Thursday Night Happenings

There is a lot going on in Austin tomorrow night and I expected a lot of those events to be sold-out by now. You're in luck though, because they're not! Now, you just have to decide what you do and don't want to see. Price point could be an issue here as the events available vary greatly in their cost.

I fully expected tonight's Yeasayer show at Stubb's to be sold-out but alas there are still some tickets available. This show will set you back $25 but you also get to see Daedalus as well as an after-show inside featuring The Sour Notes.


Yeasayer - Longevity video via YouTube

Maybe you think Yeasayer is over, or you don't love paying $8 for domestic lite beers while sorority girls take pictures of themselves and talk loudly through a set. Well, don't worry there are more events for you to enjoy! Akron/Family return to Austin to play Red 7 with Smoke and Feathers. This show promises to have cheaper drinks fewer sorority girls but probably equal parts talking. Also, if you're a hipster-hater then this isn't the show for you. Oh, if you're a hipster-hater you should probably just move and/or shut up and get over yourself. Tickets for the Akron/Family show will only set you back $12.

Perhaps psychedelic noise isn't your thing, AND you think Yeasayer is sooo 2010 well, first of all you're a dick, secondly there is still an acceptable option for you! Those, I don't get it, internet-"sensations" Turquoise Jeep play the Mohawk with Neiliyo. Tickets for Turquoise Jeep are also $12 and people love them so, it wouldn't surprise me if this show sold-out.

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Akron/Family w/Delicate Steve

I feel like it's been ages since I've been to a show at The Parish and I feel like that is partially my fault and partially their fault. In any case, tomorrow night Akron/Family make their return to said venue with Delicate Steve in tow. I have actually already seen Akron/Family at The Parish before and the room really suits their style. Their shows feel very communal and there is something about the intimacy of that space that really lends itself well to that vibe. I'm not going to lie to you though, last time they played there I left before they were done. Not, specifically, because I wasn't enjoying myself but because Brendan Benson was playing at the same time over at the ND and I always choose power-pop over whatever you'd call Akron/Family. Power-folk? In any case, I know it's ancient in blog-years but I still think Running, Returning is one of the greatest songs of the century! #Hyperbole


Akron/Family - Running, Returning video via YouTube


For the record, the above video is completely sanctioned by, both, Disney, and Akron/Family. #Lies


Akron/Family - Silly Bears video via YouTube

I haven't seen Delicate Steve perform live yet but according to a press-release I received it will be one of the most energetic sets to hit Austin in recent memory. Having listened to his 30 minute album, Wonder Visions I wonder how that is possible. Not that the album isn't good, in fact, I thoroughly enjoy it but it's not the most energetic music I've ever heard. It's mostly chill, cheap-sounding keyboards with Pure Moods bass-lines and simple/gentle drum parts. Clearly whomever thinks these elements equal super-high energy have never seen Big Freedia perform Ass Everywhere. However, as I mentioned, I have NEVER seen Delicate Steve live and maybe he shakes his ass and does David Lee-Roth high kicks while snorting blow off his Casio? Maybe I won't send a link of this post to his PR reps? Does this sound less-than glowing?


Delicate Steve - Butterfly video via YouTube

If you want to watch Delicate Steve do blow off a Casio (unconfirmed) or be a part of the communal Akron/Family experience there are still tickets available! So, you should probably get on with the purchasing of those today, as the price will increase tomorrow.

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B. Benson + A/Fam Follow-Up + Vids

I never got back to y'all after my Wednesday debacle. As you may recall, I had tickets to two shows on the same night and I didn't know what I was going to do. Well, I ended up attending pieces of both shows. It was pretty stressful, but I need the practice for SXSW when at any given moment there will be a billion bands I want to see all playing at once in different venues scattered across multiple zip codes. I went to the Parish room first Wednesday night. I only caught 1.5 songs from Warpaint but it was enough to make me want to seek them out when they're here for SX. Akron/Family went on afterward and they started their set out in a pretty low-key way. They started about 30 minutes later than I expected so I only got to hear them play 4-5 songs and I wasn't really feeling it. They were getting a little avant for my mood that evening and crowd was very chatty. I did manage to capture their opening tune in this sub-par video though.


Akron/Family - River video via YouTube


I left the Parish as soon as someone on Twitter posted that Brendan Benson was on stage at the Independent. Now, it's kind of unfair to compare B. Benson and Akron/Family since they are sooo different but it was a welcome shift for me on Wednesday night. Akron/Family challenges their audience to find the beauty and participate in the moment of the show experience. Brendan Benson churns out perfect pop-rock at break-neck speeds, effortlessly shifting from one beautiful melody to the next. Needless to say it was pleasant to not be challenged in a rock setting after having been awake for 10+ hours. I had never been to the Independent but I highly approve. It's pretty much a bare-bones warehouse space with a stage in the corner. The audience was pretty thin, the room was full but not packed tightly, so I was able to stroll right up to the stage.


