SXSW Music kicks off on Wednesday the 12th, as always with the Annual Austin Music Awards at Austin Music Hall, but it has become clear over the last few years that the music really starts the night before. Just thinking back to last year, we remember walking up and down Red River, watching bands like Golden Bear, White Denim and Broken Teeth at venues such as Beauty Bar, Emo’s and Red 7, and congratulating ourselves for getting started early....

If you were there to see the many downright amazing clips featured in “You’re Looking at Country,” a Music Mondays presentation at the Drafthouse a few weeks ago hosted by Dallas Wayne, among live performances by Faron Young, Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn and more was The Man in Black himself, Johnny Cash, pickin’ his big hit “Get Rhythm.” ...

No one whips up a tear-jerking, emotionally-stirring acoustic song quite like Rocky Votolato. Whether he’s grieving in a melodic whisper or belting out a gruff, Americana chorus, Votolato always shoots his arrows swift and straight, landing with a ‘thud’ just to the left of your sternum. So, make sure and wear your armor to Stubb's Saturday night. It’s a skill the Seattle-based musician developed through his decade-long stint as frontman for the indie group Waxwing......

Since 1975, Grammy Award winners BeauSoleil have charmed audiences as being one of the most heralded and esteemed Cajun groups in American music history. Band leader Michael Doucet artfully takes the rich traditions of Louisiana culture and blends other southern folk elements such as Zydeco, Jazz, Tejano, Country, Blues to astonishing effect. Beau Soleil have played The Grand Ole Opry, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and the Newport Folk Festival in the past.......

Coldplay's Chris Martin recently described Travis as "the band that invented my band and lots of others." That should give most people a solid idea of what to expect when Glasgow's indie-pop quartet stop into Stubb's Thursday night. After debuting with the raucous pub rock album Good Feeling in 1997, the band did an about-face with 1999's The Man Who, a moody, ballad-filled acoustic record produced by Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Beck) that produced several......

Austin is heaven for food lovers. With all the great barbecue, burgers and beer, it's no wonder we've gained like fifteen pounds over the course of the last six months. It could also be because we don't exercise, and we eat one of these sandwiches every night, right before going to bed. But then again, who can say for sure in this topsy-turvy world of ours? Anyway, tonight the A/V Geeks will shed some light......

WEDNESDAY [6] film • "Gunga Din" at The Paramount film • "The Man Who Would Be King" at The Paramount film • "5-25-77" at Alamo Downtown film • "Welcome Home, Brother Charles" with Jamaa Fanaka at Alamo Downtown film • Weird Wednesday: "Penitentiary" at Alamo Downtown film • Austin Film Festival screens "I'm Reed Fish" at Regal Arbor music • Ozma, Eastern Conference Champs, The Actual, The Laughing at The Parish Room music • Chris......

WEDNESDAY [30] booze • "Sir Chris" and "Lord Gates" from Car Stereo Wars and Learning Secrets guest bartend at The Mohawk (5-8pm) music • Locals @ La Zona Showcase Two wih AM Syndicate, The Drawing Board, Jets Under Fire at La Zona Rosa music • Hawnay Troof, Best Fwends, The Carrots at Emo's music • Pompeii, Ryan Lindsey, Gazelles, The Heirs at Emo's music • Tribute to Sublime with Badfish, Indofin, Under the Gun at......

The Paramount is celebrating their 32nd year of showing classic movies in the summer. What better way is there to beat the sticky summer heat of Austin but by escaping into the cool theatre and the world of classic film? The films will start next Thursday May 24th and show through September. We've put together some handsome printable schedules for May and June (you can hang them on your fridge!), and following is a list......

Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service fame played to a sweaty, sold-out crowd at a sweltering Emo's on Tuesday night. Openers Jonathan Rice and David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) opened the acoustic evening with solid sets and a profuse thanks to Gibbard for giving them the opportunity to tour. Gibbard's set was comprised mostly of Death Cab favorites with a dose of Postal Service thrown in for good measure. In......

Victor Bermon Arriving at Night Bermon's full-length is airplane music for the soul: soft, lilting compositions comprised of acoustic guitars, piano, synths, found noise and electronic percussion that walk the line between ambient folk and opening credits majesty. "Farewell Lunch for Laura" opens with an off time back beat and snare play that quietly pulses through the rest of the song's subtle horn and string whispers, creating an atmosphere that lingers for the entire album.......

We haven't previously watched the G4 channel, because reruns of The Man Show and the channel's contemporary take on Star Trek haven't been enough to pull us in. Starting this week, however, we may be G4 converts. Last night they started their syndicated run of Arrested Development. Weeknights at 10:30pm, you can get back in touch with the Bluths and their shenanigans. If you have Grande, it's on channel 66 (expanded cable), or on......

WEDNESDAY [16] film • Take a Chance on Me: the ABBA Sing-along at Alamo Downtown (9:45pm, $10) film • Save Our Springs presents Green at Alamo Downtown (7pm, Free) film • Black Orpheus at Paramount Theatre (7:30pm) film • The Man with the Golden Gun at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) film • aGLIFF presents The Films of Alpha at Arbor (8pm, $10) ® film • Weird Wednesday: Fer De Lance (aka: Snakes on a......

