Jaill in Austin

Photo Credit: Tom Grimm

Wisconsin-band, Jaill, return to Austin this week touring in support of their latest Subpop Record release, Traps. You can catch them at Red 7's 6th anniversary party tomorrow night. Tickets are only $8 today but they'll be $10 if you wait until tomorrow. Jaill will also be performing at Trailer Space Records this afternoon, which is a free show although donations are accepted (when are they not?) today's show is also BYOB.

For those of you not familiar, Jaill play off-kilter, psychedelically-influenced indie-pop. Their songs sound perfectly pleasant until you start paying attention to the lyrics and then you realize what sick bastards they truly are. They've been making music together for a decade and their latest album is a work of experience. These tunes are road-tested, interesting but not completely out there. It manages to be accessible without being dumb just like the last person you made love to.


Jaill - Perfect Ten video via YouTube

Jaill are on tour with The Coathangers, who are the actual headliners for tomorrow night's show at Red 7. I enjoy them as well but I wanted to highlight Jaill, which is why they received top billing on this post. The Coathangers are an all-female punk band based in Atlanta, their latest album Larceny & Old Lace is a heavy dose of fast, fuzzy guitars with sing-along choruses. They are known for putting on high-energy, infectious live shows that will leave you sweaty and horny, just like the last person you made love to.


The Coathangers - Hurricane video via YouTube

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Ava Luna Return to the Mohawk

Ava Luna return to the Mohawk's inside stage tonight in support of their latest album, Ice Level. If you are unfamiliar with Ava Luna, I would call them a more accessible Dirty Projectors. Their music is R&B-influenced avante-pop with thick bass grooves and male-female harmonies. Tonight, they will cram 7 people onto the Mohawk's tiny inside stage and they will pump out some of the slickest, sexiest grooves you've heard from an indie-rock band in years. Tickets are only $10 and you can expect Ava Luna to take to the stage around midnight.


Ava Luna - Wrenning Day video via YouTube

Arrive early tonight to catch Wild Moccasins and Lean Hounds. The doors open at 9pm and Lean Hounds go on at 10pm. Also don't forget, it's a Tuesday night, which means the parking meters are free and it's Tuezgays. So, drink cheap and dance your ass off at Barbarella before and after Ava Luna's set. It's just up the road and you're already downtown. Make a night of it.

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Glass Candy at the Mohawk

Tomorrow night dancing, sweaty people of Austin will converge on the Mohawk for what promises to be one of the biggest parties of the summer and if you don't get your tickets now, you're going to miss it. Portland, Oregon's Glass Candy are headlining and they will set the asses-a-shakin'. Tomorrow night's show will mark Johnny Jewel's return to his hometown, which means they'll be playing extra awesomely (obviously.) Expect to hear lots of jams from Glass Candy's upcoming LP, Body Work, the band's third studio full-length.


Glass Candy - Warm in the Winter video via YouTube

Don't just show up for Glass Candy though because they are only one part of tomorrow night's festivities. Chromatics are touring with Glass Candy and will precede them on the outside stage. Their latest LP is Kill For Love, which was released in March. It is their fourth studio LP and clocks-in at over an hour of synth-pop splendor. In May they released a drumless version of the record on their website for remixing. They only have about an hour to play tomorrow night but I'd expect some extended free-from dance-rock mayhem in that hour.


Chromatics - Kill for Love video via YouTube

Wait, that's not all! The Mohawk isn't just going to allow some Portland bands to swoop in and have all of the fun. You'll also see Parisian band, Flying Turns if you arrive early enough. As well as local band Orthy. That may seem familiar to those of you down with Austin's dance/party scene. Ian Orth is a founding member of Learning Secrets and Orthy is his "celestial-pop" band.

My advice, buy your tickets now, take the bus, get drunk, get crunk and dance away the worries of the week.

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The Mynabirds at the Mohawk

I know that this show isn't until Saturday but I just realized that Mynabirds' show at the Mohawk is an inside show so, I want to make sure you have a chance to get tickets before they're gone! How's that for a run-on sentence to open a post?