Brendan Benson - A Whole Lot Better video via YouTube

Austin was Benson's last night of his current tour so he took the opportunity to do some cover songs in the encore. He ended up doing 3 different one, 2 of which I would have expected and 1 of which I didn't. Remember that song, "Who Sucked Out the Feeling?" Well, I had forgotten all about it until Brendan Benson covered it and apparently that's not an unusual cover for him since he also did it at his Daytrotter session. He also did a Graham Nash song as well as this one originally by Tom Petty.


Tom Petty - Listen To Your Heart video via YouTube

All in all both shows were good but completely different vibes. If I hadn't had other places to be I would have enjoyed Akron/Family more but I just wasn't feeling patient enough to be enveloped in their vibe that night. All of my Twitter friends who stayed for the whole show had nothing but positive things to say. Just goes to show, if you end in a big way that gets people involved that's what they'll take away from the show as a whole. They won't even remember that you played a shitty, slow, boring song as the SECOND song in your set?!?! Seriously, bands let's keep the energy high for the first 2-3 songs then you can dial it back and preserve your energy ok?

Speaking of dialing-it-back, don't forget you can catch the hypnotic sounds of Warpaint at SXSW2010.


Warpaint - Stars video via YouTube

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Wednesdilemma

Brendan Benson and Akron/Family are both in town Wednesday and I have tickets to both shows! What's a Bloggy to do y'all? It might be possible for me to catch pieces of both headlining acts, but do I really want that stress? Besides it would be kind of rude to B. Benson or the A/Fam if I just walked out of their shows. They might stop performing and call me out, "Whose that extremely handsome man putting his jacket on?!?!". Most likely, what will happen, is I'll give away the Akron/Family on Twitter and end up going to see Brendan Benson. Not that I don't like the Fam but they play Austin with much more frequency than B. Benson. Specifically, a solo Brendan Benson show is a particular rarity 'round these parts. If you're interested I believe tickets for both the Akron/Family and the Brendan Benson shows are still available.


Brendan Benson - A Whole Lot Better video via YouTube

This B. Benson show will be my first time at the Independent but I seem to recall that Joel over at Ultra8201 told me the place is tiiiight. For those of you who are all, "Who the eff is B. Benson? A/Fam is WAAAAYY better!". I say to thee, "Whilst I 'respect' your opinion, B. Benson is a pop-songwriting machine who should be preserved in some sort of glass case so he may write distraction free for the rest of time". Hell, let's throw A.C. Newman in there too. Actually I'd love to hear that collabo, you hear me Universe? Oh, also, you probably know Brendan Benson better as "that other guy in the Raconteurs".


the Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely video via YouTube

For those of you not familiar with Akron/Family...I'm trying really hard not to judge you right now but seriously? You're not down with A/Fam? Where you been dawg? They've been making ripples since their song Running, Returning hit the interwebs 3 blog-decades ago. Their reputation as a stellar/transcendent live-band precedes them and if you know anything about Bloggy you know I loves me some Parish Room. So, if you're really not feeling Brendan Benson, fear not dear reader, you will also have a GREAT time at the Akron/Family show. Who knows, maybe you'll see me there getting yelled at by Akron/Family for being tardy.


Akron/Family - Everyone Is Guilty video via YouTube

In case you didn't get my A.C. Newman reference it's the dude in this BEAUTIFUL Black Cab Sesion video:


New Pornographers - All the Old Showstoppers video via YouTube



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SXSW Insanity Starts Tomorrow

Buckle up dear reader, for the days of SXSW insanity '09 is nigh. With 500 bands playing...per day there is literally too much to see. My advice is to do some planning, but give yourself some wiggle room. SX is all about discovering the next big thing, what I like to do is talk to people at the parties and ask them who they have seen and who they're excited to see. That's how I first heard about Bon Iver last year.


Bon Iver - The Wolves (Acts I & II) video via YouTube
Find my picks for your day party fun after the jump...


First of all let me just say thank you SO much to Show List Austin for compiling and posting show info for the city of Austin year-round. Specifically this time of year that site is a God-send. The info below was just copied and pasted using the customizable day planner.

