Austin (Texas)

Crazy Ants, Discovered in Houston a Decade Ago, Are Swarming Toward Dallas

First, the good news: Crazy ants don't sting. They do sometimes bite, but the pain is mild, and it fades quickly. Even better, they drive out their stinging cousins, fire ants, which have been tormenting Texans for decades. Now, the bad news: When entomologists say "crazy," they mean it. "When you ... More >>

The Ten Greatest Texas Punk Bands

With D.R.I. coming to Trees last night, we at DC9 thought it might be opportune to look at some of the legendary punk bands that have claimed Texas as their home. These days, D.R.I. is better known as a metal act, but when they began life way back in 1982, Kurt Brecht and crew were a classic hardcor ... More >>

Use Your Left-Wing And Right-Wing To Hold Wine

Haystack Burgers & Barley Will Be Alamo Drafthouse Neighbor in Richardson

Haystack Burgers & Barely is moving into the Richardson Heights Shopping Center, just a couple doors down from the Alamo Drafthouse that is currently under construction. Owned and operated by Richardson locals Kevin and Jenny Glavan, along with Rob and Christine Wondoloski, Haystack will open in mid ... More >>

What You're Missing at SXSW: Missed Connections and Crappy Free Crap

Awwwww, I know it is a shame you aren't here with us at SXSW in Austin. I can only imagine the aching and longing in your heart for walking aimlessly and standing in long lines for no reason, and sweating through your cardigan to see a band you heard on one of the Twilight soundtracks. You don't w ... More >>

If Dallas Wants to Ban Plastic Bags, It Should Be Prepared to Get Sued by Retailers

The city of Dallas is "maybe a year or two" away from considering a plastic bag ban, assistant city manager Jill Jordan told City Council members on Monday. First there will be a study to figure out its potential impact and exactly how many bags plastic bags there are in the city. It might also be ... More >>

Dallas Unite! Throw off the Chains of Redneck Legislators, Payday Lenders, Etc.

Maybe Dallas has a shot at stepping out from under the redneck yoke of Austin after all. In today's news we see that a Dallas judge, Eric Moye, has tossed out a lawsuit by the usury industry in which payday lenders claimed the city had no right to protect its citizens if Austin didn't want them pro ... More >>

Grupo Fantasma

Friday, February 1, at Live Oak Music Hall & Lounge

Matthew Hines of The Eastern Sea: Dallas Has a Better Sense of Music Community Than Austin

Speaking from his home in Austin, Matthew Hines, comes across as one of those likeable nerds everyone knew in high school. As leader of the indie rock outfit The Eastern Sea, Hines has turned that nerdy charm into three compelling albums, especially 2012's Plague. In anticipation of Friday night's ... More >>

Love Inks

Thursday, January 3, at Lola's Saloon, Fort Worth

Payday Lenders Have Found a Big Loophole in State and Local Regulation

A few weeks ago, the Texas Observer's Forrest Wilder went on a journalistic mission to a Cash Store outlet near his home in Austin. His aim, as he describes it, was to see what it was like to take out a payday loan in Texas, particularly in the wake of stronger regulations that Austin recently put i ... More >>

Boan, Assacre, Thug Decay, Betdat

Saturday, November 24, at Elm Street Bar

Burger Smackdown: North Dallas Class, Liberty Burger Vs. Hopdoddy

Of all the smackdowns I've ever done, none has been so crystal clear. I stopped by Liberty Burger first and ordered their namesake topped with cheese and bacon. Each cost me an extra buck, and the cheese I received was American. As I paid, I watched the cooks behind the counter squish the burger p ... More >>

Stop Texting and Help That Guy Crowd Surf: The Overserved's Guide to Concert Etiquette

It's my favorite three-hour tour, no matter which direction I am heading. Leaving Austin late on a Sunday night, I-35 winding behind me as I speed towards bed, always has the same tone. You spend that ride trying to piece together the disparate parts of the weekend, the three hours spent rememberi ... More >>

Hopdoddy Burger Bar Opens Wednesday in Preston Center

Hopdoddy is an upscale, yet casual, burger restaurant and bar that originated in Austin just a couple years ago. Founders Larry Perdido and Chuck Smith are old hats in the restaurant business. According to Austin Culture Map, they sold their Eddie V's Prime Seafood and Wildfish Seafood Grille to the ... More >>

Christeene Vale is Your New Piece of Celebrity Meat

Christeene Vale is Your New Piece of Celebrity Meat

"I lost my old hair in Denver, girl, so I had to get new hair today," Christeene Vale says over the phone. "But, ya know, I have to fuck it up, wash it in the sink." Vale, who has been labeled a "drag terrorist," a nightmarish gutter of filth, bruise and overflowing sexuality, is telling me about t ... More >>

