Silver Pines have one big thing going for them. And, no, it’s not that their band is based in the lonesome burg of San Marcos, Texas, which at more than a half-hour away is always looking up at Austin with the starry eyes of the semi-isolated college town. That one big thing Silver Pines have going for them is that their haunting, forever-reverberating songs are often pretty exceptional, and everyone who’s heard them seems to agree that something special is going on down I-35. Last year’s Fort Walnut EP served as an excellent introduction to the band, but this year’s Forces EP broadens their sound without compromising what made their earliest work so satisfying. Using all the best of country music—slide and even a singing saw make appearances—without falling prone to the genre’s more troublingly cheesy aspects, the stage-taking septet crafts only the most gentle of tunes, and that sincere gentleness remains true even when the full strength of the band is involved. ...

Whoa, that Church of the Friendly Ghost is getting crazy ambitious for April. They've booked four shows already, and have two more in the works. Sure, that’s nothing for your average nu-metal dive, but the Church is different, you know, with each show they put on infused with some odd, unique flavor. And speaking of flavor, their performances are now extra-delicious. Yes - these performances at the Salvage Vanguard Theater will all be catered by Ararat, who serve up some pretty damn delectable Mediterranean food. Call it added incentive to hear some new music. To top it all off, Miss Lori 16MM will compliment the food, drinks, and sound with visuals including slides and film projections. ...

New York songstress Nina Nastasia stops by the Mohawk tonight at the near-beginning of what will become a sprawling world-wide tour, meeting up with Denton's well-liked Tre Orsi and the local Silver Pines in the process. Nastasia has garnered herself quite the underground momentum, moving from humble roots as an untethered musician wandering her way through the dimly-lit club scene, to an artist with international demand and the respect of idolized names such as producer Steve Albini and Dirty Three drummer Jim White. Her debut album, Dogs, is impossible to find and is futilely sought in a way not unfamiliar to Belle & Sebastian's debut cut, Tigermilk. But she's not just a machine for hype---she plays some pretty fine music, too, using her acoustic guitar and a knack for captivating storytelling to cut through the muck of singer-songwriter-dom to create a niche all her own. And that niche has her and her band being called everything from "remarkable" to "enrapturing" to "inspired" by critics....

Photo from Clap!Clap! Clap!Clap! with Silver Pines, The Word AssociationFriday, December 7Lucys on the Square (141 E. Hopkins)$5, 9pm[info] Clap!Clap! with The Always Already, Prayer For Animals, Haunting Oboe Music, Car Stereo (Wars), and DJs from Team FabricationSaturday, December 8Emos (603 Red River St)$5, 9pm[info]San Marcos/Austin's indie pop team, Clap!Clap!, today announced that the group has gone the way of Sound Team, and will be disbanding before the end of the year: From the band:......

The artist who was first to plant his flag at Austin’s Okay Mountain gallery last year is back and bringing more of his bizarre works on paper, sculpture and installation art in Impish Animal. Houston native Jason Villegas, whose work has been displayed in various cities around the country, helped open Okay Mountain in April 2006 with his solo exhibition, Repressed Burial Fantasy. Since his first Okay Mountain appearance, Villegas has completed his MFA at......

The Carousel Lounge is hosting a night of mysterious, dark and definitely dense music tomorrow in the form of a couple of reclusive Texas bands. Headdress (formerly Worship) specialize in predominately instrumental songs thick with echo, space and traditional elements. Fans of Dirty Three will like the band's latest album, Turquoise, a dark, brooding jaunt into a dimly lit motel room on the edge of some southwestern town. Each note and every carefully chosen guitar......

Friday, July 6artB Scene - Too Darn Hot! at Blanton Museum of Art, MLK at Congress ($5-$10) booksAlan Porter presents Before They Were Beatles, with Beatles cover band Daytripper at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedyJohn O’Connell with Jesse Pangelinian at Cap City Comedy Club comedyPunchline, open mic stand up comedy at ColdTowne Theater (10pm) comedyLovey and Lovey at ColdTowne Theater (8pm) comedyWeekly Improv Cage Match! at ColdTowne Theater (11:30) film"Bonnie & Clyde" and "White Heat" at The......

