Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Cheap Curls at the Mohawk


Tonight, the Mohawk's inside stage is going to be pumping out some fast and dirty indie-rock courtesy of those fine folks over at Art Fag Recordings. Former Dum Dum Girl and current member of Cheap Curls, Katie, recently released her Jackie Oh EP and in celebration the Mohawk is throwing a party. Cheap Curls is a band that will be sure to catch national buzz and they're based right here in Austin so attending tonight's show supports your local music scene while earning you made hipster-points on a national scale. You can't legitimately say you were there when Cheap Curls played the inside stage at the Mohawk unless you attend tonight's show.



Tonight's show is in celebration of the release of the Cheap Curls EP but the full line-up is excellent. Foreign Mothers have been catching a lot of local buzz for their solid songwriting and fun live shows. They describe their sound as, "If Gang of Four were stoners." It's an apt description.

Check out the full line-up on the poster below:

Read more!

Rubblebucket and Reptar


I can not think of a better cure for your hump-day blues than tonight's show at Beauty Ballroom. Two of indie-rock's most energetic live performers will be sharing the stage to make help you dance all of that alcohol out of your system. The last time I saw Rubblebucket they had robots in the crowd and there was impromptu face-painting of the crowd while the band performed. They ended their set by walking through the crowd while playing, leading the whole circus to the merch table where they hung out, chatted and signed things. Their latest release is the Oversaturated EP, which is available digitally or you can grab the 10" at the show tonight. Tickets for tonight are still available or you can pay the cover at the door but it MAY sell-out so if you're interested you should just buy your ticket now.


Rubblebucket - (Focus) Oversaturated video via YouTube

Reptar will be sharing the bill with Rubblebucket tonight and their live set is slightly more punk than party. It's not that they sound like a punk band it's that they put their entire beings into each performance, throwing themselves around the stage and generally freaking the fuck out. If you have never seen them perform live then you should not miss tonight's show. They have been through Austin several times in the last couple of years and each time there are more hardcore fans in attendance, which just ups the ante on the energy of the performance. Reptar's latest record is called Body Faucet, it's one of the most interesting indie-rock releases of 2012 thus far and certainly worth a listen whether you plan on attending tonight's show or not.



Rubblebucket actually released a remix of a Reptar song so, it's possible we'll see a bit of on-stage collaboration tonight? That's merely conjecture though. I have no information on whether or not they two bands actually perform together.



Read more!

Monday, September 24, 2012

The Soft Pack Return to Austin


Los Angeles-based band, The Soft Pack are the originators when it comes to indie-rock bands changing their names. At this point that has nothing to do with anything though. Since their last release The Soft Pack have fallen off the blog-buzz-o-sphere but they haven't changed their sound in any significant way. They haven't been arrested for beating their girlfriends *cough*Surfer Blood*cough,* they have simply fallen victim to the music industry in the 21st Century. There seems to be very little logic to what makes one band buzzy/popular/successful and what makes another band "irrelevant." The Soft Pack still make energetic, jangly, rock band with great melodies and catchy lyrics. I supported The Soft Pack when they released their last LP and damnit I'm going to support them now! Their next LP is called Strapped and it comes out tomorrow, which is also the day they play Red 7. Tickets for tomorrow night's show are only $10 but they go up to $12 if you wait until the day of the show to make your purchase.


The Soft Pack - Tallboy video via YouTube

Tomorrow night's show is on Red 7's inside stage with The Shivery Shakes starting things off. The doors aren't even open until 9pm, which means your looking at The Soft Pack's set starting around midnight. You'll catch Heavy Hawaii playing the 11pm slot doing their indie-pop, California surf-rock thing right before The Soft Pack.

Read more!