Today we break the city record for the most triple-digit-days in a year, beating the 69 days over 100 in 1925. Can you imagine what such hot weather would have been like in the '20s without so much air-conditioning available? In related news, KUT played a neat piece by Ruth Pennebaker this morning on the heat and how we Texans react to it. more ›

In these sweltering dog days of summer, the Town Lake Animal Center has more than 20 dogs who are vulnerable and at risk from the extreme heat. As long as the temperature remains over 100 degrees, adoption fees for these older dogs will be waived. more ›

Front Steps and Mobile Loaves and Fishes, two nonprofits which serve Austin's homeless population, are scheduled to receive 76,000 bottles of water from Houston's I Am Waters Foundation on Wednesday. This foundation is dedicated to providing clean drinking water to the homeless, with words of inspiration on the bottle. 26,000 of their donated bottles will go to MLF, with 50,000 going to Front Steps, the organization that manages ARCH downtown. Given the extremely hot summer our city is set to face, Front Steps expects to hand out about 500 bottles of water a day. [KUT News] more ›

With temperatures already hitting the triple digits, it's proving to be a scorcher of a...spring? more ›

• Health care reform rally at the First United Methodist Church on Saturday had people shouting at each other across a median on 12th Street, (on a block between Lavaca and Colorado.) See the picture of Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) making his own devil horns!
• Three boaters rescued after being lost for 8 days in the Gulf of Mexico! They survived on crackers, gum and beer, before being picked up by a yacht where they were served steaks!
• Have you seen this escapee from the Burnet County Jail?

KLBJ DJs suspended after making repeated racial slurs. Austin man's death likely to be heat-related. Our troops need their smokes. Oh Paris, we don't need your stinkin' smiles. Je t'aime! Meghan, just come out of the closet...as a Democrat. 50 million and counting. Who needs health coverage, really. Obama and his mom jeans (video). more ›

Our Indieroke night returns this Tuesday to The Mohawk. What started out as a one-off fling with rock stardom has turned into a monthly gathering of like-minded folks craving that fleeting moment of exhilaration. If you haven’t made it to one yet, we strongly recommend getting there in a timely fashion to get your name and song on the list early…and often. (You know who you are!) We will have multiple song list books going forward to ease that pain. more ›

Image provided by Soundcheck MagazineWhile attending the University of Texas at Austin, one faces a constant barrage of “the weekend starts on Thursday” type advertisements. Although largely for exposure of Thursday night drink specials at bars on 6th Street, the intrinsic appeal of that statement bleeds through on days like these. Kick off your weekend early (and gently) with Swedish singer-songwriter José González at The Parish or dance away at the Electric Six show at... more ›

Image from Team Fabrication’s MySpace Emo’s is just one of the places you could be this Friday evening. Local experimental act, The Octopus Project released their latest full-length, Hello, Avalance on Peek-A-Boo Records last month and will be providing nuggets of electronic mayhem from the new album and past releases, no doubt. Cue and Horse+Donkey round off this bill of unique Austin acts on the outside stage. Inside at Emo’s, Those Peabodys will be on... more ›

Still energized after Monday evening’s Gogol Bordello show? No need to slow down because Hot Hot Heat are in town tonight to supply dance friendly ditties for further boogying. The Canadian outfit will play Emo’s in support of their latest effort, Happiness Ltd. For a chance to win free tickets and for details on the show, continue reading after the jump. And ready yourself for an assortment of new wave inspired, synth-riddled melodies. "Bandages" on... more ›

The Health Alliance For Austin Musicians (or HAAM) provides local artists with low-cost health care and other related services. This year’s HAAM Benefit Day is here (today), and the organization is presenting numerous shows all over town this evening, along with a Telethon on ME Television. One can offer their assistance in funds by donating online as well. The HAAM Benefit Day is presented with support from a number of entities, including Whole Foods... more ›

