Item: The organizers at SXSW have responded to years of complaints about long lines and short notice by dramatically revising the wristband system for the 2008 festival. 4,000 wristbands priced at $139 are reserved exclusively for Austinites and will be distributed via an online lottery system that commences at 9am on Thursday, February 21st. There is a four-day period for sign-up, then the festival will let the winners know they've been selected shortly thereafter. All registrants must live in the Austin area - a credit card with an Austin metro area billing zip code will be required (this generously stretches as far as San Marcos, Georgetown, and Taylor). One can purchase two wristbands, but one of them must be for the purchaser...and the recipient of the second one must be named when placing an order....

Even after the sketch comedy gem The State was grounded prematurely (and where’s that DVD already?) it hasn’t stopped Michael Showalter or Ian Black from bounding into many more comedic projects in the ensuing years....

It seems most of the Republican candidates are bent on showing Iran the gates of Hell. The Onion editor is moving to Moveon.org. What the deuce? Kerry endorses Obama and no one cares, except Edwards. 6th Street between Brazos and Congress still closed due to oil spill. A what? Bush is desperately trying to make some kind of positive impression before being dismissed as the worst president in our history. Too little, too late......

The Onion (Grand Master Onion)Austinist got a chance to swap sarcasm with Chet Clem, The Onion’s Editorial Manager and one of many fine writers for their newest hard-covered print offering: Our Dumb World: Atlas Of The Planet Earth, which is an atlas bursting with humorously doctored images and witty insights into our little Earth (as it has been politically divided to-date by drunken Brits). We asked Chet about The Atlas, his affinity for dated pop-culture,......

Ringo Deathstarr auteur Elliott Frazier has had a banner year: having soldiered on through countless lineup changes, the band managed to release the best shoegaze record of the year (well, EP), earned a coveted slot among The Onion AV Club's Worst Band Names of the Year (scroll down a page or so), and head out for an east coast tour in February (nothing to put in parentheses here)! You can wish them well tonight at Emo's where they'll play with their pals in La Snacks, plus Haunting Oboe Music and Fever Dreams. Also, Merry Christmas!...

Photo by deJong MortifiedNovember 16th, 2007Coldtowne Theatre (4803 Airport Blvd.)[info] | [tickets]An obsession with Huey Lewis. The detailed diaries of a nerd molester. A girl's small town love of Nicholas Nickelby. True tales...ripped from the pages of diaries everywhere. Featuring a distinct lineup of local performers reading their own humiliating teenage journal entries, rap lyrics, philosophical musings and fictional shorts, Mortified makes its Austin debut this Friday night. Hailed as a "cultural phenomenon" by Newsweek......

FRIDAY: Mohawk: Cracker / Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit Club Deville: Robbers on High Street, Great Northern - FREE! Sponsored by The Onion/Sweet Leaf Tea Beauty Bar: DJ Tim Sweeney (DFA records), Learning Secrets, Farah SATURDAY: Red 7: The Paper Chase, Stinking Lizaveta, Death Is Not A Joyride Club Deville: Mates of State, Small Sins, Immaculate Machine Mohawk: Murder City Devils, Those Peabodys Beauty Bar: Bus Driver, Daedelus, Antimc (DJs Mel and Klassen)......

Hey, thanks Austin! We're thrilled that you chose us as your 2007 Best of Austin pick for Local "Fun" Web Site. Needless to say, it's a tremendous honor to be recognized two years in a row (last year, we tied with the Chronicle itself for Best Local Entertainment Web Site). We solemnly swear that we'll continue to entertain and, on those lucky occasions, enlighten you with the best in Austin culture and news. And, to......

In less than two days, we'll be hosting our big annual pre-ACL party, Local Music is Sexy IV, Thursday night's soiree will feature Austinites The Lemurs, The Corto Maltese, and Brazos on the outside main stage, with DJs Car Stereo (Wars), Ceeplus Bad Knives*, and Markus with a K supplying dance-party jams inside alongside Magic Surprise. We're also thrilled to be bringing in Seattle indie rockers Say Hi To Your Mom* as our headliners. What's......

