Photo from MySpace Jose Gonzalez w/ Cass McCombsThursday, November 29The Parish Room (214 East Sixth Street)$20 presale, doors at 8, all ages show[info] | [tickets]If left to your own Texan devices, it would be easy to assume that world-famous guitarist/heartthrob José González came from somewhere south of the Rio Grande, or perhaps even from Austin's own bustling music scene. But, luckily, you don't have to rely on your own devices. And that means that when......

Post by Paige Davis Join Austin's globally-aware and sustainability-conscious for this month's Green Drinks Happy Hour at Opal Divine's. These monthly gatherings are open to anyone involved and interested in finding innovative ways to meet the challenges of a sustainable future. Mix and mingle with the folks from Meridian Solar who will be on hand to talk about their success in creating renewable energy systems. Spread the green word and chat it up with other......

After a fantastic week of panels, parties and screenings, the Austin Film Festival will wrap up tonight with a screening of Sidney Lumet's highly anticipated Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Lumet (the man behind films like Running on Empty, Serpico, and one of our favorite movies ever, Dog Day Afternoon) directs an unbelievably great cast including Albert Finney, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei and Philip Seymour Hoffman in this caper-gone-wrong thriller. We haven't had the......

We were strolling through West Campus this morning when we came across a gaggle of cops, endless yellow Police Line tape and, of all things, the bomb squad. Rio Grande between 22nd and 24th streets had been sealed off. Word was that some residences had been evacuated as well. Minutes earlier, the ubiquitous post-9/11 "suspicious package" reared its ugly head and was reported to the police. We stuck around, alongside the small crowd of bleary-eyed......

In less than two days, we'll be hosting our big annual pre-ACL party, Local Music is Sexy IV, Thursday night's soiree will feature Austinites The Lemurs, The Corto Maltese, and Brazos on the outside main stage, with DJs Car Stereo (Wars), Ceeplus Bad Knives*, and Markus with a K supplying dance-party jams inside alongside Magic Surprise. We're also thrilled to be bringing in Seattle indie rockers Say Hi To Your Mom* as our headliners. What's......

On the eve of ACL Fest, we're gonna turn off our laptops, put on our drinking shoes, and head over to the Mohawk, because Austinist is hosting Local Music is Sexy IV. An annual tradition since its inception in 2005 (back when the 'hawk was the Velvet Spade, and folks were still arguing over the smoking ban), Local Music is Sexy showcases a bunch of promising young Austin bands and DJs that we're most excited......

As we ease further into the dog days of summer we keep trying to find ways to make new connections. Unfortunately we keep failing, probably because we end up at the same place every time. Hopefully you're working a little harder than we have been. Luckily for us we have Missed Connections. Luckily for you we're here to sift through and find the best of last week's Missed Connections... Elvis impersonator spotted - Austin......

Days since rains began: 44 Homes destroyed by flooding: 1,000 Flood-related deaths: 11 Estimated cost of damages in Burnet County alone: $30 million Number of emergency Texas National Guard soldiers activated by Governor Perry throughout the state: 250 Total impacted area, spanning North Texas to the Rio Grande Valley, in square miles: 48,000 Height, in feet above sea level, of Lake Travis when considered "full": 681 Height of Lake Travis on July 4th: 701......

Jerome “Jerry” Ryan was decked out in the ill-est pointy-toed cowboy boots, made from Cayman crocodile leather, when we met him at Heritage Boot. This Irish fella started selling cowboy boots in London back in the ’70s. Today he carries boots for both men and women, ranging from $225 and up. They're handmade in a factory in Leon – the customized pairs are made in the Rio Grande Valley. There are '50s inspired straight-topped......

Austin has a love/hate relationship with bikes. Love Lance. Hate the Lance-wannabes cruising FM-1826, slowing down the burnt-orange pickups on their way to the Salt Lick. Love biking the Hike-and-Bike trail. Hate slaloming between kids and dogs on a busy Saturday. Love the idea of bike lanes and bike commuting. Hate actual bikers slowing down traffic and swerving into the street because of cars parked in the bike lanes. Love reducing traffic and pollution......

FRIDAY [4] party/bikes • Yellow Bike Project's Second Annual Bike Art Show with music by DJ Orion, DJ Katherine at Gallery 1906 (Free, 7pm-Midnight) art • Opening Reception: memoria/memoir: Carol Flax at Volitant Gallery, 320 Congress Ave., Ste 100 (6-9pm) art • B Scene at the Blanton Museum of Art 1st Anniversary Celebration at Blanton Museum of Art, MLK at Congress ($5 members, $10 non-members, 6-11pm) art • Opening Reception: Tunnel Vision: Parading Down the......

Gallery Lombardi, vanguard art institution and perennial party host, makes its triumphant return to Austin this month. Hot on the heels of their well-received debut of Mobile Art Place last month (in collaboration with the event organizers at We Manage Stuff), Lombardi will inaugurate their new digs at West 7th and Rio Grande with an opening party tomorrow night. Their newest exhibit, "DRAW," is touted as a "tribute to the often-underrated but fundamental building-block of......

Among the many exciting items on tomorrow's City Council meeting agenda is the fate of CLB Partner's 32-story condominium tower at 7th & Rio Grande. Also on the list are the Retail Retention and Enhancement Program for Congress Avenue and East 6th Street, the Mayor's Climate Protection Plan, the Town Lake Hyatt condo plan, VMU opt-in/opt-out and the Big Box ordinance. The Statesman has a rather bizarre article on the controversy surrounding this development.......