Mynabirds is singer-songwriter Laura Berhenn's post-Georgie James project. It features a rotating cast of amazing musicians, most of whom are based in Omaha. Laura and many members of her touring band, have been a part of the latest incarnation of Bright Eyes on Conor Oberst's most recent tour. These are seasoned pros with chops to spare. Mynabirds' latest record Generals is filled with beautifully written songs, wonderful textures and gorgeous, haunting vocals. If you're a fan of St. Vincent, Neko Case or Eleanor Friedberger then you should be at the Mohawk Saturday night.


The Mynabirds - Disarm video via YouTube

Taking the stage right before The Mynabirds Saturday night is Austin 2-piece Deep Time. You may remember them as Yellow Fever or maybe you've never heard of them at all. I just discovered Deep Time about a month ago when I received a press release mentioning that they were on Hardly Art Records. I listened to the Soundcloud link based purely on the fact that they were on Hardly Art and within 30 seconds of listening to clouds i was completely sold. It's jangly, disaffected, indie-pop with Stereolab-esque vocals. What more could a person ask for these days?


Deep Time - Clouds video via YouTube

Arrive early if you want to catch Deep Time and arrive even earlier if you want to catch My Jerusalem. They go on first Saturday night on the Mohawk's inside stage. I'd expect them to start around 10pm. If you haven't seen this local band yet, you should at least give them a listen over at Bandcamp and if you like it, get to the 'Hawk early enough to catch them.



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Nicky Da B Hits Emo's

Perhaps you know the name, Nicky Da B perhaps you don't but chances are, you've heard him on Diplo's summer banger, Express Yourself. Nicky is based in New Orleans and is part of the same New Orleans Bounce scene that birthed Katey Red and Big Freedia. This means that tomorrow night Beauty Ballroom is going to be a party and a half. There are going to be people shaking their bodies in ways you may have never seen before both on and off stage. It's going to be a giddy, jiggly time for all involved and I encourage you to check it out. Tickets are only $8 if you buy them today but tomorrow they go up to $12 so, you should probably get on this.


Diplo featuring Nicky Da B - Express Yourself via YouTube


Arrive early tomorrow for DJ sets from Rusty Lazer and Austin's-own DJ Orion.

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Fun Fun Fun Fest 2012

You probably know by now that the official Fun Fun Fun Fest line-up was revealed last night. There has already been lots of discussion, some people expressing disappointment others expressing excitement. Personally, I have never been disappointed in a Fun Fun Fun Fest line-up and this year is certainly no exception. I will concede that last year had more well-known bands on the Orange stage but I feel like this year embraces the adventurous spirit of festivals past. The thing that makes Fun Fest different from every other festival is its genre-hopping and its ear-to-the-street booking. You may not be excited about American Royalty at the moment but in a year and half when they've blown-up you will have already seen them. It is with that spirit that I wanted to highlight some of the artists who I'm most excited to see. You can find the Bloggy-favs after the break.

In the meantime, I've taken the liberty of creating some handy Spotify playlists for you to enjoy:

Orange Stage
Blue Stage
Black Stage

Ok, so now for the Bloggy-favs. I will say that I am not a Black stage person. I have nothing against the bands on those stage nor the people who enjoy them, it's just never really been my thing. I will venture over there for Japandroids for sure, other than that maybe I'll check out Off!, X, Flesh Lights, The Young? Maybe I won't it sort of depends on the timing.

For the Blue stage I'm very excited for:

• Run DMC
• De La Soul
• Araabmuzik
• Danny Brown
• Tanlines
• Schoolboy Q
• Charli XCX
• Penguin Prison
• Anamanaguchi
• Nick Waterhouse
• American Royalty

On the Orange stage I'm excited to see:

• Santigold
• Explosions in the Sky
• Real Estate
• Minus the Bear
• Surfer Blood
• Atlas Sound
• Sharon Van Etten
• Givers
• Helio Sequence
• Twin Sister
• Dum Dum Girls
• Beach Fossils
• Brendan Benson
• Yellow Ostrich
• Fang Island
• Not in the Face

The comedy stage is perhaps the best comedy line-up Fun Fest has every put together. I'm a big fan of all of the tip names including:

• David Cross
• Hannibal Buress
• Wyatt Cenac
• Doug Benson
• Eugene Mirman
• Jon Benjamin
• W. Kamau Bell

If you want in on all of this fun you better get yourself a ticket and if you can spare the cash, PIP is definitely the way to go.