Monday, July 2film"Clash By Night" and "The Asphalt Jungle" at The Paramount Theatre filmLast day of "Labyrinth" at Dobie Theatre film/awesomeRobosaurus Live with "Transformers" at Alamo South Lamar foodCentral Market Cooking Class: Empanada Workshop at Central Market Cooking School, 4001 N Lamar ($65, 6:30-9:30pm)musicCanada, Our Solar System, Ryan Anderson at Emo’s musicBurning Brides, Strange Boys, Black Earth, Blackmarket at Emo’s musicBurning Brides at Waterloo Records (Free, 5pm)......

Silver Pines plays to a packed Scoot Inn on Saturday night as part of the afterparty for Okay Mountain's "Thickly Settled by Jeff Williams" gallery opening.......

FRIDAY [1] party • Rare Magazine Summer Issue Launch Party at Mean Eyed Cat (5:30pm) bikes • Republic of Texas Biker Rally at All Over Austin dance/benefit • Project Transitions Hosts 12th Annual Texas Swing at Saengerrunde Hall and Scholz’s Beer Garten ($40, 8-Midnight) art • Opening Reception: Cantanker/us, the Cantanker Magazine staff show at Else Madsen Gallery, 411 Brazos, Suite 99 (7-11pm) art • The B Scene at The Blanton Museum of Art,......

THURSDAY [31] music • Scion Live Metro presents GZA, Fyre Department at The Parish Room (FREE, RSVP before 5pm!) art • Opening Reception: George Krause: The Elizabeth Portraits & Other Works at d berman gallery, 1701 Guadalupe St (6-8pm) books • Douglas Brinkley presents The Reagan Diaries at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • Russ Nagel, "America's Funniest Biker," with Trey Galyon at Cap City Comedy Club film • "Notorious" at The Paramount Theatre film •......

MONDAY [28] film • "King of Beggars" at Alamo Downtown film • Music Monday: "Zachariah: The Electric Western" at Alamo Downtown music • Sol-Illaquists of Sound, DJ J.Storm, Grey Matter, Maestro & Tee Double at Emo's music • Pretty Girls Make Graves (Final Tour!), Moonrats, Moros Eros at Emo's music • Moxie, Euphoria, Villains in Convertibles, Ricky Stein at Stubb's music • "Beat Street" at Beauty Bar......

WEDNESDAY [18] lecture • KLRU's SPARK Series Welcomes Douglas Rushkoff at The Paramount (7:30pm, Tickets are HALF OFF from Noon-7:30pm!) benefit/film • Friends of the Festival Anniversary Celebration (Cine Las Americas) at 2308 Fortune Drive ($100, 6-9pm) books • Poetry on the Plaza: Living Poets at The Harry Ransom Center (12 Noon) books • The Intimacies Group with Karen Kreps at BookPeople (7:00pm) books • Stephanie Elizondo Griest presents 100 Places Every Woman Should......

MONDAY [16] film • "The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico" at Alamo Downtown books • Teen Sci-Fi writers Scott Westerfield and Justine Larbalestier at BookPeople (7:00pm) books • The Harlem Renaissance, a panel discussion with Cary D. Wintz, Martha Jane Nadell, and Shirley Thompson at The Harry Ransom Center (7:00pm) film • "A Clockwork Orange" at Alamo Downtown film • Jim Jarmusch's "Down By Law" at Alamo Village food • Central Market......

THURSDAY [29] theatre •Yellow Tape Construction Company presents I Am Not Tartuffe at play! Theatre (8pm) theatre •The City Theatre Company presents The Boys Next Door at The City Theatre (8pm) theatre •Ohio Trip, a "slide show adventure" by Elizabeth Cobbe at Women & Their Work Gallery (7:30pm) theatre •The Vortex presents Hamlet at The Vortex (8pm) theatre •Hyde Park Theatre presents Zell Miller III's My Child, My Child, My Alien Child at Hyde......

MONDAY [26] film • "The Grand Duel" Spaghetti Western Feast at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • "The Cool Ones" at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown food • Merry Edwards Wine Dinner at Hudson's on the Bend, 3500 RM 620 N ($160, 7:30pm) music • Alpha Rev at Waterloo Records (5pm, Free) music • A&D=Rock Night at Beauty Bar......

*The views expressed in The Laurie Show are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole.* -ed. note I would never have guessed it would’ve taken some of my friends an entire week to recuperate from SXSW, but it was staring me in the face. Peeps were laying low and catching up on sleep. I didn’t go too crazy myself, due to work obligations, but it also helped to partake......