The Kills in Austin

I know what you're thinking, an outdoor show at Stubb's in January, what were they thinking? Well, I can't speak to that specifically but I can assure that The Kills make it all better. If you've never experienced the genre-smashing fuzz and drama of a live Kills experience then you should throw on a hat and poncho and stand your ass in the rain. Look at it this way, everyone else at the show tomorrow will also be in the rain so, you can consider it a communal, bonding experience with your fellow concert patron. At the moment tickets are still available and the weather lends me to believe that the show will not sell-out. However, if you want to be on the safe side you should probably just snag some tickets right now.


The Kills - The Last Goodbye video via YouTube

I suppose if you can't handle standing in the rain to catch The Kills tonight your next best bet is to tune into KUT this afternoon where they'll be playing a live set. I can't find the exact time that the live performance starts but I was listening on my commute home yesterday and they mentioned that it would be this afternoon.

For those of you heading out to the actual show at Stubb's tonight make sure you arrive early enough to catch Jeff the Brotherhood. They have a lot of buzz building for them and have even been chosen by Mr. Jack White to represent Third Man Records with an exclusive "Blue Series" 7", as well as a live LP.


Jeff the Brotherhood - Whatever I Want video via YouTube


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A Lull with Deleted Scenes

Hey there, come here often? You looking to party? I got you covered, well not literally, you're going to have to buy your own ticket but you should meet me at the Mohawk next Monday night. Me and all the cool kids are going to drink Lone Stars, PBR's and make fun of the other cool kids. We'll also be jamming out to A Lull. You may not recognize that name right now but in a few months when everyone is talking about them you'll be like, "Ugg, I saw them like 3 months ago and now that you like them I'm bored." You might also go for, "Remember 3 months ago when I tried to get you to go see them with me at the Mohawk?!?! Pshaw!" None of this hipster posturing will be possible if you don't make it out to the show though. It is for that reason that I'm posting this today, I want you to have a week's heads-up to get your act together.



A Lull - Some Love video via YouTube

If A Lull wasn't enough awesome music to tempt you, you can also catch Washington D.C.-area band Deleted Scenes playing the support slot. If you didn't catch them last time they played Austin then you're in luck. They put on a great live show with lots of David Lee Roth high kicks. Ok, I made that part up but they really are great musicians and they are a band to watch in 2012 according to this sentence.


Deleted Scenes - Bedbedbedbedbed video via YouTube

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Kendrick Lamar at Beauty Ballroom TONIGHT!

I included it in my ticket round-up post at the beginning of the month but January 20th really snuck-up on me. I didn't realize that tonight was the night to catch Kendrick Lamar at the brand-new Beauty Ballroom over on East Riverside. Kendrick's 2011 album, Section.80 was released digitally and made a lot of year-end lists in December. Hailing from Compton, Lamar is carrying on a tradition of great hip-hop and at a concert last August Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Game pronounced him the new prince of west coast hip-hop. If you didn't catch Kendrick Lamar's album last year you can check it out on Spotify. He can also be heard guesting on Drake's latest LP, Take Care on the, "Buried Alive Interlude." It's not too late to get tickets to tonight's show at the Beauty Ballroom they'll be waiting for you at will-call.


Kendrick Lamar - ADHD video via YouTube

Apparently Kendrick Lamar is a huge fan of 2Pac and usually dedicates at least 10 minutes of every show to him and his music so, if you head out to tonight's show you can expect to hear that. Also, look for Kendrick's studio LP, Good Kid in a Mad City at some point this year.


Kendrick Lamar - HiiiPower video via YouTube

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Review: Cass McCombs

Last Saturday night there were a lot of great shows in Austin to choose from. All the kids were over at the Mohawk for the Starfucker show, meanwhile the grown-up were down the street watching Cass McCombs on the inside stage. I wasn't sure how full the show was going to be but I was pleased to walk into a completely packed room just as support act Frank Fairfield was starting his old-timey, one man folk show. The audience was very attentive and Frank put on a good performance. It wasn't really my thing but the crowd erupted in cheers and applause at the end of every song so, clearly, has some fans in Austin.

