Sleeve tattoos and neck specks (smallish tattoos on the neck, usually a spider web, Mickey Mouse, or a cursive name) are just as popular there as they are here. As are chest tats for dudes in v-necks. Bikes, bikes, bikes. Everyone’s on bikes. Bikes are chained up all over the downtown area. Just about any open post or chainlink fence is coated in cycles like the front of a middle school. It’s quite beautiful, really. ...

Thursday Flamingo Cantina takes a break from bringing in bands like The Skatalites and Israel Vibration. Instead, for this free day show they will host the shimmering and sentimental, Swedish alt rock of the Shout Out Louds. You’ll also hear the catchy California rock of Rogue Wave and the love song sing-alongs and quirky experiments of Akron/Family. Sub Pop’s Portland drums-and-guitar duo The Helio Sequence come prepared with spacey indie rock prettiness, and Fleet Foxes are set to impress with charming guitars and melodic tones. Expect a thrilling display from Athens’ psych-folk collective Elf Power. ...

Since 2001, the Rock 'n' Roll camp for girls based in Portland has instructed young women on the finer points of learning to play instruments and rocking out, while also helping to give their students a positive self-image and can-do attitude. ...

In a few hours, throaty troubadour Jeff Klein plays a final hometown show before heading off with Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan to the ends of the earth (and, beyond that, Portland). Like Dulli, his mentor, Klein is in the business of sustaining the Great American Break-Up Song by wrapping it in chain-maille and dousing it in all varieties of kerosene and rye. But Dulli excels at pulp and back-alleys and big, fat crimes that make the street cleaners work overtime. Maybe Klein can walk and talk like a (hard-boiled) duck, but he still has a soft underbelly. No one ever seems to die in his songs, they just live through hell; and regardless of what side he’s on, Klein always writes with compassion, even for the most sinister would-be femme fatales. ...

Didn't Beerland already have Ground Zero Fest like three weeks ago? Didn't half these bands play Emo's Free Week? Well, you can't have too much of a good thing: in what promises to be another all-night blowout, Beerland and Emo's are co-hosting Megon Fest, featuring Austin garage-punk stalwarts Manikin, The Young, The Hex Dispensers, and nihilistic Latin punks Deskonocidos, with out-of-towners headlining each night. ...

Austin aiming for zero landfill waste. Our fair city ranks #23 on the list of America's Most Literate Cities, beating out New York but not Portland. Brush fires in Hays County lead to home evacuations. ...

Austin City Council proposed a resolution to reduce the use of plastic bags back in May, but Whole Foods is taking matters into their own hands and no longer offering plastic bags at check out. They are upping the ante from 5 cents to 10 cents for those who bring reusable bags, or customers can conveniently purchase the new 99 cent "better bag" made of 80% post-consumer waste....

This Saturday, The Mohawk is hosting a benefit for Girls Rock Austin and the Girls Rock Camp Alliance, featuring oddly punctuated, mostly female rockers Ume., Follow that Bird!, Code Rainbow!, and the venerable Pink Nasty. ...

Most Americans think waterboarding is torture...but some still think we should go ahead and do it. Whaaaa? No more booze on the beach in San Diego for one year. Buzzkill. Big mudslide hits Chiapas. Portland solidifies position as Bike City, USA. Please, take us with you! Newest trendy food ingredients: chemicals. Vermont is now the nation's healthiest (yuppiest) state. Hollywood writers go on strike - will other Tinseltown workers support them? Barack Obama will.......

As farmer's markets gain popularity nationwide, Austinites can stand proud as the Austin Farmer's Market does its part to support local farmers. Greenlight Magazine highlights the top 10 markets in the nation in its most recent edition, and Austin hits the list. According to the magazine: This growers-only market is limited to local (within 150 miles) farms, and boasts a distinct Southwestern flavor. Pick up Creole pralines, pecans, as well as heirloom zipper, cream, black-eyed,......

