Deer Tick also happens to be the name of an American folk group from the Northeast, and fortunately for the band, they don’t share the same penchant for annoying humans. ...

While one of Austin's favorite indie rock outlets takes what seems to be a limitless hiatus, frontman Mike Booher adapts, forming a new group to live up to the tour plans already scheduled with Okkervil River. His Turkeyz, comprised of members of Zookeeper and Frank Smith, will kick off the tour in Seattle at the Showbox, a place Booher describes as " ... a massive and terrifying place for a first show, unless you're Pearl Jam. We're not really that much like Pearl Jam." ...

As you might already know, Zilker Park's Dinoland opened last weekend. What you might not have known is that Ghostland Observatory is a "Hadrosaurus Sponsor," meaning they contributed at least $10,000 to the exhibit....

It's really saying something if, as a band, you can undergo as much blistering criticism as have the French Kicks, and lived to tell the tale. But that something that's being said is a little bit more difficult to pin down. Is this band, lambasted regularly for coming from New York—even though, in the eyes of their harshest critics, their New York-ness is the very reason they're of any importance—deserving of all the shit-talk, or is there something fundamental to their approach that makes them worthy of their dedicated and often rabid fan-base? You'll have the opportunity to decide for yourself tonight at the Mohawk....

Here's a litmus test for whether you'll be into The Hold Steady: allegedly the band was conceived during a late-night viewing of the classic concert film about The Band, The Last Waltz, during which singer Craig Finn turned to guitarist Tad Kubler and said, "Dude, why aren't there any bands like this anymore?" Just picture his misty eyes and tell me you have no room in your heart for this man. The Steady's third album, Boys And Girls In America, earned them comparisons to both Pulp and Bruce Springsteen, and oddly enough both make sense: this unlikely-looking group of post-delinquent Brooklynites (via Minnesota) are able to summon chugging golden-age-of-rock riffs, mega-anthemic choruses, and kitchen-sink-epic lyrics about hard-luck characters and the dreams they've run into the ground, seemingly at the drop of a hat. ...