Most of you are already aware, but if not, today is the last day that the original Red River location of Emo’s will be open. While there is the shiny new Emo’s open on Riverside, it’s just not the same, and never will be. The end of an era, that brings many of us a bit of sadness.

When I first heard of the pending closure, I didn’t really think about it much. Maybe it was my built in defense mechanism developed from mourning the loss of another landmark venue in which I spent countless hours in musical bliss, Liberty Lunch. Just a couple of weeks ago, while driving down 6th street, it began to settle in how much I really am going to miss this dirty piss hole of a music venue. The shitty sound system, the rude staff, the smelly urine trough, the uneven floor, all to be missed immensely.  While I’ve had plenty of opportunity to say goodbye in person, I decided not to attend any of the final shows, opting for holding on to the years and years of memories that I share with many of you reading this.

Let me give you a brief history of my relationship with Emo’s. Before there was an Emo’s Austin, yes I was roaming downtown Austin before it existed, we experienced our music in a few venues around town. You could catch any number of local bands at The Black Cat and drink $1 Pabst and eat free hotdogs from the hotdog buffet. Sounds awesome and awful at the same time. Of course many of the touring acts of substance played Liberty Lunch, The Back Room, and City Coliseum. The Jelly Club and Jar Bar offered smaller touring acts a stage, and you could find Gibby Haynes, in special form, there on many nights asking you to buy him a drink whether you knew him or not. All great venues in their own right, but then Emo’s opened it’s doors and it felt like something really cool was happening there. The fact that it was free to get in was a bonus, and there was music, and everyone seemed to be going there. It was the place to go and as the years went by and new venues opened, Emo’s always maintained that “something” that has made it one of Austin’s legendary venues.

I’ve spent some time trying to conjure up as many special memories that I could, and to be quite honest, over 19 years of beer drinking, live music, sweating, moshing, and sharing moments with friends, the memories are blurred. A few stand out, and as I cannot contest to their accuracy, these are the details that stick in my head.

David Yow’s Parents: Jesus Lizard shows were legendary back in the day, and I’m pretty sure that I saw more than 1 at Emos, but this one in particular stands out. It was difficult to not notice the older couple in the crowd as we waited for Jesus Lizard to hit the stage. Striking up a conversation with this couple, I come to learn that they were David Yow’s parents. And if I remember correctly, this was to be the first time that they had attended any of his shows. Now I can’t imagine being Yow’s parents, but it might make sense that you would avoid witnessing your son’s performance on stage which often involved nudity. Yow put on his usual performance as his parents looked on, as the crowd surged and fed off of the intense, spastic, psychotic energy of Yow and the Jesus Lizard.

Britt Daniel Predicts The Future: My sister was High School classmates with Britt back in our small town of Temple, Tx and we both have followed his career since the days of Skellington (man I wish I still had those cassettes). Being fairly pregnant with her first child, my sister was looking for any opportunity to see Spoon before the live changing baby event was to happen. A SXSW day party at Emos provided that opportunity. While conversing with Daniel, I inquired as to who the band was playing on the stage at the time. “Death Cab for Cutie” mentioned. He went on to say that they were really good and were probably going to be pretty big. Guess he was right.

Pissing: Back when Emo’s first opened it became quite the place to hang out. So much so, that on any given weekend night the place would be completely packed. I ran with a pretty rowdy crowd, many whom have gone on to become adults that are stretch away from the people that I would have believed them to grow to be. So, one night we are in Emo’s standing at the bar, you know that spot where the pole is inside bar, and it’s packed. The line for the bathroom is ridiculous. My friend needs to piss. Not wanting to wait in line, and fearing he would lose his spot at the bar…enough said.

James Iha: After an incredibly memorable performance by the Smashing Pumpkins at the long gone South Park Meadows venue, on their Siamese Dream tour, we ended up at Emo’s. Why we thought going to Emo’s after an intense evening of moshing, fungi consumption, many beers, and some streaking through the exiting traffic at the venue, was a good idea, I’m not sure. As I’m standing at the bar, not far from that pole, I notice that Smashing Pumpkin guitarist James Iha is standing next to me. I turn to Iha to let me know how much I enjoyed the show and he shakes my hand. Granted, I’m a pretty small guy, but I couldn’t help notice how tiny his hand was when I shook it, and proceeded to ask him “how do you rock so hard with such small hands”..I didn’t receive an answer.

