showgazer

Buy This Album Bitches: The Long Winters -- Putting The Days To Bed

2006-08-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

I can't stop listening to this disc. It came out a few weeks back on the same day the Silversun Pickups' album did. I picked up both and they've remained mainstays in the CD changer since.

When going to see the Silversun Pickups actually, at KEXP's SXSW broadcast in March, I was chattin with mid-day show DJ, Cheryl Waters, when she introduced me to this large, burly fellow w/ interesting glasses on. "This is John Roderick," she said. "Of The Long Winters?" I replied. Indeed it was. I can't remember what we talked about. I do remember I was completely surprised that this was the man that churns out such amazingly catchy, power-pop songs.

Cheryl Waters w/ John Roderick during SXSW (photo by gregoryperez)
And Putting The Days To Bed is chalked full of hooky, can't-get-out-of-your-head songs from start to finish. Opener 'Pushover' will have you singing 'for you I'm a pushover' all day. Next track, 'Fire Island, AK', gets the most airtime on KEXP and rightly so. It's a damn good song. I could tell you about every song on this disc, but what's the use. They're all good. 'Honest', 'Sky Is Open', and 'Seven' are among my current favorites on the disc. This disc is solid all the way through and worth your investigation.

John Roderick @ Sonic Boom records (photo by gregoryperez)
The Long Winters will also be at ACL this year. I fear they won't be seen by many, however, because the scheduling geniuses behind the festival put the Winters up against uber-indie-band The Shins -- both playing on Saturday at 4:30. I'd like to meet the brains behind this scheduling conflict. Hmm...both poppy. Both quality. There's no way someone would like both of these bands. Book it. This is the worst conflict on the entire 3-day grid for me. And I said before the entire list of bands was released that one band I was most exited to see was The Shins, because I dig em and I've actually never seen them yet. That's how good this Long Winters disc is. Check that shit out. At the very least, sneak away from The Shins for a few tracks. I certainly am. And I might just stick around for the whole thing. Hopefully they are as good live as I think this album is.

Austin no 'Sad, Sad City'Ghostland Observatory, Say Hi To Your Mom blow collective minds of Emos-goers

2006-08-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

I first saw Austin band, Ghostland Observatory, in a drunken haze during an early evening performance during SXSW this year. It was at an outdoor venue behind Emos' alley (I forget the name), but the venue kinda blew for this band. My friends stood in shock as they pondered why Derek and I brought them to this joint to watch a younger Willie Nelson look-alike dance around like he was on crack to this unique brand of electronic rock. It was a little disappointing, but they showed serious promise. I kept saying I'd see them again in a proper joint for their sound ... like Emos.

Ghostland play KVRX live. photo by Garrett Traya
Well that day finally came last Saturday night. It was worth the wait. Ghostland rocked the F**KING house! I honestly can't say I've ever seen so many indie-fied, hipster types collectively looking like they were actually into the band playing on stage. There was dancing, singing, a mosh pit?!?, people on the stage ... INSANITY!!!

The evening began with a set from Brooklyn rockers Say Hi To Your Mom. Since hearing a few of their tracks on KEXP I've been intrigued. I checked out their solid 4th album, Impeccable Blahs, and was excited to see they were playing the indoor stage of the Ghostland bill. Their vampire infused songs were even better live than on the album. Album and show opener, 'These Fangs,' was a highlight, and there wasn't really a bad song in the set.

Then it was time for the main attraction. From the show opener, 'Piano Man,' I knew it would be a long, sweaty, ridiculous night. That it was. Ghostland, made up of singer/guitarist Aaron Behrens and drummer/knob-turner Thomas Turner, had the entire audience hooked from the first song. Turner rolled up in a floor length, baby blue cape w/ the huge Dracula collar! Who wears a cape? It was quality. Nice way to ring in his birthday, which happened to be that night. Behrens rocked his trademark Willie braids and shades. They came to rock.

Ghostland blasted through songs from both of their albums, last year's delete.delete.i.eat.meat and 2006's Paparazzi Lightning. By the end of the set, random girls were climbing on stage just to strut their stuff, while Ghostland charged on unaware, or just unfazed by the distraction. Eventually during the show's encore the stage filled with what looked like 100 people that filled in every hole the band didn't take up onstage. It was amazing to see that many people on the outdoor stage at Emos, dancing away as Ghostland blasted on.

Their myspace page says they are playing again in Austin on 9/8 and again on 10/6, both at locations TBA. After experiencing what was one of the more enjoyable live shows in Austin that I can remember, I'll be at at least one of those upcoming shows. I advise you do the same.

Pitchfork Music Fest: Best Of

2006-08-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

Ah Chicago! I moved to Chitown after college (hook em) then moved back a year and a half after experiencing what I can only describe as "cold as shit." It was a bit of culture shock, but beautiful for 3 months of the year.

And it's no wonder that Pitchfork would pick the middle of the beautiful summer to host what was an awesome festival. I jumped at the chance to return to my old haunts, check out some Cubs action, eat a bunch of amazing food (see Frontera Grill, Piece, hotdogs w/ shit piled high, and mad mad pizza), and watch a group of the best artists playing music today in a tiny West side community park.

In the spirit of my SXSW review, here are the top guns ...

BEST OF THE BEST

Best Show: The National

Wait a minute ... he didn't say Band of Horses. I know. Because it wasn't the show that The National put on (and if Alligator was put out this year that's all I'd write about probably and be giving BOH the honorable mention). They played for about 40 minutes and threw out just about every good song (ok, they're all good) off of Alligator plus a couple of new ones for good measure. If the new songs are any indication of what is to come, LOOKOUT! The new songs were called 'Mistaken For Strangers' and 'Start A War'. The first was a rocker talking about being "mistaken for strangers, by your own friends" and the second was the show closer; started pretty chill and finished strong. I didn't want this set to end.

And the best part - they brought violinist Padma Newsome with them! I've seen The National a few times, but never w/ the violin player. He added such power and beauty to the songs, which really brought them to life from how they play on the album. That fool can jam a violin too. The entire 6-man group seemed to pour whatever they had into each song, especially singer Matt Berninger. During most songs he actually looked like he was in pain just from the words coming out of his mouth, and at the end of 'Abel' I thought he was going to keel over. They didn't mess around for their entire set, which I felt could have gone on longer given that the next band wasn't up for another 20 minutes. But seeing the look on his face after every song, I think it's possible that they didn't have anything left in the tank for a few more songs. Either way it was worth every minute.

Best Show (before The National came on): Destroyer

Both my lady and I agreed that this set was the highlight when we left Saturday. I've always been a fan, but haven't really had the opportunity to check out Bejar & Co. as they don't make it all the way to the Lone Star State much (if ever). We were in the unfortunate position of being right in front of the right stack of speakers. So apart from being deaf for the following 3 hours in our right ears only, it was an amazing experience filled with songs from Rubies and Streethawk: A Seduction. Listening to Rubies will never be the same again. The guitar jam in the middle of 'European Oils' not only made my ears bleed, but made me wish the set could go on for the rest of the day. The entire band was solid, not really missing any steps as they churned out Destroyer's not-so-ordinary songs.

Worst Experience: Every second the band announcer spoke

That guy needed to be shot, quartered, and dragged to each corner of beautiful Union Park for public mockery. He felt compelled to repeat himself every time a new band came on - telling us to be part of a "community," start our own band like Art Brut, pick up trash, not pass out flyers, blah blah, other annoying shit, some poems, and bullet to the head. And his little speeches got longer each time he told them. It was amusing to see BOH stand behind him trying to hold in the laughter as he thought we was being clever working "Everything All The Time" into his shitty intro poem. Well done Bridwell & Co.

Best Band Member Encounter: Aaron Dessner of The National

Ok, you're saying it's because he's obsessed w/ The National, but it's the only encounter that didn't involve seeing someone walk by. We decided to lounge in the field while catching some Ted Leo and eventually The Walkmen. We were just chillin' on our blanket and I hear this familiar voice [familiar because somehow I run into this guy at every music festival they are at ... I swear I don't stalk] say "We've been in the recording studio for the last 2 months." So naturally my ears perk up and I'm interested to see who's been laying down them tracks. And to my surprise it's Mr. Dessner creepin' right up on our blanket (He's playing the bells during the start of 'All The Wine'). Being the solid music citizen I am I didn't interrupt his convo with some little lady. But I was excited to learn that they'd been recording. This is very good news. I very much wanted to confirm they would rollin' to Austin on the next bigger tour (following a jaunt on the West Coast), but it wasn't meant to be. They will come. They must.

Biggest Surprise: The Pitchfork folks didn't screw it up

It was pretty much a high quality experience. Water was $1. There was GOOD keg beer from local brewer, Goose Island. Small tents were set up for shade. Lots of good food. A tent full of stuff to keep you occupied when not peeping tunes. The Flatstock poster show was fantastic. I always mean to go during SXSW, but a man's got to sleep sometime. After wakey time it's day-show time, then on to showcase time. Where am I supposed to find the time? The location was amazing -- right off the L and very easy to get to. And a beautiful park surrounded by huge trees w/ the Sears Tower peeking out in the distance. Besides the amazing line up, the best part: $30 for 2 days! [For shame ACL.] I'd have paid $30 for The National and Destroyer alone. Well done fork folks. Here's hoping they don't slowly up the price, squeezing us indie music lovers of our hard earned dollars. We gotta have some duckets left over to actually buy the CDs our favorite bands put out.

Funniest/'What Is Up' Moment: During the short wait before Spoon's set, 2 SOUND team songs were pumped over the speakers

I thought my ears (not my eyes) were liars, as the song I was peeping suggested. I'd like to think this was Britt Daniel's way of stickin' it to the fork while simultaneously reppin' a fellow Austin band. Or maybe it was the fork saying, "SIKE, this stuff really is good enough to be played at our festival." Either way it was legit.

Best Non Festival Moment: CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN!

Actually Cubs SWEEP the Cards for the first time since the 70s. We caught Friday's 6-5 victory. After rolling up a little late to find the Cubbies down 3 in the 3rd, our spirits were uplifted with a 6 run 4th inning! They gave the Cards 2 more to keep it suspenseful (and keep us drinking them Old Style beers), but the Cubs held on for the W. Good times. Oh how I miss living a few short blocks from the best baseball stadium in the world.

UPDATE: More pics ...

Texan Hotel Fork-trot
Band of Horses to sound guy: "Huh?"
The band waits for the horrible announcer to wrap it up. (Check out that smoke!)
Berninger croons
Padma plays violin and guitar!
Berninger almost passes out singing 'Abel'
Syncronized Dessners playing new song 'Start A War'
From the floor of Union Park

Band of Sorrows: Brooke leaves BOH

2006-07-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

The fork is good for something. People send them press releases and shit. They're reporting that Mat Brooke has officially left Band of Horses.

Brooke plays at End Of An Ear in store during SXSW
This doesn't really come as a surprise, since he was absent from pretty much every show since SXSW. At least showgazer can take solace in the fact it got to see Brooke play for 2 legit shows during Austin's SXSW. Seeing him perform w/ the band in March solidified my belief that BOH would be my favorite band of 2006. So far that's holding true. Maybe he'll come out of retirement to guest on some songs on future albums. Brooke -- you will be missed.

Buy This Album Bitches: Silversun Pickups -- Carnavas

2006-07-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

Showgazer usually keeps it's coverage to live shows in the Austin area, but lately we've stretched our wings a little with discussions about the ACL festival and the recent fork vs SOUND team debacle. I figured I'd introduce a new section I call "Buy this album Bitches." Because in this day of downloading, sometimes there are albums you should just straight up give the band its due, and buy the damn thing.

Before Pitchfork takes it upon themselves to [possibly] ruin the budding career of L.A. rockers, Silversun Pickups, with a simple number, let Showgazer be the first to tell you that this album is f**king LEGIT.

In March I was lucky enough to catch one of the many Silversun SXSW shows when they joined KEXP's broadcast at the ACL studios. The set was fantastic, and one of my favorite performances of all of SXSW this year. They played four new tracks, which got me itching to hear the entire thing. When I finally got my hands on the entire thing I couldn't stop listening to it (to the point where I had to go into detox just so I wouldn't get sick of it).