Austinites are at the forefront of the blogging community, according to a new report published by a leading market research firm. Scarborough Research's new survey found that Austin tops other tech-heavy cities—Portland, San Francisco and Seattle rounded out the top four—when it comes to folks who either read or contribute to a blog. Fully fifteen percent of adults in Austin interact with blogs in some fashion; the research firm attributes this to both the tech......

While the West Coast leads the pack, it's no surprise that Austin has ranked 7th in a national survey ranking organic food consumption. In fact, the study looked at local organic juggernaut Whole Foods Market, finding "Organics consumers are 272% more likely than the average consumer to have shopped Whole Foods during the past week." According to the survey, the top local markets for organics consumers are: 1. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, CA 2. Seattle/Tacoma, WA......

What a difference a year makes—certainly in the case of this fledgling music festival. Last December's inaugural Fun Fun Fun Fest featured over two dozen bands and DJs, and showcased a good variety of indie rock, punk, and electronic music. This year, they've grown even bigger, better, and bolder: the second annual installment will span two days and has been pushed ahead by a month, to November 3rd and 4th. Staying true to their......

Since their inception in 2001, Portland's The Decemberists have channeled a unique and wide-ranging set of influences (be it R.E.M., Irish folkfore, or Russian literature) into classic indie-pop that has found a large and fervent fanbase. The group's 2006 major label debut The Crane Wife both amazed and shocked music critics, who loved the material but could hardly believe the band's audacity, as two 11-plus minute epics were featured on the disc. The bold......

Chicago based David Vandervelde plays Emo’s this evening in support of his debut full-length The Moonstation House Band, out now on Secretly Canadian. The album highlights Vandervelde’s versatility and multi-instrumental panache. His ability to tint pop songs with an orchestral emphasis, psychedelic strains, and worldly sounds results in an intriguing and enjoyable product. Vandervelde’s vocals bleed sincerity and the live show tonight should combine all his potential into one powerful performance. Blitzen Trapper from......

Last fall, a friend referred us to a mysterious new website. The page at Supper Underground promised a multi-course meal at a secret location with a small group of guests. Intrigued, we signed up for the next dinner, and received a cryptic email with an address and time several days later. The September event was held at a tony Westlake Hills estate with a lovely back patio garden. Candles flickered on the porch, quiet......

This is completely subjective, but it's good to see that The Parish is once again hosting some halfway compelling indie-rockers. After some changes in management, resulting in some rather bizarre talent decisons, perhaps our old stomping grounds is returning to form? One can only hope. That's neither here nor there this evening as we are blessed by a visit from Portland trailblazers (har har) Menomena in all their precocious glory. Riding high on the......

Austin's own Pink (a bicycle "love courier" service we profiled back in December) was recently nominated for "Best Independent Project of the Year" by the Austin Critics Table. To celebrate, they're taking their special brand of two-wheeled viral love-spreading to Portland, just in time for that bike-smitten city's Pedalpalooza fest. But first, they invite you to join them for a bike-in double feature tonight at Café Mundi, where you can take in both Pee Wee's......

There's really no way to talk about just one of the bands that's playing tonight at Emo's. Though not widely praised in Austin's rock-loving community, we think they're wonderful, each with its own fanciful and individual personality. Come early. Be loud. Stay late. Avoid the bathroom. Headlining the show are locals The Boxing Lesson, whose lo-fi and indie sounds "deserve more of a following" says The Chron. Also, you'll get another chance to see Tussle,......

Please take a moment and enjoy Austinst's first installment of staff writer Matthew DeWitt's column, Hots On For Nowhere, which will appear each Thursday, concentrating on one album (maybe a new release, maybe a dollar bin discovery, or perhaps an over-looked classic) in depth. DeWitt is a longtime Austinist contributor and freelance writer splitting his time between here and Skyscraper Magazine. -Paige Maguire, Music Editor Tuesday saw the release of New Moon, a collection of......

