My Ex-Boyfriend's Band

Okkervil's Life is a Movie

Homeboys Okkervil River are really ripping it up with their new album The Stage Names. If you haven't listened to it yet, you must pick it up, immediately. It is going to be one of the best Texas albums of 2007. But for you lazy and cheap people, something off YouTube might be a little easier. The first music video is done for "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe." The single is my favorite from the album so far, a passionate and electric song with an energetic narrative journey.

I am trying to imbed this but I can't. So until I learn more about the crazy technology of the blogosphere, you have to go to the source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROlCPlnCIfo.

An interesting side note, the video was directed by Margaret Brown, famous for her 2005 documentary on Townes Van Zandt. I finally saw  "Be Here to Love Me" two nights ago. If you dig music or Austin, you will love it. If you dig both, you will obsessive over it. I now have a deep urge to move to Clarksville circa 1970.

CBGB Punk Pioneer Kristal Dies

Hilly Kristal, founder of the historic NYC venue CBGB, died Aug. 28. Kristal passionately supported the Lower East Side rock scene, bringing the Ramones, Patti Smith and Blondie to CBGB when they were still young artists looking for a break. The Brooklyn Vegan has an excellent collection of MP3s posted as a tribute to the punk pioneer.

Austin Audio Files

Even with the hot breath of ACL creeping down our necks, the show circuit is on fire this week. It is especially heavy with the Texas bands that make Austin such a wicked scene.

Wednesday:
CD release for Prom Nite, featuring scenester favorite Peel
Emo's Inside @ 10 p.m.

Thursday:
Our forever favorites Au Revoir Simone with Austin's Oh No! Oh My! opening
Emo's Inside @ 10 p.m.

Friday:
Black Angels lure their hometown fans into a psychedelic playground
Emo's Outside @ 10 p.m.

The Black Angels won't go on until midnight, so instead of wasting your time with mediocre openers, get your pre-party on the Amsterdam Cafe. The new bar celebrates its grand opening with live music from Boombox and incredible urban paintings by Brent Kilgore. Doors open at 9, which means you have plenty of time to get in a solid drinking groove and indulge in awesome art.

Saturday:
The killer combo of I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness and a live DJ set from the Brazilian Girls
(not only is this music awesome, is is free)
Mohawk & Club DeVille @ 10 p.m.

Sunday:
Centro-matic is the band that earns Denton a spot on the music map
(this too is unbelievably a free show)
Parish @ 9 p.m.

The Mohawk's Transmission Transition

My new post at Impose Magazine is finally up. After feeling a bit hustled by Ghosthustler, I felt obliged to finally write about the shifting Austin scene. Go here to see it in its natural environment, which I recommend for the sake of authenticityor I suppose I shall make it easy and just post below.

Perched at the top of Red River, the Mohawk has been patiently eyeing Austin’s music scene for the past year. The young venue hosted blowouts during the SxSW and ACL festivals, and the kids at Austinist.com tagged it early on as their preferred party host, but most of the time the narrow brick club has kept a low profile.

Over the past month, the Mohawk marquee has been glowing a bit brighter. First, dedicated fans and savvy scenesters swarmed to secret shows put on by Spoon and the Decemberists. Then, the bands you would expect to see at Emo’s or the Parish, fresh indie acts like Starlight Mints, popped up on the schedule. This past week, they scored two highly anticipated shows and began the renovations that could make the 900 block of Red River the hottest spot in a sizzling city.

Welcome to the Transmission Transition.

On June 27, “the independent alternative to booking in Austin” officially opened for business. Headed by former Emo’s lead booker Graham Williams, the Transmission Entertainment collective also includes James Moody, the owner of the Mohawk, and Rosa Madriz, who has been consistently booking the Mohawk with Green Potato Ventures. Add in the resources of the neighboring Club deVille, whose co-owner Michael Terrazas has also partnered with Transmission, and a heavy hitter is born.

Can the Mohawk handle the weight? Ghosthustler, a baby-faced buzz band from Denton, began their two-week residency on Tuesday. Though the music seemed interesting, it was hard to get a good read on the boys after a mere five songs. The crowd seemed a bit shocked when they actually put down their instruments and sauntered off stage. Since when does five songs amount to a grand Austin debut? And how does the bar make any money when the music is done before midnight?

Sound Team’s homecoming the next night was a smooth but pedestrian affair. A collection of inspired EPs led to Capitol picking them up for their first full album in 2006, the middling Movie Monster, and supposedly dropping them. It’s not surprising that Sound Team has lost some of their captivating spark after a lengthy tour supporting the mediocre record.

Sure, these things are not the venue’s problem, but it was still the scene of the crime. Austin is still a fickle frontier. In a town of tried and true cowboys like Charles Attal of C3, rogue gunslingers need to get off the perfect shot.

Austin is home sweet sweet sweet home

I am back. I survived. Not merely survived, but triumphed. And trust me, after a week in Iowa, Austin is a shimmering oasis of unrivaled splendor.

I caught the Comas and Great Northern on Thursday night. Fresh from the Midwest, I was a bit groggy, my butt still having phantom pains in the shape of a bike seat. That may have been why I wasn't totally blown away. The true highlight of the show was the relatively unknown opener Possessed by Paul James. Formerly an Austin street busker, Konrad West overpowered Emo’s Lounge all by himself. Stomping, screaming, singing and strumming were wound together to create raging, celebratory bluegrass blues. For once it paid to get to a show on time.

On Saturday I rocked out to Riverboat Gamblers and Pelican, but you’re gonna have to make a little jump to read that review. This week marks the beginning of my weekly Austin music column at Impose Magazine, and reflecting on Gamblers seemed like an excellent way to kick it off. When your done with the story, take the time to explore the rest of the site, these guys have some awesome music and culture coverage.

Oh Austin, it is so very good to be home.