For those that can only listen to something that's been given a rating ... I give it an 8.5 out of 10. I have no formula for that number, just that it looks impressive w/o looking too ridiculously high. I can tell you that after listening to this disc for the last couple of months it's climbed its way into my running top-5 albums of the year and is currently holding strong in spot #2 just behind the boys of Band of Horses. Sorry Silversun, I love me some BOH right now. But as for straight up rocking ... you guys (and gal) have the market cornered.

Derek snapped this at the Silversun's performance at the
KEXP John in the Morning @ Night show in Seattle.
The thing that impresses me most about this album is that even w/ a fantastic debut EP (titled Pikul) to introduce the band, this debut LP features ALL NEW songs!! This is refreshing when bands tend to recycle a good portion of their EP songs on their first proper albums. Sorry Black Angels, but I heard most of your album before it even was an album.

So speaking of all new songs ... they're all good too. The entire album is rocker after rocker, minus a couple of slower songs near the album's end, which are just as legit. 'Three Seed' is one of the slower tracks, and remains one of my favorite. I have to give the nod to 'Future Foe Scenarios' as my favorite track. Every time I listen to it I feel the need to add 30 mph to whatever the speed limit is of the road I'm currently on. That is the definition of a good song. Another song I really dig on this album is 'Little Lover's So Polite', which you can check out on the new and improved Silversun website.

This album, put out on the Dangerbird Records label, officially comes out on Tuesday, July 25th. I'll be picking up my official copy at Waterloo then. You should too.

ps. (for Silversun Pickups) you bustas better come back to Austin now that we've actually heard the album. That SXSW preview shit ain't gonna cut it. Ya heard.

UPDATE - This shit is a mere $9.99 at Waterloo. Get off your humps chumps!

LIVE: the Austin 'SOUND machine' (sans Gloria Estefan)

2006-07-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Austin's own SOUND team, fresh off their pounding in the caboose from the fork, played to a packed house @ Emos. I rate the show at 3.7 (on a scale of 3.875).

It was a double stage job w/ other Austin bands filling in. Inside we caught The Glass Family first. They played a pretty good set of new mixed w/ old. The alternative choice outside was The Black, who are completely horrible -- if forced to actually watch them that is. I can't handle the singer. I don't know what it is about him, but I get the urge to throw things at him until he goes away. I might actually be able to listen to the music if I didn't have to see his face. Anyway --- The Glass Fam were pretty dope. I first caught them at The Continental Club, which was a much better show. What're ya gonna do ... Emos sounds like hell. Is it possible to turn up the volume anymore guys on the inside stage? Seriously .. I don't think I got enough blood (from my ears) on my shirt.

Zykos' Mike Booher
We stayed inside to catch Zykos play a bunch of new songs. I was really looking forward to this show as I used to call the 'kos my favorite Austin band (before discovering now defunct Dead Whale Tide. WHY? WHY have you forsaken me DWT?). Unfortunately it wasn't the best, mostly because they played all new stuff. It wasn't bad new stuff, it's just always tough to get into something when you've never heard it before. But I still like me some 'kos so please keep bringin' the rock. Check out their 2 new demos on myspace here.

What Made Milwaukee Famous at ACL taping
(I think it was beer. Or Alice Cooper in Wayne's World)
Then it was outside for the end of the What Made Milwaukee Famous set. I can't really say I'm a fan of them. They write good, catchy tunes, but it's not really my bag. To be fair I haven't really given them a devoted listen yet. My lady likes the piano player. He must be dreamy. We mostly just hung on the outside edge and put away a few PBR tall-boys in preparation for the machine of sound. Which reminds me ... why is he calling them the 'SOUND machine'? Isn't it SOUND team? Yes, they are. But earlier we ran into a friend of ours at the show and asked her who she was there to see. She said the "SOUND machine," and naturally we laughed and mocked. She felt bad and said she "knew she was going to screw it up." Good times. But I kinda like it. It worked for Miss Estefan.

Finally we got to experience what a 3.7 rated album plays like live. It was LEGIT. It was my first time seeing the team of sound and it was an enjoyable experience. They ripped through most of the more upbeat tracks on the quality long player Movie Monster. They also graced us with a few tracks off of the just as quality Work EP as well.

SOUND team's Bill Baird
That Bill Baird is a force on the bass. I don't think I saw his face once since he was bouncin' all around, floppin' his locks up in his face. More than once he put a tamborine around his neck and played it by making his shoulders knock it into the microphone as he continued to grind on the bass. It was good stuff. I was boppin' my head the entire time and was sad for the show to end. I will definitely catch them when they play in Austin again. Might I suggest The Parish next time fellas. (wink wink)

BOH on Letterman: DO IT

2006-07-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Reminder: Set your DVRs for tomorrow night (7/13) - Band of Horses will be on Letterman. Hopefully Mat Brooke comes out of hiding for this one. Yayah. They will be joined by former Austinite, Luke Wilson. How can you say no? Seriously. You can't.

UPDATE: Finally got around to watching it. Brooke was a no show. Punk. They played The Funeral. Go figure. They clean up real nice.

SOUND ream

2006-07-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

In a suprising turn of events, our "pals" over at the fork have decided to dole out even more low blows on Austin's beloved SOUND team. Surprising that they would take shots at the band? Hardly, considering last week's absurd review of Movie Monster. My real surprise (which quickly turned to disgust) was had in Pitchfork's undying hatred for such a promising young band, even after already destroying them with an embarrassing 3.7.

If you haven't already caught wind of this latest Pitchfork attack, check it out here.

Yeah, so basically, SOUND team posted a humorous clip trying to make light of some undeserved bad fortune. You, Ryan Schreiber, Editor-in-Chief of the most influential indie music rag (online or not), mean to tell me that that deserves this response?!

"In retaliation of the 3.7 rating, the band-- or someone purporting to be them-- posted a YouTube video depicting a sort of Sound Team effigy being mutilated, thrown off a cliff, burned, and dismembered by a Pitchfork. Creepy! That's exactly what we did to our promo copy this weekend!

In the band's defense, the music backing up the visuals here is a vast improvement over their record. A bit more focus and you'll have it, guys..."

Good one Shreiber. Way to reveal yourself to your readers as a juvenile, spiteful, no-talent prick. What did SOUND team ever do to you? Is it the major label? Is it the nods to their influences through great music? Did they steal some of your hipster faithfuls from your SXSW showcase during one of their far superior dayshows? I just don't get it.

I've watched over the years as Pitchfork has taken the literary dump on more than a handful of undeserving bands, but the malice usually ended there. But now with Pitchfork's readership reaching an exponentially larger and larger audience, their journalistic responsibility and respect of power seems to be falling farther and farther. How backwards is that?

Anyhow, I've depoloyed an email to the source, which will almost certainly not be responded to, but atleast I can take solace in knowing that I'm not the only one a little miffed about this whole thing. Check it:

Chris' mention and the 40 or so comments that came after
Zane's personal discussion with Pitchfork reviewer Marc Hogan
More commentary from Eric Grubbs
Austinist's post
SOUND team's graphic depiction of the review

UPDATE: And more...

Tim O Thompson chimes in
More from Zane
Noise for toaster has some great thoughts...

"if they can't handle the rise of influence from independent music bloggers, even with the same ultimate goal in mind - that is, to share good undiscovered music - and continue relentlessly to step up and imitate the qualities of blog posts (mp3 downloads, youtube streaming, live concert pictures blog-style), we have a bunch of immature foot-stomping adults on our hands."

The text in bold brings up an especially great point. Pitchfork's news feed is in fact now just a blog engine, but the ability to comment on a post is for some reason unavailable. Gosh, I wonder why...

Band of Horses: Yeehaw! (see 'Weed Party')

2006-06-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that showgazer loves them some Band of Horses. So when BOH rolls into town showgazer is gonna be there front and center (or a little off to the side really). And when they choose to play our favorite venue, The Parish, that's just icing on the cake.

Openers The Can't See and Mt.Egypt were less than could be hoped for, but what're ya gonna do ... you're about to see BOH for the 3rd time this year. Quit complaining. I actually dug Mt.Egypt, which is basically the work of one dude (Travis Graves), who was backed by BOH's drummer and bass player. It was just a little too chill for me at the time when I was struggling to stay awake for the main event. I did find it amusing when between every song he'd say "Thanks dudes" while doing the hang-10 hand symbol.

But enough of the small talk. Let's jump to the main course. BOH rolled up to the stage being lead in by some dirty rap song and they were into it -- w/ singer Ben Bridwell throwin' his hands in the air (and he didn't care). They launched into 'Monsters', the first of what would be "every song we know how to play" (according to Bridwell) for the night.

(file photo) Guitarist Mat Brooke - Where am I?
It was at this point when I started to question where BOH co-founder and guitarist Mat Brooke was. You know, the tall, quiet one w/ lots of tats and the money beard. Did he quit the band? Is he just hungover from last night? Maybe he got sent up w/ Johnny Law. Wherever he was, he wasn't where he should be -- playin' guitar for my happy ass. So this troubled me the entire show as I realized he would not be gracing us with his presence. Later I saw this story in the Tuscon Weekly, which says:

"Although Brooke isn't performing with the group on their current tour (he recently opened a bar in Seattle), she says that Bridwell's stage presence more than makes up for it."

While I do dig on Bridwell's stage persona (which is quite humble/shy about the great songs he writes until it turns into fun/enthusiam), I can't say I completely agree with that statement because I enjoy Brooke's quiet, creepiness just as much. He's got a hell-of-a stage presence himself and his deeper, soothing backing vocals on the albums softer tracks show his true value. Cest la vie. As long as he continues to collaborate with Bridwell on the albums to come.

(file photo) Singer/Guitarist/Founder Ben Bridwell
After accepting the fact he wasn't coming out to play I set out for an enjoyable set. The band seemed to be enjoying themselves as well. Bridwell at one point quipped he was going to "make a baby" with the Austin crowd because we were much nicer to the band than the evil Houston crowd the night before.

The baby making songs included hits 'The Funeral' (of course) and my personal favorite 'The Great Salt Lake' (fyi: back of the boat = wrecking ball). They also did a cover of Hall & Oats' 'You Make My Dreams', which was helped out on by Mt.Egypt's Graves. They played a few new songs, including one Bridwell said was named after "NBA Legend Detlef Schrempf" just because the song "needed a name." It was not about basketball, but I like the nod to the former Mav. At one point Bridwell said, "We're going to play a different song we already played. No seriously." At that point they launched into a second version of 'Wicked Gil' (aka 'Bass Song'), which was a slower, more chill version from the albums, played earlier in the show. And I finally got a chance to see 'Weed Party' (yeehaw), which wasn't played at either show I'd seen them at before.

(file photo) Band at End Of An Ear in-store
While 90% of the crowd was there to see one song performed (hint: you go to it when people die), which was constantly yelled out for the duration of the show, it did provide some funny moments. After one jackass suggested they play it (like they weren't gonna get to it at the END of the set idiots), Bridwell said "No, this is NOT 'The Funeral'." Then his guitar strap unhooked itself causing him to almost drop his guitar. At that point he joked that "God smite me" for not fulfilling the request.

So other than Brooke not showing up, it was a great show. I do think that the two shows I caught of them at SXSW at Red Eyed Fly and the End Of An Ear in-store (which someone caught part of here) were better though (see Brooke's attendance). But I'll take 4/5ths of BOH over nothing any day. Plus I'll see the guys again in Chicago at the fork-fest in July. Maybe Brooke will make that trip (you better sucka). If not, I'll have The National / Spoon / Destroyer / Tapes 'n Tapes / The Walkmen to make up for it). Yayah.

Beck Live: Hell Yes!

2006-06-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Beck and Jamie Lidell played The Backyard on the outskirts of town last week, and I have to say it was one of the most imaginative shows I've ever been to. It was my first time to The Backyard since the once amazing view behind the stage was replaced by a giant mall. Way to go big business. Sad really, but hey we need more Best Buys right? Bitches.

