It's really saying something if, as a band, you can undergo as much blistering criticism as have the French Kicks, and lived to tell the tale. But that something that's being said is a little bit more difficult to pin down. Is this band, lambasted regularly for coming from New York—even though, in the eyes of their harshest critics, their New York-ness is the very reason they're of any importance—deserving of all the shit-talk, or is there something fundamental to their approach that makes them worthy of their dedicated and often rabid fan-base? You'll have the opportunity to decide for yourself tonight at the Mohawk....

THURSDAY [21] books • Chuck Klosterman presents Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas at BookPeople (7pm) ® books • David Oshinsky presents Polio: An American Story at Barnes & Noble, 701 Capital of TX Hwy (7pm) ® books • Ayun Halliday presents Dirty Sugar Cookies: Culinary Observations, Questionable Taste at BookWoman (7pm) music • French Kicks, The Little Ones, The Lemurs at Emo's ® music • The Yellow Umbrella......

As Elvis Costello might say, we just don't know where to begin. Even if you are skipping ACL, the fall is turning into a music wonderland. Acts of every genre and size are booking Austin's clubs up like there's no tomorrow, leaving music lovers with many questions on how to spend both time and cash this fall. Trust us, you can't see it all, so pick your favorites and buy tickets in advance to......

...are great bands like local powerpoppers What Made Milwaukee Famous. Probably still hyperventilating from being signed to Barsuk records, the boys are in town in the midst of an exhaustive tour supporting the French Kicks to keep it real with their hometown fans. If you were lucky enough to catch them in the past two years, you most likely left the show with a copy of their album Trying to Never Catch Up, originally......

While August continues to look farily quiet for roadshows, September and October are just blowing up. Many indie stalwarts have recently scheduled appearances for fall semester, so start saving up some coin. Among the highlights: Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists, M. Ward, Jose Gonzales, and Ladytron. Unless you've been under a rock this week, you already know that loud dinosaurs The Rolling Stones are also planning a visit; that said, no ticket info has become......

This being one of those quality-over-quantity weekends for bands and rocking and, y'know, that kind of thing, you won't really have to make any tough decisions. Friday night you got Sonic Youth w/Awesome Color at Stubb's. Thurston & Co. have aged so gracefully they just might be wheeled onto the stage encased in blocks of carbonite; they're like 50 years old! Nonetheless, if you've never seen Kim Gordon do her cheerleader dance, or heard......

You can throw a rock this month and hit a good touring show in Austin. After our usual post-SXSW doldrums, everyone seems to be scheduling Austin as an early summer stop. Check out new additions like Pete Yorn, M. Ward, Reverend Horton Heat, and indie-blogger favorite Human Television in the listings below: June: 6/02 The Roots + Blackalicious (Stubb’s) 6/03 Film School + Margot & The Nuclear So-And-Sos (Emo’s) 6/07 Arctic Monkeys + We......

With new shows on sale from Sonic Youth, INXS, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Rancid, it seems to be college radio nostalgia week for the concert update. There are also a nice batch of new indie shows, including Tapes 'n' Tapes for Pitchfork fans, Dios Malos for the mellow types, The Futureheads for the edgy punky stuff, and even Tilly and the Wall for you tap dancers. On with the shows: May: 5/10 -......

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole.* -The Editors It always seemed to me that Austin’s entire social scene could be divided into two distinct groups, which I won’t bother to discreetly define or label here due to the pointlessness of it all. There are whole industries dedicated to that nonsense. What I will state is that age, sex, or education level do......

With so many bands to see, how will you ever decide? We'll give you OUR approved list every day! 9pm Kaiser Chiefs at La Zona Rosa 10pm The French Kicks at Buffalo Billiards 11pm The Futureheads at La Zona Rosa 12am Hot Hot Heat at La Zona Rosa Nini Camps at Crowne Plaza Young Heart Attack at Momo's Bavu Blakes at The Vibe The Hold Steady at The Whiskey Bar 12:30am Fat Boy Slim at......