Initiated in 1996 by guitarist Makoto Kawabata, the Japanese psych-rock collective Acid Mothers Temple is a loose collective composed of four core members and a revolving door of like-minded musicians and vocalists. Both remarkably prolific (they have released over a dozen records/singles/live recordings since 2007 alone) and esoteric (they have occasionally been mistaken for a religious cult), A.M.T. traffic in a brand of hard psychedelia as indebted to their acid-fried countrymen Boredoms as to Cream or Pink Floyd and are widely considered to be the international psych-rock group. Swirling outer-space noises and oceanic reverb will factor heavily, so plan on having your third eye squeegee-ed. ...

In case you're still curious about where to vote on Tuesday, we've reprinted the official list from the Travis County Clerk web site as of Monday evening. For up-to-date information, you might want to double-check the Office of the Registrar's database To find out which precint you're in, use their handy Voter Verification form. From the Elections Divison: Registered voters can vote with a voter registration card, driver’s license or any official photo ID,......

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. ...

Because we love you so very much, we've gone ahead and put together a special mini-site dedicated to this year's SXSW Festival....

Your dream of being invited to a private, invite-only Playboy party might just be realized tonight: head over to Austinist's brand new SXSW site to enter the Rock the Rabbit contest. The winner will receive a pair of tickets to the Annual Late Night Party in Austin on Thursday, March 13 (11 p.m. at the 301) as well as a t-shirt from The Heavy. ...

Brian Thompson seeking an injunction against Dawnna Dukes; her campaign ads say he's never voted. New KXAN statewide poll of Democratic voters has Obama with 50%, Clinton with 47% and 3% undecided. McCain will hold a town hall meeting with Dell employees tomorrow in Round Rock. New City Manager Ott made two appointments today. Someone at Liberty Hill ISD hasn't heard of a shredder....

Dean and Britta have that certain je ne sais quoi, do they not? They're good looking, look and dress like Europeans, and dig artists like Joy Division and Nancy Sinatra. Hell, they even did The Squid and The Whale's soundtrack for Noah Baumbach. Their music is similarly themed: it's minimalist, beautiful, effortless, and full of an icy cool. (If one wishes to puncture the image, it's amusing to know that Britta Phillips was the voice of 80's cartoon icons Jem and the Holograms.) Dean Wareham, of course, has legions of fans from his work with Galaxie 500 and Luna, and this certainly isn't a huge departure from his signature sound. Expect dreamy and reflective tales with some irony and beautiful melody lines sprinkled throughout. The duo are touring behind 2007's Back Numbers, which combines some D&B originals with like-minded covers of The Troggs and Lee Hazlewood. Simply put, if you enjoyed Luna, you'll have a good time here. And for Wareham's more ardent fans, he has recently written a memoir about his life in music titled Black Postcards which will be published in March by Penguin. D&B arrive tomorrow at the Cactus Cafe for a pair of shows at 7 and 10pm....

Brighton's indie rock quartet have come a long way since 2003's The Decline of British Sea Power. The band's eccentric catalog has evolved through familiar Britpop idiosyncrasies on their debut, eased into more global pop hooks on the follow-up, Open Season, and now enters the great big world of stadium rockin' indie with this year's Do You Like Rock Music?...

A lawsuit against the City of Kyle for violation of the federal Fair Housing Act started yesterday. The suit was filed by the national and Austin branches of the NAACP, the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin and the National Association of Home Builders. It alleges that Kyle has increased the cost of local housing by instituting revised zoning ordinances. According to the NAACP, the resulting increase in prices disproportionately affects minorities and the Fair Housing Act prohibits cities from zoning in a way that excludes housing for certain classes of people, even if officials did not intentionally discriminate....

Lots of young people got their voter registration cards in on time. News?: Door-to-door magazine salesmen harassing Austinites. Farmer's Branch city leaders sued over their anti-(illegal) immigrant ordinance. Meat from abused cows in California sent to Round Rock and possibly Austin schools....

Looks like ACL Fest organizers have chosen Groundhog Day to release their mildly discounted multi-passes. 3-day passes priced at $150 including service charges are on sale now at ACLFest.com. ...

Perhaps Perry should have held off on his endorsement: after losing to McCain last night in Florida, Giuliani is expected to soon drop out of the race. Bouncer assaulted after denying a couple guys entrance to his club and not allowing their friend to urinate in front of it. City may soon switch to LEDs in light fixtures to conserve energy....

Rogue Wave plays to a sold out audience at The Parish in Austin, Texas. ...

Classic Rock, Classic Country: As per usual, Willie Nelson will play two nights at The Backyard for both locals avoiding SXSW and tourists willing to skip one night of showcases to see Austin's most enduring music legend. Willie's shows are tentatively scheduled for 3/14 and 3/15, and will go on sale sometime in February. In another move designed to access some tourist dollars, Direct Events has announced a relatively intimate show with Van Morrison at the Austin Music Hall on Tuesday, March 11. Van the Man apparently hasn't heard about the looming recession, as tickets are priced from $102 to a whopping $257. ...

There is absolutely no reason to stay in on Friday evening. Whether it's DJ Shadow at La Zona Rosa or Future Clouds and Radar at The Parish, downtown offers you a wide variety of music to kick off your weekend....

