Show Preview: Cursive @ Mohawk (5.12)

I feel like a majority of the people that stumble upon this site had a period in their life when they were so heavily into music that it accompanied them everywhere. For me, 1997-2004, it was my main companion. Walking to class, walking to work, driving in my car on long road trips…no matter where I went, there was something playing; I honestly cared more about music than most of my relationships at that time. And, a huge part of those years was the Saddle Creek discography, particularly Bright Eyes and Cursive. Well, this Friday, Cursive is coming to Austin and the Mohawk to play the entirety of their 2000 classic, Domestica. So, in anticipation, I wanted to do a track by track breakdown, 23 years down the road from when I first listened. If you haven’t gotten your ticket; you can grab them HERE.

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Wombo Drop Snakey Single

Wombo were one of the highlights, for me, of SXSW; I love the band’s sound, somewhere in the realm of post-punk, and I can assume folks will likely make Dry Cleaning nods too (that might be a theme today!). This song operates atop heavy bass lines and short percussive notes; it’s not until the 48 second mark that the song begins to stretch it out a bit. When they do, angular riffs began to cut into that rhythmic backbone, sharpening the sound, with little distortion guitar blips sounding like warning alarms. Their album Fairy Rust will be out via Fire Talk on July 29th, and they hit the road throughout late July/early August…including an Austin date at the Mohawk.

Show Review: Destroyer @ The Mohawk (2/25)

Last Wednesday, we were treated to an evening of tunes from the legendary and mystical Dan Bejar. Riding high off the well receivedHave We Met, Bejar returned to the Mohawk to a nearly sold out crowd. After years of creating tunes largely under the radar, and really seeing his breakthrough record around a decade ago, I was pleased to see so many people brought back once more, or perhaps out to see Destroyer for the first time.

Click past the jump for words on the evening and some photos.

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Show Pics: Front 242 @ The Mohawk (4/17)

We have a little bonus show coverage today…

Wanting to run light, I grabbed the camera and mounted the smallest and lightest lens I have to go be amongst the EBM family the filled The Mohawk on a Tuesday night. That crowd was there to see Front 242, legends in the dark electro game, credited among the founders of the EBM scene. If you do not know of Front 242, shame on you.

I’ve had a good run of nostalgia lately. Perhaps I could keep the streak alive? Maybe not, but it wasn’t the band’s fault. Click through for a couple comments about the openers and the legends with pics from the crowd.

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Some Free Week Photos

Free Week is great. The concept of having people fill venues so bartenders and stage crews have a little cash in their pockets is totally a get-behind theme. Now, my epic level of cynicism that creeps in from time to time means that I will give the evil eye to anyone mad about one-in-one-out at a venue. These bands are playing all over town, all year long and sometimes opening for a touring band you would think is too expensive to go see. #value Let’s go, Austin, spend that twelve bucks.

My Free Week rant is over. Let’s get on to some notables and photos. A. Sinclair is a constant fave for rock and or roll. Abram Shook lends credibility to any music catalog. That performance had two-thirds of Feverbones; they are wicked excited for the new record, naturally so are we. Tres Oui‘s invisible bass player had a killer set (#sarcasm). Space-sparse of Soft Healer was a reset. I got to see The Infinites at Beerland as a full band. I do miss a little of the DIY nature of looping to fill sounds, but the layered gazy post punk sounded really rad with guitars filling the room. Fave thing of the time I spent Red Rivering.

Peep the gallery. I spent time taking photos of friends and the people that make Free Week go. I even used a flash. Crazy right?

I love y’all.

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Show Preview: Alvvays + Nap Eyes @ The Mohawk 10/17(TONIGHT)

This first little snap of cooler temps around ATX has got me yearning to be outside listening to sweet jams, and lucky for me, The Mohawk has the perfect bill to fit this desire. Alvvays, soaring into our town on the wings of their sophomore release, Antisocialites, will be bringing their pristine pop to our ears and there really isn’t an excuse to miss them. While their self titled debut was catchy in all the right ways, their most recent record showed maturity and dreamy layers of growth to their surfy indie pop. I personally can’t wait to hear the band play hits off the new record like “Not My Baby” or rambunctious “Plimsoll Punks.” Oh, and to top it all off, Nap Eyes will be opening up the night with their college rock. Tickets are still available, you can and should pick them up here. There simply is no better way to spend a Tuesday evening. Check out tunes from both bands below.

Show Pics: The War on Drugs @ Stubb’s (9/30)

Nicole and I are going to tag team coverage for The War on Drugs with Land of Talk at Stubb’s plus bonus coverage of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at Mohawk.

NB: Saturday night was another one for the books as Austin was lit up as ever with great bands and crazy antics on Red River. My main event was at Stubb’s for The War on Drugs, touring incredible latest album, A Deeper Understanding. B. Gray was on double duty–taking killer shots of The War on Drugs and then bouncing over to The Mohawk to catch King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard. Follow the jump to see his pretty pics and read some brief thoughts on a night at the gravel pit.

BG: Click through, y’all.

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Show Preview: Kevin Morby @ The Mohawk (9/16)

It’s kind of always a challenge these days to figure out what you’re going to do with your Saturday nights in Austin. Normally my issue is figuring out which show I want to hit up, as there’s always more than one great option. This Saturday, you need to be sure to catch a non-local, but still rad, Kevin Morby and company at The Mohawk. K. Morby has been wowing us for years, but on his latest release, City Music, he really knocked it out of the park. The perfect balance of blues and rock, the gentleman is sure to put on a great night of hazy jams that’ll have you swaying through the weekend. Get there early to check out Pitchfork approved, and fellow Woodsist artist,Shannon Lay,and her balancing act of quiet/loud folk gems.

There are still tickets available for real cheap–get yours here and make a great decision for your Saturday in Austin.

Oh and when you’re done getting groovy with Kevin Morby at The Mohawk, make sure you keep the party rolling and pop over to Cheer Up’s to catch ATH bands Shivery Shakes AND Big Bill as well as the other great bands on that lineup. There’s no excuses people– you really CAN have it all.

 

A Night Out With Feverbones, Pollen RX and White Denim

Hello.

Nathan has announced that Feverbones is back and that they will be releasing new material soon on ATH Records. We are all really excited by this, they are remarkably talented musicians and it shows through with every song. It also means that you will be able to see them about town, so a benefit show at Mohawk with White Denim headlining and our friends Pollen RX playing next door at Cheer Up seemed like a perfect excuse to get together and take in a Feverbones set and get a quick band portrait.

So, I have just a few thoughts after the break with plenty of pics…

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