Sir Richard Bishop has been challenging listeners to follow him on a fascinating, diabolical, and occasionally hilarious journey for nearly thirty years. First as the guitarist with experimental pranksters Sun City Girls, then through his early involvement with the superlative Sublime Frequencies label, Bishop has synthesized his wide-ranging influences, including esoteric mysticism and the occult, Hinduism, and Django Reinhardt through field recordings, solo performances, and outright psychedelic freakouts. more ›

In the tradition of house/venues like the departed Jesse’s Bed and Breakfast and Natrix Natrix (a label as well as a venue, who are also co-presenting this show), the up-and-coming Rancho Relaxo is poised to take its part to promote music in residential spaces in Austin, at least until the neighbors call the cops. The venue has already played host to Sir Richard Bishop and Yellow Fever, and will hopefully continue to sponsor creative performances for some time to come. more ›

Connoisseurs of fearless experimentalism should be happy about the existence (and subsequent popularity) of Animal Collective. The New York headquartered quartet have been around since 2000, making their strange and wonderful music over the course of eight albums, the last two of which have made them indie-household names. While members are prolific in their own right, with member Noah Lennox's recent Panda Bear offering Person Pitch sure to grace the top of the best of 2007 lists, at the core their name is apt, with each member adding to the bizarre assemblage. If you haven't picked up an album yet, start with their most recent one, the fantastic Feels, and work backwards in wonderment at what is essentially the undiluted joy of making music captured on tape. more ›