Date |
Pug
|
Venu |
Performer(s) |
Review
|
Sat, 6/26 |
X
|
Austin Farmer's Market |
Yodlin' Cowgirl and her Saddle Pals |
This was an odd show. A group of very talented bluegrass/texas
swing musicians (banjo, mandolin, dobro, guitar, bass) led by a yodlin' singer
with a strong Eastern European accent |
Sun, 6/27 |
|
The Saxon Pub |
The Resentments |
As always this Austin Supergroup was fantastic. Though they were
missing Bruce Hughs (touring with Bob Schneider), Scrappy Jud Newcomb, John D
Graham, and Steven Bruton filled in the space by rotating through on the bass
each song! |
Mon, 6/28 |
X |
Continental Club |
Giant City Sextet |
This was one of the great suprize discoveries of the challenge. Six
young guys playing their hearts out on dixiland jazz standards and sounding
perfectly authentic. If they don't get you tapping your toes, you should seek
help. |
Tue, 6/29 |
X |
Flipnotics |
Eric Hokannen |
It is hard not to be eaqually amazed and amused by this eclectic,
eccentric, incredibly tallented multi-instrumentalist. His current band,
the Hip Replacements, featured the clarinetist and stand-up bass player from
Giant City Sextet. THey alternated between gypsy, bluegrass, jazz, and surf
music through their awesome set. |
Wed, 6/30 |
X |
Ruta Maya |
Troy Young Campbell |
Having never caught Austin's Loose Diamonds during their haydays, I
had never seen Troy Campbell play live. It was a treat and made me want to go
buy some old albums. Lucky for me, I would get to see a Loose Diamond's reunion
show in a matter of weeks. |
Thu, 7/1 |
X |
Maria's Taco Xpress |
Slim Richey's Dream Band with LeAnn Atherton |
What could be better than margaritas & tacos under big
cottonwood trees in the funkiest South Austin taqueria with one of Austin's
best jazz guitarists and female vocalists just 10 feet away? |
Fri, 7/2 |
|
Ego's |
Matt Hubbard & Clarence Pierce |
This was one of those unplanned shows that turned out to be really
fun. Mike Labinski and I spent too long lingering over Megan's great cooking
after Friday night volleyball. By the time we headed out, we had missed shows
at Jovitas (Jane Bond) and Texas Music Cafe (Boxcar Preachers). We looked into
Junir Brown at the Continental but it was a $20 cover. So we headed across the
street and were treated to a blues soul combo: A young white guy playing keys
and singing, an old black dude wailing on the guitar and singing a few soul
numbers, and a rhythm section that they borrowed from the previous band. They
ended up sounding pretty good - of course that could have been due to the
drinks... |
Sat, 7/3 |
X |
Cole's Ice House |
Kathleen O'Keefe, James Ryder, & Kyle Rhodes |
Cole's is a new bar & Grill in S. Austin that is struggling to
stay open against an onslaught by the neighborhood association, which objects
to their lack of parking and the live music on the back deck. This is exactly
what is great about this place: you sit in the backyard overlooking the creek
and play horseshoes while listing to singer-songwriters and drinking beer - at
this point they don't have a liquor license, so it is BYOB! |
Sun, 7/4 |
X |
Tecolote Farms 4th of July party |
The Dead Goats |
Cjun Accordian, fidlle, and guitar. I sat in with them on the
Mandolin for several tunes |
Mon, 7/5 |
|
The Saxon Pub |
Matt the Electrician/Bob Schneider & Lonelyland |
Bob Schneider is alwasy fun to see, but the real treat of the night
was seeing Matt play with his full band (including Sela on vocals, Tom Pearson
on Bass, and Scrappy Jud Newcomb on electric and lap steel guitars). The band
is tight, the arrangements are fantastic, and Matt's normally dry sense of
humor and deadpan stage presence are taken to a new level in this scene. I
strongly encourage you to check him out when you can. |
Tue, 7/6 |
X |
The Cactus Cafe |
Susan Gibson |
Susan gave a lively performance as a benefit for the Blue Dog
Rescue, a group that fosters and finds homes for stray dogs.
