This is fine.
We’re nigh approaching SXSW season, so naturally you should be taking advantage of the fact that your city has great music to see year round and head out to a show this weekend before it’s so crowded that you can’t stand it. Below are merely the highlights and my picks as to where you should post up Friday and Saturday nights. Wherever you go, you really can’t go wrong; the weather should be lovely, so go outside during the day and round out your night somewhere downtown…
Here comes a little bonus coverage. I was able to sneak next door to The Mohawk during the Tres Oui record release and grab shots of our friends Night Drive and the headliner Austra.
Pleasantly packed house, meaning while it was almost sold out feel, you could still get through the crowd, if necessary. Fans were there and up front early, ready to lose their minds to their favorite song. That favorite song varied. Some were in love with the recently released record, others held their excitement for the jams from the early buzziest buzzworthy material.
Click through for the pics, y’all.
Tonight and tomorrow you have the chance to catch one of the biggest names in the indie rock world at one of the best venues in town. Angel Olsen was originally slated to only play one night at The Mohawk, but due to overwhelming demand and a fast sell out, another night was added to soothe the desires of our town to catch this lady and her band touring in support of 2016’s boldMy Woman.Perhaps we’ll be treated to full evenings with some back catalogue hits from the spectacularBurn Your Fire For No Witness, or maybe even a few fromHalf Way Home. (I’ve got my fingers crossed that by some strange chance I’ll get to hear “Lonely Universe”). Regardless of potential setlists, you can bet that if you’re lucky enough to be at The Mohawk tonight or tomorrow night, you’ll be in for a songwriter in her prime– surely Olsen’s unmistakably powerful vocals will dominate the night, followed closely behind by the ferocious guitar that has accompanied her on her more recent albums. Tickets may be sold out, but there’s always craigslist, right? Word on the street is they may be going for a pretty penny– and you can see why by checking out the video for “Shut Up Kiss Me” below. Do you really want to miss out on this?
Oh, and Chris Cohen will be providing the opening act for both evenings, so that gives you another reason to show up and show up early after the 6:30 door times as to not miss out on his even-tempered indie rock. Check out “Torrey Pine” below as well.
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I do love Free Week. The day job keeps me from going every night, but ANY night of Free Week means seeing tons of friends on stage and off. This edition of Free Week photos features photos of Light Wheel, Big Bill, Night Drive, Rose Selavy, Letting Up Despite Great Faults, a tiny cupcake fail, ladder climbing, toasts, staples and so much more. Venues visited were The Mohawk, Cheer Up and Barracuda.
I’m going to post a few thoughts on the backside of the break. The short story is that Big Bill can’t lose, Night Drive is still my favorite dance party, Rose Selavy is rad as a three-piece, Letting Up can do the same and Barracuda was surprisingly packed.
TIP YOUR BARTENDERS. BUY MERCH.
The heat is really glaringdown on all of us in the ATX, but if there’s one thing that can surely make everyone feel a little better, and that’s a night of high quality pop music from two local and two traveling bands gracing the indoor stage at the Mohawk. The night should be a burst of well crafted tunes, as this bill is stacked. You get the local love of Caroline Says and her melancholically simplistic tunes. Thelma will have you swooning with her angelic cherub folk pop and crisp vocals. Pupppy are sure to spice up the night with their eclectic brand of alt-pop with a hint of rock. And Hovvdy are making waves all around our town with their fuzzy lo-fi magic. All this is going down at the Mohawk tomorrow night and you can attend for under 10 dollars…you’d be a fool not to be there!
Get tickets and see door timeshere.
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While most weekends/weeks offer you a plethora of local and non local shows to choose from here in the Live Music Capital of The World, this weekend in particular has got a high volume of great local shows to fill your nights for a few bucks. Looking to make things a bit less complicated for you, we’ve included our picks and highlights of the busy weekend ahead, but don’t forget to see all of your options over at the ever helpful Showlist Austin.