Cass McCombs started about 10 minutes later than he was scheduled for, with a full backing band that included a steel guitar/guitar, bass, keys and drums. I spotted Erica from the Heartless Bastard enjoying the show along with lots of other Austin scenesters. Cass opened with Equinox from his 2007 album PREfection triggering lots of hooting and hollering from the audience. I, for one, didn't expect to hear an older song so soon in the set but for Cass McCombs fans, that song is a classic and a great opening number. The set culled tracks from Cass' full catalog, including his latest single Bradley Manning.

Cass McCombs - Bradley Manning via Soundcloud

Overall, I had a great experience at the show. The crowd was rapt and mostly attentive throughout the performance and I found myself really paying attention to the lyrical content of the songs. Cass McCombs' songs exist in their own universe and when you see him perform live it's, somewhat, like living in a David Lynch film. The mood of the songs is much thicker in person than on record and they evoke a very dream-like feeling. I hate to try to pin down the music with a genre because it straddles several but Saturday night I was thinking that there was a psychedelic-country-soul thing going on and that seemed quite fitting at the moment.

The set closed with one of the greatest songs of 2011, County Line and I could help thinking that it sounded like a soul record through an American filter. I would love to hear an artist like Charles Bradley re-imagine the tune to enhance it's soul-music qualities. Cass McCombs is still on tour through March so, if you're reading this from outside of Austin you should head out to the following places to have your own Lynch-ian moment with Cass and Co.

• 01-20 Saxaphaw, NC - Haw River Ballroom *
• 01-21 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar *
• 01-22 Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie *
• 01-25 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *
• 01-26 Montreal, Quebec - Il Motore *
• 01-27 Toronto, Ontario - The Garrison *
• 01-28 Detroit, MI - Pike Room *
• 01-29 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall *
• 01-30 Madison, WI - High Noon *
• 02-01 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry *
• 02-02 Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room *
• 02-03 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive *
• 02-04 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court *
• 03-05 Manchester, England - Band on the Wall
• 03-07 Liverpool, England - Leaf Cafe Bold St.
• 03-09 London, England - Union Chapel

^ with White Magic
* with Frank Fairfield


Cass McCombs - County Line video via YouTube


Charles Bradley - The World (Is Going Up in Flames) video via YouTube

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Interview: Twin Sister

Long Island indie-popsters Twin Sister will be here in Austin at the end of the month and tickets are almost sold-out. Normally, I do these preview posts closer to the actual show date but I want you to be at the Mohawk on the 29th so, I'm posting about the show today. Neo-whiteboy-indie-soul group, Ava Luna will be playing the support slot so I encourage you to arrive early and catch both bands because they're both fucking awesome. That's right, I said it.


Ava Luna - Clips video via YouTube

I had the chance to send some questions to Andrea from Twin Sister, which you can find below the break.


Twin Sister - Kimmi In a Rice Field video via YouTube

• What are some other monikers TWIN SISTER tried out before choosing TWIN SISTER?

Vampires, Dreaming Kids

• If the members of TWIN SISTER were to choose non-musical professions, what might those be?

I would work in an Aquarium or be an Art Director.

• What band names would have decorated your notebooks/lockers/bumpers in High School?

Smashing Pumpkins, NIN, Björk, Space Robot Scientists. I think I use to do this a lot more in Middle school and like, the beginning of High School. Then I started tacking up flyers for our local acoustic shows.

• Did you grow up in a musical house-hold?  If so, what music were/are your parents really into?

When I was really little and my parents were still into their early 20s, my father used to play guitar with his friends and my mom was really into dance. So, I had Pink Floyd, Blondie, Bob Marley, Neil Young, Michael Jackson, Salsa, Merengue, Madonna.

• What are some of your choices for a "guilty pleasure" playlist?