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King Tuff in Austin

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Sauger

King Tuff released the best 70's rock album of 2012 and they will be in Austin on Monday. Now, don't get it twisted I don't mean 70's rock in the sense of Zep or Sabath, King Tuff's newest sounds closer to the first Big Star record than any 70's cock-rock. There's loads of melody, great riffs and some of my favorite drum production since the Tame Impala record. If none of this sounds appealing to you then you should really expand your horizons because you're missing out on some seriously good shit. If this sounds like it's right up your alley then you should grab yourself some tickets to Monday night's show at Red 7.


King Tuff - Bad Thing video via YouTube

If you have to work early Tuesday morning or you just don't have $10 to spare on a concert ticket, I'm not judging you, I'm here for you. You can still see King Tuff perform an abbreviated set inside Waterloo Records. That performance will start at 5:00pm but you should arrive early enough to find parking and walk. I know Waterloo has a parking lot but don't assume there will be available spaces, in-stores can get crazy y'all! Also, lots of times there is free beer so, yeah. You should go.

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Contest: Suite 709 at Antones

Austin-based soul-pop band Suite 709 will play Antone's Saturday night to celebrate the release of their debut full-length LP Night and Day. The record was produced by Dwight Baker who has worked with platinum-selling artists like Kelly Clarkson and Blue October. Tickets for Saturday night's show at Antone's are only $10 or you can pay $30 and receive an autographed copy of Night & Day on both vinyl and CD. If both of these options seem a bit out of your price-range you could ALSO enter for your chance to win a spot on the guest list with a +1. All you have to do is tweet about the show/contest and use the hashtag "#AustinBloggy". Whoever does the best job spreading the word will get a DM from tomorrow afternoon. If you're not following AustinBloggy on Twitter then you are missing out on some great pictures of my cat AND I won't be able to DM you.


Suite 709 _ I Like It video via YouTube

Speaking of spreading the word about Saturday night's Suite 709 show at Antone's, if you are planning to attend here's a link for the event on Facebook and/or if you Do512.

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Friends at the Mohawk

File them under bands that are difficult to Google, New York band Friends return to Austin tonight to play the Mohawk. This is their first trip back since performing during SXSW and now they can sell their full-length record at the show. The band received lots of buzz leading up to SXSW behind the strength of a string of successful CMJ appearances along with some very catchy singles. Well, now Manifest! has officially been released and the Friends are here to make you shake your asses. According to Spotify, I have listened to Manifest! more than any other record in the past 6 weeks and with the bratty, vocals, calypso beats and funk bass-lines is there any wonder?


Friends - I'm His Girl video via YouTube

Tickets for tonight's show are only $12 and its an inside show. I wouldn't be too surprised if it sold-out before the doors open at 9pm tonight. Since this is an inside show, don't expect Friends to take to the stage until around midnight. That's kind of a bummer for me, since I have to wake up at 5am on Tuesday but to see Friends I'll suck it up and make an exception.

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We Need To Talk About Talking

Austin I love you but you're bringing me down. We live in a center for great, communal, cultural events and we need to talk about some ground rules. Last night I had the opportunity to see Widowspeak at 29th St. Ballroom. The venue was great, we parked on site for free, the cover at the door was only $5, they had a great outdoor area with picnic tables and a food trailer. Inside, the venue was spacious with plenty of area to sit or stand, the bar is isolated from the performance space, the lighting was great and the sound was excellent. Widowspeak played a great set performing some unreleased material as well as some of my favorites from their eponymous record. I will also say that 95% of the people in the audience were attentive and respectful. The problem I have is with the other 5%. They talked loudly throughout the band's ENTIRE set, they photographed themselves with their back to the band and they generally acted like the self-centered pieces of shit that they clearly are.

