It’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride recently for West Sixth Street. Katz’s Deli and Momo’s closed; 219 West moved in as Union Park packed up and relocated to The Domain, and this Thursday, Brew Exchange will open in the old Annie’s West.

The Not So Good

• The ticker: The ticker wasn’t running at the soft opening, which kept us from seeing the fluctuating prices in action, but the management says everything is in order for the Thursday opening. Word is prices can dip as low as $2 for a beer. We’re anxious to see if that really happens.
• Seating: There’s not much in the way of seating for groups. That’s not a deal breaker, but if you’re looking for a place to sit and chat over a pint, this may not be the ideal location. 
• It’s West Sixth Street: To be fair, the block isn’t exactly our scene, but Brew Exchange and 219 West could change that. Brew Exchange is actually a cool bar, and with 219 West’s wondrous happy hour within walking distance, we may need to reconsider our position on things west of Congress Avenue.

The Bad

• Give me a hand: Though the bathrooms look immaculate, there’s no good spot to place your beer while you’re using the facilities. This is a minor gripe, but for guys who like to walk around with a pint in their hand, going No. 1 turns into a bit of a juggling act if there’s not a shelf or ledge above the urinal.

The Verdict
We were worried Brew Exchange would be too bro-y for our taste, but the crowd seemed more chill than the ones we’ve encountered at Kung Fu Saloon (same owners). Not once did a bumped shoulder escalate into a bro-down, and no dudes in tight polo shirts popped up to randomly grind on any females around us.

The concept is fun and seems to lend itself well to a more mature drinking game — one based on exploring new brews as opposed to duct taping a pair of 40-ouncers to your hands. We’ll be curious to see how the fluctuating drink prices, which don’t apply to mixed drinks for the time being, work out. We’ll find out this week. Brew Exchange’s “opening bell” is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m.

Better late than never, the Beauty Ballroom, a spinoff of the Beauty Bar on 7th Street, is celebrating its grand opening tonight with Theophilus London, Treasure Fingers, L.A.X, Vegas Banger and Rickey Jean Francois.

We stopped by last Saturday during the soft opening to catch RAC (Remix Artist Collective), a group of DJs who put a slick, often minimal dance twist on indie rock tunes. It ended as all good Beauty Bar sets do with a majority of the crowd on the stage. Good times.

But what did we think of the heir apparent to that glittery Red River District staple, the Beauty Bar?

The Good
• Cheap drinks: Drinks are reasonably priced. When we were there, 16 oz. cans of Tecate were $3 and some abysmal-tasting lager out of Pennsylvania we had never encountered before called Stoneys was free while it lasted. They also offered well drinks for $2 from midnight to 2 a.m.

• Smart layout: There’s a long list of things I like about the 7th Street Beauty Bar, but size and stage visibility have always been a big negative. The Ballroom is much larger without suffering from the same boxy warehouse vibe of Emo’s East. There are tables and chairs on a slightly raised level at the back wall from the stage, perfect for chatting with friends while keeping an eye on the action. The bar and bathrooms are easily accessible near the entrance and their lines never poured into the crowd. While the upstairs area was roped off, I can envision a nice VIP vibe similar to the upstairs viewing area at Dallas venue Trees.

• Fun crowd: The dance floor, which is probably about as big as the entire floorspace of Beauty Bar, was lively as far back as I could see from near the stage. Highlights included: two guys rubbing their shirtless abs together, a girl sitting down on a dirty-dancing hipster (not in a sexual way, but rather sitting down on him like he was a chair), and the aforementioned stage rushers. From everything I witnessed, folks were having a good time and inhibitions were low.


The Not So Good
• Location: The new venue shares a parking lot with Emo’s East at 2015 East Riverside, and while there’s no place in Austin I’d rather be than neighboring Rosita’s Al Pastor, I rarely find myself in that neck of the woods, especially on the weekend.

• The look: While the interior is much better than Emo’s East, it’s still a little off. The glitter on the walls looks a little cheap and the color scheme just doesn’t feel right to me. I want the pink and gold sparkles of the Beauty Bar, not primary colors and sickly orange-colored wood.


