Jan 15
Blues, Country, Indie Rock, Soul No Comments
Although it was the first time in some ten years that both primary contributors to Concert Central were actually at a concert together, we only saw a couple of songs. But the band still managed to make their goodness clear. A rootsy indie sound and fronted by a very lovely young girl with a great voice. Originally from Alabama but now in Austin
Jun 13
Americana, Blues, Folk No Comments
a lot of prep work went into this show: discussion, watching of the biography, etc. and it made it all the more exciting to see the actual 77-year-old man walking down the little aisle – the charm that won him 5 (plus?) wives is still apparent – he just opens his mouth and amusing folksy tales pour out, that’s his “ramblin’” part – the names of celebrity pals were dropped left and right (Kris Kristofferson, Woody Guthrie, etc.) – he’s a good guitarist, trained by Woody Guthrie and acting as mentor to Bob Dylan eventually, as informed by the movie – he doesn’t write too many of his songs and talked about the person who wrote each song before playing it – style ranged from bluesy to Guthrie-esque to Townes-esque folk-country – overly-delighted fawning middle-aged crowd that is typical to the Cactus Café – the downside was that Jack was struck with allergies or a cold and his voice kept getting scruffy to the point that he eventually cut his second set short – his first set wasn’t even that long –RamblinBoy reported that he actually played more songs than what he did in Marfa the weekend before possibly because he didn’t have enough of a voice to chat too much – we got to talk to him on the way out after waiting out a very old hippie who actually had a twig sticking out of his hair
Jun 09
the band was not the point, unremarkable blues band – all white, bassist was a young female which was nice, the point was the place! which was remarkable: 60-year-old shack of a bar that offered free chili and free condoms at the bar, no AC, a miniscule dance floor, and the best part was that there were whites and blacks and browns and rich and poor all co-mingling but… it was clear… it’s heading for gentrification and I contributed to that last night – my own personal Black Snake Moan episode, sweat and all
Jun 07
Blues, Glam, Punk, Rock and Roll No Comments
an accessible mix of post-punk, blues rock, glam, and punk n roll sounds but in reality proto-punk which makes them even more amazing: the sounds are rightfully theirs – basically a genuine classic old-school rock band insofar as the music, the talent, the stage presence and the look, especially Mick-Jagger’s-doppelganger David Johansen singing in his frilly shirt – only other original member of the band was Sylvain Sylvain in a little salmon-colored beret (he charmingly joined Black Joe on stage) – my favorite might have been the heavily eyelinered goth-esque guy on bass guitar who was wearing an incongruent pinstriped shirt and black vest and baseball cap (?) – enjoyed the lack of pretension and posturing – “Stranded in the Jungle,” “Personality Crisis,” original version of “Trash” followed by a reggae version of it
Jun 07
Blues, Chicago Blues, Funk, Soul No Comments
may be the most professional slick band I’ve seen in Austin, and while that usually annoys me, it suits their music – they’re local but touring in support of the New York Dolls – lots of soul, some wah-wah 70s funk and then some Chicago blues – a brass section of saxes and a trumpet, two guitars, drums, etc. etc. – whole assemble was having a good time – Joe Lewis’ voice isn’t remarkable but he has a pleasing innocent fun demeanor on stage – he supposedly started as a blues singer in Austin with the likes of Scott H. Biram but found his success with the addition of the Honeybears
Mar 18
Alternative Rock, Blues, Comedy, Country, Electronic, Pop, R&B, Rap, Rock and Roll No Comments
We’re all bickering on a hot street: WomanInCharge on crutches and no cabs in sight. Two of us head off towards busier corners to find a taxi when what to our wondering eyes should appear, but an oddly shaped taxicab coming so near. We whooped, climbed in and shortly realized that this was no normal taxi. It was shaped like a big box, had a stripper’s pole and fluorescent lighting. Even better, there was an interactive jukebox-style touch screen with a wealth of music videos from the 70s to 00s to choose from. 3 to 4 TV screens allowed a clear view for every passenger. The kind of random magic that only happens during SXSW… or anytime of the year for the lucky few who know to call 512-626-TAXI.