After that sour taste in my mouth was replaced with sweet sweet Lone Star it was time for the show. We rolled up to Jamie Lidell's bizarre set of techno and beat boxing, infused with a couple of his soulful tracks from the Multiply album. I can't really say I enjoyed his set. His big hit, 'Multiply', closed the show and it was a decent song. I did also enjoy his odd wardrobe choice, which consisted of a silk bathrobe and a white towel around his neck. Not sure if he was rushed out of the shower before the show, but he should have taken his time. The majority of his set being taken up by a mess of electronic sounds thrown together under his beat-boxing + a couple of real songs in between just didn't do it for me.

Strike one against Beck and his $40 ticket price. But luckily the man himself was just around the corner to make it all worthwile. Not only did we get to see Beck and his band of funky looking cohorts, including a dancing Napolean Dynamite knock off, but we got to see the band twice over because they were doubled as puppets. PUPPETS! And it didn't suck. Seriously. It was quite good.

photo by shadoflamex
Imagine every concert you've ever been to, but instead of the drum kit being back-center stage, there's a small version of the stage you're looking at, but with puppets comprising the band. Every band member, including Napolean who didn't really play an instrument (except for a sweet banjo-syncing display during one song), had their own puppet performing along w/ them. The puppets were being video taped and displayed on a large screen behind the band, as well as on a tiny screen behind the puppet band. Freaky. The video would switch between regular live footage, and music-video-ified special effects that would turn Beck Puppet into a drugged out kaliedescope version of himself.

Beck took the stage asking where all the "Guero's" were. For those not in the know, that's not just a taco bar on South Congress. Guero is Spanish slang for "white boy" -- which apparently Beck was labeled growing up in East L.A. A large number of classic Beck hits were performed, including snippets of my favorites 'Beercan' (best Beck song ever) and 'Hell Yes'. He hit just about every album he's put out with at least a few tracks, including the down-tempo Sea Change, which was book-ended by the more upbeat electro tunage. During one of the Sea Change numbers performed by Beck and his bass-player (the one w/ the huge white boy fro) on the acoustic guitar, the rest of the band were joined by Jamie Lidell for a "conceptual meal," as Beck described it. They sat at a wooden dinner table adorned with plates, dishes, and glasses full of water. They joined in on the song by having their own ho-down -- banging spoons on all of the dishes and the table. The puppets played along on their own tiny version of the table. It really made the song.

Beck also gave us some insight into his love for R.Kelly, which was quite amusing. He explained how one day when he was cruising in his car scanning tradionally crappy radio in L.A. he passed on the usual top-40 and grunge mailaise and stopped on R.Kelly's ghetto-fied R&B because he found it much more entertaining how it's all about gettin' freaky and what not. I can't remember what song he morphed into his own R&B sex-fest, but it was hilarious.

The puppets provided some quality pre-encore entertainment as the crowd watched a video of their exploits in Austin earlier that day. They went running at town lake, which included 2 puppets chasing some girls down and another doing situps w/ a sweaty exercising dude. Some other puppets paid homage to Stevie Ray Vaughan at his statue. They also dined on some Amy's Ice Cream. Beck puppet made an appearance at Guero's Taco Bar where he asked where the "guerolitas were at". The puppet band regrouped at The Backyard where they did some lounging in hammocks before gathering together for some band love before hitting the stage. You know that scene in Almost Famous where Stillwater gather in a circle and sing that song they always sing before running out of stage? Imagine that, but w/ puppets, singing lines from Soundgarden's 'Black Hole Sun', Pearl Jam's 'Even Flow', and Alice In Chains' 'Rooster'. They came to snuff that rooster. Quality stuff. The puppets went back onstage where they performed 'Loser', sans real band helping out.

The show's closer, 'Where It's At', featured Napolean walking on stage w/ a boom-box that got progressively larger every time he returned to the stage until he finally returned w/ airplane light sticks directing a massive boom-box onto the stage. The big boom-box didn't really do anything, but it was impressive to see such a big f**king boom-box. And that was it. All in all $40 well spent I say.

Review: The Constantines

2006-06-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

The Constantines were joined by Oakley Hall Thursday night at Emo's. If you weren't there then you missed one of the best shows of 2006. Straight up.

The intensity with which they played had the entire crowd hooked from song one. From then on there was constant audience clapping to the beat + yelling/singing lyrics along w/ the band. This is what bands that are really into their music -- and good music at that -- should play like. Denmark's Figurines should take note. These Canadians have got the goods.

They played quite a few favorites off the recent Tournament of Hearts, including an awesome rendition of my favorite, "Soon Enough", which featured Oakley Hall fiddler Claudia Mogel and backup singer Rachel Cox. Past album songs included "Arizona", "Young Lions", and "Nighttime Anytime (It's Alright)". There was also a raucous version of "Shine A Light", which involved all band members and 1/2 the audience raising their arms like sunbeams before they simultaneously came crashing down in a blast of rock to cap the song. The bass player even climbed atop his amp tower only to jump back down to the stage for the songs' closing.

There were a couple of missteps, however, but all can be forgiven. Two songs, including "Theives" off Tournament of Hearts were sung by guitarist Steve Lambke. While I like this song on disc, his voice doesn't really translate well in a live setting. His soft, nasally voice coupled with his less-commanding presence was all but consumed by the music's thunder. Leave it to the master, lead singer Bry Webb, whose gruff voice serves as it's own equal instrument in the Constantines brutal attack.

The dude in front of me that performed air-drums throughout the entire set, w/o a single care as to how ridiculous he might have looked, about sums it up for how intoxicating they were live. Personally I can't wait for them to return to Austin. Until then I will be honing my own air-drumming skills in the privacy of my own home.

Walking into Emos I was a little worried. The first of the two opening bands was finsihing up and the volume was so loud you couldn't tell the girl at the door you were already on the list. My ears didn't stop ringing until two days after the show (but I think the Constantines might have had something to do with that as well). Having never heard Oakley Hall before, I was worried about what we were in for. Fortunately they were nothing like the preceeding band and were actually quite good. Oakley Hall's country-fied rock features multiple guitars, a keyboard, and a fiddle - a quality touch if you ask me. And let's not forget those two cute female contibutors either. They won over a good portion of the audience as their set chugged along. More and more people flooded in from the Emos patio to - heaven forbid - actually come listen to the music being played inside.

You're likely to hear more about Oakley Hall. Already with two (!!!) albums out in 2006 alone (Second Guessing, Gypsum Strings), they will make their mark on in due time.

Alexi Murdoch rocks(?) Waterloo Records

2006-06-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

British singer-songwriter Alexi Murdoch joined the fine folks at Waterloo Records Wednesday afternoon for a 5-song set from his recent debut album, Time Without Consequence. I was there. It was legit.

I've heard Murdoch a few times before ... most recently on Seattle's KEXP (yeah I rep it. I'm a member. no shame in the game). But I first heard him from his amazing song 'Orange Sky' featured in the movie Garden State (also played on KEXP). Sadly this masterpiece did not make it on to the infamous soundtrack for the movie. It was probably a ploy to get us to all wait 2 years for the full length album. Well I'm sold. It's finally out and it's on the album. Hooray for everyone. Sadly he did not play it for the Waterloo on-lookers.

I say "rock(?)" because Murdoch doesn't technically rock. It's way more soft-core. It's pretty much him, his guitar, and his beautiful lyrics. And it doesn't hurt that his voice is amazing as well. At least that's how to describe his performance at the 'loo. The album is a little more fleshed out, but the centerpiece is him and his guitar. I'm curious how his offical live show goes. Does he play w/ a band? Maybe yes, maybe no. But give him an acoustic guitar and that's pretty much all you need. Anyone that would like to know what he's like live, check him out Thursday night (6/15) at Stubbs and report back. I will be down the street at Emos catching The Constantines, but more about them tomorrow.

I'd recommend picking up Murdoch's first full length. It's quite good. It would make a great rainy day soundtrack or something to put on when you need a break from the bang and clatter of the other indie-rock bands we spout about on this site (see Tapes 'n Tapes & Cold War Kids).

Peristroika + Hamlet + Badgers = good times

2006-06-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

Tapes 'n Tapes, joined by Figurines and Cold War Kids brought their traveling road show to Stubbs' indoor stage Tuesday night for what turned out to be a good time had by all. Well at least by me (and my lady). I'd seen Tapes 'n Tapes before when they played for the KEXP SXSW broadcast at ACL studios in March. It was enjoyable, but not the same feeling as seeing them live. As for the Figurines and Cold War Kids, it was a new experience, and a chance to put the hype to the test.

I'd say I'm a "Cold War" kid. I grew up w/ Gorby (that's Gorbachev -- yeah the dude w/ the funny spot on this head). I'm all about "glastnost" (which means "openess", at least according to my 6th grade history teacher). And who could forget "peristroika" (economic "restructuring"). Those were some good times. I can't really say if you bottle all that fun up you'd come out w/ Los Angeles based Cold War Kids' brand of off-beat rock, but I am convinced. My pre-show prediction was that at least one of the 2 hype-a-thon bands would deliver and Cold War Kids did that. They were legit. I was on the fence about em after a few listens, but after seeing them totally get into what they were playing and hearing the songs much louder and in the flesh, I have a whole new appreciation for the EPs. Listening to the Up In Rags EP again today brought back all the stompin', dancin' around the stage, and buckets of sweat they were leaving all over the Stubbs' stage. Good times. I recommend listening to show opener (maybe ... there were drinks) 'Hang Me Out To Dry' at high volume levels. It was in my head all night and the day following the show. The uncontrollable urge to bounce your whole body to the beat is natural. Go w/ it.

Back to my pre-show prediction: one band would succeed, while the other would falter. I'm gonna come out and say that I was right. Figurines didn't do it for me. But I guess following a much more energetic Cold War Kids, they didn't really have a chance. Hailing from Hamlet's (it's a play; a good one; look into it) home of Denmark, the Figurines just didn't convice me that they actually enjoyed playing their music. Everyone pretty much stayed in their places for the entirety of the show, until they finally got into it during the last songs' post-thanks-for-coming-out encore jam session. But it was too little, too late. I think the pretty boy bass player (in pic on far right) did them in for me. He seemed like he cared more about how he looked than rockin' out. Tsk tsk. It wasn't all bad. I dug a couple of tracks, like their opener (which I couldn't tell you what it was), because it evoked a Neil Young quality that was quite good. Unfortunately, the entire package was lacking. (note: this pic was taken in front of KEXP studios, which is pretty cool. the KEXP sign is anyway.)

But alas, I knew our friends from the land of 10,000 lakes (that's Minnesota) were up next to bring life back to the party. And that they did. Tapes 'n Tapes put on a raucous set which opened w/ most of their rock-out loud songs (see Insistor, Cowbell). I'm in. Get the crowd hooked, then bring it down a notch. Then bring the Cold War Kids' singer and guitar player up for some indie-mega-band sing along action (can't remember which song, but it was dope). And close it down w/ some Crazy Eights. After seeing the live show, I can safely say that I will indeed be their badger. No idea what that means, but I'm doing it.

ps. seriously Kelly ... who's the logger?

Fear Not. Showgazer is alive! and w/ shows to speak of ...

2006-06-11T19:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a while, yes. For that showgazer apologizes. Being slaves to the proverbial "man" have forced showgazer under ground -- well, more like in a cubicle -- for a while. Please forgive us.

Ok, now with that out of the way, on to bidniss. It's been a while since I've been to a good show, so I figured I'd point out some good upcoming shows that I'm excited about. That is not to say we haven't been to good shows. We have not forsaken you Black Angels -- we're just lazy on the posting. But we've been through that (see above). The show at the Parish a while back was top notch.

Now on to this week in shows to gaze ...

Tuesday 6/13
Tapes 'n Tapes @ Waterloo Records (free instore 5pm)
Tapes 'n Tapes, Figurines, Cold War Kids @ Stubb's (indoors)
comments: I'm headed to the windy city (that's Chicago for all complete idiots out there) for the fork fest at the end of july. Just can't pass up a chance to see The National and Band of Horses in my old stomping grounds of chi-town. Got CUBS tix too. It's shaping up to be a quality weekend. Anyway ... Tapes 'n Tapes are also on the bill, so I wasn't too thrilled about this show. Then I discovered it was a mere $10! That's insanity. + 2 openers that have mad hype and at least one of them has to be worth their weight in blog-mania. I'm guessin' it's those Kids. I dig some of what I've heard from their 3 EPs. Not too crazy about the Figurines from what I've peeped, but they might surprise. You never know. For $10 I'm willing to find out.

Thursday 6/15
Constantines @ Waterloo Records (free instore 5pm)
Constantines, Oakley Hall, Camp X-Ray, Possessed by Paul James, Come Latelys @ Emo's
comments: I've been waiting to see The Constantines ever since I finally got around to listening to their awesome 3rd disc, Tournament of Hearts. Hearing 'Soon Enough' live will be worth the price of admission for me. That song contains one of my favorite lyrics of all 2005 discs: women are winning the tournament of hearts ... somebody's gotta lose. Check these Canadians out and you surley won't lose. (i hope). Also a mere $10.

Friday 6/16
I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness @ Elysium
The Streets, Lady Sovereign @ La Zona Rosa
comments: probably won't be checking out either of these shows, but they will most likely be good. I love you, but i've already seen you a few times. And for the hippity hop ... never really been my thing checking it out live. I dig on some Mike Skinner on disc, but let's keep that confined to just me in my car (with the windows rolled up). I keed. I'm really black. Ok, not really. A man can dream.

And that's just this week. Next week is shaping up to be dirty good ...

Monday 6/19
The Walkmen, Richard Swift, Talkdemonic @ La Zona Rosa
comments: probably won't be at this one, as it's a school night. BUT ... the walkmen's latest is pretty good. I like. Also, openers Talkdemonic were picked to open for my current favorite band -- The National -- for a few shows earlier this year. That is instant cred as far as I'm concerned. This show will not disappoint.

Tuesday 6/20
Beck, Jamie Lidell @ the Backyard
comments: it's BECK. He's a legend. And the Backyard is a dope venue. (At least it used to be. It's been tainted by that chump from Matchbox 20 and that chump from Creed, but Bob Dylan likes the place, so that's good enough for me). I know it's a hefty $40 show, but live a little. I haven't seen Beck EVER, so I figure he's due. There better be white boy breakdancing. Or at least some robot.

Friday 6/23
Sonic Youth, Awesome Color @ Stubb's
comments: never really got into Sonic Youth, but I understand lots of peeps like them. That's pretty much why they're on the list. Check it out if you dig.

Saturday 6/24
The Futureheads, French Kicks @ La Zona Rosa
comments: never been much for the Futureheads. saw them open for the Delays a long time ago and they just annoyed me. Also can't get past their best song being a cover (of Kate Bush). Maybe they're better now that they've made a shitload of money in Europe. But I doubt it. My money's on the French Kicks. I've only peeped their new disc, Two Thousand, once or twice, but I think I like it. It needs more listens, but I might check them out if I am really hard up for something to do Sat night. Likely I will be preparing myself for the greatness that is to come Sunday night at the Parish...

Sunday 6/25
Band of Horses, Mt. Egypt, The Can't See @ the Parish Room
Peter & the Wolf @ Emo's
comments: Sorry Red. Hope the sailboat tour was a success. But you have some stiff competition up the street at a venue that doesn't cause death while using the restroom or sound like a tin can. BAND of HORSES ride into town again after a pair of legit shows at SXSW in March. They've been on the road for a while and I'm eagerly awaiting to see how they've honed their performance chops since a nervous show amongst record execs (and David Cross) at the Red Eye Fly. Favorite album of the year (so far ... damn that Silversun Pickups album for making me choose!) + favorite Austin venue = good times. You've been warned. I'm certain this will be one of my favorite shows of 2006.

That's all she wrote. My picks: Band of Horses, Constantines, Tapes (x2). Do with that what you will.

ps. The Mavs just went up 2-0. YAYAH! Sorry Derek (he likes the Spurs). God will forgive you. Us Mavs fans have been through a lot of shitty years to get here (pretty much my whole natural life). Just let us have our fun.

The Original 10,000 Days Pitchfork Review

2006-05-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

Now I know I don't post much anymore, but this discovery was just too good in my eyes not to share with the rest of you. So, anyway, at this point you're probably asking yourself what the hell is "10,000 Days"?! Don't worry, as a pretentious indie kid it is by no means your fault for not knowing the title of the latest release by Tool. Yes, that's right, Tool. "Wait, doesn't that break rules 1, 3, 26, and 30 of the hipster code of good taste", you ask? Oh, go to hell!

Anyhow, if you realize Tool's greatness like I do, you might have noticed the crummy 5.9 review the fork gave them two days ago (not to mention the 5.5 the new Peal Jam received, which is equally shameful). Well, don't feel too bad about it, since it looks as if the original review was a full 1.0 points higher. How do I know this? It's called site search folks. Check this out:

http://pitchforkmedia.com/cgi-bin/search2/search.cgi?terms=tool

Yep, that's right, two reviews for the same album. Oh Pitchfork, you're so great at belittling quality music, yet you can't even manage the content of your own website.

Anyhow, the more favorable review looks to be the original, unedited version and is dated 1 day earlier than the one published to their homepage. It looks like good ol' Schreiber or one of his cronies got a hold of the original and decided to dock it a full point seeing as Tool couldn't possibly be deserving of a rating in the respectable 6.0-7.0 range. I mean, that might come off as an endoresement of the band. God forbid, such an uncalculated move could compromise years of hard-earned street cred!

Confession: Neko Case is LEGIT

2006-04-19T08:42:00.002-07:00

Neko Case brought her band to La Zona Rosa Tuesday 4/18 to close out the state-side leg of her 'Fox Confessor...' tour. It may have been "sad" for her and her band, but certainly not for us fools. I first saw her a few years ago after a friend begged me to join him for a show at Antone's. Only really knowing 'Deep Red Bells' I was hesitant, but ended up going and was VERY glad I did. I spent most of the show trying to figure out if her voice was pre-recorded because it sounded so amazing. This tour I knew better: Neko is not to be missed.

Neko's voice was bangin' as always. With 2 (or maybe 3) encores (there were a lot), she belted just about every good song of hers I can think of. Highlights for me were 'Deep Red Bells' and 'Hold On, Hold On'. Quite a few off of the live disc, 'The Tigers Have Spoken', were also quite good.

The between-song banter was better than most shows I can remember, most of which was provided by backing vocalist Kelly Hogan. We learned that Neko's tour bus has a $150 fine for "solids" (I'm assuming per the bus company they rented from). An unnamed member of the tour crew wanted to donate $300 for 2 shits just to stick it to the man.

Openers, The High Dials, were pretty good. Only hearing one song prior to seeing them I was a little in the dark, but left w/ another decent band on my list of bands to check out. Local future mega-stars, The Black Angels, were in full force courtesy of The High Dials. I noticed when I bought their quality debut LP, Passover, at the CD release show at Emos on 4/1 that The High Dials were among the many bands in the "THANKS to" section. Knowing they were opening for Neko I was intrigued. There were a couple of High Dials songs that reminded me of The Black Angels actually. The show closer featured the bass player on sitar. It sounded like what I imagine would result from The Angels flying to India, a la George Harrison, and returning w/ "expanded minds" and shit. And rockin' sitar solos are actually pretty good when the rest of the band fills in the background. Overall I really enjoyed how the band was quite cohesive. The backing vocals played very nicely w/ the lead vocals. Same went for the two guitars in the band also. It made for lots of very melodic rockin'.

Speaking of The Black Angels ... John In The Morning of Seattle's awesome radio station KEXP recently bumped Neko Case from the top of his best-of-2006 list. Who beat her out you say? The Black Angels. He's been proclaiming the Angels' disc the best of the year for a while, but it wasn't until this week that he made it official.

JOHN'S TOP 20 OF 2006
1. Black Angels - Passover (Light in the Attic)
2. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Anti-)

Sorry Neko. You had a good run. See you on the next tour.

ACL Early Bird: the aftermath

2006-04-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

Unless you're under a rock, or just don't keep up w/ the music happenings in our fine city of Austin, you're well aware of the completely botched Austin City Limits festival "early bird presale". It's been a while since the city collectively barfed all over the horrible display put on by ACL and the internet traffic masters at FrontGateTickets. Since then ACL has been busy to do what they can to clean up their mess.

If you made any comments (or more likely complaints) through the ACL website, you likely got a response from someone at the brand development group at Capital Sports & Entertainment. I got a reply from the friendly and understanding Michael.

We got your email about the ACL pre-sale and I understand you experienced some frustrations with the process. I'm really sorry to hear it - we know our eList subscribers are our most loyal fans and we do everything we can to try to create good experiences for you guys .

Etc, etc. I replied and he sympathized ...

I absolutely hear you on all of that, and believe it or not, I agree with you.

He also insisted I give him my digits so he could discuss this w/ me over the phone. He explained that it was the fault of the mailing list service provider ACL hired to handle the mass mailing, but they completely botched the job -- a server was out and ACL wasn't notified about it until hours later... something to that effect. Supposedly this mailing list provider is the best in the biz. They handle accounts for Chevy and other such large crappy companies. That day, however, they were not the best in the biz.

He apologized profusely and took my address down so that he send me an ACL "goodie bag" to help soften the blow. He reiterated that ACL is dedicated to solve the flying dirt storm problems experienced last year and working w/ the city to alleviate the problem. I don't know if I should call off the 3-day Liveoak Hefe + Band of Horses marathon in my backyard, but at least I have some free shit coming my way. I'll let you know just how sorry ACL is when I get this gift bag in the mail.

In recent ACL news: The Austinist reports that "various Internet sources indicate that The Flaming Lips, The New Pornographers, and Son Volt are all on board for ACL Fest in September." While they are all respectable bands, 2/3 of which I've already seen, I don't think that's enough to call off the boycott.

TO: ACLFROM: sam (regular music fan)MSG: let the BOYCOTT begin!

2006-04-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

ACL Early Bird my ass. Once again it's time to get angry with the music festival hype machine. From today's ACL website:

The $35 tickets have sold out.
It took about 42 minutes to go through 3,000 tickets, and we appreciate your patience, stamina, and perseverance

Hey thanks for that info! I still haven't gotten the email from the mailing list, to which I've been subscribed to for years, saying they even went onsale yet! I have to hear that ACL early bird tix go onsale from a friend frantically trying to get shut out himself. I get the "buy now" button only to find that my wait time is a mere 88 minutes! But don't refresh that page because it could slow my chances of getting tickets. Yeah right. That page doesn't refresh. Wait time will indefinitely be 88 minutes. Why? Because FrontgateTickets sucks. They can't handle the server load so they throw up static "make the user feel good" web pages. DON'T REFRESH!!! We can't get you tickets now, or 10 hours from now, but as long as you feel good about it in the mean time.

FrontGate's site has traditionally sucked so I should be used to it by now. But that doesn't sheild you from the pain ACL. If you are going to sell early bird tix at least give EVERYONE a shot at it! Maybe I'll get that email saying they went onsale tomorrow. Or next week! I've heard reports from numerous friends that the emails are trickling in... they get excited only to find they sold out hours ago. Fools.

Now I struggle with even wanting to go. Should i shell out $100+ to get ravaged by dust storms and sweltering heat? Probably not, but if Radiohead turns out to be the magical headliner I might be sad for not being there. Screw it... I won't be able to see through the dirt haze anyway.

I think I might take my $100+, buy a keg of LiveOak Hefe and enjoy the drunkeness w/ my dog in the backyard as I listen to the Band of Horses album on repeat for 3 days straight. Take that ACL! You're not invited. But all boycotting music fans are.

Oh what's up! This just in ... i just got my ACL "early bird" email at a whopping 10:22 PM! i better hurry and try to get those tickets. SIKE. now they're just rubbing it in. watch your back ACL. you just lost a customer for life. bitches.

UPDATE: Additional blogger fury to be found here, here, and here (read the comments). Let us bond together in hatred, fellow Austinites!

P.s. - Tim, I like your ACL alternative the best.

This Weekend

2006-03-31T07:45:00.000-08:00

As it turns out, there's some really good stuff going on this weekend over at everyone's favorite shithole, Emo's.