There's always been something undeniable about a quality West Coast power-pop record. From the mainstream success of Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever to the more obscure gems of The Posies and Jellyfish, the records in this oeuvre feel instantly memorable, lighter than air, and modestly perfect. Such sounds are likely what inspires The Broken West, a Los Angeles-based band that channels these sounds and those of Big Star and early Wilco on their debut......

Update (Tuesday, 7pm): from the Mohawk: "Ghosthustler and the Party could not make it down and had to cancel." The Mohawk’s Tuesday Residency rolls on tonight. This week, recent Band Slam victims Ghosthustler provide the regulars with bumping dance beats and thumping electro-clash. The Denton act recently released a video for “Parking Lot Nights” directed by Pete Ohs. Check it out on YouTube. The Party featuring DJs $elect and Sober gets the shindig going at......

Another Tuesday means another stellar evening featuring Texas bands at the Mohawk. Horse+Donkey and Basic brought the rock last week for a festive pre-4th of July effort, complete with chants of “U.S.A.” This week, recent Red River regulars Ume headline a night of amazing, ear-shattering noise-rock at the weekly series. Ringo Deathstarr open with their brand of Jesus and Mary Chain inspired feedback, reverberations, and shoegazing sensibility. We cannot stop listening to their demos on......

Rain or shine, the Mohawk Residency for July kicks off tonight with Horse+Donkey and Basic! The Residency Series is presented by KEXP, Hot Freaks!, and Gorilla Vs. Bear, and sponsored in part by The Onion, And/Or Gallery, Launchpad, and Austinist. Horse+Donkey, Basic Tuesday, July 3rd The Mohawk 10pm......

Saturday June 30th marks the 5th installment to the multi-media spectacle Everyone Knows Everyone, sponsored by The Onion. This event is held twice a year and focuses on the celebration of artistic community in our city. Many have compared it to Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable, where visual artists and multi-genre musicians, DJs and filmmakers showcase their talents in front of a live audience. The event is being held on all of Emo's stages......

Today sucks. Our house is quickly being annexed by Waller Creek, all of the tickets are sold out to the last night at the Alamo and our ‘Stros can’t buy a win. We could use a stiff drink* and a good laugh. Lucky for us, and you, the Onion AV Club and Rio Rita have prescribed a sweet salve to cure our burning wounds as they present Robert Altman’s satirical snarkfest OC & Stiggs. O.C.......

The Mohawk residency concert series continues tonight with Treewave, who we hear will be joined by special guest Bill Baird. Treewave, as you probably know, are a Dallas-based band that practice shoe-gazingly superb songs that utilizes otherwise obsolete '70s and '80s video game gear. They are truly kickin' it 8bit style. The songs are created with really gritty assembly code, and is made possible by Commodore 64s, an old PC FM sound card (OPL3),......

Don't forget about Low Line Caller's Residency show at the Mohawk this evening. The Mohawk Residency series continues to bring fantastic local bands together on alternating Tuesdays for your almost mid-week pleasure, and tonight is a good one, considering Shapes Have Fangswill open with their Shins-ish arrangements, and Marc Ferrino of Black Before Red will add his vocal prowess to their usually instrumental set. While we're pondering the ramifications of mathematical entities having the ability......

Following up on the tremendous success of last month's inaugural showcases (featuring White Denim and Peel), the Mohawk Residency Series returns in June to feature two more exciting local indie acts. Low Line Caller (with Marc Ferrino) and Tree Wave will each headline alternating Tuesday nights. The Residency Series is presented by Hot Freaks andGorilla vs. Bear, and sponsored by KEXP, The Onion, And/Or Gallery (Dallas), and yours truly. June 5 Low Line Caller with......

The Hold Steady have been holding, er, steady in the limelight since 2004, picking up a Village Voice cover here and a best album of the year there (2006: The Onion’s A.V. Club), and just generally best-ing all over the place: they were Blender’s 2006 Band of the Year and made it to Rolling Stone’s annual album ranker at number 8. Critical acclaim blah blah blah. The big hit from the big album Boys......

It takes a special artist to bridge the gap between The White Stripes, My Morning Jacket, and Norah Jones, and apparently M. Ward is that man. Ward has opened for all of these acts in the past two years, and has somehow managed to appeal to all of their audiences. His wonderful album Post-War met with universal acclaim upon release, ending up on best of '06 lists from The Onion, Paste, The Guardian, and......