Mar 17
Chicago Blues, Delta Blues, Punk No Comments
First SXSW show of the year !!!!!! – (although this was a daytime in-store and he isn’t even here for an official SXSW showcase) – the crowd was already delicious and probably exactly what Austinites hate (why? why?): vain self-aware rocker dudes, serious Europeans with totes and badges and indecipherable conversations, and (at least at this old Austin record store) some old drink-weary hillbillies throwing “y’alls” all over the place – 10:1 male:female ratio and free homemade gumbo, cheap sodas and finally Shiner – I, not having adapted yet to music-time, was annoyed that the show was some 40 minutes late – but all was okay when I caught sight of a shrunken ancient black man with round cheeks and a big white smile (surely false teeth) being led in by a biker-punk and a shaggy-Comets-on-Fire- t-shirt guy –he circled the entire cramped store and shook people’s hands – he sat down, tuned his guitar that had tacky stickers spelling out “T-Model Ford The Taildragger,” smiled big and said “It’s Jack Daniels time!” – whiskey was produced from somewhere, he took a little swig and started playing – he’s just the real deal – I discovered him on my internet radio stations and took note because I was always pleasantly struck by his sound – Delta blues roots but all electrified up and fast – approximates Scott Biram, Possessed by Paul James, etc. but is their forefather in reality – he wasn’t so fast today and eventually said his fingers were stiff – he’s 88 and playing another gig tonight at Emo’s! – he finished his first song and drawled, “It’s Jack Daniels time” – he flirted with the girls in the front row – he had a trick of making his blues-par-excellence voice drop into a quick growl and then could make it swoop up into a tenorous “whoooo – eee” – he was darling and not just in the way old men can be to younger girls
Feb 27
Funk, Hard Rock, Texas Blues No Comments
I am embarrassed that I enjoy this band so much what with their unfair use of everything good in rock and roll: heavy bass lines, groovy blues licks, funky pick-ups, but to their redemption, they’ve also got talent, soul, authenticity, and diversity. At previous shows, they’d been more about the tight hopped-up songs (which they still did), but tonight there was only three band members (lead guitar, pedal steel and drums) and they did some extended intense jams as well as some lighter country numbers (Moonhanger songs?), with both guitarists exchanging vocalizing duties. I like Chili Cold Blood, I cannot lie.
Feb 14
Blues, Heavy Metal, Southern Rock 2 Comments
I haven’t stopped giggling at this band yet. They fit (almost) every caricature of an 80s ‘heavy’ metal band. CAUTIONARY: This may be more a reflection of my age and personal bias than the actual quality of this band. Drummer with a red bandana singing in a quasi-screamo but totally 80s metal growl. They’re basically a hard rock, driving hard, metal-hard, with touches of Lynyrd Skynyrd and some real blues grooves. While the guitarist in the camouflage baseball cap was incongruous and cute, the bassist member was Will-Ferrell-as-a-metal-head incarnate, with the grandiose swagger and smirks and an upswung arm in some pagan salute at the end of each song, plus a cheesy haircut and goatee to boot. They were old (mid-40s) and the crowd was too. The girls, sorry women, were embarrassing me and should have been embarrassing themselves with their obvious efforts at behaving like metal groupies… at the age of 47… Oh! And there were some devil horns thrown too!
Feb 14
uhhh… Chili Cold Blood. Spot on. But a lot slicker and so less appealing, at least to me. They were grinding electric blues with a touch of metal and some harmonica. Sexy boys with sexy guitars. An emo-looking boy sang and performed a blues storm with his slide. The crowd was somewhat cold to them – maybe they were inauthentic (in their contrived get-ups) or maybe the crowd was hipster snooty. Their sound was polished and full, their instruments were glossy and gorgeous, and as much as all of this was good, I got the impression that they were privileged and totally out of touch with what the blues is about.
