Out & About

Kirk Rudy, David Brenner, Karen Brenner

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Post-Ike Birthday Party in Houston

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 22, 2008, 03:02 PM

A sickly sweet pall hung over Houston. Decaying vegetation rose like Constable haystacks. Water lingered in low spots.

It was my first visit to Houston since Hurricane Ike. The immediate emergencies had passed. Three siblings and their families were still without electricity on Sunday, but grocery stores had power. So pantries were stocked. And the weather remained mild.

Odd for Houston, drivers behaved well. They slowed to stops at intersections and allowed others to pass. Similarly, neighbors helped neighbors. Need power out the back of a store? No problem. A tree crushed your garage and truck? We’ll help.

We gathered for my mother’s 80th birthday. Only three grandchildren could make it, yet all six children and most spouses settled into stories and family gossip. At her insistence, it was a small, improvised affair.

I heard family stories I hadn’t before — a benefit of aging. For instance, Elizabeth Keating Barnes was dazzled by math. Yet, in her junior year at the University of Texas, she hit an intellectual wall. She encountered a similar conceptual barrier later in chemistry, so she visited the career center, which recommended teaching young kids, which is exactly what she did for a while.

I suppose in the late 1940s, there were no programs promoting women engineers or researchers. The teacher route was the only acceptable option.

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Viva Day Spa Grand Opening at Bridges on the Park

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 22, 2008, 02:39 PM

No wonder austin360.com publishes a column called “Luxe Life.” Austin is now spa city. The latest pampering center is a second location for Viva at Bridges on the Park.

Shannon Mouser, Laurie Aroch, Maya Aroch

Owners Shannon Mauser, Laurie Aroch and Maya Aroch gave us an enlightening tour of the rooms for facials, massages, manicures, pedicures and product testing. The centerpiece is a circular lounge, where I wanted to linger for hours.

Juanita Escamilla, Barbara Hochman

Yet the party was outside on the patio, just downhill from the new metal awnings for Paggi House, which re-opens in October. It’s a more than pleasant place for a gathering on a cool night.

Like the party for neighboring skin-care boutique W3LL, this one was littered with the prettiest of people. A little heavier on the ink and subculture.

Mark Hurtado, River Menks

But everyone seemed spa-centered and spa-healthy.

Tina Frinney, Yvette Garza

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Pecan Street Festival VIP Party at Maggie Mae’s

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 22, 2008, 11:00 AM

A VIP Lounge for the Pecan Street Festival is almost a contradiction in terms. After all, the rowdy fest is among Austin’s most egalitarian events. The twice-annual street fair brings together people of more varied backgrounds than almost any other local party, looking a little New Orleans, a little Lubbock and a little San Antonio.

Marcy Hoen, Bijoy Goswami, Allen Beuershausen

Yet we were intrigued by the invitation. So we ascended the stairs at Maggie Mae’s and immediately ran into Mexic-Arte Museum director Silvia Orozco and friend, listening to a frenetic band called Los Bad Apples. We also chatted about the concept of the “nice gossip columnist.”

Donna Branham and her $75 cockatoo

Later we talked about the latest affairs with inveterate socializers Marcy Hoen, Allen Beuershausen and Bijoy Goswami. You always want to see Goswami at an event. It means people are connecting.

Sipriano Vega, Damien Martinez

They pointed me to Ike evacuee Donna Branham, who had purchased a distressed metal cockatoo from Nuevo Laredo. It was the type of art ubiquitous at the fair. Branham was very happy — and grateful for the breeze on Maggie Mae’s roof. We also talked to a couple from Iowa and two guys from Kansas — all soaking up Austin culture at its least elitist.

Jennifer Alexander, Chad Allen

Later, we retreated to the cool confines of the Gibson Guitar room. With a terrifically friendly crowd, we watched the UT-Rice game on the giant screens. At first, the defense gave us tremors. But all was well in hand by half-time, so we walked over to South Lamar Boulevard for the next event.

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Austin Symphony Season Opener at the Long Center

By Michael Barnes | Sunday, September 21, 2008, 04:03 PM

“At Bass Concert Hall, you would have heard about half of those notes,” said Jo Anne Christian about the acoustics at the Long Center, which she helped promote. Indeed, Leila Josefowitz’s shimmering cascades of sounds and entirely original cadenzas for Beethoven’s Violin Concerto would have been lost at the University of Texas hall where the Austin Symphony Orchestra formerly played.

Wayne Bell, Jane Sibley

This was the first official concert of the first official season for ASO at the Long Center. (Only two years to go until its 100th anniversary.) Some in the crowd, like Christian, were draped in gems. ASO doyenne Jane Sibley trailed a russet-colored wrap while clinging to the arm of preservationist architect Wayne Bell, a third major player in the Long Center development.

Manuel Chavez, Lorena Martinez

Symphony first-timers such as Lorena Martinez expressed intense pleasure at the program, which included Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger” prelude, Stravinsky’s “Firebird” Suite and a surround-sound piece, inspired in part by the Congress Avenue bats, by Christopher Theofanidis and Mark Wingate.

Lisa Spencer, Jim Spencer

Not sure what the formal reviews will say, but I personally was impressed by the tonal richness of all four pieces as heard from the mezzanine, right in front of UT composer Dan Welcher and down the row from Zach Theatre exec Elisabeth Challener and hubbie Brett Bachman. (Prospecting the Long Center as a new home, Elisabeth? We won’t tell.)

James Garza, Abel Guevara

Audience members ran the gamut from music-composition graduate students in jeans to senatorial-looking businessmen in tuxes. The plaza was once again the place to congregate before and after the concert as well as during intermission. The Long Center organizers have wisely positioned an elegant refreshment franchise out there. Work it!

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Aces Opening Night on Sixth Street

By Michael Barnes | Sunday, September 21, 2008, 07:46 AM

In Aces, nightlife empire builder Brendan Puthoff has opened a burlesque club along the lines of Las Vegas and Hollywood’s 40 Duece. And certainly his dancers hold one’s attention with their trained skills. Yet I think Puthoff has created something even more breathtaking — a mid-sized music venue on East Sixth Street that could fill a vital social and cultural niche.

Cassandra Schlosser, Dustin Nix, Kelly Fuller

You see, Emo’s, situated with its three rooms at the intersection of the Red River and Sixth Street districts, rules supreme over the live music scene east of Congress Avenue. Most of Sixth Street, with the notable exceptions of Flamingo Cantina and the Parish, is given over to cover bands. Most of Red River, conversely, sounds more authentic, or should I say, original. Yet if one is fatigued by emo, hardcore, punk and indie, or if sweating outside at Stubb’s doesn’t appeal to you on a particular evening, the choices narrow.

Jason Brown, Kristen Dietrich, Jamie Wilson

Besides, Red River is almost completely dominated by two booking juggernauts. What if Puthoff, whose Aces offers a capacious stage, sensitive sound system and no less than six viewing tiers serviced by at least three bars, were to follow the lead of Paul Oveisi’s Momo’s and book top-notch acts in his 540-capacity club? It could go crazy.

Page Finan, Shon McKinley

Now look, Puthoff knows a lot more about running a club than I do. His Third Base sports bars have scored well beyond all predictions. The burlesque thing will probably flourish at Aces for a while, but like most novelties, it could wear thin, so to speak, especially among younger audiences. After all Nouveau Burlesque has already been with us for a few years.

I think Aces, rescuing the former Hard Rock Cafe site, is a stupendous space. Puthoff should celebrate.

For photos of Aces opening night, go to our A-List gallery.

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‘Pressure’ Opening at Mellow Johnny’s

By Michael Barnes | Saturday, September 20, 2008, 07:44 PM

Never turn down a party invitation from Mellow Johnny’s. Lance Armstrong’s commuter bike shop attracts a distinct tribe of lean world citizens. Some loiter curbside or out back in the parking lot. Others weave among the bikes, apparel and accessories inside the adroitly transformed garage. (It should win some design awards.)

Wade Henson, Megan Wilson

We discussed the intriguing Turkish/German movie, “Edge of Heaven,” with Janan and Marco Cabassi. We ran into Shout editor and grassroots philanthropist Rob Faubion with partner JoeLane Schumann, both hitting multiple parties like myself. Then we sought out cyclist we’d met at other social events — this group gets around Austin as well as around the globe.

Janan Cabassi, Marco Cabassi

The event under consideration was “Pressure,” a display of bike-related art. Yet I’ll confess I wasn’t quite sure which objects were art and which were merchandise. It didn’t really matter. Art openings are not the best place to see or discuss art. They can serve as lively social occasions, though, and “Pressure” was no exception.

Will Fox, Andrew Stevens

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South Padre International Music Festival Party at the Belmont

By Michael Barnes | Saturday, September 20, 2008, 12:34 PM

They take care of their artists. That’s what I kept hearing from the musicians who have played the South Padre Island International Music Festival. They were gathered for a promotional party at the Belmont for conversation, drinks and … music.

Ali Cox, Caren Bamberger

I had run into Nakia, my favorite Southern roots rocker, on the street before the party. He had nothing but praise for the event, which looms Halloween weekend. Among the big Austin acts: Willie Nelson, Ghostland Observatory, Grupo Fantasma, Alejandro Escovedo, Del Castillo, Vallejo and Sara Hickman.

Jeff Anderson, Alicia Kalanj

I love that Ghostland gets second billing! Seems like just months ago they were a local luxury. One of the treats at this party — besides running into co-workers for a second time that night; we are a outgoing group — was encountering hugsome Elaine Garza from Giant Noise, for whom I’d travel to South Texas just to relish her company.

Josh Johnson, Monica Vallejo

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Heart Gallery Party at Spazio

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 19, 2008, 10:43 PM

I don’t think the power of the Heart Gallery sank in until this year. I mean, intellectually, I understood that the program improved Central Texas adoption rates by drafting top-notch photographers to produce portraits of the candidates. It seemed like a worthy cause, but I never paid close attention.

Jackie, Tracy Eilers, Michele Golden

Then I realized how lucky our godson, Alfie, who just entered first grade, was to be adopted as a newborn. The older kids don’t have that advantage. And think of going through life without parents to call about your latest news. (Or, in my case, to worry about when they won’t evacuate during hurricanes. BTW: They are fine. Got power and water before everybody else.)

Dr. Ryan Burke, Dr. Prachi Midi

Anyway, modishly dressed Lytle Pressley is kind enough to lend his modern furniture store on West Sixth Street to the Heart Gallery every year. And this year’s party brought out the warm-hearted and the longtime advocates, like Judge Rhonda Hurley, who I ran into earlier this week at the Kozmetsky Center opening.

Carlos Gonzalez, Ana Lisa Garcia

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UT PAC Season Launch Party

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 19, 2008, 06:38 PM

How many season launches become routine recitations of standard events? Many of them, over the years, at the University of Texas Performing Arts Center. Not this one. It’s premier facility, Bass Concert Hall, has been out of commission for months. Its staff has been reorganized and its only programs — other than student and faculty work — have been scattered concerts and one lame musical at Hogg Auditorium.

Wei Wei, Amy Lu, Shell Ysng

So anticipation ran high at the McCullough Theatre on Thursday as the PAC staff and Doug Dempster, dapper dean of the College of Fine Arts, introduced the acts for the coming year. Among those in the noshing crowd: Former PAC leader Pebbles Wadsworth and veteran social leaders Ann and Roy Butler, who I don’t see out much these days.

Greg Krieg, Danielle Hoxie

Arts reporter Jeanne Claire van Ryzin has done an excellent job of keeping readers up to date on the calendar, so I won’t belabor the actual schedule. Some of the familiar names on the bill (some deceased, but lending their artistic inheritance): Philip Glass, Bill Cosby, Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Itzhak Perlman, Frederica von Stade, Samuel Ramey and Sonny Rollins.

Ann Butler, Pebbles Wadsworth

Of course, we musical queens are terribly excited about the strongest touring season ever — particularly “Wicked,” “Spamelot” and “Avenue Q” — gift of the Long Center, which cleared out the Bass schedule.

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Design Workshop launch on Congress Avenue

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 19, 2008, 03:41 PM

The lightly renovated building would never draw the eye. It sits on the corner of Congress Avenue and Eighth Street. A burrito shop occupies the ground floor.

