Austin360 blogs > Almost Urban > Archives > 2006 > December
December 2006
Holiday picks: Old school grooves, stirring soul and (free) cups of cheer
Almost Urban is on vacation until January 4. T. and I are merrily skipping the country to spend the holidays with the crazy British wing of my family just south of London. I’ve spent a fair amount of time in the U.K. over the years (Mom’s a Brit), and my favorite aspects of the culture (naturally) are the post-colonial influences. In England, there’s an Indian restaurant on every corner, curry-flavored Pringles in every convenience store and record stores stocked with crate upon crate of reggae classics on dusty old vinyl. I also really enjoy a good British pub.
It should be fun. I’ll take lots of pictures.
In any case, I most likely won’t update the blog until I get back, but there are a mess of good events going down while I’m out. I’m leaving you with an extended version of my regular weekend picks that should take you through the final Friday in December. No doubt there are events I’m missing (New Year’s Eve events, for example). So if you know of a good urban (or almost urban) event you’d like to let the people know about, feel free to leave a comment below. Members of Team 360 will be checking for comments while I’m out.
And please, have a very happy and safe holiday. Peace and love to all.
Holiday picks
Thursday: DJ Chicken George at Factory People. The nice folks from Factory People invite you to join them for last-minute shopping and holiday cheer. DJ Chicken George will be spinning ’80s hip-hop classics, and cocktails (perhaps even those little cans of Sophia Coppola champagne I enjoy so much) will be served. By the way, Factory People holiday gift cards come with a Chicken George old-school hip-hop CD. 5 to 8 p.m., Free.
Thursday: ‘Box Fresh’ at Barcelona. Music, art and fashion are on the bill at this free show featuring some of the ATX’s finest. Bavu Blakes will rock the mic, while Mel, Tats, Mike Swing and Kunal M. will all take turns on the wheels. Sneaker aficionados will be in the house, so sport those custom kicks if you’ve got ‘em. Free.
Friday: East End Fourth Friday at the Victory Grill. Diversearts throws a holiday party at this historic east-side juke joint with poetry, dance and a “late-night groovefest” featuring the perennially festive funk of Brownout. Bring a canned food donation to benefit the Blackland and Rosewood Neighborhood Centers, and come ready to raise your spirits with free “beer nog” from the Live Oak Brewery. Free before 8 p.m. $5-$10 after.
Saturday: A Hip-hop Holiday Classic at the Parish. Hip-hop artists from Austin, Houston and San Antonio come together as the Cold Rockin’ It Crew for a “Tri-City Throwdown.” On the decks will be Supa Luva CG (DJ Chicken George), Treacherous Tats (DJ Tats) and Disco Donnie Dee (DJ Donnie Dee) while H-Town monster MC V-Zilla plays host for the evening. “Old school” is the motif for the evening with plenty of break beats to keep the dance floor lively. Plus, there will be holiday-themed visuals from the T.E.M.P.O. Art Squad, Southern Draw Studios and Mr. Awk. $10.
Tuesday: Ter’ell Shahid’s Breakout Party at Cedar St. Courtyard. Post-Christmas blues got you down? Drop by Cedar Street for an evening of soul-stirring R & B, funk and hip-hop grooves. Hosted by local power crooner Ter’ell Shahid, members of the D-Madness project are on the bill along with guests from San Antonio’s incredible hip-hop/soul unit, Mojoe. Cover unspecified.
Friday, Dec. 29: Grupo Fantasma at Antone’s. The mighty Grupo Fantasma returns to Austin after a month of shaking up Vegas at the Purple One’s new club. Expect an ecstatic homecoming for these hardworking (and harder groovin’) road warriors. Show up ready to dance like a fool. Also, plan for a sellout and show up early. Cover unspecified.
Friday, Dec. 29: Auspicious at the Parish. 512hiphop.com presents a pre-New Year’s Eve Bash billed as a 2007 warm-up party. While I’m not familiar with everyone on the bill, headliners Crew54 from Killeen are definitely worth checking. In addition, they promise giveaways from Complete Clothing as well as vinyl treats and more. $5-$7
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Wine, whisky and last minute gifting at the Blue Genie Bazaar
I was literally one foot out the door on my way to the Slick Rick show Saturday night when I had a full-blown reality check panic attack. See, in less than a week, the man and I are off to London to cavort with the crazy British wing of my family, and I’ve barely begun my Christmas shopping. So (somewhat remorsefully), at 10:30 on Saturday night, I decided not to point my little red truck toward downtown, where friends, bartenders and a fabulous show were waiting, and instead headed into deep into East Austin, into the open arms of the jovial Blue Genie.