On Wednesday at the Salvage Vanguard theatre, a character named Ethan Master of the Hawaiian Ukulele stripped down to his bathing suit, donned a hat and colorful lei, and then stood on his amp to proclaim, via song, “I heard noise-pop is in.” You know Ethan, you might be right. And leading the fray are none other than our own Peel, a magnanimously kick-ass band whose bits of unbridled feedback and synthesizer explosions are balanced with a collective appreciation for the types of melodies that make ears smile. With some out-of-town friends, Peel will play The Mohawk this Sunday as a fitting end to a great week of music. ...

Emo’s Free Week has come and gone, but the venue and the city march on with a buffet of mouth-watering shows available for consumption tonight. Eclectic beats from Dan Deacon pace Emo’s inside stage (as a part of the Ultimate Reality Tour) while Steamroller, She Craves, Killer Crocs of Uganda, and The Banner Year rock Emo’s Lounge....

Photo by mybloodyself on flickr Paramedic who came to the scene of Erica Smith's accident last month in San Antonio didn't check her pulse; she died after being left for dead for an hour at the site of the accident. Wooten Elementary was placed on lockdown this afternoon because police thought someone in a residence nearby was holed up with a weapon; the home was found to be clear. At an Academy store in Round......

This weekend has to be dominated by the various Emo’s Free Week shows -- look for previews to those events on the site....

Ringo Deathstarr auteur Elliott Frazier has had a banner year: having soldiered on through countless lineup changes, the band managed to release the best shoegaze record of the year (well, EP), earned a coveted slot among The Onion AV Club's Worst Band Names of the Year (scroll down a page or so), and head out for an east coast tour in February (nothing to put in parentheses here)! You can wish them well tonight at Emo's where they'll play with their pals in La Snacks, plus Haunting Oboe Music and Fever Dreams. Also, Merry Christmas!...

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. ...

This weekend brings another tremendous set of gigs to our beloved city. If the abundance of synth-pop and electro-rock acts lately is bringing you down, raise your spirits and beers to some stellar rock n’ roll on Friday. Emo’s hosts one of Austin’s hardest rockers in the form of the Young Heart Attack, while the newly renovated Austin Music Hall boasts a Dallas - Forth Worth Metroplex attack in the shape of the Toadies and Baboon....

Photo by cote on flickr Fans of creepy, overpriced and sort of socially awkward grocery shopping will be disappointed to read that after weeks of redesigning, adding more people to the store employee rosters, doubling the checkout lanes and stocking shelves with the kind of stuff most of us have become accustomed to buying, H-E-B is ready to re-open two Albertsons stores that had mysteriously remained open under the quirky Albertsons brands into the new......

Image from Birds Barbershop Man FestSaturday, December 1Birds Barbershop (2110 S. Lamar)Free, 2pm-7pm[info]Need a dose of machismo this weekend? Get your arm wrestling biceps and triceps warmed up for some very manly fun at Man Fest — a free testosterone-filled afternoon hosted by PartyEnds.com at Birds Barbershop. This is the kick off event for the salon's Man Month, where men's hair products are half off with a purchase of a cut. There’s going to be......

Image from Benko’s MySpace Benko, The Boxing Lesson, & The Story OfWednesday, November 21Stubbs (801 Red River)9 p.m. | $8[info] | [Benko MySpace] | [The Boxing Lesson MySpace] | [The Story Of MySpace]Thanksgiving is just around the corner but before you get stuffed and sleepy, get your long weekend started right on Wednesday evening. There is a mouth watering set of shows on the Austin schedule for the 21st. Extended details to follow in our......

Image from AmericanApparel.netAustin will move three steps closer to becoming Southern California a real city a place where you can try on those high-waisted hot shorts and shiny tights before buying them with the opening of three new American Apparel locations (two real stores in Austin and an outlet in Round Rock). The first location will be on the Drag at 2316 Guadalupe, which is good news, because there are few things as vital to......

Photo by hamron on flickr 48 cats rescued from deplorable conditions in Rescuties' founder's home earlier this month; a judge is allowing her to keep 3 of them and recommended psychological counseling. Capitol One will not be buying Austin-based business NetSpend for $700 million as was planned, but will buy a minority share of the company. Work starts on making Cesar Chavez fully 2-way. Starting this week and going through January 1, APD will be......

photo by Chrissy Piper Aesop Rock, Black Moth Super Rainbow at Emo’sSaturday, Nov. 17Emos (603 Red River St)$15 - doors at 9, show at 10[info] | [tickets]El-P may be the maverick visionary of preeminent indie hip-hop label Definitive Jux, but Aesop Rock is currently its superstar. Boasting a ridiculously fluid double-time flow and enough hallucinatory wordplay to confound Bill Burroughs, Aes Rock has built a rapid cult following since his Def Jux debut, Labor Days,......

Photo of Z. Bechtol from statesman.com Man found dead under car at a Round Rock Walgreens. Zenobia Bechtol, 14, has been missing since last night around 10pm. More than half of the state's school districts pass on the teacher merit pay plan. Smoking ban started today at some Central Texas hospitals. The two suspects who broke into McBrides earlier this week weren't after guns. State Rep. Dawnna Dukes receives a $10,000 donation from Bob Perry's......

Image by The Young Adorable, Daetron Vargas DJ Mel Guests In For Radio On, TonightThursday, November 15PLUSH (617 Red River St.)10pm-2am, 21+ only, Free[info] Sure, Mel’s best known for his longstanding hip hop gig at Nasty’s every Monday, and then there are his quarterly Rock Tha Casbah parties which we here at the Ist like to get whiskey bent and sweat buckets. But he’s got more tricks up his sleeves than that. And tonight he’ll......