Let’s Rename Robert E Lee Road to Robert Plant Road
If you don’t think this is the best idea you’ve ever heard of, you’re a racist. Or anti-Zepplinist. Or both, which makes you twice as bad. #robertplantrd [...]
austin
ACL Festival Late Night Shows announced
Hey, it’s the best time of year for those of us who hate festivals but love music: the ACL Festival Late Night Show lineup. Many of the most popular artists who play at ACL during the day also [...]
Austin then & now
I’m in love with this post from do512 that compares Austin from back in the day to the modern city. Here are some of my favorites: The University of Texas at Austin Tower Congress Avenue I-35 [...]
What to do this weekend: 7/14-7/17
Our weekly suggestions of Austin- and Texas-centric music, by no means exhaustive or complete. For full listings visit http://do512.com/. Thursday, July 14: See the very excellent Colorado-native [...]
Review: Black Pistol Fire @ Emo’s
Black Pistol Fire is a banging two-man band from Austin via Toronto that just released their second (and even better than the first) album Don’t Wake the Riot (2016). Did you miss their album [...]
Review: Beach House w/ The Chamanas @ the Moody Theater
Beach House is by far my favorite dream pop group (which on the surface sounds like an insult, because how many dream pop groups could one person like? Answer: a lot, so it’s actually a pretty [...]
Review: Chvrches w/ Alvvays @ Stubb’s
There was a time I was really into synthpop. And yes, I’m a huge fan of The Human League and Pet Shop Boys; thanks for asking. I also loved the early 2000s synthpop revival that brought bands [...]
ACL Festival 2016 Lineup
It’s the happiest day of the year: the official Austin City Limits Festival 2016 lineup announcement! I called Radiohead, like, 2 days ago, people. I have my finger on the pulse in this city [...]
Welcome to SXSW 2016!
Anyone who knows me knows SXSW isn’t my jam (am I the only music journalist who really doesn’t get excited about big festivals?). It’s mostly because it makes downtown nearly [...]
The ACL Roundup 2015
I went to the Austin City Limits Festival this year, despite the fact that I am not at all a festival person. But it was my first chance to go to ACL so I wasn’t going to pass that up, and in the [...]
Itchy-O at Fantastic Fest
For the past 8 days I’ve been deep into Fantastic Fest — the biggest genre film festival in the US — hosted here in Austin at the Alamo Drafthouse. Honestly, it’s been pretty [...]
Review: Kansas @ the Long Center
A couple of weeks ago I interviewed Kansas in preview of their show at the Long Center here in Austin. Obviously I listened to a bunch of their music in preparation for the interview, because I am a [...]
Surviving Festivals: The Austin City Limits Edition
I like music, but not music festivals. THERE I SAID IT; IT’S TRUE. I turned 30 and all of a sudden I was like, “I no longer desire to stand around in the rain all day with 5000 other people to [...]
Hey, remember that time I interviewed Kansas?
I’ve picked up some more writing gigs in Austin and one of my first assignments was to interview Kansas. Yeah, Kansas. Believe me, it took ALL of my fortitude not to say, “All we are is [...]
Review: Brandi Carlile @ Stubb’s
Yes, Brandi Carlile killed it at Stubb’s on Saturday. She slayed it. Completely pulverized all artists before and after her at the outdoor stage. Side note: Fuuuuuuuuck the outdoor stage at [...]
The Led Zeppelin Experience, to be experienced at later date
I was pretty psyched because tonight I had tickets to see the Led Zeppelin Experience – a Zepp cover band that automatically beats all other Zepp cover bands because the drummer is Jason Bonham. [...]
Review: Inside Sufjan Stevens (a tiny little seahorse)
Sufjan Stevens’ new album Carrie & Lowell is his best album yet, unequivocally. Yes, better than Illinois (I KNOW! I’m talking crazy here). It’s just a super good album is all, and perhaps [...]
Review: Stephin Merritt + Sam Davol + Ukulele + Metronome
I feel Stephin Merritt with the passion of a thousand jilted lovers. I adore his sappy yet laugh-out-loud funny lyrics and effortlessly catchy hooks. I love his warbling bass voice. I find his [...]
Record Store Day (Austin 2015)
Dudes, I was SO THRILLED when a record shop opened up in Shanghai (What up, Uptown Records! Hope you’re still around). And I was also really psyched when they started recognizing Record Store Day, [...]
10 Things I learned at SXSW 2015
Was it your first SXSW? Yeah, me too. Here’s what we learned: Please note I did not attend any actual “workshops” or “panels” or “educational opportunities.” These are lessons from the [...]
McDonald’s comes to SXSW and acts like a corporation (UPDATED)
A couple of days ago I wrote about the love/hate relationship musicians and Austinites have with SXSW, touching on the fact that while the conference has become more commercialized and grown in [...]
The ritual exhaustion of SXSW
Austin is known for its music festivals and the top one is still no doubt South by Southwest. For those cave-dwellers among us, SXSW is a huge music/film/interactive festival and conference that runs [...]
Review: Jenny Lewis travels with balloons
I was a big Rilo Kiley fan (RIP) back in the day mostly because of Jenny Lewis.* I liked her simple, slightly twangy and talky singing style. I liked the straightforwardness of the lyrics. I think [...]
Review: Strange, creative pop (aka tUnE-yArDs)
Of all three performers on for the KUTX birthday bash, I was most excited to see tUnE-yArDs. I’d heard some really good things about them live, plus, I’d been listening to their albums – [...]
Review: Yes, I finally saw Shakey Graves so please stop asking
Shakey Graves is the guy everyone in Austin has a story about – how they used to see him at this tiny place back in the day that you’ve never heard of; how he totally played a house party they [...]
Review: The best of Rufus Wainwright (maybe)
I think Rufus Wainwright is the artist I’ve seen perform live the most – maybe 9 or 10 times? I mean, I don’t follow him around the country or anything (yet), but if he’s playing within a [...]
Review: Reservations (bad name, good band)
I went out last Friday to see Elaine Greer, a singer/songwriter formally of Austin who now lives in Nashville. She was hyped up to me by a friend but doesn’t get around to these parts too often [...]
Review: Led Zeppelin, Part 2
Now, I’m not going to come right out and say that I moved to Austin because Robert Plant lives in Austin. But I’m not not saying that, you know what I mean? It’s a coincidence that [...]
Review: Old Crow Medicine Show, slightly delayed
I’m regularly amazed how fast time goes. For something that is steadfastly regular on an atomic level, it’s strange how sometimes entire weeks will fly by, like most of this summer, but [...]
Review: Americana for the win
I’ve been pretty stingy with my pennies ever since coming Austin, partly because I’m cheap frugal, and partly because I’m ever-so-gainfully unemployed. There’s tons of good [...]
Smack Madness 