As I crossed the threshold into the festive artists’ market next to the Blue Theater, I instantly felt better. A few minutes later, after I naturally gravitated to the bar in the back where painter Michael Schliefke served me a complimentary glass of wine, I felt even better. As I relaxed and began to take in the atmosphere, I found myself utterly charmed by the whole experience. The Blue Genie Art Bazaar rocks!
The Blue Genie Bazaar has plenty of innovative and unique gifts for your loved ones. Cute hats and purses by Chia, fashionable baby duds from Moxie and the Compound and countless pieces of hand-crafted jewelry are only a few of the offerings. But there are also plenty of low-budget eclectic gifts for work buddies or casual friends. While the amazing monster paintings of Rory Skagen, for example, are available at $2,500 a pop, Skagen has created a variety of smaller versions of the images printed on bookmarks, stickers, coasters and the like. A set of 4 monster art coasters (and really, who doesn’t need monster art coasters) will only run you $10. In addition, there are screen prints on raw wood, vintage fabric headbands and handmade Christmas cards and ornaments, all available for under $20.
In short, I think the Blue Genie Art Bazaar might be my new favorite Austin weird event. Shop away, procrastinators, shop away!
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Weekend picks: Slick Rick, Dirty Trash and free drinks!
Saturday: Slick Rick at Emo’s
Originally from the U.K., Slick Rick’s family immigrated to the Bronx in 1975 when he was 10 years old. One of hip-hop’s pioneers, Slick Rick ran on the NYC battle circuits in the 1980s, where he met Doug E. Fresh. The two began collaborating in the Get Fresh crew. With Doug E. Fresh, he scored one of his first hits, “La Di Da Di” in 1985. The song remains a hip-hop party anthem to this day. His most memorable hit, however, is probably the timeless, breathtaking “Children’s Story,” in my humble opinion, easily one of the greatest hip-hop tracks of all time (released in 1989). In 1990, Rick did a stint in the pokey for shooting at his cousin and, while inside, released the unfortunate album “Behind Bars.” In 1999, he dropped the largely slept on “The Art of Storytelling.”
Openers for the show include Cali underground act The Cuf and locals Zeale 32, Dark World Clerics and Diamond Tip. Emo’s outside. Doors at 8 p.m., show at 10 p.m. $20.50.
Also worth checking
Friday: “Fun Times” at the Beauty Bar. NYC party girl, DJ and “big time hustler” Roxy Cottontail swings into town for “Fun Times” at the Beauty Bar. Roxy’s been shaking up the scene in New York for a few years now, promoting fabulous parties all over town. More recently, she’s established herself as a DJ. With influences ranging from Madonna to David Banner to Spank Rock she’ll likely drop a grab bag of styles when she rocks the Beauty Bar. To show a little extra love to the ladies, the first 30 females through the door from 10 to 11 p.m. will be treated to free UV Vodka. $2
Friday-Sunday: Blue Genie Art Bazaar at the Blue Genie compound. If you’re anything like me you probably haven’t even thought about Christmas shopping yet. Well here’s a little wakeup call for all of us: there are 10 shopping days left. Yowza! Conveniently enough, if you don’t feel like braving the malls, over 80 local artists are participating in this year’s Blue Genie Art Bazaar. Participating artists include clothing designer Chia (she, of the ridiculously cute hats), the hip stitchers of the Austin Craft Mafia, and shiny things from the sassy chicas of the Naughty Secretary Club. Open from 10 a.m. to midnight Fri-Sat, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Free.
Saturday: Facundo’s Night Out at Flamingo Cantina. Facundo’s Night Out is an ongoing happening that blends elements of film, poetry, art and music. This month the show features the debut performance of the Dirty Sound Trash Stars, an extremely promising new hip-hop group that combines the considerable talents of ATX MCs Element7D, Young Nick and P.O.P. For this show the DSTS will be backed by a live band, The Kill, which is very intriguing, because at least 2 of those cats have stellar singing voices. DSTS plays at 10:30 p.m. Also on the bill is DJ Manny as well as hip-hoppers Vehicular who I’ve been meaning to check out for something crazy like a year now. $5-$7
Sunday: The Whisky Bar Holiday Party. The Whisky Bar is throwing a holiday party and at least some of the cheer is on them! Table Manners Crew’s Dirty Harry, self-proclaimed child of ninjas (or was it wolves), will be working the wheels. Harry used to be a techno/house DJ, but as of late his sound has been gravitating towards hip-hop. The flier for this show says “Complimentary beverages and drink specials.” I don’t know exactly what that means, but my guess is if you show up early and loiter thirstily by the bar they might take care of you. Free.