|
Wed, 7/7 |
X |
Zilker Park - Blues on the Green |
Johnny A |
Instrumental guitar blues - sounded a lot like Stevie Ray Vaughn |
Thu, 7/8 |
X |
Threadgills World Headquarters |
Audrey Auld with the Greencards |
What a great surprize. I was looking forward to seeing this
singer/songwriter from Australia, but didn't realize that the Greencards would
be backing her up. They are one of Austin's hottest new bands and definitely
the best bluegrass around. |
Fri, 7/9 |
X |
The Cactus Cafe |
Billy Bright with Sarah Jarose |
Billy Bright is one of Austin's best mandolin players. He is a
member of Two High String Band and the Texas Trio, featuring his wife, Brynn
and Peter Rowen. Sarah is an up and coming superstar. She is only 12 years old
and is already amazing! She has solid chops, a strong full voice, and a real
feeling for the groove of the songs. |
Sat, 7/10 |
X |
Flipnotics |
Sara Hickman |
I have been meaning to see Sara since I moved to Austin, but hadn'
yet done it. It was a great show and I got her to sign one of her children's
CDs for Pug after the show. |
Sun, 7/11 |
|
Guero's Jardin Stage |
Gulf Coast Playboys |
Ralph white and his traditional Cajun band were
great. I hadn't seen Ralph play since he left the Bad Livers. He has certainly
found a great band in the Playboys. It is nice to know Austin has such good
Cajun music available
|
Mon, 7/12 |
|
Artz Rib House |
Sara Elizabeth Campbell & the Banned |
This show was a bit short lived as Pug decided he
had had enough music after the first set. But it was a good set.
|
Tue. 7/13 |
|
Ruta Maya |
Open Mic |
Like most open mics, this was a mixed bag. There
was at least one guy who was horrible, but most were decent. Interesting songs.
One guy was particularly good - in a Martin Sexton kind of way.
|
Wed, 7/14 |
|
Big Red Sun |
Matt McCormic & Collin Gilmore |
Both Megan and I agreed the Mat McCormic is worth seeing again.
Collin Gilmore got an early leg up by riding on his dad's coattails. He is fun
to watch, though it may be a while before he settles into his own style.
|
Thu, 7/15 |
|
TC's |
Moving Blues |
What a great joint! TCs is located in East Austin
and is an old school blues joint. It is a small, run down shack with
personality oozing out of it. There were signs on the wall prohibiting all
kinds of behavior that seemed to be going on anyway in and around the place
(e.g. gambling, fighting, smoking pot, prostitution, etc...). Mike put on a
strong show and they clearly love his band. One old woman who was particularly
taken with him and who had just won the lottery that day bought drinks for
everyone in the house - that's a first for me!
|
Fri, 7/16 |
|
Zilker Hillside Theater |
Summer Musical |
The Musical this year was The Secret Garden. It was done well,
though Big River still remains my favorite. It was nice to see the show where
Eric Stratman got the song Lilly's Eyes.
|
Sat, 7/17 |
|
Elephant Room |
Gnappy |
I got home late from a pool party with some
friends and couldn't convince anyone to go out to see music with me. So I
headed downtown alone to see what was going down at the Elephant room, the best
jazz club in town. I was treated to the funky instrumental jazz of gnappy -
sax, guitar, bass, drums. I will definitely look for them again.
|
Sun, 7/18 |
|
Threadgill's World Headquarters |
Imperial Golden Crown
Harmonizers,
Loose Diamonds
Walter Traggart
Austin Lounge Lizards
|
The best part of this show was being introduced
to Walter Traggart. He has gotten lucky enough to have Scrappy Jud put together
his entire band (nearly everyone from Loose diamonds except for Troy Campbell),
but there is a reason scrappy took interest in this new artist. Walter has an
incredible voice - strongly reminicient of Elvis Costello with that same huge
range and range of styles. The rest of the show was fun as well, particularly
the Imperial Golden Crown Harmonizers who I hadn't seen up to that day.
