by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

The Belmont

This weekend The Belmont at 305 W. 6th Street (where we held one of our official SXSW parties) celebrates its official Grand Opening starting with Mike Relm with All My Friends (A Tribute to LCD Soundsystem) on Friday, 4/13. It's FREE with RSVP, and the celebration continues Saturday with ...Trail of Dead - also FREE with RSVP (both via Do512). More details and some videos below...

Continue reading "The Belmont's Grand Opening Weekend - FREE w/ RSVP - Mike Relm 4/13, Trail of Dead 4/14"

Join us as we celebrate one fantastic year in business and YOU for being a part of it!

6pm-2am

Music provided by our resident dj's
The shake
soul swap DJs
Peligrosa all stars
Dj Orion
Warm leatherette
kissatx
And more

Complimentary beverages and food EARLY and while it lasts!

Thanks for your support and your business the last year. Here's to many more...

~The Volstead Lounge

BrooklynVegan is proud to be taking over Volstead and Hotel Vegas for four days next week during SXSW!

photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Stephen Malkmus @ Mohawk on 2/22

On an unseasonably warm Wednesday (2/22), Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks came to The Mohawk with Nurses and TV Torso as part of their February tour.

They played right up to the 10:30 sound curfew, with a solid 15-song set list (which you can read in the pictures below), as well as two covers to round out the encore (REM's "Radio Free Europe" and Elton John's "Benny and the Jets").

This was one of the first outside shows in the newly-upgraded venue, which now has two additional viewing tiers overhanging the outside courtyard. From what I could see walking around, the new additions offer a lot more breathing room, as well as clear sightlines to the stage. SXSW will be a good test to see how the extra space improves the flow of the venue - but so far it looks like a pretty effective upgrade.

More pictures from the Jicks show below...

Continue reading "Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks played Mohawk w/ Nurses and TV Torso (pics, setlist)"

Red 7 (taken during Free Week) (more by Tim Griffin)

The club clears up some rumors. In their own words:

All of us here at Red 7 are flattered to know we're the occasional source of gossip. I mean, we get it. We closed down for a few weeks in December, threw in a couple of Playstations and some minor repairs, and now people are assuming we're leaving town just because Emo's moved off the block.

Well, I'm sad Emo's left downtown. A lot of us cut our teeth there, and it was a great venue that helped shape Red River. So was Liberty Lunch.

At the same time, our friends at Beerland down the street just resigned their lease (long live Beerland!), The Mohawk is in the midst of building out a fancy new viewing deck and our neighbors at Empire Automotive have really been stepping it up on doing more live shows than before. We're excited to see a combination of new blood and old veterans investing their time, money and talent in this district, and we're even more excited to be a big part of it.

We don't have any plans on going anywhere. We aren't moving South of the River, and we aren't closing our doors. Why would we? Red River is one of the most important neighborhoods in Austin, and we're fighting to keep it here for the long haul. Starting with re-signing our lease.

In the meantime, we've made some improvements to the facilities and programming and have a lot of great shows (and a few surprises) in store for you in the near future, so stay tuned.

Speaking of Red 7, Frankie Rose and DIVE just announced a show there, and Braid is playing there during SXSW. Cloud Nothings play there later this month.

wisdom @ the Mohawk (more by Tim Griffin)

Austin360 reports:

"The club at 912 Red River St. is approaching the completion of a new deck overlooking its outside stage that will expand its capacity somewhere in the range of 150-200 people (the city will make the final determination), according to owner James Moody. Though most of the structure will go in over the next week or so, some of the supports are already in place. Moody says he hopes it will be finished in time for the annual beard and moustache competition on Feb. 25."

by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Screen grab from Andy Langer's Twitter

While I haven't yet found an official announcement, Andy Langer tweeted (pictured above) that one of the items at Jo's 6th Annual Chili Cold Blood Chili Cook Off up for auction was a date night for 2 - dinner and drinks followed by attending an ACL TV episode taping featuring Bon Iver. This would fall right between his Coachella and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival dates.

Justin Vernon last performed in Austin at The Long Center with Kathleen Edwards. Last night he performed on Saturday Night Live.

This would add yet another big name to the 2012 season for ACL TV, which already looks pretty great with Radiohead, The Shins, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, The Civil Wars, and Chris Isaak.

Full Bon Iver tour listing, including the probably correct Austin date below...

Continue reading "Bon Iver taping for ACL TV on April 25th? Looks like it..."

photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

"Theophilus London, such a good show at the new Beauty Ballroom." - Bang Ho

Theophilus London @ Beauty Ballroom - 1/27

One day after performing a streaming session in the Do512 lounge, Theophilus London headlined the third show at the new Beauty Ballroom. It was also the first show of a Grand Opening weekend celebration that continues at the venue tonight (1/28), and one of many dates on an ongoing tour for the Brooklyn-based rapper.

