On Friday evening, The Austin Music Electronic GRID presents a two stage showcase at Karma Lounge featuring live electronic music and a number of DJs such as EXCEED, Happy PANJOMA, Shuttle Debris, riTch N, and Daetron Vargas. It all kicks off at 10 p.m. with a dance contest a midnight to boot! The winner receives $100 in cash but the contest is limited to 20 people -- sign-up is on a first-come, first-served basis. Contestants will have 30 seconds to impress a panel of judges, go-go girls (who will also dance through the course of the evening in various spots at the venue including a “human aquarium” saturated by black lights), and professional dancers. The prize money will be awarded to the winner at the end of the contest. Thirty seconds of fame with the possibility of hundred quid as well -- sounds like a win-win situation! Also on Friday, Within Chaos and The Destro metal up Red 7 -- both bands are scheduled to play OZZFEST 2008 in Dallas next month!...

The thought of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland usually conjures up a variety of memories and images, be it fantasy lands or magic mushrooms. Ayers Designs and a couple of local electronic acts are throwing a shin-dig tied to that theme, and we want you there. Just fill out the form below for a chance to be transported down the rabbit hole of OHN’s down-tempo electronica, as well as Lila’s Medicine. Mind altering substances not included......

FRIDAY [16] music •Of Montreal, Elekibass, DJ Jester the Filipino Fist at Emo's (outside) music •Those Peabodys, Ume, Oh, Beast!, El Paso Hot Button at Emo's music •Spank Dance Company, Hello Lovers at Emo's Lounge music •Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Reckless Kelly at La Zona Rosa music •Long John Thomas & The Duff, Bellfuries, Eddie Clendening & The Blue Ribbon Boys, The Aquasonics at Continental Club music •Bruce Robison at Cactus Café (9pm,......

THURSDAY [15] benefit •St. Valentine's Day-After Massacre, A Spay/Neuter Fundraiser at Mother Egan's (5:30pm-7pm) art •Public Tour: Michener and Modernism at Blanton Museum (7:00 - 8:00 PM) art •Public Tour: By the River by Radcliffe Bailey at Blanton Museum (12:30 - 1:00 PM) ballet •Ballet Austin presents Director's Choice at The Paramount Theatre (8pm) film •Flicker Film Festival at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film •Love Bites: The 80s Power Ballad Singalong at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown......

MONDAY [12] benefit • Everychild House Party 2007 at Stubb's ($25/$10 Adults/Children) books • Quincy Troupe presents The Architecture of Language at BookPeople (7:00pm) film • Texas Music Museum presents "JAZZ," a six-part film/discussion series with Dr James Polk at Austin Public Library, Carver Branch (7pm) film • Darkon: The Movie at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Half-Cocked at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown food • Central Market Cooking Class with Chef Vance Ely: Gentlemen Entertain:......

FRIDAY [25] food • Hatch Chile Festival at Central Market North Lamar (8am-9pm) shopping • Flipnotics Clothespad celebrates its 14th anniversary by hosting a big sidewalk sale, with $10 "Stuff a Bag" vintage threads for the ladies and 20% everything else (8am-9pm) books • Robin Meyers presents Why the Christian Right is Wrong: A Minister's Manifesto for Taking Back Your Faith, Your Flag, Your Future at BookPeople (7pm) music • Gorilla Biscuits, Terror, Comeback......

TUESDAY [22] music • Girl in a Coma, The Randies, Rainman Suite at Flamingo Cantina ($7, 8:30pm) ® music • Caroline Casey and Meshbanes at Hole in the Wall (10pm) ® music • Beerfest Week! Birthday bash with Jimmy Deveney Allstars, Heather Rae & the Moonshine Boys, Long Shadows at Beerland comedy • Howard Kremer with Skyler Stone at Cap City Comedy Club (Through 26th) film • Best of Blanks on a Blank Filmmaking......

M O N D A Y [3] film · "Bamako Chic"'s creator Maureen Gosling, a former Austin resident, is back in town hosting a special fundraising screening of "Blossoms of Fire" - her 16mm documentary film about the people of Juchitán, Oaxaca, Mexico - at Austin Studios. (7pm, map) music · 54 Seconds play Lucky Lounge (10pm) in-store · Billy Joe Shaver at Waterloo Records (5pm) film · aGLIFF runs through Saturday - check their......

We're absolutely, undeniably terrified of this week. See you next Monday -- if we can still remember who we are. M O N D A Y [19] film · End of an Ear and Plexifilm bring you "Saint Etienne Presents Finisterre", a film about London by Paul Kelly and Kieran Evans, at the Drafthouse South Lamar. (Free! 9:45pm) music/party · Nic Armstrong & The Thieves take over Club DeVille all night long - and they're......

The Austinist isn’t very, how you say, musically inclined. We’re better at listening to it than playing it. But we can keep a beat. I mean, we’re not totally hopeless. Which is why Clap!Clap! is our kind of band. There’s a clapping beat in every song! We don’t have to clap alone! This is sheer genius. You can shake your ass and clap along with Clap!Clap! tonight at club Surveillance at Karma Lounge. They’ll......

There's just too much stuff happening tonight to keep track of, so we're reposting the IST list for your convenience. See you out there. ( F I R S T ) T H U R S D A Y art · In House Gallery presents “Barnyard”, with paintings by Ethan Azarian, Felice House, Rachel Koper & Rainey Navaro. 5-10pm. Thanks, Austinist newbie Craig! [map] music · Hurts to Purr, Maneja Beto, and La La Land......

