The Action Design at Red 7

Wednesday night I hit up one of my old favorites for venues, Red7, to see The Action Design. Playing in the same bill as The Action Design was L.A.'s Killola and Austin's own Under The Gun. The show was outside in the Red 7 patio, versus being on the inside stage where I usually catch shows there. Truthfully, on a nice night, I prefer the patio.

When I got to Red 7, Under The Gun was in the middle of their set. Being one of my favorite local bands, I try to catch them whenever I can. Wednesday they did a really cool Bad Religion cover and some new songs that will be on their next album according to bassist Will Campbell. It should be interesting. The new songs sounded less punk rock party and more punk rock politics.

Shortly after Under The Gun finished up, Killola set up. Killola is a female fronted rock band from L.A. Lead singer, Lisa, has the look of actress Taryn Manning and the attiude of an early Deborah Harry. Cute as she was, she was all business on stage. It was so hot and humid Wednesday night, it is a wonder she didn't pass out of heat exhaustion. She was all over the stage, bouncing around and what not with her flinging all over the place. The small crowd was feeling it too, or just starring at Lisa and not really paying attention to the music. Either way, they got their moneys worth.

I wish I could tell you the names of some of their songs, but this was my first Killola experience. It won't be my last. In fact, Killola is giving away a free download of their album on their myspace if you want to check them out. I describe their sound as "party rock". I say this after seeing picture of Lindsay Lohan with their album. I feel as if now I can be part of the cool kids now for being in the know. Lisa was super cool and engaging after the show as she posed for pics and hung out with fans. That kind of behavior and gratitude for fans speaks well. Being the picture slut that I am, I took a picture with her as well.

After Killola was the band we all came to see, The Action Design. I was interested in Action Design because two of their members are from the now broken up, Tsunami Bomb. I caught on to Tsunami Bomb late, as I discovered them only last year. They broke up after their 2004 release Definitive Act from what I understand. What a bummer right?

Lead singer "M" (Agent M or Emily Whitehurst) and bassist Matt Mckenzie were the two left over members from Tsunami Bomb. Whitehurst picked up right where she left off from Tsunami Bomb. She commanded the stage with her vocals and keyboards from the moment she set foot on it. The Action Design was energetic, a little electronic and more indie rock than I expected. Nothing against Indie rock, but I hear too much bad Indie rock these days to the point where I cringe at the mere mention of the word "indie".

Wednesday night I didn't hear anything I didn't like from The Action Design. Every song sounded ready to be a breakout single and sounded polished (despite not having the best sound at the venue). There was good incorporation of key boards without them getting annoying or over done. Whitehurst was the great vocalist I remember from Tsunami Bomb. She is what will carry this band to another level, even though the band themselves seem to be great musicians.

I still cannot believe I saw them at Red 7 and not a bigger venue. Oh well, that's Austin for you. Here it is possible to catch a great band, not just a good but great band, on any given night at any venue. I see bigger shows for The Action Design here in the future. I picked up their CD after the show and highly recommend checking that out before they come back around. Check out this clip I took from the show:

Under The Gun at Rock City Icehouse

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Saturday at Rock City Ice House, local Austin based punk rock act Under The Gun performed to a small crowd for what was another Austin Insite night. Although the night was about some metal/rock band called Point of Contact, I was there for some punk rock. The fact that it was an Austin Insite night helped in my decision to head out as Insite nights always seem to have a couple good bands on the bill worth checking out.

I was there super early as the flyer advertised Under the Gun going on at 8:30. Well at 8:30, there wasn’t anyone on stage. I am not sure what happened, but it turned out that Under The Gun didn’t play until closer to eleven. It was worth hanging out though as Under The Gun is always an energetic and excellent live.

Due to the scheduling or booking mix up, they had to keep their set short. It was solid none the less. “Triple A” and “Drinking My Life Away” are my personal favorites. As always they ended their set with “Six Pack and a Bong”, a punk rock party song with a little bit of a reggae vibe to it.

Under The Gun exudes the spirit of the old Warped Tour I used to go to in the 1990s when I was in high school. You will never catch them in skinny jeans or with any kind of guy liner. Will Campbell (bassist) can’t fit in skinny anything at 6’4 and 235 lbs.

They sing about drinking and “the end of apathetic ass holes”. For a three piece, they come hard despite Will and Dennis Mauk’s (guitarist and lead vocals) silliness. I think if their current album “Drinking My Life Away” had come out in 1995, I could have seen them on Warped Tour. For now, you can catch them around the Austin and central Texas area. Show up early as they worth drinking to.

I wanted to conclude by saying that I have a lot of respect for them. They play on despite recent drummer changes, switching from a five piece to a three piece band, and other of life’s obstacles that have been thrown their way. That’s real punk rock. They will continue on as long as they have a place to play and a bar tab. Real punk rock fans will love them. They are just one of many solid punk rock bands the Austin scene has to offer. Hang out on Red River with me any given day and see for yourself.