Saturday Saturday Saturday! It's a bounty of goodness unlike anything most people of privilege (or non-privilege) have seen, seeming that it is filled not only with SXSW's usual wealth of day-funs and joys and diversities, but that it is also privy to the wonderment that is Mess With Texas 2, a noon-to-ten cornucopia of music and comedy at Waterloo Park. It's sort of like a day of Fun Fun Fun Fest plus comedy minus the price plus the knowledge that there's great stuff going on everywhere else as well. So let's get to it, and all the other great stuff going on EVERYWHERE, shall we? Mess With Texas 2 @ Waterloo Park At this event, it's almost ridiculous what a wide range of musics you'll be able to see, from electro-folk to softcore-punk to anti-pop to alterna-world to whatever-other-hyphenated-genre-you-could-possibly-fabricate. Headlining are the Kim Deal-led Breeders and late-nineties punk-stars NOFX, but they are just icing on the cake of a day that features acts as intriguing as the inimitable Islands and the ever-so-subtle Atlas Sound. And, take a deep breath, because also lining up on one of the three stages is rise-from-the-ashes-via-Juno story Kimya Dawson, the mysteriously-spelled Wooden Shjips, hype-machine Simian Mobile Disco, quick risers Yeasayer, Monotonix, and No Age. And in case you haven't already caught them, this may be a convenient time to check out local respectables Shearwater and White Denim. Seriously, though, that's a ridiculous list already, and it's really just the beginning. And it's free, for God's sake! And there was some comedy at this Mess With Texas thing, too, right? Yeah, you can expect some laughs from the likes of Janeane Garofalo, Brian Posehn, Todd Barry, and Eugene Mirman, among a veritable slew of others. Make sure to get there before the sun goes down if you want to check that out, though, because we all know humor goes best with some sunshine....

We understood that Cleveland, Ohio was known for rock music, but for subtly bouncy electronic art pop? We we dubious until we discovered that the midwestern mecca is the origin of Joe Williams, whose project White Williams will be stopping through our fair city tonight at Emo's for a show opened by Rings (New York) and Cry Blood Apache (Austin)....

The death toll from the cyclone that hit Bangladesh is over 3,000 now; the UN says a million people have been left homeless. We're (*cough*) so surprised: Austin named the fall allergy capital of the nation. Alberto Gonzales didn't have an easy time speaking at the University of Florida last night. After child workers were found at one of their factories in India, Gap is determined to improve working conditions there. US Military calls......

Fun Fun Fun Fest is just around the corner and today we feature Kevin Barnes and his merry gang of electro-pop connoisseurs that comprise Of Montreal. Barnes has garnered infamy this year thanks to his shenanigans, but synth-powered melodies and instantly catchy chorus’ remain his focal outlet. The wonderful folk at Polyvinyl Record Co. have provided us with the band’s brand new video, “Gronlandic Edit” off this year’s Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?......

Of Montreal, unlike what seems to be the case with most great bands recently, is not a group from Montreal. They're from Athens, Georgia, home of the now legendary Elephant Six collective. Along with that distinction comes the obligatory psychedelic noodling and Beatles-in-the-wood-chopper homages, yet they have remained a singular and most impressive voice in the realm of Indie-dom. On their most recent release, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? lead singer Kevin Barnes......

Welcome back kiddos, the year is kicking off with a shotgun bang. Head over to Waterloo or End of an Ear and ask for these albums: as far as we can tell, it's hard to go wrong this week. The Shins Wincing the Night Away (Sub Pop) Well, they're definitely stretching, and they're definitely getting more and more familiar with the studio, as "Phantom Limb" demonstrates: James Mercer is still having trouble falling asleep,......

New music by Cursive, Kelis, Amy Millan, and more...

Recently, following the extraordinary back-to-back successes of Satanic Panic in the Attic and The Sunlandic Twins. Polyvinyl Records reissued three albums from Of Montreal's back catalog, off the now-defunct Kindercore label: The Bedside Drama: a Petite Tragedy, The Early Four Track Recordings, and The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit’s Flower. We had a phone chat with frontman Kevin Barnes a while back (admittedly, before SXSW), where we discussed the band's recent successes,......

Following in the footsteps of New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Diego, Austin's getting its very own Beauty Bar. The premise, on paper, sounds somewhat ridiculous: combining two parts full-service watering hole and one part 60's salon kitsch, the chain of hipster havens positions itself as the perfect place where you might enjoy a manicure with your martini. And they have pink wallpaper! Although they're only debuting to the public today,......

Austinist offers some brief commentary on this weekend's shows... Of Montreal played a phenomenal show on Friday night that was unflaggingly energetic and something of a spectacle to behold. The two-hour set was replete with several costume changes, a Marie Antoinette wig, and a tongue-in-cheek cover of a long-forgotten B-side by 80s popstars New Kids on the Block. Lead singer Kevin Barnes and his talented gang were clearly thrilled to play for the sold-out......

One of our favorite albums this year is Of Montreal's The Sunlandic Twins, a rollicking, silly LP bursting with brilliant pop melodies and perfectly synchronized vocals. The album all but eschews pretense, which we find altogether refreshing given today's overabundance of self-righteous, haute-couture-on-a-disc indie pop-rock. This might be because Of Montreal have been around since, well, forever: starting in the mid-90s with Bar/None and the now-defunct Kindercore Records, their discography has grown steadily on......