Last March, Birmingham, England's Editors made quite an impression on those who attended their packed SXSW showcases. An airtight quartet, the band blazed through their sets with energy and precision. A measured mix of post-punk and UK arena rock, Editors project intensity and a dark mood throughout their recorded output. Their debut album The Back Room went gold and produced four Top 40 singles in the UK, and American hipster mag The Fader liked......

The Cribs Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever (Warner Bros) Yorkshire's Cribs are a three-piece outfit made up of three brothers, each equal parts befuddling and beguiling. On their major-label debut, the brothers Jarman find themselves channeling everyone from Malkmus to Johnson (that's Calvin), combining sharp-tongued irony with trademark British snarl, shining most when their catchy, sharp hooks let their claws out. The Cribs aren't necessarily doing anything new, but the finely polished pinnacle of......

As we mentioned a month ago, The Backroom, Austin’s fortress of heavy metal and defender of all things sweaty, boot-stomping and angst-ridden will be shutting its doors for good next week. But not before the legendary Austin rock club gives it one last hurrah. The Backroom’s farewell show will kick off this Saturday at noon. Forlornly entitled “The Backroom’s Alamo,” the all-day and all-night throwdown will involve very cheap beer/liquor and plenty of hard......

THURSDAY [13] [art] Opening reception for new work by Jeffrey Dell and Marjorie Moore at d berman gallery (Free, 6-8pm) (link) [music] The Paper Chase, Billy Nayer Show, Hello Lovers, the Snake Trap at Emo's (link) [music] Powerman 5000 and Powderburn at the Parish (link) [music] Yellowman at Flamingo Cantina (link) [music] Butch Hancock at Cactus Café (Through Thursday) (link) [music] Goodbye Stranger, Manager's Choice, Surrender Avenue at Trophy's ($4, 9pm) (link) [art] Luke Savisky......

Austin's undisputed bastion of hard rock (not to mention proud home to head-banging, sweaty dudes with waist-length locks, and parking-lot brawls over meth deals gone bad) will soon be forced to close its doors......

F R I D A Y [17] [DJs/party] Caps and Jones at Barcelona (link) [music] Zykos, The Black, Evangelicals, and Michael Kingcaid at Emo's (link) [film] John S. Rad's "Dangerous Men" at Drafthouse Village (9:45pm) (link) [books] Anthropologist Jenny White presents her first novel, The Sultan's Seal at Bookpeople (Free, 7pm) (link) [party] Freescale Marathon kick off party at Runtex Riverside (Free, 5-7pm) (link) [music] Zookeeper, Sad Accordions, Alex Dupree & The Trapdoor Plan, Meryll......

: : FRIDAY : : [music] The Zippo Hot Tour Semi-Finals featuring Fractious, 9pm @ The Backroom - FREE! [film] A Bunch of New Movies Open! @ your local theater [film] QT6, 7pm & 9:30pm @ Drafthouse Downtown: Grindhouse Triple Feature also Saturday [music] Mike Graff, 8pm @ End of an Ear [dance] Refraction Arts presents "Shish-ka-bob! An Inventory of Works by Amy Cone," 8pm @ The Blue Theatre [music] Palaxy Tracks, The Glass......

We just wanted to remind you that two of our favorite bands, and bands that happen to spend a lot of time sitting in our living room, will be playing shows in the next 36 hours. When you know bands, they put a lot of pressure on you to get people to come see their shows. And when those bands are sitting on your couch, holding a gun to your head, you do it.......

This Friday, Fractious and Squares Are Best, two alt-rock bands, go head to head in the second round of the Zippo Hot Tour. It's a battle of the bands, and Austinist is asking you to come out and support Fractious because their drummer is our little brother. Yeah, that's right, we get to do that. The bands who made it to round 2 have already battled their way through a rigorous people's choice process......

Restaurant ReportAfter Saturday night, Mezzaluna will close its doors after 16 years of serving Austinites. The restaurant, which is located in the Warehouse District, hasn't been able to recover from September 11 and the technology bust, owner Reed Clemons said in the Statesman . Capitol Brasserie will replace Mezzaluna, serving French cuisine in November. We'd like ours snail-less, please. And now for the topic everyone loves to talk about, the smoking ban. As the......

:: FRIDAY :: [art] Art Party, 7pm @ 708 Congress Avenue :: SATURDAY :: [politics] DemocracyFest 2005 with Howard Dean and Neal Pollack, 7:30pm @ Stubb's - $20 [sports] Longhorns play the College World Series, 6pm on ESPN [art] Summer Fashion Party, 8pm @ Art Studio Studios [music] The Teenage Pajamas From Outer Space Tour featuring The Aquabats and The Epoxies @ The Backroom - $12 [culture] Pop Nation! @ The Austin Convention Center......

For those of us who can't remember anything that happened before lunch today, here's a quick reminder about The Teenage Pajamas From Outer Space Tour that is going down this Saturday at The Backroom. Headlining the show will be The Aquabats with The Epoxies and The Phenomenauts playing support. And if these three great bands aren't reason enough to put your dancing shoes on, keep in mind that tickets are only $12.......

Good times are headed our way, as the Teenage Pajamas from Outer Space Tour will soon be making a stop in Austin. The incredible line-up features everyone’s favorite dance punks, The Epoxies, who are supporting their spectacular release "Stop the Future." Along with the original sci-fi rocket rollers themselves, The Phenomenenauts and so-called nerd-core heroes, The Aquabats, this tour promises to be a crazy dance party not seen in Austin since the days of......