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Actually, I love a good r&b crooner
I hope I didn’t come off sounding too snarky in my earlier post about Puffy’s (alleged) new reality show endeavors. Truth be told, unlike the rest of the hip-hop blog-iverse, I actually think the idea of a boy-band competition loaded with fine young gentlemen bustin’ moves and singing their hearts out sounds utterly adorable. Like a good chunk of the rest of America, I’m easily sucked into shows like “American Idol”. They get me with all that kids leaving their hearts on the floor, raw human drama stuff. If the “Making the Band 4” rumor is true, I’m secretly hoping that one of the B-Boy City cats makes the trip to Houston for the audition (I know some of y’all can sing!). Sure, it’s a hokey gig, but it’s a hokey gig that could bring you all sorts of career boosting national attention, ask Jennifer Hudson. And, sure, I might not be able to follow your progress on the show (I don’t have cable), but you best believe I’d engage in mad YouTube-ery to keep the folks at home in the loop.
(That’s an Associated Press photo collage of my favorite crooner, Chris Breezie at the Billboard Awards, by the way.)
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Puffy to bring the ‘Making the Band’ wagon to H-town (maybe)
With no more evidence than a dubious MySpace Page, and the distressed wails of a tortured hip-hop blogger (scroll to read), I’m happy to pass along the latest unconfirmed Diddy rumor. Apparently, Puffy’s ready to make another band. A boy band this time. Here’s the pitch:
“Don’t miss your opportunity to make history with DIDDY’S INTERNATIONAL *MALE* SUPERGROUP in Making the Band 4! If you can SING, DANCE, LOOK HOT and are a *MALE* who is AT LEAST 18… DIDDY WANTS YOU!!! (Sorry, no rappers or MC’s, please)”
I like the way the word male gets little twinkly stars around it. Nice. This might be a hoax, but, on the off chance it’s not, the site lists a Jan. 20 open audition date in Houston. So if you’re a Timberlake-inspired dancin’, croonin’ fool you might want to investigate further.
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Mixtape Awards meltdown
Here’s a (belated) report from the hip-hop Mixtape Awards that went down last Thursday in NYC. Sounds like the whole ceremony was a mess. Really, I’m with Houstonsoreal’s Matt Sonzala on this one though. A Mixtape Awards show that doesn’t give so much as a shout out to Austin’s Rapid Ric (who’s been wrecking shop around the country and overseas) isn’t worth a pack of blank CD-Rs anyway.
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Weekend picks: Bangin’ beats, big bands and burlesque!
Friday-Sunday: And now for something completely different…Burlesque! Everyone likes naked chicks, right? It’s particularly enticing when the naked chicks in question are sassily shimmying out of sparkly sequin-intensive get-ups. This holiday season, a whole host of the Austin’s lovely ladies invite you to sprinkle a little spice into your sugar, naughty into your nice. The Jingle Belles (pictured above) invite you to “holly jolly night of fun” that combines classic burlesque with your favorite holiday tunes at “Xmas Unwrapped” at Hyde Park Theatre on Friday and Saturday night. Then on Sunday, The Jigglewatts (whose MySpace page general interests include sailors, jazz, velvet and vodka) present “A Sexy Sunday” at Beerland. Jingle Belles - $17, Jigglewatts - cost unspecified.
Friday: DJ Mel with Grit at the Whisky Bar. We all know DJ Mel wrecks shop up in that piece, but I’m intrigued about Grit (Topaz and Ghandaia with special guests). Ghandaia plays Brazilian funk fusion, while Topaz is a large sax-driven ensemble with sounds ranging from dub to Afrobeat and beyond. Not sure how many players will be on the set, but I’m confident there will be soulful big band grooves a plenty. Cover unspecified (but most likely not more than $5).
Friday: Cali Zack “The Clean South” CD Release at Flamingo Cantina. Cali Zack is an Austin newcomer (from California, get it?). I don’t know a whole lot about him, but the lead track on his MySpace page, “I Can’t Breathe” is a defiant outcry that deftly addresses the struggle to make meaningful music on a shoestring budget. It smokes with raw emotion. Zack also has a full roster of ATX hip-hop heavy hitters including Zeale 32, Mr. Blakes and Jonny Danger on the bill for his CD release party. $5-$7
Saturday: Cold Blockin’ It 2 at Emo’s Lounge. Round two of this vinyl lover’s extravaganza (which includes appearances by several Backspin Records affiliates) is a release party for Yppah who’s dropping a new joint titled “You Are Beautiful At All Times” on downtempo electronica powerhouse Ninja Tune. Expect genre-defying mashups, electronic abstractions,”intricate, multi-layered soundscapes of real beauty” and more. Also, the promoters promise giveaways, so you might manage to scoop a mixtape or two. Free.
