We'd be remiss if we didn't point out that there's a show tomorrow kicking off Diagonals upcoming tour with instrumental powerhouse and beloved locals Octopus Project. The aforementioned slanted band will also be releasing a new EP, which paves the way for an album this fall. It's nice to see they're keeping themselves busy. ...

For what it’s worth, Los Angeles really has a toehold on trendy noise-rock right now. First you have the ubiquitous No Age, who have visited Austin at least twice this year already, and then you’ve also got their caps-lock lovin’ pals HEALTH also touring the States as of right this second. A quartet who formed not even three years ago, HEALTH have already been (some would say excessively) hyped by indie media outlets galore, including but not limited to the insufferable know-it-alls at Pitchfork, who invited the band to play their music festival just this past weekend. Having cut a split 7” with equally buzzed-about group Crystal Castles and planning a few tour dates with of Montreal in the near future, HEALTH seem poised to remain on the tips of tongues at least until the inevitable backlash in a few weeks. ...

Image from MySpace Clipd Beaks, iKiLLCaRS & Daniel Francis DoyleFriday, December 7Emos (603 Red River St)Inside, Doors at 8pm, Show at 10pm[info] | [iKiLLCaRS MySpace] | [Clipd Beaks MySpace] | [Daniel Francis Doyle MySpace]iKiLLCaRS At Ease With Your Haste In case the name embodying misplaced aggression spelled in an unorthodox fashion that says, “You know what, I don’t have to follow your stupid rules of capitalization!” coupled with members' pseudonyms like Johnny Law didn’t clue......

*The views expressed in The Laurie Show are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole.* -ed. note Greetings from Froggy McGee, writing to you while recovering in sick bay. I'm happy to report that the Bay Area tour I went on with the brilliant and talented crew of the Broken Clock Cabaret, featuring the rowdy and ravenous No Salvation Army Band, was an absolute success! Unfortunately, the crazy schedule and......

FRIDAY [8] music • DJ Krames (Cobra Kai), Prince Klassen at Beauty Bar (Free) books • Dominic Smith presents The Beautiful Miscellaneous at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • Punchline, open mic stand up comedy at ColdTowne Theater (10pm) film • "The Secret Mirror" at The Paramount film • Master Pancake Theatre: "The Breakfast Club" at Alamo Downtown film • "Severance" at Dobie Theatre food • Central Market Cooking Class: Manicotti Workshop with Foodie Barbara Sampson at......

(FIRST) THURSDAY [7] party • Official Space Launch Celebration at Salvage Vanguard Theater (9:30pm) music • Go Motion! at Beauty Bar music • The Dollyrots, Alright Tonight, The Sweethearts, Abby Birds at Emo's music • Vietnam and Greg Ashley, The Strange Attractors, The Golden Boys at Emo's music • Scott Miller, The Commonwealth, The Gougers at Stubb's music • An Evening with Old Crow Medicine Show at The Parish Room music • Locals @ La......

MONDAY [4] film • "The Big Sleep" at The Paramount film • Eddie Muller Noir Night: "The Window" at Alamo Downtown film • Music Monday: "La Brune Et Moi" at Alamo Downtown food • Central Market Cooking Class: Knife Skills 101 with Chef Cindy Haenel at Central Market Cooking School, 4001 N Lamar ($60, 6:30-9:30pm) music • Lifesavas, Strange Fruit Project, DJ Marc Sense, Who M.I.?, Prawphit at Emo's music • Strange Fruit Project,......

Whether you think of it as a test run for SXSW, a belated Christmas present to local music fans, or an excuse to drink for seven days straight, Emo's Free Week kicks off today with a schedule of acts that reads like a who's-who of local punk, indie, and rock. As the showcases are all without cover, we'd recommend getting there early. Emo's Free Week January 2-8 603 Red River Tuesday, January 2 Inside:......

Named for the proclivities of a Parisian couple who planned to take out the titular monument because its lights kept them up at night, San Diego's The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower play a fairly lovable brand of jazz-inflected sass-core. Or perhaps we should say they used to; since the show is billed as part of their last tour before they disband, presumably to further their careers in hedge fund management. The......

WEDNESDAY [8] film • Breathless at Spider House (10pm, Free) music • Daniel Francis Doyle, Health, Oh,Beast!, Nouns Group, Blonde Girls at Emo's music • Matt Nathanson w. Danny Malone, Brett Dennen at The Parish Room music • Guitar Shorty at Waterloo Records music • The Heirs, Rachel Goldstar, The Easies, Emily Sparks, serious daters at Beerland music • Juan Gabriel at Frank Erwin Center food • Angel Valley Organic Farm Farmstand at Asian......

It's entirely possible that you aren't at all interested in wandering around Zilker dehydrated and lost all weekend, but there's no reason to worry: there are plenty of things to do and shows to see this weekend that have nothing to do with wristbands or sunscreen. Most notable is the Filter Party at Beauty Bar featuring The Presets, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness and The Secret Machines. In addition to the MSTRKRFT......

