Another Quick Post for Those in Town Jan. 29-31, 2009 – Live Music#2

Step 1 – Pick-up a copy of the January 30, 2009, issue of the Austin Chronicle

Step 2 – Turn to page 78 for names of clubs/venues, locations, and phone numbers (please call all venues before going to determine start time for the band, food, and cover) – there are many great clubs/venues and bands all over the city. You are not limited to the list below. The clubs/venues below represent quick recommendations for your convenience… 

Thursday night, January 29, 2009 - Antone’s, Broken Spoke, Continental Club, Elephant Room, Jovita’s, Lambert’s, Lucky Lounge, Mean-Eyed Cat, Momo’s, Ruta Maya, Saxon Pub, and Trophy’s. (FAVS – Clubs/Venues and Bands)

Friday night, January 30, 2009 - Antone’s, Broken Spoke, Cedar Street, Continental Club, Donn’s Depot, Elephant Room, Evangeline Cafe, Jovita’s, La Zona Rosa, Lucky Lounge, Momo’s, Saxon Pub, and Speakeasy. (FAVS – Clubs/Venues and Bands)

Saturday night, January 31, 2009 - Antone’s, Broken Spoke, Cactus Cafe, Cedar Street, Continental Club, Donn’s Depot, Elephant Room, Lambert’s, Lucky Lounge, Momo’s, Saxon Pub, and Speakeasy. (FAVS – Clubs/Venues and Bands)

Step 3 – Be safe and have fun….

What to do the Thursday Night Before ACL on Friday

First things first, pick-up a copy of the new Austin Chronicle (new edition comes out every Thursday) so you can figure out what bands are playing at what bars Thursday night.  Second, start drinking water until you pee clear, so you don’t dehydrate when you walk to the park/festival on Friday.

The Austin Chronicle will provide you with the best, most up to-date list of all the bands playing Thursday night, but here is a quick list of some bars and bands we like for Sept 25:

Antone’s – Scabs – think Bob Schneider, great music, horn section, don’t bring a nun to this show, they play one of my many favorite songs

Botticelli’s – Brent Adair – great guy, singer-songwriter, new CD has received great reviews, a number of the new songs should be played on the radio (did you hear that KGSR 107.1, play Brent’s music)

Broken Spoke – Jesse Dayton – just damn good

Continental Club – Woodboss (happy hour), later James McMurtry

Guero’s – Johnny Gimble – the man is a legend

Jovita’s – Cornell Hurd Band – as Cornell says “country music’s worst nightmare,” just damn good fun

Ranch 616 – Lucas Hudgins – great voice

Saxon Pub – James Hand (6:00) – second coming of Hank Sr, later Micky & the Motorcars – fun band, even later Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights – new kid on the block from Dallas, he will be a super star one day

Trophy’s – Two Hoots & a Holler – great Austin band

If I have time, I’ll update this post between now and Wednesday, September 24. As always, comments are welcome before or after Thursday, September 25.  If you go to one of these shows, let us know how it went.

I’m not telling you again, keep drinking your damn water…

Let the Buzz Begin – Austin City Limits Music Festival Starts in Two Weeks

Starting to get excited about the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL – September 26-28) which actually begins for me the Saturday before when I get the collapsible chairs out of the garage and make them ready for the three days of fun. I will also begin gathering the contents for my backpack, which makes the three days even more enjoyable (more about the contents of the backpack in future posts). I will take off from work beginning Wednesday, September 24, to run last minute errands.

On Thursday, the fun really begins. I pack the car with three chairs and a cooler full of cold beer (for the hotel room) and head to the airport to pick-up friends from the DC/Virginia area. This will be the seventh ACL for two of the three friends – yes, they have attended all the ACLs from the beginning – pretty cool. Once everyone is in the car we’re off to lunch, a great afternoon, and maybe some live music. We lunch somewhere different every year so they get the full Austin experience. In years past we have gone to Hut’s, Texicalli Grille (RIP Danny Roy Young, you were a great man and made a big difference), and Hoover’s just to name a few.

After lunch, we would normally head to Cheapo Discs and/or Waterloo Records, but this year before we go to one or both of those cool music stores, we will go to Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop (think Lance Armstrong). All three friends are biking freaks and think Lance is too cool for words. Last year one of the guys stood next to the 7 time winner of the Tour de France at the urinal at Guero’s. So it only seems right that we go to Lance’s own bike shop. As I said we will go to Cheapo and/or Waterloo, but if this is your first ACL, please know that Waterloo will have a tent at the Festival so you can buy the CDs of the artists playing at the Festival, and maybe even get an autograph or two, so if you end up going to Cheapo or Waterloo don’t go crazy. Although, it is very hard not to go crazy at Cheapo’s because of their huge selection/price of used CDs, and Waterloo is the holy grail of independent music stores.

After bike and CD shopping, on to the Cedar Door for delicious/dangerous MMs. After a couple of adult beverages we are off to the Austin Motel so the boys can check-in. They love staying at this place, and the location is perfect. After they get settled, we head to the Continental Club for happy hour beverages and music. After the Continental Club we head to Guero’s for tacos al pastor, queso, and dinner. If everyone is still standing after Guero’s, then it is time to think about some live music to bring Thursday to a great end. Now where should we go… thinking… thinking… still thinking…

Stay tuned for additional posts about the 2008 ACL Music Festival…  As always, comments are welcome…