This is fine.
Fridays tend to ease you in, Saturdays tend to beat you down. Or at least the odds of self-inflicted wounds go up exponentially. You have a little hangover, perhaps you start the day with a bloody mary, but by the end you are shirtless, missing a flip-flop and wondering why your hand is blue. For me, it was a pretty non-stop run at awesome; I won at Festival.
Click-through for a few notes on the first Saturday. *spoiler alert* The Cure wins in the end.
Who knows if the whole two week ACL Festival will pan out in the end? All we do know is that we’ll be bringing you coverage of both weekends, filled with as much nonsense as possible.
Read on for our recap for the first of six days of rock n’ roll.
This past Friday night was nuts here in Austin. ACL Festival started, shows on every corner, at every venue, and hordes of happy people just milling about. For me, my eyes were set on catching Fuzz over at Red 7. Read on for my words on the band and more. Photo courtesy of the hard-working badass, Pooneh Ghana. Read more
I get it folks, ACL just isn’t your thing. You’re probably trying to stay away from the hordes of people in the downtown area too. So why not enjoy a righteous night of rock n’ roll by heading over to Hotel Vegas to catch one of the hottest new bands in town. Okay, so Jonly Bonly might not be new boys, with members of Sweet Talk and OBN IIIs taking the helm, but the band itself is fairly new; I’ve been rocking out to the few songs they passed my way, and I’m expecting them to blow the socks off Austin in no time. You like catchy proto-punk with a garage rock bent? Yeah, you better be there this Friday night. They’ll be playing with Trustees and DJ Andrew McCalla to make your night both cheap and fulfilling; it all follows the Richard Buckner set! Oh, and here’s one of those sweet rocking tunes I was talking about. Meet your favorite new band people!
Download: Jonly Bonly – Never Thought I’d Die [MP3]
| Date | Friday, October 4th |
|---|---|
| Location | Red 7 |
| Doors | 9:00 PM |
| Tickets | $10 from Red 7 |
What? You’re tired of seeing Ty Segall? Well, you’re in luck, sort of. His new band, which sort of features members of his touring band, is called Fuzz, and they’ll be blowing down doors at Red 7 on Friday in Austin. Sure, the town will be buzzing with ACL highlights and stories, but there’s not going to be a better show that what’s going on. It’s going to be loud and crunchy and sweaty, all of which we love; they’ll be supporting the release of their debut self-titled record that came out this week. There’s a reason that Ty brings such a crowd to his shows; they’re just a joy to watch, especially when he’s throwing his guitar about, bringing noise our way. Opening the night will be CCR Headcleaner.
Download: Fuzz – What’s In My Head?[MP3]
Every year as the city, and our visitors, gear up for ACL Fest, there’s something special that always spotlights the city’s talents, reminding us that we’ve got quite a bit of talent here in town. Art Disaster has been going on for a few years, and we’re happy to be one of the sponsors for this event. You’ll have two venues , Red 7 and Holy Mountain, offering great bands like Driver Friendly, Good Field and The Black and White Years, not to mention drinks and the cool people of A-town milling all about, including us! If you RSVP, you can get in to see the all the acts for a measly $3. Pretty much no excuse for you guys since it’s cheap, and you already took off Friday for the festival.
Download: Good Field – Tell Me Ida [MP3]
There are just some bands that you’re going to fawn over, so I’m always glad when I get a chance to see Terry Malts. It didn’t hurt that they had some great local acts supporting them before their set, which made for an all-around enjoyable night for us. Staying up late on a school night, well worth it.
You can read on for my thoughts and such things, not to mention B.Gray’s photos of the evening.
| Date | Friday, Sseptember 27th |
|---|---|
| Location | Paramount Theatre |
| Doors | 7:00 PM |
| Tickets | $40-$50 from Austin Theatre |
When I first started talking about this show, RayRay was giving me a hard time because he thought Aimee Mann was just typical chick rock; homeboy is wrong. For one, she’s worked with artists from Geddy Lee to Matthew Sweet, not to mention her role in the Independent Music Awards. And, accompanying her on the evening will be my man-crush, Ted Leo, who has a very valid history of his own. I’m not sure how the night will work, as I know the two have been playing joint sets as The Both, but perhaps we’ll get a little bit of both on the evening. Sure, prices are a tad steep, but have a feeling it will be a sepcial evening for all in attendance.
| Date | Thursday, September 26th |
|---|---|
| Location | Mohawk |
| Doors | 9:00 PPM |
| Tickets | $8 from Mohawk |
I’m going to beg you to come to this show. I absolutely love the Terry Malts and their no bullshit live shows. They’ve come through town before, but their return to Austin comes on the heels of their latest release, Nobody Realizes This is Nowhere (Slumberland Records). It’s just another excellent record that deserves a huge audience, so be part of that on Thursday night. If you play your cards right, you’ll also be treated to excellent sets by locals New Arrows and Shivery Shakes (who just finished recording their own LP!) Great bands deserve great audiences so they can put on great shows…come be part of it.
Download: Terry Malts – Disconnect [MP3]
| Date | 9/19/13 |
|---|---|
| Location | Red 7 |
| Doors | 9pm |
| Tickets | $13 @ Red 7 |
What more could we possibly say on this website about the always underrated veteran rockers Centro-matic? We have continually made it well known that we adore this band and any intelligent music fan should make it out to their shows when they play around town. Thursday night at Red 7 is yet another opportunity to enjoy this always tight and energetic live show on the cheap (only $13!!). Joining Will and crew on stage are Houstonians Buxton and local boys The Rite Flyers.
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/centromatic_flashes_and_cables.mp3]Download: Centro-matic – Flashes and Cables [MP3]