Once you've thoroughly indulged your inner punk-feminist at the the Le Tigre show at Emo’s tonight, be one of the cool kids and head to the after party w/ DJ Ceeplus at Club Surveillance/Karma Lounge (119 W. 8th St.). The Emo's show should be over by 1:00 in the AM, and those 24 hour party people at Teleportdoor will keep the doors open for you. There will be plenty of giveaways, including posters and......

We've given the IST list a fab makeover - now with pictures, music links, and more! exclamation! marks! Whether you love it or hate it, let us know - we do this for you, after all. And we apologize for the delay in posting this; one word: meetings. Another word: narcolepsy. We're bummed that We Are Scientists decided to bail on their Austin show, but nevertheless there's a full week ahead of us. Pace yourselves,......

So A Flock of Seagulls won't be playing Elysium tonight, but there are a few great shows happening around town that are bound to tickle your fancy...pants. IF YOU LIKE ... The Rapture, The Faint, or tight pink jeans: Rock out with electroclash wizards Ghostland Observatory at Karma Lounge @ 10pm. They're fresh off a hugely successful East Coast tour, so come and give 'em a warm Austin welcome back! Jack Johnson: Nashville singer-songwriter......

We just found out from the people at Elysium that Friday's A Flock of Seagulls show has been postponed, due to "circumstances beyond their control." If you really need your New Wave fix, you could always road trip it out to Englewood, Colorado next month, where they'll be performing with DEVO. While a new date hasn't yet been set, expect them back here in August or September. Austinist will keep you posted. And anyways,......

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. Here's to your livers and wallets making it through this week. MONDAY [books] Will Clarke talks crazy with his latest novel, Lord Vishnu's Love Handles @ Bookpeople, 7pm [film] Starchaser in 3-D! @ Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, 7pm, $1 + $1 Glasses Rental [music] 54 Seconds @ Lucky Lounge [music] Paris 49 @ Continental Club TUESDAY [music] Cafe Tacvba with Grupo Fantasmo @ Stubb's BBQ, Doors at 7 pm [music] Alkaline Trio with......

Leave the TV off and get out of the house, because there's tons of fun things happening around town tonight! [music/dance party] Rock out at Teleport Door's weekly electroclash dancy party, Surveillance, at Karma Lounge w/ guests The Chapters & Loxsly. Dj Jerel opening. [beer] Drink yourself into a stupor and check out some of our best bars while you're at it at Indepedence Brewing's Pub Crawl. [art/sound] Head over to Gallery Lombardi for the......

Just a reminder for you Thursday night dance party seekers that Teleportdoor is now having its elctroclash dance night, Surveillance, at the Karma Lounge every Thursday. So find some time to sneak away from your scheduled Whiskey Bar tonight to hear the bubble-gum electro-pop teen-beat heartthrob goodness that is Loxsly followed by the darker new wave sounds of The Chapters. DJs New Berlin + Care Clusaki are sure to keep you clashing all night......

Here in Austin, it's common knowledge that we don't wait for Friday or Saturday to start getting drunk and acting foolish socializing. Just ask any hipster, any co-ed or any thirty-something and they'll tell you, "the weekend starts on THURSDAY." Well...the times are changing, and thanks to a few downtown bars, the idea of when the weekend starts might have to change as well. You see, Wednesday night has quickly burrowed it's way into......

MONDAY [music, swing dancing] Paris 49 weekly set at the Continental Club, 6:30-8:30, No Cover! [music] The Wind-Up Bird, Dirty Projectors, Vuk, at Nat Baldwin at Emo's [lecture] LBJ School's Future Forum series hosts "Genocide: Personal Perspectives from Burundi". LBJ Library, 7pm TUESDAY [film] Jean Luc Godard's Breathless at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, presented by the Austin Film Society [film] Fast Times at Ridgemont High and American Graffiti at Paramount State Theatre (through Wednesday) [music]......

Don't forget to hook up with the Austinist Crew for Happy Hour at the New Opal Divine's Penn Field Location, for those of you who missed the very cool banner on the top of the page. 102.3 is going to be there presenting Shane Bartell by pure coincidence! Should be a good time, especially with the lady killer/Austinist contributor Justin Cox present. Don't forget to check out Ghostland Observatory and Avenue D at Karma Lounge......

If you missed last month’s Holy Trinity Night at Karma Lounge, fear not! They’re doing it all over again tonight, featuring DJ Starsign, Irdbisa of NEW BERLIN, and special mashups by Western Arms. Tomorrow at the Karma Lounge, you can catch Avenue D and local indie band (and Austinist fave) Ghostland Observatory. Tomorrow's event kicks off Surveillance, the monthly Thursday night party at Karma, presented by Teleportdoor. So that’s TWO full nights of dance party......

What with the resurgence of 80's Zeitgeist influencing nearly everything from fashion to music to politics nowadays, it was only a matter of time before someone brought the retro badassness to Austin. Last night the gregarious folks over at Teleportdoor kicked off the premiere of Holy Trinity, a monthly party showcasing the hugely influential repertoire of the 80's English New Wave Synthpop triumvirate: The Smiths, Depeche Mode, and The Cure, and the bands that subsequently......

Starting this Wednesday, April 6th, there's a new monthly party in town at the Karma Lounge (119 W. 8th St.). The first Wednesday of every month shall henceforth be known as Holy Trinity Night, an aptly named event where local DJs will join together to play sweet music by or inspired by The Smiths, The Cure, and Depeche Mode. Does life get any better than that? No, no it doesn't. (We don't know what......