THURSDAY [7] music • Shoot For the Stars and Kill Them VS. Cry Blood Apache, and Coma in Algiers at The Parlor food • Austin Farmers Market at Plaza Saltillo, 5th and Comal (4-7pm) film • TerrorStorm with Alex Jones Live at Alamo South (7pm) film • The Wire Season 4 Sneak Preview at Alamo Downtown (7:30pm, $10 food voucher to reserve) film • Raiders of the Lost Ark at Paramount Theatre (7:30pm) film......

Hey you! Put down that GameBoy and keep your eyes on the road! You're gonna KILL somebody. Ahem. For those of us dangerously, illegally addicted to such handheld trivialities, but wish the sound card was a little punchier, look no further than tonight's featured entertainment at Emo's: a cover band 100% dedicated to 8-bit Nintendo soundtracks. Trade in those bloopy MIDI tunes for full-blooded rock action as The Advantage faithfully recreate the themes from such......

TUESDAY [5] film • TerrorStorm with Alex Jones Live at Alamo South (7pm) ® film • AFS Essential: Eva at Alamo Downtown (7pm) ® film • Elevator to the Gallows at Paramount Theatre (7:15pm) film • Waking Life at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) ® film • Last House on the Left at Spider House (8pm, Free) film • Quai Des Ofevres at Paramount Theatre (9:05pm) ® film • Dark Side of the Rainbow :......

WEDNESDAY [28] [film] AFS 20th Anniversary Screening: Godard's Weekend at Alamo Downtown (7pm) (link) [film] Premiere of A Scanner Darkly with film score composer Graham Reynolds leading live performance at Paramount Theatre (5pm, 7pm) (link) [film] The Blindfolded Reformer at the Vortex with free Tito's vodka (Free, 7pm) (link) [books] Texas Monthly Bookclub presents Sarah Bird's The Flamenco Academy, hosted by Mike Shea at BookPeople (7pm) (link) [music] Awesome Cool Dudes, Daniel Francis Doyle, Zom......

Mike Shea at BookPeople (7pm) (link) [music] Awesome Cool Dudes, Daniel Francis Doyle, Zom Zoms, Ralph White at Emo's (link) [music] Tristan Prettyman, Michael Tolcher at The Parish Room (link) [music] Pete Yorn instore at Waterloo Records (6:30pm) (link) [music] An Irish Sing-a-long with Brobdingnagian Bards and Campbell Wilson at Cactus Cafe (Free, 8pm) (link) [film] AFS 20th Anniversary Screening: Godard's Weekend at Alamo Downtown (7pm) (link) [film] Rolling Roadshow: The Goonies at Central Market......

AngryRobot was kind enough to point out that the SXSW Music roster has now grown to over 1,200 bands. We're no longer able to keep track of who's new and who's already been listed, but festival organizers will have notified all qualifying bands by sometime tomorrow. Check out our list after the expandotron, or for much prettier versions we invite you to surf over to AngryRobot's: SXSW 2006 Band List, Parsed v4.0 Meanwhile, stay......

T U E S D A Y [31] » [music] Ghetto Princess, Secular End, The Total Foxes, Tomorrow's Too Late at Emo's » [comedy] Live Comedy Happy Hour at Beerland (8pm) » [karaoke] Karaoke Explosion at The Peacock » [books] Galt Niederhoffer presents Taxonomy of Barnacles at Bookpeople (7pm) » [politics] Austin League of Women Voters puts on the State of the City dinner with Mayor Will Wynn as the evening's speaker at the Austin......

South By Southwest released another round of additions to the roster of bands scheduled to perform at this year's music festival (March 15th-19th), bringing the current total to nearly 1150. Notable bands recently added as of January 29th include Morrissey, Camera Obscura, Captain, Boy Hits Car, Billy Bragg, Bedtime for Toys, Division of Laura Lee, and SF's Hudson Bell. The full roster appears after the jump, or you check out much prettier versions at......

W E D N E S D A Y [ 2 5 ] [music] St. James Inc, Hurts to Purr and Mike Blackhurst at Stubb's (8pm) [music] Akron/Family, Mi and L'au, Shearwater at Emo's [music] "Old Man Night," with skate videos, DJ Vomitnoise, free pizza from Slices and Ices, and special raffles and giveaways at Beerland [film] Screening of Fearless Freaks director Bradley Beesley's "Hill Stomp Holler," plus a set by John Schooley at......

The roster of bands scheduled to perform at this year's South by Southwest Music Festival has grown to over one thousand, with several hundred still unannounced. If you're not on this, don't fret -- just yet. SXSW coordinators are promising to contact all selected bands by February 7. Meanwhile: The housing market during the festival is looking rather healthy. SXSW is still looking for volunteers Registration rates are at their penultimate price points before......

SXSW.com released an updated lineup for this year's SXSW Music Festival earlier today, and it's one hell of a list. The SXSW committee hastens to note that "This is a partial list of performers confirmed to appear at the 2006 SXSW Music Festival. This list is current as of 1/13/06. All of this information is subject to change." International acts include: Masahiro Nitta, DMBQ, Ellegarden, Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re, PE'Z, The Emeralds (Japan)......