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Monday, January 26, 2009
Benefit tonight for Artz Rib House
John Kelso writes about how back taxes and a health crisis have affected the well-known restaurant and music venue, which is closed temporarily. Kelso has the details on tonight’s fund-raiser, too.
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Upcoming ‘ACL’ shows
You’ll want to set you DVR to record “Austin City Limits” on KLRU this Saturday at 7 p.m., as Nick Lowe and the Swell Season turn in amazing performances.
Other upcoming airings are Drive-By Truckers and Ryan Bingham on Feb. 7 and Sarah McLachlan with Duffy Feb. 14.
As for upcoming tapings, Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel will do Western swing songs from their “Willie and the Wheel” album Feb. 23. No word yet on ticket availability.
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First round of Chaos in Tejas bands announced; Amebix rules Emo’s
Timmy Hefner, the founder of Austin’s Chaos in Tejas festival of hardcore punk, has announced the first wave of bands playing the 2009 fest, which is May 21-24.
The biggest names thusfar are veteran proto-streetpunk/Oi! band Cock Sparrer and Japanese hardcore supergroup Judgement,
Here’s the list:
Cock Sparrer (U.K., only U.S. show)
Judgement (Japan, only U.S. show)
AI (Japan)
Crude (Japan)
Pierced Arrows (ex-Dead Moon)
_UK
Annihilation Time
Brutal Knights (Canada)
Midnight
Destino Final (Spain)
Young Offenders
Nodzzz
Obliteration (first show, ex-Knife Fight and Mind Eraser)
No Tolerance (ex-Mind Eraser)
the Hex Dispensers
Unit 21
Hefner’s most recent triumph was the Amebix show Saturday night at Emo’s. The bitter cold probably got everyone sick the next day (OK, maybe just me), but man alive, was it worth it.
Locals Mammoth Grinder and Diskonocidos opened the show with solid sets, especially the former.
Severed Head of State was up next, an ad hoc crew, half based in Austin, half in Portland. Guitarist Todd Burdette (Tragedy, Deathreat, Warcry) and bassist Kelly Halliburton (Pierced Arrows) joined Austin singer Jack Control (World Burns To Death) and drummer Chris Pfeffer (the Altars) for a ripping display of recombinant hardcore - a little d-beat, a little hideous thrash, a little rage at humanity. Nicely executed.
Then again, it’s easy to assume that everyone was bringing their A-game in honor of the headliners.
Mercifully, singer/bassist Rob “the Baron” Miller and guitarist Stig didn’t look the least bit punk - just two skinny, older, well-preserved British guys with long hair, dudes you might see poking around the sci-fi section of a used book store or teaching high school physics.
But they delivered utterly, playing deceptively simple songs about the apocalypse and what comes next, powered with precision tooled fury by drummer Roy Mayorga (Stone Sour). Mayorga made everything pulse, roll and move while the Baron was still doing his best Lemmy vocal impression.
It reminded you that Amebix wasn’t just a punk band, but was strongly in the tradition of such heavy British psychedelic rockers as Hawkwind and could match Joy Division mopey vision for mopey vision.
Punks wandered in from as far away as Denver and Minneapolis for this show; locals who usually look angry at everything that moves were sporting massive smiles. The sound of the end times will do that.
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Death Cab coming to Austin May 1
Thanks to the helpful reader who alerted us to this upcoming show. Tix for Death Cab For Cutie go on sale this Friday. Click link for details.
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‘Little’ Steven Van Zandt to speak March 20 at SXSW
Most likely wearing a kerchief on his head (and probably not dressed like Silvio Dante), Steven Van Zandt will speak at the Austin Convention Center March 20 as part of SXSW.
Van Zant is a founding member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band as well as being a noted producer, activist, actor and radio DJ.
His garage rock show Little Steven’s Underground Garage is syndicated to terrestrial stations around the world; he also created two Sirius/XM Satellite Radio channels: the Underground Garage channel and the Outlaw Country channel.
In 2006, Van Zandt created Wicked Cool Records, an imprint which is now home to more than 19 bands including the Chesterfield Kings, the Woggles, the Breakers, the Urges the Len Price 3, and the Cocktail Slippers.
Seriously, guys, if he could show up dressed as Silvio, that would rule.