Mary Margaret Farabee, Patricia Albright, Derek McCall

Yet three flights up, architectural wonders appear. Ground plans, renderings and enticing landscape photographs flood the walls of Design Workshop, officially launched Thursday with a party that drew big Austin design and society names: Hal Box, Fritz Steiner, Dana Friis-Hansen, Judith Sims, Mary Margaret Farabee, Clare Hudspeth, Sue Graves and Kevin Keim among them.

Rebecca Leonard, Fritz Steiner

Never heard of Design Workshop? Neither had I. Or had Box, the grand man of Austin architecture. It started as an Aspen, Colo. firm specializing in small projects, then used its landscape, urban and tourism planning skills to expand worldwide.

Tiffany Theriot, Zhe Wang

DM has employed two people in Austin for some time, but only recently opened its local offices at 801 Congress Ave. Keep your eyes open for these wizards of design.

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Brad Pitt slings bucks for marriage equality

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 19, 2008, 01:12 PM

Brad Pitt is prominent among the stars campaigning to defeat Proposition 8, personally donating $100,000. Polls show a close contest for the initiative that almost certainly would reverse the state’s gay marriage status, established earlier this year by its Supreme Court.

“Because no one has the right to deny another their life even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn’t harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8,” Pitt said in a statement.

In the entertainment industry, David Geffen has donated $50,000 to fight Prop 8; CAA’s Bryan Lourd contributed $5,000. Philanthropist David Bohnett gave $600,000. The Human Rights Campaign has pumped $2 million into the campaign. Major out celebrities, such as Ellen DeGeneres, Elton John and Rosie O’Donnell had not contributed, according to Variety magazine.

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Mean-Eyed Cat style spread in Men’s Health

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 19, 2008, 11:05 AM

Austin looks hotter than Africa in the October issue of Men’s Health magazine. Producer Kathy Marcus and photographer Tony Duran created the multi-page fashion spread at the Mean-Eyed Cat and at Joe and Sharon Ely’s ranch near the Salt Lick. Dubbed “Working Man Blues,” the images serve up plenty of denim and sweat.

“We shot in 102-degree weather — surrounded by the construction — around the Mean-Eyed Cat,” Marcus says. “They graciously opened up their doors for three hours to the crew. Fortunately they wanted a gritty Texas look and the weather and dirt cooperated.”

It’s a flip cover issue, featuring Rib Hillis on the “Blue” side. That leads to the Austin spread on pages 10-17. The Men’s Health crew also included former Austinite and fashion director Brian Boye.

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Grand Opening of Kozmetsky Center

By Michael Barnes | Thursday, September 18, 2008, 09:30 PM

It’s hard not to be impressed by the Kozmetsky Center for Child Protection. One of the largest public-private projects to aid child protection services took almost a decade to build. It sits on former state school land — once called Vision Village — and it presents a reassuring, child-friendly environment for alleged victims of abuse.

Lisa Wade, Judge Rhonda Hurley, District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg

The buildings are set back on the tree-shaded East Austin campus. Millions of dollars were raised in the private sector to construct this safe environment, which would otherwise fall to law enforcement to provide.

Joanie Bentzin, Ben Bentzin, Sheriff Greg Hamilton

Current board president Ben Bentzin spoke eloquently on the subject before introducing donors, designers and staff, as well as a short, moving video.

Venus Strawn, Mary Herr

We spoke with District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, who spent years advocating for the project, also briefly with Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton (still not too comfortable in front of cameras, but that will come in time) and Judge Rhonda Hurley, who spent a good deal of time with Statesman reporter Chuck Lindell for his recent series on child protection.

Marcia Williams, Michelle Herrera

Also dallied with the aptly named Venus Strawn and her friend, the lustrous Mary Herr, who is organizing the Center’s “Dancing with the Stars” benefit later this fall. She had tried to convince me to participate as a dancer. I refused. But if she goes for an “American Idol” theme …

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Ann Richards School Party at Lowell Lebermann’s

By Michael Barnes | Thursday, September 18, 2008, 06:28 PM

The studiously traditional Enfield house of business and political kingmaker Lowell Lebermann — it would look right in Virginia foxhunting country — was enough of a draw. But the more inspirational reason to attend the reception at Lebermann’s was the fundraising for the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders.

Nancy Scanlan, Carla McDonald, Michelle Krejci

Right away, we met these leaders-in-the-making, wearing plaid uniforms, directing traffic and serving excellent nibbles. Then we mixed with parents, who had nothing but praise for the AISD academy, which is expanding to include high school classes soon.

Eddie Safady, John Thornton

We also hung with a particular subset of the Fortunate 500 crowd who will appear familiar to readers — Linda Ball and Forrest Preece, Carla and Jack McDonald, Julie and John Thornton, Evan Smith, Nancy Scanlan, Lee Walker, Eddie Safady, Ellen Richards, Brenda Thompson and Karen Frost (who brought along her mother, evacuated from Houston).

Parents Sonya Banda, Neva Price

It was a particular honor to spend a few minutes with ARS teachers and the school’s supremely competent executive director, Michelle Krejci. Rest assured, these leaders will mold the next generation of leaders.

Deborah Dodds, Lee Walker

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Elizabeth Avellan on Austin’s ravaged film industry, Part 2

By Michael Barnes | Thursday, September 18, 2008, 02:17 PM

“We’re losing more than jobs,” Avellan says. “We’re losing a community.”

Not to mention the effect on Austin’s vaunted creative culture. Avellan and other Austin-based producers have had trouble keeping movie production in Texas, to say nothing of the Hollywood financiers attracted to New Mexico’s or Louisiana’s incentives. Avellan says those incentives often benefit the financiers only, not the productions themselves.

“Decisions are not being made on a script’s merit,” she says. “It’s all about who has the best incentives.”

There’s also the little matter of location credibility. A film that was supposed to shoot in the Texas desert recently was lured to Puerto Rico (no desert), while the USANetwork’s “In Plain Sight” series does fine when scenes are set in Albuquerque, but New Mexico doesn’t sub as well as Texas, with its varied landscapes, for other locations. (Also, have you noticed the shallowness of the acting pool in Albuquerque?)

TXMPA’s Dallas group raised $20,000 for lobbying efforts recently; Scott wants to double that during the “Spaghetti Western,” here in the former heart of Texas film production.

Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Movies

Elizabeth Avellan on Austin’s ravaged film industry, Part 1

By Michael Barnes | Thursday, September 18, 2008, 12:17 PM

If you doubt that incentives from other states have diminished Texas movie production, share a late morning coffee with set decorator Jeanette Scott and producer Elizabeth Avellan.

That’s why Scott, who has never put together a benefit event, agreed to organize the Texas Motional Picture Alliance’s “Spaghetti Western” fundraiser at Star Hill Ranch in Bee Cave on Nov. 7. She’s drafted big guns such as Avellan, Mike Judge, Robert Rodriguez, Richard Linklater, Alexandra and Terrence Malick as well as Warren Spector to lead the charge.

But it was Avellan, who produced Rodriguez’s and others’ films from “El Mariachi” to “Spy Kids,” “Sin City” and “Grindhouse,” who rattled the Mueller Austin Starbucks with reports of the industry’s astonishing demise.

“We are facing a brain drain,” she says. “We’re training these film talents, and they move away because other states are stealing our films. Too much money is left on the table. Studios are not even scouting Texas.”

Texas Motional Picture Alliance is the lobbying arm of the regional industry. It’s hoping to increase the state’s cash-back grant on instate spending from 5 percent to something like 15 to 20 percent, not even close to Michigan’s 42 percent.

More to come …

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Your A-List: Best Icehouse

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 08:06 PM

When A-List voters were asked about the best icehouse in town, they picked a local outfit with an historic Austin name, years of service and the word “icehouse” — well, “ice house” — in their name. Waterloo, located on North Lamar Boulevard, Burnet Road and at Southpark Meadows, keeps it simple — cold beer, hot comfort food and live music — in open, well-lighted spaces. The group won the A-List contest for best icehouse with 44 percent of the vote.

Doc’s Motorworks, the converted garage that looks like a traditional icehouse and has opened a second location, came in second with 14 percent. C. Hunt’s and Freddie’s Place nearly tied at 11 and 10 percent respectively. Five of the next six also come with possessive names — Phil’s (7 percent), Billy’s (5 percent), Aussie’s (4 percent), Junior’s (2 percent) and Angel’s (2 percent), leaving only Chisholm Trail (2 percent with the odd name out).

Write-in: Hut’s

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I was ‘trouble’ at Drambuie Den

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 04:32 PM

Two pleasant Rice University alumni and I were passing the time, when a sour-looking man slithered around us at Pangaea. “Watch out for that guy,” he whispered to my conversants. “He’s trouble.”

What? Who? Me? I had spent the evening at the Drambuie Den, tasting the sweet-bitter drinks made with the Scottish ambrosia, now repositioned as a refresher for active young professionals, talking to folks from varied backgrounds, spreading the Out & About love.

Who was this guy? A relic from my wilder single days — decades ago? Somebody I accidentally dissed in a column? Was he nasty because I’m a reporter? Or gay? Or was he just having a bad day? (I later heard he said the same thing to other revelers.)

It didn’t exactly ruin the evening. I ran into politicos, such as Dewayne Lofton, and clever UT folks, like Theresa Clarke and Christian Kelleher. Also a conflict resolution specialist named Mike, who I could have used later when I tried to confront my “trouble” guy. (He slipped away.)

Trouble aside, it was one of those intoxicating Austin evenings where everyone seemed to get along swimmingly. Too bad about Mr. Sour Puss.

Chris Lewis, Karen Wong, Marc Tucci

Vershanna Morris, Kit Machen

Jantzen Matzdorff, Michell Martin

Sharon Courtney, Eric Pickett

Photos: Check out our A-List shots from this event.

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Your A-List: Best Wifi

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 03:54 PM

Remember when the powers that be were promising universal wifi all over town? That and jet-packs for everybody? Well, it didn’t happen, and I’m not sure if that failure can be blamed on economics or technology.

Winner of the A-List poll was Freebirds at 31 percent of the vote, and luckily there’s one right across the street from the Statesman and near three major entertainment districts (downtown, SoCo and Barton Springs Road).

Whole Foods also garnered a lot of votes (26 percent) as did one of my standbys, Jo’s Hot Coffee (12 percent). Several government-sponsored sites got votes: Austin Public Library (9 percent), Round Rock Public Library (4 percent), Cap Metro buses/park and rides (3 percent), Austin Convention Center (2 percent) and Wooldridge Square (just under 1 percent.). That leaves a couple of commercial providers: BookPeople (7 percent) and Flipnotics (5 percent).

Write-ins: Pflugerville’s Blue Marble Java, Dairy Queen

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Richard Topfer and HAAM Benefit Day, Part 2

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 02:08 PM

Continued from post below…

Richard’s family, including stepmother Bobbi, already have made a huge impact on Austin. The Long Center for the Performing Arts is just one of their projects. Yet most of the family’s civic investments go to health care and related charitiets. (Another portion of the foundation’s magnanimity helps charities in the Chicago area, where Richard’s sisters live.)

“We pay a lot of lip service to musicians, but we don’t do a lot to support them.” says Richard, who generally stays out of the spotlight himself. He’s delighted artists actually use the services. “They are so appreciative and so taken aback when we reach out to them. That’s huge for them. And for us. In fact, they pass along their slots to other musicians when they take jobs with benefits.”

HAAM Benefit Day, Oct. 7, includes Austin City Hall festivities, a concert at Antone’s with Gary Clark Jr. and other local bands. More than 90 bands have pledged to play at restaurants, clubs and retail outlets that day. Meanwhile, area businesses pledge 5 percent of their profits or make cash donations. The Cain Foundation, represented by entertainment attorney Wofford Denius, will make a $10,000 matching grant that day.

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Richard Topfer and HAAM Benefit Day, Part 1

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 12:13 PM

Richard Topfer, like his famous father, Mort, is a square-built man with a bold face. His words are blunt, not rude. He’s funny without being trivial. His mind focuses on business, but he’s also devoted to service.

“Speaking from a foundation standpoint, we are acutely aware of certain times,” he says. “Katrina times, tsunami times, when potential dollars go in those directions and don’t stay in the local market. So we respond to that with increased local giving.”

At Uno coffeeshop in Davenport Village, he wants to chat about Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, the nonprofit health provider. Richard chairs the only nonprofit board on which he serves.

