Last week saw The Church of the Friendly Ghost’s weekly residency at The Salvage Vanguard Theater flirting with more accessible, poppy sounds, but today their craziest inclinations are out in full force, with a dollop of drone and a side heaping of experimental jazz. ...

In Austin, we’ve got so much weird that it needs in-depth classification. For example, you’ve got the guy-inexplicably-dressed-as-a-panda type of weird, and the guy-inexplicably-vomiting-blue-stuff-all-over-the-bus weird. We’ve got happy weird and sick/sad weird, epic weirdness and little sprigs of weird popping up all over the place. And musically, we have everything from the honestly odd Daniel Johnston to the bad-strange of Blue October – from the massive drum circle-cum-circle jerk held during Eeyore’s birthday to the more underground but even more visceral strangeness held each week by The Church of the Friendly Ghost at The Salvage Vanguard Theater. ...

It’s a weird weird weird weird weird weird world, and The Weird Weeds are emblematic of our times. Our favorite avant-garde local pop band gets quite a few mentions on this site, and here’s why: the band are simultaneously challenging and odd while remaining irrepressibly goofy and even a little cute and cuddle-able. The same can be said for very few experimental rock bands out there, save for Weird Weeds stage-sharers Xiu Xiu – and even they traipse on the “creepy” side a little too often for many of us. ...

It's good to be King, and it’s even better when that King is very, very good, or even great! That’'s why we feel so lucky that we just adored Mark Lovell as King Henry VII in The Bedlam Faction'’s production of The Brats of Clarence....

Austin’s newest improv training center, the Merlin Works Institute for Improvisation, launched its first series of classes at the recently-opened Salvage Vanguard Theater this past Saturday. ...

Our barely-frigid winter is turning tail and running, with nary an “ice storm” or onslaught of freezing rain thrown at us all season. Though spring in Austin doesn’t mean the slow rebirth of nature like it does up north, March still brings good tidings like SXSW, the promise of sunny and beautiful days - not to mention a new season of concerts, shows, and all that jazz. Always on the ball, The Church of the Friendly Ghost is here to welcome March with a show on the 1st featuring a three-part show from notable local and far-off acts....

Salvage Vanguard Theater has announced its new season! // Rubber Repertory has started airing their dirty laundry in a new, recurring series called From the Dumpster, in which they confess to madcap ideas they seriously considered staging. // There's more than music to SXSW. ...

Arson may have damaged the studio that housed 91.7’s KOOP Radio, but they, and the Austin community at large, will be damned if they let the station go without a fight. Another benefit is happening this Saturday, presented by Church of the Friendly Ghost and Commercial Suicide, and taking the shape of Rick Reed’s 6th installment of the Toneburst series. Begun about two years ago, Toneburst is billed as “new and unusual experimental music from Austin and beyond...” and this will be its first show in The Salvage Vanguard Theater. ...

The Church of the Friendly Ghost is only scheduling two events this month, to make room for the No Idea Fest which starts on the 14th and goes through the 16th. But quality always makes up for quantity. The first of February’s Salvage Vanguard shows plans to be a doozy, with four acts starting at 9 p.m. ...

Transformations is a multi-media work that blends film, dance, and theatre. Inspired by the work of Anne Sexton, we expect it will be an intense, powerful show....

The Church of the Friendly Ghost’s forte is bringing its audience a range of new sounds, and this Friday night is no exception as four Texas experimental musicians will take the stage at the Salvage Vanguard Theater paired with artist LORI 16MM, who will be projecting a film and visual installation....

The Church of the Friendly Ghost is invading the Salvage Vanguard theater on a Tuesday this week, featuring performances from the E.C.F.A. trio and Attic Ted....

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. ...

While every performance the Church of the Friendly Ghost puts on is assuredly special, this Wednesday evening they will host three diverse acts at the Salvage Vanguard Theatre sure to satisfy your every experimental, avant-garde whim. ...

Tonight at the Salvage Vanguard Theater, music and film will be united in odd, unexpected ways. Italian musician Giuseppe Ielasi and Austrian filmmaker Michaela Grill are the guests of honor at this event sponsored by the Church of the Friendly Ghost. Ielasi has a long history with improvised music and uses “guitars as primary sound sources by integrating microphones and multichannel speaker systems in order to create complex networks for sound diffusion in relation to space” according to this event's press release. Sounds confusing, but obviously far from typical. ...

Thirteen years after founding Salvage Vanguard Theater, Artistic Director Jason Neulander is stepping down. Neulander has grown SVT from a crazy little fringe collective to a powerhouse producer of cutting-edge works. No doubt it'll be very exciting to see what he gets into next....

Image from MySpace Ear to the UndergroundSunday, December 9Salvage Vanguard Theatre ()$5, 8pm-12am, BYOB[info] This Sunday, The Church of the Friendly Ghost and the Misc. Music label are banding together to bring new, mind-expanding music to the Salvage Vanguard Theatre. The event, called Ear to the Underground, begins at 8:00 p.m. and ends at 12:00 p.m. Four bands will be performing; Damage Pants and Aliens from Austin, and Make Your Own Maps with the painful-sounding......