Craig Finn: I’ve never really been a fan of The Hold Steady, but I continued to give them the opportunity to win me over, as many of my friends absolutely love the band. It was a hot sweaty night on the outside stage at Emo’s and thanks to the opening act Illinois, I was able to watch the band perform from the side of the stage. Needless to say I gained a small bit of respect for the band as I watched them work the sold-out crowd into a frenzy. One of those friends who was a die-hard fan was at the show, and the opportunity for him to meet Finn arose. As my friend proceeded to tell Finn how much he appreciated the music, and what a fan he had been for years, Finn, focused on Blackberry, informed him that he needed to leave and he didn’t have time to talk to him. A simple “thanks” would have sufficed. Recently gained respect…out the door and in the crapper.

I could bore you with more stories and shows that stick out in my mind, but this is lengthy enough. Emo’s Red River will be missed. The pre-blog years and the blog years when photographer Valerie Fremin was thrown to the wolves to get the photos for this site, and did so in great fashion. Crappy lighting, rude crowds, boiling temperatures, she got in there and did it..and it was fun.

I put together a few photos from those years that represents what Emos was to me…

This band of wayward songsters will have a full length out sometime in Spring of 2012, and for a little Christmas cheer whilst we wait, Mr McCauley sings for us “Christmas In A Chinese Restaurant”. You can bet that they full-length will be quite different than this track..

Live & Reel :: Diamond Rugs – “Christmas in a Chinese Restaurant” from Live & Reel @ Reel Recording on Vimeo.

It’s no secret to anyone paying attention to the Austin music scene that Black Books created a steady stir of buzz about themselves when they quietly released their debut EP An Introduction To.. about a year ago. So..now that we’ve been introduced, when might we hear some new material and most importantly when will have full length from the band? That question has been on the minds of many and the answers are coming…

The band recently set loose a brand new track from their upcoming full-length titled “Out The Door” on their Bandcamp page just two days ago. And if this is any indication of what to expect from the pending release, which we hope to see early in 2012, we are all in for a treat. I’m pretty sure that we are…

The new track comes just a few days after a cover of The Cardigans “Love Fool” showed up on the SYFFAL (Shut Your Fucking Face And Listen) site. Love the name by the way.

And I bring you both..The beautiful “Out The Door” single and the fun, dreamy cover “Lovefool”..

MP3> Black Books ‘Out The Door’

MP3> Black Books ‘Lovefool’ (Cardigans Cover)

You ever have those records, cds, or tapes that somehow end up in your collection, but you aren’t really sure how they might have gotten there? Those few gems that you developed an intimate relationship with, but it always was an unspoken, somewhat secret relationship. The Sea and Cake’s 1997 release The Fawn is one of those records for me.

Like reconnecting with an old friend, it’s nice to see that the band is still producing it’s unique style of jazz influenced post-rock, with a solid fan base still intact.

The band recently released it’s 9th studio album and show little signs of losing that creative edge that has propelled them since the early 90′s.

The Sea and Cake @ Mohawk 12/8 show 8 p.m.

The Sea and Cake – Lyric by hautamaeki

The band released the clean version of the “Main Street” video last week, but if you know me, I’d rather wait for the dirty one to post…

And for you John McCauley fans, keep an eye out for another project of his called Diamond Rugs featuring members of Dead Confederate, Black Lips, and Los Lobos. Sounds pretty promising.

Former Mighty Lemon Drops guitarist and songwriter turned producer/engineer David Newton, has resurfaced as a player once again with his latest outfit David Newton & Thee Might Angels and just released the Paint The Town EP.

I have to admit that my interest in some of the new music that is coming out these days has been fading in favor of revisiting some of the older stuff that occupied my time. The Mighty Lemon Drops were definitely a favorite of mine for awhile until they disbanded in 1992. Happy Head, World Without End, and Laughter all deserve a little revisit or visit if you haven’t done so yet.

Before you do that, check out David Newton & Thee Mighty Angels title track from the Paint The Town EP.

MP3> David Newton & Thee Mighty Angels ‘Paint The Town’

Speaking of festival favs, The Antlers secured a spot with me as one of my favorite bands of current. They pulled off one of the best performances at this year’s ACL Festival despite an early, early time slot on one of the main stages. That, and they were some of the nicest guys.

A little late on board with these guys, just discovering the beautifully heart-wrenching Hospice earlier this year, but better late than never as they say. This year’s follow up to that album Hospice is about to find a same year EP following in it’s wake titled (together) which is set for release Nov 22nd on Frenchkiss Records. If the track “Parentheses (PVT remix) is any indication, The Antlers are having a damn good year.

