Live Photos: Sun June Album Release at Spider House Ballroom
Last Thursday night at Spider House was one of those nights when you know you’re witnessing something special. The show had that combination of great bands on the bill (Julia Lucille and daphne…
Japanese Breakfast and Snail Mail’s Magnetic Mid-Week Show at Scoot Inn
In Austin, great shows come and go, and almost any night of the week presents an opportunity to see outstanding live music. But occasionally, a show generates enough magic that it feels special,…
Mega Bog Opens for Destroyer at Mohawk
Touring behind their second LP, Happy Together, Seattle-based band Mega Bog opened for indie rock stalwart Destroyer for a knockout billing of music this past Monday at Mohawk. Historically, Seattle brought crunchy, discordant rock…
Conor Oberst in Top Form at ACL Live
If I’m honest: happy people bother me a little. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about focusing on the positives to keep yourself from spiraling headlong into depression. But it does seem like if…
Show Review: Julia Lucille Celebrates Release of Chthonic
Last Friday, songwriter Julia Lucille celebrated the release of her excellent new album Chthonic at Mohawk, supported by a solid bill of openers, Jordan Moser and Lomelda. Navigating song structures and lyrics evocative of…
Adam Torres Furthers Music Legacy of Cactus Cafe
Steeped in songwriter history, the Cactus Cafe has hosted performances from greats like Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Loudon Wainwright III. Only two albums into a career, Adam Torres may have a…
Mitski and Japanese Breakfast Bring Dark and Shimmering Pop to Sidewinder: Live Review
Someone somewhere must have done a calculation about the perfect amount of time for a band to wait before returning to Austin following SXSW, as it seems like bills of late have been…
Kevin Morby and Big Thief at Sidewinder: Live Review
Last week, two acts that both played SXSW and received notable attention returned to Austin for a sold out joint show at the Sidewinder. Initially known for his role as the bassist for Woods…
Damien Jurado and the Heavy Light Bring Heavy Songs to the Parish: Live Review
I’ve known Damien Jurado’s live shows to be quiet, intimate, and transfixing solo performances. I’ve seen him play deep in the woods of Washington State and to a crowded bar in downtown Austin…
Reflecting on the Slack Capital Release Party at Barracuda
The compilation has long been a go t0 method of cross promoting and getting the word out about a cadre of like-minded artists in an environment where they might otherwise fly under the…
Athens Band Mothers Brings Delicately Powerful Pop to Stubb’s: Live Review
With indie rock songs both fragile and powerful, Athens band Mothers delivered a set that left the audience at Stubb’s’ indoor room transfixed and engrossed last Thursday. Falling somewhere between the music of Angel Olsen and…
Backstage at Dana Falconberry’s Stunning, Theatrical Album Release Show
If you attended Dana Falconberry’s release show for her new album, From the Forest Came the Fire, at the Stateside Theater last Saturday, you experienced an incredible display of artistry, in terms of both…
Protomartyr Triumphs at Sidewinder, Returns for SXSW
A week ago, lauded post-punk outfit Protomartyr performed at The Sidewinder, an Austin venue still in its infancy. The event marked the first sold-out show I’ve seen in the space, since Red Eyed…
Ty Segall Emotionally Mugs Mohawk: Live Review
I can’t tell you who said it first, but articles comparing Ty Segall’s latest artistic development to the combined influence of David Bowie and Iggy Pop abound as of late. When everyone’s saying the same…
Bully and Diet Cig Shred at The Parish: Live Review
It has been a little over a week since Bully and Diet Cig careened through Austin to issue blistering sets of garage rock on the Parish, and the mere memory of the show…
Julia Lucille’s Tape Release at Cheer Up Charlies: Live Review
Last Friday at Cheer Up Charlies, songstress Julia Lucille performed in celebration of her new cassette, The Bedroom Tapes Volume One, which features songs she has written periodically on the occasion of each…
Cross Record, Adam Torres, Nadia Play Spellbinding Sets at Mohawk
Cross Record’s album release event at Mohawk on Saturday night emerged as a transfixing and indelible moment in music. Years after musicians have become legends, people muse about what it might have been…
Live Review: Shearwater’s World Tour Kickoff Show at ND in Austin
Long-time Shearwater fans rejoice: a new album recently arrived via Sub Pop, and the group’s hometown show at the ND last Wednesday, kicked off a tour that will make stops in the U.S., Europe,…
Live Review: Motopony with Gold Beach and Cross Record at Mohawk