• Katy Perry - "Last Friday Night"
• Michelle Branch - "All You Wanted"
• Ne-Yo - "Closer"
• Vanessa Carlton - "A Thousand Miles"
• Katy Perry - "Teenage Dream"
• Vanessa Carlton - "Ordinary Day"
• Ke$ha - "TiK ToK"

• What have you been listening to lately?  Do you have any favorite LP's from 2011?

• Roy Orbison, the "Crying" cassette
• The Best of Bowie cassette
• Kate Bush, "The Whole Story" cassette


I think my favorite from 2011 is Björk's "Biophilia." So far, I haven't been listening to enough new music, just old music. I have to wait until this new music is old.

• What were some of your favorite films that you saw last year?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 and The Borrower Arriety

  The Borrower Arriety - Official English Trailer video via YouTube
• If you were to make the analogy of band as a family,what roles would your various members play?  Who are the parents in the van?

Dev is dad that pays the bills and makes sure that the modem is still giving the house internet. I'm (Andrea) the mother I guess, too busy with make up and hair to pay attention to my kids, but I'll still take them to the doctor. Eric is my favorite son, little stinky brat that does everything right and kisses mummy's buns. Bryan is my stoner son, that is locked in his room listening to music, being all creative and having a good time with his friends and stealing mama's liquor! Gabel is a friend of my son, and I'm sleeping with him behind my husband's back.

• What's the biggest/most common myth about touring?

It isn't like a road trip, it's fun and work. I never have enough energy, time or money to really enjoy every place I visit. I still haven't spent more than a few hours in Paris. WTH? If you want to become an alcoholic it's perfect! I hate paying for drinks when I come home.

• If you could collaborate with any artist(s), in any medium, in any time period, who would it be, when and what would you be working on?

1940s, Walt Disney, Cartoon production cells.

Twin Sister - Bad Street video via YouTube

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Scarface and Wu-Tang This Weekend

Are you a hip-hop fan? Maybe you're a suburban white kid trying to earn some street cred? Perhaps your're a hipster who doesn't like anything because it's too commercial. Wait, don't tell me, you've been a huge hip-hop fan your whole life and kids used to make fun of you for it but now it's cool. You were into Scarface while everyone else was gettin' jiggy with it? Well, regardless of your sorted past this weekend has two incredibly solid hip-hop shows and you could be in attendance if you get on board the ticket train. Friday night, you'll find Houston hip-hop legend Scarface at the Mohawk. Lots of emcees claim to be legendary but most of them are just boasting, that can not be said of Scarface. As a member of the Geto Boys, Scarface helped to put Houston hip-hop in the national spotlight with underground classics as well as urban radio jams like, Mind Playing Tricks on Me. I'm not going to go through his whole resume´ you should just trust me and get yourself some tickets before they're gone.


Scarface - On My Block video via YouTube

Then, on Saturday night over at Emo's luscious, new E. Riverside location you will find New York legends, Wu-Tang Clan. Just like Friday night's Scarface show, I'd expect this show to sell-out before doors open so be sure to grab some tickets now! If you feel like you can't afford tickets to see Wu-Tang you can try your luck at this contest, that's your call. If I even need to explain to you who Wu-Tang Clan is, or why you should care about this show then you need to turn your computer off, go to the nearest record shop and buy yourself a copy of Enter the Wu-Tang Clan - 36 Chambers RIGHT NOW!


Wu-Tang Clang - Careful video via YouTube

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Cass McCombs at Stubb's

By now, you've all had a chance to peruse my ticket round-up post so this show is not news to you. However, I wanted to focus your attention on the Cass McCombs show taking place on Stubb's inside stage Saturday night. Cass has been a blog favorite for years and he's also been championed by fellow musicians for his beautiful song-craft and his deeply honest, moving live performances. I expect this show to sell-out within the next day or two so if you want to be a part of this intimate experience you should grab some tickets while they're still available.