“I moved to Austin because it’s neat and unique,” says the Westlake Hills businessman and music lover. “The vibrant music has kept Austin weird, for want of a better word. I spend a lot of time in Colorado. I always say I’m from Austin, not Texas. When I say ‘Austin,’ they say ‘Oh I hear that’s a neat place to be.’ My fear is that, as Austin continues to grow, we’ll lose that charm.”

To be continued…

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Out & Equal Reception at the Austin Convention Center

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 07:05 AM

Another late, late, hurricane-harried posting: Out & Equal was here last week.

Becky Zimmerman, Melissa Mitchell of Kalamazoo, Mich.

The national group promotes workplace equality. Couldn’t be more effective. And their conference drew big names, including Internet opinion queen Ariana Huffington, makeover master Carson Kressley, Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith and Austin Area Interreligious Ministries CEO Tom Spencer.

Jerome King, Carrie Miller, he of Washington D.C., she of Cincinnati

Statesman reporter Peter Mongillo wrote a substantive article about the summit. My proposed function was to cover the social events, with the help of local co-chair Victor Martinez and O&E press rep Redge Norton.

Donna Rose, Samantha Britney

Of course, a little tempest called Hurricane Ike swept that plan away. I made exactly one Out & Equal reception that felt swallowed up by the scale of a Austin Convention Center banquet hall. We met considerate, committed folks.

Luis Vera, Morgan Green, Stanley Ellicott, Pamela Berliwitz, Christine Holcomb — all Out & Equal staffers

I debated telling the following anecdote, but what the hey? One group I photographed recoiled at the thought of appearing in a newspaper column. I bit my tongue. What part of “out” did they not get? (We deleted the images anyway.) Otherwise, I hope the Equalers had a good time in Austin. Despite Ike.

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September Austin mags

By Michael Barnes | Tuesday, September 16, 2008, 09:57 PM

What strikes me, as I graze the covers of nine Austin glossy magazines:

Women rule this month. Eight women vs. three men. Four women are young models. Three — Patty Griffin, Carolyn Wonderland and Amy Cook — are Austin musical artists coming into their own.

Only one man appears solo, oilman turned alt-energy promoter T. Boone Pickens, rendered, improbably, as James Dean in “Giant” on the cover of Texas Monthly. Southern rocker Nakia holds his own side of G Style, but shares the flip-cover with L Style’s Cook.

Two mags show no humans, radishes for Edible Austin and toy real estate for Austin Monthly.

The Good Life, AustinWoman and Austin Fit push serious-looking stories with type, while images dominate the others almost entirely. I’m getting mixed and slightly messy messages from Austin Fit and The Good Life.

Austin Monthly once again wins the fatness award, coming in at 228 pages, 10 more than Texas Monthly. Its sales staff must be working triple overtime.

Glossy earns class points for its grayscale photo of Griffin with red and light blue accents, although I must say that, on a magazine rack, Brilliant would really pop out. L Style G Style edges AustinWoman for earthiness.

When does the new issue of Fave come out?

What do I want to read, actually? Probably the Pickens story, because I assume there’s something I don’t already know. The profiles in L Style G Style. Perhaps the graphic treatments about Austin real estate in Austin Monthly.

Which would look best on a shop counter? Rare and Tribeza. On a rack? Brilliant, Austin Monthly and Texas Monthly, with L Style a runner up. On a coffee table? Glossy. Overlapping each other near the door of a coffee shop? The Good Life, Edible Austin, Austin Fit, Austin Woman.

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Weekend Out: Post-Ike

By Michael Barnes | Tuesday, September 16, 2008, 01:49 PM

The hurricane parties have subsided. But some of the evacuees are still in town. Meanwhile, excitement builds for the Austin City Limits weekend at its attendant social events, which will collide with the UT-Arkansas game revelries Sept. 26-28.

Thursday: 2008 Season Kick-Off Party UT PAC’s McCullough Theatre; Red Hot Red Dot Art Spree at Women & Their Work; Ballet Austin Guild Season Preview at Austin Museum of Art — Laguna Gloria; Hosteria Verde Supper Club at Aviary; Fantastic Fest Opening Night at Paramount Theatre; 2008 Heart Gallery of Central Texas Premiere and Gala at Spazio; South Padre International Music Festival Preview with Twanguero at the Belmont; Air Sex World Championships After-party at the Jackalope; “Pressure” Opening at Mellow Johnny’s; Aces Lounge Grand Opening

Saturday: Pecan Street Festival VIP Party on East Sixth Street; Party on the Vanguard at Salvage Vanguard Theater; Viva Day Spa Grand Opening

Sunday: 13th Annual Octo Tea Dance at the Long Center; Fall Fusion Benefit honoring Jeff Newberg, Andy Pastor and Kirk Rudy at Dell Jewish Community Campus; Darfur Project Benefit at the Belmont

Monday: Premiere of “Johnny Got His Gun” with Benjamin McKenzie at the the Paramount Theatre; Fantastic Fest Awards Ceremony at Alamo South; FantasticFest 100 Best Kills Party at Alamo Lamar

Tuesday: “Eagle Eye” with sneak preview at AMC Barton Creek

Wednesday: Pickin’ Party with Dean Dillon, Scotty Emerick and Paul Overstreet at Darrell Royal Ballroom, Barton Creek Country Club; “The Tales of the Really White Vigilante Volume Two” Release Party at Rio Rita, New Menu Tasting at Z’Tejas Avery Ranch

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Tré Dotson, Roberto Santibañez, Carlos Santana collaborate on Austin eatery

By Michael Barnes | Tuesday, September 16, 2008, 12:42 PM

An admired fixture on the Austin social scene, Tré Dotson, will be the operating partner for a Nuevo Mexican restaurant in the densely packed Warehouse District. Squeezed between Kenichi and Cuba Libre in the former Ringers site at 415 Colorado St., Maria Maria will bring together culinary partner Roberto Santibañez and music great Carlos Santana.

Santibañez served as Fonda San Miguel’s executive chef from 1997 to 2001 and was praised for his departures from traditional Diana Kennedy fare at the beloved Austin restaurant. Santana serves as Maria Maria’s creative consultant for the ambiance for what will surely be a lively, entertainment-oriented event spot serving dozens of small-batch tequila brands.

The place is expected to open Oct. 6 for 3 p.m. cocktails and botanas service and 4 p.m. dinners Mondays through Sundays. 687-6800.

Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Food

Matthew McConaughey’s paternal instinct kicks in

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 15, 2008, 08:17 PM

Well, the Bronze One’s paternal instincts definitely kicked in after the Malibu triathlon he raced with new mother Jennifer Lopez on Sunday. Jabbing his finger, he threatened a paparazzo who approached Levi and Camila on the sidelines. A TMZ.com video shows him commanding a blue-capped photographer to “back off” several times.

Of course, in the TMZ Moral Universe, this makes McConaughey a jerk, but we applaud his protective response.

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Watch out for ‘Whip It,’ Ellen Page on Austin streets

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 15, 2008, 06:44 PM

That state lures movie producers with a 42 percent tax incentive; Texas offers up to 5 percent. Now Barrymore will shoot exteriors here, days before the Austin City Limits Festival launches. During last year’s fest, the director scouted locations while dallying with ex-boyfriend Justin Long.

The interior/exterior split is now familiar to Texas’ decimated film industry. Establishing shots for Oscar winner “No Country for Old Men” were made in West Texas, for instance; the rest went to New Mexico, another incentive haven.

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Sexy City

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 15, 2008, 04:45 PM

I keep repeating it and nobody seems to believe me: Austinites are gorgeous!

The readers of Travel & Leisure magazine are backing me up.

Austin also did well in other categories: Friendly (No. 2); Intelligent (No. 3) and Active (No. 2). We slip a little on the Style and Diversity factors (No. 8 in both contests). Overall, it’s a great place to meet people. And I can attest to the social ease with which locals interact with strangers.

I have a great job.

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Get ready for the Glossy 8

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 15, 2008, 01:40 PM

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‘Kings of the Evening’ Premiere Reception

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 15, 2008, 11:55 AM

Now that all the Hurricane Ike social reporting is done, it’s time to recap some pre-Ike events that never made it into Out & About posts. One such event was the premiere of “Kings of the Evening,” an Austin-shot movie that has earned honors at African American film festivals around the country.

Taisha Shaw, Angela Rawna

The following reception at the Monarch Event Center was meant as a thank-you to the cast and crew from the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, which is tasked with overseeing film production in the city.

Linara Washington, Jennifer Walker

With most of the news about Austin’s decimated movie industry — leeched away by incentives from New Mexico, Louisiana, Michigan and 37 other states — negative, it was a blessing to toast a small, feel-good film from Andrew P. Jones about honor dressing during the Depression.

Cara Briggs, Jonathan Clark

We ran into all sorts of favored folks, include two fantastic Austin stage actors — Angela Rawna and Cara Briggs — the second appearing in this particular movie, the first not. Like most independent films these days, “Kings of the Evening” will face tough distribution challenges, but the audience buzz was warm at the reception.

On a sad note, we heard at the reception that Max Horne, the cabaret singer whom we’d enjoyed at Ms. B’s not long ago, died quietly of cancer a few weeks ago.

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W3LL Grand Opening Party

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 15, 2008, 07:28 AM

I suppose if you’re opening a skin-care boutique it pays to show a little skin.

Ray Meditz, Zion, Jonathan Ramos

Quite a stretch of well-tended epidermis was on display at W3LL — we are breaking our rules about unconventional spelling for this calming shop at Bridges on the Park — and since the party was thrown by Fave magazine, the mix was as much male as female.

Jarred Simons, Chris Hatcher

We attended as part of our Hurricane Ike social watch, but for revelers at this particular cocktail party, the storm was yesterday’s news. Some models, such as Zion and My Cherie Haley, wore tiny cocktail dresses by Gail Chovan of Blackmail, at least at first. Ray Meditz and Jonathan Ramos wore virtually nothing as they passed around hydrating water on trays.

James Walker, Shirley Pinkson, Dr. Renee Snyder

We spoke at some length with the three founders of W3LL — hence the numeral — who all met at the University of Texas in the 1980s. Renee Snyder is the doctor. Smartly suited Shirley Pinkson formerly catered to celebrities in New York and hopes to take her make-up line there. James Walker I spoke to only briefly, but I see him out fairly regularly and will catch up soon.

My Cherie Haley, Megan O’Leary

It’s odd at 6 feet 1 inch feeling short, but at these style events, the average height is, well, altitudinous. After a couple of wee white cranberry vodka martinis and lots of conversation, I headed back out into the humidity, only to give up half way through the evening, confident that I had sampled the Ike-iness of the weekend.

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Old Man (and Woman) of the Sea, Part 3

By Michael Barnes | Sunday, September 14, 2008, 08:53 PM

Continued from posting below…

Then came Rita. Just days after the shocking images of a Katrina-devastated New Orleans, Hurricane Rita bore down with Category 5 winds on Galveston and Houston. Weathercasters predicted a catastrophe that would erase the 1900 storm from the record books. My siblings freaked.

What my parents appeared to ignore was the prospect of weeks without water or power — especially air-conditioning — in Houston’s evil humidity. An ugly way to go.

I was wrong again. Rita veered and those who chose Interstate 10 spent an awful couple of days stuck on the roadside.

Along comes Ike. Like any good child, I resorted to subterfuge. When I hear they might be without power or water, I plan to deliver ice and other supplies to them and my siblings, hoping to lure my parents to Central Texas during my mission of mercy. (Meanwhile, the rest of our family is accounted safe by cell phone.)

It almost worked. Then, as I’m ready to purchase giant ice chests for the journey, the call comes.

“We have water and electricity!” my mother says. “No need to come!”

And weather, at least in Austin, simultaneously turns glorious.

“It’s like the story of Corpus Christi,” my father says. “The Spanish were driven by a storm into the bay. The next day, like it is after a hurricane, was beautiful. ‘What feast day is it?’ asked the thankful ship captain. ‘Corpus Christi,’ said the padre. So we got a Latin name for an Hispanic city.”