Feb 06
Blues, Garage Rock, Heavy Metal, Punk No Comments
so silly I couldn’t stop the smirk and I don’t mean that politely, the crowd was peeing all over themselves, apparently this band’s hype precedes its arrival – some sort of political repression legend based on their Israelian origins and the fact that a few places haven’t allowed them to perform (though they’ve managed to rack up some 300 shows of late despite this), there is nothing political in their message, in fact their lack of message was complemented by a lack of music, there was some sort of something going on with sounds though the only band member you could pick out (what with the 40 drooling boys swaying ON the stage) was the lead singer in his jockey shorts hanging from a tree near the stage – I think the drummer was up there for a while too, this is a band for people who have a need to belong to something… to get caught up in the fervor and collectivity of… something, anything
Feb 06
was initially entranced because they were dead-on Reigning Sound, then I became distracted by the lead singer’s ZZ Top beard and black sunglasses, then I realized that they were the most soulless band I have seen since I don’t remember – I can’t quite pin down the exact origin of their peculiar void of energy though it did remind me of Yo La Tengo when they’re trying to pretend like they don’t give a shit – I fear this is one more indicator of the decline of Emo’s (all of their fabulous bartenders have defected, rumors are afloat of problems about unions, it’s all very worrisome,…)
Oct 24
Blues, Dance, Indie Rock, Psychedelic No Comments
the high quality of their sound was immediately apparent – rich and full despite it being an acoustic show, I take note of them because of the distinctive voice but that actually became annoying – seemed contrived – he does have a good voice but could change up on its nasally execution every now and then, very attractive band – appear serious and smart, did a short set of only three songs but with a wide range of sounds from psychy indie rock to hoppy dance hit “Something Is Not Right With Me” in which the drummer continued to play drums with his left hand while shaking the shaker with his right hand… which was terribly impressive to me
Oct 03
Americana, Country, Texas Blues No Comments
80s Texas country cool lead singer (suit, gum-chomping, Elvis sneer, and sunglasses indoors) ended every song with a gimmicky Elvis-like thank you – there’s no doubt that they’re good at what they do but also true that 1000s have already done what they do – wide range of country, rock and pop – distinctly heard the influence of Roy Orbison, The Traveling Wilburys and Tom Petty (but this would be as deep as I delve into country)
Sep 27
Blues, Indie Rock, Psychedelic, The Vault No Comments
Rockboy discovered this band at SXSW this year and I’d come to like them a lot too – I kept telling him that she sounded like some 70s singer… Janis Joplin… but that wasn’t quite right – it became suddenly and blatantly apparent seeing them live: the round expansiveness and tone of every note of her voice is verbatim Jefferson Airplane… Grace Slick – her voice is the band though the other aspects are just as appealing – she sits playing drums in the center while outputting this incredible voice flanked on each side by matching boys: lead and bass guitars – Rockboy describes them as a mix of White Stripes and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs which is accurate with the bluesy driving minimalism of the former and the feminine intensity of the latter – incredibly young crowd who of course could not understand in totality the greatness of this little band
Sep 06
Blues, Garage Rock, Grunge, Punk No Comments
there were two epiphanies during this show that I haven’t been quite able to recollect, something about grunge and how it has such a distinctive sound and a sound so distinctive from contemporary sounds and all of this despite being such an amalgam of old sounds, and how grunge was the defining sound of my adolescence and I couldn’t break it down to you now nor then with words more descriptive than ‘grunge,’ so I tried to hear this band as if there were no history between us – as if they were any old band – and they were so good but I had a hard time piecing them out, firstly Mark Arm has a tremendous and passionate voice that sticks with you, they are a mix of blues and punk and garage, they are thoroughly influenced by the Stooges, lastly I am not as thoroughly tired of them as I am of all of the other 90s bands
May 16
the lead singer has more personality in his skinny left leg than a whole lineup of bands, he has a wealth of antics to accompany his Tennessee singing and harmonicasizing, had a more rootsy sound than the Koffin Kats, the close-to-death guitarist was not there but was being filled in for by the guitarist from the Jesus Lizard, the upright bassist and drummer are excellent as well
May 15
Country, Southern Rock, Texas Blues No Comments