|
Mon, 7/19 |
|
Opal Divine's |
Elizabeth McQueen and the Firebrands |
Opal Divine's has a great multi-story outdoor
deck that is perfect for watching the sunset and listing to music. The food is
decent, but the scotch selection is fantastic. Elizabeth is standard swing
/vocal music that is remenicient of Patsy Cline. Fun, but I wasn't blown away.
|
Tue, 7/20 |
|
Continental Club |
Toni Price |
After all these years, Toni has finally started charging a cover
for Hippy Hour. It is about time. It works out better for her, I always put $5
in the tip jar anyway, so it is no extra cost, but it keeps the crowd down to a
manageable level. It is still packed, but there was no line. The show was
excellent and we were treated to Warren Hood sitting in his father's old seat
and playing fiddle and mandolin.
|
Wed, 7/21 |
|
Zilker Park Blues on the Green |
The Holmes Brothers |
Old style blues act with three harmonizing
singers. Each of them had huge soulful voices. We listened to the show from the
volleyball courts and managed to get in a few games
|
Thu, 7/22 |
|
Lucky Lounge |
Ian McGlauchlin & the Bump Band |
With Scrappy Jud playing guitar (he plays with just about everybody
these days!), Ian's band is really solid. For those who aren't familiar, Ian
was the keyboardist for the British supergroup, the Faces (featureing Ron Wood
and Rod Stewart). Since the 80's, he has been living in Austin and filling in
Scrappy's role on the keys - he has played on more albums than I can count over
those years.
|
Fri, 7/23 |
|
Guero's Jardin Stage |
Cosmic Dust Devils |
Strange combination of musicians, but it worked. THey alternated
between country rock standards (e.g. Charlie Daniels Band, Hank Williams Jr,
Lynard Skynard), Texas swing, and originals.
|
Sat, 7/24 |
|
No Music |
|
Birthday Challenge one-day event and party at our place. No time to
see music.
|
Sun, 7/25 |
|
Guero's Jardin Stage |
CLV |
I went there expecting to see Los Jazz Vatos, but instead was
treated to this band I had never heard of. CLV could most closely be compared
to Santana - and they did several covers of his songs. But they also did
originals and their interpretation of old soul tunes. Strong guitar,
percussion, horns, and singing.
|
Mon, 7/26 |
|
Continental Club |
Paris 49 |
Another excellent discovery for the Birthday Challenge. Fronted by
the old guitarist for 8 1/2 Souvenirs, this new band was formed around a love
for Jango Reinhart style jazz. It features two guitar players who alternate
rifs, a sax/clarinet player, bass, and drums. They play at a smoke-free happy
hour every third Monday and the swing dancers show up in force.
|
Tue, 7/27 |
|
No Music |
|
Working on quartet arrangements for the upcoming weekend.
|
Wed, 7/28 |
|
No Music
|
|
Flew to San Francisco after work.
|
Thu, 7/29 |
|
Field Circle |
BC Jazz Band |
Jazz band concert featuring the works of Count Bassie. Spectacular
show! What more can I say?
|
Thu, 7/29 |
|
Rattler's |
Various players |
Jam with Trevor & Danny Wheatman, Matt Montgomery, Tim &
Todd Carter, Phil Salazar, Ed Littlefield Jr, Joe Viticoe, & many others -
The jam was watched by many including Steve Miller in the front row
|
Fri, 7/30 |
|
Aviary |
Steve Miller & Jim Salestrom |
Cocktail hour concert staring with Jim and then followed by Steve. My brother,
Tim and our mutual friend, Miguel sang back-up harmony with Steve. |
Fri, 7/30 |
|
Grove Stage |
The Grove Play |
A musical drama set during the time of the American revolutionary war. |
Fri, 7/30 |
|
Woof |
Variety Show |
A show that featured many musical and comedy acts incluing the Carter Quartet
(Dad, brothers Tim & Todd, and me) |