Hip Hop Hooray!

I have covered a wide variety of music on this blog ranging from country to bluegrass, metal and everything in between except for hip hop. I am a fan of hip hop/ rap and there is nothing more fun than going to a hip hop show, dancing and enjoying the time with friends. With all of that being said, tonight at the Mohawk BIG K.R.I.T, Freddie Gibbs and Smoke DZA will be performing. I had a chance to see Freddie Gibbs during SXSW and he was a great performer and should not be missed tonight if you are a fan of hip hop.

The doors for the show tonight are at 6:30PM and the price of admission is 15 dollars in advance and 18 dollars at the door.

Check out BIG K.R.I.T here

Hump day. Let's all rejoice as the work week is almost over.

Tonight at the Beauty Bar is Hump Day Pump Up brought to you by the lovely folks at Giant Steps productions. Who is playing you may ask? Well, the group Politics will be putting on a show for the audience celebrating the wonderful day known as hump day. Beauty bar is a great place and always a favorite. Tonight there will be great music, 2 dollar wells and 4 dollar you call it whiskies. YIKES, that is sure to attract a crowd! Politics will take the stage at 10:00 PM, so get there early in order to take advantage of those dranks.

ONE LOVE, MAN! World music night at Momo's....

Tonight, KUT radio will be sponsoring World Music Night at Momo's. There will be some great Reggae acts including Rafiki Project, Ashes of Babylon, Don Chani, and Mostly dead.  Don Chani and his band are great performers and will definitely have the club dancing and having a great time. Reggae is definitely a good fit for Austinites and the show will benefit the Austin Children's Museuam, so it will be worth the money spent. As always, the price of admission is 5 dollars for students and 7 dollars for everyone else. The show is scheduled to start at 7:45PM however, if  you are around the area, 5:15- 7:30PM for the Jazz Happy Hour featuring Nacho Average Jazz Orchestra.

Heybale! Just in case you want to hear some great music tonight.

So, tonight in Austin is no different. There is music everywhere in this town and the hardest part is trying to find a venue that will offer a better "vibe" than others. This being the case, I am brought back to the Continental Club. I am a huge fan of the venue and feel it has a great eclectic feel as well as a great place to catch a show. Tonight, Heybale! will be playing a show at the Continental club and if you are a fan of Country/Bluegrass/Swing, this is one band you should not miss. The show will cost 8 dollars and the doors are at 10:00PM.

Destroyer tonight!

The music and lyrical genius that is Destroyer will be playing at Mohawk tonight. For any fan of mellow music, this will be your show.  The Vancouver native has made quite a journey to Texas and a warm welcome will be appreciated. The War On Drugs hailing from the City of Brotherly love will be the opening act. If you are looking for a great show tonight that is equal parts unique, this will be the perfect show. The doors open at 8:00PM and tickets at the door are 14 dollars. The lads at Mohawk are stoked, so go join the party.

Check out destroyer here and The War On Drugs here

DEVO "Whit It!" into Austin.

This weekend, Transmission Entertainment presents DEVO. With their conic, step pyramid shaped hard hat head pieces, the 80's new wave band will be gracing the ACL Live stage at The Moody Theater, Sunday March 27th. The group, who were in Austin for Fun Fun Fun Fest had to drop out as the headlining act due to the guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh injuring his right hand. Their triumphant return will allow the band to undoubtedly put on a truly memorable performance.   

An email sent to the Live Music Examiner today mentioned that a few more tickets are available, so it you feel the need to see DEVO this weekend and have yet to purchase tickets, buying them as soon as possible would be a good idea.  We can only imagine the hits such as "Whip It," and "Girl You Want" among others will be played, so bring your best DEVO hats along with your favorite orange jump suit. This will be a really fun show.

