It might set off a few red flags to see a “Survival Tips” page on a music festival’s website, but the folks behind the Punx Picnic are nothing if not pragmatic. They’re putting on their Texas-sized punk bash on the Eastest-most side of the East Side: just south of Walter E. Long Lake, where MLK turns into Farm-To-Market Road 969. You can camp out on the Picnic’s bucolic Music Ranch estate and catch over one hundred bands all weekend long. more ›

Steve Lake is hardly a household name, even in punk rock circles. But the British singer/songwriter has walked the walk and talked the talk since 1980, when he formed the legendary Zounds, one of the earliest anarchist punk groups. Though associated with the notorious Crass, Zounds’ musical predilections had more in common with the Buzzcocks than their patrons’ dissonant intensity, though that didn’t stop Crass from arranging the release of the band’s “Can’t Cheat Karma” single. Zounds’ career came to an end after a few more singles and the album The Curse of Zounds, but Lake keeps on keeping on, lobbing political smart bombs of catchy punk rock across the landscape with current projects Thee Evil Presleys and the Melt. A solo Lake show in Austin, Texas is a rare thing, so if your inclination is classic anarchopunk, mark your calendar. more ›

While it could be argued that the Chaos in Tejas festival has really come into its own in the last couple of years, the genre-bending but primarily extreme music focused/multi-day festival was conceived by one-man powerhouse Timmy Hefner seven years ago. 2011's edition of the summer brouhaha spans Beerland, The Beauty Bar, Emo's, Red 7, The Mohawk, The Scoot Inn, Antone's, and coordinates a few record store shows at End of an Ear and Trailer Space. Oh, and then you have the after parties at The Broken Neck. more ›

One of the founding members of the ideologically heavy anarchist punk band Crass, Steve Ignorant is now touring under the "Last Supper Tour" banner, performing songs from Crass heyday (that band broke up in 1984). The tour hits Emo's tonight. more ›

Basically, if you know any Dictators songs by heart, you need to be at this show. more ›

While decidedly over the top, Wes Eisold's theatrical brand of nihilism may well be the greatest thing to happen to this type of music since Robert Smith teased up his hair. more ›

Austin 360 is reporting that E. North Loop's Sound on Sound records will close for good on Oct. 12. There's a clearance sale in progress now, and their unrivaled punk and hardcore selection is most definitely worth a browse if that's your bag. Don't forget to check the used vinyl section, there's gems in there. Austinist wants to know: who becomes the leading punk rock record store now that Sound on Sound is closing? Tell us where you'll be shopping in the comments. more ›

This is a show we’ve been anxiously anticipating since it was announced last month. San Juan, Puerto Rico isn’t exactly renowned for its punk scene, but over the past two years Davila 666 has been making a serious effort to change that. The band’s 2008 self-titled debut on garage punk’s torch-bearing label In The Red is a dynamic, near-perfect slab of garage rock, laced with singer Carlitos Davila’s irresistible pop sensibilities. Their current US tour has been knocking calcetines off all over the country, and you can bet Emo’s inside will degenerate into a raucous, and very loud, dance party when Davila 666 hits the stage tonight. more ›

Austin's own R&B dreamboats The Strange Boys supply the perfect groove for long nights of awkward shuffling, excessive drinking and desperate sidelong glances at the object of one's affection. more ›

This year's Chaos In Tejas Fest provided an early summer ode to all things loud and noisy, and proved to be an exceptional kick-off to what is shaping up to be a great summer of live music. Here's a wrap-up covering highlights from the diverse strains of punk, hardcore, and indie featured this year. more ›

If it's too loud, you're from out of town. more ›

Besides all the artsy-fartsy stuff, these lovable Canucks are quite possibly the most fun live band performing in the modern era. more ›

JT’s boyish, tuneful vocal style, floating atop perma-fuzzed guitars and cavernous lo-fi production, gives Cosmic Lightning the uncanny aura of a lost Sex Pistols collaboration with David Cassidy. more ›

This year's FunFunFun Fest punk stage is bound to be heaven for those weaned on classic 1980s underground punk rock, as the lineup features a veritable smorgasbord of heavies from that period. more ›

Part motivational speaker, part armchair political scientist, part hack comedian, and 100% self-promotion, Henry Rollins brought his one-man spoken word show, Recountdown 2008, to a packed La Zona Rosa Sunday night. Folding chairs were laid out from the stage to the back of the room, but even so, a spillover audience filled out the wings and spots by the bar. Looking decades younger than his 47 years, Rollins spoke for well over two hours, hunching over his mic as if it were a live snake, and never missed a beat. more ›

Sadly, SF's proto-grunge godfathers Flipper have canceled their 30th anniversary tour, and with it their much-anticipated slot on the punk stage at this year's FunFunFun Fest. more ›

It’s as if the over-the-top angst of the last generation of alt-rock has been sublimated into something abstract and hidden, expressed through warped songcraft rather than screaming and feedback. more ›

Crane is at peak form when crafting worlds that her readers can easily relate to and recognize, even once they've taken an odd (if not outright bizarre) turn. Still, they're ultimately anchored in the honesty of the most basic of human emotions and needs, as in the near-realism of "Donovan's Closet": in a town not unlike Austin—where "you could weave a tapestry from the mutton chops alone"—we witness a relationship fall apart as the story's protagonist becomes obsessed with her boyfriend's lemon-scented closet. more ›

After Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead, and Jay-Z all elected to skip Austin on their spring US tours, it's not unreasonable to feel that our music-loving town seems to be off the radar of the arena pop and rock circuit. This despite a perfectly functional (if rather dated) basketball arena smack in the center in town. Thankfully, the Louis Vuitton Don Kanye West agrees with you, and has elected to show Austin some big-production love with a date here at The Frank Erwin Center in late April. more ›

With the geographic world continuing to shrink in the 21st century and the increased ease of travel and communication opening new doors every day, today’s musical landscape is constantly evolving. Instruments from other cultures have always been utilized in western music, but of late, world styles are making major dents in the indie scene. Be it Vampire Weekend’s African accentuation, M.I.A.’s Bollywood beats, or Beirut evoking adventures in far off lands, we have been privy to some choice innovations in this decade. New York based Gogol Bordello’s brand of “Gypsy Punk” (falling in the geographic vicinity of Beirut’s concoctions) has been garnering momentum with the release of 2005’s Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike and last year’s Super Taranta! more ›

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. more ›

The first big non-SXSW show announcement of 2008 is here, and guess what: it's a massive dance party. Straight out of Paris, the electronic duo known as Justice will kick off their US tour at Stubb's on Monday, March 3rd. This is actually a small venue for the band - just a week after the Austin date, they'll headline Madison Square Garden. If you've not already heard Justice, start with Daft Punk or MSTRKRFT as sonic reference points, then add some scruffy beards and leather jackets. Justice also revel in the rock 'n' roll imagery, so their live show features a huge backlit cross (pictured at right) and stacks upon stacks of Marshall guitar amps to blow everyone right out of the venue. The band are touring in support of 2007 album †, which spawned the hit single "D.A.N.C.E." and was quite the critical darling as well. Their set at Coachella '07 was widely praised as a festival highlight, so this March gig should be something special. more ›

Photo by Ray Soto $2 Music Mondays: Punk’s Not DeadMonday, November 5thAlamo Drafthouse Downtown [map]9:45pm, $2[info] | [tickets]After a painful four month hiatus, the Music Mondays film series has finally returned to the Alamo Drafthouse! Huzzah! The series will no longer be curated/hosted by Kier-La Janisse (who has left Austin to return to the wilds of Canada), but the first batch of programming looks strong, beginning tonight with Susan Dynner's Punk's Not Dead, a documentary... more ›

Gogol Bordello have the unique distinction of being New York based but Eastern European inspired indie musicians, playing something called Gypsy Punk, but actually having some songwriters from the region. Their latest album, Super Taranta!, was released earlier this summer and features the sort of loud and raucous punk fans have come to love since the band's inception in 1999. A Russian violinist, a Russian accordionist, an Israeli guitarist, an Ethiopian bassist and an... more ›

The word ‘naïve’, stripped of its pejorative connotation, is a good description of Snakepit for other reasons. While the comic has gotten a smidge flashier over the past few years, it’s hasn’t developed in any manner that would suggest Ben is trying to improve. On the contrary, the sheer discipline of his daily drawing is only excelled by his ethic to not let his art evolve—to keep it crude/shitty/primitive, whatever. more ›

Upon arriving around 2:50pm, we found quite a bit of chaos. An unfortunate propane tank explosion had injured four ACL staffers, so fire trucks, EMS vehicles, and golf carts were buzzing everywhere. Our tickets were stuck with a friend inside, so we found a shady tree and hung out until the dust settled around 3:15. We entered to the wafting notes of Peter, Bjorn, and John, who had attracted such a huge crowd we... more ›

Once in a while, we like to take some time to introduce you to bands -- both local otherwise -- that we think you'd enjoy. Le Diamont Brut aims to showcase those MySpace gems we hope to see shine. Recommend your local suggestions by emailing music@austinist.com. THE UNFORTUNATE HEADS What’s the Deal: The Austin indie folk fivesome has just released their sophomore disc, Come Be Light. Featuring multi-instrumentation by the likes of banjo, keyboards, upright... more ›

Today we're rolling out a new weekly feature: Fashion Flash, where we profile one standout guy and girl. We may not be the style police, but we have a style-crush on these two people this week. What do you think? Tell us in the comments!TAS2-ONEAlison Benton Musician, spotted outside of Spiro's Where did you buy your clothes? Buffalo Exchange, Urban Outfitters and Cream Vintage. (The limited edition Sailor Jerry Chuck Taylor All Stars he's wearing... more ›

In fact, they like robots so much that they went and directed a movie--a slow and maddeningly arty movie--about two robots who embark on a dusty California road trip hoping to become human. Kind of like The Brown Bunny! But maybe slower. If you're looking for lively, tightly wound narrative action, move right along. However, if watching impassive robots tear up a deserted Cali highway in a 1987 Ferrari sounds like so much awesome to you, this is your film. Warning: Contains extremely creepy latex mask modeling; may cause nightmares. more ›

Justice † (Vice) You might have familiarized yourself with French dance duo Justice courtesy the remix of Simian's "Never Be Alone", and such an introduction wouldn't be a false start, though the album is a bit different. Justice, who have received (mostly justified) comparisons to Basement Jaxx and Daft Punk, seem to shine when given someone else's work to toy with, but seem less dynamic when working from their own toolbox. This album claims... more ›