The Bad
• Parking problems: While there appears to be ample parking outside of Beauty Ballroom and Emo’s and in neighboring lots, if there’s a show going on in both spaces, as there is bound to be on most Fridays and Saturdays, those spaces get snagged up quick. We arrived at 9 p.m. and circled the lot twice before looking elsewhere. Many neighboring lots have signs promising to tow, reading, “No Emo’s parking.” (And as much as I’d love to argue with a tow-truck driver that I was technically parking for Beauty Ballroom, I have a feeling it won’t get me out of that fat towing fee.) The big, mostly empty lot just west of the building is reserved for Bingo parking. Try going south on any of the residential streets and you’ll find most of the space is off limits. We managed to grab a questionably legal spot curbside just in front of the club. Hopefully the owners can work with nearby businesses to make sure there’s enough parking space to accommodate the Ballroom’s 700-person capacity.


The Verdict
The Beauty Ballroom isn’t quite ready for full-time drunken revelry just yet, as it’s only open on a show-to-show basis, but it makes me a little more confident about the future of Riverside as a destination for live music. There will be no replacing the Beauty Bar, which is reported to be closing some time after SXSW 2012, but the Ballroom definitely offers some big improvements over the original. Now to see how these guys handle SXSW.


—Eric Pulsifer

Back, bigger than ever and in a better (?) location, the little festival that could is back for year six of public intoxication and Fun to the third degree. We take a look at the funnest of the fun  with our 1-minute guide to Fun Fun Fun Fest, 20 Twitter-length microreviews of the sets we hope to catch this weekend.

1. Active Child: A red-headed, harp-playing solo artist who mixes high-pitched R&B vocals with slow burning James Blake-style dubstep. A chill way to easy into Saturday morning.
2. Architecture in Helsinki: Australian band whose “Contact High” may own one of the catchiest, sugary-sweet indie pop choruses of the year.
3. Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears: Local faves. Rockin’ blues tunes w/ loads of horns and soul & song titles like “I’m Broke” & “Bitch, I Love You.” Never seen ‘em? It’s time.
4. Black Lips: Expect to be rocked and/or revolted. When the band was here for SXSW, a show ended w/ a guitar solo—played w/ a penis. It gets wilder.
5. Childish Gambino: Funny/rad rap alter ego of Community’s Donald Glover. References to TV, videogames, and—since it’s hip hop—having relations w/ lots of women.
6. Flying Lotus: The kind of DJ music that Radiohead’s Thom Yorke spins, that is, something cool you can bob your head to but can’t exactly dance to. (Unless you dance like this.)
7. Girls: Actually, they’re guys. Unbelievable backstory (Wiki it) and an incredible set of tunes, including the fantastic “Lust For Life.”
8. The Joy Formidable: Alt-rock English trio who have a big hit in “Whirring” and a handful of other radio-friendly gems under their belt.  
9. Lykke Li: EngagingSwedish one-woman pop machine who avoided the sophomore slump with the darker, more mature Wounded Rhymes. 
10. M83: French artist who may have single-handedly created the single of 2011 with the Drive-soundtrack worthy synth-and-sax jam “Midnight City.”
11. Major Lazer: Go to dance. Even if you don’t know who ML is you know their work from the million of DJ sets and songs that sampled this.
12. MNDR: Electro-pop princess—a 1-woman firecracker of an act rocking dance-y synths & drum machine. You’ve likely heard her on this Mark Ronson jam.
13. Neon Indian: Denton-born chillwave poster child still cranking out hazy and nostalgic, 8-bit-inspired noise that makes you want to move.
14. Passion Pit: No new tunes since 2009 but a new record is supposedly coming early 2012. Old songs won’t get in the way of a massive “Sleepyhead” singalong.
15. Public Enemy: Forget the Flavor Flav of reality TV. Flav is the ultimate rap hype man & at 52 he’s still got it. Add in Chuck D = Magic from hip hop’s golden age.
16. Purity Ring: This duo has a mountain of (much deserved) buzz; only 3 recorded songs—all sick. Unique mash of codeine-soaked bedroom pop. Sweet & menacing.
17. Slayer: When else are you going to get to see Slayer?
18. Spoon: Hometown heros, arguably the best rock band in ATX today. Kill The Moonlight is near flawless—listen to it & be sad you’ll never be that good at anything.
19. Turquoise Jeep: Is “Lemme Smang It” the best music video of all time? Is it real? Is it a joke? Who cares.
20. Ty Segall: Fuzzy loud guitar, rough-around-the-edges garage rock w/ killer hooks. Slightly psychedelic, summery sound—good companion to a lukewarm beer.
21. YACHT: Played FFF 08 as a duo with a MacBook. They’ve since added a live band. Let’s see how “Psychic City” sounds with some live instruments.
22. Someone or something at the Yellow Stage: A crazy combo of comedians, veggie hot dog eating contest, Air Sex competition, wrestling and more. A fun fun break from the music.

