Hi everyone, here are the events for Tuesday through Thursday. There’s a whole lot going on this weekend, so I decided to split up the post. By the way, starting next week, I’m going to be including Monday in the prior week’s post. This semester my Mondays are insane and there’s just no way for me to get the info out there. Not that it seems to have been a problem so far…
Tuesday, February 9th
Nic Armstrong Residency with Friends, Enemies & Special Guests
The residency continues. It’s at the Ghost Room, doors at 9 pm.
Wednesday, February 10th
The Best Soul Dance Party In Austin!
Honestly, this sounds really fun. It’s at TC’s Lounge on Webberville Road. It starts at 10 pm and the cover is $5. And, it’s BYOLiquor!
Thursday, February 11th
Motion City Soundtrack with Set Your Goals, This Providence, The Swellers
It’s more pop-punk at Emo’s. Tickets are $18.50 and doors open at 7 pm.
Soundcheck Magazine Presents a $2 Show with Kalu James, PolySky, Andrew Anderson, Chief Rival
This is going to be a fun show. Doors at $9, and guess what? Tickets are $2.
Alright folks, check back in on Thursday for the weekend events! You won’t want to miss it.
I’m several days late in posting this, but it’s completely worth it anyway. It matters not that the “Late Night Wars 2″ is over…if you still haven’t read my top 10 reasons to join Team Craig and made the change (are you really watching Jimmy Fallon?!), then you’re missing out on some truly subversive late-night comedy.
The best thing about this take on “Addicted to Love” isn’t how hilarious it is; it’s how long it goes on. You know, at first, you’re laughing and laughing so much that you don’t take in the full scene. But after about a minute or so, you start to realize exactly how rebellious this is – where else on TV do you see men dressed as women at length as an act (as opposed to say, SNL, where the point of it is to absurdly portray women badly for constant laughs), let alone the host of a late-night talk show. Craig and his team are totally fearless and that is awesome.
If you’re new to the site, check out my other Craig posts, and if you’re a regular, enjoy! Happy Tuesday.
A few mornings ago, I was forced to publicly recognize an inevitable fact. That KGSR, Austin’s premiere “Keepin’ It Weird” radio station has officially abandoned its format and gone the way of corporate-owned radio. Everyone in Austin is well familiar with the fact that KGSR recently switched its call number on the dial; they went from 107.1 to 93.3 back in November. They also announced at the same time that they were adding songs to their playlists in order to “expand” their repertoire.
Maybe it’s just the rapid demise of Austin music institutions recently, but KGSR’s musical foray into territory once scoffed at by its DJs, main clientele, and music lovers everywhere has prompted me to call it: KGSR is no longer cool. If you listen to KGSR on a regular basis, you’re sure to have seen it happening slowly, but oh so surely. You were probably baffled when you heard “Tuneless Song” from 199-whatever the first time, but surely, the tenth time you’ve tuned in and heard “Semi-Charmed Life” by 90s one-hit wunderkind Third Eye Blind, or any song by Rob Thomas, the Goo Goo Dolls, and Dishwalla, there’s no denying that it’s all too true. And, though they still play many Austin-friendly tunes, sandwiching that Ryan Bingham song, Vampire Weekend, or Robert Plant and Allison Krauss between every few corporate-approved songs is something many of the stations in Austin do; KGSR is no longer a place to hear music you wouldn’t hear anywhere else.
The simple fact is that KGSR expanded their signal and expanded their playlists in order to be more palatable to the newly-reached audiences. And that’s unfortunate for those of us who originally come from cities where Phil Collins and Journey are still regularly played as if music stopped being produced in the mid-80s, for whom Radio Austin was a refuge from that pop song you never liked and grew to hate more with each play.
KGSR’s downfall is unfortunate, but not entirely unpredictable. In an economy like this, money calls beyond all other things. What is fortunate is that there are still some truly independent radio stations in Austin, such as the student-run KVRX, KOOP Radio, and KUT (NPR). And perhaps it’s time we pay more attention to those types of stations anyway.
