Austin Music Monkey

recoking-era REM meets Robyn Hitchcock

Day

Elf Power @ Sound on Sound Records 2:30pm
Mean-Eyed Cat (Forward Russia, Longcut, Dirty Pretty Things)
Red Eyed Fly (Brian Jonestown Massacre 4:30pm, She Wants Revenge 5:30pm)

Night

• 8pm
  The Flairz (australia) @ Caribbean Lights
  The Klezmatics (NY) @ Cedar Street Courtyard
  Mum DJ Set (icelnad) @ 7:45pm Fox and Hound
  The Brunettes (new zealand) @ Red Eyed Fly
  Polysics (japan) @ Zero Degrees
• 9pm
  Billy Bragg @ 9:30pm Cedar Street Courtyard
  Princess Superstar (NY) @ Elysium
  Storsveit Nix Noltes (iceland) @ Fox and Hound
  Oppenheimer (UK) @ Friends
• 10pm
  The Revs (ireland) @ Caribbean Lights
  Afriampo (japan) @ Flamingo Cantina
  Gemma Hayes (ireland) @ Soho Loungs
• 11pm
  OK GO (chicago) @ Dirty Dog Bar
  Animal Alpha (norway) @ Drink
  Zolar X (pluto) @ 11:30pm The Jackalope
• 12am
  Brian Jonestown Massacre (LA) @ Bourbon Rocks
  zZz (netherlands) @ Dirty Dog Bar
  Veto (denmark) @ Drink
  eX-Girl (japan) @ 12:45am THe Jackalope
  Arctic Monkeys (UK) @ La Zona Rosa
  Ted Leo & the Pharmacists (NJ) @ 12:30am Red 7
• 1am
  Quit Your Dayjob (sweden) @ Drink
  Rogue Wave (CA) @ Red Eyed Fly

Pop-y-rock-tastic

Surf-rock-esque

Banging on washing machines for you auditory pleasure

Dr Spock hard fuckin' rocks my goddamed world . . . with rubber gloves and without pants

Yes Mildred, there does exist non-Beastie white rap

So begins Nordic night, slow and earnest was the lone swan on the piano

Chin Up Chin Up and The Ponys

The plan-ish like schedule for Thursday...

Day

• Go! Team @ Waterloo Records 3pm, also at Mean-Eyed Cat
• Gram Parsons tribute Jam @ Opal Divines noon-3pm
• Mates of State @ Factory People soco at 3pm
• The Ark @ Guero's at 4pm
• South Austin Jug Band @ Red Eyed Fly at 5pm

Night

• Nordic night:
• The Drink: Astrid Swan 8pm, Latebirds 10pm, Royal Higness 11pm, Disco Ensemble 12am, Sign 1am
• Oslo: Dr. Spock 9pm, Jakob'nar'na 10pm
• Morissey 9:30pm @ Austin Music Hall
• Auktyon (St Petersburg) 10pm @ Caribbean Lights
• Mates of State 12pm @ Parish
• Spiros: Poni Hoax 9pm, Zenzile 10pm, Linea 77 11pm, Girls in Hawaii 11pm (patio), dEUS 1am
• Jackalope: Shifter 12am, The Mess Hall 1am
• Good local Austin set @ Cedar Street: South Austin Jug Band 9pm, Carolyn Wonderland 10pm, Ruthie Foster 11pm

awash in a sea of music

An utterly infectious Australian punk-pop act called The Grates (like a grate in the ground, she says). It was punk in that "fuck it i just want to play" kind of way, with a driving beat made by a short-haired lass who looked like she was probably an australian librarian when she wasn't busy being a rock star. The singer had an incredible voice -- they were NOISY, but somehow she could wrangle all that sound and impose her melody on top of it. I hate it when the drummer has to hold back so the singer won't get overwhelmed, but these guys were full-on balls-to-the-sticky-club-walls. And she did all of that while jumping around for the entire show like she was in one very rocking jane fonda workout video. Not sure if they're playing again here, but if you see their name somewhere i HIGHLY recommend it.

Pix = the suck, show = the rock