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Musicmania Top 10 for the week ending Jan. 25
Chamillionaire ‘Mixtape Messiah 6’ (Chamilliatry)
Lil’ Keke ‘Loved By Few Hated By Many’ (TF Records)
Trae ‘Streets Advocate’ (Oarfin)
Plies ‘Da Realist’ (Slip-N-Slide)
Z-RO ‘Crack’ (Rap-A-Lot)
Ludacris ‘Theater Of The Mind’ (Def Jam)
Scarface ‘Emeritus’ (Rap-A-Lot)
Z-RO ‘Crack Srewed & Chopped’ (Rap-A-Lot)
Anthony Hamilton ‘Point Of It All’ (Arista)
T.I. ‘Paper Trail’ (Atlantic)
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Review: This Will Destroy You, Balmorhea, Chief Rival at Mohawk
On stage, This Will Destroy You live up to the principles set forth in their name. During Friday’s show at Mohawk, the San Marcos quartet drove through a set of familiar tracks with seismic force, treating the subtlety and slow buildup of their recorded material to high levels of sonic exuberance, and to a sheer volume usually reserved for more explicitly heavy bands.
It was a night made for lovers of (mostly) instrumental music. Under-18 group Chief Rival opened with a set of psychedelic shoegaze that started with hints of Jesu filtered through a Jim Morrison sensibility, and moved through tunes bearing the cinematic imprint of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The band may have to sport X’s on their wrists because of their age but already display an impressive level of control and confidence.
Balmorhea’s soft tapestry of tone poems and experimental acoustic compositions bridged the two louder bands. The songs were marked in turn by driving steel-string arrangements, blissed-out melodies hummed — or bellowed — rather than sang, and a swirling, droning interplay of cello, keys, banjo and violin. The venue wasn’t always ideal for a group like Balmorhea; ambient chatter from the packed-to-the-gills room challenged the listener at times. Balmorhea’s March 13 record-release show at Ballet Austin’s Butler Dance Education Center should be marked on your calendars.
This night, though, was a showcase for the headliner. Starting with “A Three Legged Workhorse,” TWDY’s mission was clear from the outset: to deconstruct the band’s post-rock steady-build approach, synthesizing the intricate interplay of their dual guitars into a primal, rib-shattering pulse.
The songs were propelled by rhythm more than melody, with the slower sections on songs like “Quiet” presenting themselves as reflective intermissions between the periods of foot-stomping, controlled chaos.
There were times when the volume came dangerously close to swallowing the songs - if you were familiar with the set list, you sometimes knew what you were hearing more than anything by implication - but the crowd didn’t seem to mind.
In songs like “The World Is Our,” the effect came together euphorically, screaming guitar lines laid over drums crashing to the edge of their limits, locking band and audience together in appreciation of pure sound.
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Review: Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Darius Rucker at Erwin Center
Brad Paisley wanted to make sure that the sold-out crowd of 6,926 at the Frank Erwin Center got their money’s worth.
“With the way the economy is these days, we really appreciate you spending your hard-earned money to come see us,” Paisley said Thursday night. “It’s almost the weekend, so forget about work tomorrow, we’re gonna party all night!”
Paisley throws one heck of a party. His lively 20-song set lasted nearly two hours and was accompanied by custom animation and video on a huge screen behind his band. Paisley, donning his signature white cowboy hat, worked the stage like a pro, shared funny stories, and made sure the crowd knew how excited he was to be playing in what he said is “the best town in Texas.”
The reigning Country Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year churned out hit after hit, including “Mud On The Tires,” “Celebrity” and “I’m Still A Guy.” His latest No. 1 hit, “Start a Band,” featured a video guest appearance from Keith Urban.
Paisley, along with his opening acts Dierks Bentley and Darius Rucker, closed the main set with the feel-good hit “Alcohol.” The performance elicited a standing ovation, while the screen showed shots of Antone’s, the Broken Spoke, and other Austin watering holes.
Big-budget nationwide tours, like the Paisley Party Tour, run the risk of feeling generic and mechanical. But when a show rolls into the live music capital of the world, it’s almost guaranteed to be extra special. Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel joined Paisley on stage for a fun duet of “Miles And Miles Of Texas.”
Austin guitar legend Redd Volkaert also made a special appearance. Paisley and Volkaert dueled on guitar during the encore performance of “Let The Good Times Roll,” which also featured a video guest appearance from blues great B.B. King. Paisley’s encore also included the humorous and cleverly written “Ticks.”
Bentley received a greeting almost as raucous as Paisley’s. He was relentlessly energetic during his 10-song set, running all over the stage and clapping as many hands as he could reach. Bentley rocked out with hits like “How Am I Doin” and “Lot Of Leavin’ Left To Do,” and made the ladies swoon with “Come A Little Closer” and “Settle For A Slowdown.”
Rucker is a crossover artist best known for being the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish. He is still coming into his own as a country singer, but his first single “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” and the hilarious “Drinkin’ and Dialin’” are sure-fire hits. Rucker’s performances of Hootie and the Blowfish’s “Let Her Cry” and Hank Williams Jr.’s “Family Tradition” were definite crowd-pleasers.
With two fabulous opening acts, plus one pretty amazing Paisley party, Thursday night’s crowd certainly got their money’s worth.
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