This performance on Tuesday night featuring Finland's Children of Bodom, Switzerland's Eluveitie, Canada's Threat Signal, and Revocation (the Massachusetts residents were the least far-flung of the touring cabal), had a professionalism and scope that made the performance feel like more of a mini-festival than a Tuesday night gig. And despite ESP's branding and the smoothness of the event - Children of Bodom are fifteen year metal veterans at this point - the show was wild in the best way. more ›

Theophilus London performed as part of the grand opening of the Beauty Ballroom on Riverside, sister venue to downtown’s Beauty Bar, part of the cultural shift that’s moving the city’s soul so that people who like to eat generic haute cuisine on the ground floor of anonymous high rises have more choices. The Ballroom is a wonderfully huge and homey space with vaulted ceilings and walls decorated with concentric glitter squares that convey “urban Etsy” warmth. It’s the same crowd as the cookie box downtown venue, so take that as a warning or an enticement. The future schedule, however, looks to be a far more diverse proposition, with some noteworthy hip hop shows thrown in the mix. more ›

On Sunday night, two fresh New York exports brought a genre-bending showcase to Mohawk, courtesy of Gorilla vs. Bear. A sold out crowd packed in to the inside stage for Brooklyn-based newcomers Ava Luna, who combine doo-wop, gospel, rhythm and blues, and electro-pop with their melting pot sound. Think Dirty Projectors’ girl/guy harmonies and falsetto mixed with soul that stylistically fluctuates from '70s deep grooves to '90s diva - the sixtet’s eclectic compositions create a truly unique experience. more ›

This was not a reunion tour. Raekwon dropped a mixtape at the beginning of the year, Ghostface has put out two records in two years, RZA just produced a highlight track on the blockbuster Watch The Throne, and against all odds, How High 2 might actually come out this year. The Wu-Tang Clan has been astoundingly resilient to the effects of time and planning. Decades later they earnestly seem like they haven’t gotten tired of each other; not even Elephant 6 could claim such persistent acclimation. “The Rebirth Continues” read the massive W banner behind the stage at Emo’s East - if there ever was a rap collective that didn’t need to advertise a rebirth, it’s the Wu. more ›

Future Islands are the pure embodiment of the road warrior ethos. The band has been touring non-stop since the beginning of November, and will have taken only four days off by the month’s end. That they are able to perform night after night on such little rest is an achievement unto itself. But the fact that they deliver such high quality and heartfelt performances puts them in some truly elite company. In front of a sold out crowd, the Baltimore trio made their return to the Mohawk with a triumphant set that highlighted the undeniable talents of synth player Gerrit J. Welmers and bassist William Cashion, and showcased why front man Samuel T. Herring is one of the most electrifying performers out there. more ›

You know how most bands perform their songs a little faster in a live setting? With the adrenaline and alcohol flowing on stage, it follows that a band would unconsciously up the tempo. But Real Estate actually slow things down live, which is fitting: the band’s music is evocative of lazy suburban summers spent in their native New Jersey, with layers of chiming guitars and cyclical melodic fills ebbing and flowing like the tide. There’s a sense of goodwill and ease permeating everything they do, and that effortlessness was on display Wednesday night at The Parish. more ›

A typical Monday night finds Emo's about half-full of people who have listened to the band slotted on that night’s bill, are friends of the band, or have simply popped in for a little background listening while drinking a beer or two. This past Monday was a typical night at Emo's, though one might be hard-pressed to find an Austinite who personally knows 22-year old Idahoan Trevor Powers, who records and performs under the name Youth Lagoon. more ›

Phantogram had the luck of the scene setting the stage, with a nearly full moon and a slight arctic influx perfectly synced to the band’s snowy shoe-gaze guitars and remote, beautiful beatscapes. Austinites duly overreacted to the temperature dip by busting out the exotic Russian hats, equal parts Philip Treacy and dead thing. Packed to capacity in Mohawk’s homey outdoor half shell, the anticipation had a cozy campfire intimacy. more ›

