Shawn Shillington/FlickrA so-called "supercell" thunderstorm raged across North Texas this morning, dropping softball-sized hail in areas as close as Denton. Parts of North and Central Austin were ravaged by slightly smaller, but nevertheless damaging, balls of ice, leaving some cars badly dented. Austin360's Matthew Odam has posted a bunch of photos: And now for something completely different. Around 8 a.m. I was awakened by the sound of objects pelting my house. I figured it was......

Usually, street closures around the Capitol hail the arrival of one of Austin's many street festivals, where you can listen to a wishy-washy blues-rocker do his best to channel Stevie Ray Vaughn while you eat a turkey leg amongst a sea of fanny-packed families and homemade jewelry vendors. But once a year it means it's Texas Book Festival time. As literary events go in this town, it is the big one. For two days......

Passages – CasadosCasados hail from Illinois and feature two permanent members, Nic and Heather Dillon. Nic’s songwriting shines through on their EP, Passages, while Heather’s vocal assistance along with assorted instrumentation provide the structure for Nic’s lyricism to take center stage. Passages was recorded after Casados played close to 50 shows and the EP’s precise musicianship bears the fruit of the many performances. Opener “Panama” could well be the first song on any mix for......

Once upon a time, in a gallery just up the road, 14 female artists gathered their works together to be viewed by all in the land. There were paintings, and photographs, moving images and performances. There were Indian princesses, people with bunny rabbit faces, and clowns riding rocket ships. Ok, enough cutesy talk, but you get our drift. Fairytales, myths, legends, and fantasies are celebrated in the new exhibit, Femme Fantastique, at Volitant Gallery. The......

Out of Nothing, the current exhibition at the 4 walls fine art gallery on East 5th Street, presents intriguing new works by six artists in a variety of different media, from acrylics and graphite to photography and neon. Curated by Daniel Heimbinder, the theme of the show centers on the idea of progress—“that we are moving toward some place better than the one we're in now." Just as the word progress can mean different things,......

This "velvet-voiced" Latin crooner guy Raul Malo is undeniably talented. Conjuring some of the most beloved singers of our centuries, you'll hear a little Buck Owens, Ray Charles, and Frank Sinatra and lots of Roy Orbison in his finely trained pipes. Please email us if you make out with that new someone to any of these songs. We'll buy you a beer next time we see you out, 'cause that's awesome. Raul Malo Latest Release:......

The Invasion Kidman stars in this remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. While some might argue that this particular sacred cow does not need a remake, others might argue that a remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers that was first directed by the German guy who made the fantastic Der Untergang, and then meddled with post-production by the Wachowski Brothers, is a totally different story. Monstruous and beautiful hybrid, we hail you. [Trailer]......

She may hail from Memphis, but Amy Lavere's music is eerily evocative of Austin. A bright, talented upright bass player with a knack for digestible songwriting, she crafts sleek ditties that glide along like the margarita-soaked Sundays we know all too well. Archer Records, her alma mater, got a handful when they signed up this one. There's elements of self-aware sarcasm and a easygoing resignation, insulated by smooth C&W rhythms and her lounge-y coo. One......

Dandi Wind - Concrete Igloo (Summer Lovers Unlimited Music) Ok, we are fond of electronic duos. Even more so when they hail from Canada. Dandi Wind (comprised of Dandelion Wind Opaine and Szam Findlay) tests our undying affection with their hit or miss debut, Concrete Igloo. The duo combines a variety of genres to conjure up an adrenaline fueled, almost destructive sound that clicks wonderfully on songs like “Slumlord” and “Apotemnophilia.” The insistent “Hitch-Hiker” could......

FRIDAY [25] party • The Onion's "Summer Fun Blast Blowout Extravaganza!" Party with Clap!Clap!, Crash Gallery, Devil in the Choir, DJ Rubix, Prince Klassen, and a chance to win a scooter from Scooter Revolution at Beauty Bar ($2, 9:30pm) theatre • Rubber Repertory presents A Thought in Three Parts at The Vortex (8pm) music • Emissions From the Monolith Fest at Emo's music • Voxtrot, Au Revoir Simone, The Black, Zykos at Emo's music......