The Ultimate Christmas Musical: The Musical!Through 12/22, Th/Fr/Sa at 8pmSalvage Vanguard Theater (map)[info] | [tickets]Christmas will be here sooner than you think! What nicer gift than an evening out at the theater? Here're just a few shows we think worthy of being early stocking-stuffers. You've probably already seen the XL cover or read the AusChron piece (damn, Jonathon Morgan gets around!)—Yellow Tape Construction Company's Ultimate Christmas Musical: The Musical! opened last weekend. We loved......

Photo by Wylie Maercklein, courtesy YTCC The Ultimate Christmas Musical: The Musical!Through 12/22, Th/Fr/Sa at 8pmSalvage Vanguard Theater (map)[info] | [tickets]The North Pole is a pretty raunchy place. That’s what the Yellow Tape Construction Company would lead you to believe, anyway. And while we don’t remember Frosty the Snowman dealing smack in any of the Christmas fables we used to read in kindergarten, it’s not implausible. He may be a sentient amalgamation of button, coal,......

Image from www.loadedguntheory.comThe holidays are a busy time for theatre in Austin, with too many seasonal shows to choose from. As the glut looms, several fine shows are closing. Get to these while the gettin's good! Much-lauded director Karen Jambon helms Loaded Gun Theory's Little Murders. You can't judge a show by its artwork, but we think theirs is the best we've seen all year. This dark comedy about an overbearing daughter—played by the always-delightful......

Album cover of McLemore Avenue, Booker T. & The MG’s The hilarious kids of ColdTowne bring their audience-driven film/music/improv spectacle, 3, 2, 1 Kill!, to the new downtown Drafthouse digs Austin Music Commission hosts a very important town hall meeting tonight at Momo's on the resurrected sound ordinance proposal, which could dramatically transform our city's live music landscape -- and not in a good way Stitch, Austin's ultimate gathering of D-I-Y fashion and design, takes......

New works by Austin-based artists Ian Cion and Carter Cox are on display at Salvage Vanguard Theater Gallery's current multimedia exhibition, 10.07 Works. The show, featuring paintings by Cion and sculptures by Cox, is the second exhibition in the SVT’s new gallery space, which opened its doors this summer as part of the revamped and revitalized permanent location for the theater company on Manor Road. In 10.07 Works, each artist’s work plays off the other's......

Well kids, it's time for another installment of the COTFG series over at the Salvage Vanguard theater. This Sunday, as visual displays grace the entire evening, the crowd will be given a special treat: a film presentation by Miss 16mm, Yellow Crystal Star from Tallahasee, and Steve Marsh's RadarCave (among other things). Do something different: go support our truly experimental local artists and musicians. Yellow Crystal Star Radar Cave Loren Dent Necessity Quebron Lori 16mm......

Spank Dance Company and Refraction Arts are hosting a festival this month celebrating modern dance. Because most of you were probably out at that little music festival last weekend, you might have missed some seriously rockin’ dance performances during opening weekend. Don’t be sad, though, because there are two more weekends in September for you to get your contemporary dance on. Hot September Flurries is a massive collaborative event with involvement from Salvage Vanguard Theatre,......

There comes a day when one must ask oneself: WWTDD? What Would Tyler Durden Do? If not that, then WWDD? What Would Dolly Do? In the former case, the answer is available via one pretty damn entertaining celeb blog—if that's not an oxymoron. The latter? The Getalong Gang Performance Group explores all things Parton with Dolly Would: a cast of characters who stumble, fight, and dance their way through a series of obstacles, searching......

For the sixth year in a row, though this time in a spankin' new space, Salvage Vanguard Theater is hosting their big ol' Labor Party, this Saturday at 7:07pm. They'll have tunes spun up by DJ Manateemann, a "Presentation Fantasmical" at 7:27pm, and a Silent Auction with all sorts of goodies to bid on. The purpose of the Labor Party is to raise funds for SVT's Resident Company Member program, which pays an annual stipend......

The Church of the Friendly Ghost continues to showcase the finest Austin has to offer in the experimental scene this Saturday at the Salvage Vanguard Theater on Manor Road. The lineup this Saturday is fantastic for fans of minimalist ambient music as well as fuzzy, pedal-induced brainwave avante noise. Rick Reed, who mentioned before, uses old battered electronic devices like sine wave generators, short wave radios and a vintage EMS analogue synthesizers to achieve his......

While you may be dreaming of the breeziness that would occur on your man/lady bits with a pair of shorts made of screen doors, that notion actually has nothing to do with the next round of shorts presented by Screen Door Film. However, you are more than welcome to show up on Wednesday night at the Salvage Vanguard Theater wearing all mesh; who are we to tell you what to do? Personally, we’re gonna stick......

Try something new tonight at the Church of the Friendly Ghost: Aurora Plastics, Xathax and Clear Spot will perform a variety of noise, experimental and ambient music and Paul Baker (Astral Projections) will provide a multimedia audio & visual experience for a mere $5. Church of the Friendly Ghost Night w/ Aurora Plastics, Xathax, Clear Spot & Paul Baker Tuesday, August 14 Salvage Vanguard Theater (2803 Manor Rd.) 8 PM $5 Aurora Plastics [MySpace]......

The Idiots are at it again. St Idiot Collective, that is. They've got another quirky, brainy, unique production in the works. One never knows what the Idiots will get up to next, and this project is no exception. Rainbow Family of the Serendipitous Now or The Orpheous Project (that's a mouthful) is an original work written by SIC member Adrienne Dawes and developed collaboratively with the company. The piece is an adaptation of the Orpheus......