If you’re hungry for a little more, check out our Fun Fun Fun Fest playlist on Spotify.

(Eric Pulsifer)

Last week news came out that Warehouse District live music venue La Zona Rosa, which has been in operation for more than 30 years, appeared to be up for sale. Then the new owners released a statement that no immediate changes are planned but options are being explored.

Last night an employee at La Zona Rosa confirmed that the venue’s future is uncertain. The source said staff have not been told anything about what the owners’ “new vision for La Zona Rosa” might entail, but that the venue will definitely remain in operation in its current state until April 2012. After that date, La Zona Rosa may remain open as a venue or be repurposed for other uses. Regardless, the employee said the building, which was originally constructed as a garage, is long overdue for repairs.

Fun Halloween tidbit: La Zona Rosa is built atop an old graveyard (pieces of tombstones were discovered under the floor during additions made to the building in the mid-’90s) and many members of the staff there believe the space is haunted by the ghost of a dead hooker.

It’s been sad news lately for lovers of live music in Austin. First there was the sudden closing of Emo’s outdoor stage. Then news that Emo’s indoors would be shuttered by the end of the year. With that staple of the Red River music district gone and speculation the Waller Creek Tunnel Project (Austin’s attempt at mimicking the San Antonio River Walk) could mean the end for other nearby venues as well, it’s a concerning time for patrons of the dozen or so bars and venues that make up the Red River District.

If you’re a fan of live music and feel like getting a little bummed out/trying to remain optimistic about what the loss of Emo’s (and maybe La Zona Rosa) could mean for the scene, here is some further reading:

Departure of Emo’s from Red River could have deep effects on music scene —Austin360

Will the rest of the Red River clubs withstand Emo’s downtown closure? —CultureMap Austin

(Eric Pulsifer)

Friday, Jan. 7

What Made Milwaukee Famous, The Lemurs, Ovenbirds, The Authors, Salesman 

Emo’s (Outside) @ 9 p.m

Soundcheck Magazine hosts this solid lineup of local staples including the ear-friendly tunes of What Made Milwaukee Famous (RIYL: Spoon, The Format, Margot and the Nuclear So And Sos) and The Lemurs (RIYL: The Killers, OK Go). Openers include Ovenbirds, The Authors, and Salesman.

  LISTEN: What Made Milwaukee Famous on Hype Machine
  LISTEN: The Lemurs on Hype Machine

Indian Jewelry, The Laughing, Astronaut Suit

Mohawk (Outside) @ 9 p.m.

Indian Jewelry (RIYL: Liars, Lightning Bolt, Fuck Buttons), the hard-to-Google Houston-based noise rock weirdos with an explosive strobing light show, round out another solid lineup at the Mohawk during Free Week, with Austin’s The Laughing and Astronaut Suit.

  LISTEN: Indian Jewelry on Hype Machine

  LISTEN: The Laughing on Hype Machine

Saturday, Jan. 8

Mother Falcon, Royal Forest, My Golden Calf

Mohawk (Outside @ 9 p.m.)

With as many as 20 members crowded on stage, Mother Falcon (RIYL: Sufjan Stevens, Owen Pallett, Arcade Fire) is not only one of Austin’s largest bands but one of the most unique—with string-driven, sweet songs that swell like mini symphonies. They’re paired perfectly with pop from My Golden Calf and Royal Forest, (RIYL: Pavement, Enon, Menomena) an indie rock band with a slight psych edge.

  LISTEN: Mother Falcon on Hype Machine

  LISTEN: Royal Forest on Bandcamp

Fun Fun Fun Fest is this weekend, and if you’ve yet to do your homework, consider this your CliffsNotes: Twitter-length mini-previews (and samples) of a few of our favorite acts, designed to take some of the guesswork out of the scheduling process.

