What more do you need to know? Oh wait, there is more. If you are on of the first 200 people to RSVP on Do512, you can win tickets and maybe even a VIP table for four. If you've never seen White Denim live or heard their music, time to get with the program. These dudes rock. I'm so glad they are playing Antone's because the sound and lighting are always good. Good for White Denim.
My good friends at Blastro are celebrating their tenth anniversary this Saturday at The Belmont. Blastro is an Austin based video production company that is responsible for all the great Ya'll Wire country vids and Roxwell videos you've seen online. They work with Austin Vida for big Latin events and shows, along with some 101X radio personalities for Roxwell. Their imprint on not only the Austin Music scene but the music scene everywhere has been made. Even before I got to know the crew over there, I was a fan of their website for their great live concert videos. If you haven't seen their videos yet, you're missing out on some great stuff.
Performing at The Belmont for Blastro will be Austin's own Alpha Rev. Their a good band for this event given the venue and their mass appeal to general audiences. In fact, the only live anything I've seen from Alpha Rev was on Rowell, which remember is the same people as Blastro. Rather than describe them this time, get the full Alpha Rev experience in this video Blastro filmed at La Zona Rosa.
This Thursday through Saturday is all about Austin's own David Garza. These show picks were a clear no brainer for me, as I am a long time David (pronounced like Dah-Veed) Garza fan. This week offers something different even for me. I'll get to that in a second, but let me begin by talking about Thursday's show.
In what is a make up date from last Tuesday, Garza will be performing at The Continental Club located at 1315 South Congress. He was supposed to co-headline with Alejandro Escovedo last week but Garza had to cancel due to him fighting a cold. While I pretty was bummed I certainly understood with this ugly weather we're having in Austin right now. Thursday he'll be performing with Strange Darling and Chrysta Bell. Arrive around 10:00pm to catch the whole show. The Continental always has good acts booked from different walks of life. It's one of those venues that's a right of passage for people living or even visiting Austin. It's intimate and there's not really a bad spot in the house. Sometimes it just gets too crowded for such a small place.
For those who are unfamiliar with David Garza or haven't seen hm live, you need to get with the program already. Seriously, where have you been? Now I was fortunate enough to have seen Garza many a times, my first time being when I was in high school at the now defunct Steamboat (RIP) on 6th. I may or may not have been old enough to get in, but I'm glad I did. It was around the time his This Euphoria album was out, which is still my favorite of his to date. He is a complete talent with the ability to croon with his singer-songwriter skills but also rock when he wants to. Believe me when I tell you he thinks and sees things differently than the rest of us.
I admit, I always thought he was going to "make it" and reach a higher level than he has. Sure he has received tons of critical acclaim, and deservedly so, but something just never came together. I expected to see him on national magazine covers and MTV appearances. Again, remember this was the era when MTV played videos. I also remember around that same time This Euphoria came out, Best Buy had this music commercial campaign called "The Next Big Thing". One of those commercials featured David Garza and had a sound bite of his song "Kinder". After seeing that, I thought I'd never see him at the small clubs again. It's a shame he never got to that level and more people didn't get to hear David Garza, but perhaps he didn't want that for himself. I'd love to chat about that with him one day.
Twang Twang Shock-A-Boom (love the '90s haircuts!)
Here is the different part I referred to in my intro paragraph above. Way back when, Garza had an acoustic band that consisted of himself, Jeff Hayley and Chris Searles. From what I have read online, they started playing around UT and eventually played their way in gigs at The Cactus Cafe. They had an album called Me So Twangy, which is still available for download online today. Check the links at the bottom of this post.
Well for two dates this weekend, Friday and Saturday, Twang Twang Shock-A-Boom will be reuniting at The Cactus Cafe for two shows. Apparently Jeff Hayley isn't joining them, but Garza and Searles will be twangin' away. The music is very acoustic jam band, but not in the annoying hippie sense. The lyrics are humorous and Garza's voice is of course amazing. Those who get to witness Twang Twang Shock-A-Boom will be witnessing Austin history.
For more details about everything I mentioned, check out the following links:
Ian is a graduate of Round Rock High School and attended St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. In 2008 he joined the team at Double Stereo (formerly CD Fuse) as their Blog editor where he reviewed concerts, albums, and did interviews for the popular music site.In January 2009, he became the Editor in Chief for Austin Vida. In 2010, with the help of some of his most talented friends, he launched Red River Noise. "Ian's Music Blog" is also one of the few blogs selected to be a Do512 All-Star.
On any given night of the week he can be found in downtown Austin on 6th Street and the Red River live music district.