The opening act will be The Octopus Project, a great local group that will fit the bill perfectly, as they have a great electronic/indie sound.  If you are curious as to the cost of tickets, feel free to head over to the website http://www.acl-live.com/calendar/2011/3/devo

Reid Wilson and His So Called Friends tonight at Antone's.

Tonight, Reid Wilson and His So Called Friends will be at Antone's. This show is going to be a good one.  The genre of music( if you want to classify it) would be country music, however, it is pretty unconventional. WIth songs like "The Hairijuana Song," and "Downtown, " the rough good ole' boy Reid Wilson will take you on a strange journey filled with raspy voices and lyrics not suitable for children.

The doors open at 9:00 PM and the show will kick off at 9:30 PM. Tickets are available at the door and admission is 5 dollars. It will be a great show.

Best new bands, and shows that weren't memorable:SXSW 2011

South by Southwest is now over and luxuries such as sleep are readily available. It was a great week full of amazing shows, surprises and sightings all over Austin, Texas. Surprises such as Mister Heavenly playing a show in the parking lot of 3rd and Congress, Jack White with a performance at Frank, and of course, the “surprise” performance by the Foo Fighters on Tuesday allowed first time SXSW fans a chance to see groups never seen before and groups that could soon be the next big thing.Some of the best bands noticed by the live music examiner during the week, and the worst performances will be mentioned in this recap of the week.

One of the first bands that caught the attention of the Live Music Examiner were Royal Bangs on Monday night at the Thrillist party held at Antone’s. The song, “Fireball” quickly took the crowds attention with the amazing drum opening and the chaotic sounds that somehow managed to mingle together in a beautiful and insanely catchy song. They were an amazing group to check out if you are a fan of Fang Island.

Another group worthy of mentioning were Ponderosa. Hailing from Athens, Georgia, these Southern Rockers had a sound comparable to The Black Crows and Kings of Leon having an estranged love child.  The vocals were raspy; the guitars were filled with light distortion and the wonderful addition of the organ-sounding keyboard added to the unique “Ponderosa” sound. 

Apollo 18 at Hoeks Death Metal Pizza brought their brand of Korean metal to the small outdoor stage in the rear of the building. Having not slept for a few days, their energy was electric and their music was on point. The tempo changes during the first song showed the talent of the group as well as the individual members. With music sounding vaguely similar to that of the Deftone’s “Adrenaline” album, the group gained more fans in the state of Texas. 

Finally, The Joy Formidable were one of the best groups seen throughout the week. Playing at the Atlantic/Chop-Shop day party in Brush Square Park, the indie rock band from the United Kingdom were simply amazing. The vocals were a perfect fit for the well-crafted and catchy music. With the talented drummer backing the group, he energetically fueled the tempo of the upbeat and at times heavier songs. Although the band had played previous dates at the festival, they still seemed excited to be in front of others and appreciated the amazing crowd interaction.  

 

With the good always comes the bad. And sadly, we were subject to some bad shows. With so many musicians around the city, the phrase “you can’t win them all” seemed to be uttered one too many times. Having seen Duran Duran before, high hopes were set. However, these hopes were crushed like a cockroach in a kitchen.  The group just wasn’t that great. Of course they played the hits such as “Hungry Like a Wolf,” and “A View To A Kill.” They were expected to play those, but when the group played a new song “never played before” they seemed to fall apart halfway into the chorus causing them to start over. Not impressed. A band of their caliber should have mastered the new material. Needless to say, the show was packed and throughout the first 30 minutes, the audience started trickling out. 

Another disappointing show was Neon Hitch. Surely a very nice young lady, Neon Hitch was indeed a disaster. The petite singer had a sound all too familiar in the “Guido” dance clubs. Prancing around the stage adding mediocre lyrics to bad dance music, the only thing to do was laugh at the amateurish performance with even worse explicit lyrics.