Associated Press photo of Surfside as Ike approached

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Old Man (and Woman) of the Sea, Part 2

By Michael Barnes | Sunday, September 14, 2008, 05:39 PM

Continued from posting below…

This resistance to basic safety from my mother and father first escalated into conflict during a family trip to Pensacola, Fla. during the 1990s. A tropical storm, predicted to reach hurricane strength by landfall, took dead aim at the Redneck Riviera. Veterans of the Texas coast, we kept an eye cocked on the television news, then found ourselves the subjects of one newscast as “that crazy Texas family who hadn’t yet evacuated.”

“You are setting a terrible example for the children,” I fumed. “And they are going to spend the night worried sick about their grandparents.”

I was wrong. As soon as the kids discovered the motel pool, they forgot about my parents and their windy romance on the balcony. And it all turned out OK. The storm veered, then petered out.

More to come…

Associated Press photo of Ray Wilkinson as he sits on the porch at his home after riding out Hurricane Ike in Surfside . Wilkinson was the only person to remain in Surfside Beach during the storm.

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Old Man (and Woman) of the Sea, Part 1

By Michael Barnes | Sunday, September 14, 2008, 02:39 PM

“In Surfside Beach, a town of 800, the police chief asked one stubborn couple, David and Dondi Fields, to write their names and Social Security numbers on their forearms with a black marker in case something bad happened to them.” — Associated Press

“If your parents could get there, they would. Really.” — Valerie Koehler, my sister, prior to Hurricane Ike

And tropical storms played a big role in that history. Carla virtually wiped out Surfside Beach, our working-class summer retreat, in 1961. Brown waters from Claudette in 1980 and Allison in 2001 topped the usual marks for the Houston area’s everyday storm floods. Alicia rocked Houston in 1983, much the same way as Ike, popping skyscraper windows, trashing enormous trees, but mostly sparing human life. Batteries, beer, water, flashlights, snacks, ice, candles … how many times have we prepped for a storm by stocking up on these camp-out essentials?

You know where I’m going with this: My parents, the evacuation refuseniks.

More to come…

Associated Press photo of Surfside after Ike

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Ike Parties, Part 3

By Michael Barens | Sunday, September 14, 2008, 10:06 AM

While joining in the mass revelry, several locals expressed annoyance that so many events were canceled or postponed.

“Everyone was in a mass panic today,” marketing consultant Amy Layton said at the jam-packed Tribeza Fashion Show for Candlelight Ranch at the Austin Music Hall on Friday. “Schools are out; games are off. Yet after a few glasses of wine, people will be ready to party.”

Christian Moore, Kristin Colby

Before the evening’s parties, some evacuees opted for retail therapy. “I’ve had a lot of people from Houston come into the stores,” said Kristi Pruett, owner of Wee and Finch in the Second Street District. “Everything considered, they seemed in pretty high spirits. They’re just trying to make the best of it.”

Others had already worn themselves out during the pre-storm excitement on the coast. Benjamin Serrato had just returned from Padre Island and Port Aransas, where the surf was “a little too much,” he said with eyes stretched open. “It was 80 percent surfers on the beach.”

Angela Palma, Joanna Linden

While Central Texas weather remained comparatively calm Saturday, folks were already arranging for a second round of hurricane parties.

The owners of Pangaea were among the first to announce an official hurricane party for Saturday night, set to the tunes of DJ Kurupt.

“Somebody’s got to have one,” said co-owner Steven Seymour, whose Florida version of the club had thrown several hurricane parties. “We’ve candles and lots of alcohol and hopefully we won’t lose power.”

Anni Kuo, Jordan Nova

Event planner Jette Momant turned her birthday party at her Northwest Hills home into an Ike party, with decadent build-your-own-pizza ingredients such as lemongrass chicken sausage and ponzu butter served with lemongrass martinis.

“The idea is that everyone is battening down the hatches,” said Momant’s caterer, Jesse Bloom of Ecstatic Cuisine. “You make sure you have enough food and drink to keep everybody happy for a long time.”

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Ike Parties, Part 2

By Michael Barnes | Sunday, September 14, 2008, 07:06 AM

Sarah Fennel, a former Fayetteville, Ark., resident and University of Texas graduate, had planned her Restore Humanity charity event — raising money for an African orphanage — around the Arkansas-UT game, which was postponed because of Ike. “We turned it into a hurricane party,” Fennel said at the Molotov club. “Everybody was already excited, so why not?”

Johnny Rodgers, Bobby Dillard, Sarah Fennel, Krista Dillard

Reed Barrett, a musician and Ole Miss alumnus, chaffed at all the extra carousers at the Restore Humanity event, since they distracted from one of his favorite bands, Alpha Rev, which played a full set despite the cramped conditions and restless crowd, stage-managed by Molotov’s new co-owners Chad and Brad Womack (yes, of “Bachelor” fame).

Linda Ginac, Kerri Lohmeier, Deb Woodard

Robert Kelly and Gina Ceballos had hoped to get out on the lake this weekend, but, fearing high winds, switched to watching the Ohio State-USC game with friends Saturday instead. In preparation, they partied Friday outdoors on the sidewalk patio of the coincidentally thematic Key Bar on West Sixth Street.

Bobby and Yutaka Meyers

“You gotta get the full effect,” Ceballos said.

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Ike Parties, Part 1

By Michael Barnes | Saturday, September 13, 2008, 10:04 PM

Austin threw a giant party for Ike. The guest of honor didn’t show.

Richie Rich (Heatherette), Ginger Roddick

Not that the hosts were complaining. As downtown was transformed into a collective hurricane party Friday and Saturday nights, locals and evacuees expressed concern about their neighbors stuck on the Texas coast or seeking refuge in shelters, but, according to Austin custom, friends and strangers used the storm as an excuse to revel in cafes, clubs and private homes.

Rachel Youens, Thomas Urgento

“People are feeling stir crazy,” said Dr. Lucho Rossman, a radiologist from Houston’s Medical Center. “Especially the Houstonians, who aren’t going anywhere.”

Omari, Amber Fee, Courtney White

Sixth Street — East and West, from Lamar Boulevard to Interstate 35 — spilled over with storm-stompers, especially spots with outdoor service, where sweaty customers warded off the clam before the storm — that barely brushed Central Texas. “Everywhere is jam-packed,” said professional model Thomas Urgento at the Austin Music Hall on Friday.

Jyoti Gupta, Dr. Lucho Rossman

“I work in a spa, and all everyone keeps talking about is hurricane this, and hurricane that,” said Kat Laurent, an employee at Maximum FX, on Friday. Some people were drinking hurricanes; others were just drinking. Cabs and pedicabs patrolled the streets, but well into Saturday morning, people refused to leave the streets.

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Comedy team: Carson Kressley & Anita Perry

By Michael Barnes | Saturday, September 13, 2008, 07:43 PM

Friday morning during the Hospice Austin Beauty of Life charity event at the Renaissance Austin Hotel, the makeover star of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and “How to Look Good Naked” remarked on the attractiveness of Gov. Rick Perry.

Playing straight gal to his gay comic, first lady Anita Perry asked, changing the subject, what to take along if stranded on a desert island. Her husband, Kressley cracked, to roars of laughter.

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The mini-saga of Austin’s secret NASA crew

By Michael Barnes | Saturday, September 13, 2008, 02:33 PM

A terse statement from NASA on Thursday set a minor Hurricane Ike odyssey in motion: “The International Space Station Flight Control Room at Mission Control in Houston was shut down Thursday morning. Station flight control continued through backup teams located near Austin and Huntsville, Ala.”

But near Austin? Is there a secret control room here? At a federal facility? At a university or utility plant? At a conference center?

Calls to Central Texas public agencies, evacuation officials, hospitality-industry leaders and hotel managers Friday failed to produce results.

“Yes, a team of flight controllers with high-speed laptop computers has moved to an Austin-area hotel and is controlling the space station through high-rate data lines back to computers at Mission Control in Houston,” said NASA spokesman Michael Curie late on Friday. “Mission Control has power and generators in case it loses power. A backup plan in case Mission Control loses power will hand control to another team of Johnson Spacecraft Center flight controllers who traveled to Huntsville, Ala.”

A hotel near Austin. But where? Lost Pines? Lakeway? Barton Creek? Round Rock? It would have to be someplace pretty wired and comfortable.

“We don’t have an exact location, other than they are in the Austin area,” Curie said on Saturday. “They will remain until Houston’s Mission Control Center returns to normal operation. It is too early to know how long it will be before that happens.”

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Preliminary update: Surfside safe

By Michael Barnes | Saturday, September 13, 2008, 09:17 AM

Readers sent supportive messages about Surfside, the beach community hard hit by Hurricane Ike long before the eye swept ashore just up the coast at Galveston. Located on the slender sands of Follett’s Island, Surfside has been one of our hometowns since the early 1960s and headquarters for the annual Reading Week.

Like everyone else, we watched the coverage from the coast until early in the morning, then switched it back on as soon as we woke. The news could be much worse, considering the direct hit from a Category 2 or 3 storm. CNN confirms 3 deaths. Damage is bad from Galveston to Houston, and the entire area is without power.

Yet, astonishingly, the first news from the Weather Channel informs us that Surfside’s houses still stand on their stilts. CNN interviewed the mayor, who said only 20 structures were completely lost. Who knows how much damage the structures suffered when the water reached above the stilts, but given the video and other images from yesterday, Surfside may have dodged a bullet.

Among other posts to expect from Out & About this weekend expect reports from hurricane-fueled partying here — last night and tonight — from evacuees and locals.

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Forty Frenzy at Speakeasy Terrace

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 12, 2008, 06:24 PM

We are so far behind in posting about events we attended earlier this week. Forgive, forgive, forgive. We’ll catch up over the weekend.

Heidi Boschee, Sharon Mims

Yet another fantastic example of nontraditional grassroots fundraising in Austin: Sharon Mims marked her 40th birthday Tuesday with a party atop Speakeasy, with proceeds going to American Gateways, the graceful new name for the Political Asylum Project of Austin, which went by the icky acronym PAPA.

Leanne Clayton, Eric Barrera, Cassie Ancona

It was a mixer and a mingler and a gifter and a gabber. The women looked especially well turned out, but a few of the men also made an effort to go stylish in the muggy mists above West Fourth Street.

Bobby Thomas, Peggy Duran

Mims is actually Director of Funding Development for Gateways, which keeps offices out at Highland Mall and downtown on West Sixth Street.

Gretchen Weihe, Aaron Brinker

We’re hopping around hurricane parties Friday and Saturday. Know of one? E-mail me: mbarnes@statesman.com.

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Networking prodigy Greg Vendetti

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 12, 2008, 04:01 PM

Anyway, Greg is a friend of Chris Chafic of DrumJam, whom I first met when speaking to a public relations class at UT a year or so ago. I heard the theatrically rhythmic band at First Night and, later, at Stubb’s. The BBQ joint is also where I first heard Vendetti sing. The Connecticut native graduated from the music business program at Loyola University in New Orleans, and he’s already helping improve the infrastructure for the Austin music community.

Greg and I met at Jo’s on Second and discussed entrepreneureal schemes for compensating musicians and preserving the city’s cultural treasures. People he should know include UT dean Doug Dempster and Entrepreneurs Foundation director Eugene Sepulveda, just to start. He later introduced me, electronically, to John Worthington, one of his former Loyola profs, who worked for Disney Animation, Photoshop, and is the inventor and principle developer of Quicktime player.

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Ike Doesn’t Like Surfside

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 12, 2008, 08:26 AM

Yet where I feel most connected to personal history is a strand of sand on the Gulf Coast where my families have spent part of every year since Hurricane Carla in 1961. Surfside, a village of mostly stilted homes on Follett’s Island, is still a secret to most Austinites, who know Galveston to the north or Port A to the south. Yet between family vacations and our annual Reading Week in February, Surfside’s blissful peace has been my most welcome recreation.

The first year we summered there, the beach near the Freeport jetty was littered with the bones of houses destroyed during Carla. Even during a mild storm, the island is submerged. I can’t imagine the havoc Hurricane Ike will wreak tonight, and I hope every soul has been evacuated. We may spend Reading Week 2009 elsewhere, but I will not forsake my other hometown.

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Waiting on Ike: A Dozen Undone Blogs

By Michael Barnes | Thursday, September 11, 2008, 09:34 PM

Hurricane Ike has already swept aside dozens of social events in Central Texas, many of them related to the postponed UT-Arkansas game. Just about everything that was scheduled for indoors will gone on, though, including the big Out & Equal conference at the Austin Convention Center, probably the safest house in town. We promise to follow hurricane parties and those scheduled events that go on as planned.

