It’s not often that one gets the opportunity to witness the rock royalty. But that’s exactly what’s in store for the audience for Thursday’s double-headlining bill featuring Dinosaur Jr. and Built to Spill, whose combined careers span three generations of indie rock. Add to that mix a third performance, this…
Jenn Gooch’s distinctive warbled vocals alternate from plaintive to punchy, from breathy to brash, and, when paired with the wispy finger pluck of her tenor banjo, she sounds every bit like a woman who would claim the possum as her spirit animal (which she does). While Gooch’s folksy, roots-music sound…
On its first follow-up to 2008’s brilliant debut, the uplifting When the Music Starts, Grapevine’s 11-piece acoustic collective of Mount Righteous seems a little less content singing oddball, inspirational tunes about childhood aspirations and a little more bent on presenting itself as an unpredictable carnie sideshow. That’s not to say…
Since his first release nearly a decade ago, Minneapolis rapper Brother Ali has crafted a stage persona of a tough guy with a soft underbelly. His 2007 release, The Undisputed Truth, added a stronger tone as Ali acted as spokesman for the voiceless—a “street preacher” of sorts, which, turns out,…
Despite the inflated reputation of 1999’s Keep It Like a Secret, it’s obvious that Built to Spill never made the perfect Built to Spill record. Instead, the band’s Pavement-meets-Phish take on jammy indie rock is universally agreed to be best realized live and, to its credit, it’s been remarkably consistent—though…
It’s always an odd thing for a band—and its fans—if it eventually breaks through to a wider audience. No musician embarks on a career just to be a cult favorite, but “early” fans always take a certain caustic pride of ownership, in being able to say that they were into…
At some point after Islands released its debut album Return to the Sea in 2006, the band stopped sounding, well, fun. The shift in Islands’ musical course is an easy one to chart: It happened after drum-man Jamie Thompson abruptly left later that year, announcing his decision to leave the…
At first, it was the spectacle of the whole thing. That’s what made the new Cowboys Stadium stand out as such a treat. I mean, c’mon, have you been to the football stadium? It’s pretty damn impressive, what with all of its plenty talked-up features: the fact that it looks…
…and for the people who only watch videos on Youtube, your link.Quite the time last Wednesday night at our weekly DC9 in SPACE taping, as the crazy kids in Giggle Party stopped on by SPACE Studio with a couple friends and props in tow. Among those props? Black cloaks, silver…
As promised, Grapevine’s own Bryce Avary of The Rocket Summer has gone ahead and debuted his new single, “You Gotta Believe,” the title track to his new EP, over on the Alternative Press’ Web site.And, according to Avary’s label, Island Def Jam, it created quite the stir, apparently crashing the…
A couple interesting shows over the next two night’s at the still freshly re-opened Trees in Deep Ellum. Tonight, for instance, marks the second week of the Best DJ in Town’s new weekly concert series at the venue. Continuing along the theme of his Sunday night “The Local Show” on…
The double-dipping Austin City Limits episode featuring Andrew Bird and Dallas’ own St. Vincent will make its national debut on Saturday night around the country–just not, uh, here, as KERA’s schedule runs a little bit behind the national PBS one in terms of ACL airings. The recent tourmates’ episode will…
Reggae artist Buju Banton didn’t realize “faggot” had become a bad word. At least, that’s the story according to friends and colleagues of the artist, who stood in front of Trincity/Palm Beach Club last night, watching the protesters rally across the street. As we mentioned yesterday, protesters affiliated with various…
So, lately, pretty much the only thing on the minds of, well, everyone seems to be ways of refraining from getting any small strain of any sort of sickness–especially the infamous H1N1. Those who haven’t been infected, pat yourself on the back and keep soaking up the Purell. Those who…
It’s crappy out right now, but this weekend is supposed to be mostly sunny and cool. In other words, perfect camping weather. Which is good news for the punk and metal bands and their fans making the hour-and-a-half drive out to Emory this weekend for the third annual No Thanks…
Your daily dose of national music news for Wednesday, October 21, 2009…I guess rockers just feel the need to save something. If it’s not Liam Gallagher saving honey bees, then it’s Animal Collective trying to save seals.A drunk and obnoxious Kanye West + Spike Jonze = We Were Once A…
On a walk down Elm Street while heading to last week’s Slowride Reunion at Elm Street Tattoo, I noticed that the doors were open at 2826, and a few people were buzzing about. The club isn’t yet open, mind you–but owner Frank Maldonado, a couple booking agents and some artists…
Remember last month when The Lounge On Elm Street co-owner Glenn Jackson said his bar would be getting back its liquor license in a week or so? That’s still the case, as the payment and paperwork for the club’s late renewal are seemingly ensnared in the bureaucracy of the Texas…
Halloween came early last weekend, even if the clubs were filled up Friday with people dressed like they’re back in college. The scene at Carpe Diem was long on Authentic wear while DJ Inzo and DJ Hex spun in the downtown club. Saturday night our nightlife squad stopped by the…
Blame it on the last weekend of the fair, clear skies after weeks of rain, and this down economy, but Saturday’s attempt to top 1,800 guitarists strumming to the same tune in the same room came up far short of the record set in Luckenbach this summer. But Texas Guitar…
Dorrough’s still spending his days as a BET darling, and, as such, spent part of last week taking a crew from BET.com’s The Deal on a tour of his old stomping grounds as a student at Prairie View A&M University. In the clip above, you can watch Dorrough and his…
Rodrigo y GabrielaHouse of BluesOctober 19, 2009 Better than: anything else in the flamenco-meets-rock-meets-mariachi wheelhouse I’d heard about Rodrigo y Gabriela’s ability to harness the power of a six-piece band with just two acoustic guitars, but seeing the phenomenon live was nothing short of spellbinding. The duo–originally from Mexico and…
