Results tagged “preview”

Pornographically peppy Canadian indie fronstman Joel Gibb has describes his Hidden Cameras sound as "gay church folk music." (This is a congregation we would definitely join.) He has also called for a ban on marriage, and suggested "let's do it like we're underage.” While he cheerfully scampers through lyrics we don’t need his degree in semiotics to interpret (and blush at), audiences at Hidden Cameras shows have in the past been treated to not-so-hidden go-go dancers, cheerleaders, video, glockenspiels, very irreverent choirs, and other things perhaps best described as etc. Just think of an agitprop Polyphonic Spree cabaret show peppered with Foucault references. You may also be asked onstage to play tambourine.

Sound is in love with Regina Spektor. There’s nothing it won’t let her do. She’s made her mouth into a synthesizer, morphed her lips into a kazoo-trumpet hybrid, made heartbeats and drumsticks their own instruments, rocked hard with an unamped electric guitar, and put a piano bridge in the middle of a punk song. At first, you might not recognize that adventurous spirit on Spektor’s most recent album, Far. Listen again.

An Austin band by way of Brooklyn, Neon Indian is the elusive new project of Alan Palamo (also behind the one-man electro project Vega). The name Neon Indian itself gives due justice to the type of music Palamo produces—mystical synth noise, kooky hooks, and sensual vocals. The project started as a bunch of lo-fi recordings before the No Way Down EP was made in 2008. Full of reverb and distortion, song titles like "Should Have Taken Acid With You," add to the mystique of the project.

With Gossip, you're going to get a seasoned group of creative minds who are truly talented. They've got ten years under their belt in which time they've pumped out four full-length albums, a bunch of EPs and a live album. They've toured with Cindy Lauper, Le Tigre and CSS and have been remixed by MSTRKRFT, among others. Self-proclaimed feminists, Gossip must have thought it'd be cute to call their latest album "Music for Men."

Nostalgia can pervade in a number of ways. There’s the undeniable scent of objects from the past that can take us down memory lane in a flash, and of course, straightforward outlets such as a photograph or a home video can easily transport us back to a romanticized time and place. Music works pretty well too. Listening to a record you enjoyed repeatedly as a child can help you reminisce endlessly. And then there are bands that just bleed a certain era. Prescott Curlywolf would fall into this final category -- you barely get through a handful of PC’s gritty powerpop ditties before you pine for Austin in the mid to late 90’s.

Bat For Lashes is the craftsmanship of British singer/songwriter Natasha Khan, who stretches far away from musicians who just pick up an instrument and decide to roll with it. Khan is devoted to her work, completely emerging herself into a visual wonderland when its time to write songs. For her latest album, For Suns, she went so far as to adopt the role of her desert-born (and very blonde) alter ego, Pearl, in order to gain a better understanding of the character. The experiment served as a great excuse to wear garish feminine makeup, and the result was a more complete album full of lush tribal sounds.

Tori Amos is playing Saturday night at the Long Center, part of a tour to promote her new album, Abnormally Attracted to Sin. It's a concept album following Amos' life-long subjects: women, religion, power and sin. It harps on that desire in all of us (or at least most of us here in Austin) to want what's bad or different or obviously wrong for us. A trait so trite, yet so innate in us all.

The Invincible Czars, from catchy name to daunting stage presence, are a rare breed. They bring bizarre, but methodical math-rock heavily influenced by classical music, polka, and even some country and jazz. Self-described as "a rock soundtrack to a sci-fi film with interruptions by a myriad of genres," we couldn't agree more.

Information about the members of Dopplereffekt is scarce; active since 1995, the group has never been interviewed. They rarely play live. And what we do know, we can break down for you fairly quickly: the founding, and initially sole member of Dopplereffekt (they’ve been a duo since 2003) is generally thought to be Gerald Donald, AKA Rudolf Klorzeiger, once half of the pioneering electro group Drexciya. Sundry Germanic references populate many of the group’s early recordings, and as such it may not surprise you to learn that the music, most of which was collected on 1999’s Gesamtkunstwerk, is essentially a minimal electro homage to Kraftwerk.