THURSDAY [30] music • Dave Brubeck, Ramsey Lewis at Paramount Theatre music • The Onion's Corporate Expansion Celebration with Sount Team, IV Thieves, Eugene Mirman, The Lemurs, Tacks the Boy Disaster at Emo's music • UT Dance Marathon Fall Benefit Concert feat. Danny Malone w. Smile Smile, The Downside Up at The Parish Room music • Lower 4th, Exeter, Blackholicus, She, Sir! at Flamingo Cantina music • The Fall Collection, The Always Already, AUX......

The Austin Film Festival kicked off its 13th year last night with several film screenings, the conference, and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) cocktail party at Rio Grande. And yes, for those who didn't know, the former Real World space is now a restaurant. Check out these pics of the hot happenings and stay tuned for further bulletins about Austin's very own celebration of all things cinematic.......

Tonight, author and journalist Jan Reid, who's written for Texas Monthly forever and who's penned a stunningly diverse variety of books (including The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock, The Bullet Meant for Me, and an upcoming book about the history of the song "Layla") will give a talk entitled "Rio Grande, Rio Bravo: History, Celebration and Punishment of a Border Stream." This man might know more about Austin (and Texas, and boxing, and music, and......

Note: this post has been revised after receiving additional information from the Austin Police Department. According to the Daily Texan, the body of a student from St. Edward's University -- identified by the Austin Police Department as 19-year old James Henry Leonard -- was discovered by officers at a small apartment complex at 22nd and Rio Grande, mere blocks from UT Austin, earlier this morning. Meanwhile, News 8 Austin's article claims that "party noises"......

Simmons Vedder, the developers who brought us the Triangle, will develop the first rental apartments at the Mueller redevelopment. The plan is for a four-story, 422 apartment complex on Aldrich Street at Airport Boulevard. It was announced last week that Bed Bath and Beyond, Best Buy and Marshalls would open stores in the Mueller retail center fronting I-35 between 51st Street and Airport Boulevard. So, Mueller, despite its incredibly awesome plan, is starting to......

We still need a few drinks before doing any kind of karaoke, even if our jobs depend on it. Several employees at a Vietnamese Oil Company are being punished by their employer for not participating in the festivities. Perhaps they just hadn't gotten to the Jager shots yet. The Texas French Bread on 29th and Rio Grande is feeling the effects of a raid on illegal immigrants. Several employees were arrested, some deported. Some......

Those of you who still aren't over last season's Real World: Austin can now finally hang out inside the warehouse space used to house the over-sexed, under-medicated twenty-somethings: Colorado-based Mexican restaurant chain Rio Grande is taking up residency at 301 San Jacinto starting this Saturday, alongside various and sundry props that appeared on the show. Like a purported 17-foot neon sign screaming "BIG TEX." Good gaud! Oddly enough, this makes it the first of......

You know, we just couldn't help ourselves. The Coffee Talk sketch is a permanent part of our psyche. Blame SNL and Mike Myers. Anyway, this is somewhat last minute, but we recently learned that Barbra Streisand impersonator Steven Brinberg will be in town tonight and tomorrow night only for two very special performances of Simply Barbra. Both are at 8:30pm in the Crystal Ballroom at Mansion at Judges Hill. A native New Yorker, Brinberg......

FRIDAY [3] [music] Ariel Pink, Belong, Weird Weeds and Ralph White at Emo's (Inside) (link) [music] What Made Milwaukee Famous, Deathray Davis, AUX at Emo's (Outside) (link) [music] Slightly Stoopid, The Expendables and Bedouin Soundclash at Stubb's (link) [music] Bucketheard and Kid Beyond at La Zona Rosa (link) [music] Dirty Hearts at End of an Ear (Free, 6pm) (link) [DJ] Whee!Explode! By Learning Secrets and DJ Ian Orth at The Peacock (10pm-2am) (link) [fashion] ATX......

Just because this year’s Freescale marathon has come and gone doesn’t mean the running season is over. In fact, this weekend is packed with races for runners of all levels of masochism skill. The 5th Annual Bagelfest 5K starts at 8 a.m. this Sunday and promises to be a great run, albeit a veritable nightmare for Atkins dieters. This race is known for its abundant spread of bagels available to all runners, as well......

After passing by the new storefront of Wahoo's (509 Rio Grande) numerous times in the past few weeks, we decided it was finally time to pop in and check out the new addition to the West 6th area. We should have worn our warp-around Oakley's, bra, because the second we stepped into the faux-oceanside taco stand, we suffered a full-frontal assault to our senses. Was this place a restaurant or a surf shop? Every......

The Houston Texans exercised their buy-back option on David Carr's contract- implying a pass on Vince Young. We're raking in the celebrities here in Travis County, into our civil courts sytem, including that super-hunk Jason Patric. The gambling industry is vying for some action in Texas (but who isn't?). LaMarcus Aldridge consistently impresses coaches, peers and NBA scouts; he has very real possibilty of being an NBA overall draft pick. What has been coined......

Our buddies at The Statesman have written an article about the increase in gas prices, complete with a FAQ list of sorts. If you want to know why gas prices are so high, etc., check it out. If you just want to bitch about it, you know what to do. We hate when people say "you know what to do" on answering machines. Sorry, we digress. Police are investigating a possible homicide at an......

Reader Kenny writes: Any chance somebody might do a roundup on cool wedding venues in austin? On the hunt and looking for resources... Ah, June. We’ve never personally tied the knot in Austin, but we found a few resources to help y’all do it right. First things first. Get your license. Here’s a great resource about that. Now where to get married? You could do the church thing in South Austin at Mercury Hall,......

There it is on 9th and Rio Grande. A nice, white house with a little sign on the front identifying it as the Tea Embassy, and inside there is lots and lots of tea. We assume it is a family that runs the place--as they all have the same last name and all happen to know quite a lot about tea. They pour samples of the stuff into little ceramic cups. Papa says, "do......