Finally, the “it” hip-hop group at South by Southwest this year known as Das Racist fell off my “albums to buy and bands to follow” list. Following Freddy Gibbs and The Cool Kids, Das Racist seemed amateurish. The members on stage looked as though they were fulfilling one more promise to play a show and did not put any importance to the performance. Numerous times throughout the set they invited the “white rapper” on stage and treated the night as a joke.

Many more performances were noteworthy throughout the entire week, however, to write about everything would have made for a great short novel rather than a review. Watch out for the bands mentioned above on television performances, soundtracks and tours in your area.  

Pinetop Perkins, you will be missed.

Yesterday, one of Austin's most famous blues musicians, Pinetop Perkins passed away. He truly lived an amazing life and inspired so many players. Tonight, Antone's will host a tribute to his music and life, featuring local artists that have played with him in the past. There will be a 5 dollar cover and the doors will open at 7:00PM. The event is all ages. Enjoy some local music and support Austin musicians.

Surprise! Foo Fighters at Stubb's for SXSW.

“I’m waiting in line for the Foo Fighters,” stated the heavier set man with bad teeth and disheveled hair standing in front of me.  Being alone in line for two hours forces people to speak with strangers on many different topics, however, the topic of the night was that the Foo Fighters would be gracing the stage at Stubbs. It was said to be a secret, but judging by the line two hours before the show, the “secret” was out of the box.  Thirty minutes before the doors opened, three lines had formed: One line for wristbands dawning the Foo Fighters double F logo and badges, a platinum and interactive badge line, and a music badge line. Only hearing rumors as to how long the interactive and platinum badge line stretched, the two-hour wait and great spot in line allowed a brief moment of hope. Once inside Stubbs, the anticipation began, with thousands of others.

With the debut of the bands documentary earlier in the day of March 15th, the Foo’s decided to hijack the scheduled Fitz and the Tantrums show in order to play a few songs. The poster claimed there would be a special guest, but no one could have expected the special guest to perform a set long enough to have been two performances. Dave Grohl walked out on stage with the rest of the band, stood at the microphone and simply yelled, “We’re fucking movie stars!” And to celebrate this amazing accomplishment among many, the band played their new album “Wasting Light,” available April 12^th, 2011 in its entirety. The line-up, featuring original guitarist Pat Smear (who has not been a full time member of the band since 1997) was a pleasant surprise for die-hard fans of the group. Although the songs “Rope” and “White Limo” have been officially released, it was a real treat to hear the other songs on the album.

The grungier and more powerful songs seem as though they are a tribute to the original and influential sound that gained them so much praise, bringing them back full circle. The fans were enthusiastic to hear the new songs, all in awe that they were hearing what so few had heard.  Mr.Grohl’s energy did not match his age, as he was constantly moving around the stage and strumming his guitar with every ounce of passion, hardly leaving any time to breath between the songs. With his signature Gibson hallow body guitar around his neck, every song was musically and vocally perfect.  The group seemed whole again, as if they were playing together for the first time. They blazed through the set list as though they were eager to leave the stage; however, when the group finished the song “Walk” more surprises were in order. 

With the palm-muted opening guitar chords, “All My Life” came barreling through the speakers and the strobe lights on stage added to the chaos.  Followed by “Times Like These” and “My Hero” the set was turning out to be an encore of hits.  The most notable songs of the night were “Monkey Wrench, ” with its epic drum solo and “Everlong.” As mentioned, Pat Smear, the lead guitar player on the Foo Fighters album The Colour and the Shape was present for the songs, making the performance ever so memorable. With constant singing and loud cheers from the audience, the Foo Fighters kept hammering out favorites. The night finished with the song “This Is A Call” from the group’s first album.  With the original line up on stage, the songs just sounded better. With the second set containing eleven of their hits, the Foo Fighters proved why they are force to be reckoned with.  

It was all so bittersweet as the group left the stage, and the two-hour wait before the concert was well worth my time as it turned out to be one of the most memorable shows of the week during South by Southwest.

SXSW... The Austinitelife, OUT!

