Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr & Generationals at Emo's

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but like so many of you, I often do just that. Not, necessarily, in a literal sense but sometimes I literally judge actual books by their actual covers. In any case, I was guilty of this when I heard about the much-buzzed-about, Detroit band, Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr. I assumed by their ridiculous name that they, too, would be ridiculous. For me their name implied a noisy, possible Wavves-like band who had stupid 90 second songs that I would hate. So, when I finally took the time to listen to their music I was pleasantly surprised. Not only are they not fuzzed out garage bullshit, they make beautiful, harmonious indie-pop. I would liken their sound to that of local-favs Oh No! Oh My!. In other words, their sound is the perfect sonic-companion for Lousiana-natives, Generationals. Neither band is afraid of pleasant-sounding harmonies, or pop melodies. If you, too, judged Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr based on their stupid name, I recommend you check out their Soundcloud page before you write them off. Or, better yet, get yourself a ticket and join me at Emo's inside-stage tomorrow night.


Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr - Nothing But Our Love video via YouTube

If you missed Generationals with Oh No! Oh My! at Emo's a few weeks ago, then you definitely need to see them tomorrow night. Their latest LP Actor Caster is out now and it's beautiful. Their live-performance does not disappoint and for you straight dudes, their music attracts a large, female audience. Not to be confused with a large female audience. No offense to large females, they too, are welcome to enjoy in the beautiful indie-pop of Generationals and Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr tomorrow night. You can listen to all of Generationals', Actor Caster on their YouTube page including this song:


Generationals - Yours Forever video via YouTube

Starting things off tomorrow, at about 10:00p, will be local band and spin-off of Bill Baird's, Sunset-project, Sleep Good. Sleep Good is, basically, Sunset (Who is now known as Blank Fritz) without Bill Baird. Was that confusing enough for you? Well, don't be confused just get to Emo's by 10:00p tomorrow night so you don't miss them. You may, actually, download Sleep Good's album Skyclimber for free courtesy of Autobus.


Sleep Good - Paper Feet video via YouTube

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White Lies with Asobi Seksu at Antone's

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook then you have seen me posting about tonight's White Lies show at Antone's already. However, if you someone missed all of that then you should be made aware that tickets are still available for tonight's show and I really feel like you should make an effort to get down to 5th street for this show. White Lies' latest LP, Ritual, is dramatic, moody, slightly-synthesized rock 'n roll. I expect it will bring out the goth-kids, the anglo-philiacs as well as both the skinny-jean wearing AND skinny-tie wearing hipsters. In other words even if my description of White Lies' sound wasn't appealing to you, the people-watching should most definitely intrigue you. Also, whenever a band comes from another country to perform for you, you should go see them because they might be traveling around Texas with weed on this tour, which means their visas will be revoked and it will be a lot harder for them to tour here NEXT time.


White Lies - 'Ritual' Sampler video via YouTube

Playing the opening slot for White Lies is, New York band, and Bloggy-highlight band from SXSW 2011, Asobi Seksu. I saw Asobi Seksu during SXSW and their set was LOUD, shoe-gazy, beautiful and, to use a buzz-word, rapturous. Their latest LP, Fluorescence builds upon the sound they've been developing for years with bad-ass driving drums, swirling guitar sounds, female vocals and propulsive bass guitar. They're not, necessarily, an ideal match-up for a White Lies show, as they rock harder than White Lies but I don't think that has to be a bad thing. I just hope Asobi Seksu wins over lots of new fans tonight at Antone's. By the way, I don't mean to imply that Asobi is better than White Lies when I say they rock harder, I just mean their music is more driving than moody. Although, it certainly has moody elements as well.


Asobi Seksu - Trails video via YouTube

In my experience everything is completely done at Antone's by midnight so make sure you roll up early to catch full sets by both band. Doors are scheduled to open at 8p and this is an all-ages show, so if you're stuck babysitting tonight, that's no excuse you can bring the kids.



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Tristen Returns to the Mohawk

Tristen isn't the kind of artist you're going to read about on Gorilla Vs. Bear, Stereogum or any other indie-music blogs. She is the kind of artist whom you might have heard on KGSR back when they were a little more adventurous and I'm sure they'll be playing here on KUT if they're not already. I have been a big fan of Tristen's for a few months and I want you to be as well. See, one day everyone will know Tristen's music, she'll be playing Austin City Limits (both the show and the festival) and I want you to get in on the ground-floor of fandom. I want you to have one of those stories where you can say, "Oh, yeah I've liked Tristen for YEARS, I saw her play the inside stage at the Mohawk." Trust me, telling those stories gives you a feeling of superiority that is hard to match. Did I ever tell you about how I saw Vampire Weekend play the inside stage at Mohawk? Yeah, I feel so much cooler now.


Tristen - Special Kind of Fear video via YouTube

Tonight will be my third time seeing Tristen play the Mohawk's inside stage, the last was during SXSW and her performance was so captivating the bartenders stopped serving drinks to watch Tristen perform. You know that's a seriously impressive performance when you can get those beardos to pay attention to the music being played in the next room. Just think about how many performances they see/hear.


Tristen - Baby Drugs video via YouTube

In case you haven't figured it out at this point, I HIGHLY encourage you to meet me at the Mohawk tonight. I have to work until 9p then I'm heading down to Red River so I can catch Tristen's set. She recently played Morning Becomes Eclectic at KCRW and she performed a beautiful cover of Dolly Parton's Wildflowers I hope she plays it tonight too! Tickets are still available for tonight's show and they're inexpensive ($9) so for the love of Oprah buy them and get downtown tonight.


Tristen - Matchstick Murder video via YouTube

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