Tonight, Friday, 3/31

INSIDE STAGE: Local indie show Peter and the Wolf/ Possesed by Paul James/ Madeline/ The Harpeth Trace / Navajo Radio

Man, I have fallen crazy in love (yes, just like Beyonce) with that Peter and the Wolf self-titled LP I bought a couple months ago. It's probably my favorite disc of folk tunes ever. No lie.

In addition to his beautiful recordings, Red's live show is like no other you've ever witnessed. Put simply, every time I see him perform I am reminded of why I came to love music in the first place. His raw, genuine passion for song makes me forget about all the fashion, trends, and pretentiousness attached to this whole music thing. I get happy when I see this guy perform, and that's all I care about.

Tomorrow, Saturday, 4/1

OUTSIDE STAGE: Black Angels (cd release) / Bellaparker / Strange Boys/ Angelus.

Now, shifting gears from folk to dirty, psychadelireverbifried rock. Be here Saturday night to celebrate the release of The Black Angels' fantastic debut LP, Passover. This was the only band I saw three times at SXSW, and they live in Austin no less. That's how flippin' good they are. Here's track one off of the new record:

:: The Black Angels - Young Men Dead ::

Also, friends of a friend The Strange Boys will be opening, who are quite good in their own right. Listen to some songs here. Said friend promises that they blow away their recorded work live, so go check them out and shake his hand when they become your new favorite band.

See you at the piss trough...

New Single Frame Tracklist

2006-03-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

Single Frame's upcoming release, Everything Wants To Be Used For What It Was Made For, will play into your ears April 25 in the following manner:

01 Icon
02 Guess What Angel
03 Taken For A Walk (Unreleased Dimeslot)
04 Silver Crime Lining (Abandoned Demo)
05 Clippership (Machine Remix)
06 Exact Copy (Witch Dr. Remix by J-Mprint)
07 Nobody
08 Flying Circus (Apartment Mix)
09 Damaged (Fragments)
10 Post Daydream (First Day Demo)
11 Foral Design (Straight Line Remix by J-Mprint)
12 Sore For Change
13 Undergroung At Noon (Sunlight Hits Remix By Creepy Kid)
14 Dry Lips (Car Stereo Wars Remix by Chris Rose)
15 People Are Germs (Monaster Mash-up remix By Nick Zinner)
16 Digital Witness (Protection remix by Creepy Kid)
17 Float Over Oregon

Preview tracks 3 and 6 over at their Myspace page.

And because no showgazer post would be complete without atleast one live shot, here's a couple from Single Frame's opening SXSW performance at The Jackalope.

SXSW Highlight: Band of Horses... Twice. (Bitch)

2006-03-23T12:53:00.000-08:00

Yeah, that's right... Band of Horses times two for me, suckas. This was the "must see" band of SXSW for me and several other friends, all of us having been obsessed with their phenomenal Everything All The Time over the last couple months.

I'll never forget the god forsaken line we had to wait in for over two hours outside of Red Eyed Fly to see these guys (watching as David Cross, Ryan Schreiber, and countless other hot shots strolled right in), but holy hell was it worth it. Trust me, they deserve that rating. Rolling in with more tats than a group of escape convicts, and even more guitars on top of that, these guys rocked face at their SubPop showcase. Have a look:

Singer Ben Bridwell

Guitarist Mat Brooke

Uhhh... playing the show

Dude's voice is legit, as well as that neck tat

He stands too!

Wicked good drummer

Band of Guitars?

And then it was over to the End of And Ear in-store on Saturday. They would have been flawless if that Georgia shirt was burnt orange and had a longhorn on it.

Full Band

The two Official Horses; those pictures on the wall
were hanging straight at one point.

Singin' and Strummin'

Bassist and Keyboardist

Three string bass and lonestar

SXSW: Sam's Best Of

2006-03-20T13:33:00.000-08:00

A good buddy of mine, Sam (aka Snead, Snizzle, etc.), sent out this email with his SXSW favorites. Since his lame ass has no online presence, I figured I'd share it with you right here seeing as I pretty much agree with all of his picks. Plus, I love having other chumps write my content for me (just kidding Sam... but not really). And the winners are:

BEST OF THE BEST

Best Show: Band of Horses. Too hard to pick between the two shows I saw, but I really dug the in-store. The band seemed less nervous not in front of loads of sub pop fools. But I can’t discount the 2+ hours we waited to get into the showcase show. These guys are amazing.

Best Overall Experience: KEXP @ ACL. This was just cool. The ACL studio was small, intimate and everything sounded perfect. And the KEXP people I met were all really cool. Only complaint was no beer. Oh well…some sober(ish) shows are fun too.

Best Surprise... "We Are Actually Legit Live!": Editors. Man, these guys sounded so good at the KEXP broadcast. They were on fire.

Most Bizzare, But Glad I Went: Art Brut. It was oddly entertaining. The singer is just bizarre. The Pringles-can-man moustache is legit. And before every song: [in think brit accent] “Ready Art Brut?” good times.

Best Dancer/Craziest Singer: Ghostland Observatory. Oh man I’m glad I saw them finally. That singer is mad crazy w/ the dancing and Willie Nelson braids. A definite must see.

Best Celeb Encounter: trying to con David Cross into sneaking us into the Sub Pop showcase, then finding out after we got in that he wasn’t trying to snub us. He just was worried about coming up w/ his own story to get in, which was actually quite lame, but worked for him. funny/cool dude.

Honorable Mentions: running into Aaron Dessner from The National … while wearing my National t-shirt. Someone needed to rep them in their absence I told him. He appreciated it. Also confirming from the source that the band was indeed not one of the many “special guest” slots at the festival. (I got more random love from that shirt than I did all week … the word is out. The National are legit. FYI)

SXSW Highlight: Envelopes @ The Parish, 3/15/06

2006-03-20T08:42:00.000-08:00

So SXSW 2006 is over, and predictably, I feel like ass. While not as great a festival for me as previous years, I have to say that there were some damn fine moments and some bands seen that absolutely blew me away. One such band was Envelopes, who happened to be playing the first official showcase slot of the festival (8:00pm on Wednesday for those not familiar). I must thank Ryan Catbird for the suggestion on seeing these guys (and gal), for their blend of quirky synth-rock all the way from Sweden was exactly what I needed to pep me up after an afternoon of boozing. And speaking of Sweden, seriously go pick up that Hemstad disc from Catbird Records ASAP. These Swedes make some seriously fun music, surely to elevate you above that case of the Mondays you're no doubt enduring at the moment.

Anyhow, back to Evelopes. Check out these pics, and try your best not to fall in love with guitarist Audrey Pic:

Martin Karlsson on bass

Henrik Orrling and Audrey Pic on guitars/vocals

Check Henrik's shirt... apparently he's an Envelopes fan

Audrey is the cutest musician I've ever seen, hands down

Filip Ekander on drums

Rockin' out

What's up? She looks nice right?

Sike! Sexy time.

And that's Fredrik Berglind-Dehlin in the back, wearing his favorite band shit too

Now run over to Catbirdseat and download a bunch of their tunes... run!

The Black Angels' Guitar on eBay

2006-03-13T12:23:00.000-08:00

Damn, talk about a sad story here, folks. Christian, the lead guitarist for The Black Angels, has been forced to part with his beautiful left-handed Rickenbacker due to unexpected financial circumstances. Here's a bit more straight from their Myspace bulletin:

"We hope a deserving left handed black angels fan bids on it and uses it to start the revolution. We'd rather a fan owned his guitar rather than a random person, so that maybe one day Christian can be reunited to his beloved Rick."

So, if you're left-handed and a Black Angels fan (which you have no excuse not to be by now), get to bidding! Or, if for some reason you don't have several grand lying around, at least go and pre-order the new record here.

-------

Also: Anyone else see that weekly feature picture over on Pitchfork's homepage? That thing sure looks familiar.

Best. Single Frame. Video. Ever.

2006-03-13T09:10:00.000-08:00

Remember that funny Single Frame picture I posted the other day? Well, apparently it was taken from the filming of their new video for the Nick Zinner remix of "People Are Germs". The guys over at Super!Alright! did an amazing job on this one. Check it out.

The Arm - The Privileged Few

2006-03-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

So, The Arm have a new mp3 for everyone to download, and it's off their upcoming record, Call You Out, coming out April 14th on Indierect Records. "The Privileged Few" is definitely a bit of a different sound for The Arm, but I think I like it. The guitar riff seems to drive the song this time around rather than a sinister bass line, it's a bit poppier than usual, and there's even guest vocals from Jennifer Stephens of Young Heart Attack. Have a listen:

::: The Arm - The Privileged Few :::

Here's another one from the new record (from The Arm's SXSW page):

::: The Arm - Vile Lies :::

Also: I finally managed to recover all of my pictures from last Sunday's Will Johnson In-Store + the BRMC show at the Parish. My camera's media card got all jacked up, but thanks to technology all was not lost. I'll try to have a recap posted soon.

Myspace News Dump

2006-03-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

These items just in from the Myspace bulletin board:

Via Cue:

There's a really cool free pre-SXSW show this Friday over at Beerland. Here's the lineup:

9:30 - Horse + Donkey (from the most awesome fucked up planet ever)
10:15 - The Donkeys (San Diego)
11:00 - Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (San Francisco/Chicago, on Tomlab records)
12:00 - Cue (from your mom's house)
1:00 - "Pleasyure Seizyure" (from 20,000 leagues under the sea)

UPDATE: Pleasyure Seizyure is actually The Octopus Project. One more reason for you to check out this show.

Cue is always good and I'm liking some of this Casiotone stuff I've heard. Here's a track:

::: Casiotone For The Painfully Alone - Cold White Christmas :::

------------------

Via The Black Angels:

Pre-order their excellent upcoming LP, Passover, here.

------------------

Lastly, via Whisky And Apples:

"hey folks,the amazing ralph white will do his wise banjo playing and i will do some weird stuff starting at 9:30 over there at carousel. it's a super low key deali'm gonna downtune all my guitar strings so they just make weird noises and sing chants

AND

any of my comrades free to play my washtub bass and someone else to smack it like a drum? write back if you're free and feel like gettin down tonight. probly in front of like six people so we can get weeeeeird."

-red

Single Frame Funnies

2006-03-08T12:02:00.000-08:00

Alright, alright, I know I talk about Single Frame too much, but I love these guys. And this picture just makes me laugh my ass off. I don't know why... maybe because poor Jason had to put on all that black shoe polish, or maybe because Ian is covered in toilet paper, or maybe it's that cheeseball count dracula costume Adreon is wearing. At any rate, this picture makes my day.

Also, in real news, go check out an unreleased SF remix over the the Volcom Volcast page. Creepykid does his thing with "Exact Copy of This in the Basement", which I suspect will be on the upcoming remix LP, Everything Wants to Be Used for What It Was Made For.

Finally, go read this post by truecraig for a list of the best places to be in order to get your free grub and drink on during SXSW. Then, go read his hilarious blog.

Good day.

WIll Johnson In-Store | BRMC Tonight

2006-03-07T12:35:00.000-08:00

Just a quick reminder about a couple great shows that you don't want to miss this evening.

First, to kickstart your night, go see Will Johnson play some Centro-Matic tunes off of their excellent new LP, Fort Recovery, which coincidently, comes out today. He plays at 7pm at End Of An Ear, and yes, it's free. Be there.

Then, go get a bit to eat, have some drinks, and head downtown to catch BRMC at The Parish. And as an added bonus, assclowns Elefant have even cancelled their appearance at the show tonight. It appears that lead corpse-molester Diego Garcia has fractured his heal and has been ordered by his doctors to rest his feet, meaning no Texas perfomances. Damn, this means we won't get to watch him lick the faces of random audience members. What a fucking bummer! But serioulsy, Voyager One, a wicked good shoegazer act out of Seattle, will be playing in their absense. I'm also expecting good things from opener The Morning After Girls.

Check these tunes if you're not yet convinced that this show is worth seeing:

::: Centro-Matic's Fort Recovery (Full album stream) :::

::: The Morning After Girls - High Skies :::

::: Voyager One - Salvation :::

::: BRMC - Ain't No Easy Way :::

And I know SXSW is right around the corner and you have to rest your feet, masturbate to your shiny pink wristbands, and plan out your lame-o schedule. Well fuck off. Don't be a schlub and come to the show.