You’ll find guest appearances on the EP from Neon Indian, Bear In Heaven, and Nicole Atkins

MP3> The Antlers ‘Parentheses (PVT Remix)’

Just over a week after catching this intriguing Japanese trio Boris, weave their mystical sound of multitudes of styles and genres at Fun Fun Fun Fest, the band releases the second track from their upcoming release aptly titled New Album. “Flare” follows the first single released which was titled “Spoon” and can be found on New Album released on limited edition vinyl and CD at independent retailers on Record Store Day: Black Friday Nov 25th and worldwide on December 6th.

Still trying to wrap my head around this stuff, but it’s fun for sure.

MP3> Boris ‘Flare’

Quite honestly, I’m not that familiar with much of Lykke Li’s music, but “Little Bit” from the 2008 Youth Novels recording has seen some serious spin time around my parts. Maybe because of the lyric “and for you I keep my legs apart, and forget about my tainted heart”? I can’t help it, I’m a guy. You have to admit, she is pretty sexy as well. I’ve been giving the music some serious consideration as well. I’m not that shallow. Curiosity sparked, so this young lady is on my list of artist’s to check out at this year’s Fun Fun Fun Fest.

Lykke Li plays the Orange Stage Sat 11.5 @ 7:25

A rare opportunity to see this great band.

Murder City Devils play the Black Stage Friday 11/4 @ 7:20 p.m.

Ever seen the Black Lips perform? I haven’t, and the band has a pretty solid reputation for putting on what some might call an “interesting” show. Interesting enough, that they fled India in mid tour fearing that they would be arrested and jailed for “homosexual acts”…hmmm. Debauchery will ensue.  Can’t say that I’m much familiar with the music, but sometimes a band’s reputation strikes up enough interest warranting some attention. That, and I need to see what “Flower Punk” sounds like live.

Black Lips play the Black Stage (?) Sun 11.6 @ 7:50

It’s official, our little festival is all grown up. Can’t make it to the hottest ticket in town this weekend, but want to catch some of the action? You are one lucky pup.

FOUR STREAMS PROVIDE A DIFFERENT MUSIC EXPERIENCE CATERED TO YOUR FAVORITE GENRES – FROM INDIE, METAL AND PUNK TO HIP HOP, ELECTRO, & MORE

AUSTIN, TX (October 31, 2011) – Fun Fun Fun Fest and Pitchfork announced today that the 6th annual festival in Austin, Texas will be streaming live on pitchfork.com November 4 – 6, 2011. This will be the first time ever that the music of Fun Fun Fun Fest, one of the most progressive independent music festivals in the country, will be available to those outside of Austin, and live.

Unlike other music festivals with similar live streams, Fun Fun Fun Fest will present 4 separate streams with each tailored to different musical tastes, streamed live on one of the most widely read music websites in the world that reaches 3.3 million unique visitors each month. Like the Fun Fun Fun Fest stage setups, each stream will provide a different musical experience, from punk and metal to indie rock and electronica, from bounce and hip hop to competitions and comedy. Fans will be able to toggle the streams to cater to their favorite styles of music, thanks to smart, the quirky, irreverent car.

When asked about the new partnership, Pitchfork had this to say: “Fun Fun Fun Fest has absolutely become one of the great festivals in the country, one that shares the same spirit of adventurous booking and music- and fan-community focus that we bring to our own Pitchfork Music Festival and our other events,” said Pitchfork President Chris Kaskie. “Pitchfork has produced a number of live streams in recent years, and we’re thrilled to be producing the Fun Fun Fun Fest live stream this year, for the first time bringing the festival to music fans outside of Austin.”

Pitchfork Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Stream Schedule

• Friday, Nov 4th at 12:20pm Central
• Saturday, Nov 5th at 12:10pm Central
• Sunday, Nov 6th at 12:15pm Central

To check out the Fun Fun Fun Fest live stream on Pitchfork, go to www.pitchfork.com. The stream will begin at these times:

]]> http://www.sonicitchmusic.com/2011/10/fun-fun-fun-fest-to-stream-on-pitchfork/feed/ 0 http://www.sonicitchmusic.com/2011/10/fun-fun-fun-fest-pick-girls/ http://www.sonicitchmusic.com/2011/10/fun-fun-fun-fest-pick-girls/#comments Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:55:25 +0000 michaelE http://www.sonicitchmusic.com/?p=4258

I honestly felt that Girls were going to be one of those bands that put out one interesting album, exploring their creativity to the max with that album, and slowly fade into the indie-rock sunset. Gladly, I was wrong. The band continues to craft catchy, pill induced, California dreamin songs that lay claim to the fact that their creativity has only begun to peak. The bands most recent release Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is a shining example of this. Tapping into his personal experience with the Children of God cult, songwriter Christopher Owens explores a wide spectrum of themes musically and lyrically.