This Beard’s a Home To Endangered Owls

John Cornyn Seeks to Fend Off Latest Threat to Texas Economy: Salamanders

I suppose it was only a matter of time before Texas politicians, still on a high from their glorious victory over the evil, job-killing dunes sagebrush lizard, turned their attention to similarly insidious threats to our economic well-being. This time, the threat comes from four species of salamand ... More >>

Pecan Lodge Is Joining Baker's Ribs To Represent Dallas In Texas Monthly's BBQ Festival

Tickets for the third annual Texas Monthly BBQ Festival went on sale today. Twenty-one barbecue joints will gather just south of Lady Bird Lake to show off their take on brisket, sausage, ribs and anything else with enough fat content to stand up to an hours-long stint in a smoker. If you need an ex ... More >>

Food & Wine's Best BBQ City List Includes A Few Spot in "East Texas: Dallas"

Food and Wine took some time this week to evaluate our great nation's best barbeque cities in a feature titled "Best BBQ Cities." First noticeable local on the list is Tim Love. Standing next to a grill, right? No, in a Hellman's mayo commercial. What the heck is the deal with the mayo? No mention ... More >>

Everything's Better With Cello

Five Things I Ate in Austin That You Should Eat Too. Soon.

After nearly a year without venturing outside the loop, I finally got out of town for a brief weekend. I toyed with going to Marfa, but I'm not yet Texan enough to drive eight hours for a weekend getaway, so I chose Austin, as much for its culinary diversity as its proximity. I'm still trying to d ... More >>

Preview: Tragedy, Wild//Tribe, Garuda at Rubber Gloves

Thursday, May 3, at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, Denton

Torchy's Tacos Keeps Expanding, but It Just Got Torched in Houston

Torchy's Tacos, which began several years ago out of a trailer in Austin, is busy with expansion plans. A new spot in Allen opened a couple of weeks ago and, per the Dallas Biz Journal, the SMU location has a sign out front promising it will be "opening soon." And the Lakewood Advocate reported To ... More >>

Preview: Ben Kweller at the Granada Theater

Friday, April 20, at the Granada Theater

At The Drive-In To Play Intimate Gig At Trees Tomorrow

On Friday afternoon, clubs editor Daniel Hopkins played a fun game called How Many Promoters Does It Take To Confirm An At The Drive-In Show, and I believe the tally was three by day's end. As the weekend progressed, social media confirmed that the El Paso band's whereabouts on Tuesday night, especi ... More >>

On The Passing of Local Music Writer Lee Jackson, and Six Degrees of Separation

I didn't know Lee Jackson, a North Texas music writer who passed away on Sunday after a battle with ALS. But the number of mutual friends we have dictates we were most likely in the same room or at the same show in Austin at some point, where he lived in the early Aughts, distanced by the six degree ... More >>

Today in Headlines I Never Thought I'd Write: Neon Indian Films Scenes For a Terrence Malick Movie at the Fader Fort

Ah, yes. So much synergy happens during SXSW. If you've been on the Austin festival circuit in the last six months or so, you may have noticed Christian Bale at Austin City Limits, where he played bongos with Fleet Foxes, or Ryan Gosling and Rooney Mara at Fun Fun Fun Fest, which led to a Tumblr dev ... More >>

The Worst Moments from SXSW 2012

The last few days, our indefatigable music critic staff has been regaling you with stories of the best from SXSW 2012. In the midst of these discoveries, we've been culling another list: the worst shit. The acts that ranged from huge bore-fests, to down-right lame. Below, you'll find their submissio ... More >>

For Day-Dreaming's Sake, a Look at Austin's South Congress Food Truck Park (with Photos)

I was down near Austin over the weekend (not for SXSW) and decided to check out the South Congress food truck park, to get a little sense of what may happen in Dallas by 2027. The food truck park is a testament to the best weirdness of Austin, as demonstrated by the musician just trying to earn a b ... More >>

Bro Fest, St. Patrick's Day Concert, DXDW & the Rest of This Weekend's Shows

​In case you haven't read almost every item on DC9 at Night for the last two days, South By Southwest music festival is happening in Austin this weekend, and we're reaping all the benefits. Actually, some of us are missing the whole damn thing. Thankfully, Parade Of Flesh has the cure. Bro Fest 20 ... More >>

Preview: Bro Fest 2012 at Dada

Sunday, March 18, at Dada

Mixtape: 10 DFW Acts To Catch at SXSW

Ah yes, 35 Denton is coming at us fast and furious, so keep an eye out for our preview and 173 rules for surviving the upcoming "fest season" in next week's issue. However, there's another festival called SXSW that a lot of people seem to be excited about. Bruce Springsteen's set to play an "intima ... More >>