On a more personal level, the hurricane has scrambled my blogging. Not a big deal, but just so you know, my reporting has not fallen behind, just my posting.

Among the subjects waiting for your loyal eyes: Prodigy networker Greg Vendetti, Forty Frenzy with Sharon Mims, “Kings of the Evening” premiere at the Monarch Center, a Glossy 8 preview, September mags, Maria Maria, Hamm Day with Richard Topfer, illustrator Stan Watts, my first Apple One to One session, the first Out & Equal reception and Elizabeth Avellan on TMXPA’s Spaghetti Western fundraiser at Star Hill Ranch.

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Sighting Celebrities, Ike & ACL, Part 3

By Michael Barnes | Thursday, September 11, 2008, 07:00 AM

SoCo — There’s a reason hotelier Bill Gurasich and architect Dick Clark are building another chic hangout on South Congress Avenue. Everybody — including celebrities — want to hang out there. Jo’s Hot Coffee is the epicenter and offers the best sidewalk people-watching in the city.

The Hotel San Jose and, to a different degree, the Austin Motel, lure stars of music, movies, television and otherwise. Mars, Vespaio, Enoteca, Woodland, South Congress Cafe and Güero’s all pull in notables, while the Continental Club is a required stop on the Austin music tour.

Just walk up and down South Congress from Riverside Drive to no farther south than Live Oak Street, and you’ll join a rushing stream of locals, visitors and those inescapable subjects of the tabloids.

Barton Springs Road — This area is less easily defined and is thoroughly scrambled by the tens of thousands funneling in and out of the ACL Fest proper in Zilker Park. Of course, celebrities will drop by for the music (last year, Drew Barrymore and Justin Long smooched their way through the weekend). A few will also take a dip in nearby Barton Springs, as did Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson two weeks ago.

Austin’s Restaurant Row is not known for haute cuisine, but rather burgers, brew, ‘ritas and ‘cue. Celebrities who feel comfortable being seen in flip-flops will dally at Uncle Billy’s, Austin Java, Flipnotics, Chuy’s, Romeo’s, Green Mesquite and, especially, Shady Grove. Of course, the fitness freaks among the stars will take a whirl around Lady Bird Lake on the hike-and-bike trail, probably the best all-round people-watching area in the city.

We really shouldn’t have to point this out, but don’t feed or poke the celebrities, during ACL or otherwise. Look, smile, leave them alone.

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Sighting Celebrities, Ike & ACL, Part 2

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 10:20 PM

Part 2 of Sighting Celebrities in Austin for ACL, Ike, etc.

Warehouse District — For purposes of this story, we’re including other downtown mini-districts that share grown-up sensibilities with the nightspots clumped around Fourth and Colorado streets. So that would translate into far West Sixth Street, East and West Second streets, middle Fifth Street, parts of Congress Avenue and the newest cluster of hot spots under the 360 Tower.

Detached from the other downtown mini-districts is Moonshine, which regularly attracts sports figures such as Andy Roddick, Mack Brown and Colt McCoy. This will probably change now that he’s back in training, but Lance Armstrong often dropped by his downtown bike shop, Mellow Johnny’s, and his bar, Six.

The “Friday Night Lights” crew likes Jo’s on Second and Austin Java. And the downtown wine bars — Mulberry, Taste, Cork & Co., Cru, etc. — are safe bets for sightings if one is patient. Lambert’s Downtown Barbecue is a required stop for marquee rockers, and that whole area around Austin City Hall will explode with cool once Austin City Limits opens its studio with Uchi in the W Hotel and Residences next year. And let’s not forget the signature downtown nightclubs with music, such as Emo’s, Antone’s, Beerland, Club de Ville and the Mohawk. Gay celebrities will bop back and forth between Oil Can Harry’s and Rain.

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Your A-List: Best Landmark

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 08:20 PM

Let’s face it, the Capitol is not entirely original in inspiration. It follows the patterns of Renaissance palaces and Baroque cathedrals, as well as other American government buildings, that antedated it. Yet, rising almost symmetrically from its green grounds in burly, native pink granite, it says “Texas” and only “Texas” to anyone who has ever beheld it.

That’s why it easily won the A-List poll on Best Landmark with 38 percent of the vote, topping the University of Texas Tower ( 24 percent), the ice-sculpture Frost Bank Tower (9 percent), the “Hi, how are you” mural (8 percent) and Mount Bonnell (7 percent). Others receiving votes were the Stevie Ra Vaughan statue (5 percent), Pennybacker Bridge (4 percent), Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge (2 percent), Enchanted Rock (2 percent) and Austin City Hall (1 percent).

Write-in: 360 tower

Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Style, Your A-List

Your A-List: Best Breakfast Taco

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 06:20 PM

You can add up all the yellow wristbands, Crocs, Bluetooth earpieces and burnt orange bumper stickers in Austin, and collectively their popularity will still pale in comparison to that of the omnipresent breakfast taco. Austinites of all ages, races and sexes worship at the Church of the Breakfast Taco.

Despite my personal preference for fruit or cereal in the morning, it seems most in this town can not get their day started without a heaping helping of eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, beans, salsa, and whatever else your little heart desires, wrapped into a warm tortilla.

Since you can’t fling a tortilla without hitting a breakfast taco-vending establishment in town, how does one purveyor distinguish himself from the glut of glutton-feeders? Convenient locations? Good service and prices? Friendly staff? Sure, all of those need to be in place, but it seems TacoDeli has made its mark with a unique take on potatoes. Instead of browned and quartered potatoes, TacoDeli mashes their taters with a nice garlic concoction, giving their tacos a flavor and texture that lets you know exactly who made the delicious grease bomb you are about to use to kick off your morning.

Beyond the unusual treatment of their primary starch, TacoDeli also appeals to its regular customers with crispy bacon, fresh fish tacos and a creamy green sauce that has just the right amount of kick.

And, unlike many restaurants, gas stations, street vendors, TacoDeli more or less sticks to the idea that breakfast tacos are meant as a morning or daytime snack. The two TacoDeli locations are only open for breakfast and lunch, closing at 3 p.m. each day to focus on the next morning’s onslaught of hungry (and sometimes hungover) patrons.

Others receiving votes

Maria’s Taco X-Press: 15 percent

Juan in a Million: 14 percent

Taco Shack: 14 percent

Rudy’s: 10 percent

Tamale House: 5 percent

Taqueria Arandas: 4 percent

Las Manitas: 3 percent

Taco Cabana: 3 percent

El Chilito: 3 percent

Write-ins: Amaya’s, Angie’s, B’s Tacos, Curra’s, Dan’s Hamburgers, Dona Emilia’s, El Arroyo, El Charrito, Enchiladas y Mas, Hill Country Taco, Jim’s, Ken’s Tacos, La Casita, La Mexicana, La Posada, Little Mexico, Luviana’s, Maudie’s, Mi Gordis, Mi Madre’s, Michael’s Tacos, Lockhart’s Mr. Taco, Nuevo Leon, Nueva Onda, Polvo’s, Porfirio’s, Ross’s Old Austin Cafe, Marble Falls’ Super Taco, Taqueria Las Palmas, Texas Honey Ham Co., Round Rock’s Tio Dan’s Puffy Tacos, Torchy’s

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Sighting Celebrities, Ike & ACL, Part 1

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 04:53 PM

Are you in a public place? In Austin? Are other people soaking up the Austin vibe, too? Then, chances are, during the Austin City Limits Festival — or South by Southwest or any weekend, including Hurricane Ike’s promised (and hopefully mild) drop-by — a celebrity is nearby.

That’s because, like other residents and tourists, they like what you like — authentic Austin, Old and New.

Some would say that tourists have already ruined East Sixth Street entertainment district, but, truthfully, it’s been thick with kids of all ages since I moved here in 1984. Not ruined, but rather reserved for nights when you are in the mood for a raucous night of partying and people-watching. And that experience includes celebrities with those particular tastes.

And by now everyone knows that the live music that once made Sixth Street famous has mostly moved to other entertainment strips, such as Red River Street.

Otherwise, the golden ones flock to three Central Austin zones. (And oh, that’s Carmen Electra on Sixth Street, pictured.)

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Ike Theatens Weekend

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 11:40 AM

Obviously, Hurricane Ike is a more potent danger to the Texas coastal communities in its path and even to Central Texas in the form of high winds, heavy rains and tornadoes. For those who doubt the potential impact on our inland region, recall that more than 38 inches of rain fell on Thrall during two days in September 1921 — a world record. Imagine the flash flooding.

On a less dramatic note, Ike also may spoil the social weekend for hundreds of thousands of Austinites. Start with the UT-Arkansas game, which is under consideration for postponement.

We are tracking the cancellation of social events, too. We know the John Hiatt show has been moved from The Backyard to the Austin Music Hall on Sunday. The Westlake High School game was moved up. Some much smaller events — backyard birthday parties really — also have been spiked.

If you hear of any, e-mail me. I’ll post here if there’s a social angle. Our publication’s master form for reporting cancellations will live here.

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Weeked Out: Early Start

By Michael Barnes | Tuesday, September 9, 2008, 06:22 PM

In order to prep, you need Weekend Out on Tuesdays, not Thursdays. Here’s what we’re looking for Sept. 11-17.

Thursday: ABC Safari Auction Gala benefits Austin Children’s Shelter at the TDS Exotic Game Ranch; Out & Equal Workplace Summit Night of Austin Entertainment at the Austin Convention Center;” Give Peace a Chance” concert at Central Presbyterian Church

Saturday: Artists Relations Group Reception with Alina Fernandez at the Plaza Lofts, UT vs. Arkansas at Royal Memorial Stadium; Rude Mech’s Oyster Club at The Plant, Fave’s Grand Opening Bash for W3LL; The UFO Experience with Jen Marchand at Beerland

Sunday: Austin Museum Day at various venues (who rented the party bus?); Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance Birthday Celebration at 701 Tillery St.; La Cage Goes Broadway at Oilcan Harry’s; New Milestones Benefit for Austin Travis County MHMR) at the Bullock Texas History Museum

Tuesday: Drambue Den at Pangaea

Wednesday: Grand Opening for Kozmetsky Center for Child Protection; Ann Richards School Birthday Bash; “August Moon” preview at Austin Studios Screening Room

Photo by Todd V. Wolfson

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Welcome to the hood, Dick Clark

By Michael Barnes | Tuesday, September 9, 2008, 04:00 PM

SoCo and its utterly singular shops already magnetize tourists. If you’ve ever tried to book a room for out-of-town guests at the Hotel San Jose or Austin Motel, you know there’s a market for more. Bill Gurasich, co-owner of the Mansion at Judges’ Hill, is leading the way. (He was the missing link from previous reports about a hotel slotted for the parking lot owned by the Congress Avenue Baptist Church, which, I am forced to say, is pretty hideous, even for a Baptist church. Surely I’m not the first to point that out).

Neighbors rightly fear more encroachment into the quiet residential streets on either side of the SoCo strip. They remain on guard. But if there were ever a model for organic, indigenous retail development, South Congress Avenue is one. Let’s see, of the two or three national chains down there, one — Starbucks — has announced it’s leaving, which means 98 percent of the stuff is local. Of course, the angled parking is a nightmare, some sidewalks need urgent attention, and we’ll have to wait another 50 years to be included in any trolley plans after the light rail fiasco, but it’s glorious to walk the avenue every day.

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Losing Lance Armstrong

By Michael Barnes | Tuesday, September 9, 2008, 01:07 PM

Selfishly, my first thought was: “I’m losing him.” When freshly minted Statesman entertainment editor Charles Ealy — often on the edge of information gathering — shot me an e-mail around this time yesterday with the tip that Lance Armstrong was thinking about a Tour de France comeback, I cringed: “Now the sportswriters will want him full-time.”

The second that VeloNews Interactive and ESPN.com released their preliminary reports — rumors really — sports writer Suzanne Halliburton and fitness writer Pamela LeBlanc had pounced on the item. As well they should. Halliburton, particularly, has been the premier Armstrong expert for a decade or so. And, by the end of the day, she’d also discovered that her guy was not yet confirming his return to the field, a daily double for her. (Today, Vanity Fair confirmed the rumor.)

