Marfa, TX is a tiny, strange place crawling with perpetually drunk twenty-somethings that fancy themselves as misfit "artists". The weather is nice, though. It's still not enough to make us want to drive seven hours this weekend to celebrate the megalomaniacal minimalist Donald Judd's legacy by taking tequila shots around a maypole. We're gonna save ourselves the nightmarish Orwellian experience that is worshipping a yankee carpetbagger and stick around Austin. Who in the hell needs Chinati weekend when Sonic Youth is playing right here at Stubb's? With the Meat Puppets, no less! more ›

Austin Sound, if you haven't checked it out already, is a great site featuring information about local music. This Saturday, they're pulling out all the stops to celebrate their one year anniversary, and throwing a mini-ACL that's much, much cheaper. With 13 bands playing, there's bound to be someone to rock your picky ass. Also: free food and FREE BEER for five bucks! We know, it doesn't make sense to us either, but it... more ›

It's August already, and if you haven't sweated it out to some great rock outside at Emo's yet, you can't claim to be an actual citizen of this 'burg, let alone a real human in the world. It can be a trying, vaguely sensual experience testing your physical, mental, and spiritual stamina amongst so many different flavors of scenester/hipster/regular Joe, all with their own fragrance and fashion aesthetic - or lack thereof. Also, due... more ›

In one of the most anticipated shows of the year, two of this generation's most beloved singer-songwriters and one young up-and-comer are gonna be strumming the night away this evening at Emo's. Ben Gibbard, the bespectacled teddy bear that fronts Death Cab for Cutie has teamed up with David Bazan (aka Pedro the Lion, going by his own name) and mussy-haired crooner Johnathan Rice (Jenny Lewis' beau, lucky stiff...) more ›

We liked what we heard on Blonde Redhead's latest release, 23, although it came out perilously close to Jim Carrey's recent flop with a similar title. Unfortunate coincidences aside, BR has been molding their alluring art-pop over the span of their 14 (!) years together, becoming more comfortable balancing accessibility with experimentalism. For a band that has few rather salient qualities in common with experimental rock legends Can, their newest album appears to be their Future Days, resigned to its thoughtfully layered ambience. Tonight, they become the newest in a long chain of great recent shows at Stubb's, and are sure to knock out a set for Austin Indie-history books. Special added bonus: Annuals open, a band we unreservedly adore, and whose appearance tonight may threaten to even upstage BR's seasoned crew. more ›

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... more ›

Saturday night the wonderful folks at Mohawk are throwing a Winter Dance Party. Now hold on minute o jaded one, this isn't your wastoid scenester roommate's type of dance party. No DJs in funny hats. No Madonna/Bloc Party mash-ups, no ironic 80s, and probably no bump 'n' grind. This is a 100% pure rock dance party, and you can bet your Beatle boots that you will be moved along with the rest of the crowd. Don't get us wrong, Austinists love us some scened out dance madness, but Jesus, how many times can we be expected to piss our pants when DJ iTunes decides to play Journey? In the spirit of dance diversity, this show is a much-needed change of pace. more ›

Here, as we collectively tremble at the gaping maw of 2007, Emo's, in its infinite magnanimity, has provided us with an entire week of free shows. Stopping in over the past few nights we've seen many strange and wonderful things: screaming female hardcore vocalists, punk as pure as black baby powder, hirsute hipsters, and faces on the floor, having been viciously rocked off. Tonight will be no different in that there is sure to... more ›

Long a bastion of hilarious pseudo-journalism veiling insightful and viscous social commentary, The Onion was once relegated to small hamlets like Madison, Chicago and New York City. Over the years, it has published compendiums of articles in book format and expanded its coverage to include non-pseudo-reporting with the Onion A.V. club. Now, It has taken itself one step further, reaching out to us smaller urban communities to promulgate its singular wackiness and educate the... more ›

Where in the hell did My Morning Jacket come from? If you answered "Louisville, Kentucky", you're only half right. Few people know this, but MMJ was actually birthed collectively from a anthropomorphic bear-god, assuming human form so as not to scare off prospective audiences. They learned to play music on instruments they found while foraging at an abandoned mining camp. No, seriously. The reverb that coats their hauntingly translucent albums like so much honey... more ›

The woman who encouraged us to shove dimes into jukeboxes long after they had switched to quarters, triggering a nationwide coin shortage in the early 80s, is coming to Austin. Joan Jett, the hottest 46 year old since Tina Turner in 1985 (or Madonna in 2004, for that matter), is still lovin' rock and roll, touring like a madwoman and turning her nose up at the prospect of ever investing in a pair of... more ›

Josh Davis (aka DJ Shadow): began reinventing trip-hop while still in his teens, has amassed the largest collection of vinyl hip-hop in the universe, is buddies with Thom Yorke, and is coming to Austin this Sunday. Stubb's will host the genre-annihilating wunderkind in what is sure to be one of the more eclectic performances of the year. A master of production and musical collage, DJ Shadow has impressed his way into collaborations with the... more ›

Multi-instrumentalist and programmer Evan Mast and guitarist Mike Stroud are very busy boys. Between day jobs running record labels and graphic design, studio and tour stints with the likes of Ben Kweller and Dashboard Confessional and a wide assortment of side projects, the New Yorkers formerly known as Cherry found time to record one of the summer's most talked-about albums and are now touring the U.S. The sound is a more studio developed one... more ›