Somehow I overlooked the first couple of years of Fx3 as a transplant to Austin still elated and overwhelmed by the plethora of accessible live music available on the regular. But in 2009, I scored a cozy introduction manning a booth at the fest for a few hours one day in exchange for a weekend wristband. Why not, right? I had no idea what to expect and found myself pleasantly surprised by the laid back scene - not too crowded, manageable lines for beer/food, and a good mix of fans. I have since happily resigned any interest I once had in attending ACL for a yearly fling with Fun Fun Fun. And while I adore the excitement and unparalleled buzz SXSW generates, the intimacy of Fx3 has made it my favorite of Austin’s fests. more ›

Even though Mister Heavenly has been playing shows around the US since late last year, their first full length record Out of Love was just released earlier this month. Indie rock leaders Nick Thorburn (Islands/The Unicorns), Ryan Kattner (Man Man), and Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse) came together as their respective former bands toured together starting in 2007, but didn't officially form the group until 2010. The trio stopped by Austin back in December and then again for SXSW with Michael Cera standing in on bass temporarily. more ›

As anyone at last night’s Man Man show will agree, the band put on one hell of a live show - arguably one of the best around. In t-shirts with “roadie” written across their back, the five-piece and friends transformed the outside stage at Emo’s into a mystical junkyard/art instillation with lights, a small television showing a man with a bloody nose, the front of a bicycle attached to a pole and, of course, various scattered instruments all centered around two keyboards and a drum kit. more ›

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with the crazy crew from Man Man. Their theatrical performance will provide the perfect spectacle for your post-happy hour, margarita-mindset. With colorful stage names - Honus Honus, Sergei Sogay, Pow Pow, Critter Crat and Chang Wang - and painted faces, this five-piece from Philly will bring a smile to your face and a wiggle to your hips with their experimental, multi-instrumental show featuring clavinet, flute, trumpet, sousaphone, saxophone, French horn, marimba, euphonium, xylophone and random percussive instruments. Their unique production has been fittingly described as “Viking-vaudeville” and “manic Gypsy jazz.” more ›

Ryan Kattner shows up on time to the media tent, swilling a 24oz Tecate, dressed in a Canadian tux. He is “Honus Honus,” the mustachioed lead singer of Philly’s experimental, multi-instrumentalist group Man Man. We find refuge in a tent backstage while Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti play a couple yards away on the Orange Stage and agree to speak into my phone’s voice recorder as clearly as possible. I thank him for taking the time to meet with Austinist and apologize for not being totally organized. We agree to give it the old college try. This brief encounter is consistent with the obscure, circus show reputation of Man Man as we know them. Honus is an intriguing and eccentric storyteller, just ready to have some fun. more ›

Man Man is kind of like a real life version of the Muppet Band. Their brand of musical stylings incorporates a quirky, theatrical dynamic which blends seamlessly with their experimental, multi-instrumental production. With zany stage names (Honus Honus, Sergei Sogay, Pow Pow, Critter Crat and Chang Wang) often paired with synchronized white outfits and war paint (worn for live shows), the extraordinary five-piece from Philly has certainly made a bold impression since forming in 2003. more ›

Controlled chaos is an under statement for the performance that Man Man brought to the stage. These guys totally owned the stage presenting a gypsy rock mess of instrumentals. more ›

Xachua’Bsh, Washington's quintet has quickly become a buzzing glimmer of hope in a massive onslaught of post-SX dance rock fervor, offering ornate instrumentation and traditional folk elements in non-traditional ways with their EP, Sun Giant. Thick vocal reverb (which earns them unfair Band of Horses comparisons), Fleetwood Mac inspired harmony, and layered instrumentation (tin pans, fiddle, piano, shakers, mandolin) lend the songs a focused yet limber vibe. "White Winter Hymnal" borrows from traditional folk songs and church choir on the front porch purity, but the precise execution of the harmonized round and the pristine production give the track a feeling of soaring perfection. more ›

Describing the music this Philly fivesome spew and spurt forth is a tricky task, but here’s one interpretation. They’re kind of like if a giant ran through a major city and gobbled up Tom Waits circa Swordfishtrombones, a 50s-era jazz singer, a gypsy musical troupe and a circus of experimental sounds. Man Man would be the sound his stomach made as it rumbled and groaned with a dangerously volatile case of indigestion. Their sets during South by were wildly entertaining with all members bouncing around the stage in white t-shirts, shorts and face paint banging on just about anything they could. more ›

Rumors of a Red River invasion by a wacky troupe of sea chantey-warbling, non-stop exhibitionists throwing themselves around on stage while singing “Fee-fi-fo-fum” in union can only mean one thing- Man Man must be returning to Austin. It seems like ages ago that the band opened for Okkervil River inside Stubb’s, performing their powder-keg victory dance to a tightly packed, surprised but impressed audience, and since then they’ve caught on as quickly as one... more ›

WEDNESDAY [9] books • Amy Guth presents Three Fallen Women at BookWoman (7:00pm) comedy • Jimmie Roulette at Cap City Comedy Club film • Texas Doc Tour: "Ten Under Ten 2007" at Alamo Downtown film • "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with Golden Ticket Giveaway at Alamo Downtown film • Weird Wednesdays: "Cop Killers" at Alamo Downtown food • Angel Valley Organic Farm Farmstand at Asian American Cultural Center, 11713 Jollyville Road (10am-2pm) food... more ›