The release of Beirut's fourth LP The Rip Tide has unveiled a new touring trend for the Brooklyn quintet. After a nearly four year absence, Saturday's show at Stubb's was their second stop in Austin this year (earlier this summer they played at ACL Live). As snow fell in the band’s northeast hometown, Beirut performed a special show under clear skies at Stubb’s. more ›

The Drive-By Truckers are not hip. Despite venerable critic respect, a cerebral vibe and nine straight rock-solid studio LPs - their primary audience are not relevance-seekers, but instead just people who like rock music. Outside a limousine pulled up, and an overweight dude in a wifebeater and trucker-hat tumbled out; “The only time white trash gets a limo is when Drive-By Truckers are playing!” he hollered as he wandered towards the Stubb’s gates. There is never even the faintest sense of irony. The band’s molasses accents and Skynyrd discourse feel uncommonly true, and they began as a group interested in the intellectual and analytical potentials within the utterly defamed realm of southern rock. They remain that decades later, still writing great songs and filling gradually-widening venues. The demographic-clashing on the amphitheater dirt wasn’t a sign of outsider encroachment, because frankly songs like “3 Dimes Down” transcend whatever jeans you might be wearing. more ›

For months now the blue-haired visage of a cartoon Katy Perry peered at I-35 from the Erwin Center's toehold in central Austin, and on Saturday the cheesecake priestess of pop finally made good on her promise with a senses-taxing display of light and sound. The bawdy stage show was equal parts good/bad girl tropes, color and movement smorgasbord, all paired with some of the best radio pop by committee out in the past three years. more ›

Last Thursday night, Red 7 hosted Liturgy, Bat Castle and Whore of Bethlehem for what, from outward appearances, might have been expected to be a just another metal show. Local bands Bat Castle brought the death metal and Whore of Bethlehem offered a taste of more adventurous music that skipped across metal sub-genres and included elements of atmospheric rock. But then Liturgy most nonchalantly took the stage and brought things into entirely new territory, performing metal as enjoyably accessible, utterly incredible art-rock. In the most literal sense, you really did have to be there. more ›

On Friday night, Emo’s hosted an evening of musical idiosyncrasy that included performances by longtime locals Jad Fair and Pong, Brooklyn’s Tropical Ooze, and one of American music’s more purposefully obscure and astonishingly prolific recording artists, R. Stevie Moore. Over the course of his nearly five decade career, his live performances have been some of the most consistently elusive phenomena on the roads he’s determinately not taken. Also, it’s altogether too uncommon to see Jad Fair play a downtown venue, so as is often the case on weekends booked full of shows, Emo’s was the place to be. more ›

On Saturday night, Eleanor and Matt Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces performed the second of their back-to-back Austin shows - and the final gig of their short tour as an acoustic duo - at Lamberts. These were welcome and rare opportunities to see two of this young millenium’s most prolific indie rock/pop artists. more ›

Fleet Foxes are having something of a cultural moment right now. This show was sold out months before the release their second album, Helplessness Blues, which has garnered eye-popping reviews from just about everyone and placed them in that rarefied space wherein an indie band can chart on Billboard, have their album streamed by NPR*, and sell out major venues while still maintaining a level of hip cache and critical adulation. Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, Grizzly Bear and Vampire Weekend are among the other bands there. It doesn't hurt that there is nothing offensive whatsoever about Fleet Foxes: they're a young, attractive band with, for better or worse, a modest, folk-hippie style that matches their gorgeous and heartwarming folk-rock music; music that is obviously the result of oodles of talent meeting with painstaking craftsmanship. Something to be held up, admired, and appreciated. more ›

Though the style has exploded in the underground over the last few years, noisy and heavily distorted pop has been the Raveonettes M.O. for nearly a decade. The Copenhagen duo of Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo carved out a niche for themselves with their highly melodic cacophony back when many bands were trying to emulate The Strokes' success. Their set at Emo's last night demonstrated why they're so good at what they do, as they brought many of their best songs, alongside material from the recently released The Raven and the Grave, to engulf the venue in a sugar coated haze. more ›