Treasure Fingers, L.A.X., Vegas Banger and Rickey Jean Francois all also played the Friday night Austin show. Here are some pictures. They continue below...

Continue reading "Theophilus London & friends played Beauty Ballroom's Grand Opening Weekend (pics)"

photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

Quin Galavis and Literature @ Club 1808 on 1/13

On 1/13, a benefit show was held for Esme Barrera at Club 1808 (one day after a Scoot Inn benefit show). There was food, self-defense demonstrations, t-shirt making, and a lot of performances. I made it over for two of the last bands (after spending the earlier part of the night at Hotel Vegas with White Denim).

Those two local bands were Literature (who were pretty wild in the tightly-spaced stage area) and singer/songwriter Quin Galavis. Quin's band includes Graham Low on the cello, Matt Hammer on the drums and Shelly McKann on the piano. And to quote their bio, "They have been and are members of many great austin bands (OBN IIIs [Graham Low, Matt Hammer], The Carrots [Shelly McKann], The Strange Boys, The Dead Space [Quin], A Giant Dog etc..)" Quin released his solo debut last year. The Austin Chronicle writes:

Stepping out from the garage-psych of Casual Victim Pile alums the Dead Space, Quin Galavis strips down and unplugs for his solo debut, an aching affair of indie folk, broke and drifting. He's an old soul and a natural storyteller, a combination beautifully accented in "Crooked Deals" and "Mary" by cello and harmony from pianist Shelley Mckann.

Two days later, hundreds of friends and colleagues had a memorial service at Fiesta Gardens - where The Esme Barrera Fan Club Band performed. Watch a video below.

A double-header Beerland show to benefit Esme (featuring Ted Leo - twice) is scheduled for Saturday 1/28. Advanced tickets are still on sale for the day show (which Literature are also playing), but the night show appears to be sold out.

Pictures from Literature and Quin Galavis at Club 1808, and a video of The Esme Barrera Fan Club Band, below...

Continue reading "pics from the Esme benefit show @ Club 1808 (Literature & Quin Galavis); video of the Esme Fan Club Band"

photos by @griffinshot - Tim Griffin

"Our friends in @GentlemenRogues did a really great @tedleo cover as tribute to Esme last night. A nice start to their set." - Ume

Gentlemen Rogues @ Mohawk on 1/8 for Free Week

A bit belated... I spent the final night (Sunday, 1/8) of Free Week at The Mohawk, Beerland, and Beauty Bar (with a quick visit to Headhunters). We already posted the Beerland sets earlier over here. The pictures in this post include (in no particular order):

The Bye and Bye
Rook
The Gentlemen Rogues
Bremen Riot
Broken Gold
Little Emily Warfield

Continue reading "more Free Week pics; video of the Gentleman Rogues covering Ted Leo for Esme"

Though Beauty Ballroom actually opens on Friday with a show by rapper Kendrick Lamar, the "grand opening" is next weekend, and now that grand opening is even more grand. This sums it up:

GRAND OPENING WEEKEND

The Beauty Bar brand expands eastward to Riverside with a 700 capacity venue, The Beauty Ballroom. January 27 & 28 marks the Grand Opening weekend for the new east-side venue, with performances by Theophilus London, Treasure Fingers, L.A.X & a very special performance by This Ambitious Orchestra, covering the hits of David Bowie & Elvis.

The Beauty Ballroom features a 500-cap dance floor and 200-cap balcony with VIP seating options, table service & two karaoke rooms. The Ballroom boasts two full bars (one upstairs and one down), as well as a full production light and sound.

The new location promises to to be one of Austin's premier live music clubs focusing on a national range of talent, while still offering the eclectic lounge feel of the The Beauty Bar brand.

The Grand Opening weekend kicks off 1/27 with a classic Beauty Bar dance party, featuring Theophilus London & Treasure Fingers w/ local dance band L.A.X, Vegas Banger & Rickey Jean Francois. Tickets are $16 and can be purchased HERE.

Saturday, January 28 continues with a spectacle not to be missed. This Ambitious Orchestra presents The King & The Thin White Duke. The orchestra teams up with Lady Circus & Bro Circus to cover timeless songs from Elvis & Bowie, featuring a parade of Austin Singers including Daniel Johnston, Mike Weibe (The Riverboat Gamblers), Alex Maas (The Black Angels), Christina Marrs (Asylum Street Spankers), John Wesley Coleman, Jonathan Terrell (Not In The Face), & more. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased HERE.

Speaking of the Black Angels, they also just announced (and are playing) Psych Fest 2012 which is also taking place at Beauty Ballroom (and Emo's East).