Offering a place to toast up our cold December bodies in their festive, atmospheric indoor space as we ardently digested the sounds executed before us, The Mohawk triumphed once again. Wednesday night’s bill, consisting of Seattle’s Motopony with Austin-based bands Gold Beach…
Tennis & Pure Bathing Culture at Red 7: Live Review
I’ve always liked Tennis, but their show at Red 7 on Saturday night convinced me that they’re receiving significantly less credit than they deserve. Built around the creative forces of husband and wife…
Mutual Benefit’s Gorgeous Set at Red 7: Live Review
Last night, Mutual Benefit, the project of musician Jordan Lee, made a stop in Austin for a set at Red 7. Lee’s music consists of dreamy soundscapes that wander from loose structures teeming…
Walter TV’s Mohawk Pizza Party: Live Review
Walter TV has been coined “Mac Demarco’s touring band,” “Mac Demarco’s friend’s band,” and “Mac Demarco’s side project.” These pseudonyms aren’t a far cry from the truth, but only if you’re comparing the…
Yonatan Gat’s Incredible Cheer Up Charlie’s Show: Live Review
Watching Yonatan Gat and his band perform will blow your mind. The former Monotonix member’s live show leans heavily on improvisation and borders on performance art, incorporating signature lighting and expelling an incredible…
Ramesh at The Belmont: Live Review
Sometimes unexpected and less than desirable elements make for a more magical evening of music. Former Voxtrot member Ramesh, who recently released his first solo full-length The King, was supposed to play Belmont’s outside…
Barcelona with The Young Wild at Holy Mountain: Live Review
Monday night atop the Mountain, Seattle band Barcelona immersed the grooving audience in melodic songs of old and new. The trio released the final component to their three part EP series, The Melodrama, in March, revealing yet…
Live Review: Raw Paw Closes Out Summer with Epic Scoot Inn Show
Despite rain in the early evening, the weather was just fine, if a little muggy, for local arts and music collective Raw Paw’s epic send off to summer at Scoot Inn on Friday…
Austin Bat Cave Benefit Hosts Benefit with Bill Callahan, Jon Dee Graham
Austin Bat Cave is a non-profit writing and tutoring center serving a diverse population of young people. The center fights the good fight daily to keep our young people interested in reading and…
Mother Falcon at Mohawk for United We Jam: Live Review
Last weekend, on both Friday and Saturday nights, Austin Music People’s fundraiser United We Jam hosted bills of local bands at myriad venues across the city. Our own Lukas Read wrote yesterday about…
Blood, Sweat, and Cheers with Night Beats at Red Bull Sound Select Showcase
More than once, I’ve written about Red Bull Sound Select‘s ability to book killer shows. The corporate-backed music series refuses to stick to one venue, one city, or even one genre. Red Bull…
The Versus Project feat. Borrisokane, Young Tongue, & Knifight Live at Scoot Inn on Saturday
We couldn’t be more excited about seeing a live incarnation of the bands who participated in The Versus Project. We’ve written about it time and time again, even premiered a track or two,…
Sylvan Esso with Dana Buoy at Emo’s: Live Review
In light of Sylvan Esso’s outstanding debut effort as well as the quality repertoire of Akron/Family and member Dana Buoy’s solid new solo recordings, Sunday night’s double-bill at Emo’s stood out as a…
The Mole People Celebrate Lost Age LP Release at Spiderhouse
Lost Age isn’t just the title of The Mole People’s excellent new album, out last week on Punctum Records, it’s a holistic philosophy. The bands–Big Bill, Those Howlings, and The Mole People–that played…
Thao and The Get Down Stay Down Make ACL Taping Debut
Following in the Footsteps of longtime collaborator Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs, Thao & the Get Down Stay Down finally made their debut performance at Austin City Limits on Thursday evening. Thao Nguyen confidently…
Seattle Band iji Wows Cheer Up Charlies: Live Review
I met Zach Burba on my recent trip to Seattle at a Lake / Bouquet show at Hollow Earth Radio. When I told Zach I was from Austin, he said he’d be playing…
Matthew Squires Performs Endearing Guitar Pop at Cheer Up Charlies
Although I’ve written about Matthew Squires and listened to his music, I had managed to be occupied during almost every show he’s played until this week at Cheer Up Charlies. As one would…
Boris at Mohawk: Live Review
Like any guy with a new baby, I found myself walking down Red River just as Boris strummed the first chords of their set. Late for the show. Which meant I’d missed Ceremony,…
Dreamy Jams at the Spiderhouse Ballroom: Live Review