The Arm @ Beerland, 3/4/2006

2006-03-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

These guys need no introduction. Anyone that reads this thing knows that The Arm is one of my favorite bands around. I can be content with seeing most acts once a year, but I can't keep myself from going to every fucking Arm show in town, no matter what shit bar they're playing.

Their intensity is addictive, and I fear it's only gonna get worse after the new album comes out. Speaking of which, I confirmed last night that Call You Out contains 8 tracks (like the debut), runs about 30 minutes long, and is guaranteed to melt your face.

"Oh No!"

Kevin has a tendency to look drunk when playing
the kit (or is he really just wasted?)

Ramirez's basslines are ridiculous

Alex, making that brick wall even more brittle

The grand finale where Sean tries to break
his organ yet again

See all 18 photos at my flickr page.

If you're from out of town and you don't see these guys at SXSW, you deserve to be shot. Straight up. You won't see a more intense and in your face show all week. Also check The Austin Showlist to see which unofficial shows they're playing.

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness @ Emo's, 3/2/2006

2006-03-04T20:56:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post before I head off to let The Arm massacre my eardrums (for the 12,578,489th time) at Beerland tonight. So, as promised, here is the ol' photo recap from I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness' CD Release show at Emo's the other night.

As I mentioned, the party didn't end on Thursday after leaving the Single Frame/Loxsly show at The Parish, and so after Single Frame wrapped up around 12:30 I headed over to Red River just in time to catch ILYBICD's 12:40 set. I hadn't seen these guys since they opened up for The Album Leaf last year, so I was looking forward to hearing the new tunes off of their stellar debut LP, Fear Is On Our Side, performed live.

If there's one thing worth mentioning about this show, it has to be how well these guys play together in the live setting. As I commented over at The Rich Girls Are Weeping, Christian Goyer and Co. without a doubt take the cake as Austin's tightest band these days. Here's hoping they get the credit they deserve once the new album hits shelves next week.

The full band

Christian Goyer sounded awesome

I can't get enough of Edward Robert's bass lines,
especially the one on "According to Plan" (mp3)

I, by posting this photo, in no way endorse
the consumption of Miller Lite (unless it's free)

See all 7 photos from this show at my flickr page.

In other ILYBICD news, Depraved Fan Girls posted a great article on them and their new record here.

Also, be sure to see them at SXSW, and if you're from Austin, I'd also recommend checking them out before the SXSW Music madness ensues at the following (now free and open to the public) event:

March 12 - Upcoming.org, Flickr, Del.icio.us Happy Hour - Iron Cactus (6th and Trinity)

Single Frame, Loxsly @ The Parish, 3/2/2006

2006-03-03T09:18:00.000-08:00

Wow, last night was hectic, but in the best way possible. I was fortunate enough to catch three great bands at two venues, one such band even being my all-time favorite (and I'm not talking just locally). Last night's nominees for showgazer's favorite band (ever): Single Frame, Loxsly, and I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness (coverage coming later). The winner? Like you have to freakin' guess... Single Frame, jackass!

Anyhow, it had been a while since last seeing these guys live, and I hate to say it, but in that span of time I almost forgot why SF was my favorite (an unforgivable flaw, I know). Well with that said, their set last night was just what I needed to get my shit back together. The band unapologetically blasted themselves back up onto the showgazer throne, where they rightfully belong.

Furthermore, it was my first time seeing them with new sampler Kevin Adickes (who's previously played with Austin's The Octopus Project), and the sound was great. Even some of those charming between-track interludes from Wetheads Come Running made an appearance, which was an added bonus. And to top it all off, Adreon actually had a conversation with Ian's guitar pickups at one point via cellphone (good luck visualizing that one)! Check it:

The previous three

Adreon doing the mic/drum combo

Jason showing that keyboard who's boss

That's Kevin in the back and Adreon's fiance Heather up
front doing some vintage blogging

Seriously, how many bands do you know that play the typewriter?

So, last night served to remind me of how special each and every Single Frame show is. I can't manage to recall even one show of theirs during which I wasn't wide-eyed in amazement at some point, and that's pretty damn neat if you ask me. Be sure to check them out at this year's SXSW.

And lastly, Single Frame's new remix album, Everything Wants to Be Used for What It Was Made For, comes out April 11th and includes remixes, new material, and old demos collected over the last five years. I can't wait to get my hands on that bad boy.

Album cover taken from The Austin Chronicle.

Ok now, moving on to the opener, Loxsly, another great Austin band who I've mentioned once before. Last time I went to a Loxsly show, I arrived just as they were leaving the stage. That terrible fate would not repeat itself after having received the following Myspace bulletin:

"Our wonderful drummer John is on holiday, but they think they have figured out how to beam him in via satellite. The boys are crazily running around figuring out technical equipment to make it happen. They are even going to throw in some beats to keep it all 'fresh.' Come check it out. It may all blow up in their faces. You love or hate them anyways."

That was enough to sell me. So, sure enough, I show up and there's the drummer all beamed in and shit from Japan! Ok, so the band may have prerecorded him playing along to the songs in a field, but it was pretty entertaining nonetheless. That's not to mention that the music itself was damn skippy. I'll definitely be checking them out again when the drummer gets back into town (perhaps by the time Wall of Sound rolls around?)

The full band; E. Lugo on bass on the far right

John Kelley and his kit, "beamed in"

Justin Douglas on steel guitar and Garrett Johnston
on the standard guit

Cody Ground on vocals/synths

See all 19 photos from the show at my flickr page.

The Paper South (In-Store) @ End of an Ear, 2/25/2006

2006-03-01T06:45:00.000-08:00

After wanting to see these guys live for almost three months now, I finally got my chance to check out The Paper South this past Saturday at End of an Ear Records. The event was a cd release shindig for their first and self-titled EP, which includes six damn good shoegazy grooves (again, downloadable here; but please, buy the freakin' record!).

As for their performance, it was really good, easily exceeding all of my expectations. Each and every song performed live transcended its recorded counterpart, and that's saying a lot since the cd hasn't left my car stereo since I bought it at the show. Shawn O'Keefe's vocals were particularly different in the live setting, coming across with a slightly harder edge and sounding more their age, all the while blending gracefully in and out of the wall of sound created by the drums and guitars. Have a look at what you missed:

Obligatory full band shot

Ken Hatten on guitar and Shawn O'Keefe on guitar + vox

Justin Bankston on bass

And that's John Wilkins in the back on the kit

See all 37 photos at my flickr page.

And then, of course, go see them live for yourself. Oh, and guess what, dear reader? You're in luck! Why? Because they play tonight at Emo's with another showgazer favorite, Cue! Seriously, you need to go to this show. It's their official cd release party, meaning they're guaranteed to sound awesome, and then when they do, you can buy their beautiful EP right then and there. In the words of David Starsky, "Do it!".

Sound Team @ Beerland, 2/5/2006

2006-02-28T10:48:00.000-08:00

How 'bout that? Only about a month late on posting on this show, but better late than never, right? If my medium-term memory serves me correctly, this was a really great last-minute show by Sound Team, having just come off of a tour of the west coast.

Probably the most memorable thing was this crazy, polo-shirt + khaki pants wearin' frat guy that danced around like an absolute coke fiend all night, right in front of the stage no less. Too bad I didn't get any shots of that spectacle, but I didn't want him to think I was actually digging his moves. Anyhow, here's what I did manage to capture on film (or, uhhh... I mean CF card):

Matt Oliver on vox

Sam Sanford and Bill Baird (also seen here)

Jordan Johns on drums

Michael Baird and Gabe Pearlman tweakin'
the knobs, tapes, faders, etc.

Their music and this picture sometimes remind
me of The Walkmen (a really good thing)

See all 20 photos at my flickr page.

THEN SEE THEM LIVE:

FEBRUARY 25 - Limelight (San Antonio)
MARCH 9 - The Engine Room (Houston)
MARCH 10 - Good Records In-Store, 4pm (Dallas)
MARCH 10 - Gypsy Ballroom (Dallas)
MARCH 11 - Emo's (Austin)
MARCH 15 - Emo's (Austin)
MARCH 16 - Buffalo Billiards (Austin)
MARCH 17 - La Zona Rosa (Austin)
MARCH 17 - Big Orange (their studio in Austin)

Sigur Ros @ Bass Concert Hall, 2/26/2006

2006-02-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

My ears are still ringing and I'm still seeing tracers. That's how good last night's show was. Sigur Ros, who I'd never seen before, put on a great show that completely blew away both of the aforementioned senses. Despite getting hosed by some ~~girl~~ bitch after posting the best Sigur Ros ticket ad on Craigslist ever, the night was spectacular. Check it:

The openers were these four girls from the Sigur Ros orchestra,
who were quite good (one even played the band saw)

This translucent curtain they had up was pretty awesome

Changing colors

The curtain is lifted; the band actually exists

Those pesky tracers

The curtain descents once again towards the end

The Full Band Bow

Mass Exodus

If for some reason you missed last night's show (and you have lots of gas and money), drive to Fort Worth to see tonight's performance at Bass Performance Hall (what is it with Texas venues and the word "Bass"?). You might even run into Chris from Gorilla vs. Bear while you're there.

Official SXSW Show Schedule, Version 1

2006-02-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

In the blogger tradition of telling you (the readers) exactly what we (the bloggers) are into (a la year end lists, etc., etc., etc.), here's my tentative schedule for the official SXSW showcases. I simply used the sxsw personal calendar feature on sxsw.com and then saved the html it generated, if you were curious.

Of course, this is all assuming that you give a shit about me and my taste in music, but I figure why would you be reading this if you didn't? (touche!). With that said, here it is:

SXSW Show Schedule, Version 1 (fyi, highlighted entries will be my first choice)

Yeah, I know that's a ridiculously obsene number of bands on there (164 to be exact), but I always like to include every band that I might like to see, so that if and when I get shut out of all my other options, I'm not sitting around with my thumb up my ass. Make sense? Good. Now just to sort through that list of 1726082 day shows...

The Paper South - First (and Free!) EP

2006-02-24T13:45:00.000-08:00

The Paper South are a newish band out of Austin composed of three parts ex-winslow and one part ex-amanset. According to their website, they blend "a shoegazer upbringing with assorted classic and contemporary influences". Shoegazer? Seen the name of this site? Coincidence... I think not.

Naturally, I'm excited about these guys and their first EP, which is self-titled and available for download here. Seriously, listen to it. Now.

They'll be having two release parties for it this coming week, with an in-store at End of an Ear this Saturday @ 6:00pm (with free beer) and then a show at Emo's next Wednesday. I think I won tickets to the second show from KVRX, but I was pretty soused when I supposedly won them.

Anyhow, I'll probably end up going to both shows, so you should look for me... I'll be that annoying jackass with the camera. Please don't hit me or say shitty things about me under your breath.

FYI, I got most of this info from the great Austinist.

Peter & The Wolf @ Emo's, 2/22/2006

2006-02-23T15:03:00.000-08:00

I'd been pretty excited about this show for quite a while now, what with all Red's myspace hyping of it as well as the promise of a "20-piece hobo orchestra" that would be accompanying him on stage.

So, was it worth all the excitement? Hell yes it was. Seriously, how often do you get to see 20+ people cram onto the inside stage at Emo's (or any venue, for that matter)? Answer: Never. All I can say is that I truly feel lucky to have witnessed this spectacle, as it was something uniquely special. See for yourself:

Red and the orchestra, in full

Red, doing his thing

That's Bill Baird from Sound Team in the crazy orange farmer getup

Red, working the Jedi mind trick on the guitar

Members of the orchestra, unleashing the fury on various
maracas, pots, pans, trashcans, etc.

That's one trippy drum head

I believe this girl to be the official other half of Peter and the Wolf.
She plays great ukelele and has a beautiful voice.

The left side of the orchestra

Hallelujah!

Peep all 47 (!) shots I took of the show at my flickr page.

After the show, Red was selling handmade, pre-recorded copies of the show's setlist. Naturally, I had to have one for the artwork alone (picture coming soon), not to mention the great tunes. Five bones well spent.

