(10/22) Texas Soul Revue at Ruta Maya

Like any other Friday night in Austin, there are so many amazing live shows to pick from. This Friday night though, is especially heavy. Choices ranging from The Gorrillaz at The Frank Erwin Center to Stone Temple Pilots at The Backyard will force music lovers to choose between many of their favorites. If you are looking to get out and avoid all that touring act and stadium show craziness, then you should head over to Ruta Maya on South Congress. They seem to have a good party going on that celebrates some of the best local blues, funk and soul.

Ruta Maya has been one of my favorite local venues in the past few years, especially since they moved from downtown to South Congress. I love how it is out of the way from downtown, sells food, non-alcoholic drinks and has a great new sound system. It is a venue unlike any other in town and now they have a new booking manager. I have already seen the changes in what they are trying to do, the first sign being a Leatherbag residency on Thursdays. Friday night they are throwing a soul party with Lisa Marshall, Dertybird and Soul Track Mind. The line up is a mix of southern rock style blues and old school soul. It is not an everyday showcase although those musical genres can be found here in Austin.

Doors open at 8:00pm. The cover is $10, which I think is a little high for this sort of local show. Still, I know local musicians don't make a lot of money on shows and have to split the door amongst all the performers. I hope it does well which is why I chose to spotlight it here on my blog. Here's a clip I found on YouTube from headliner Soul Track Mind that gives you an idea of their vibe and sound:

Free show Monday night with The Downtown Rulers Club

 

The Downtown Rulers Club (photo by Isabel Salazar)

This Monday night at The Continental Club, The Downtown Rulers Club will be playing a free show starting at 9:30pm. They are a very cool classic '60s-'70s style soul band. They are fronted by Alex Chavez, whom you may know as the lead singer of Maneja Beto. Other members of The Downtown Rulers Club include members of Grupo Fantasma. When I first heard these guys, I was hooked immediately. I love old school soul music live. You can keep up with these guys on their Facebook page for now. We'll see what happens with these guys as the year goes by. For now, give a listen to The Downtown Rulers Club:

Halloween Pick: Pack of Wolves at Trophy's

With so much going on downtown tonight, and so many people to watch, it can be difficult to decide what to do. I'm not into the whole "being seen" scene. If you see me at an "it" event, it is because there is a band or DJ I want to see. Otherwise, I can do without the photo booths and hipsters. I am not speaking ill of that stuff, I'm just saying it isn't my thing.

My thing really is and has always been hard music, whether it be hard rock or hip hop. Even though I don't really consider myself a metal head, I love a lot of metal. I think metal is the perfect genre for a holiday like Halloween, which is supposed to be about scary stuff and horror movies, not hipsters and zombies. The best Halloween show in my humble opinion, is happening at Trophy's tonight with non other than Pack Of Wolves.

The members of Pack Of Wolves are no "Johnny Come Latelys" to the scene. Lead singer and guitar player, Trey Ramirez, was once a member of At All Cost. Alec Padron, bassist, is actually the bassist for Latin indie group, Maneja Beto. Adrian Carillo, drums, also plays with the western-indie band Western Ghost House. Tyson, the other guitar player, used to be in Games In Theory.

Recently Pack Of Wolves opened a show at Mohawk for one of my favorite bands, The Sword, in which they impressed many a metal heads. With a new album in the works, their 2010 should be better than their 2009. They do have a few shows left this year after tonight, but Trophy's is such a cool spot that it is worth taking advantage and avoiding the down town crowd. Many who go out tonight, aren't the people who typically go downtown for shows anyway. They are there to see the freak show and check out the chicks in slutty costumes. Go to Trophy's and enjoy some good metal if that's your thing.