Friday night at the Spiderhouse Ballroom gave us four Texan bands: Dollie Barnes (Waco), Borrisokane (Austin), Chambers (Denton), and RF Shannon (Austin). A mix of dark folk and synthy pop permeated the dimly…
Little Radar, Young Tongue, Black Books at Mohawk: Live Review
Rock and roll is alive in Austin, Texas. Mohawk is the place to catch it. The club offered performances on both indoor and outdoor stages with slightly alternating set times between the two. The…
Peter Matthew Bauer Finds Freedom at Holy Mountain: Live Review
Saturday night, former Walkmen bassist, Peter Matthew Bauer, came to the Holy Mountain with a troupe of psychedelic supporters. The band was an excellent model of strong backing talent. Dirty guitars and a duo of lady…
Sordidly Saved: Nick Cave’s ACL Taping
If you’ve read any reviews of Nick Cave’s performance at a taping for the 40th season of PBS series Austin City Limits this past weekend, you’ll know critics are describing Cave as the Devil incarnate; I…
Iska Dhaff at Mohawk: Live Review
Buzzing synths and a curtain of feedback introduced Seattle Washington’s Iska Dhaff at Mohawk on Thursday night. The duo, comprised of singer/guitarist Nathan Quiroga and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Verdoes, launched into a set stuffed…
Wye Oak at Neumos in Seattle: Live Review
As a huge fan of music from our nation’s Pacific Northwest, I’ve lamented not being to see bands when I’ve noticed them listed as playing Seattle venues Neumos, The Crocodile, or Showbox on…
The Tontons at Larimer Lounge in Denver: Live Review
Pop Press International is on vacation. Well, while some of the newest team members are holding down the Austin scene, while I am in Denver and Seattle on a trip to gather information for my upcoming…
Marissa Nadler Climbs the Holy Mountain: Live Review
Marissa Nadler sailed into Austin Sunday evening at Holy Mountain atop a mystical ship of reverb and fingerpicked 12-string guitars. She was accompanied only by a single cellist, Janel Leppin, who masterfully complimented…
Big Bill’s Tour Kickoff with Daniel Francis Doyle and Mirror Travel at Holy Mountain
Thursday night at Holy Mountain was a night of paradoxes. Playful yet aggressive, bizarre yet familiar. As I type this, listening to Daniel Franics Doyle’s solo 7-inch vinyl, I find myself at somewhat of…
Lukas Read Expands Lineup for Lambert’s Show: Live Review
The first time I saw Lukas Read, he was doing a stripped down, seated, solo performance of world-weary guitar tunes, channeling the old-world folk of the kind of troubadours who played NYC’s Gaslight…
Dub Thompson with Ought at Holy Mountain: Live Review
I’ve spent the last week completely in awe of Montreal-based post punk band Ought. The post-punk outfit channels Joy Division and Television with angular guitar riffs, but retains their own voice with ambling,…
The Donkeys at Mohawk: Live Review
The Donkeys rolled into Austin supporting their new album, Ride the Black Wave, perhaps having ridden it too long and not sure what day it was, to a packed audience indoors at Mohawk…
Devo Plays for Hardcore Fans at ACL Live’s Moody Theater
Wednesday night, quirky post-punk pioneers Devo ended their “Hardcore Devo” tour in Austin at the Moody Theater. The tour nomenclature serves as an apt descriptor for the fans in attendance—those clad in plastic…
Swans Got Heavy at Mohawk Friday Night
After taking a break from the project and recording and touring as Angels of Light, Michael Gira’s Swans are back in full force. The group reassembled around 2010 after more than a decade…
The Mountain Goats’ Anthemic Evening at Mohawk
Everyone sings along when frontman John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats belts out, “I hope the people who did you wrong/ have trouble sleeping at night/ People were mean to you but I always thought you were…
Jess Williamson & RF Shannon Celebrate Split 7″ at Cheer Up Charlies
We’ve been singing the praises of these players for months now. Punctum Records managed to get two of Austin’s best artists on a record together. Last week, the label released a split 7″…
Ramesh Album Release at Holy Mountain
Friday night, former Voxtrot member Ramesh celebrated the Austin Town Hall Records-issued vinyl release of his album The King with a show at Holy Mountain. In addition to Ramesh, the bill included garage pop trio…
Hikes EP Release at Cheer Up Charlies: Live Review
After seeing Hikes perform a few times, I’m convinced they’re one of Austin’s most exciting bands. The young outfit of math rock musicians are closely affiliated with rising DIY collective Raw Paw, who sponsored the…
Tweedy at ACL Taping: Live Review
Last Friday and Saturday, Jeff Tweedy came to Austin for two nights, including the ACL taping for the PBS shows 40th season we witnessed, where he treated the studio audience to a marked night…
