Thursday, January 5, 2012

Planning Ahead: Spend that Holiday $$$

It's a new month, a new year, new beginnings and you've got all kinds of holiday related debt OR you're flush with holiday cash OR you're a Jehovah's Witness and holiday is just a bangin' Madonna track. Regardless, I thought y'all might want the heads-up on some fantabulous shows that will be in the Austin area coming up in the near or distant future.

First of all, you should know that SXSW is nigh and the sooner (before Jan. 13th) you buy a badge or wristband the cheaper it will be. I know a lot of you just enjoy all of the free side parties and stuff and that's aight. Trust me though, if you just spring for a music wristband it saves you lots of headache with RSVPing, pretending you like Perez Hilton, standing in lines outside of power plants for prima donnas and all that Jazz. In any case, at this point you can only buy badges for SXSW but keep an ear to the street for the sale of the wristbands. For now, check out a song from a band I'm really looking forward to seeing at SXSW 2012 and then look for all of the ticket links after the jump.


North Highlands - Benefits video via YouTube


Alright, you should know the drill by now, this list is not comprehensive and does not represent an endorsement of any show, venue, artist etc. This is merely a list of shows that may or may not interest you, happening here in the Austin area. Click the name of the artist to go to the ticket page, the name of the venue will bring you to the venue's homepage. If the listing has a strike-through it means the show is already sold-out but I wanted to acknowledge my awareness of the event and also make you feel bad about not getting tickets when they were available. Also, I didn't include a lot of highlight-worthy shows from local bands because they (mostly) don't have pre-sale tickets available. If there is anything I have neglected to include...whoops.






Kendrick Lamar - Rigamortis video via YouTube







Twin Sister - Bad Street video via YouTube












Los Campesinos! - By Your Hand video via YouTube











Danny Brown - Greatest Rapper Ever video via YouTube

I Break Horses - Winter Beats video via YouTube
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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

You're on the Guest List

What started with a single club (whose original location is now closed) has spread throughout the Red River district and beyond. That's right, as you should know by now, it's FREE WEEK! Think of it as a small-scale local music festival with Austin bands playing for free at all sorts of venues, I didn't write about the first two days of free week but let me highlight a couple of shows to round out your week. Tonight, I recommend you head on over to Skinny's Ballroom to check out Leatherbag. Skinny's is fairly new to Austin's music scene so this will be a great way to welcome them into the free week fold.


Leatherbag - Living in the Dark video via YouTube
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On Wednesday night I would head over to ye olde Beauty Bar where the Manateam Group will be hosting a split showcase with the folks over at Giant Steps. You'll find 5 up-and-coming Austin groups at this showcase, including Tactics.



I'd also recommend you check out Equals' headlining set over at Antone's Wednesday night. That's the benefit of free week, you can hop around and see sets from several band and several venues without paying a cover!



Thursday night, I'm all about Antone's as I love those indie-piano-popsters of Oh No Oh My. I somehow neglected their album, People Problems, when I was doing my local, best of round-up last month so I want to be sure to highlight their headlining performance this week.


Oh No Oh My - So I Took You via YouTube

Friday night has a ton of great shows, you really can't go wrong no matter where you end up. You could see OBN III's at Beerland. You could also head down the street to the Mohawk for a set from Calm Blue Sea. Travel slightly north and east for Zlam Dunk at The Annex at 1808. Get your post-rock on at the Scoot Inn with Markov, with La Snacks on the same bill. If you haven't been to Emo's east Riverside location yet, you can see Quiet Company and Speak there on Friday night. Or you can stay slightly off the beaten path and enjoy the cozy confines of Lambert's for a set from Mice and Rifles.



Saturday night also has as great line-up of performances including a couple of repeat sets at different venues. If you don't cram yourself into the hostile armpit that is Beerland, on Friday night for OBN III's then I highly recommend you catch their Saturday night set at the lovely Mohawk. Also, if you missed Quiet Company's at Emo's East on Friday night they play, the very intimate, Swan Dive on Saturday night. Bloggy favs, TV Torso will be playing the Ringo Deathstarr at Beauty Bar, Fresh Millions at the Parish, What Made Milwaukee Famous at Antone's, Megafauna at Flamingo Cantina, La Snacks and The Cocker Spaniels at Skinny's, and Guns of Navarone at Scoot Inn.



Sunday night is your final night to not pay a cover charge, bringing 7 nights of free-ness to a close. I don't recognize as many bands playing Sunday but you can find free music at: Mohawk, Antone's, Red 7, ND and Beerland. So, there you have it, FREE WEEK! If you want to see more info, I always like to use Show List Austin. You can also find a great write-up by our brothers of the blog over at Ultra8201. Have fun out there, don't drink and drive and make sure to tip your bar-staff.

By the way, almost every link I posted for these bands will bring you to their Bandcamp page where you can listen to their latest releases. Enjoy!
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