Fusebox Festival continues with a rundown of today's events. Festival passes and individual event tickets are available online.

As usual, there’s a fortitude of great music to catch this weekend. But tonight’s lineup at the Parish has got us itching for the work week to end. Three promising acts — Ume, Corto Maltese and White Denim — are teaming up to bring some local flavor to music overloaded souls.

Coming back from a holiday weekend is never fun - just as you've begun to relax, reality chimes in with it's nasty Monday morning alarm. Fortunately, this is Austin and that means Monday evening will be a-bumpin' with a great music, giving you reason enough to keep the party going. And we don't want any pathetic excuses like, "it's a school/work night." How often do you get the chance to hear ear drum annihilating electronic mix up music? Okay, maybe pretty often, but Crystal Castles is a little different from the rest and worth checking out.

hough they just graced us with their presence in September, Ratatat is coming back to Stubb's tonight and sure to deliver a sweet mix of blissful lyric-less love. Famous for shows seething with billowing smoke and intriguing aesthetics, the members of Ratatat are surprisingly unassuming on stage. Quiet and bleak, they waste no time with chatter between tracks.

Like most of their lyrics, the band name Fujiya & Miyagi was chosen by its non-Japanese members simply because they thought it sounded pretty. The British electronic group focuses on piecing pleasant phrases together rather than complex musical insignias, but we're okay with that.

The versatile and prolific Rob Crow has been a part of quite a few acclaimed projects (Pinback, Heavy Vegetable, etc.) over the course of his esteemed career. He goes by Lord Phallus when delivering thunderous sludge-metal via the hilariously named San Diego five-piece Goblin Cock. Scorching riffs, humorous lyrics, and Crow’s distinct vocals constitute the heart of band’s tongue-in-cheek (?) product but one best incorporate the imagery in tow, such as the thematically appropriate fantasy art by Mike Sutfin that adorns Goblin Cock CD sleeves as well as the mysterious allure generated by the five cloaked members, to fully grasp the band’s vision. Check out the album cover for Come With Me If You Want To Live on Sutfin’s blog and the video for “We’ve Got A Bleeder” on Vimeo.

There's always something special about a band releasing it's first EP. Finally, tangible proof of countless hours practicing and remixing. And the EP release show? That's just icing on the cake. Tonight is sure to be a sweet one for The Last Gasp, an Austin sextet glittering with strokes of violin and acoustic guitar.

As we reflect on the fortune of free shows Transmission delivered to our doorstep this week, it’s with bittersweet symphony (bum bum bum, bum bum bum) that we part ways with Free Week. We are eternally grateful for the massive supply of great music and an excuse to party for seven days straight while never once worrying about having the cash for cover. But alas, there’s still a bit more to see! Saturday night includes many promising acts, but we especially recommend the lineup at Emo’s: DJ Remy Mac, The Black, International Waters and The Minotaurs.

With hangovers subdued and normal routines back in place, it’s time to take on the New Year and explore the multitude of talented band’s you might have missed in 2008. One such under appreciated band is Killing Industry, a reggae themed indie rock outfit taking 2009 (and mediocre music) by storm with city-eating babies and soothing charm.

Immerse yourself in a fog of psychedelia this Friday at Beerland courtesy of The Strange Attractors’ intricately textured soundscapes. Doses of drone and distortion serve to accentuate dark, ringing backdrops that imply impending doom but lure you in for the ride nevertheless with resounding guitars and chugging rhythms. The tunes pack plenty of punch and are executed with much aplomb; if you’re a fan of The Black Angels, you best check this band out.

With December 25th fast approaching, two of Austin’s most unique bands pile on the Christmas cheer at The Mohawk on December 19th with the Golden Arm Trio & Invincible Czars Holiday Show. We caught up with Golden Arm Trio’s ringleader Graham Reynolds shortly before Fun Fest 2008 -- read our interview here. During Fun Fest itself, we coaxed in Laurie Gallardo from KUT 90.5 FM to have a brief chat with Reynolds -- watch the interview clip after the jump.