the alter ego of Chili Cold Blood (more country and less funk) but not as different as expected, still slick fast and electric, lots of Southern rock flavor, I really like these guys no matter what band they are for the night
Apr 29
Blues, Country, Glam, Indie Rock, Performance, Singer/Songwriter No Comments
Friend3 and Friend2’s band of four months – they both sing though Friend2 is more Mountain Goats while Friend3 is dramatic rock, Friend1’s ex-roommate is on trumpet, “burner” on incongruent V-shaped guitar, long curly hair on drums, band includes some three other members-mostly brass, so as the vocals/songwriters varied did the music, from witty-lyric silly-voice songs to dramatic rock opera numbers to a rock-medium when both sang together, distinctive diverse band with musical talent, they’re disparate right now plus can’t judge them fairly because I know them
Apr 04
Blues, Classic Rock, Funk, Hard Rock No Comments
as good as I remembered, some kind of heavy-riff wah-wah-funk bar blues, from Sabbath to classic rock to…, apparently have another band that’s all old country (Moonhangers)
Mar 15
Blues, Rock and Roll, Southern Rock, Thrash No Comments
adored their sound—the way blues rock ought to be done, the music made the lot of skinny boys sexy boys, lots of southern flavor, reminded me of that movie Black Snake Moan, good drums and slide, “Black Ass Woman” is the song to start with
Mar 14
Blues, Rock and Roll, Rockabilly No Comments
dirtiest rock n rollers I done ever seen: “dirty south” for the white trash set – especially because of the lead singer’s wailing thumping harmonica which was the best part; from Nashville; also had an upright bass, drummer and guitarist; hyped dirty psychobilly on the whole; lead vocalist was too skinny, hyper and silly to even have a chance against the line-faced tatted guitarist for most depraved rocker: spitting, throwing pubic hair and other shock-tactics ensued
Mar 05
Americana, Jazz, Texas Blues No Comments
Burton on pedal steel and singing – young hipster too self conscious to seem comfortable singing old Texas swing songs, rest of the band is a conglomerate of people from other bands in the Austin swing scene
Mar 02
Blues, Rock and Roll, Soul No Comments
immediately striking and enjoyable, bluesy rock with rootsy jive
Feb 10
Blues, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Trance No Comments
the reason we actually came and they too were a top-notch band, more straightforward 70s rock with a healthy dose of blues, pleasing undertone of riff that suited them to the drone theme of the night, reminded me of my favorites The Black Keys, very unassuming attitudes
Jan 09
there is absolutely no record of this band, played two jumpy blues songs with the morphed voice to make him sound old and black so basically a total Scott H. Biram rip-off though he does have a whole band to back him, I think he’s the guy who used to have a tidy little Mohawk and a cute girlfriend whom he was an ass too, the third song was of course rockabilly and then I left
Jan 05
Country, Rock and Roll, Southern Rock, Texas Blues No Comments
didn’t want to go, didn’t want to go, typically a venue for country/blues for the 40-something set and 45 minutes out of Austin, DrummingNeighbor did research for me and said that he’s got a great voice (truck commercial style) but that his songs are constructed on the country standard (not so great), he was good, too much of the Stevie Ray Vaughn Texas blues but sometimes would noodle in very pleasing southern rock manner, everything was gravelly (voice, guitar) and high quality
Jan 04
a testament to the diversity and quality that my favorite venue was offering for free week, chaos ensued from this point on but it was a string of be-horned guys doing funk-blues, possibly in a line and stepping in unison as if it were 1965
Aug 24
Blues, Classic Rock, Garage Rock No Comments
Josh Allen Band: the reason I picked this place, average-quality music that is quiet enough to allow conversation; Josh Allen and the Whiskey Bros.: the place has changed, music was very loud and much better than what I’d seen in visits past but was very loud, garagey bluesy Southern rock band, did cover of Pixie’s Where Is My Mind, music was very loud
Aug 01
an amalgam of people play there every week and the bartender makes up a new name for them each time, this week there were two people from Chicago and they were playing hard blues, there was a 19 year old on stage too
Jul 26
old blues jammers, they were good because they were old but they had a middle aged female on the Electric violin who was incredible, first it’s an Electric violin and then she played it with these wails and whines that just don’t normally come out of a violin
Jul 10
Blues, Chicago Blues No Comments
only heard a few toots from the saxophone from him – took forever to get started and we had to leave, older black man with gold earrings – the real thing if you will
new fiction by Andrew Marx
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