Cass McCombs - The Same Thing video via YouTube

The above song comes from Cass McCombs' second album of 2011, Humor Risk. That's right, the second album of 2011! Did I mention that Cass is an extremely proficient songwriter? His first LP of 2011 is called, Wit's End and like Humor Risk is has some of the best songwriting in recent years. The thing that is most interesting to me about the two albums is how they are so different from one another. Wit's End has a more intimate feel, with a more classic singer-songwriter sound, while Humor Risk delves deeper into a true rock sound. They both sound like they are from the same artist but they just explore different sides of Cass' sound. With 6 LPs to cull tracks from, Saturday's live set at Stubb's could last two hours and be sourced from almost a decades worth of material.


Cass McCombs - County Line video via YouTube

Did I mention you should probably get some tickets quickly? The inside room at Stubb's doesn't fit very many people.

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Planning Ahead: Spend that Holiday $$$

It's a new month, a new year, new beginnings and you've got all kinds of holiday related debt OR you're flush with holiday cash OR you're a Jehovah's Witness and holiday is just a bangin' Madonna track. Regardless, I thought y'all might want the heads-up on some fantabulous shows that will be in the Austin area coming up in the near or distant future.

First of all, you should know that SXSW is nigh and the sooner (before Jan. 13th) you buy a badge or wristband the cheaper it will be. I know a lot of you just enjoy all of the free side parties and stuff and that's aight. Trust me though, if you just spring for a music wristband it saves you lots of headache with RSVPing, pretending you like Perez Hilton, standing in lines outside of power plants for prima donnas and all that Jazz. In any case, at this point you can only buy badges for SXSW but keep an ear to the street for the sale of the wristbands. For now, check out a song from a band I'm really looking forward to seeing at SXSW 2012 and then look for all of the ticket links after the jump.


North Highlands - Benefits video via YouTube


Alright, you should know the drill by now, this list is not comprehensive and does not represent an endorsement of any show, venue, artist etc. This is merely a list of shows that may or may not interest you, happening here in the Austin area. Click the name of the artist to go to the ticket page, the name of the venue will bring you to the venue's homepage. If the listing has a strike-through it means the show is already sold-out but I wanted to acknowledge my awareness of the event and also make you feel bad about not getting tickets when they were available. Also, I didn't include a lot of highlight-worthy shows from local bands because they (mostly) don't have pre-sale tickets available. If there is anything I have neglected to include...whoops.

Friday, Jan. 13th

• Scarface at Mohawk
• Balmorhea / Peter & the Wolf at Parish
• T-Bird and the Breaks at ND
• Whitman / Guns of Navarone at Lambert's

Saturday, Jan. 14th

• Wu-Tang Clan at Emo's
• Cass McCombs at Stubb's
• Starfucker at Mohawk

Tuesday, Jan. 17th

• Langhorne Slim at Stubb's

Thursday, Jan. 19th

• The Mountain Goats / Nurses at Antone's
• Frank Smith at Mohawk

Friday, Jan. 20th

• Kendrick Lamar at Beauty Ballroom
• The Toasters at Antone's

Kendrick Lamar - Rigamortis video via YouTube

Saturday, Jan. 21th

• Mason Jennings at Parish
• But you LOVE Ladysmith Black Mambazo at ACL Live
• Don Chani at Flamingo Cantina

Wednesday, Jan. 25th

• The Kills / Jeff the Brotherhood at Stubb's

Friday, Jan. 27th

• Theophilus London at Beauty Ballroom

Saturday, Jan. 28th

• BENEFIT FOR ESME'S FAMILY! Ted Leo at Beerland

Sunday, Jan. 29th

• Twin Sister at Mohawk

Twin Sister - Bad Street video via YouTube

Monday, Jan. 30th

• A Lull / Deleted Scenes at Mohawk

Wednesday, Feb. 1st

• HarMar Superstar at

Friday, Feb. 3rd

• Zola Jesus at Parish
• They Might Be Giants at La Zona Rosa

Saturday, Feb. 4th

• King Khan and the Shrines at Mohawk
• Caitlin Rose at Stubb's

Wednesday, Feb. 8th

• HarMar Superstar at

Saturday, Feb11th

• Thurston Moore at St. David's Episcopal Church
• Lemonheads (Playing, "It's a Shame About Ray") at Mohawk