ACL Previews Austinist Launches Dedicated ACL Page! Preview: Manchester Orchestra and Patterson Hood Preview: Ian Ball and the Little Ones Interview: Paolo Nutini ACL Band Clash, Round 2: The Killers Vs. Björk Weekly Features Tales Of Mere Existence Hots On #9: Sound Off New Release Tuesday: Frisell's Floratone The Argyle Academy New Movie Releases: The Invasion, Superbad, Death at a Funeral, and More Truesday: Friesday The Laurie Show News, Features, and More Travis County... more ›

Friday, July 6artB Scene - Too Darn Hot! at Blanton Museum of Art, MLK at Congress ($5-$10) booksAlan Porter presents Before They Were Beatles, with Beatles cover band Daytripper at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedyJohn O’Connell with Jesse Pangelinian at Cap City Comedy Club comedyPunchline, open mic stand up comedy at ColdTowne Theater (10pm) comedyLovey and Lovey at ColdTowne Theater (8pm) comedyWeekly Improv Cage Match! at ColdTowne Theater (11:30) film"Bonnie & Clyde" and "White Heat" at The... more ›

It just doesn't get darker than this. The Paramount Theatre's summer classic film series continues this week with some rough 'n tumble gangsta films and crime classics, featuring stars from Marilyn Monroe to Warren Beatty to Barbara Stanwyck to Al Pacino. People may say our society's been getting more violent, but you'll definitely be shaking in your seat at these old-school thrillers. Want to win tickets to Scarface? Or to the White Heat / Bonnie... more ›

The 2007 ACL Fest lineup came into focus a bit earlier than expected this afternoon. Much like last year's online scavenger hunt, the folks at Charles Attal have decided to whet appetites with an ACL Crossword puzzle in this Thursday's Chronicle. The two big names revealed today: The White Stripes and Björk. Well played, ACL. The crossword reveal: The White Stripes, Björk, The Decemberists, Peter, Bjorn, and John, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Robert Earl Keen,... more ›

FRIDAY [9] art • Grand Opening Party for DRAW, 150 artists strong at Gallery Lombardi (7pm - 10pm) comedy • Todd Barry, Matt Bearden at Emo's Lounge music • Deerhoof, Macromantics, Experimental Dental School at Emo's music • Primordial Undermind at End of an Ear (6pm, Free) music • The Everyday People CD Release Show with The Hero Factor, Live Oak Decline at The Parish Room music • Lucinda Williams, Heartless Bastards at Stubb's... more ›

The city of Austin is a bastion of local print and internet media publications of many varieties, and we at the Austinist are always excited to get our from under our cave desks, rub the sleep from our eyes, and actually read something that has been printed on a real live piece of paper once in a while. Or just download the .PDF. Regardless of how we come to read our favorite local print publications,... more ›

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... more ›

FRIDAY [5] film • Sinus Show: Die Hard at Alamo Downtown (7pm & 10pm, $12.50) music • Amplified Heat, Lions, Full Stride, The Flood at Emo's (Inside) music • Grand Champeen, Quien Es Boom, The Fall Collection, The Alice Rose at Emo's (Lounge) music • Lemurs, The Lord Henry, Clap!Clap!, Lomita at Emo's (Outside) music • The Black & White Years, AUX, The Paper South, Aster Years at Stubb's music • Summer of Blood,... more ›

Whether you think of it as a test run for SXSW, a belated Christmas present to local music fans, or an excuse to drink for seven days straight, Emo's Free Week kicks off today with a schedule of acts that reads like a who's-who of local punk, indie, and rock. As the showcases are all without cover, we'd recommend getting there early. Emo's Free Week January 2-8 603 Red River Tuesday, January 2 Inside:... more ›

THURSDAY [2] film • Austinist, PartyEnds.com, and a bunch of other folks team up to host a free screening of the Vice Guide to Travel at Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek (7:30pm, Free!) fashion/party • Prototype Vintage celebrates their first anniversary on First Thursday, with snacks and beverages, DJ Little Joe, and more at Prototype Vintage (7-10pm) art • Celebrated Skin: Tatoo Art and Artists Opening at Julia C. Butridge Gallery @ DAC (6pm) art... more ›

