops in anticipation, is still a few weeks away. Just when we thought it was safe to stay home for the weekend, a look at the line-up in store for us at The Mohawk has done away with any such feeble notions. Yes, the redoubtable Red River St. venue is home to three amazingly appealing nights of raucous rock ‘n’ roll all weekend.

If you’re a Wu-Tang Clan fan, you best be thanking your lucky stars. GZA performs in Austin next month at the fourth edition of Fun Fun Fun Fest, and this Sunday, Ghostface Killah (a.k.a. Dennis Coles) rolls into town in support of his brand new record Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City. The album finds Ghostface venturing into the R&B realm and collaborating with the likes of John Legend, Kanye West, and Raheem “Radio” DeVaughn, who guests on the auto-tuned first single “Baby.”

If you've been paying any attention to excitable music blogs or enjoy browsing new, poorly-recorded music, you've probably caught wind of WAVVES, a.k.a. songwriter Nathan Williams and his drummer of choice. Right now he's on the road with the venerable Zach Hill (Hella, many more) and the duo will be at Emo's on Saturday evening on the outdoor stage.

If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump.

Wye Oak, Blitzen Trapper and The Walkmen performing at an official aftershow of the Austin City Limits Music Festival 2009 at Emo's, Austin Texas, October 1, 2009. Photos courtesy Steve Hopson.

Photos courtesy Tyler Nutter.

Photos courtesy Pooneh Ghana.

Brooklyn’s Tigercity last graced our fair city during SXSW, when they offered up an NPR-sanctioned take on Leonard Cohen’s immortal “Suzanne” during a mini-tribute set to the great songwriter at Waterloo Records. It was a somewhat unexpected if intriguing exercise for a band better known for infectious disco-influenced pop, but it turned the heads of more than a few casual show-goers and may have won Tigercity a few new fans. Don’t expect them to dwell too long on the maudlin or introspective tonight though—their headlining set at Emo’s will focus on the aforementioned disco with the goal of getting bodies moving. They’ll need to bring their a-game, as they’re following a band that, in addition to being one of Tennessee’s best-kept secrets, provides an excellent reason to head to Emo’s early: Knoxville’s experimental garage-dance-spazz-electro quintet Royal Bangs just released their second album Let it Beep, and it’s a burner.

Austinites sure are going to be spoilt for choice this weekend. If ten plus hours a day of live music on eight stages at Zilker Park isn’t enough, we get to pick from a plethora of mouth-watering late night gigs to satisfy our yearning ears. And since this turbulent economy has everyone pinching pennies, we’re offering our readers a chance to win tickets to two choice aftershows in town this Friday.

The Horrors strut into Emo’s on Saturday in support of their Mercury Prize nominated second album Primary Colours. The English five-piece was all the hype across the pond a few years ago on the strength of an eponymous EP and the debut full-length Strange House which featured a not-to-be-missed video in “Sheena Is A Parasite.” With Primary Colours, the band wanders further into the textured terrain that is atmospheric psychedelia, expanding and evolving its sound and successfully avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump.

Having changed its name from Volume to Mixx earlier this year, the spot that is 612 E. Sixth Street is now aiming to make the switch from dance club to live music venue. (Information for bands looking to play there can be found on the TwoGroove blog.) This Friday, the club takes a step in right direction by bringing in Rob Dickinson from Catherine Wheel for a solo set. The list of opening acts -- STEREO IS A LIE, Buttercup, and Lost Werks -- is not too shabby either. We fondly remember and still enjoy Catherine Wheel’s brilliant first two albums Ferment (1992) and Chrome (1993). The former contained gems like “Black Metallic,” “She’s My Friend,” and “I Want To Touch You” (which was included in The Brit Box, a Rhino collection from 2007) while “Crank,” “The Nude,” and “I Confess,” were some of our favorites on the latter. Three more full-lengths followed before Catherine Wheel hung up their boots after 2000’s Wishville, although there is no clear record of them officially calling it quits.