My favorite news residue came from another editor, who read only a partial version of the breaking-news e-mail: “Lance Armstrong coming out …” before seeing “of retirement.” Now that would have been a headline for Out & About

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Sneak: ‘Burn After Reading’

By Michael Barnes | Tuesday, September 9, 2008, 11:11 AM

The formal reviews will come out later this week, but it’s definitely second-tier Coen — not nearly in the league of “No Country for Old Men,” “The Big Lebowski,” “Fargo” or “Miller’s Crossing.” Yet this quirky little spy thriller set on the fringes of official Washington D.C. kept me guessing and giggling to the end. Every few minutes, I whispered to my companions, “Where is this going?”

The loose threads are tied up neatly during an outrageous scene between a nervous CIA middleman played by David Rasche and his supercillious superior, brilliantly thrown away by J.K. Simmons. On a spectrum of playing with type to playing against type were Tilda Swinton (conventional cold B-word), John Malkovich (obscenity spewing brain), Frances McDormand (ditzy, sweet yet also fearless), George Clooney (a cad again, but at least clueless about it), Brad Pitt (playing a twink so twinky, he’s almost unrecognizable).

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Elaine Stritch & Matthew McConaughey, Part 3

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 8, 2008, 04:11 PM

See lower posts for first two parts…

Back on his old stomping grounds, Matthew McConaughey dived into Barton Springs, attended a lopsided Longhorn victory at the expanded Royal-Memorial Stadium, hung with Austin buddies and titillated admirers with his appearances at the Paramount premiere of “Surfer, Dude,” which he produced as well as starred in, and the after-party at the Belmont, where he kindly allowed his picture to be taken with fans, even though cameras were generally forbidden.

McConaughey has worked pretty steadily since Richard Linklater’s “Daze and Confused” broadcast his core persona to wider audiences in 1993. Many a brash young movie star has faded before the 15-year mark. Not McConaughey. His prolific mixture of light comedies and fairly substantive dramas begs comparison with another native Texan and sometime Austinite, Dennis Quaid, also compared to Marlon Brando in his youth, although for different reasons. (And to round out the coincidences, Elaine Stritch actually dated Brando, until the former convent girl fled that Lothario’s apartment when he emerged from a back room in pajamas.)

Here’s the point: McConaughey is no slacker. Yet is he milking his looks and charm while reaching no higher than the lowest rungs of his talent potential? Ask people which of his roles they remember most, and they’ll say David Wooderson from “Dazed and Confused,” way back at the beginning of his career. Since then, he’s confounded his critics in “Amistad,” “A Time to Kill,” “Lone Star” and other movies, plus he was memorable in “Reign of Fire” with Christian Bale.

Yet will anyone care about McConaughey when, like Stritch, he’s 83?

I hope so. He’s a genial guy. And like Quaid, he’s been generous to his partly adopted city of Austin. Perhaps he won’t have to suffer, as Stritch did, to discover that it’s really all about the work.

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Elaine Stritch & Matthew McConaughey, Part 2

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 8, 2008, 02:09 PM

When she was not performing her soul out for Austin Cabaret Theatre with a six-piece orchestra, Broadway legend Stritch walked obsessively in the West Campus area, dropped by Starbucks and Eddie V’s, guarded against those diabetic episodes that threaten her everyday peace, and peppered fans with argus-eyed questions about Austin.

Note that date. She has delivered the act hundreds of times since its inception as a collaborative project with The New Yorker critic John Lahr and director George C. Wolfe. In the two-part show, Stritch tells her own rollercoaster story and sings numbers she has performed thousands of times — the first she introduced during the revue “Angel in the Wings” — in 1948! So why the need to rehearse?

“She’s a perfectionist,” Moulton said during a post-show cool-down at Rain on Sunday. “Everything must be just right.”

That, and, as an artist, Stritch has continued to search for meaning in “At Liberty.” Songs, such as “The Ladies Who Lunch,” which she once performed with ferocious acidity, or “I’m Still Here,” which in other hands sounds almost like an anthem, she now delivers with potent helpings of vulnerability and mortality.

Austin audiences embraced Stritch and her still-robust Broadway belt with respect and affection, which Stritch returned in kind. (Moulton reports that she reserved the highest praise for them: “They get it. They get it!”)

Yes, we got it. And, into her ninth decade, Stritch’s star has never hung higher.

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Elaine Stritch & Matthew McConaughey, Part 1

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 8, 2008, 12:06 PM

Two major celebrities tarried in Austin last week.

One is 83, the other somewhat younger, 38, hauling around an even younger girlfriend, 24, and a newborn in tow.

One made her name on the stage, the other zoomed to stardom on the big screen.

One had never visited Austin before, the other once lived here, returned often after relocating to the West Coast, although his visits have been spaced fewer and farther between of late.

One performed a series of four 150-minute cabaret shows at the Mansion on Judge’s Hill while in town, the other made brief appearances before the press and public at the Paramount Theatre and the Belmont.

One was once known as a beauty, a wit and something of a lush, the other is known as a beauty, a charmer and something of a party dude.

One shrunk to mortal size once she left the stage, showing her age and disabilities, the other beamed with golden good health, clothed or half-clothed in public.

How Elaine Stritch and Matthew McConaughey responded to Austin and how Austin responded to these celebrities tells us something about all three.

More to come…

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Paddlefest at the Texas Rowing Center

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 8, 2008, 08:00 AM

Some fundraising events are still finding their way.

Paddlefest, which helps float the Texas River School’s efforts to bring outdoor living to kids without normal access to its wonders, is not one of the city’s biggest or most profitable affairs. But it’s got a lot of heart — and, now, a magical location. I’d never ventured out on the docks of the Texas Rowing Center, located across from Austin High School on upper Lady Bird Lake. At dusk, especially, it’s a bit of heaven, the sunset spiraling in reflections on the lake, a slight breeze passing across the waters and folks settling down for basic grub, local music and short ventures on the boats, including a non-boater-friendly raft.

Duncan McLaurin, Linda Overton, Matt Ritchie

Joe Kendall, one of the main men behind the school, told me that more than 4,000 children, normally terrified of the river because they don’t swim, have paddled up and down the lake, learning about its natural processes and, along the way, water safety. He’s planning campouts down below Longhorn dam, which should be even more challenging.

Linda Firestone, Erin Flynn

Anyway, the backers of Paddlefest, including board members Linda Firestone and Erin Flynn, expressed mild disappointment that the turnout was pretty thin on a September Saturday, but I assured them that their location was unmatched and that on a cooler Sunday later in the season, they’d likely draw more lake lovers.

Mickey Filpi, Cloe Justice

Then it was off to Antone’s to hear Jets Under Fire and, for starters, Beaux Loy, who has an amazing vocal instrument and made a bang-up starter for the Alpha Rev bill. Skipped the Rev this night to entertain brother Christopher and his wife Juliefrom Houston at Cru, where we shared a silky bottle of tempranillo and a very late supper. The Cru crew was extremely professional about staying open so late, too.

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Texas 4000 Tribute Gala at the Four Seasons

By Michael Barnes | Sunday, September 7, 2008, 10:50 PM

In the course of an evening out, one fit athlete offered to get me out into the Hill Country on a bicycle, while another tried to lure me onto Lady Bird Lake in a kayak.

Joe Weismantel, Audrey Neville, Sarmed Rashid

Did they think that, just because I walked to their separate fundraising events along a multi-mile stretch of the hike and bike trail, that I could actually join something like the Texas 4000, a cycling road ride from Texas to Alaska to raise money to fight cancer?

Luci Baines Johnson, Nancy Brown

Hardly. Although the promise of adventure is tempting. The course is actually more than 4,500 miles and is billed the longest charity ride in the world. Hey, Alaska is my next intended road-trip frontier, so …

Stella Jang, Dane Edwards

The tribute gala dinner for Texas 4000 at the Four Seasons Hotel resembled any other posh affair at the incessantly busy lakeside retreat. (Spied at a wedding next door: Texas basketball legend Jody Conradt.) Tempting silent auction items were lined up for the cocktail reception, then the revelers took their seats in the ballroom for the hotel’s usual creative banquet fare.

Pratish Kanani, Olege Esenkov, Anju Kanani

We talked a some length with aspiring journalist Dane Edwards, also with Luci Baines Johnson, who sat with event chairwoman Nancy Brown and informed me about attempts to bring the world to the gradually more open-to-the-public LBJ Ranch, including a mass bike ride out there come spring. She’s been riding herself lately, by the way, and looks fit as a country fiddle and not a day over 40.

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Kirk Furniture Preview Reception

By Michael Barnes | Sunday, September 7, 2008, 07:15 PM

Will Austinites buy a three-piece set of original Marcel Breuer chairs and side table for $35,000? Jeff Kirk is betting they will. (Actually, as he points out, had they been originals, they would have been $35,000, but the version he’s selling is only $10,000.) Yet he’s not betting the entire store — that would be Kirk Furniture on Guadalupe Street in the AMLI on Second building — Kirk also stocks various smaller pieces of art work, including palm-sized animal sculptures made from Buenos Aires subway tickets, priced at well under $35,000.

Andrew Lopez, Katha Busk

Austin’s style community flocked to Kirk’s pad for a preview reception, folks including interior-design superstar Joel Mozersky, architect Paul Bielamowicz (I didn’t know Austin’s Page Southerland Page had opened offices in Abu Dhabi, Doha and Kuwait!), Andrew Lopez for Marc English Design, Katha Burk from UT’s design program, Loft owners Kelly and Offir Schwartz … the list goes on.

Kelly and Offir Schwartz

Kirk has carefully planned this place, so I’m guessing he will survive the war zone of construction across the street where the W Hotel and Residences is currently a gaping hole in the ground. His shop is more modestly scaled than the St. Bernard sportswear store next door. And he’s hired staff from the pioneering downtown retailer Design Within Reach.

Jeff Kirk, Ashley Kirk

We ran into Kirk’s buddy, Texas Book Festival literary director Clay Smith — single again — who’s writing a story about income shortfalls at the Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival for the Austin Chronicle. Smith is trying to get Kip and I to play a home version of “The Newlywed Game” — with all the incumbent double entendres — at his house, but I’m afraid Kip would need more than a martini to participate in that kind of humiliation.

Monza Lui, Stephanie Tsen, Melissa Lancaster

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L Style G Style at Momo’s

By Michael Barnes | Saturday, September 6, 2008, 10:28 PM

What would we do without all the parties thrown by local glossy publications? Earlier in the evening, we stole a peek at the Bel Air lofts thanks to Rare. Then it came time for my first set with Southern rocker Nakia during the L Style G Style issue launch at Momo’s. I’d admired Nakia’s soulful, good-time sound on recordings, but he also shakes things up with a full band onstage.

Chris Ruiz, Lindsey Barr

Publisher Alisa Weldon introduced the band, but also editor Chantal Outon — “the straight girl who tell about gay lives” — and her new strategic partner, Oliver Everette, whom I’ve now seen out four times in the space of a week or so. (The next night, our tables nearly touched at Austin Cabaret Theatre’s Elaine Stritch concert; he attended with partner and cabaret aficianado Craig Rancourt.)

Dawn Moore, Tish Phillips

We spoke at some length with Hotel San Jose visionary Liz Lambert about our ongoing Marfa connections, also with Edward Cruz about his life in Austin.

Steven Schnitz, Edward Cruz

As often happens at Momo’s, the crowd migrated to the patio, leaving the area near the stage a little lonely, but we circled back a few times to soak up Nakia’s tunes.

David Parson, Kevin Witcher

One of the most admirable things about L Style G Style is the way it so naturally mixes gay, lesbian and straight followers in one setting. That’s so Austin.

One more note.

Later that night, we caught Micky and the Motorcars at Antone’s. This bedrock band has all the makings of a breakout act. As always at Antone’s, we wished the vocalist’s mike was livelier, but the solid sonic architecture of MM will take them a long way. The crowd was young for such a rootsy act, a good sign. The older folks will discover them soon enough. Man oh man, this town is crawling with talent.

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Rare Open House at Bel Air Phase II

By Michael Barnes | Saturday, September 6, 2008, 04:59 PM

I’ve been dying to see the interiors of the lofts at Bel Air, located on South Congress Avenue south of Ben White Boulevard across from Bob Cole’s Hill’s Cafe. We’d heard about the generous light, the stripped-down modernist finishes and the sturdy steel-and-concrete construction (contrast that with the balloon-wall skeletons of other such recent projects).