So, I sincerely apologize for completely missing yesterday’s events…it was quite a crazy day. I’m going to trust that if you were looking for something to do, you managed to find it. Anyway, here are this week’s events all the way until Sunday!
As always, if you’d like your own event to be included in this lineup, send me an email or DM me on Twitter. Info can be found on the Contact AGMG page. The only restriction is that it needs to feature live bands! Anything else goes.
Tuesday, February 2nd
Groundation’s 10th Annual Bob Marley Tribute Tour
Groundation brings their 9 piece band to the Flamingo Cantina to tribute Bob Marley. If you’re a reggae enthusiast, you shouldn’t miss this show. Cost is $18 and doors are at 9 pm.
Nic Armstrong Residency with Friends, Enemies & Special Guests
Nic continues his semi-permanent gig at the Ghost Room, doors at 9 pm. Contact the Ghost Room for details.
Wednesday, February 3rd
Sondre Lerche w/ JBM
Check out the Norwegian troubador at The Parish tomorrow night. Doors are at 8 pm and tickets are $15. Buy them here. This promises to be a good show!
Thursday through Sunday, after the jump!
Are you ready for the biggest night in [questionable] music? It’s Sunday and it’s too cold to leave the house, so I am! I’ll be live-blogging all the exciting action right here, starting in about 30 minutes. So get your shot glasses ready and join me for the fun!
10:32: All right, that’s all she wrote! Thanks for hanging out…goodnight folks!
Check back in tomorrow for the events of the week and if you’re not following me on Twitter, do that!
10:28: Taylor Swift. Album of the year, for real?? She’s going to win an Oscar too for all her precocious acceptance speech performances.
10:18: Glad to see the airhorn making its long-awaited musical debut.
10:15: I see London, I see France…
10:13: Is he doing that voice to be cool?
10:12: Quentin Tarantino is a world-class creep. Anyone see his Conan appearance?
10:08: Note to self: I didn’t sign up for lateness. read more…
Yesterday, the University of Texas announced that in August, they are closing the famous on-campus music venue, the Cactus Cafe. It comes as a shock to many, and as a University student and a lover of music with a fondness for our fair city, I’m also saddened to hear this news. The Cactus Cafe is not only a bona-fide institution which has launched the careers of some of the greatest American singer-songwriters like Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, Patty Griffin, and Townes Van Zandt, but the Cafe also sets UT apart from other universities, situating it firmly in the Live Music Capital of the World. Other universities have music venues, but the Cafe is distinctly “Austin;” recognized and respected on a national scale for its dedication to great, upcoming quality music and musicians.
Among a city plentiful in places to watch live music, there aren’t many left with the intimacy, history, and unique quality of the Cafe. It’s easy to sense the rich music history of the Cafe even just hanging outside its doors during the day, studying and staring at the multitude of signed concert posters that line the wood-paneled walls. Unfortunately, it’s all but certain that the Cafe will close its doors in August, and that means losing another little piece of local flavor to the myriad corporate chain fast food joints and coffee places inside the beautiful Texas Union. It’s not inappropriate to add at this point that UT is also losing the ACL studio once it moves downtown to the W hotel next year. With the loss of both of these revered music venues, UT will be missing a significant piece of what has historically made the University of Texas at Austin so interesting.
(On a side note, I’m also disappointed that Informal Classes are going to end. I’ve been a major supporter of Informal Classes, constantly recommending them and taking several myself. I hope ACC is paying attention and picks up a bit of that slack.)
Ugh, I can’t believe how fast January has gone by. It’s crazy, but what are you gonna do? Well, for starters, you can check out these music events for this weekend.
Friday, January 29th
The Belleville Outfit, Big Circle TX, Jarrod Dickenson, Shawn Nelson & the Ramblers
This local band combines gypsy swing, jazz, big band, country and Americana roots music. They’re playing at Momo’s, doors at 8 pm. Contact Momo’s for cost info.
