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Weekend Picks: White Trash Revue, Crescent City soul, costume balls and more
Friday: A Halloween Soul Happening at the Victory Grill. DJs Little Danny, Greg Most, Dr. Rhythm and company come together to present another deep soul shakedown. This time, in honor of fright night, they’ll “channel the rhythm of New Orleans for a stone soul seance to wake the dead with a set of strictly Crescent City grooves at midnight.” In addition, would be soulsters are encouraged to don their freakiest costumes for a costume contest to be judged by none other than Austin icon Gerry Van King aka The King of Sixth Street. $5. — Deborah Sengupta
Friday: Dino Lee and the White Trash Revue at Antone’s. By being the most un-Austinlike Austinite, Dino Lee pretty much owned “the little town with the big head” in the ’80s. A shock rocker who always had a top-flight band, Lee’s music was a mix of funk and rock back when the Scabs were still fresh wounds. But the thing that really set Dino and the White Trash Revue apart from all the other acts of the so-called New Sincerity movement (besides his two-foot pompadour) was that he was unashamedly ambitious and pushed the envelope of bad taste so far that it required extra postage. There was nothing like him in Austin. And there was nothing like Heidi Narum jumping onstage in catgirl tights. The White Trash Revue (including a horn section and the Jam & Jelly Girls) will get back together for one more show on Friday. $12-$15. — Michael Corcoran
Friday: Sluggo Ball at Emo’s (outside). In the late 1970s, Nick West and E.A. Srere founded Sluggo! magazine, one of the most influential fanzines of the time, which helped put the nascent Austin punk scene on the radar. Sadly, West is battling advanced prostate cancer and is currently in treatment in Germany. To help offset the enormous expenses for this innovative treatment, a series of benefits are being planned, including this one. Sally Norvell (ex-Gator Family) is coming down from NYC to do her cabaret act, plus Ty Gavin’s band SA Creeper will perform, but perhaps the biggest draw for this costume ball will be Lucid Dementia. $12. — M.C.
Friday: RockIt! Halloween with Afrika Bambaataa. One of hip-hop’s pioneers, DJ and community activist, Afrika Bambaataa founded the Zulu Nation in the late 70s, in an effort to redirect youth energy from the gang violence that plagued the Bronx into something positive. Through community events led by reformed gang members, the Zulu Nation was instrumental in establishing hip-hop as a socially conscious urban culture incorporating elements of breakdancing, DJing, graffiti writing and later MCing. Bambaataa is also credited as being one of the main originators of breakbeat style DJing, and he hosted many legendary NYC parties throughout the ’80s. RockIt! parties, hosted by local funkmeisters DJs Manny and Big Face and featuring the Super Sonic Soul Squad dance team, are always a world of fun. Add the Latin funk machine Brownout! to this bill, and you’ve got a full force throwdown. $13 adv (at DJ Dojo), $15 at the door. — D.S.
Friday and Saturday: Fiery Furnaces at Emo’s (inside). On ‘Widow City,’ the Furnaces remind you that they never really got over the 1970s. Not the riffs, not the AM-rock keyboards, not even the hair (see also Eleanor Friedberger’s flowing-yet-bangsed locks on the cover). $12. — Joe Gross
Saturday: Joanna Newsom with the Austin Symphony Orchestra at Riverbend Centre. Reactions to Newsom’s 2006 album ‘Ys’ were all over the place. Some deemed its massive, folky, proggy sprawl brilliant and classic. Others called it inscrutable and indulgent. Judge for yourself and hear these songs with the full orchestrations with which they were recorded. $35. — J.G.
Saturday: Yarah Bravo, DJ Vadim and Abstract Rude at Emo’s Lounge. The last time I caught Vadim with Yarah Bravo, the pint-sized Brazilian/Chilean/Swedish London-based MC, ol’ girl rocked an oversized ball cap and ridiculous sunglasses and bounced around the stage with the frenetic energy of an punk rock cheerleader. A lot of the delicacy of her rhymestyle, which on recordings is at times closer to spoken word that slides into honey-voiced soul, was lost, but she was adorable. Her positive vibe was a definite crowd-pleaser. A year later, presumably with a good amount of tour mileage under her belt, she’s added a few aggressive electronic tracks added to her repertoire. It will be interesting to see how her mic skills have developed. I’m always happy to see a female MC come into her own. $12. — D.S.
Sunday: Sinead O’Connor at Hogg Auditorium. Let us face and embrace the stereotype, people: At some point, your good Irish friend, the raconteur, the wag, the poem-reciter, is going to start talking about God. Pro, con, both, whatever —- God is going to come up. This gal is no exception. ‘Theology’ is her eighth album, a double at that. The first single is ‘I Don’t Know How to Love Him’ from ‘Jesus Christ Superstar.’ Get ready. $35 to $45. — J.G.
Also playing this weekend:
Friday
- Collective Soul at Stubb’s
- Doobie Brothers at the Backyard
Saturday
- Rock the Casbah at the Parish
- Hanson at La Zona Rosa
- Trail of Dead, Black Joe Lewis at Emo’s
- The Diamond Smugglers Halloween Ball at the Continental
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