Austin Town Hall

I think most of us will be about done from our Fun Fest weekend on Sunday, but if you’re still raring to go, head to Mohawk for a headlining after show by locals Trail of Dead.  Joining the guys on the outside stage will be Dark Meat.  Bands getting down on the inside stage are An Albatross, Au, Free Moral Agents, and Zechs Marquis.

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Download: … And You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead – Another Morning Stoner [MP3]

What?   You still listen to THAT album?  That record is so 2004!  Well, that’s okay, because we really like that one too, which is why we decided to come up with a list of our favorite albums of the last decade (2000-2009).  Sure, these might not be YOUR favorite records, or the most critically acclaimed, but we sat down and really thought out every record from the past ten years that we keep coming back to in our collections.  You’re likely to disagree with some of these, and we won’t tell you we’re absolutely right we just know that these happen to be OUR favorites.  If you think we totally blew it here, feel free to tell us so, but be nice, as our egos are kind of fragile.  Follow the jump for more.

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We’ve  been following Austin band The Black after fellow Ausinites Trail of Dead recommended them to us so we thought they’d be perfect for our artist to watch this week.  The band has been in and around Austin for quite some time now and have been playing everywhere in town that will have them.  Their sound mixes some old school rockabilly with a bit more modern pop sounds and fits in well with dive bars in small town Texas.  Expect a proper full length from the boys sometime in the next few months but for now check out this jam “Little Hits” from The Black’s last 45 single.  If you want to see what they’re all about live, head to the Stubbs indoor stage on Saturday evening shortly after Spoon finishes their 3rd show outside.  That one’s free if you have a Spoon ticket and $8 if not.

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Download: The Black – Little Hits [MP3]

As we are well into the year 2009, it’s time we take a good look at what makes the Austin music scene work so well.  We’d like to say that it’s us, but we know that a whole lot more goes into the scene than the many writers and fans in the city limits.  Instead, we turn your eyes to those Icons, those heralded heroes of our town; the ones that make it all run so smoothly.  Be it a musician or producer, these are our favorite Austin Icons.  We also excluded those who made Austin music famous, and then left the town for not-so-better waters. Yea, I am looking at you Britt Daniel! Why did you leave us? Just for that, you aren’t an Austin Icon; these next five characters are!   Not only that, but these aren’t your grandparents Austin Icons.  This isn’t Stevie Ray playing guitar, nor is this the Janis playing at Threadgills; these are your new Icons, paving the way for the new artists and the new scene!  Follow the jump for our top 5 new Austin music icons.

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We took loads of photos during SXSW and wanted to share just a few of the better ones with you.  We had some camera trouble during the week so we didn’t get everywhere we wanted to be, but we hope you like the shots we made out with. Our goal was to give you an idea of what SXSW is like with pictures of bands, crowds and people. Pictures of our showcase will be up for your enjoyment tomorrow. Follow the jump to see some random photography from our insane week of SXSW fun.
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Austin’s finest …And You Will Know us by Trail of Dead are playing a sure to be rowdy Waterloo in-store on Tuesday.  Things are set to kick off around 5pm with all the free beer you can drink.  The show coincides with the release of the band’s latest LP Century of Self, which we reviewed yesterday.  If you’d like to know more about the band, check out a recent interview we did with the guys during Fun Fest.

For those of you who get annoyed with your favorite bands makin’ it big and not playing smaller venues anymore, Trail of Dead have a treat for you.  The now veteran Austin band are planning to play at Red 7 this Friday along with friends Those Peabodys & Glorium.  Now time for the bad news… Tickets for this surprise show are being sold only at the door so get in line early if you want to make it inside the small club.   Doors are opening at 8pm.  Recent single from TOD can be heard below.

After a sun filled, chilly and wild weekend at FFF Festival, ATH is ready to bring you some of our favorite things that went down during the two day event. Obviously the best way to do that is through our recurring Friday Top 5 series. Follow the jump to read our top things about last weekends FFF Festival.

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