Once in a while, we like to take some time to introduce you to bands -- both local otherwise -- that we think you'd enjoy. Le Diamont Brut aims to showcase those MySpace gems we hope to see shine. Recommend your local suggestions by emailing music@austinist.com. THOR HARRIS What’s the Deal: It’s hard to resist reviewing an artist named Thor, as in super-brutal, Norse god with a head full of long locks and a giant......

*The views expressed in The Laurie Show are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole.* -ed. note Hello again, music lover! The Laurie Show on KUT 90.5 will be in full swing tonight, featuring great music by local (and formally local) artists whose CDs I now have in my grimy paws. Glee! Plus, I can guarantee you that once again, your live music calendar is going to be rather......

Just minutes ago, we found out that Drag City heroes Joanna Newsom and Smog were booked for a last-minute show at The Parish Room on Monday night. The up-and-coming music bloggers over at Both Sides of the Mouth (also based in our fair city) conveniently dished about the enigmatic Newsom last Thursday. Avail yourself of their lovely writeup plus these downloads below, then get yourself over to the Parish, post haste. Joanna Newsom -......

Thanks to everyone who came out to Local Music is Sexy 2 last night! We'll be posting photos from the event in the next few days -- meanwhile, if you took any of your own, we ask that you to tag them with "austinist" and share them in our flickr pool. And a special thanks to everyone who helped us put this all together: Green Potato Ventures, The Mohawk, Sparrowhead, Super!Alright!, Car Stereo (Wars), Stay......

As thespian, musician, Anime voice artist, creator of KUT's local music profile Before the Break and much, much more, Austinite Laurie Gallardo is easily one of the busiest people we've ever met. She also happens to be wonderfully charismatic -- a trait, no doubt, that helped earn her recognition as one of Austin's two "Sultry New DJs" in last year's Chronicle poll. Before the Break is a series of podcasts focused on the Central Texas......

MONDAY [22] [film] Letters from the Other Side at Congregational Church of Austin (7pm, Free) [link] [film] Hands on a Hard Body at Austin Java (8pm, Free) [link] [film] Jarhead at Cafe Mundi (8pm, Free) [link] [film] True Stories at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) [link] [film] Salt of the Earth at MonkeyWrench Books (8pm, $5) [link] [film] Anime Monday at Ventana del Sol (7:30pm) [link] [tv] 24 Season Finale at Alamo Downtown (7pm, Free) [link]......

If you’re participating in SXSW this year, we hope you’ve got a day planner or something so you can keep track of all the crazy shizz that’s going on around town. Speaking of, here’s something else you should mark on your calendars. I Eat Records (with a little help from Austinist) is throwing a couple of FREE day parties this Friday AND Saturday at Spider House, and you really don’t want to miss ‘em.......

Alright. It’s a bit late for you to be trying to get reasonable entrance into anything now. So, unless you’re willing to pony-up some serious duckets for a wristband/badge/handgun, you’re going to need an alternate plan to view/hear live music. For free. Throw free booze or maybe even some free food on there too. Fuck it! It's the SxSW 2006 Free-Day-Party-type Party Time. But you have to understand that the free day/night venues/parties must......

A piece of their body of work, that is! Austinist's favorite Aussie transplants -- the dashing foursome going by The Handsome Charlies -- are playing a (free) show at Hole in The Wall tomorrow evening (Saturday), with Happy Bullets from Dallas and The Unbearables. And, because we're in a festive mood, we're giving away two copies of their recently released LP, Gentlemen Never Tell, and a Handsome Charlies T-shirt (new, not used.) Send us......

Austinist is very happy to celebrate the debut CD release party for local five-piece The Glass Family on Thursday night at the Continental Club. The incandescent musicianship featured on Sleep Inside This Wheel evokes Wilco, Gram Parsons, The Ponys, My Bloody Valentine, and Kent while suggesting that The Glass Family has achieved something uniquely their own in the space of ethereal alt-country and indie rock. The band produced Sleep Inside This Wheel over a......

· Laura Cantrell performs two nights of her signature blend of country and folk at the Cactus Cafe. Her third album, Humming By The Flowered Vine, finds the Nashville-born singer again exploring themes of heartache, unrequited love and bittersweet nostalgia. "Letters", her cover of an old Lucinda Williams song, is particularly touching. As is "Khaki & Corduroy", which recounts her experience moving to New York and trying to find her way - she further articulates......

Cross’n Over, the title track of Ethan Azarian’s second solo album, is about death. But far from dwelling on the macabre, this gentle folk song focuses on redemption and renewal: "no more gamblin' and drinkin' / no more taking this good life for granted / and I'm seein' my lovely / on the other side", exalts Ethan. This sets the tone for the rest of the record, which is distinguished by distinctly introspective meditations......

M O N D A Y 12 film · QT6 at the Drafthouse Downtown: Documentary Night (7pm and 9:45pm) music · David Garza at Cactus Cafe [Austinist Review] music · Black Angels, Modey Lemon, Rubble and Skullening at Emo's [Austinist Review] outdoors · Park Day at Zilker! Making Austin Home is putting on a huge day of "rest, relaxation and distraction" for Katrina survivors. (10am-6pm) [More Info] T U E S D A Y 13theatre......

Tonight's Killers + Louis XIV show at Stubb's is completely sold out - you could opt to unload $160 for a pair of tickets, but they're simply not worth it. Instead, we have two great alternatives for you... and they're free! The White Ghost Shivers are, well, kinda nuts. And that's why we like them! That, and the fact that they play a lively blend of hillbilly bluegrass folk and always seem to put on......

We've been given some free CDs and a few spots on the guestlist for tonight's I Eat Records label launch show at Emo's, which we're passing on to you guys ... because we love you! Yes, you. The gargantuan lineup starts at 8 and includes sets by (take a deep breath): The Glass Family Thor & Friends Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater The Casting Couch Orange Mothers Ethan Azarian Will Sheff (of Okkervil River) Hitchhike......

This week's IST list is a work in progress. Bear with us -- we're tired and hungover. M O N D A Y music · I Eat Records label launch show at Emo's with: The Glass Family, Thor & Friends, Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater, The Casting Couch, Orange Mothers, Ethan Azarian, Will Sheff (of Okkervil River), Hitchhike, The Handsome Charlies, Fluffers Union, and Fine Fifteen. Benefiting SafePlace and Capital Area Food Bank, new compilation CDs......

Compiling a respectable musical showcase of local talent that lends credibility to Austin’s self-proclaimed "Live Music Capital" claim is, if not a Sisyphean endeavor, certainly an extraordinarily daunting task. But indie upstart label I Eat Records somehow manages to accomplish just this with their debut compilation CD, "Appetizers & Leftovers". Make no mistake, the album's modest titling almost deliberately shrouds the fact that hidden within lies an ambitious 21-course aural feast featuring everyone from......