Japanther at Chain Drive

I gotta tell you folks, I am quite intrigued by this listing for the Japanther show at Chain Drive on Wednesday night. I remember Chain Drive used to have punk shows quite regularly and then it became something that just happened during SXSW. If you're not familiar, Chain Drive is a gay bar but not just any gay bar. It's what one might call a "bear & leather" bar. It's not unusual to see a man, who looks like an off-duty Santa Claus wearing a leather thong and chaps at the CD.


Japanther - Radical Businessman video via YouTube

It should also be mentioned that the Cowabunga Babes are on this same bill, which might mark the first time women will be inside the Chain Drive. I'm not sure where they set bands up in there. That should be interesting as well. If the show is inside the bar takes up most of the space in one area, not to mention it's incredibly dark.



Cowabunga Babes - Hot Babez video via YouTube

We're already intrigued with the space itself for this concert, and the fact that women will be there is of note but the other intriguing element is the inclusion of Best Fwends on the bill. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan, but talk about a genre-hopping set of artists.


Best Fwends - Smooth Jazz Blanket video via YouTube

Oh yeah, one last helpful bit of info regarding the Chain Drive the drinks are cheap and strong but you get faster/better service with cash than credit. Although, I suppose that last part is almost always true at bars. Still, you should keep it in mind. Show up with a $20 for drinks and you should be covered, with money left-over.

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Bloggy's Whiskeytown Beerland Bonanza

So I saw Surfer Blood at Beerland last night and I can pretty much guarantee you didn't. I would say there were maybe 40-50 people, possibly fewer I'm a bad guessturbator, and y'all missed out as far as I'm concerned. At this point the guys only have about 10 songs so their whole set was only about 40 minutes but it was 40 minutes of indie-pop bliss. Think Weezer meets Vampire Weekend but not really all that precious or twee. The T-Shirts they were selling at the show reference Joy Division, which I don't see as being coincidental either. They certainly didn't remind me of Joy Division very often but there are those key guitar tones, which definitely point to their influence.

Speaking of the merch booth, I was psyched to see they were selling their full length LP, Astrocoast, which isn't due to hit stores until January. I bought a copy from the lead singer who told me this was Surfer Blood's first visit to Austin but they plan to "Take over SXSW" in March. Last night's show was day 4 of 45 that the band will be on the road so be sure to check their page linked above to catch 'em in your part of the U.S. of A (holes).

There aren't official videos out yet, at least not to my knowledge, but I want y'all to hear a song or two that I didn't post already. So, apologies for the pseudo-video but I want you to hear studio quality-ish.


Surfer Blood - Swim video via YouTube

I didn't catch all four bands who played Beerland last night but I did see the Cowabunga Babes. Their set was really fun and even inspired a few hipsters to break out in some nifty sock-hop dancing. To me they sounded like a messier, updated version of the B-52's and I like me some B-52's. However, I feel like they either need to tighten up or go more overboard with the sloppiness. Either be slick and polished or be the drunkest house-party band ever that's your call Cowabunga Babes but in the meantime keep rocking 'cause that was a fun-ass set! Just for the record though, I think Harlem are the current Austin crown-holders for drunkest house-party band and that's a good thing here.

[This is where I would put another Cowabunga Babes video but I already posted the one that they have at the moment and it doesn't feature the full band.]

I suppose I should explain this post's title a bit before I sign off here. I'm not much of a drinker but when I go to a show at a bar I will buy a drink of two. I'm also very frugal, shall we say, so I have been buying Lone Star when I go downtown. Well, recently I discovered that if I don't call my liquor I can get a tall Whiskey and Coke for roughly the same price as a damn Lone Star. At Beerland a tall Whiskey and Coke was $4 and a tall PBR was $3, you do the math! But stay away from the meth!

Here's one more from Surfer Blood, then I will leave them alone until SXSW.


Surfer Blood - Fast Jabroni video via YouTube

Oh, and in case you hadn't heard the hype yet/thought I was pulling this band out of thin air...


Nylon.Tv - Best New Bands: CMJ Pt. 1 video via YouTube

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Surfer Blood at Beerland

Those in the know, know that Surfer Blood made big waves at CMJ Fest last month. Get it, waves? Anywho, they'll be rolling through Austin, playing Beerland on Wednesday night. Something tells me if you can't make it, they'll probably be back next month anyway. That's usually the cycle here in Austin, the buzziest bands seem to roll through every month playing progressively bigger venues, so catch 'em next month at Red 7, then maybe Emo's. Probably by the time March rolls around and SXSW is in town they'll be showcasing at Stubb's or something. To be honest, I haven't even heard their songs yet, I'm just going with the typically "Pitchfork Band" career trajectory. Oh, and I used my Delorean to check out SXSW 2010 the Fader Fort is ridic in 2010!


Surfer Blood - Floating Vibes video via YouTube

So, what do we think? I'm thinking the name Surfer Blood was quite fitting. It maybe, wasn't as upbeat as I thought but I suppose that's the Blood part of their name. It's a little gothy, shoe-gazy, garage-surf-esque-ish. They don't have any "official" videos yet, like I said these guys are on the verge y'all. We're like the only people in Austin who know about them so far, just you and me kid. Aren't we cool? Oh, and if you do show up at Beerland for Surfer Blood and you want to buy them some shots to show your adoration, make sure you know who's 21 and who's not. These fellows are youngins y'all!


Surfer Blood - Christian Pagan video via YouTube

Aww, that last one was pretty...unless you really pay attention to the lyrics, which were kind of dark. The band's debut album comes out in January and their bio says they hail from West Palm Beach, Fla but we won't hold that against them. It is surprising though, if you've ever spent time in Florida then you know what a cultural vacuum that place is. Good for you Surfer Blood way to make hooky, jangly, indie-pop whilst surrounding by shallow and/or elderly people.

Cowabunga Babes will also be playing Beerland with Surfer Blood Wednesday night. I haven't seen them perform yet, but they had a show at Beauty Bar the other night and word on the street is they effing killed it!


Cowabunga Babes - Babysitter video via YouTube




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