* Music Pizza Meltdown
o Best Friends Forever (MN, 10pm), Crime Novels (NY, 9:45pm), Abe Vigoda (CA, 9pm), Evangelicals (OK, 8:15pm), Moth!Fight! (TX, 7:30pm), Psychedelic Horseshit (OH, 6:45pm), Pterodactyl (NY, 6pm), XYX (Mexico, 5:15pm), A Faulty Chromosome (TX, 4:30pm), Treasure Mammal (AZ, 3:45pm), Blank Tapes (CA, 3pm) at Flatbed Press (2832 East M.L.King Dr.) [2pm-10pm, free, free pizza and drinks early on]


Moth!Fight! - Hopscotch 2 video via YouTube

* Paste Magazine Day Party
o M. Ward (5pm), Wild Light (4pm), Loney Dear (3pm), Port O'Brien (2pm), Samantha Crain (1pm), Greg Laswell (noon) at Radio Room (508 E. 6th St.) [indoor stage]
o Superdrag (4:30pm), Black Joe Lewis (3:30pm), Heartless Bastards (2:30pm), Amanda Palmer (1:30pm), Anathallo (12:30pm) at Radio Room (508 E. 6th St.) [outdoor stage]


Port O'Brien - Woke Up Today video via YouTube

* Terrorbird/Force Field Day Party
o Vivian Girls (5:20pm), The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (4:35pm), Fol Chen (3:50pm), Yoni Wolf (of Why?, 3:15pm), The Thermals (2:30pm), Loney Dear (1:45pm), Wavves (1pm), Lake (12:15pm) at Red 7 [outside stage]
o Beach House (5:05pm), Rainbow Arabia (4:20pm), Themselves (3:35pm), DMG$ (2:45pm), Max Tundra (2pm), Shout Out Out Out (1:15pm), Larytta (12:30pm) at Red 7 [inside stage, free, all ages, no rsvp]


Beach House - Gila video via YouTube

* Fat Possum presents
o The King Kahn & BBQ Show (5:30pm), Thomas Function (4:45pm), The Strange Boys (4pm), Wavves (3:15pm), Crocodiles (2:30pm), Turbo Fruits (2pm), Old Blood (1:30pm), Willem Maker (1pm) at Emo's [outside stage, free, all ages]


Wavves - So Bored video via YouTube

* IODA's Opening Day Bash
o Easy Star All-Stars (5:15pm), Deer Tick (4:30pm), J. Tillman (4pm), We Were Promised Jetpacks (3:30pm), Blind Pilot (3pm), maus haus (2:30pm), The Phenomenal Handclap Bank (2pm), Deastro (1:30pm), Marching Band (1pm), Theresa Andersson (12:30pm), Y La Bamba (noon) at Emo's Annex (across Red River from Emo's) [hear the bands here]


Deer Tick - These Old Shoes video via YouTube

* The Austinist presents Gonna Gonna Get Down IV
o The Mae Shi (4:40pm), Vetiver (3:30pm), J Tillman (2:30pm), Caitlin Rose (1:45pm), Garotas Suecas (1pm), Kevin Devine (12:15pm), DJ set by Ceeplus Bad Knives (11:30am) at the Mohawk [inside]
o Akron/Family (5pm), Elvis Perkins in Dearland (4pm), Gringo Star (3pm), Young Widows (2pm), TV/TV (1:15pm), Here We Go Magic (12:30pm), Telekinesis (11:45am) at the Mohawk [outside, 11am-6pm, free, 21+]


Akron/Family - Awake video via YouTube

* The Levi's/Fader Fort
o Little Boots (8:15pmpm), B.o.B. (7:30pm), Micachu and the Shapes (6:45pm), Graham Coxon (6pm), Abe Vigoda (5:15pm), Post War Years (4:30pm), Esser (3:45pm), The Strange Boys (3pm), Let's Wrestle (2:15pm), American Princes (1:30pm), DJs Ceeplus Bad Knives, Kayper, Rezound at The Levi's/Fader Fort (1101 E. 5th St.) [RSVP]


Little Boots - Stuck on Repeat video via YouTube

* Affliction/Myspace Records/Ticketweb/Spaceland's SXSW Throw Down!
o Wavves (5:30pm), Nico Vega (4:45pm), Mapei (3:55pm), Vivian Girls (3:05pm), Marnie Stern (2:15pm), Future of the Left (1:25pm), The Mae Shi (12:35pm), Lovvers (11:45am) at Maggie Mae's (6th and Trinity) [deck stage]
o Other Lives (5:20pm), The Asteroids Galaxy Tour (4:30pm), Cut Off Your Hands (3:40pm), Yelle (2:50pm), Natalie Portman's Shaved Head (2pm), Juliette Commagere (1:10pm), The Boxing Lesson (12:20pm), Black Gold (11:30am) at Maggie Mae's (6th and Trinity) [Gibson stage]
o Garotas Suecas (5pm), Titus Andronicus (4:10pm), Harlem Shakes (3:20pm), We Were Promised Jet Packs (2:30pm), Bad Veins (1:40pm), Gavin Castleton with Meiko (12:50pm), Local Natives (noon) at Maggie Mae's (6th and Trinity)


Yelle - Je Veux Te Voir video via YouTube
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