To say that Warpaint were on top of their game at La Zona Rosa Saturday night would be an understatement. The four women were sirens, as their hypnotic grooves and gorgeous guitar lines managed to seduce nearly everyone in attendance. The band was able to remain completely serious and laser focused during their ninety-minute set, yet Emily Kokal, Theresa Wayman, Jenny Lee Lindberg and Stella Mozgawa were all smiles and bubbly personalities when interacting with the crowd and each other. The band demonstrated a kind of chemistry that not even an odd technical glitch midway through their set could break, and it made for an experience that further confirms their status as a live force. more ›

Gayngs and Local Natives rocked the capacity crowd Friday night at Stubbs with double headlining sets. After missing their ACL set last October due to a misplaced tour bus, Gayngs more than made up for it, alternating funk beats and saxophone solos with vocoder vocals and jam band vibes throughout their hour and a half performance. more ›

Fans of the southern-spawned Elephant Six collective have learned that patience is a virtue. Years pass, promises are...deferred, but eventually the friends and co-conspirators behind a gaggle of psychedelic pop bands deliver, and how. The "Holiday Surprise Tour" is a reference to the Olivia Tremor Control song, but it's also safe to wonder aloud that maybe the collective intended to get the tour rolling during the actual winter holidays, (hence the snowman prop) but obligations got in the way. It took until the very end of February, but they made it before SXSW, thank goodness. more ›

Last night, two of our strong suspicions were confirmed. more ›

By the time 21-year old Dylan Leblanc walked onto the stage at the stroke of 9pm, Antones was already packed to the gills. The diverse crowd ranged from young folks dressed up in clubbing outfits to silver haired couples wearing cowboy hats, all wrangling for a front and center spot in preparation for Lissie's impeding arrival. But first, Leblanc regaled us with his elegant finger-picking acoustic guitar and clear vocals, accompanied by soaring harmonies from the bass player. He relied heavily on slow ballad type songs, with an easy comparison to Amos Lee's sound. The only drawback in the instrumentation was found in a faux-strings keyboard section on some of the songs that ended up serving more as a distraction than addition. Leblanc's debut album Paupers Field was released last August, and he's actually in town for one more night (Friday), . at the Saxon Pub. more ›

Austinist Presents Gonna Gonna Get Down 4: We were definitely pleased with the plethora of talent we had tapped for our day show on the 18th -- Telekinesis, Here We Go Magic, J. Tillman, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Vetiver, and The Mae Shi all made an impression on our guests. Highlights had to be the ferocious hardcore-metal assault of Young Widows, channeling the Jesus Lizard just hours before David Yow took the stage at the Austin Music Hall, and the amazing live show from Akron/Family, who are currently touring to support their upcoming release, Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free. more ›

Looking back, there probably wasn't a more appropriate patch of weather to be weathered than the intermittent rain and deep, damningly grey clouds that fans had to maneuver underneath on their way the Woodlands Pavilion last Saturday evening. Spirits weren't dampened by one high E string, though. Not only did the mildly adverse meteorological conditions set a suitable tone for the set to come (not to mention the copy of In Rainbows we were warming up to whilst waiting our turn for a space in the White Lot), but it was endearing to see that the multitudes milling towards the venue would have straddled the San Andreas fault line in the middle of the Big One to catch a glimpse of Thom wheedle his internal narrative out of a Rhodes piano until being swallowed alive. Needless to say, we were all looking forward to the show, rain or shine. more ›

We hadn't ever been to a Foot Patrol show before, but we can't resist after someone says, "It's fantastic, the piano player is blind, and not only is he a fantastic performer, the entire focus is centered around his foot fetish. Oh, and the dancers wear hot cop costumes and the drummer plays with gavels." more ›