Wednesday, Feb.15th

• HarMar Superstar at Mohawk

Thursday, Feb. 16th

• Trombone Shorty at ACL Live

Friday, Feb. 17th

• Los Campesinos! at Parish
• Loretta Lynn at ACL Live

Saturday, Feb. 18th

• Los Campesinos! at Parish

Los Campesinos! - By Your Hand video via YouTube

Tuesday, Feb. 21st

• Matthew Good at Antone's

Friday, Feb. 24th

• HarMar Superstar at Mohawk

Saturday, Feb. 25th

• Cloud Nothings at Red 7
• Reptar at Stubb's
• Band of Heathens at Parish

Monday, Feb. 27th

• Gomez at Antone's
• Drake / A$AP Rocky / Kendrick Lamar at Frank Erwin Center

Tuesday, Feb. 28th

• Gomez at Antone's

Wednesday, Feb. 29th

• Grimes / Born Gold at Lambert's

Friday, March 2nd

• Gladys Knight at ACL Live

Sunday, March 4th

• Shearwater at Antone's

Wednesday, March 7th

• Radiohead / Other Lives at Frank Erwin Center

Friday, March 9th

• Dr. Dog / Givers at Stubb's

Tuesday, March 13th

• Band of Skulls / We Are Augustines at Antone's

Friday, March 23rd

• The Naked and Famous at Stubb's

Saturday, March 24th

• Young the Giant / Grouplove at Stubb's

Sunday, March 25th

• Young the Giant / Grouplove at Stubb's

Thursday, April 5th

• Childish Gambino / Danny Brown at Stubb's

Danny Brown - Greatest Rapper Ever video via YouTube

Wednesday, April 11th

• Keep Shelly in Athens at Mohawk
• Bowerbirds at Parish

Saturday, April 14th

• Cursive / Cymbals Eat Guitars at Mohawk

Tuesday, April 24th

• Bear in Heaven at Parish

Thursday, May 3rd

• Roger Waters (Performing "The Wall") at Frank Erwin Center

Saturday, May 5th

• Tom Petty at Frank Erwin Center

Friday, May 18th

• M83 / I Break Horses at Stubb's

I Break Horses - Winter Beats video via YouTube

Tuesday, June 5th

• Foster the People / The Kooks at The Backyard

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You're on the Guest List

What started with a single club (whose original location is now closed) has spread throughout the Red River district and beyond. That's right, as you should know by now, it's FREE WEEK! Think of it as a small-scale local music festival with Austin bands playing for free at all sorts of venues, I didn't write about the first two days of free week but let me highlight a couple of shows to round out your week. Tonight, I recommend you head on over to Skinny's Ballroom to check out Leatherbag. Skinny's is fairly new to Austin's music scene so this will be a great way to welcome them into the free week fold.


Leatherbag - Living in the Dark video via YouTube
Lo
On Wednesday night I would head over to ye olde Beauty Bar where the Manateam Group will be hosting a split showcase with the folks over at Giant Steps. You'll find 5 up-and-coming Austin groups at this showcase, including Tactics.



I'd also recommend you check out Equals' headlining set over at Antone's Wednesday night. That's the benefit of free week, you can hop around and see sets from several band and several venues without paying a cover!



Thursday night, I'm all about Antone's as I love those indie-piano-popsters of Oh No Oh My. I somehow neglected their album, People Problems, when I was doing my local, best of round-up last month so I want to be sure to highlight their headlining performance this week.


Oh No Oh My - So I Took You via YouTube

Friday night has a ton of great shows, you really can't go wrong no matter where you end up. You could see OBN III's at Beerland. You could also head down the street to the Mohawk for a set from Calm Blue Sea. Travel slightly north and east for Zlam Dunk at The Annex at 1808. Get your post-rock on at the Scoot Inn with Markov, with La Snacks on the same bill. If you haven't been to Emo's east Riverside location yet, you can see Quiet Company and Speak there on Friday night. Or you can stay slightly off the beaten path and enjoy the cozy confines of Lambert's for a set from Mice and Rifles.