So, as you may have heard, this week is SXSW. I am going to be very busy out and about and encourage everyone to do the same. There is so much good music downtown, some of it is free, some shows have a cover and some you need a badge or wristband. However, if you don't have a badge or wristband, don't let that get you down! Keep your eyes peeled for any free shows. I will try to update the site daily, but might fall a little behind.  Have fun this week, be safe and support local music.

SXSW has begun.

The annual SXSW music, interactive and movie festival/conference began today. Well, it somewhat started yesterday with a few parties forming here and there, but today is the start of the festival. Tonight there will be a few happy hours around Austin for the interactive portion, but if you are looking for some great music, head on down to Emo's. Tonight is the Big Bang Bordello: A Texas Steam Punk Adventure. Both stages will be used tonight and there will be great bands both on the inside and outside stages. If you haven't got a badge or a wristband, look for some events like the one tonight. Great opportunity to catch some great live music and keep your eyes peeled for the free day parties around the town!

The doors open at 7:00 PM. Admission is free with a SXSW badge or 15 dollars if you do not have a badge. 10 dollars if you wear a costume.  

The Scene Aesthetic and He is We at Emo's.

The disgustingly cute group He is We will be playing tonight at Emo's in support of The Scene Aesthetic. The room will most likely be filled with girls who dragged their boyfriends to the show, or with single "scene" boys trying to pick up lonely, half depressed girls trying to dress like a punk rock princess. Never the less, I was told by a source at the Houston show that the band He is We were surprisingly good. Their music and lyrics were on point and the music was tight and together.  If you are a fan of whiney pop punk, the show tonight will definitely satisfy your craving.

Doors are at 6:00PM. Show is 12.00 dollars at the door or 10.00 dollars in advance.

Calm before the SXSW storm, but there is still music in Austin.

Austin is the live music capitol of the world and even before one of the biggest music conferences in the world, the music around town doesn't stop. South by Southwest brings huge names, surprises, movie stars and everything in between for a week of music in the lone star state, however, there never seems to be a break. As if to have a pre-party, music is still being played in Austin and the energy in the air is electric. Tonight, Momo's will host local favorites The Coveters and  White Leaf. As always music will be played at 5:15 PM, just in time for happy hour and perfect for enjoying the awesome weather. The Coveters will take the stage at 10:00PM and White Leaf will play at 12:00AM. Momo's is a great venue to discover new talent and watch a great intimate performance from amazing local talent in Austin. Support some local music and enjoy life.

Happy Mardi Gras and MotorHead Day.

Motorhead, the British metal group led by the infamous lead singer and bassist Lemi, will be playing at the Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater tonight with Clutch and Valiant Thor on the bill. Touring in support of their recent album, Motorhead couldn't have picked a better time to come to Austin. Although today is known as Mardi Gras, it happens to share the day with Motorhead day in Austin. The Mayor, Lee Leffingwell officially named March 8th Motorhead day, perfect timing for their show tonight.    

Unfortunately, the Motorhead show is sold out, but if you can somehow find tickets, it will be an amazing show. 

If you want to celebrate Mardi Gras tonight, head over to the Parish for some great cajun music and Bourbon street festivities.  There will be music from Big Kevin and the Flaming Arrows and The Stooges Brass band. Brass band music embodies the Louisiana/Bourbon street feel and is a perfect soundtrack to any Mardi Gras celebration. 

Tickets are 30.00 dollars and the doors open at 8:00 PM. Get a little Bourbon Street in your soul and celebrate Mradi Gras in downtown Austin. 

Pinetop Perkins tonight at Antone's.

Tonight at Antone's, the legendary blues artists and local Austinite, Pinetop Perkins will be playing for a lucky few in attendance. Late into his 90's, Pinetop is still playing the blues and inspiring young players around Austin. He is truly a blues legend and now would be a great time to see him play. Mr. Perkins has quite a resume under his belt and years of experience to make him one of the most acclaimed blues artists in the capitol city. Tonight will surely be a night full of great music and might have a few surprises.