FRIDAY [25] party • The Onion's "Summer Fun Blast Blowout Extravaganza!" Party with Clap!Clap!, Crash Gallery, Devil in the Choir, DJ Rubix, Prince Klassen, and a chance to win a scooter from Scooter Revolution at Beauty Bar ($2, 9:30pm) theatre • Rubber Repertory presents A Thought in Three Parts at The Vortex (8pm) music • Emissions From the Monolith Fest at Emo's music • Voxtrot, Au Revoir Simone, The Black, Zykos at Emo's music......

WEDNESDAY [23] film • The Onion A.V. Club Movie Night with "Network" at Rio Rita (9pm) music/film • Jo's Rock and Reel with Broke Beads and "Gleaming the Cube" at Jo's Coffee (Free, 7:30pm) music • Austin Discovery School Benefit with Quien es Boom, Foot Foot, The Lennings at Emo's music • Prom Nite, Boo and Boo Too, The Unbearables, Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk at Emo's music • Doo-Wah Riders, Merchants of Moonshine......

So it’s Wednesday and you have no plans for your hump day. Modest Mouse isn’t worth the drive to you while Kings of Leon is sold out. How about a combo of quality local events on Red River instead? Join the lovely lasses of Team Fabrication after work at the Mohawk for an installment of Guest Bartender Night, sponsored by The Onion. The ladies mix the beats proficiently and there’s no reason to believe they......

Tennessee's Kings Of Leon are HUGE in Europe. Their modern Southern rock owes as much to The Strokes as it does to The Allmans, meaning that the group appeals to classic rock hounds as well as some of the indie kids. KoL hit Stubb's tonight in a sold-out show supporting their third album Because Of The Times, which has gotten raves from The Onion, Entertainment Weekly, and Filter. There's no shortage of loud guitars,......

After their phenomenally successful two-day party during SXSW, the good folks of Hot Freaks! have decided to start up a new monthly artist spotlight series at the Mohawk. Co-hosted by Seattle's beloved indie radio station, KEXP, music bloggers Gorilla Vs Bear, The Onion, and Austinist, the Mohawk Residency will showcase two hot Texas bands every month, with each band headlining on alternating Tuesday evenings. Inaugurating this new venture are Peel, whose latest album we lovingly......

The Onion's been up to tons of good stuff ever since setting up shop in Austin last winter, so we're pleased to see that they're also starting a new monthly tradition: every third Wednesday, the folks of A.V. Club Austin will host Movie Night at eastside cantina Rio Rita, where they'll be screening classic flicks. The Onion City Editor Sean O'Neal will be on-hand to introduce the films ("Provided people besides my girlfriend show......

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors It was supposed to end by now. We’re supposed to already be past this. Many believe they saw it coming before it hit, and many more than that read through the lines to see the “conspiracy” for what they believed it was. Have you heard that Del Monte or Chiquita or some......

Andrew Bird's Armchair Apocrypha arrives officially on March 20, and after his performances here for SXSW, he'll embark on an international tour to support it. The Suzuki method-trained violinist, whistler and multi-instrumentalist is known for heart-stoppingly impressive live sets, and his use of Line 6 DL4 Delay Modelers for live phrase samples has prompted a wave of innovative live acts, as artists like Feist and Final Fantasy make use of similar modelers during their......

THURSDAY [1] party • Learning Secrets hosts Optimo's JD Twitch (Glasgow, UK) at Whisky Bar (10pm-2am, $5) art • Public Tour: The Geometry of Hope: Montevideo in the 1930s at The Blanton (7:00 - 8:00 PM) art • Curator's Tour: The Geometry of Hope at The Blanton (12:30-1pm) art • Texas Biennial Opening Reception at Dougherty Arts Center (7-10pm) art • Art Fix: Enjoy an introduction to Latin American wines with Seth Pollard, Central......

Here's a situation that's all too common: it's mid-March and SXSW has taken over Austin, but you've been so busy with work and managed to ignore most of the party announcements buzzing around the internet for the past month. So you're stuck at the last minute, painfully hungover, digging through your inbox and a handful of websites to figure out just what parties to go to. "Why can't someone just tell us what the......