There’s a special event going on tonight that’s got us all geared up and giddy. Here’s a hint: Independent. Local. Alternative. Music. (Ping!) If you’ve turned on a radio in the past two months, you probably know what we’re talking about. It’s the 4th Annual 101X Independent Workforce X-Mas at Emo’s, featuring a stellar lineup of The Ting Tings, Black Kids, Eagles of Death Metal, Airborne Toxic Event and Black and White Years. The radio station is teaming up with Vans shoes to raise money for Habitat for Humanity—a perfect way to make precious dollars count whilst bearing a sour economy.

101X FM’s 4th Annual Independent Workforce X-Mas show isn’t the only entertainment on offer at Emo’s this Thursday -- the station presents the latest installment of its Homegrown Live series on the inside stage with a triple shot of local talent.

Girls Rock Camp Austin offers up education, instruction, and inspiration at its Ladies Rock Camp this weekend. As per the website, “Girls Rock Camp Austin is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls and women of all backgrounds and abilities through musical education and performance.” Ladies Rock Camp (for women ages 19 and up -- no prior experience required) takes place at The Griffin School and Sri Atmananda Memorial School over the course of the weekend. The cost is $350 and includes various workshops as well as meals, with proceeds benefiting Girls Rock Camp Austin. It all leads up to the “Ladies Rock Camp Showcase” this Sunday at Creekside Lounge where new material, penned and rehearsed at the camp, will be presented to the public by budding musicians. Follow That Bird! and The Dreadful Sorrys are also scheduled to perform; the event kicks off at 7 p.m.

Mary Pearson and Rob Barber formed High Places in 2006. The Brooklyn-based duo employs a multitude of beats in varying rhythms along with ample reverb and plentiful studio trickery to create soundscapes that chirp, throb, squeak, and echo.

The 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival is finally here! We hope you’ve been enjoying our various stage previews. Even if you’re not attending the day time revelry at Zilker Park, there are plenty of options to choose from during the evening hours. (Read our ACL Fest after-shows roundup here.) Most weekend live music activities will probably revolve around the plethora of acts in town for the fest but there’s so much more going on; a couple of shows definitely merit a quick mention.

The Dell Lounge once again gave a number of bands (700 by last count) a chance to play this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival via The Sound and the Jury battle of the bands. The “battle” started out online with fans voting on artists in the pool through three rounds; we’ve finally reached “The Grand Finale” (or Round 4) with the competition now moving to a live venue where a panel of judges from the industry and audience votes will decide the winner.

The Hives formed in Sweden the early '90s and toured America later in the decade but their real breakthrough Stateside came in 2000 with Veni Vidi Vicious and the ubiquitous single “Hate To Say I Told You So.” Tyrannosaurus Hives arrived in 2004, complete with stellar singles (“Two-Timing Touch And Broken Bones” and “Walk Idiot Walk”) and plenty of underrated material (“Antidote” and “Love In Plaster”).

Austin is a town full of music lovers and there’s no reason a family should have to pass up the Austin City Limits Music Festival just because they couldn’t find a babysitter for the weekend. Instead, ensure that your kids are adequately prepared for the sun and the crowd, but take them with you. ACL Fest, along with H-E-B, once again brings us Austin Kiddie Limits this year.

Xemumba at The Mohawk should keep you busy on both Friday and Saturday (read our preview here) but if that doesn't tickle your fancy, there are quite a few other choices to be made during another busy weekend in Austin. On Friday, The Roller and New Disaster rock Room 710 and Headhunters respectively while Jana Hunter serenades inside at Emo's and Tokyo Police Club electrifies the outside stage at the same venue. Besides its usual tasty Tejas BBQ, Stubb's offers up two of United Kingdom's finest noise makers, Mogwai and Fuck Buttons, also on Friday. California's Samiam does double duty in town this weekend, providing a plethora of punk anthems to Red 7 on Friday and Saturday. Finally, Friday goes Golden at Scoot Inn with The Golden Boys and at Beauty Bar with Golden Bear; the latter show is headlined by Oklahoma's Evangelicals.

More of the same is to be expected this week when the Longhorns face the Miners of UT El Paso, who are coming off of a 42-17 loss to Buffalo in which they gave up 484 total yards on defense and committed three turnovers.