In Stool Pigeon, a guest monologist takes the spotlight, regales the audience with a brief tale about a meaningful moment in their life, then steps aside to watch while the good people of ColdTowne twist their stories into improv hilarity. This Saturday, our own Joshua Huck stands up! Next week, 10/25, none other than Miles Zuniga, lead singer of Fastball, graces the stage. On 11/1, the theater welcomes Austin Chronicle editor Louis Black....

Photos by Joshua Huck......

We entered the park around 1:10pm to the strains of a seriously thrashy number from Yo La Tengo. It was impressive to hear how determined YLT were to throw out some serious noise rock at such an early hour. Being a bit sunburned and rather low-energy, we listened rather than watched, grabbed a blissfully freezing cold beer, and headed over to grab a spot for The National. The National (1:30pm): What perfect music for......

Photos by Joshua Huck......

Photos by Joshua Huck......

Photos by Joshua Huck......

Andrew Bird (5:30pm): After this set, one Austinist staffer remarked: "This guy just beamed in from planet music." And with a stage full of spinning gramophones, violins, finger cymbals, and glockenspiels, it was hard to dispute that quip. Bird took the stage slightly late due to a tardy finish by Blue October, which had the crowd snarling over their shoulders at the lengthy drum and guitar codas coming off the main stage. But when......

Photos by Joshua Huck......

We knew it would happen. After an unseasonably cool June and July, August is here, and it's hot. It's clearly time to eat a ginormous salad. This is what we're having: Jo's Cobb is surprisingly delicious. You could douse Grandma Winslow's hand in the tamari dressing at Mother's and I'd nibble on it. Hence, the side salad there is to die for by default. (Editor's note: While Mother's recovers from a little incident they......

You’ve got to possess a certain amount of bravado or at least a total lack of giving a shit about current trends to bust out the white denim and strut down the street, or Mohawk Friday night. And that’s exactly how the band must feel about their music, taking long strides with their heads held high. Because White Denim has created something that is uniquely alarming in all its post-whatever, garage-ish experimentation. My comrades......

White Denim are sort of an anomaly in Austin: they aren't iPod dance-rock, they don't have a gimmick, and they haven't been consumed by the scene's self-conscious rock elite. They seem to be making it based on the purest of rock 'n roll fantasies: a live show that makes people turn around and smile at each other, and songs which catalyze that in more ways than one. But describing their sound can be difficult.......

Arguably, he was the most important member of one of the greatest rock bands of all time, Fleetwood Mac. As a solo musician, he has garnered consistent critical acclaim and a dedicated following for a remarkable and deceptively complex catalog. What's more, our civilization owes him a great debt for penning the hit "Holiday Road" for National Lampoon's Vacation at a time when our nation desperately needed audio respite from the mainstream pabulum of......

Already considered the "Best New Club in Austin" by those who know, the Mohawk continues its ever-accelerating expansion with the introduction of the Grizzly Bar, a "happy hour saloon" that will operate inside the Mohawk from 5-8pm on most days. Think of it as a place to enjoy a leisurely post-work drink before really starting your evening programming. The Grizzly Bar will be a daily platform for political banter, beer pyramids, spitting, and arm wrestling.......

Do you live in Austin? Of course you do. Are you in a band? Of course you are, you live in Austin. Well, we here at the Austinist, renowned bastion of local music support, are introducing a new column on the last Friday of every month to broadcast your band's aural accomplishments to the rest of the community. So, if your band, or a friend's band, or your professor's band, or your ex's band,......

Say what you will about the Austin music scene, if there's one thing we've got in spades, it's heart. And breakfast tacos. But that's another story altogether. Our bands can take any other city's bands on when it comes to sheer per capita productivity and playing out, never leaving their respective constituencies on the sidelines. And albums? Lordy, just walk into Waterloo Records and check out the local music section: 2006 was a banner......

15. Mogwai - Mr. Beast (Matador) As ever, Mogwai manage to blend unadulterated post-rock weight to their shoegazer tendencies with tracks like "Glasgow Mega Snake" and "Folk Death 95," showcasing their ability to create anthems with no words. This is where Mr. Beast really shines, in between blistering chord progressions and gradual swings into corybantic climaxes. In some ways a throwback to earlier (and heavier) Mogwai material, Mr. Beast isn't merely a rock album.......

Yet another emerging indie act from Canada, Shapes and Sizes’ self-titled debut blends earnest pop-rock with somewhat abnormal meter. Out now on Asthmatic Kitty, the record kicks off with “Island’s Gone Band”, a peculiar two songs in one introduction to the band. “I Am Cold” builds from a sparse arrangement into a multi-instrumental crescendo while “Wilderness” features the band’s trait of melding melody with noise. Caila Thompson-Hannant’s vocal chops rank up there with the......

We missed that whole “Black Friday” thing (post-traumatic stress symptoms related to a former life working retail), and the holidays are creeping up faster than a cheer-stealing Grinch in a dogsled. We’re sure that some of you, dear readers, find yourselves in a similar boat. But, before you start snapping up pre-packaged bath sets at Target, check out Austinist’s very special recommendations. We’ve sorted through some of the sparkliest surprises available locally and on the......

Post by Joshua Huck Glasgow sextet Camera Obscura is tippy-toeing into town this Saturday evening, bringing some much-needed elegance to Emo's rock-scarred halls. Understudies of Stuart Murdoch and Co. from Belle & Sebastian, their performance is sure to be the sleeper stunner of the live music year, with equal parts melancholy and beauty to be lapped up by appreciative fans. As we found out the hard way, their critically acclaimed new album Let's Get......