Though The Jungle Rockers hail from Ohio, they've managed to carve out a definitive spot in the Austin music scene somewhere between the familiar blue notes and twelve bar structures of Diddley-blues and the three chord thrash of bands like The Clash and The Ramones. Filling dance halls, garages, and The Continental Club with anxious fans ready to shimmy, shake and strut isn't tough for these guys -- and their devotion to rock 'n......

Tonight's eagerly anticipated launch party for KLRU-TV's Downtown has been rescheduled to tomorrow night, due to the heavy thunderstorms and flash floods that are expected to slam Central Texas. "Rain, hail and thunderstorms don't make for a good party when it's being held at a power plant," as someone our awesome friend aptly put it. The original lineup will remain intact, with featured guests from past episodes of the Emmy Award-winning series performing throughout the......

FRIDAY [20] benefit/music • Ashera-Blare-A IV with All In the Golden Afternoon, The Heirs, The Minderchucks, and The Otters at Club DeVille beer/party • Black Star Co-op's Craft Beer Celebration with Pong, Opposite Day, The Second Line Social, and fine craft beer from around the country at Fiesta Gardens (8pm-Midnight, $10) comedy • Punchline, open mic stand up comedy at ColdTowne Theater (10pm) dance • Room, part of Refraction Arts' Fuse Box Festival at The......

The buzzkillers at the National Weather Service just issued a severe thunderstorm watch for almost 75 counties in Central Texas, with flash floods in Travis and Williamson Counties likely at least until 6pm. The storms are moving northeast at roughly 20 miles per hour, bringing with them the possibility of "small hail and damaging winds," plus an estimated 3 inches of total rainfall. Tomorrow's forecast calls for scattered storms in the morning but mostly cloudy......

On December 23rd, perennial uber-rich athletic badasses at Westlake High School got kicked hard in their khaki Dockers when they played Dallas powerhouse Southlake Caroll at the Class 5A Division I State Football Championship. Westlake lost, 43-29. At The Alamodome in San Antonio, the game was tied 29-29 midway through the fourth quarter. Westlake was looking for its second state title and a perfect ending to a challenging season. But the odds were in......

FRIDAY [26] film • El Automovil Gris at McCullough Theatre ® art • Opening Reception: Ishmael Soto: Vessels and Inspirations: Ceramic and Sculptural Work at Mexic-Arte Museum (7-9pm, free) books • Sarah Lewis presents Indecent at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • Bil Dwyer at Cap City Comedy Club film • Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival 2007 at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown ® film • The Bridge at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar community • Meeting......

…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......

Conor Oberst’s Team Love fosters a number of indie-pop stalwarts like Jenny Lewis and Tilly and the Wall. The latter is derived from Oberst’s initial project, Park Ave., as bandmembers Jamie Williams and Neely Jenkins eventually formed Tilly and the Wall with Nick White, Kianna Alarid and Derek Pressnall upon Park Ave.’s demise. The band recently released their follow-up to 2004’s acclaimed Wild Like Children. Bottoms of Barrels picks up where its predecessor left......

We try not to be fanatics about stuff, but John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats totally does it for us. He's smart, he's nice, and he's lo-fi (well, decreasingly so, but the sentiment is there). Also, the first time we saw him in concert, he performed solo with an acoustic guitar and burst into a rousing chorus of "Hail, Satan!" As for street cred, the Mountain Goats have released roughly a billion albums, many......

Two Gallants might hail from California but the folk-meets-southern rock strains on their new release, What The Toll Tells, evoke images of country moors and unexplored fields. Comprised of duo Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel, Two Gallants brings its offbeat tales and raw sounds to Emo’s Austin this Saturday the 14th and the Austinist wants you there. To enter, fill in the form below. Fellow San Francisco artists Trainwreck Riders open with their gritty......

All hail the last minute edition of This Week in Theatre! Cutting right to the chase, our Austinist Pick of the Week is, not surprisingly, Sodomy & Pedicures: A Pinko Feminazi Confesses. We interviewed the show’s creator, Jessica Hedrick, and she’s hilarious. Read it for yourself if you don’t believe us. Then read the comments – you’ll notice endorsements from local theatre big wigs galore. Directed by Rude Mech Sarah Richardson, and assisted by......

