Friday, September 14, 2012

So Much Saturday Fun


There are so many great shows happening Saturday night, it's going to be like Indie-Rock Rosemary's Baby in Austin. Some of these shows will be sold-out by the time you're reading this, which should make your decision a little bit easier. Including that Twin Shadow show I mentioned the other day.

Let's start south of the river, at Emo's with Neon Indian's triumphant return to our fair city. He's still touring in support of Era Extraña but you can expect to hear some older tracks and possibly some unreleased new tracks. Tickets are still available and will set you back about $15.


Neon Indian - Fallout video via YouTube

Meanwhile, over on West 4th St. some of the best psychedelic-ish bands touring today are holding things down at La Zona Rosa. I'm not even a big fan of Ty Segall's records but his live show is one of the best things to happen to musical performance since the amplifier. Touring with Thee Oh Sees, and having Austin's-own Flesh Lights opening is like the first time Peanut Butter met Jelly. Break open your piggy bank though because drinks at La Zona are fucking pricey. However, tickets for this show are only $15 and for the amount of rockin' that's going to go down, that's a small price to pay.

Somewhere in a small town in the suburbs Passion Pit will be testing the limits of the falsetto whilst pumping out some sensitive dance numbers at The Backyard. At $35 for tickets to this show, you might need to borrow some money from your Mom, or better yet invite her along! Factor in the drive to Bee Caves and the severe traffic getting in and out of the venue and this show is looking more and more like a bummer by the minute. Sorry Passion Pit, we loved your first EP but we're not sure you're worth the hassle this time. For those of you whose mothers already bought them tickets, make sure to arrive early enough to catch The Octopus Project.

Back on West 6th street, just east of those douchey sports bars Antone's is hosting seminal, Boston, post-punk band, Mission of Burma. This show promises to feature a more mature crowd of people who probably know most of the words to most of the songs. Drinks are cheaper than at La Zona but not by much and you won't have to drive to Bee Caves, which is good but there's not a parking lot like at Emo's. Tickets for Mission of Burma are a cool $17.50.

So, there's several things you can choose from tomorrow night. It's not everything but it's a lot of things and if none of them appeal to you, you could always watch a movie at home...or at a friend's home for that matter. Happy weekending Austin!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Swans at La Zona Rosa


I'm not gonna front like I'm some die-hard fan of the band, Swans but I do know that their latest album, The Seer, is catching a lot of buzz. I also know that many of you, who read this site on a regular basis are fans of Swans and would like to hear their newest songs performed live. Well, you're in luck as they will be appearing at La Zona Rosa this Friday night. Tickets are still available and I honestly haven't heard if it's close to selling out or not but based purely on the web-buzz I'd expect it's selling quite well.


Swans - The Seer Returns video via YouTube


If you're planning on grabbing yourself a ticket to the Swans show be sure to arrive in time to catch Xiu Xiu. I feel like they aren't the perfect match for Swans, they're a definitely more avante and keyboard-driven but I also think an audience that's can appreciate Swans will appreciate Xiu Xiu. Their latest record is called Always and you can listen to the title track now on Soundcloud.

Twin Shadow / Niki and the Dove This Weekend


There are so many great shows coming up in the next couple of weeks, I wasn't sure whether to write one long post featuring all of the highlights or several short ones. I went with the latter. I am really excited to see Twin Shadow again at the Mohawk this weekend. Originally, the band was going to play Friday night only but that show sold-out so fast they added another show Saturday night. If you didn't get tickets to Friday night's show, you're in luck because there are still a few left for the Saturday night show. I'd act fast if I were you though because this show will sell-out at any moment. Also, if you haven't listened to Twin Shadow's latest record, Confess I recommend you do so.


Twin Shadow - Patient video via YouTube

For those of you who are financially challenged, you can try to get into Waterloo Records for Twin Shadow's free in-store performance at 5:30pm on Saturday. However, if you don't have tickets to either Mohawk show you're going to miss one of my favorite bands from SXSW 2012 in, Niki and the Dove. Their album Instinct is personal, ethereal, music with electronic textures and lush melodies. Niki is an electro-pop Stevie Nicks for a new generation and their live set is not to be missed.