Renowned for excellent sound quality and a feeling of coziness that belies its substantial size, The Parish Room has been Sixth Street's favorite little concert hall for quite a while now, and this Friday they'll be hosting yet another quality show: four of Austin's most interesting and diverse pop acts. Headlining is the clap-happy and catchy Built by Snow, a band who often channel an updated version of cultural phenomenon Weezer in their tunes--they will soon be heading into the studio to record their second CD, and this show is sure to provide some pleasant previews of the new material....

Is it us, or does it seem like this is going to be a really hot summer in Austin? It's hot outside, dude. Really hot. We advise staying out of the sun as much as possible for the sake of your health as well as for the sake of your overall comfort. As for the evenings, well, by all means, go outdoors, it's nice and cool. Here are this weekend's recommended activities once you get there: ...

Benevento/Russo Duo, believe it or not, are made up of two people. They hail from the north. And they can fill a room with noise. But don't you even dare compare them to The White Stripes, because they would probably punch you in the face. Because first of all, Joe Russo's drums serve as a powerful and unrelenting backdrop of technical precision, and, secondly, Marco Benevento's emphatic and and purposeful keyboard--yes, keyboard--stuffs the foreground. And if that isn't enough to distance them from what is perhaps music's most famous duo, with Benevento and Russo, don't expect to find any vocals lying around, and don't expect to see any shortage of energy, as the band pack as much action into two people as possible. And that action you'll be able to find this Saturday night at The Parish Room....

It's always great catching a band at their CD Release show, because you know they're going to be fired up and ready to bring it. And such is the state of this Thursday at The Parish Room, where Austin-proud The Boxing Lesson will be dropping their new disc, Wild Streaks & Windy Days, an unabashedly Pink Floyd-esque collection of psychedelic rock. With songs like "Muerta" and "Back from the Dead," they establish an eerily sinister tone that's ably coupled with songs nodding to their forebears, such as "Dark Side of the Moog."...