Jamie Kinser, DFW's Lady in Black

Welcome to Local Music 'Mericans, where we get to know the people behind the scenes in Dallas/Fort Worth music. Jamie Kinser started booking shows after shaking hands with Ernest Tubb's nephew, Lucky Tubb. Before long, a handshake turned into a partnership. Next thing you know, Kinser's original en ... More >>

John Carbone of Gilded Splinters on Moving from Boston to Austin: "I Traded Chowder and Pizza for Chili and Tacos"

A little over five months ago, John Carbone of Gilded Splinters decided to move from Boston to Austin. Seems the trio felt the scene in New England was restricting the band's chances of breaking out nationally, so they loaded up everything and headed South. Speaking from his new abode in our state' ... More >>

The Whiskey Shivers' Long, Tall Video For "Gimme All Your Lovin'"

There's not just one Austin roots band that knows how to produce a video that must be watched a bajillion times to be believed. While The Possum Posse's "Guy On a Buffalo" series has proved to be quite the Internet phenomenon, the video for the Whiskey Shivers' "Gimme All Your Lovin'" is perhaps as ... More >>

Dirty Talk: Overheards From Sunday Brunch

Sunday brunch is like a Serengeti watering hole where all creatures meet with a unified objective: to drink from the healing spring of bottomless mimosas. It's where we make our weekend confessions to our closest friends, ask for absolution for the previous night's sins and talk seedily while curing ... More >>

Preview: Zorch, Saturday, February 11, at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios

Legsweeper and More Come Out of the Swamp

Friday, February 3, at 406 Arts

Jonathan Jackson of Bravo, Max! Talks About Becoming a Trio and the Current State of the Dallas Music Scene

Bravo, Max! has been through a tumultuous few months. After releasing Dog's Light, the band's fantastic debut full-length, they suddenly lost two members. Johnny Beauford, Ben Gastright and Jonathan Jackson decided to charge ahead as a three-piece and, judging by recent songs such as "Sleepy Simon," ... More >>

Perry's Down, But, Apparently, Not Out

​Below we noted that after his dismal showing in Iowa last night, Governor Rick Perry went back to Austin to pray and fast -- so sad. But minutes ago he tweeted this magnificent photo, accompanied by the note: "And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State...Here we come South Carolina!!! ... More >>

10 Albums To Not Overlook In 2012

In case you're already blinded by the golden aura of 2012's major releases -- The Shins, T.I., Soundgarden, Nicki Minaj, Mumford & Sons, Muse, Sigur Ros -- we want to make sure you don't forget about some other sure-to-be-top-notch albums that will see release next year. They may not shine on the iT ... More >>

The Ghosts of Saturday Night: Man or Astro-man? Live From Sons of Hermann Hall

Daniel Rodrigue​ Man or Astro-man? Sons of Hermann Hall Saturday, December 17, 2011 Better than: Having amoebas eat through your brain. A snippet of conversation overheard before the Man or Astro-man? show: "I'm really freaked out about Neti pots right now." "Why?" "Well, I read this sto ... More >>

They May Not Have Formula One Racing in Austin After All, But Dallas Did Back in 1984

​Speaking of the Dallas Grand Prix at Fair Park ...I see that someone has just posted 30 minutes' worth of highlights from that brutally hot July 1984 to the YouTube. And it's exceptionally classy footage too: It comes to us via the BBC with commentary by Murray Walker and James Hunt. As the poste ... More >>

My Jerusalem's Jeff Klein on Playing in Dallas and with Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli

Austin-based My Jerusalem hits Dallas tonight, a night crowded with great shows. Seems like everyone is stuffing the good pre-Thanksgiving concerts into one night. My Jerusalem plays a special folky orchestral pop that isn't precious or twee, and it's not something to miss. With a new album in th ... More >>

Over The Weekend: Octopus Project & Analog Rebellion at the Kessler Theater

Octopus Project, Analog RebellionNovember 12, 2011The Kessler TheaterBetter Than: Having Octopus Project play at your house party and having to clean up the mess. Mike BrooksOctopus Project​If limited to a single word regarding the live performance of Austin's Octopus Project, that word wou ... More >>

Octopus Project Plays Many Hands

For Austin instrumentalists, integrity--not singing--is key to making music.

Sore Losers and Mind Spiders Among First Round Of Bands Announced For SXSW 2012

​Considering that pre-South by Southwest bash 35 Denton announced its first round of performers last week, I guess it makes sense, then, that the Austin fest would announce its own first round of performers this week -- and that their list is indeed larger than 35 Denton's list of 17 names, clocki ... More >>

Bonus MP3: The Burning Hotels -- "Beard"

The Burning Hotels​ Much has been made -- by us, even -- about The Burning Hotels' new sound of late, and how far a cry it is from the band's poppy (and highly enjoyable) post-punk origins. Indeed, their new New Wave-oriented output is an obvious change for the outfit. But Chance Morgan and Matthe ... More >>