Dear reader, we’re sure you’ll agree that it’s been too long since we’ve heard from our favorite Bear Den/music venue, The Chain Drive, up there on Willow Street. ...

Photos from this weekend's inaugural Santa Speedo Run, which took place during the Trail of Lights 5K. Check out triman's blog recap for more about this festive fundraiser for Out Youth. Previously: Santa Speedo Run Balances Naughty with Nice — Just Pray You Don't Lose a Nipple Photos by Yann, Mark Cathcart, Cody Dickson, and Justin Lichfield If you can't view the Flash slideshow above, an alternate version appears after the jump.......

Mundane societies often pave the way for artistic innovations and highly creative individuals. Not to imply anything about various areas in England, but one frequently hears murmurs about its bleaker areas, be it Sheffield or Nottingham. And it was the latter’s working class culture that gave rise to IV Thieves. Originally named Nic Armstrong and the Thieves, it didn't take very long for the band to change its name, implying more of a fair......

Once upon a time in Nottingham, England's "Capital of Crime," four young working-class lads met and started a band. The brill quartet was spearheaded by Nic Armstrong, but it's no secret that Johnny Aitken, Shane Lawlor and Glenn Wedgewood are all incredibly talented and undoubtedly the dog's bollocks. If you weren't as arsholed as the rest of us at Austinist's recent Local Music Is Sexy do, you probably remember the cracking quartet's impressive live......

We’ve underestimated them. For eons, we’ve thought receptionists were just pretty faces with good phone etiquette redirecting our calls. The sentinels of the company. The greeter of all guests. Sitting behind those fortress-like desks with only their eyes peering over the top, they’ve fooled everyone. We’ve always thought they were spending the time between phone calls creating the world’s biggest rubber band ball, or adding another yard to their paperclip chain. Maybe an occasional......

On the eve of Austin's gargantuan music festival in Zilker Park, Austinist is hosting our second annual fall soiree, replete with bands, DJs, video projections, fire dancers, and more!...

If you're not heading over to the Parish tomorrow night after our party at Birds Barbershop, here are two excellent alternatives: The IV Thieves -- that's "4," mind you -- formerly known as Nic Armstrong and the Thieves, returned to Austin a mere week ago after a whirlwind stateside tour supporting The Pretenders. Originally hailing from the tiny village in England of Nottingham, this lovable foursome now (mostly) call Central Texas their home. They'll be......

Here's just a small sampling of the artists playing our day party next Wednesday at Red 7: [mp3] Ghostland Observatory - "Candy Rider" [mp3] Asobi Seksu - "I'm Happy But You Don't Like Me " [mp3] Asobi Seksu - "Sooner" [mp3] Asobi Seksu - "Walk On the Moon" [mp3] Asobi Seksu - "Let Them Wait" [mp3] The Ark - "Rock City Wankers" (From Aurgasm) [mp3] Levy - "On the Dance Floor" [mp3] Levy - "Rotten......

FRIDAY [Music] Rilo Kiley 7pm @ Stubb's - $14 [Film] TriPartIte Film Festival (benefitting SafePlace) 8:30pm @ Jo's - Donations encouraged SATURDAY [Art] The Portrait Show: You Don't Know Us 7pm-11pm @ Camp Fig [Dance!] KVRX Prom Night w/ Clap!Clap! 8pm @ Iron Gate Studios - $5 [Music] Spring Fling for SafePlace 8pm @ Velvet Spade - $30 at the door [Art] The Works of Peter Beste 7pm-Midnight @ The Space (Beste will be in......

The background - Spawned in pre-Madchester UK by bands such as Dinosaur Jr, the Cocteau Twins, and My Bloody Valentine, shoegaze rock developed into a fairly prolific genre in the late 80's and early 90's. Characterized by its subdued vocals enveloped in heavily distored guitar riffs and an underlying sense of melody, the term "shoegazing" itself refers to the tendency of these rock proprietors to stare at their feet while playing. In more recent times......