Tonight my concert pick was a no brainer for me. Antone's is the place to be, but this time it is not just for the great live music featured. Legendary Austin photographer Todd Wolfson was in an awful motorcycle accident in July. From what I understand, he severely injured his elbow and suffered a head injury that required multiple stitches. He is facing incredibly high hospital bills and his good friends are pitching in to help tonight.
Hacienda is an indie-rock quartet from Boerne, Texas, located on the outskirts of San Antonio. As kids, they spent their money at local antique shops in Boerne, buying old Beatles and Beach Boys records instead of the typical '90s alternative and nu-metal of their peers. It is no wonder, then, that Hacienda is now the reincarnation of both iconic '60s bands.
I first discovered
Full review and story on cdFuse
Saturday night was a real treat for me as one of my all time favorite artists, Everlast, played a show at Antone’s. Having been a fan of Everlast since the House of Pain era, and then a fan of his bluesy alternative rock solo projects, it is a wonder it has taken me over ten years to catch one of his concerts. If he was as good back then as he was Saturday night, I really missed out.
Opening for Everlast were Brooklyn natives and long time music scene veterans, The Lordz of Brooklyn. You may have caught them on Fuse as I did this summer, with their music documentary style show called The Brooklyn Way. The show chronicled the group from their early hip hop days of the 90s, to their struggles with the industry and coping with family life. It wasn’t but a few episodes, but the show did a good job of telling their story and conveying so much emotion that the viewer had t
o pull for these guys and all they have been through. Had it not been for the show, I can’t say I would have heard of them or have liked them as much. Good for Fuse.
The Lordz of Brooklyn were the only opener for Everlast Saturday, making it a short but sweet concert. When they took the stage, they came out ready to play with lots of confidence and the energy of a younger band. I did not know what to expect other than the theme song The Brooklyn Way, being it was the theme for their television show. Having performed that, covering a Run DMC song and the punk rock classic I Want to Die, they did what an opening band is supposed to do. The crowd enjoyed their set, the band left sweaty and tired, and everyone was enjoying themselves. My friends and I got a kick out of their cool Brooklyn accents and their names for each other, like “Tony Salami”. Check out this clip of the Lordz playing their song The Brooklyn Way.
After the Lordz of Brooklyn were done, I finally got see Everlast live. The intro he came out to was the Superman theme song. I thought that was a little much but pretty funny. He came out looking a little older than I remember, but still cool and sounding
as good as his CDs. His gritty, raspy voice is great for the blues rock genre he is in and Antone’s is the place for that sort of thing.
Early in the set he performed an acoustic song called Broken, which had good use of organ and harmonica. It was his best song of the first half of the show I thought, but Endz really got the crowd excited as well as Black Coffee. Everlast really didn’t say too much between songs, except for one instance where he said “The banks scare you and it is a land grab. I don’t give a fuck about a Democrat or Republican” right before he sang Stones In My Hand. Shortly after, he took a small break or intermission as they say.
Right after his intermission, Everlast performed his hit Black Jesus, one of my favorites. After a few more blues rock songs of his, people started to yell “What its Like”, referring to his most popular hit off his first solo album, “Whitey Ford Sings the Blues”. He responded by saying “ya’ll think you know what's coming next, but you don't”. He then started Put Your Lights On, minus Santana of course. He concluded by thanking the crowd for coming and saying it won’t be another four years before he comes back to town. He then ended with an awesome live rendition of What Its Like. If you weren’t there, check out a clip of what you missed:
heir drummer. Now I knew going into Antone's that they weren't going to win. The odds were against them as they were going against local favorites and other top vote getters. The competition was judges by the in house crowd and a panel of industry judges. There were other factors that were against them also, such as the fact that they sing primarily in Spanish. It is often hard for people sometimes to get into a band at first if they don't understand the language they are singing in. The other factor they were going up against was that they had equipment issues. Luckily for them one of the other bands, T-Bird and The Breaks, were kind enough to lend them equipment.
T-Bird and The Breaks was also the band that went on before them, and up to that point they were the band with the best crowd support. Man did I feel for 60 Tigres after they finished. Hell, even I thought T-Bird should have won if 60 Tigres couldn't. They were awesome and more original than the other generic indie rock bands playing. That's just what ACL needs right…more indie rock.
60 Tigres, like the other bands on the bill, only had about a 20 minute set. Despite their short set, I honestly think they made a good impression on the majority gringo crowd there at Antone's. That is one thing I love about this town. People are open to different types of music and embrace it even. Of course the Hispanics there were going to love them, but seeing everyone else nod their heads and dance (thanks to the beer I suppose) was great to see. 60 Tigres noticed as they made it a point to thank everyone for listening and let the audience know how honored they were to be there.
I hope they make it back to Austin next year so more people can get a chance to see them. They were great live and if you like to dance at concerts, then you'll love 60 Tigres. Having got a chance to speak with them after their set, I got the impression that they want to come back as soon as they can. They loved it here. In the meantime, you can check out their music for free on their website. Click here to check them out, and do check out this video from the show:
la DeAnda cam out and sang the Frankie J parts. I would have preferred Frankie J, but Paula actually did a good job holding it down for him. She could actually sing, something I didn't know. She was great on the Baby Bash and Frankie J collaboration Obsession (No Es Amor). Good for her.
Last Thursday at Antone's,
eive 100 hours of studio time at Stinson Studios. It was certainly a good prize and I can see why an unsigned band would be all over this competition. Apparently there was some online voting involved. I heard about it through myspace. Yes, at times I do read bulletins. The band I was really there to see was a new band on the scene by the name of “Grenadier”. Although it may be a new band, new being less than ten shows under their belt, the faces are familiar. Grenadier is fronted by Dynamite Boy alumni Adrian Munoz. Other members are from recently broken up Near Miss and Engraved. Now many of you know I love Dynamite Boy. See my blog archives for the reunion show I caught at Emo's in May.
Anyway, so the Dynamite Boy connection was what interested me in hearing Grenadier. They were on the bill at the Dynamite Boy reunion show, but were an early band so I of course was out drinking elsewhere at that time. After all, this is 
Adrian Munoz is the lead singer for Grenadier. I didn't know he could sing really. I know he did some screams and back ground harmonies for Dynamite Boy, but didn't expect him to sound "lead singer" material. He's actually pretty good. He's not all that's good about Grenadier though. The band itself has good, seasoned musicians that have put together something really cool and energetic. I'd describe their sound as alternative with hints of punk and emo, but emo in reference only to some of Munoz's screams. Nothing else. Please don't let that component turn you off. I just call it like I hear it.
The first song I heard that night was "Remedies and Enemies". It is the first song you are going to hear on their myspace page. It is probably going to be their single, as well it should be. I think it was their best song. The rest of their set was good, not great or fantastic, but good. I can see this whole Grenadier thing happening for them should they stick with it. I think they will. They had no "merch" as of yet and no recordings or CDs. The fact that they were voted in for this showcase or competition speaks volumes given where they are at as a band. No they didn't win and I didn't stick around to find out who did. I came for a Grenadier show and I got a good one.
Kudos to the new drummer, Jeremy, for playing his first show. Other notable tracks were "Manikins" and "Elitist". If you want to check out Grenadier, they will be on the bill with Andrew W.K. and Tom Gabel(of Against Me!) at Emo's on July 4th. It's going to be an awesome show. Trust me on that.