Cleanup & Chipper Jones at Cheer Up Charlie’s: Review & Photos
Earlier this week, instrumentally-focused math rock bands Chipper Jones and Cleanup played at Cheer Up Charlie’s. Both bands are part of a current trend that’s seeing a revival of styles of indie rock…
Dana Falconberry, RF Shannon, & Devon Sproule at Stubb’s: Live Review
I’ve seen Dana Falconberry dozens of times, and sung her praises just as many. However, I never get tired of watching her perform her haunting and gorgeous, forward-thinking folk music live. She and her band…
Kishi Bashi Builds a Beautiful Blanket Fort at Mohawk: Live Review
Despite little familiarity with Kishi Bashi, a few songs and a highly enthusiastic recommendation from a fellow music aficionado were more than enough to coax me out last Friday night to check out…
Live Review: …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead at Red 7
A singer-songwriter, a noisecore trio, and an alt-rock quartet walk into a bar. There they meet a punk-prog-psych outfit about twenty years their elder. Shots are ordered. Equipment is trashed. The stage crew…
Cloud Nothings and The Men Destroy Mohawk: Live Review
Pop Press International talked about this show quite a bit leading up to it, and have been proclaiming the greatness of both Cloud Nothings and The Men for a good while. The Men’s…
Vampire Weekend with Wild Cub at Stubb’s: Live Review
Perhaps more so than any band currently making music, Vampire Weekend has found universal acclaim, both winning the hearts of indie bloggers everywhere and beginning to reach newfound mainstream success by bagging a…
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Orchestra Gets Metaphysically Philosophical at Mohawk
You should have been there, and there’s a good chance you weren’t. I’ve written before about just how many shows occur each night in Austin, but this week may take the cake. Last…
The National’s First Night at ACL Live
I’ve been looking forward to this show for a long time; it has been on my radar since the second and third nights were announced. The National’s High Violet is a masterpiece, but I’m in…
101X Homegrown Live with Ume, Megafauna, Black Books, Young Tongue: Live Review
101X continues to celebrate local live music by assembling stellar bills with some of the city’s best bands. Last month was a bill featuring The Tontons, Good Field, Speak, and Slomo Drags. This…
Hello Wheels, El Campo, and RF Shannon Play Attendance Records Benefit: Live Review
Austin nonprofit organization Attendance Records does the important work of teaching high school students about music, its industry and its creation. This includes everything from album artwork to songwriting to recording. With ever…
Growl, Mole People, Party Girl, & Those Howlings at Cheer Up Charlies: Live Review
We adored the old Cheer Up Charlies. And while the east side locale will always hold a special place in our hearts, there’s no denying how completely awesome the new space is. In…
Sarah Neufeld (of Arcade Fire) with Reservations at Lambert’s: Live Review
Arcade Fire practically took over Austin last week. After the band performed two shows, one official show and one as cover band Phi Slamma Jamma, last Thursday night, another member of the band,…
S. Carey, White Hinterland, & Dana Falconberry at Holy Mountain: Review & Photos
Monday night at Holy Mountain featured a Secretly Canadian double header with SC artist and Bon Iver member S. Carey headlining, and SC sister label Dead Oceans artist White Hinterland offering support. In…
Live Review: The Districts with Young Tongue at Stubb’s
Fat Possum, one of independent music’s most stalwart labels, has a roster full of distinct artists. When I heard The Districts, I was a little perplexed. The band sounded good enough–gritty folk rock…
La Luz & Pure Bathing Culture at Red 7: Live Review
With a significant hip-hop bill slated outside and two indie darling bands ready to warm up the indoor stage, Red 7 drew a sizable crowd, especially considering the sub-zero temperatures bearing down on…
Abram Shook Album Release with Good Field & Royal Forest at Mohawk
Friday night at the Mohawk served as a local music extravaganza with a bill that featured two of Austin’s best bands supporting a rising Austin musician as he celebrated the release of his…
Dent May with Tiger Waves & Gang Sign at Holy Mountain: Live Review
Somehow, I’ve managed to miss Dent May’s live show time and time again. Even after I worked an all day photo shoot before the show, the stars finally aligned and I made it…
Fuzz at Red 7 Live Review
Legend has it that a vehicle encounter with a wild hog delayed Fuzz’s arrival in Austin at Red 7 on Friday night. Though the packed crowd grew restless when the band still hadn’t…