Jim Wang, Alex Lee

Plus, it just sounded like a cool place, close enough to downtown to attract urbanistas, but definitely Old South Austin in the way it borders the unimproved fringes of South Congress.

Amanda Brown, Rachel McDaniel, Kristy Freeman

So the Rare Magazine open house event gave me an excuse to check them out. I lingered in a three-story model with a vast rooftop deck and view of a (sad) little park to the north. Everything pointed vertically, with the excitement building as one ascended each stairway. I definitely could see living there, although it’s more matched to a single person’s needs and tastes. (No lack of closets, that’s for sure.)

Poisonberry, Sam Chang

I caught up with several revelers including roller derby gal Poisonberry and scoreboard operator Sam Chang, certainly a contrast in height and personality. Ms. Berry lives in my ‘hood and we discussed the advantages of lower property values south of Ben White.

Matt Mathias, Karen Kolb, Will Steakley

We also mixed with a clutch of beauties from Salon Blue, software developers and bartenders, DJs and journalists, plus Bel Air developer Matt Matthias, a buddy of retired Statesman columnist Mike Kelley. Matthias grew up in Austin and recognized the potential staying value of these lofts. He’s a thoughtful guy, not always the first phrase that comes to mind when discussing developers.

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Catching up with Nina Seely at Botticelli’s

By Michael Barnes | Saturday, September 6, 2008, 02:59 PM

I didn’t really know Nina Seely. She didn’t really know me. Yet Nina illuminated so many social events last season — from small parties to big galas — we chose her, along with husband Frank, to represent the Style category in the 2008 Fortunate 500. The Ralph Lauren retailer — formerly in charge of the personal shopping service at Sak’s — never looked anything less than dazzling, and always stopped by for a short, substantive chat, no matter how busy she must have been. Never snooty. Always fun. Very Austin.

Turns out, Nina and I spent chunks of our youths within bicycling distance of each other, me in Bellaire and West University, she in Ashton Oaks, just across the freeway from the Houston Galleria. She’s considerably younger, but she dated a Jebbie (from my alma mater, Strake Jesuit) while she attended Lee High School, where one of my closest friends, the late Mark Whistler, probably shared classes with her. We talked about the vast numbers of Houstonians and DFWers who have made Austin home because of an affinity to the native culture.

We gossiped a little — mais oui! — but we also talked about some of the causes that she champions. (Today, for instance, she’s backing the the Domain PlayBingo Shopping Extravaganza for Abused Children, which I’m afraid I won’t make.) Nina swears she’s cutting back on events this year, but don’t believe her. She and Frank are fixtures — in the best sense of the term — in the fashion, business and charity scenes. We’ll see them out.

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Wine Bars: Pre-Show Noshes, Part 7

By Michael Barnes | Saturday, September 6, 2008, 09:03 AM

Vino Vino

4119 Guadalupe St., 462-9282, www.vinovinotx.com

Wine buyer Josh Loving recommends house-cured gravlax with dill oil and dill cream cheese, served with a baguette, for a quick bite.

“With it, I’d pair a current staff favorite white by the glass, Mas Cal Demoura “L’Etincelle”, 2005,” Loving says. “It’s a vin de pays de L’Herault from the Languedoc that is an unusual blend of five different grapes — Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Roussane, Viognier and Muscat. It has refreshing acidity and minerals that would cut the richness of the salmon, and a honeyed-herbal quality to compliment the dill oil and cream cheese.”

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Wine Bars: Pre-Show Noshes, Part 6

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 5, 2008, 11:57 PM

Uncorked Tasting Room and Wine Bar

900 E. Seventh St., 524-2809, www.uncorkedtastingroom.com

“This pairing was born from an amazing dining experience that Jill DiCuffa and I had while visiting the Rias Baixas wine region in Galicia, Spain,” Ron says. “We had a broiled seafood feast of (mostly) shellfish at this tiny little restaurant called Xeita that is literally on the beach with the sound of the waves and smell of the sea spray permeating through the restaurant. The seafood was fresh, rich and delicious prepared with Spanish spices, roasted garlic and no shortage of melted butter. We took the staff’s suggestion of local Albariño wine pairing.

“So, as I designed our menu with my chef, Patrick Deschner, I had to bring nuances of this meal into the fold. The mussels have a rich, buttery tomato broth accentuating the sweet flavor of this delicious shellfish along with the rich, spicy flavors and aromas of Saffron, a spice having very few peers worldwide. The Albariño’s bracing acidity cuts through the richness of the sauce and delivers beautiful citrus fruit, grassy notes and hints of sea spray in a way that might transport you to the cool Northwest coast of Spain if you close your eyes.”

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Wine Bars: Pre-Show Noshes, Part 5

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 5, 2008, 09:30 PM

Taste Select Wines

202 W. Cesar Chavez St., 478-2783, www.tasteselectwines.com

Co-owner Ryan Mayces suggested the smoked ostrich buffalo mozzarella with Champagne grapes, micro greens and tomato viniagrette. The perfect match is a Chardonnay: JM Boillot Puligny-Montrachet ‘06 from Burgundy.

“When pairing food and wine, the goal is synergy and balance,” Mayces says. “On occasion, a pairing truly enhances the dining experience … this is certainly the case with this pairing. The creamy, delicate flavors from the mozzarella are enhanced by the acidity and apple and pear flavors in the wine. The house-smoked ostrich comes alive with the cleansing acidity and creamy texture of the Burgundy both combining to provide a lingering liquid mineral finish.”

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Wine Bars: Pre-Show Noshes, Part 4

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 5, 2008, 07:30 PM

Mulberry

360 Nueces St. 320-0297.

He suggested the coppa and gorgonzola crostini with honey, paired with either a red, Trere Vigna Sangiovese ‘06 from the Emilia Romagna region in Italy, or if you prefer a white, Terlano Müller-Thurgau ‘05, from Italy’s Alto-Adige.

“The smell of fresh thyme, along with coppa and gorgonzola set on crostini may elicit a sense that an Italian wine would match well,” Polombo says. “Our Trere Sangiovese matches perfectly. This wine is medium bodied, round and easy to drink, yet has enough fruit and structure to compliment the sweet and savory effect created by setting the crostinis on a drizzling of local honey.”

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Wine Bars: Pre-Show Noshes, Part 3

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 5, 2008, 05:30 PM

More pre-show noshes:

Crú: A Wine Bar

238 W. Second St. 472-9463; 11410 Century Oaks Terrace, 339-9463; www.cruawinebar.com

Bradley McBride of the Second Street Cru incarnation says their most popular appetizer is the sesame-crusted ahi tuna, served with pickled red onions and set on a bed of cucumber relish, then drizzled with an orange soy glaze. “Served rare, it pairs well with our 2007 Neil Ellis Sauvignon Blanc from the Groenekloof Ward in the Darling Hills of South Africa,” McBride says.

South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina are producing big wine surprises this year, our various advisors say, along with Spain and southern Italy.

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Wine Bars: Pre-Show Noshes, Part 2

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 5, 2008, 02:30 PM

More pre-show noshes:

Cork & Company Wine Lounge

308 Congress Ave. 474-2675, www.corkandco.com

Wine instructor Jane Nichols pushes in our general direction the pecan-encrusted chevre drizzled with honey, then she pairs it with a 2004 Riesling, Domaine Bott-Geyl from Alsace, France. The Corkers serve it with fresh bread.

“Honey and chevre together have sweetness, saltiness, and acidity, the three main things that can make a food and wine pairing tricky,” says Nichols.

“But this appetizer also has everything a person needs to feel satisfied — rich creamy cheese, a zing of acidity from the lovable goats, just enough salt to make you thirsty and just enough sweetness to make you smile. The one perfect wine to hold up to all this hedonism is a Riesling with just a tough of sweetness. Riesling has an amazing ability to retain its bracing acidity, so it can hold up to the zing of the goat cheese.

“This wine’s tickle of sweetness will vanish when paired with the honey in the dish, and the salt-acidity combination will make the whole affair just to snap-crackle-pop.”

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Wine Bars: Pre-Show Noshes, Part 1

By Michael Barnes | Friday, September 5, 2008, 12:30 PM

One appetizer. One glass of wine.

Austin is home to countless bars (no kidding, we lost count) and restaurants (think Wink) where a savory bite may be obtained — in a hurry, a factor given an 8 p.m. curtain. Meet your date at least an hour in advance, preferably at the bar itself, where service is quick and departure can be instantaneous. And, if you can, pick a spot within easy walking distance of the theater, club or concert hall.

That’s a breeze downtown, given the proliferation of wine bars ideally suited to such snacking. Now, we were sad to learn that one of our discoveries, Fuego, a tiled wine paradise near the Austin Convention Center, closed its doors almost as soon as it had opened (very softly). Also, we can’t wait for Vin to open its Fifth Street location. With the original Vin on Kerbey Lane under renovation as well, when can we get our next Vin boost?

With your pre-show nibbling in mind, we asked some of our other frequently tested wine bars to suggest a signature appetizer with the perfect wine pairing. Samples to come.

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Weekend Out: It Gets Serious

By Michael Barnes | Thursday, September 4, 2008, 05:00 PM

Brace yourselves. It may flirt with 100 degrees outside, but the fall social season — informal as well as formal — is in full swing. Here’s what Out & About wants to do this weekend:

Thursday: September/October 2008 L Style G Style Release Party with Nakia and Amy Cook at Momo’s; Micky and the Motorcars at Antone’s; Bel Air Phase II Grand Opening; Jazzy Jeff Back to School Party at Pangaea

Friday: Kirk Gallery Preview Party at AMLI on Second; “Elaine Stritch at Liberty’ for Austin Cabaret Theatre at Mansion on Judge’s Hill;

Sunday: Kohana Coffee Premiere Public Tasting at Whole Foods; AGLIFF Closing Night Party at the Arthouse at the Jones Center; Ballet Austin Community Day of Dance at Butler Dance Education Center; C.K. Chin Birthday Party at Imperia

Monday: “The Mystique of the Archive” Opening Reception at the Ransom Center

Tuesday: Forty Frenzy by Sharon Mims and Steve Aubin for American Gateways at Speakeasy; “Kings of the Evening” premiere at the Galaxy Highland and Monarch Event Center

Wednesday: Anthropos Arts Happy Hour and Concert at the Belmont; (512) Brewing Kick Off Party at Zax Restaurant; Tribeza Style Week at Neiman Marcus with Mayor Will Wynn; Sneak Peek at Kozmetsky Center for Child Protection

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Alpha Rev: Social Connectors

By Michael Barnes | Thursday, September 4, 2008, 12:18 PM

Any follower of an Austin band is linked to other followers of the same band, though they be strangers, through invisible threads of sensibility and experience. Put those followers in the same physical space, viscerally plugged into that musical act’s visual and aural wavelengths, and no dialog is necessary to weave those social threads together.

I’ve noticed that certain Austin acts — Alpha Rev, Jets Under Fire, Ghost of the Russian Empire, Ghostland Observatory, Pompeii, Explosions in the Sky —share some of the same connectors, as well as certain instrumental webbing. Alpha Rev is clearly the next band with a chance to break to a wider national audience, having just signed with Hollywood Records. A new CD is in the offing.

They play Saturday at Antone’s — once the preserver of Old Austin music, now the promoter of New Austin genres — with Jets Under Fire and Beaux Loy. Doors at 8 p.m.; show at 9 p.m.

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Review: ‘Surfer, Dude’

By Michael Barnes | Thursday, September 4, 2008, 07:51 AM

Matthew! Matt! Ma-te-o! Bro!

Or, as you’d slur it in “Surfer, Dude” with a sweet-potato-pie East Texas drawl, “braaaw!”

O mighty Bronze Idol of our New Bronze Age! We, your expanded posse, worship at your sandy, unshod feet. We adore your kouros-boy curls, Praxitelean torso and the “Discobolus” curve of your back.

Mr. Matthew McConaughey, you are not just the Sexiest Man Alive, but the Sexiest Man Alive Who Wants to Die During Sex.