Saturday and Sunday: A Diamond Studded Weekend. DJ Diamond Tip presents a two-night mini-tour of the ATX. On Saturday night, Tip drops in on the TMC crew at Plush. Cuts, scratches and body-moving grooves (laid out on four turntables) most likely ensue. Then on Sunday night, Soul 2020 and Expansion Team present “Diamonds are Forever” at the Whisky Bar. Hosted by Ike (of Mike and Ike) and Austin MC scene up-and-comer Poise, the event is billed as “a night of past, present, and future classics.” TMC at Plush -Free-$5, Whisky Bar - Free.
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KOOP radio’s exciting new home
91.7 FM, KOOP, Austin’s volunteer-run radio station, begins operations in a brand-spankin’-new studio space on Saturday morning. Mayor Will Wynn will be on hand to flip the switch at the beginning of the broadcast day at 9 a.m. KOOP, you might recall, has been broadcasting out of a temporary studio generously provided by Austin’s classical station KMFA after two fires destroyed the station’s 5th Street headquarters early this year. KOOP programmers have been training on the new equipment for the past week. I did my own studio training on Sunday, and man was I impressed.
The old KOOP radio was located in an eclectic downtown warehouse space with unreliable A/C, terrifying bathrooms and a diligent crew of cockroaches who even worked the day shift. The station’s main room, up a rickety narrow staircase on the third floor, was a cheerfully painted communal area, hung with old posters and undeniably inhabited by the spirits of hippies and rambunctious anarchists past. Loud punk rock bleeding in from building-mate Sweatbox Studios and various band rehearsal spaces frequently made both casual conversation and live air breaks challenging to say the least. Finicky CD players, busted headphones and an ancient telephone were also part of the set-up.
So, when I walked into the new space I wasn’t quite ready for it to look like, you know, a real radio station. But it is. At the new studio KOOPers will be using a state-of-the-art computerized soundboard, professional headphones and mics, and (gasp) three working CD players. In addition, there’s a separate studio area adjacent to the control room designed for live performances. Beyond that there are office spaces, production rooms and a communal area, all of which look astonishingly professional. I, for one, am very excited about the new space, particularly the live performance studio (freestyle sessions!). My show “Around the Town Sounds”, a local music show, is now on Thursday mornings at 11 a.m. I’m generally on the first Thursday of each month (tomorrow) and I focus on local hip-hop, r&b and funky stuff.
(The funky young chica pictured at the control board is Taylor from Youthspin.)
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Why, Janet, why?
I hate to say it, but after building photo galleries for last night’s Billboard Awards ceremony, I’m a little concerned that we might be losing another Jackson.
More shots from the Billboard Awards:
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‘Austin’s Good Vibes Club’
Big up to Flamingo Cantina for once again living up to the club’s aforementioned nickname at Saturday night’s performance by classic Jamaican vocal ensemble The Meditations. As usual, it was an eclectic group of Austinites who comprised the healthy crowd that braved the cold to gather for the show. Dreds of all shapes, color and ages mingled with rockers, college kids and casual music lovers from the KGSR set. I even spotted a hipster or two (sporting silk miniskirts and potentially treacherous footwear), alongside a couple hip-hop producers in the crowd.
The show itself was solid. The backup band played a short warm-up set marked by a lively, if not a little contrived, ode to the merits of Mary Jane. Then, it was the Meditations. The vocalists, who have backed all the greats, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, and, of course, the legend himself, Marley, close their eyes a lot when they sing. They allow the music to move through their bodies, pulsing with rhythm, releasing into sweet harmonies that swirl over the stage. Their sound is rich with echoes from the 70s, one of my favorite eras of Jamaican music, when Motown records trickling into the island were seized upon and re-invented by Jamaican singers, infused in the process with the raw urgency of gospel from the poverty-stricken streets.
It’s good stuff.
Halfway through the show, T. disappeared to the back, returning with a plate of jerk chicken for himself and rice with savory cabbage and peas for me. Mmmm…more good stuff.
Flamingo Cantina has been around for 15 years. In addition to being Austin’s home for reggae music, they’ve fostered the ATX hip-hop community since the 90s, providing a venue for local showcases and battles as well as underground touring acts. In a town full of transient bars that open and close overnight, it’s good to see an Austin staple still standing strong. Almost Urban salutes you, Flamingo!
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