The Soldier Thread w/ MyNameIsJohnMichael
Buzzworthy local indie band The Soldier Thread plays Stubb’s tomorrow night. Doors are at 9 pm, tickets are $8 and you can get them here.
Yo La Tengo, Times New Viking
Crazy popular indie band Yo La Tango plays at Antone’s; tickets are sold out. Check out Craigslist for some!
Saturday, January 29th
Root Dimension presents “Reggae 4 Haiti Benefit”
Ruta Maya hosts a Reggae-tinged Haiti music event plus silent auction. All proceeds go to the Red Cross; suggested donation of $5. The festivities start at 2 pm and end at 8 pm. Here’s the schedule of bands:
THE SHOW:
7:15pm – 7:45pm Barrington Spence w/DJ Remedios (Houston)
6:00pm – 6:45pm Irie Jane
4:45pm – 5:30pm Root Dimension
4:15pm – 4:45pm Cuban Jamaican Freedom Drumming
3:30pm – 4:15pm Herby Augustine and Frenezi (from Haiti)
2:15pm – 3:00pm Crucial Mystic
2:00pm – 8:00pm DJ Jah Ray (spinning beginning, end & in-between sets)
The rest of Friday, and cool stuff happening Saturday and Sunday, after the jump!
Was there any point in talking about yesterday’s events? I’m pretty sure half the music-goers in town were in the parking lot of Waterloo for hours waiting to see Spoon. Anyway, life after Spoon is rough for some, but here are music events up to Thursday that will help you ease the pain.
Tuesday, January 26th
The Hi-Tones, Deadman, Bruce Hughes
Austin rock band The Hi-Tones plays at Saxon Pub, doors at 8 pm. Cost is $5.
Son 5
The Latin-American collective band will play at Speakeasy tonight. Doors at 9:30 pm. Call for cost details.
Wednesday, January 27th
Winds of Plague, Despised Icon, For Today, Stray From the Path, The World We Knew, Set Aflame
You want death metal, you got death metal. Check out this line-up at Emo’s tomorrow night. Doors open at 6 pm and tickets are $13. Buy them here.
Stonehoney
You want country rock, you got country rock. Stonehoney’s playing for free at Threadgill’s starting at 7 pm.
Thursday, January 28th
The Trim
Local rock band The Trim plays at the Mean Eyed Cat. Doors at 9 pm. Contact the club for details on price.
Lux Divon
Dub reggae group Lux Divon performs at Redline Hookah. Show at 9 pm.
The Heartless Bastards on Jimmy Kimmel
The Heartless Bastards performed “Out at Sea” on Jimmy Kimmel last night. Don’t forget to check out their Austin City Limits performance tonight! And if you haven’t yet read Seanningham’s guest album review of The Mountain, check it out here.
Will Ferrell “Freebirds” Conan
Last night was the last Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. In a bittersweet ending, Conan addressed his loyal audience, saying:
“To all the people watching, I can never thank you enough for your kindness to me and I’ll think about it for the rest of my life. All I ask of you is one thing: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism — it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen. As proof, let’s make an amazing thing happen right now.”
Then Will Ferrell, joined by Ben Harper, Beck, Billy Gibbons, and Conan himself, rocked the show to a close with a hilarious rendition of “Freebird,” including – what else – cowbell. Conan really plays an impressive guitar too!
Hope for Haiti Now
Last night, some of music’s biggest names performed in the Hope for Haiti Now telethon. The performances were amazing and the entire show was wrought with emotion. Read about all the performances here, and if you missed it, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase the performances from iTunes for only $7.99, or you can donate to the cause here.
AHHHH!!! I’m ridiculously excited about The Flaming Lips coming to Austin in March! It’s just been announced that they’ll be playing the Austin Music Hall on March 12th. Tickets go on sale January 30th at 10 am and it looks like they’re running $35 – $37.
My regular readers have been Flaming Lip-sed to death, and really, it hasn’t even been that long since I last complained about missing them live, so you’re probably also looking forward to me shutting up about it. Excitement! I. Can’t. Wait!!!!
Who else will be there? Leave a comment and let me know.