Here's the music video for "Concession" of their album Betrayer:



Playing tonight at Trophy's with Pack of Wolves will be Curse The Heavens, Newlywed and Baron God. Trophy's is located at 2008 South Congress Ave. Doors at 9:00pm and show starts at 9:30pm. $5 gets you in. For more on Pack Of Wolves, check out my interview the band I did for Austin Vida here:

Pack of Wolves Interview

Two Nights With Alejandro Escovedo at The Continental Club

 This weekend in Austin we are blessed with not one, but two back to back nights with Alejandro Escovedo at the legendary Continental Club on South Congress. Escovedo is a music icon and a real genuine dude. I only hope I'm half as cool as he is one day. I admit I didn't much care for his music until Boxing Mirror came out, but wasn't totally won over with his latest album came out, Real Animal.

The first time I got to see Alejandro live in concert was at the legendary Gruene Hall in Gruene (pronounced like "green") right outside New Braunfels in 2008. It was also my first time seeing a show at Gruene Hall. My dad and I went and had a blast. Afterward, Alejandro stayed and signed autographs, took pictures with fans, etc. I bought my vinyl copy of Real Animal that night and had him sign it. I snapped this photo with him for the scrap book.

 Just to briefly touch upon his music for those who don't know, it is very modern rock meets alt-country. It leans a little on the American side at times, but then kicks ass '60s rock style. He is an old school punk rocker, world traveled and made what is being called his "debut to the world" by sharing the stage with Bruce Springsteen. He often gets comparisons to The Boss more than any other known artist.  Although I don't agree with the comparison, I know The Boss's fans will no doubt love Escovedo.

He does draw, and forgive my honesty and age here, an older crowd most of the time. There's always a few of us 20 something, in the know music geeks in the crowd. I am hoping that changes over time and believe it will as more people hear Real Animal and attend his shows. You may even get to hear him cover "All The Young Dudes" or see him share the stage with some talented musician friends of his.

When I was surfing around for a good live clip to embed in this post, I came across some great live footage on Vimeo of Alejandro performing "Always A Friend" live at SXSW this past March. Turn it up and give it a listen, then thank me later. There's some helpful links for the show as well as my interview with Alejandro I did this spring for Austin Vida. It was one of the highlights of my career.

Untitled Alejandro Escovedo Documentary from James Leche on Vimeo.

Friday Night's  with Two Hoots and a Holler! Show info here.

Saturday Night's Show with Amy Cook. Show info here.

Alejandro Escovedo: Life After Real Animal

Cream Vintage grand opening featuring Glynn Wedgewood

Austin Vintage clothing staple, Cream Vintage, is partying to celebrate their grand opening this afternoon. I am not a "fashionista" by any means, but the music of the event is what drew me to the event. Austin psychedelic/garage rockers, The Tunnels, are scheduled to perform. That's a good pick for this store and a free First Thursday show.

photo by Briana Purser

Also on the music front is a DJ set by Glynn Wedgewood from the band Stereo Is A Lie. My friends Ajay and Sal turned me on to Stereo Is A Lie. I saw them play at Emo's recently for one of thoe 101X Homegrown Live shows. They are pretty cool to say the least. They grew on me. Even though they aren't performing, just spinning, I just wanted to show you a quick video of Stereo Is A Lie.



The event is sponsored by Lone Star and starts at 5pm. Cream Vintage (this location) is located at 1714A South Congress between The Woodland and Crafts. For more information, visit the following links:

Cream Vintage Website

Cream Vintage Myspace (Campus location)

Cream Vintage Myspace (South)

Those Darlins Coming back to Austin in October

Those Darlins made quite a splash online when they were here in March for South By Southwest. I have read several reviews, interviews and blogs on them recently. One source quoted their sound as "Appalachian Indie" and I agree with that. Those Darlins hail from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Their sound is very Carter Family meets Pitchfork. I am actually surprised that I like this group, as it outside of my usual repertoire of musical genres. Maybe it hits my Southern roots or maybe becase it is three bad ass chicks in boots. Who knows?