Friday February 5th (tonight)
The Zoltars, Faux Ferocious, Soda, Major Major Major – Hotel Vegas – 9pm
Julia Lucille, Megabog, AMA, Ponyboy & the Horsegirls –Cheer Up Charlie’s
Major Grizz, Yuma, Marcus Brown – Stubb’s (inside) – 9pm
Tele Novella, Lowin, Devin Jake – The ABGB – 6:30pm
Saturday February 6th
Rikroshi(album release), Zettajoule, Ellis Redon, Artificial Earth Machine – Cheer Up’s – 8pm
Cross Record (album release), Adam Torres, Nadia – The Mohawk(inside)- 9pm
P.T. Banks (album release), Tinnarose, Lomelda – Stubb’s(inside) – 9pm
The Sour Notes, Borrisokane – Indian Roller Boutique Roadhouse – 8pm
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This show review will be rather brief– my apologies to openers Xetas and Feral Future for the omission of a description of their sets. It wasn’t for lack of desire that I had to miss what I’m sure were rowdy and glorious sets, but work inhibited me from arriving until right before London’s Shopping took the stage. And take the stage they did– the three members perfectly distributed themselves on the small inside stage of The Mohawk and began their infectious and seamless post punk jams. When I say seamless, I mean that though this band is only a three piece, each member and element go together so well that when they get going it’s hard to really differentiate one from the next, and the same can be said for the vocals. They gather together to form gang-esque grit, and the result is a perfect balance of rawness and pleasant sound. Each member brought their respective energy to the stage–whole bodies thrust into their performance. Lead guitarist Rachel Aggs bounced up and down, her hair flopping back and forth to the jangly riffs she kept doling out. Nothing could really stop the group from impressing the crowd with their wonderful tunes, not even guitar/amp troubles stood a chance from diminishing the night. Rather, it added to the charm of the group and their edginess. I’m telling you, their live show further enforced just how excellent Consumer Complaints is, and brought a smile to everyone’s faces. If you missed it, you are definitely in luck– the band’s Houston show has been cancelled, so they’re gracing our presence again this evening!!!! Find out details for that here.
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Maybe you’re still shaking off the cobwebs of tiredness from your eyes from this weekend, but it’s time for you to muster up the strength to hit up the Mohawk tomorrow night for what will surely be an evening well worth your time. Headlining the inside stage is London’s Shopping, who have been wowing us with their post-punk jangly jams for sometime now, so it’s exciting to see how this sound will translate to the live setting; something tells me these tracks are going to be even more robust and require some dancing shoes. Opening up for them are locals Xetas and Feral Future, so be sure to get there early and support your locals. And if you feel like double-dipping and making the most of your night, get there even earlier to catch Youth Lagoon and Moon King on the outside stage at 6:30. Otherwise, doors for the inside stage are at 9 and tickets are 10$…get them here.
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It’s a busy week for Austin, with tons of bands and people about to fill the city for ACL, but that being said, I really don’t want you to miss out on seeing Ultimate Painting tonight. They’ve released two incredible albums, both flying under the radar despite receiving great amounts of praise. I, for one, can also vouch for the fact that they’ve got an incredible live show ready for you; it’s one of the most rehearsed, tightest sets I’ve seen from an act in several years. Plus, you’ll get to see The Zoltars open up the night; they’re easily one of my Top Ten Austin acts playing around the city right now. Dryspell will also share the opening slot, so please come early to watch yourself some locals. Tickets are 10 bucks and doors open at 9 PM.
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Wednesday night was a packed evening, with tons going on in Austin. But, I know I’ll see Thee Oh Sees at least four more times this year, minimum, so I went with my heart and something a little more rare, Destroyer. Not only that, but we got an extra special treat, as flight delays for Jennifer Castle meant we were treated to an Austin great, Thor Harris & Friends. Read on for some brief thoughts and Brian’s photos.