Time for another look at some of the artists playing the Austin City Limits Festival in September. There are only 49 days left and I have oh... just about a ton of artists left to preview on my ACL Artist Previews Page. But rainy weekends are made for writing, so if the lousy weather in Nashville holds up, I'll have a more than a few for you next Friday. Here's what I've covered since......

WEDNESDAY [19] [film] Save our Springs presents: Wildnerness River Trail and 70s Environmental Shorts at Alamo Downtown (7pm, Free) (link) [books] Larry Dierker presents My Team: Choosing My Dream Team from My Forty Years in Baseball at Barnes & Noble, La Frontera Village in Round Rock (7pm) (link) [music] IV Thieves (formerly Nic Armstrong and the Thieves), Faceless Werewolves at Stubb's (link) [music] Chip Taylor at Cactus Cafe (link) [music] Joe McDermott at Symphony Square......

MONDAY [17] [books] Michael Putegnat presents Laguna at BookPeople (7pm) (link) [music] Riverboat Gamblers, Only Crime, Complete Control, Los Dryheavers at Emo's (link) [music] English Beat at Stubb's (link) [music] The return of Dale Watson & his Lone Stars at Continental Club (10pm) (link) [music] Porter Davis at Cactus Cafe (link) [travel] Austin Travel Circle Meeting at Austin International Youth Hostel (Free, 7pm) (link) [film] Peter Whitehead's Daddy at Alamo Downtown (7pm) (link) [film] Hail,......

Wonderfully effusive post-punk-'n-pop band The Lovely Feathers hail from Montreal, and this crew is nothing if not motley. The five-some consists of: a classically-trained concert pianist, a former hardcore grunge drummer, a scholarship-winning college hockey player with a rumored criminal record in New Hampshire, a med school dropout, and a self-described Ancient Greek Hermeneutician. Their debut album, Hind Hind Legs, was produced by the guys behind Stars, Broken Social Scene, and Metric -- they......

One of the great ironies of British pop music is the fact that some of its sunniest acts hail from the most inhospitable, isolated areas on the island—New Order emerged from the industrial city of Manchester, while a certain mop-topped quartet paid their dues in the bombed-out port centre of Liverpool. The city of Sunderland, in Northeastern England, is noted for its high rates of unemployment, crime, and teen pregnancy—little wonder, then, that The Futureheads,......

The National Weather Service is putting you on alert, Austin. There's rain coming. And wind. And hail. Really big hail. The NWS says winds of up to 80 mph can be expected. EIGHTY! The rains are expected to hit Austin around 10pm, [from the Statesman] "Bob Rose, a meteorologist for the Lower Colorado River Authority, said the line of storms likely will move into the Austin area around 10 p.m. and will remain in......

DCist helps us make more sense of the world this week. Posts like this concert review are the reason for Scott Stapp. DCist also enumerates the reasons for playing ultimate frisbee, Condi's tight buns, their love of a local convenience store, and their jealousy of a person in Seattle calling the city. LAist documented graf artist Banksy's most recent visit to LA in one two three posts. They also found the best possible use......

M O N D A Y [19] [music] Spoon, stellastarr*, Morningwood and Alpha Rev at The Parish Room [holidays] Armadillo Christmas Bazaar with Austin Lounge Lizards at Austin Music Hall [link] [music] Trans-Siberian Orchestra at Frank Erwin Center [DJ] DJ Mel, Jahmight at Nasty's [music] Elizabeth McQueen and Jason Roberts at Threadgill's [film] Monday Britcoms Night, featuring Nathan Barley at the Drafthouse Downtown (7pm) [link] T U E S D A Y [20] [fundraiser] Kinky......

Imagine you are a 14-year-old musician living in Australia, accustomed to recording songs for your punk rock band in your bedroom. All of a sudden, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth is singing your praises, and you sign to Grand Royal (the Beastie Boys’ now defunct label). Over the next 11 years, you release five solo indie-pop albums, start your own record label, and collaborate with artists such as Ben Kweller, Ben Folds, Petra Haden,......