Saturday Saturday Saturday! It's a bounty of goodness unlike anything most people of privilege (or non-privilege) have seen, seeming that it is filled not only with SXSW's usual wealth of day-funs and joys and diversities, but that it is also privy to the wonderment that is Mess With Texas 2, a noon-to-ten cornucopia of music and comedy at Waterloo Park. It's sort of like a day of Fun Fun Fun Fest plus comedy minus the price plus the knowledge that there's great stuff going on everywhere else as well. So let's get to it, and all the other great stuff going on EVERYWHERE, shall we? Mess With Texas 2 @ Waterloo Park At this event, it's almost ridiculous what a wide range of musics you'll be able to see, from electro-folk to softcore-punk to anti-pop to alterna-world to whatever-other-hyphenated-genre-you-could-possibly-fabricate. Headlining are the Kim Deal-led Breeders and late-nineties punk-stars NOFX, but they are just icing on the cake of a day that features acts as intriguing as the inimitable Islands and the ever-so-subtle Atlas Sound. And, take a deep breath, because also lining up on one of the three stages is rise-from-the-ashes-via-Juno story Kimya Dawson, the mysteriously-spelled Wooden Shjips, hype-machine Simian Mobile Disco, quick risers Yeasayer, Monotonix, and No Age. And in case you haven't already caught them, this may be a convenient time to check out local respectables Shearwater and White Denim. Seriously, though, that's a ridiculous list already, and it's really just the beginning. And it's free, for God's sake! And there was some comedy at this Mess With Texas thing, too, right? Yeah, you can expect some laughs from the likes of Janeane Garofalo, Brian Posehn, Todd Barry, and Eugene Mirman, among a veritable slew of others. Make sure to get there before the sun goes down if you want to check that out, though, because we all know humor goes best with some sunshine....

Eugene Mirman is much funnier than you. A mainstay of New York's alternative comedy scene, Mirman's profile has been even higher of late. In February, his Comedy Central Presents special debuted, and earlier this year, he was asked to cover the New Hampshire primaries for 236.com. He can also be seen as Jemaine and Bret's strange landlord in HBO's Flight Of The Conchords. A multi-year veteran of SXSW, Mirman is hosting this year's Web Awards at SXSW Interactive and is also performing at multiple SX venues during the music festival. ...

Salvage Vanguard Theater has announced its new season! // Rubber Repertory has started airing their dirty laundry in a new, recurring series called From the Dumpster, in which they confess to madcap ideas they seriously considered staging. // There's more than music to SXSW. ...

This year's SXSW Music lineup seems to be taking shape a bit more quickly than last year, as bands have taken it upon themselves to announce showcases publicly before the official list release by SX organizers. This is a departure from prior years, but since festival officials aren't complaining, we assume they're happy to let the hype build as the acts trickle in. This week's top twelve additions:...

THURSDAY [30] music • Dave Brubeck, Ramsey Lewis at Paramount Theatre music • The Onion's Corporate Expansion Celebration with Sount Team, IV Thieves, Eugene Mirman, The Lemurs, Tacks the Boy Disaster at Emo's music • UT Dance Marathon Fall Benefit Concert feat. Danny Malone w. Smile Smile, The Downside Up at The Parish Room music • Lower 4th, Exeter, Blackholicus, She, Sir! at Flamingo Cantina music • The Fall Collection, The Always Already, AUX......

The following is a weekly column by guest contributor Laurie Gallardo. Hear her Friday evenings on KUT 90.5FM, 11pm-3am. --The Editors Greetings to you, sufferers of post-Thanksgiving stress disorder. Come, now! You know exactly what I’m talking about. Were you one of the brave souls up this morning waiting at some random department store before the grand 5 a.m. opening to get your holiday shopping on?  Not me. “Black Friday” is not my cup......

Perhaps you've heard that the comedy scenes in both LA and New York are excellent these days. You might have gotten a taste of this when Eugene Mirman and Aziz Ansari rolled through town in March for SXSW. If you've been wishing for an NYC weekend to catch a show or two, don't book that ticket just yet. Several of the best acts are heading right here for Austinites to watch this fall... Michael......

Earlier today, we reviewed New York comic Eugene Mirman's new CD "En Garde, Society!" Sub Pop Records has kindly provided two extra copies of the discs just for you, Austinist readers. If you'd like to enter for a free copy of "En Garde, Society!", simply enter your name and email below. Winners will be drawn later this week. UPDATE: Congrats, E.H. and S.R.!......

In case you've missed it, there's a comedy revolution brewing in New York right now. Comics like Todd Barry, Demitri Martin, and Aziz Ansari have been drawing huge audiences of hipsters and regular folk alike with satire that owes far more to the silliness and irony of Steve Martin and Eddie Izzard than to the lowbrow Comedy Central/Def Comedy Jam nonsense that's infested comedy clubs for a decade. Among the brightest lights of the......

We're running a quick giveaway contest for the "Comedians of Comedy," happening at Emo's tonight! Simply be the first to send us an email and you're in. Update: Congrats, Sonia! From their website: A new wave of creative, risk-taking comedians are coming out of Los Angeles, New York, and cities all over America. Tired of shopworn premises, hack punchlines, and impersonal comedy, these so-called "alternative" comedians are the vanguard of what stand-up comedy will become......

FRIDAY [food] The Oasis? Burned down. But now re-opened! (Partially!) [culture] Ballet Under the Stars, 8:30pm @ Zilker Hillside Theater - Free [food] Doughnut Day, all day @ Krispy Kreme (go get a free doughnut) [music] The Deathray Davies, 8pm @ Emo's SATURDAY [film] "Freaks and Geeks" Marathon, 12pm @ Alamo Drafthouse Downtown - $30 [parade] Austin Pride Parade, 8pm on Congress Avenue [culture] Ballet Under the Stars, 8:30pm @ Zilker Hillside Theater -......

Wake up. Go to work. Go to bar. Go to rock show. Go to sleep. Repeat. If this is beginning to sound like your life, too, we encourage you to break the mold this weekend. Skip Bright Eyes on Saturday and head to Emo’s instead for a night of comedy and music with Eugene Mirman, Andy Blitz and Langhorne Slim. We have been fans of Mirman (who has opened for The Shins and toured......

There are certain inalienable truths on the Austin music scene. For instance, we know that when we want to shake our ass, we should go to a Canoe show and when we want to hear Austin’s best ambient new wave rock, we check to see when Dead Whale Tide is playing next. So, when we found out that the lead singer of both bands, Justin Preston, was starting a new project, we couldn’t wait......