I find this behavior at shows is becoming the norm rather than the exception and it is all of our responsibility to make sure that is not the case. I feel there are several roots to this problem. The first is that we live in a city with TONS of live music, many of us go to several shows a week or even several shows a night. This lends itself to an unappreciative atmosphere. We are so inundated with live music that it has become a sort of white noise, we go to shows to say we were there but not to actually enjoy a performance. We're also a generation of documentation, I'm guilty of this one as well, if we don't photograph, video, post or tweet an experience it is less relevant. I can not hate on people for wanting to photograph themselves or a show experience but I also feel like there is a threshold. When pro photographers are shooting a band, they can only shoot the first three songs. Can we make this an audience rule too? If you want to post show photos on your Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, or Twitter can you try to get it all out of the way at the beginning of the set?

This brings me back to the point about talking. After last night's show I sent out an angry tweet pondering why people pay to get into a show only to talk through an entire performance. I received a couple of responses from people chiding me and explaining that a show is a social event and lots of people go, who don't care about the music. I can not disagree with these statements what I CAN do is highlight times and places for these things. If you go to shows just to socialize, don't go into the performance space. Almost every live performance venue in Austin has a great area away for the stage where you can inanely chatter 'till your heart's content. As I mentioned, 29th St. Ballroom has a really great outside area and the bar area is away from the stage, in a separate room. At the Mohawk you can go outside during an inside show or inside during an outside show. Emo's has a patio, you can stand near the door at Antone's, at the Parish stand near the door/merch area, at Stubb's there are picnic tables near the bathroom. Or better yet, if you don't care about the music save yourself some money and go to any of Austin's hundreds of bars that are designed, SPECIFICALLY, for hanging out with friends and talking.

This was my biggest problem at Austin City Limits Festival last year, people go to go, not to hear music. As a music blogger, I go to musical performances to hear musical performances not to hear you talking. These performers spend lots of time and energy to be on that stage and it is incredibly rude to try to talk over their performance. It is inconsiderate of their hard work and it is inconsiderate of your fellow partrons. Perhaps dropping $30 to talk through a show at Stubb's is nothing to you but to someone working a minimum wage job, they had to work 4+hours to earn the money for that ticket and you're ruining the show for them.

So, where do we go from here? What's the point in me bitching without laying out some sort of plan? First, you can share this post with anyone and everyone you know, maybe the message will spread like those goddamn smug Wonka things all over Facebook. The other thing we can do, is stick our neck out at shows and ask our fellow patrons to be quiet. The venues can not police all of the chatty Cathy's at a show so it is up to us to peer police. Sure, it's awkward to ask someone to stop talking at a show and it may result in a confrontation but if we continue to stand by being quietly annoyed then they will continue to be so self-absorbed as to not realize they are being a disruption. Usually the confrontation goes something like this,

"Hey can you stop talking during the set?"

"Fuck you, I paid to be here, I can talk if I want to. It's not like you can't hear the band"

"Well sir, or miss I also paid to be here and I didn't spend money to listen to you talk through this whole set. I can hear the band but I can also hear you, which is very distracting. Please talk somewhere else or after their set is through."

Around this point the talker is usually shamed into realizing they are a disruption. I have actually had people apologize to me at this point and my fellow attentive patrons usually thank me.

Before I conclude things here, I want to note that I'm not saying you have to stand in absolute silence during a performance. Saying a few things, asking your friend if he needs a drink or telling your girlfriend you'll be right back is no big deal. I'm specifically referring to people who are having loud and extensive conversations, which have nothing to do with the performance. I often have remarks for my boyfriend during a performance but I cup my hand over his ear and I make it brief. Those of us who love the live music experience need to band together against these assholes who just want to say they were at the cool show. I'll have your back if you shush people at shows, if you do the same for me we can shut the fuckers up one show at a time.

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