So, the moral of this post is to go see Peter & The Wolf ASAP, whenever/wherever you can. You will be very happy that you took the time.

Lastly, before I forget, go check out Red's blog here. He's funny as hell and likes The Black Angels, so go on... do it!

Insane SXSW Line Rant

2006-02-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

The subject of this post is the subject of an email I just received from a friend who recently braved the SXSW Music wristband line at Waterloo Records this morning. This stuff is way too good not to share with the rest of you. So here's the email in its entirety:

Bottom line... I got my wristbands. The part that makes me want to kill:30 seconds after I get in line, another guy gets in line behind me. He asks a couple of questions, kind of friendly, but as the line starts to move, he's off to the side so he starts to inch in front of me. After a while he's standing directly in front of me. I'm pissed, but not enough to do anything about it yet. As we get closer, he eventually wedges himself in front of the three girls in front of me, then an old dude, then some dude my age... and nobody's saying anything. So I decided it was time to check that motherfucker, so I go grab his shoulder and tell him to get in line where he's supposed to be , and he's all apologetic "Oh, I'm sorry, I was just trying to keep my place." not noticing he just cut in front of 6 people... so he backs up, and stands IN FRONT OF ME... I eventually got myself back in front of him (see, this drama played out over about 30 minutes), and then his friend , who just got there, starts talking to him and cuts in line. We're maybe 15 minutes from the door, so this asshole didn't have to wait at all. And the final insult to me was that as we got inside, they were running out of cheap bands, and they had a cash-only line. He was paying cash so he was able to get cheap bands while I had to get the more expensive ones. And I had considered calling out his friend as he was about to pay, asking very loudly how long he had to wait in line... but didn't ... and I regret that so much... fucking bitch indie kid with a pink sickle and hammer on his motorcycle helmet. So anyway, I cast a hex on both of them so with any luck they'll have an uncontrollable urge to crap while they're watching a band at emo's... I pity the fool who has to take a crap there.

I salute you Nick and commend you on your seeking revenge via witchcraft. Here's hoping the stall is occupied and they have to shit up the trough (in case you're clueless, see the header image of this site).

News Time

2006-02-22T18:14:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm back from vacation. Onward, young blogger. So, I've returned with a sack full of news treats for you, unearthed from the various corners of cyberspace.

First and foremost, I am, as of 30 minutes ago, the proud owner of two 2006 SXSW Music wristbands! "Wtf?", you say. Well, subscribers to the SXSW Music text message list were notified around 7:00pm this evening that 600 wristbands were on sale at Waterloo Records, and so my ass booked it downtown in record time and scored the two beauties you see below. See, text messaging isn't lame after all.

More of these babies will be going on sale tomorrow morning at 10:00am, at again, Waterloo Records. I'll be showing up for round two of this madness, but I'm not exactly how early I'll be out there. What do you think is reasonable?

Moving on. Passover, The Black Angels' forthcoming LP, is just about leaked according to various sources. While frothing at the mouth over said rumor, I was able to track down an Aussie on a messageboard who claims he already has the record. Homeboy says that it actually gets released down under next week and that he's had the promo for over a month now! Talk about hosing the hometown fans. Anyhow, I hope this dude comes through, because I'm about to burst at the seams with anticipation over this one.

While on the topic of the Angels, did anyone else see that short-lived review of Passover on Tiny Mix Tapes yesterday? They gave it a 3/5 and kinda crapped on the record, so naturally I fired back and sent a harsh email to the editors notifying them that not only was the review bunk, but that they had posted the wrong album cover and tracklisting! I never received a reply, but the review mysteriously vanished about 30 minutes after I sent my complaint. I'll mark that as one more in the win column.

Ok, one more thing on the Angels. Check out two (count 'em, two!) live perfomances by the band: one on the KEXP Podcast and the other at TexasGigs.com.

In other news, there's a new For Those Who Know track called "Looking and Waiting" that you can stream at their myspace page. It's definitely worth a listen.

Last, but certainly not least, some quick news on my favs, Single Frame. Now, although I sorely missed last Thursday's amazing show while on vacation, I did manage to hunt down some pics of the affair over at Zach-o-matic's (of Dead Whale Tide, no less) flickr page. Check out the one below, with who must be the unofficial new member, Kevin, on the far left.

Well, that's all good and stuff, but where the hell is Ian? If he's being replaced, that's two guitar shake-ups for the band in the last year. Hopefully Kevin sticks around, that is if I'm really onto something here.

Ok, that wraps us this one folks. I'm off to gaze Peter and The Wolf and their 20-piece hobo orchestra at Emo's, which promises to be amazing. Full photo-blogging love coming tomorrow.

Is this thing on?

2006-02-15T12:12:00.000-08:00

Of course it is. It's just on hiatus until my return from skiing in Whistler, Canada. It's cold as all hell up here and I'm sore as a dog... can't wait to get back the heat of the Austex and rest these tired bones. Until then...

Belaire (7" Release), Loxsly @ The Parish, 2/4/2006

2006-02-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday (yes, I'm slow at posting pictures... i know) I attended night three of sxsw jr., the Belaire Haunted Castle 7" release party at The Parish. I was a bit tired from previous nights spent showgazing/drinking, but this party provided plenty of positive energy to keep me going through the rest of the weekend (and sxsw jr. night four, coming later today).

A special thanks to Allen and Austinist.com for hooking me up with a guestlist spot for the show and a free copy of the aforementioned 7". There was a possibility that I might not have made it out otherwise, and I'm damn glad I didn't make that mistake.

Anyhow, back to the show. Loxsly, yet another great local group (whose cd I'm very much in like with; see image), opened the show following a party-warming set by DJ Ian. Unfortunately, I showed up just in time to see them tearing down their gear, but thankfully I'll get to see that action at the upcoming Wall of Sound Festival, happening April 8-9 (which is looking incredible, by the way).

Ok, so Belaire came on around 11:45 and straight ripped it up. These guys (from Voxtrot) and gals (two cute sisters) played some great tunes that I hadn't even heard before, but to which I was bobbing my head non-stop. Their happiness, energy, and dancing skeletons had the place in total party mode. Without further adieu, here are the pics:

Check that skeleton in the back

Matt Simon on drums, looking possessed

Cari doing her thing
(~~Is this Cari or Christa? I couldn't find out anywhere~~
I found out; Thanks Daniel)

Cari, Jason, and Christa (left to right) from behind the stage

Hipsters dancing to DJ Ian

Jason, wowing the ladies

Bonus!

Red Hunter of Peter and The Wolf was at the party and was gettin' his sweaty groove on. This is pretty much my favorite picture I've ever taken (click the picture for full-on, "in yo face" version). I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. Caption via Ryan Catbird.

FOLKIE IN 300 BPM DANCE SCANDAL!!!

The Arm, The Glass Family @ Red Eyed Fly, 2/3/06

2006-02-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I checked out The Arm and The Glass Family at The Red Eyed Fly for the Dell Childrens Medical Center benefit. Despite the great line-up, this snippet from The Arm's myspace bulletin was what sealed the deal for my attendance:

"Not only are we playing with some stellar bands, but it's for a good cause, and we'll be done in time for you to skip back over to Beerland for the Brothers and Sisters CD release. Little coughing children with tubes up their noses implore you to come."

I know I'm an evil bastard for laughing at that, but how could I not? I know your lame ass didn't make it to the show, so here's some pics so you can see what you missed:

Sean "Oh-No" O'Neal screaming his face off

Kevin Bybee on the kit and Alex Ramirez on bass

Sean trying out his Eminem impression

Tony Daugherty on drums, Brian Hubbard on guitar,
and Michael Winningham on vocals/guitar

Michael doing a solo closer

The Arm's new record, Call You Out, will be out this coming April on Indierect Records (check out that Belaire 7" that I'm "Currently Peeping"). I'll be working with Daniel of Indierect by hosting some ads for this sure-to-be-great release as well as other upcoming gems on the label.

Finally, here's a great Arm track that I suspect will be on the new record:

::: The Arm - Vile Lies :::

As usual, if you dig, get off your sorry ass and go see them this Friday with the great Ghostland Observatory at Emo's.

Quick News

2006-02-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

Just a couple things before I head off to lunch:

Single Frame has posted just a tiny taste of additional info on what's been going on in their world. Here it is straight from their site:

"Yo, we are currently working on new stuff and practicing up with Kevin, our unofficial new member. Look for new press-kit photos, show & sound dimensions and more, real soon..."

Remix album? Another new member!? Show & sound dimensions!? What the hell is that supposed to mean? I can't wait to find out.

-----------

Also, rumor has it (via Angry Robot) that SXSW music wristbands will be going on sale at Waterloo Records the 23rd of this month. I sure as hell hope this is true, as I'll be back from skiing by then and will be able to snag a couple of these puppies for myself.

-----------

Finally, I thought I'd mention that you can now access this here site by simply going to http://www.showgazer.net (or even http://showgazer.net if you're not down with the world wide web). I figure it's easier than typing in all that blogspot.com nonsense.

Tonewheel Collective Happy Hour @ Beerland, 2/1/06

2006-02-06T18:30:00.000-08:00

To kick off sxsw jr., Ru and I checked out the second biweekly Tonewheel Collective happy hour at Beerland last Thursday. Red Hunter, Jared from Voxtrot/Sparrow House, and others put on a really cool, relaxed set that went perfectly with a few beers after a long work day.

This was my first time attending one of these shows and I can't wait to see another one (I'll miss the Feb. 16th show while skiing, but will be there Mar. 2nd). It was also my first time witnessing Red Hunter perform live, and I have to say that he more than lives up to all the hype surrounding him and his current project, Peter and The Wolf. Check out a few pics from the show (click each image to see the full-size version):

Tonewheel Collective, with Red on the mic. That's Jared
from Voxtrot on the far left.

Red, solo

Everyone on stage. FYI, Red shirt guy plays one hell
of a good steel guitar.

On a related note, I received my copy of the Peter and The Wolf LP in the mail the same day, and man is it incredible. It contains within it's 12 tracks some of the best folk music I've ever heard, and I'd like to think that that statement carries a lot of weight.

If my praise doesn't sell you, then check out this gleaming review by foxy digitalis. And finally, if you haven't already heard it, go download "The Fall" from Pitchfork's Free Downloads page.

The Week In Live Music

2006-02-02T15:24:00.000-08:00

Man, I wasn't even gonna post today in order to get some actual work done, but then I became overwhelmed with the amount of live performances going on this weekend and just had to share my excitement. So here's what I like to call "sxsw jr.", play-by-play style:

Thursday (2/2):

What: Tonewheel Collective happy hour with Sparrow House (Jared of Voxtrot), Red Hunter (of Peter and The Wolf), members of Peel, Tacks the Boy Disaster, and INK
Where: Beerland
When: 7:00pm
How Much: FREE!

::: Sparrow House - When I Am Gone :::

::: Peter and The Wolf - The Way (Live at KVRX) :::

- or -

What: Spoon and I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness

Where: La Zona Rosa

When: Doors 8:00pm, Show at 9:00pm

How Much: $20 (w/fees)

- or -

What: Oliver Future and Things That Go Pop!

Where: Stubb's Inside

When: Standard Show Time (henceforth abbreviated as SST, aka I don't know)

How Much: Cheap

Friday (2/3):

What: The Arm and The Glass Family

Where: Red Eyed Fly

When: SST

How Much: Cheap

::: The Arm - Bright Young Men! :::

- or -

What: The Early Tapes, Peel, and The Happy Families

Where: Stubb's Inside

When: SST

How Much: Cheap

Saturday (2/4):

What: Belaire and Loxsly

Where: The Parish

When: Doors at 9:00pm

How Much: $8

Sunday (2/5):

What: Sound Team

Where: Beerland

When: They say 10:30pm

How Much: Cheap

::: Sound Team - Don't Turn Away :::

New Voxtrot

2006-02-01T09:11:00.005-08:00

Voxtrot has posted a new mp3 on their site, it being the title track from their upcoming 2nd EP, Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, and Wives. Peep it and tell me what you think.

::: Voxtrot - Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, and Wives :::

If you dig it you can pre-order that bad boy at their site or just pick it up early from the guys themselves at one of their upcoming shows.