All I do know is that when I received their album a couple of months back, I had so many albums to listen to at that time that it ended up sitting in a pile for a bit longer than I wanted. Once I listened to it all the way through for shits and giggles one day, I regretted not opening it sooner. It isn't something I'd listen to everyday or regularly, but once in a while when I am grillin' or on a long road trip perhaps.

So as I was looking around online the other day at different venue schedules and check Myspace bulletins, I saw that Those Darlins will be coming back to Austin on October 30th. They'll be playing at one of my favorite local venues, The Continental Club on South Congress. There will be a lot stuff going on that weekend as it is Halloween weekend, but it is definitely something people should consider checking out. Mark your calendars now.

Before concluding, I just wanted to show you a great video I found online of Those Darlins performing my favorite song of theirs called "Whole Damn Thing". I can relate because I too have eaten a whole chicken after drinking heavily. Who doesn't love a good chicken?

Those Darlins "Whole Damn Thing" from Tugboat Productions on Vimeo.

For more on Those Darlins, visit their official website:

http://thosedarlins.com/index.htm

Cuts & Cocktails at Birds Barbershop

Austin barber staple and local icon, Birds Barbershop, is throwing another party. This party takes place at their South Congress location and features DJ Andy, aka The Mouth. This will take place every Thursday in August and if in attendance, you could win a prize. What I like about getting a haircut at Birds is the music and Lone Star. I haven't been since my girl Jackie Nguyen worked there, but it still is a happening place for a fade or mohawk.

DJ Andy "The Mouth" pictured right with the hipster beard and hat. I dig the sweet gold record.

For more details about the event, visit Birds Barbershop South Congress location online:

http://www.birdsbarbershop.com/south_congress.html

Built By Snow at Guero's

Can you believe I got up early on a Saturday and didn't play golf? I know, sounds crazy right? Well I had a good reason as The Summerfest kick off at Guero's was happening. The first band started at noon, but I got there a little after one o’ clock in time to see a local indie rock favorite of mine, Built By Snow.

The whole event was hosted by local KUT personality Laurie Gallardo and put on by The Loyalty Firm. I thought it was cool that show such as this with a long line up was going to be at Guero’s. It had been a while since I hung out at Guero’s for show. I like shows there as it is outside and small. Plus, they have a separate outside bar right there so you don’t have to go inside for a drink.

Right after I parked, I could hear Built By Snow playing as I walked down Congress on my way to Guero’s. I recognize their video game like synthesized sounds anywhere. This was my first time seeing them live despite having their music in my ipod for some time now. Even though it was more humid and hot today than any other show I’ve been to this year, they still rocked. “Juliana” was the song playing when I arrived.

During their set I was looking up at the sky and kept thinking to myself this was going to get rained out. Once my attention was back on stage, JP (guitar and lead vocals) had his keyboard player play a ditty from an old Nintendo Game. He asked the crowd if anyone recognized it, even gave them hints that it was from an old Nintendo (NES) game. I knew it right away, but didn’t want to reveal how big of a nerd I was. Some people made good guesses such as Contra, but no one seemed to know. I didn’t want them to feel bad so I shouted out the answer for them, which was “Double Dragon”. They all looked surprised that someone there actually knew. They said to “give that guy something”, but I got nothing. Wait, that’s not entirely true. I got a good show. I mean they played “Invaders”, which is one of their better tracks. I only wish I could have caught their whole set.

Built By Snow, in addition to having cool music, have some of the coolest videos of any local band I’ve seen. As far as their sound, I describe it to friends by saying it is as if The Cars and Weezer spawned a band. Built By Snow is that band. I have also described it as “video game rock”. If you plan to be in Austin on July 12^th or 14^th, you can catch them at Emo’s. They are one of the better indie rock acts to come out of Austin. Finally, I will leave you with this video of theirs that seems to be somewhat of a You Tube phenomenon. It’s for an awesome song called “All The Weird Kids Know”.