08/01 ATH Showcase @ Emo’s Lounge

We’ve been planning for quite a while now, with numerous people working their tails off. After all the hard work and preparations, the first showcase by Austin Town Hall went down Friday night at Emo’s Lounge in Austin, TX. Our little event got kicked off with opening and local act The Bridge Farmers. Not knowing much about the band prior to the evening’s event, I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the intensity of the the Farmer’s live set. Many members of the audience were heard commenting about the excitement of discovering a new band in Austin that can provide a live set worth talking about. The Bridge Farmers are your typical rock n roll band. They play distortion heavy guitar mixed in with gritty vocals and the occasional scream into the microphone. This band may only be a 3 piece, but come off with a much bigger sound.

Second act of the night, The Drawing Board brought a slightly different sound to the showcase. The raw vocals of The Bridge Farmers were replaced with a more traditional pop singing style. Speaking of that pop sound, The Drawing Board excelled at producing catchy, toe tapping songs for the crowd at Emo’s. I could see the band possibly taking the Spoon route and making it out of this artist heavy town. If I had to make a bold comparison that I’m totally not qualified for, I’d say Spoon would be a close call. I suggest these guys if you’re a fan of Britt Daniel’s work.

If you’ve been paying attention to the ATH website, you already know more than the average bear about headlining act Whitman. You may not know that the nights event marked the end of an extensive west coast tour by the band or that the band has recently been working on material for a new album. Whitman gave us a taste of a couple songs in the works Friday night along with old favorites from the album Torch Songs. Check out Whitman if they come to your town, they are a highly underrated new and local band that blows you away with each live show. (The night even saw some crazy dancing/moshing brought on by Whitman’s set) We should also take the time to thank the band a thousand times over for giving us the opportunity to book this show and help them promote it like crazy. Keep your eyes and ears open kids. The next showcase event should be coming after the madness of ACL dies down. Maybe even a mini-festival? Who knows what we have in store for you….