Philly crackheads Man Man have carved out a tidy niche for themselves in the indie blogosphere with their Captain Beefheart-meets-High School Musical circus of insanity. Lucky you, they're playing the Emo's outdoor stage tonight! But openers The Thermals are really the ones to watch. The Portland garage act's Bush-baiting LP, The Body The Blood The Machine, has proven one of the more popular independent releases of the summer, thanks in no small part to... more ›

THURSDAY [12] music • FactoryPeople turns 3, and they're throwing a whole weekend's worth of awesome activities, starting with DJs sets by DFA Records' Juan McLean and Tim Sweeney at FactoryPeople (7-10pm) ® music • DFA Records artists Juan McLean and Tim Sweeney at Whisky Bar (10pm-2am, $12/$10) ® music • Man Man, Thermals, Oh, Beast! at Emo's ® music • San Saba County at Waterloo Records (5pm) music • San Saba County, Sorta... more ›

"One of the shows we sort of randomly got in New York a couple months ago was set up by a guy who downloaded all our music illegally (of course) off the internet and really liked it, so he invited us to come play at his club..." more ›

We've just gotten our grimy hands on several additional tickets for tomorrow's awesome show at Emo's, with Evangelicals, the Lovely Feathers, and Man Man. Naturally, we're giving them away to you guys! more ›

MONDAY [19] [film] Tickets on Sale Now for Superman Returns, opening June 27th @ Alamo at Alamo South (Multiple Shows, $8) (more) [sports] World Cup Matches at Alamo Village (Daily, Various) (more) [film] State vs. Reed (funds from screening benefit Rodney Reed's family) at Alamo Downtown (7pm) (more) [film] Casino at Austin Java (8pm, FREE) (more) [film] The Fearless Freaks at Café Mundi (8pm, FREE) (more) [film] Fela Kuti: Music is the Weapon at Alamo... more ›

Wonderfully effusive post-punk-'n-pop band The Lovely Feathers hail from Montreal, and this crew is nothing if not motley. The five-some consists of: a classically-trained concert pianist, a former hardcore grunge drummer, a scholarship-winning college hockey player with a rumored criminal record in New Hampshire, a med school dropout, and a self-described Ancient Greek Hermeneutician. Their debut album, Hind Hind Legs, was produced by the guys behind Stars, Broken Social Scene, and Metric -- they toured late last year, in fact, with the latter band, though we're sorry to say that we missed their opening set. Lucky for us (and you), they're coming back next Tuesday for a show at Emo's with Man Man and Evangelicals (whose new album, So Gone, we reviewed earlier this week). We've got a special prize package that includes a copy of Hind Hind Legs and a pair of spots on the guestlist for the show for one of our lucky readers. Fill out the form below, and stay tuned for our interview with the band, which we'll bring you next week. Congrats, Rabia! [mp3] The Lovely Feathers - "Rome is in the Valley"
[mp3] The Lovely Feathers - "Fudgcicle"
[mp3] The Lovely Feathers - "Photo Corners"
[mp3] The Lovely Feathers - "Pope John Paul" (last two from The Yellow Stereo) [The Lovely Feathers on Myspace]
[The Lovely Feathers Official Site] Evangelicals, The Lovely Feathers, and Man Man
Emo's
Tuesday, June 19th
[tickets] more ›

You don't take care of your CDs very well. Your car—probably a mid-nineties Honda Civic with hit-or-miss air conditioning—is littered with albums, sans jewel cases. On this particular, hypothetical afternoon, you find that five discs have melted together whilst carelessly stacked in your center console: My Morning Jacket's Z, The Flaming Lips' Zaireeka, Broken Social Scene's Broken Social Scene, Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation, and anything from any labeled band out of Athens, Georgia... more ›

You can throw a rock this month and hit a good touring show in Austin. After our usual post-SXSW doldrums, everyone seems to be scheduling Austin as an early summer stop. Check out new additions like Pete Yorn, M. Ward, Reverend Horton Heat, and indie-blogger favorite Human Television in the listings below: June: 6/02 The Roots + Blackalicious (Stubb’s) 6/03 Film School + Margot & The Nuclear So-And-Sos (Emo’s) 6/07 Arctic Monkeys + We... more ›

Download not working? Let us know! [mp3] Antony and the Johnsons - "Cripple and the Starfish" [mp3] Arctic Monkeys - "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" [mp3] Chin Up Chin Up - "We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers" [mp3] Chin Up Chin Up - "Virginia Don't Drown" [mp3] Controller Controller - "Poison/Safe" [mp3] Controller Controller - "PF" [mp3] Controller Controller - "The Raw No" [mp3] Controller Controller - "Magnetic Strip"... more ›

List compiled from Waterloo Records and other sources more ›

: : FRIDAY : : [music] Early Man, Atomic Bitchwax, Lions and Black Earth @ Emo's [art] "A Pairing:Exhibition of Works by Women of Wine & The Men Who Adore Them," 5:30pm-8:30pm @ Gallery Lombardi [music] St. James, Andy Davis and Matt Wertz @ Stubb's [music] The Ugly Beats and American History Project @ Beerland [music] Beta Valentine CD Release with Super Sonic Soul Squad and DJ Bigface, 8pm @ End of an Ear... more ›