This is fine.
Friends of Dean Martinez will be playing at Lambert’s in Austin this evening (8/8) with one of our favorite Austin band’s Brother’s & Sisters. The show is starting up at 10pm with an opening set by Brother’s & Sisters. Cover for the show is $10 with no tickets sold in advance. Check Lambert’s website if you’re not sure how to get to the venue.
A new song by Oakland boys Man/Miracle has been flooding the internet/blog world today. The new song “Pushing and Shoving” is so catchy, I couldn’t resist posting it to our site. “Pushing and Shoving” appears on a new 7″ vinyl Pushing and Shoving/You’ve Got a Hold on Me that you can pre-order from the Big Cartel website.
Download: Man/Miracle – Pushing and Shoving [MP3]
Recently pitchfork hyped band Titus Andronicus will be playing Mohawk tomorrow evening with local Austin act The Midgetmen. The show is set to start at 8pm with tickets costing you only $6. Head over to the Transmission Entertainment website to buy yourself some tickets for the show. You can also preview the tracks “My Time Outside the Womb” from Titus Andronicus & “Trickle Down” From The Midgetmen below.
Download: Titus Andronicus – My Time Outside the Womb [MP3]
[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/02-trickle-down.mp3]Download: Midgetmen – Trickle Down [MP3]
Singer-songwriter Richard Swift has a free EP you can download from Emusic called Ground Trouble Jaw. If you’re one of thoe impatient types, we have the song “Would You?” from the EP below for you to stream and or download. You can read more about Richard and his innovative music on his website.
Download: Richard Swift – Would You [MP3]
Rating: 
In early 2007, David Vandervelde droppped out of music sky, rocking me like the only the bastard son of Marc Bolan could. For me, his first record, Moonstation House Band, was just a revamped T Rex–and for its part, I loved it. I mean can really tire of T Rex?
This time around David Vandervelde is still stuck in that classic rock sound, but this one comes off far away from the likes Marc Bolan. It’s much more subdued, and gone are the chunky guitar riffs that made the last albm so outstanding.
Here we find David hopelessly devoted to the largely acoustic stylings of folk rock. Sure, his voice still holds a little bit of that T. Rex pitch, but musically, he’s chasing the like of Neil Young or The Band. Despite his continuous homage to his influences without taking on a new approach, he still manages to write some incredible songs.
“Someone Like You” is quite possibly the best song he has ever written. Lyrically it throws a look into the life of a struggling musician, one who is trying to cope with his rock n’ roll status, fueled by drugs and excess. Of course, said person dies. It’s a little cliche, but the melodies in this song are simply ridiculous. This song can be played all day long. Similarly, “I Will be Fine” is another great song, and an appropriate beginning to the album. It’s a simple song, but one that sets the tone for the work that is being done on this album. Lyrically, its lacking, but what are you going to do?
I’m not going to lie; I love this guy’s voice. He has quite a range, and it does justice to every single song he writes. He accompanies each melody and harmony the way one can only dream of, but lacking is his writing, lyrics, that is. They appear really simple, and come off a bit cliched. The last album focused more on the sound of the band, as where this one is more sparse, so it opens you up to listening more to the lyrics–and clearly they lack much to be desired.
Overall, this is a good album, just not one that is going to show David Vandervelde breaking new ground. If you love clean classic rock sounds, this one’s for you kids. Excuse me while I go listen to “Someone Like You” for the eleventh time today.
At least Logan’s has those liter beers, which are really quite cool. Beyond that it’s arguably the cheesiest place on 6th street other than Treasure Island. For some reason I still find myself there from time to time…
Kings of Leon have another new song called “Sex on fire” you can check out on the band’s myspace page. The song will appear on the King’s new album Only by the Night set for release later in September. The band also has some new tour dates they just posted to their website with a stop at Austin’s own Music Hall on the list. Tickets will go on sale August 15th for the event. We’ll post ya a reminder again closer to the sale date.
Another one of our favorite artists, Los Campesinos!, recently did an in studio performance for the World Cafe over on the NPR website. The set features four pop jams you can download from the band’s early 2008 release Hold on Now, Youngster which is sure to slide into a top albums of the year post.
The Octopus Project have a new single you can download below called “Wet Gold”. This song was seen previously on a 7′ single entitled Wet Gold/Moon Boil but can now be found all over the interwebs. Check it out.
Download: The Octopus Project – Wet Gold [MP3]
I know I know. We post way too much about this band, but this may be the best thing we’ve posted yet! Sigur Ros recently performed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and The Current website has been kind enough to post the entire live performance on their site. The show took place on Icelandic independence day (June 17th). Live footage of the show looks eerily familiar to the 2007 documentary Hlemmur (arguably one of the best band docs ever made).