Hello fellow humidity monsoon victims. You are still in Austin, and have not been transported to Portland. Although we do thank you for your attempt to drive in a normal manner during this "crisis." We hope that you have had a few chances to get out and get your skill set polished for the upcoming summer connection series. To help you learn what NOT to do we've published the best of last week's Missed......

Ola Podrida (Plug Research) David Wingo splits his time between Brooklyn and Austin composing the soundtrack to the Polaroid taking, scarf wearing community of slow-moving coffee sippers and film lovers. Literally. His work with director David Gordan Green (All the Real Girls, Snow Angels) has provided him with an outlet for his soft and subtle odes, but his new project under the name Ola Podrida offers a bit of a broader spectrum, at least......

What happens when you throw music, dance, poetry, photography, visual art, theatre, film, and -- why not? -- opera into a great big blue box and shake? You get an explosion of proportions that only the creative geniuses at Refraction Arts can contain. This year's Fuse Box Festival, featuring artists from Brooklyn to Portland and places in between, showcases works you've never seen before and aren't likely to see hence. Things start gearing up this......

Local fans of Spoon might have to cope with only occasionally seeing Britt Daniel and his co-dependent black dress shirt performing downtown since his relocation to Portland, but Merge is handling one part of our loss: the new album, titled Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. The band also has a few spattered tour dates lined up for the spring to tide us over until the full scale outing in the fall to support the......

Everyone and their mom's favorite neo-popsters, The Shins have had a banner year; their third LP, Wincing The Night Away, set some sort of ridiculous sales record for their label, their single "Phantom Limb" is all over everything, and most people don't even remember that god-awful movie Natalie Portman flogged them in. In short, nobody is pretending to not like them anymore, and so much the better. Tickets are still available for their gig at......

Our interviews with SXSW bands have been appearing fast and furious on the site lately. From Girl Talk to My Latest Novel, we’ve been blessed with some great responses. Justin Harris, bass and sax player for Portland’s Menomena might now be our favorite interviewee. Menomena specializes in experimental pop-rock, with no clear formula, but plenty of invigorating innovation (thanks to band member Brent Knopf’s Deeler, short for Digital Looping Recorder). We caught up with......

Flyer by Justin Cox.Austinist, Gothamist, and Gorilla Vs Bear Proudly Present Gonna Gonna Get, Get Down! 2 Sets By Architecture in Helsinki (Australia) Apes and Androids (New York, NY) Nicole Atkins (Brooklyn, NY) Headlights (Champaign, IL) The Forms (Brooklyn, NY) Earl Greyhound (New York, NY) Loxsly (Austin, TX) Hello Stranger (Los Angeles, CA) The Shivers (New York, NY) Loney, Dear (Stockholm, Sweden) The Hourly Radio (Dallas, TX) Stars of Track and Field (Portland, OR)......

For the sixth year in a row, MovieMaker Magazine has ranked Austin in the top 3 of its “Top Ten U.S. Cities to Live and Make Movies” list. And though we’ve slipped a little this year (we sat at number two for the last two years, just behind New York City), we still beat the crap out of Shreveport, which feels pretty good. Moviemaker cited the “unique education and support that the [Austin] community fosters......

Laura Gibson's bio tells us she was a top athlete and a model student during her younger years. Now in her late twenties, the Portland based singer-songwriter is touring in support of her latest release, If You Come To Greet Me. Gibson's calm and reassuring voice melds perfectly with her soft guitar pickings, and support from a variety of musicians and instruments help mold her indie-folk into a warm, lush assortment of harmonies, soothing......

An article in Dwell this month about Portland's transportation system and generally awesome urban development program has us a little down on highway-centric Texas, so to try to get our mind off the toll-roads, we're thinking about something a little different this week: wide open spaces. Room to make a big mistake. Here are this weeks listings: 1400 Waldorf Avenue - $85,900. 1,040 square feet. Built in 1966. This looks like a shack in......