This Saturday night sees Red River institution Emo's put on a different suit than it's used to, as the outdoor stage is momentarily retiring the drum kit and throwing up a single mike for a four-deep display of both nationally-known and locally-bred comedy. Headlining the show is a formidable twosome, as stand-up staple Janeane Garofalo and former SNL and Daily Show man-on-the-rise Rob Riggle lend their unique talents to the stage. That alone should be enough of a draw for any audience; throw in the locals, edgy JT Habersaat and wild man Chris Trew and, you know, something funny is bound to happen.

Photos of Kill Hannah before and during their show at Emo's on September 11, 2009. Photos by Steve Hopson.

After doing the rounds of the L.A. club scene, Adam 12 (Adam Bravin) and Justin Warfield found mainstream success a few years ago via the electro-rock outfit She Wants Revenge. With driving guitars, synth nuances, and an Ian Curtis-esque drawl, all encased in a sense of gloom and doom, the duo delved into the 21st century new-wave and scored legitimate hits with undeniably catchy singles like “These Things” and “Tear You Apart.” A modern day Joy Division? Unlikely. An Interpol rip-off? Not really. Three years removed from the release of their stellar self-titled debut, She Wants Revenge soldiers on, withstanding the aforementioned comparisons, and is set to release a new EP Up and Down this month.

Photos courtesy Steve Hopson. If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump.

Turn2Live.com, along with local marketing entity Knuckle Rumbler, has initiated a series of events in town (entitled Mood2Music) to promote its website which “enables users to discover shows using intuitive search terms.” (You can learn more about the concept on their site.) They had a successful (and highly enjoyable) first outing last month at Club Deville, complete with Annie Ray’s photobooth and live sets by VEGA (performing at this year’s Fun Fest) and Neiliyo (who barely missed making the final cut for a spot at Lollapalooza this year but ended up assisting Car Stereo (Wars) at the festival). Heck, the de Ville shindig had the Austinist ping pong team partying into the wee hours.

Unassuming, unnerving and unsigned, Haunting Oboe Music is ready to, as they say, take your face by storm. The Austin indie experimental rock outfit is so obsessed with music making that they released 12 EPs in 2008, one for each month of the year. The band said the experiment sent them in many directions and provided many ups and downs, but turned out to be the best thing Haunting Oboe Music could have possibly done. The project gave them a deep catalog of songs to choose from for live shows. A live listening is the best way to experience the mystic madness, since the recordings don't quite do the Oboes justice.

This is a show we’ve been anxiously anticipating since it was announced last month. San Juan, Puerto Rico isn’t exactly renowned for its punk scene, but over the past two years Davila 666 has been making a serious effort to change that. The band’s 2008 self-titled debut on garage punk’s torch-bearing label In The Red is a dynamic, near-perfect slab of garage rock, laced with singer Carlitos Davila’s irresistible pop sensibilities. Their current US tour has been knocking calcetines off all over the country, and you can bet Emo’s inside will degenerate into a raucous, and very loud, dance party when Davila 666 hits the stage tonight.

Austin 360 is breaking the after show lineup this morning. Fans who aren't completely beat down by scorching heat at ACL Fest in Zilker Park can take in more music when the sun goes down at Stubb's, La Zona Rosa, the Parish, Emo's, Antone's, and the Paramount. Folks who skip the fest and head straight downtown during the weekend will be treated to a wide variety of late night options (provided they get their tickets early, they go on sale Aug. 20 at 10 a.m.).

Suspend your disbelief in the healing powers of irony and neon for just one moment, and open your heart a bit to the visiting charms of Baltimore's EAR PWR and TORO Y MOI from Columbia, South Carolina.

Los Campesinos! and Girls rocked Emo's last Friday, and staff photographer Pooneh Ghana was there to capture it all for us.

Method Man and Redman, who remain arguably the most charismatic duo in hip-hop despite releasing only two albums together over the course of a decade, return to Emo’s on Sunday night with Wu-associate Ghostface Killah in tow. While all three of these east coast legends are pushing 40, they’ve still managed to produce some of the best albums of their respective careers within the past couple of years. The sequel-fixated Method Man and Redman dropped Blackout! 2 back in May to extremely favorable critical and popular reception; every bit the equal of their debut, the record proves that the lifelong friends have lost none of the chemistry that made the original Blackout! so compelling ten years ago.