Pics: Ume, Harlem, El Paso Hot Button @ Emos Free Week!
It came, we saw, we heard, they rocked, and just like that, it’s over. This year’s Free Week presented many more an opportunity to catch as much free music as you could bear in one week, with Transmission Entertainment joining in the 7 day music celebration. Adding Mohawk, Club De Ville, Red 7, and Beauty Bar to the ist of venues participating this year, Transmission’s Graham Williams reminded us of the origin of free week.
Thursday @ Emo’s presented one of the more intriguing line-ups for me. A trio of bands that will surely be on the minds and lips of Red River regulars and Austin music fans for 2009.
Ume has been quietly shredding stages in Austin for the past couple of years, after relocating here from Houston, and the band is set to release it’s first recorded material since 2005. The Sunshower EP will be released on Feb 24th. Sonic guitar assault still intact, the new material introduces melodic song structures, threatening to broaden their audience.
MP3> Ume ‘The Conductor’
Harlem. Quite frankly, I don’t know much about this band other than they seem to be the talk of the scene lately. I know that they recently relocated to Austin from somewhere, and they produce an infectious brand of garage rock tinged with a bit of 60′s style psychedelia, with a carefree, free flowing energy on stage that’s difficult to deny. That, and they have one of the biggest bass drums I’ve ever seen on stage. You need a rock to keep it in place. The band recently released Free Drugs, which lightly captures the essence of the band, which shines most brightly when banging it out on the stage.
And then there’s my most recent favorite Oklahoma export, El Paso Hot Button, aka Mickey Reece. The one man band stringing together soul, punk, and rock and roll as best as a one man can on stage. The recorded material is always a blast to listen to, but when Reece puts it together on stage is a full on performance. Look for this guy @ SXSW 2009. I don’t know for sure, but I would wager a few bucks that he’ll be around.
MP3> El Paso Hot Button ‘Rubies and Pearls’
And now the pics taken by the talented Valerie Fremin:
