Photo by Nash Cook Care Stereo (Wars) and Strut Boutique present The Strut Christmas PartyFriday, December 7The Mohawk (912 Red River)$8, doors at 9 pm[info] What do you get when you mix together Austin’s next big band, next sizzling DJ and next hot boutique? Tonight’s wicked Christmas party unwittingly plucked from Andy Langer’s dreams. Join Strut Boutique and Car Stereo (Wars) for Mohawk merriment with White Denim, the Corto Maltese and the Carrots. Headliner White......

Andrew Bird (5:30pm): After this set, one Austinist staffer remarked: "This guy just beamed in from planet music." And with a stage full of spinning gramophones, violins, finger cymbals, and glockenspiels, it was hard to dispute that quip. Bird took the stage slightly late due to a tardy finish by Blue October, which had the crowd snarling over their shoulders at the lengthy drum and guitar codas coming off the main stage. But when......

Austin's own Sound Team was one of the best acts we caught at ACL this year - despite the blistering temperature and sporadic dust tornadoes, they played an unceasingly energetic set that made us (nearly) forget about our impending heat strokes. Live, theirs is synth-happy dancerock constructed from the supple layering of their dual keyboard/guitars, toe-tappingly catchy drum beats, and Matt O.'s big, blaring vocals. Their studio work is something you'll have to experience......

We're coasting down I-40, having spent the night at the Dubeau International Hostel in Flagstaff, Arizona. Before we head back to Austin we'd like to check out Meteor Crater, a mile-wide hole created 50,000 years ago by a massive spacerock weighing several hundred thousand tons, and the Old London Bridge, moved out here in 1968. While time permits, we're adding this as a final post for our road trip and reflecting on the whole......