Thunderbirds Are Now! are kinda like your kid brother if he started a band with a herd of rabid hipster buffalo. On the weekends, they rock out in your parents' wood-paneled basement, listen to Hot Hot Heat LPs, and make a big mess. Sure, you're worried about the whole nose candy thing, but they sound damn good, so you decide to let the little peckerwood have his fun. (TAN! are actually from Detroit, most... more ›

He's a comedian, a novelist, an ordained minister, a dad, a husband, and a walker through Spain (ask him about that walking trip sometime). What's isn't Owen Egerton? If you ask that question, one of your answers won't be a member of hot local boy band Cedar Fever. And, as if he isn't busy enough already, he's one of the main dudes behind The Right to Marry, an awesome organization whose goal "...is to promote... more ›

Out at the refurbished Del Valle High School football stadium, a staged homecoming football game was filmed last Friday night and into the pre-dawn hours of Saturday. The “game” was the backdrop for the Austin-based NBC series Friday Night Lights. The show’s pilot premieres tonight at 7:00 p.m. “We wrapped at 4:00 a.m.,” assistant director Michael Waxman said. “I’ve had about 3-1/2 hours of sleep at this point.” Waxman was talking by cell phone from... more ›

FRIDAY [29] film/aGLIFF • Puccini For Beginners at Regal Cinemas at Arbor (7pm) film/aGLIFF • Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds at Regal Cinemas at Arbor (7:30pm) film/aGLIFF • The Truth or Consequences of Delmas Howe at Regal Cinemas at Arbor (9:15pm) film/aGLIFF • The Sex Movie at Regal Cinemas at Arbor (9:45pm) party/aGLIFF • Opening Night Gala at Austin City Hall (9pm) film • Sinus Show: Terminator at Alamo Drafthouse (7pm & 10pm, $12.50)... more ›

Fans of the indie-rock will find much to like in the latest concert update. Flying V lovers My Morning Jacket, the willfully obtuse Fiery Furnaces, and alt.country godfather Jay Farrar have each been added to Austin's fall music schedule. As we've mentioned, the sheer volume of shows is unprecedented, so get out and enjoy the fact that every band you like is coming to town in the next two months. Thanks as always to... more ›

WEDNESDAY [6] film • The Stunt Man with Richard Rush Live in Person at Alamo Downtown (6:45pm, $10) food • Angel Valley Organic Farm Farmstand at Asian American Cultural Center, 11713 Jollyville Road (10am-2pm) film • TerrorStorm with Alex Jones Live at Alamo South (7pm) film • Before Sunrise at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) film • Zatoichi: 7 & 8 at Spider House (8pm, Free) film • Quai Des Ofevres at Paramount Theatre (7:15pm)... more ›

As Elvis Costello might say, we just don't know where to begin. Even if you are skipping ACL, the fall is turning into a music wonderland. Acts of every genre and size are booking Austin's clubs up like there's no tomorrow, leaving music lovers with many questions on how to spend both time and cash this fall. Trust us, you can't see it all, so pick your favorites and buy tickets in advance to... more ›

While August continues to look farily quiet for roadshows, September and October are just blowing up. Many indie stalwarts have recently scheduled appearances for fall semester, so start saving up some coin. Among the highlights: Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists, M. Ward, Jose Gonzales, and Ladytron. Unless you've been under a rock this week, you already know that loud dinosaurs The Rolling Stones are also planning a visit; that said, no ticket info has become... more ›

Nashville country singer Willie Heath Neal was, in his young adulthood, part of a punk rock troupe during a few years spent traipsing around Asia with the Navy. Born in the backseat of a Georgia state trooper's car, Neal inherited his mother's dream of having a career in music, and after returning to the states in his early twenties decided to return to the country and honky tonk that had informed much of his... more ›