Also, 75 or less finally got around to talking (briefly, of course) about their Raised by Wolves EP here, although I can't really tell what they think of it.

New Centro-Matic: Fort Recovery

2006-01-30T11:40:00.000-08:00

Ru reminded me that Centro-Matic has a new one coming out March 7th on Misra Records. It's called Fort Recovery, has 12 songs, and is quite good, as most of their records are. Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers had this to say:

"Centro-matic is my favorite band that is still vital and intact. All four of them together for ten years now. Their brand new album is their best yet. My un-mastered CD copy is my favorite album of 2006 and honestly my favorite new album of the past five years. I have listened to it several times a day for three weeks straight and like those great masterpieces of old I still find new things to love at every listen.

Centro-matic's Fort Recovery is a masterpiece, and I don't use that word often."

Wow, that has to be most compelling unpaid endorsement I've ever seen. Triggers and Trash Heaps is the current single out now, which will also be on the full-length:

::: Centro-Matic - Triggers and Trash Heaps :::

Bits and Pieces

2006-01-28T18:40:00.000-08:00

Here's a hodge podge of news nuggets for you to chew on:

Don (the guy in the bright green shirt in the back) from Dead Whale Tide emailed last week with great news, being that a DWT album is still somewhat in the works. Justin (the singer) may come down in February and/or March to tie up loose ends with the music, after which Don plans to master the recordings and have a disc for all and any that would like one. There will be 8 full-band tracks and possibly a couple of instrumental jams thrown in. I'm crossing my fingers that this works out.

Single Frame has a new, full-length remix album in the works, due out on Volcom late March/early April! Who the hell ever knew they had this coming!? I'm dying for more details on this, which the band promises will come soon. Also, for a full photo recap of their last tour with Mixel Pixel, go here.

Stereogum has announced the details of their first sxsw showcase for this year's festival. It'll be a Thursday day show at The Parish, with free goodies and liquor already being promised. What the hell has this to do with the Austin music scene you ask? Well, besides the event being a part of sxsw which is a part of the Austin scene, our very own What Made Milwaukee Famous is on the bill, playing after Aloha and before Thunderbirds are Now!, Rogue Wave, and Ted Leo! This should be a great opportunity for them to get some larger exposure that they've been needing.

Passover, the debut LP from The Black Angels, will be released by Light In The Attic Records on April 11th, pushed back from March 28th. It will be ten tracks, six of which have been previously released on one (or both, in the case of Black Grease) of these EPs. Without further adieu, here is the album cover and tracklist:

01 - Young Men Dead
02 - The First Vietnamese War
03 - Sniper at the Gates Of Heaven
04 - The Prodigal Sun
05 - Black Grease
06 - Manipulation
07 - Empire
08 - Better Off Alone
09 - Bloodhounds on My Trail
10 - Call to Arms

The Paper South is a new shoegazerish Austin band, comprised of three parts ex-Winslow and one part ex-American Analog Set. They have a six song EP in the works and will be playing during sxsw, at which time I will finally get to check them out. I'll be profiling them in greater detail later. In the meantime, go check out a couple of their first tunes at their myspace page.

Finally, and this isn't really news, go check out this video of The Arm absolutely ripping it up on their KVRX Local Live performance. It's a rather large download, but I promise it's worth it. I must have watched the damn thing 10 times by now.

Also:

I've added a small section over on the right (under the venues) with your standard links to a bazillion other sites. However, you won't find a painfully long list of every blog in the known universe. Rather, I have on display a mere 8 links to my absolute favorites, all of which are worth checking out at least once, if not with regular frequency. Quality over quantity is always preferred, right?

The Black Angels @ The Parish, 1/21/2006

2006-01-25T19:07:00.000-08:00

So yeah, I'm back! It was tough, but I managed to emerge from the sleepless trenches of work still alive and breathing. I even managed to make it to a show this last weekend during the chaos of it all, and damn am I glad I did. One of my local faves, The Black Angels, put on one hell of a set last Saturday at The Parish, my favorite Austin venue. The dark atmosphere of the venue in combination with the droning walls of reverb provided by the band made even a dork like me feel like I was at the hippest event in town.

Anyhow, enough with my silly attempt at describing the scene... how bout I just let these pics speak for themselves?

On the way up to the venue (cameo by Sam's shoe)

Alex Maas (aka Jim Morrison reincarnate)

Kyle Hunt rocking the floor tom

Nate Ryan on bass

Jennifer Raines and Christian Bland (who also makes
some wicked gig posters)

Kyle working the moog (+10 cred points for such a sweet synth)

The guest(?) violin player. He was very good, but isn't listed as an
official member. Also, he liked Greg's beard. Greg
really liked the fact that he liked his beard.

Jennifer on "the drone machine/organ"
(I wonder who their influences are?)

Last, and definitely not least, Stephanie Bailey on drums.
Even if she sucked on the kit, she would still be hot. However, she's
about as far from sucking as a drummer could be, which pretty
much makes her a rock goddess.

Bringin' the rock

And talk about some cool projector work via Richard Whymark

So yeah, the bottom line is that these guys (and gals) are amazing live and are not to be missed when they roll through your neck of the woods. I'll be seeing them again in February in Seattle at the KEXP John in the Morning @ Night benefit with Film School, Silversun Pickups, and others. The Angels will be headlining... and it will be awesome.

And finally, if for some reason you've been living under a rock for the last few months, check out these tracks from their KVRX local live session

::: The Black Angels - Empire Lonely (Live on KVRX Local Live) :::

::: The Black Angels - Soviet Union (Live on KVRX Local Live) :::

Threadless SXSWi Winners Announced

2006-01-17T09:56:00.000-08:00

Peep that hot banana action! I dig the shirt, but what's even cooler than the shirt are these pictures of this big husky dude wearing it. I'm not a big yellow fan (or banana fan, for that matter), so I might end up reneging on my promise to buy the winning shirt. All the submissions were good, but I personally thought there were better shirts than the winners.

Also:

While SXSW is still on the brain, check out See You In The Pit for some tunage by a bunch of bands that will be descending on Austin during spring break. I'll be doing some of this on a variety of local Austin acts as the festival draws closer.

I Love You But I've Downloaded Your New Album

2006-01-16T22:05:00.000-08:00

Yeah, sorry about that guys, but I couldn't resist... and you know I'm gonna buy that shit when it comes out anyways (March 7th via Secretly Canadian). So, am I forgiven (since we all know you will be reading this)?

With so much work and whatnot I haven't had the time to actually give this a proper listen yet, despite it being one of my most anticipated releases of the year. That means I'm counting on you guys to tell me what you think (Greg, Sam, Ru... need I name more names?).

I loved both tracks on their Artikal Records 12", one of which has been re-recorded for the new record. Download that mug right here:

::: I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - According To Plan :::

I actually like the original better (possibly because it's the first version I heard; more likely because it oozes with a thick, dark atmosphere that has been partially stripped from the new recording). Go get a taste of the Showgazer-approved original at the Artikal Records site (it's the second track in the audio player) and then, if you're as intrigued as I am about these guys, have a listen to Garrison's interview with the band over at Indie Interviews.

For Those Who Don't Know

2006-01-15T13:11:00.000-08:00

For the unacquainted, it is my pleasure to introduce you to one of my favorite new Austin bands, For Those Who Know. I caught these guys for the first time at the Get Him Eat Him show last night at Beerland. Unfortunately we made it downtown in extraordinarily late fashion and arrived just as GHEH were tearing down their gear (those guys are all unbelievably young, and nice, by the way).

Bummed about missing their set, I sulked with a beer and tried to look forward to seeing a band that I practically knew nothing about. However, Adreon from Single Frame had dropped their name to me as the guys that lived next door while I was checking out some of his art a few weeks ago. He also mentioned that Sub Pop had sent down some of their cronies at some point to scope them out. With his recommendation and a sidenote like that, I was pretty confident it would be an enjoyable set.

And hot damn, enjoyable it was. I was nodding my head and tapping my foot right into the first track (a rarity for me)... and then the second... and then the third. You get the picture.

So, on to what they actually sound like. For me, they reminded me alot of one of Austin's finest, deceased rock bands, Dead Whale Tide (R.I.P... but seriously, cut the crap and get back together already). They've got a great shoegazer vibe, with shimmering, crystalline guitars and Steven Hablinski's hushed, emotive vocals, backed by solid bass lines and sharp, driving beats. In fact, I think I already like these guys better than DWT, seeing as how their songs are tighter, more focused, and have much smoother (and more frequent) transitions.

Anyhow, check out this tune below (thanks to the band for letting me host it) and then go stream a couple more at their myspace page.

::: For Those Who Know - Night at the Danceclub :::

If you dig, buy their self-titled EP here, released on upstart Austin label Christmas Mountain. Then, when you love them as much as I do, check them out at these upcoming shows (via The Austin Showlist):

Friday, 1/20 - Emo's w/The Ugly Beats, Faceless Werewolves, and Tran Tram

Thursday, 2/16 - Flamingo Cantina w/Single Frame, Peel, and Eagle*Seagull!!! (who are drawing comparisons to The Arcade Fire) - Damn, what I wouldn't give to be able to make this show! I'll be skiing in Canada, missing the best show lineup so far this year. You all better make it out (you know who you are).

Thursday, 3/16 - The Parlor Unofficial SXSW show w/Red Leaves, .belville, and Things That Go Pop!

Added Treat:

Check out a couple of my favorite Dead Whale Tide tracks for old times' sake:

::: Dead Whale Tide - Greenspan :::
::: Dead Whale Tide - Conspiracy Books :::

SXSW Updated Band List

2006-01-13T13:50:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I'm posting this late as shit, but whatever. Anyhow, something worth checking out that you might not have seen is Angry Robot's Parsed SXSW Band List, which is considerably kinder on the eyes than the list on the official site.

A whopping 104 Austin acts made the cut! Below are some of my favorites:

The Arm, Belaire, The Black Angels, The Glass Family, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, Jana Hunter, Knife In The Water, Moonlight Towers, My Education, The Paper South, Shearwater, Single Frame, Sound Team, Voxtrot, Weird Weeds, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Zykos.

Right off the top of my head, I noticed no listing for Cue, Clap! Clap!, or Peter And The Wolf, but this list is just preliminary. Here's hoping they'll show up in due time...

Also:

While we're on the subject of SXSW, check out Threadless' SXSW hearts threadless competition page. I'll most likely be buying the winning shirt.

Zykos Gets Dumped On

2006-01-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

So, I go through my daily routine today of showing up to work at 10:00 and reading through my list of blogs, zines, email, more blogs, torrent sites, etc. until about noon. Then, right when I feel like I might be able to pull off some work, it's time for lunch. Sweet.

Anyhow, we go to the always fantastic Foodheads and I spot the new Chronicle and start thumbing through it. I hit the music page and am excited to see a short recap on Emo's free week. Into the second column I surprisingly hit upon this little nugget:

"For every convert the Glass Family made Saturday night, someone else swore Zykos would never invade their eardrums again."

Wow, that is harsh. Being one of my favorite local bands and having seen them many times, I was more than shocked to read this. Mike Booher and Co. usually put on an intensely great live show, but recent new recruits at the drum and guitar positions might have made this a shaky show. But then again, I read that blood was literally shed during this show over at their Myspace page, so how could it have possibly sucked!?

I have yet to find anyone that actually saw this show to get an accurate report. All my friends either flaked out or got there too late after the venue was already at capacity. Did anyone out there actually attend?

First Post

2006-01-11T19:35:00.000-08:00

First post, first blog. Setting this puppy up was a lot easier than I thought it would be. However, it still looks like total piss, but give me a break... I set this sucker up last night while I was falling asleep in bed.

Anyhow, with this page I plan to cover my experience in and with the Austin, TX (mostly) independent music scene, including spotlights on local bands, venues, record stores, live shows, posters, festivals, and so forth.

Posts will likely be infrequent (or maybe not, we'll see) the first few weeks as I try and remodel this place into something worth looking at. Maybe I'll even buy my own domain and a MovableType setup and produce somethin' real snazzy. I can only hope... we'll see what time allows.