Your blissed-out grin and Marlon Brando peepers blink out from the giant screen, from every “TMZ” episode and from every celebrity ’zine. (Congrats on your personal-best time in the Nike + Human Race! And on the mini-dude-in-waiting!)

Man, what a pal. You lent your stratospheric appeal to a formulaic beach movie directed by your Longview bud, S.R. Bindler, who previously made a mind-bending documentary — “Hands on a Hard Body.”

Now, Bindler’s cinematic clay is another hard body — the hard body of the post-“People” Era. And Bindler clearly knows what he’s doing: You are framed — in all your “California Dreamin’” glory — in virtually every shot, inviting the audience to drool over your bodacious six pack, your naked “bongo nights” backside and your surfing-suited crouch.

You may not have been a beach bum before making this movie, but it will be impossible to shake that image now. Think how long it took Sean Penn to escape Jeff Spicoli. Expect 21 more years of red carpets before winning that Oscar.

For “Surfer, Dude” you even brought along two of your Austin braaaws — Woody Harrelson and Willie Nelson — studiously blowing on the movie’s ubiquitous weed. (If they handed out Academy Awards for convincing consumption of cannabis …)

Perhaps unwittingly, “Surfer, Dude” is a big, wet kiss blown — with a sexy wink — in the general direction of the good, clean 1960s beach movies, those that sported such improbable plot devices as, oh, say, a reality-show mogul trying to force a pure-hearted surfer into a commercial enterprise he despises.

There’s not much actual surfing here, though we see some virtual-reality surfing sessions. Nobody embarrasses themselves, least of all you, who may now reclaim your shirt.

Yet there’s a reason this review runs to almost 400 words and is addressed to you, you, only you. The movie’s a monument to your transcendent humpiness — despite the smattering of topless women, a la “Girls Gone Wild,” in party scenes — and the unblemished, unfiltered, unaltered pleasure you take in life.

Awesome, Dude!

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Green Carpet: ‘Surfer, Dude’

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 3, 2008, 09:04 PM

Enough Obamamania. On Wednesday, Austinites witnessed McConaugheysteria.

The Dude

Fans and press melted underneath the Paramount Theatre marquee for two hours before Matthew McConaughey finally waved goodbye to the crowd assembled for the Austin Film Society premiere of “Surfer, Dude.” When he did abandon the “green carpet” — a play on the movie’s frequent references to varieties of grass — screeches erupted in the lobby and uniformed officers were called in to part the sweaty masses.

Camila Alves

Dude No. 1 was gracious with his idolaters, as were his colleagues from the beach movie about a surfer who won’t bend his gifts to rank commercialism. Some, like Austin-era bud Woody Harrelson, spent the past week in town, hitting old haunts like Barton Springs (where McConaughey was whistled for diving in the wrong zone).

K.D. Aubert

His director and pal from Longview days, S.R. Bindler (“Hands on a Hard Body”), shared a suite with McConaughey for the Longhorns game on Saturday, as well as a trip to the field during halftime.

S.R. Bindler and wife, whose name I missed (help!)

“I’ve been to many games,” Bindler said. “But I had no idea the full spectacle.”

Zachary Knighton

Cast members such as K.D. Aubert (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Jeffrey Nording (“Dirt”), Todd Stashwick (“The Riches”) and Zachary Knighton (“The Hitcher”) shared their favorite Austin barbecue stops (Stubb’s, Iron Works) and small Texas towns (Marfa was mentioned more than once).

Todd Stashwick

“I haven’t been here in 12 years,” said Nording, who plays another bemused villain in “Surfer, Dude.” “It’s tripled in height. I still recognize some things, but what happened?”

Jeffrey Nording

Hey, I skipped the after-party at the Belmont, which I’m sure floated above the Earth, but what with the movie — see my review in this space Thursday morning — and the green carpet, all I could visualize was Mangia pizza and the last bits of the RNC convention.

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Your A-List: Best Athlete with Local Ties

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 3, 2008, 06:17 PM

But there’s room for only one sports superstar in Austin and that’s Lance Armstrong, who won 31 percent of the vote for Best Athlete with Local Ties in the A-List poll. He’s mostly running now, but the seven-time Tour de France cycling winner is hard to beat, when you consider his historic accomplishments and global philanthropy — not to mention headline-grabbing social exploits.

In the end, though, this is Texas and football rules. Of the other athletes receiving votes, six are — or were — football players, five of those appearing in Burnt Orange — Earl Campbell (26 percent), Vince Young (23 percent), Colt McCoy (3 percent), Major Applewhite (3 percent) and Ricky Williams (2 percent).

One, Drew Brees, played high school ball here, only to move up to Purdue University and the NFL. That leaves softball pitching machine Osterman (6 percent), tennis pro Andy Roddick (3 percent) and roundball prodigy Kevin Durant (1 percent). Maybe if Andy wins the U.S. Open again, he’ll move up in the ranks!

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Your A-List: Best BBQ

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 3, 2008, 04:17 PM

Only few purists can get to Snow’s by 8 a.m. Instead, convenience, volume and gregarious ambiance surely played parts in County Line’s win in the A-List poll for by BBQ in Austin. No matter the location, it’s certainly a full-body experience, from the singular views to the mounds of mouth-watering meats and sides shared by ever larger groups of noisy followers.

If the CL won 33 percent of the vote, comparatively small and old-fashioned Artz Rib House, with its sole location on South Lamar Boulevard and authentic musical sounds, came in a respectable second with 19 percent. Not far behind at 18 percent was Salt Lick, which includes the magical setting in Driftwood, plus a planned one in Round Rock (the Davenport Village edition faded away).

Rudy’s — not Ruby’s, the campus-area fave (thanks to our reader for catching that) — with multiple locations took 8 percent, while famed Kreuz Market in Lockhart pulled in 7 percent. Trailing at less than six percent were Cooper’s, Iron Works, Smitty’s, Stubb’s and Green Mesquite.

Come to think of it, what happened to Mann’s Smokehouse up on U.S. 183 and Lambert’s Downtown, which TM also had high on its list, plus other famous marts in Luling, Elgin and Lockhart? Voters?

Write-ins: Black’s, Buster’s, Chisholm Trail, Luling City Market, Opie’s, Taylor Cafe

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Fuse Box Fusion

By Michael Barnes | Wednesday, September 3, 2008, 03:08 PM

I’m a firm believer in the proposition that, if you can put four or five thoughtful people around a table with a problem — and perhaps some food or drink — they can come up with a fresh solution within an hour. This time, the people in question were theatrical producer and new-form festival founder Ron Berry, business professor and playwright/performer Steven Tomlinson, arts editor and theater artist Robert Faires and philanthropist/activist Amy Rudy. (And me, but you knew that.)

Almost immediately, the coffee discussion at La Tazza Fresca on Guadalupe Street struck out in promising new directions regarding a workshop connected to the fest. We generally agreed that traditional entertainment journalism was on the decline and that it must evolve — in terms of delivery media, form, content, readership, target disciplines — to remain a part of the larger artistic process. We also felt that Fuse Box could attract alert writers/entrepreneurs who could delve into the art-making process as witnesses, contribute exercises that could be turned into art and help audiences, artists and philanthropists write about their experiences.

I’m fairly certain something substantive will come from the short session, including a path for entertainment journalists of the future, who must face the evaporation of traditional jobs and genres, while adapting to exciting new ways to respond to art.

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AGLIFF Review 4: ‘Ciao’

By Michael Barnes | Tuesday, September 2, 2008, 10:01 PM

“Ciao”

1 star

The parallels just keep on rolling. The two movies are set in American regional centers without particularly distinct cultures (Dallas, Atlanta), and then introduce comparatively exotic elements (from Italy, Alabama). Both are paced exceedingly slow, which only exacerbates the Coke-flat talents of most of the actors.

Sustained somberness, irrational outbursts of emotion and unexpected intimacies are, of course, perfectly natural responses to death. Yet the makers of these movies are not budding Bergmans. One wants to respect their serious intentions, but the results just don’t merit our trust. Death does not become them.

“Ciao” plays the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival 2:30 p.m. Saturday tat the Alamo Ritz.

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Lance Armstrong to salute Olympian on Oprah?

By Michael Barnes | Tuesday, September 2, 2008, 10:17 AM

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AGLIFF Review 3: ‘Like a Virgin’

By Michael Barnes | Tuesday, September 2, 2008, 09:00 AM

“Like a Virgin”

3 stars

You read that right. All those trappings of the traditional sports movie lead to a low-key, quirky comedy set amid the grit of an industrial South Korean port. The sweetness of the boy’s self-discovery is tempered by a tear-stained family drama, but all is redeemed when he is able to employ his hidden wrestling skills to affect transformation into a Korean approximation of his idol, Madonna.

Screenwriters Lee Hae-yeong and Lee Hae-jun lay the tender trap sensitively and saucer-eyed young Ryu Deok-hwan sells every little unexpected twist in the protagonist’s personality. It’s a bit frightening to think how this project might have floundered with a less adept artistic team. One or two notes played too loud or too long, and the whole thing might have crumbled.

“Like a Virgin” plays the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival 8 p.m. Sept. 5 at Alamo Ritz.

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Longhorns & More at Doc’s Motorworks

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 1, 2008, 06:01 PM

Socially speaking, football season means stadiums that hold almost 100,000 fans, tailgate parties that occupy dozens of downtown blocks and game-watching gatherings in dens outfitted with TV screens that would make the IMAX makers envious. Also sports bars.

Terry Pogue, Debbie Hildebrand

Doc’s Motorworks — the original on South Congress Avenue — is not a sports bar, technically, and its site, open to the western sun, argues against prime television viewing. Yet early on, sports fans flocked to this authentic-feeling road-house/bar/diner, ingeniously carved out of an automotive repair shop.

Greg Highberger, Brenda Highberger, Jessica Gilliland, A.J. Crockett

Prior to Saturday’s game, we considered joining the record-breaking crowd at Royal-Memorial, but, with my heart condition, 100-degree heat index at the top of the western tier is not a good way to spend an August late afternoon, not to mention the sweaty walk from whichever distant parking spot.

So, instead I toddled down to Doc’s and immediately met some fascinating folks. “We’re Longhorns for the day,” said quality control inspector Greg Highberger and court reporter Brenda Highberger, who’d normally root for the University of Kansas or Kansas State University, being from the Sunflower State and all. “The selection of sports bars in Wellsville, Kan. is limited,” added Brenda about her burg outside Kansas City.

Ted Rodriguez, Shana Rodriguez

“We’d watch it at home if it weren’t on pay-per-view,” said U.S. Army reservist A.J. Crockett, who shared with purchasing administrator Jessica Gilliland an appreciation for the vocal energy at sports bars. “Here, it’s in between going to the game and watching it at home,” A.J. said.

“It’s fun to be in a crowd tailgating, but we live literally 10 steps away,” said Akins High School teacher Shana Rodriguez. “And it’s hard to get tickets,” said Akins football coach Ted Rodriguez, who was also celebrating his team’s first win of the season.

Amy T. (traveling incognito), Patrick Dunphy

Patrick Dunphy, who works in the mortgage business, doesn’t like the noise and crowd inside Doc’s, so he gravitates to the unofficial employee table outside. “It’s a nice environment,” he says. “And some good-looking people come here as well.” (Soon, Dunphy was surrounded by four or five toothsome employees.)

The flip-flopped and summer-whited fans were still trickling in at 6:30 p.m., long after the 6 p.m. kickoff, catching up on the game narrative with strangers. Austin Fire Department Lieutenant Terry Pogue and his companion, Debbie Hildebrand from Killeen, had visited the Continental Club to savor the guitar genius of Redd Volkaert before the game. Pogue knew Doc’s would be jumping, “especially when Texas is winning.”

Actually, the crowd was pretty subdued, almost distracted until the Longhorns made an interception in the end zone. After that, every spectacular play by Colt McCoy and crew jolted the viewers into communal joy. So a bit like being at the game. But with beer.

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Frederic Bourdin: The Texas Connection

By Michael Barnes | Monday, September 1, 2008, 02:13 PM

On a completely different subject, we keep hearing rumors that editor Smith is being recruited by a major American newspaper on the East Coast. Of course, we want the best for Smith, who has been a loyal friend to Austin and Texas, but we’d also miss his and Julia’s presence on the local scene, where the pair are invested in so many crucial causes.

Photograph by Francois-Marie Banier for The New Yorker.

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