Girls play the Orange Stage Sat 11.5 @ 6:30

Not to start with one of the more obvious picks for this year’s Fun Fun Fun Fest, but the opportunity to see this outfit founded by French artist Anthony Gonzales called M83 doesn’t come very often in these parts of the woods. A band that fuses ambient electronic soundtrack ready sounds with rock ambition, and the occasional electric guitar, M83 have stood strong for 10 years. The band just released what might be their most ambitious and inspired collection of recorded material on Oct 18th titled Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. Gonzalez describes the newest tracks as darker and “very, very, very epic.”

“Midnight City”, the first track from the album is a definite booty shaker. My interest in this live show grows day by day…

M83 play the Orange Stage on Sat 11. 5 (Time TBA).

Not nearly as frightening as the name might suggest, UK’s The Horrors kicked of a U.S. tour early this month in support of their most recent release Skying, that will find them taking to the beloved Parish stage in Austin on 9/21. If you’ve had your fill of the electronic bleep blip, dj riddled, get so friggin happy scene, like myself, The Horrors inspire memories of Bauhaus, Peter Murphy, and even Echo and The Bunnymen at times. It’s okay to wallow in darkness every now and then. That’s why we have Prozac.

The Horrors w/The Stepkids opening things up at The Parish. Doors @ 8p.m. TICKETS

MP3> The Horrors ‘Moving Further Away’

The Horrors US tour:

9/21 – Austin, TX – The Parish
9/23 – St Louis, MO – The Firebird
9/24 – Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock
9/25 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
9/27 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
9/28 – Montreal, QC – Cafe Campus
9/30 – Washington, DC – Black Cat
10/1 – Asbury Park, NJ – ATP
10/2 – Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live
10/3 – Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
10/4 – New York, NY – Webster Hall

How does a dance/rock punk duo that existed for only 5 years and put out only 1 album score a prime spot at one of the biggest music festivals? I don’t have the answer to that question, but it surely will be worth investigating this current resurgence of interest in Death From Above 1979. Some of you might remember the small riot that took place at Beauty Bar this past SXSW? Death From Above 1979 was the band playing during the incident. Spurring small riots and landing prime spots on big festival stages…the year you reunite?

Only problem with this gig is that it conflicts with Elbow…arrrggghhhh!

Death From Above 1979: Sunday at 5:30 on the Honda Stage

LITTLE GIRL REHEARSAL from DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 on Vimeo.

A little grunge, a little duet, a little blues, little hurricane offers an intimate conversation between folk narrative and the rough edges of county blues. They hail from San Diego and the two band members are ironically ahead of their time in their sanctification of retrospect; they met online over a love of vintage equipment and “down and dirty” blues music. Think the naked guitar riffs of Cream plus the vocal clarity of the Local Natives. The sound seems a cousin of the White Stripes, but racing within the lines of a stripe of its own. Check out the songs “Get By” and “Give Em Hell.”

little hurricane: Sunday at 12:20pm on the Austin Ventures Stage

This is one band that is high on the list of  “must see” this weekend’s ACL Festival. Elbow is that band that you fell in love with years ago, yet somehow manages to sit quietly in the background only to give you that reminding poke that they are still making great music years later. A band that has achieved little more than cult status in the US, they have maintained a solid following in the UK, continuing to record award winning albums that chart well. The band’s most recent release Build A Rocket Boys demonstrates a band’s necessity to grow it’s music as they grow in years.  Beautifully layered multi-instrumental progressive rock perfectly accented by Guy Garvey’s image evoking lyrics and recognizable vocal style. A rare opportunity to see a band riding a lengthy wave of success in an arena of turn and burns.

Elbow: Sunday at 5:30 on the Google+ Stage

Seattle band, The Head and the Heart is a gem in a brimming jewelry box; they’ve toured extensively with big names such as Vampire Weekend and The Walkmen, and aired on Conan with their debut album this year. Soulful, bright, think updated optimism of The Mama’s and the Papas with Beatle’s-worthy harmonization. Songs to check out: “Lost in my Mind” and “Sounds like Hallelujah.”

The Head and the Heart: Sunday 1:30-2:30 on the Google+ Stage

An acoustically harmonic duo with a sound that morphs folk rock into a resonant power pop theatricality, Los Angeles siblings Barbara and Ethan Gruska command both ear and the car window. They conjure archetypal image of driving down an endless highway on the West coast, hair blowing in the wind, sunglasses reflecting clear skies. The Belle Brigade speaks to generations that revere Simon and Garfunkel and generations that embrace the philosophy of The Fleet Foxes. Songs to check out (in your car, obviously): “Fasten You to Me” and “Losers.”

The Belle Brigade: Saturday 1:15-2:00pm on the Honda Stage