Having never seen the Rentals play during their initial run, we haven’t anything to compare last Thursday's show to, but we can safely say that we were disappointed. We weren’t expecting miracles – a band that hasn’t produced any new material since 1999 is within its rights to sound a little dated – but the show wasn’t the nostalgia trip we wanted it to be, either. After an intolerably long soundcheck, the Rentals tore......

MONDAY [12] [sports] World Cup Games at Alamo Village (Through 16th, 11am & 2pm) (link) [film] Labrynth at Alamo South (Through 16th, 1pm, Free) (link) [film] Baby Doll at Paramount Theatre (7pm) (link) [film] Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel at Alamo Downtown (7pm, $10) (link) [film] Blue Velvet at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) (link) [film] GoodFellas at Austin Java (8pm, Free) (link) [film] Rolling Roadshow: Nanny McPhee at San Marcos (8pm, Free) (link) [film] Stunt Rock......

The follow up to her surprise smash, Prep, Curtis Sittenfeld's The Man of My Dreams (TMoMD), is a similar meditation on awkwardness that tracks its protagonist, Hannah Gavener, from the trauma of her parents' divorce at age 14 to her realistic, and not too overdue, epiphany at age 28. Sittenfeld shows that it's not just parents that don't understand, as Will Smith posited in 1988, but sisters, cousins, boys, and protagonists, too. TMoMD succinctly presents......

MONDAY [8] [music] Art Brut, Birdmonster, The Robocop Kraus at Emo's (link) [music] She Wants Revenge and OKGO at Stubb's (link) [music] The Lashes at Waterloo (Free, 5pm) (link) [film] Amelie (with FREE crème brulee) at Alamo Downtown (7pm) (link) [film] L.A. Confidential at Austin Java (8pm, FREE) (link) [film] Anime Monday at Ventana del Sol (7:30pm, FREE) (link) [film] Wet Hot American Summer at Rounders Pizzeria (6pm, FREE) (link) [film] School of Rock at......

Next time you are out getting your drunk on at a bar and the spirit moves you to do something that will clearly indicate you are drunk, we defer to Truecraig for a list of potential activities, you might wanna check yourself. The Man is watching and is ready to take you down. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said Wednesday that they have been sending undercover agents into bars to arrest people for being......

From a friend: Are you lucky enough to be at SXSW? Freaking out that you might not get in to see Morrissey play the Austin Music Hall tomorrow night? Did you notice that hole in his tour schedule? Were you wondering where The Man might spend his night off? Maybe in Austin, right? Don't bother looking for the music industry's most famous vegetarian at the BBQ joints. Tonight, maybe- just maybe- Morrissey will pop in......

How well do you know your traffic/parking laws, Austin? Hopefully better than us, but we doubt it. Recently we had to drive to work, so we parked outside of our office downtown and only then did we realize that we only had two quarters for the meter. So we went up to work and told ourselves to remember to run down and feed that bad boy before it expired. We remembered. But we were......

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......

Stuck at work and loathing your job? Episodes of The Office no longer so funny as true? Here's an opportunity to parlay your fanatical music lust and problem with The Man into something, well, practical: Misra Records, one of Austinist's favorite Austin-based indie music labels and home to such esteemed bands as Phosphorescent, England's Flotation Toy Warning, The Mendoza Line, Shearwater and Destroyer is looking for an intern! Sure, it's a free gig and......

Back in the day, Dr. J (Julius Erving) was The Man. He reinvented the game. His graceful scoops, his flights of acrobatic fancy, his nasty afro, the super-high tube socks, the illegitimate child(ren). He was the most popular man in American sports. Well, apparently times have changed, and the good Doctor’s star has fallen a bit. Check that, A LOT. We initially heard this story on the radio and a google search directed us......

M O N D A Y [ 2 8 ] film · End of an Ear hosts a free screening of Lee Ranaldo and Leah Singer's "Drift" at the Alamo South Lamar (Free, 10pm) [link] music · The Kingsbury Manx, The Standard and The Heavenly States at Emo's film · KOOP Radio's Monthly Film Benefit at MonkeyWrench Books - Gillo Pontecorvo's “The Battle of Algiers”, about the French occupation of 1950s Algeria. (Inc. Beer and......

The rest of the week is for nursing your hangovers. Happy 229th, America! TUESDAY [music] Rock & Roll Duo Lottery @ Beerland [film] Austin Film Society presents Luis Bunuel's La Voie Lactee (The Milky Way) @ Alamo Drafthouse Downtown - 7pm [cult icon] The Man with the Screaming Brain with Bruce Campbell live in person! @ Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar - 7pm, 9:45pm [book signing in addition] WEDNESDAY [music] Eisley with Lovedrug, Pilotdrift @ The......

When we got a press release in our inbox entitled, “Researcher Discovers How Lance Armstrong Keeps on Winning,” we were excited, assuming that it would contain an interesting secret, like: Lance Armstrong had his femurs surgically hollowed out, so they’re lightweight yet strong, like the bones of a bird. Sadly, though, it turns out that key to his six Tour victories are “a marked improvement in muscle efficiency and large reductions in body fat......