Saturday night also has as great line-up of performances including a couple of repeat sets at different venues. If you don't cram yourself into the hostile armpit that is Beerland, on Friday night for OBN III's then I highly recommend you catch their Saturday night set at the lovely Mohawk. Also, if you missed Quiet Company's at Emo's East on Friday night they play, the very intimate, Swan Dive on Saturday night. Bloggy favs, TV Torso will be playing the Ringo Deathstarr at Beauty Bar, Fresh Millions at the Parish, What Made Milwaukee Famous at Antone's, Megafauna at Flamingo Cantina, La Snacks and The Cocker Spaniels at Skinny's, and Guns of Navarone at Scoot Inn.



Sunday night is your final night to not pay a cover charge, bringing 7 nights of free-ness to a close. I don't recognize as many bands playing Sunday but you can find free music at: Mohawk, Antone's, Red 7, ND and Beerland. So, there you have it, FREE WEEK! If you want to see more info, I always like to use Show List Austin. You can also find a great write-up by our brothers of the blog over at Ultra8201. Have fun out there, don't drink and drive and make sure to tip your bar-staff.

By the way, almost every link I posted for these bands will bring you to their Bandcamp page where you can listen to their latest releases. Enjoy!

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15 Great EP's of 2011

By this point you should have already seen my best locals list, my best non-locals list, and Shivvy's best albums list. So, technically I don't have to post anything else for the rest of the year. That's how this works right? Well, I figured I also wanted to highlight some great EP's that came out this year. I'm not going to call it a best of and I'm not going to mention EP's that were included in the other lists from this site BUT when these bands become famous in 2012-2015 I want you to remember this list. Also, you can expect all or most of these bands to appear on Austin stage during SXSW 2012, or thereabouts.

As with all of the other lists, click the name of the artist to be brought to their homepage, click the title of the EP to go to a purchase page (lots of these are limited pressings in physical form so you may have to go with the digital option), listen to the song sample by pressing the play button. I have also created a Spotify Playlist to accompany this post. Let's begin shall we?

• Grimes - Darkbloom

  
  Grimes - Vanessa video via YouTube

• Surfer Blood - Tarot Classics

  
  Surfer Blood - Miranda via YouTube

• Young Buffalo - Young Von Prettylips

  
  Young Buffalo - Full Metal Whacket via YouTube

• Empress Hotel - Empress Hotel

  
  Empress Hotel - Bells Ring via YouTube

• Races - Big Broom

  
  Races - Big Broom via YouTube

• Weekend - Red

  
  Weekend - Hazel via YouTube

• Chapter 24 - Chapter 24 EP

  
  Chapter 24 - Blisland to Cry video via YouTube

• Reptar - Oblangle Fizz Y'all

  
  Reptar - Stuck In My Id via YouTube

• Yukon Blonde - Fire//Water

  
  Yukon Blonde - Water video via YouTube

• Alex Turner - Submarine (Original Songs)

  
  Alex Turner - Hiding Tonight via YouTube

• Dom - Family of Love

  
  Dom - Happy Birthday Party via YouTube

• Keep Shelly in Athens - Our Own Dream

  
  Keep Shelly in Athens - Lazy Noon via YouTube

• Purity Ring - Belispeak

  This one isn't technically an EP, it's a split single but I'm totally including it, so there!
  
  
  Purity Ring - Belispeak via YouTube

• Phantogram - Nightlife

  
  Phantogram - Don't Move via YouTube

• Radiohead - TKOL RMX 1234567

  This also isn't truly an EP, it's compilation of 12" singles that was compiled onto a CD. There were 7 of these 12" singles at the point this compilation was released, since then an 8th remix 12" has appeared. The song below is my favorite of all of the remixes.
  
  
  Radiohead - Separator (Anstam RMX) via YouTube
  

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