Parkway Drive at Emo's tonight.

Tonight at Emo's 101X will present Parkway Drive. The hardcore/metal group from Byron Bay, Australia will definitely be metal faces with their brutal brand of metal. Along for the bill are fellow Epitaph record mates Set Your Goals. It will be a great show and a chance to check out some great hardcore/punk/metal music that is seldom heard in Austin. Not to mention, Emo's is just a rad place to see some live music. Get your hardcore dance skills perfected it will be a place to show them off.

Sad day for Belleville Outfit

Tonight at Momo's, the group Belleville Outfit will play one of its last shows. They are a great local group and it is sad that they are calling it quits. Momo's is a great venue for the group as it is sure to be a packed house. The shows are at 10:00 PM and it would be a good idea to get tickets for this show. Below is a video of the group.

Whitesiren presents, a local night for local people.

The eerie look of the ghost room is not only a great place to have a drink, it is an awesome venue as well. WIth the stage tucked in the back of the room, the inside of Ghost Room gives a sense of intimacy as it doesn't hold the capacity as other venues around town. Tonight at 7:00 PM, Whitesiren will be hosting "A Local Night for Local People," featuring a bill full of local Austin artists. The bands will be playing inside as well as on an outside stage, so there will be plenty of music and new bands for you to check out. You can find out more information here.

Friday's line up.

Well, it's another start to the weekend and tonight is going to be full of shows around town. Young the Giant will be playing at Emo's tonight and it is going to be a packed house. Waterloo is sold out of tickets, so try and get them through Emo's. The doors are at 9:00 PM and the tickets are 8 dollars advance and 10 at the door. They are a great band and I am super excited to see them. Another great band playing at Emo's on the inside stage is East Cameron Folkcore. They are amazing live and will be a great alternative if you can't get into Young the Giant.

The Walkmen will be playing at Stubbs tonight. The doors open at 7:00 PM and tickets are 16-20 dollars. They will be supported by The Head and the Heart as well as TV Torso. I believe tickets are still available for the show, so if you haven't caught them yet and are a fan of The Walkmen, Stubbs would be a great place to see them.

Wheeler Brothers, a great local group will be playing at The Parish in order to support Nelo. The doors are at 8:30 PM and the price of admission is 10 dollars. Both groups are from Austin, so support some local music and have some fun.

Happy Thursday... Almost Friday.

A venue I have yet to showcase is going to be the place to be tonight. Shapes have Fangs, Tia Carrera, and Amplified Heat will be playing at the Continental Club tonight starting at 10:00 PM. I am a huge fan of the three bands playing as well as the venue. If you didn't celebrate Texas Independence day yesterday, you owe it to yourself to check out some great music. It is a reasonable 7 dollars for three awesome bands. Get outside and support some local music.

Check out the Myspace to Shapes have Fangs  here

Tia Carrera here

Amplified Heat here

Free music for Texas Independence day.

It's Texas Independence day, and to celebrate, the folks at Represent Austin and Beauty bar have teamed up to give something back. Tonight from 7-10 there will be music, food and complimentary beer. Yes, that is right, complimentary beer. Since we are celebrating the independence of this great state, I could only imagine that we will be drinking the national beer of Texas, Lone Star. So, bring your jovial self down to beauty bar tonight from 7:00PM-10:00PM for some great live music from St. Cloud and Guns of Navarone, drink some beer and celebrate Texas kicking ass.

Details for the night are here

Tuesday's Tunes...

Tonight, Rocky Votolato and Matt Pond, two amazing singer songwriters will be playing at Stubbs barbeque.  Tickets are 15 dollars and the doors are at 8:00PM. I last saw Matt Pond with his band at the Mohawk when they came through Austin a few months ago and it was an amazing show.  Tonight will be no different.