Royal Forest @ 12:15 (Orange Stage)
Austin-based band (formerly known as Loxsly) banging out slightly psychedelic piano pop. Download their EP for free here: http://royalforest.bandcamp.com/

Woven Bones @ 12:50 (Orange Stage)
Austin band blasting echo-y surfer rock, fuzzy vocals and walls of grungy guitars. Recommended if you like (RIYL): Best Coast, Surfer Blood, Harlem

Jeff the Brotherhood @ 1:25 (Orange Stage)
Nashville drum-and-guitar garage rock duo of brothers of the the now defunct hyperactive, underage punk rockers Be Your Own Pet. RIYL: siblings, reverb, bar bands, Sonic Youth

Butcher Bear and Charlie @ 1:45 (Blue Stage)
ATX collective Attack Formation front dons bear suit, DJs and pairs w/ a former opera singer. RIYL: Big and bass-heavy bizarre beats, male & female vocals, weirdness

The Antlers @ 2:45 (Orange Stage)
Recently in the spotlight for an acclaimed concept album centered around the story of a terminally ill child. Cheery stuff? No, but damn good. RIYL: Local Natives, Bon Iver, depression

Devin the Dude @ 2:55 (Blue Stage)
Houston rap icon w/ smooth Southern swagger, R. Kelly approach to romance. Sample line: “You feel how hard this dick is? Let’s not let it go to waste.”

Wavves @ 3:30 (Orange Stage)
Mega-loud lo-fi noisemakers—perhaps most famous for an epic on-stage meltdown—have turned down the distortion a bit in favor of a sunnier, more pop-friendly sound. RIYL: Japandroids, potentially witnessing a breakdown on stage

Slick Rick @ 3:50 (Blue Stage)
Eye patch-sporting Brit is a rap icon guaranteed to deliver good times. Even if you never listened to ‘80s rap, you’re bound to recognize “Children’s Story.” RIYL: The theme to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the sounds of vinyl scratching

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti @ 4:15 (Orange Stage)
L.A. freak folk artist Ariel Pink makes lo-fi pop songs that sound like uncovered radio hits from ‘70s and ‘80s. RIYL: Of Montreal

Monotonix @ 4:30 (Yellow Stage)
Tel Aviv 3-piece rocking a crazy high-octane show. Trash can crowd surfing and in-crowd action: watch Monotonix at SXSW http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03FoiW3tmqY RIYL: getting injured by the crowd but avoiding the Black Stage.

Cap’n Jazz @ 6:00 (Orange Stage)
Recently reunited early emo influencers from the golden era of post-punk. RIYL: Dismemberment Plan, The Promise Ring

The Dwarves @ 6:25 (Black Stage)
Punk rockers in existence longer than most Fun Fest goers have been alive known for drawing from a wide palette of punk styles and controversial album covers. RIYL: Mohawks, moshing and naked dudes in wrestling masks.

Delorean @ 6:45 (Blue Stage)
Spanish import making warm, synth- and vocal sample-heavy dance tunes. RIYL: Phoenix, the warped vocal sample from Passion Pit’s “Sleepyhead”, MGMT, Beach House

Man Man @ 6:55 (Orange Stage)
The usually costumed Philly collective belt out honky tonk, soulful tunes that play like a barrel-chested drunken sailor sing-a-long. RIYL: Modest Mouse, Rhodes piano

Dirty Projectors @ 7:50 (Orange Stage)
Brooklyn band has played ATX countless times since the release of the beloved “Bitte Orca” in mid-2009. Still no new material to promote, but with sweet lady harmonies like that, it doesn’t matter. RIYL: R&B, Aaliyah meets Talking Heads

MGMT @ 8:45 (Orange Stage)
If all you know is “Kids,” save yourself the disappointment—pass on MGMT. Live show is mediocre; more vanilla psychedelia than the danceable pop.

RJD2 @ 8:45 (Blue Stage)
DJ (think more like Moby and mojitos, less like Paul Oakenfold and Jäger bombs) crafting chill tunes, most famous for being the dude who wrote the Mad Men theme.

This morning, Austin City Limits Festival Early Bird passes—discounted tickets for next year’s fest available to users signed up on the ACL website—sold out in just under 45 minutes. Coming in at $165 rather than $185, they were a decent deal if you’re planning on going to ACL 2011 no matter what the line-up, but they’re not half the deal that was open to the public last week.
 
Tickets to Austin City Limits are not cheap. That’s not to say that there’s no value in them, but they’re not exactly an affordable way to spend a weekend. That’s why we were excited to try our luck at landing $50 tickets to the festival last week.
 
For the second year in a row, ACL offered up a small* batch of Souvenir Passes for $50. Unlike the Early Bird Passes, these don’t go to loyal ACL attendees—after all, if they’ve already shown a willingness to drop $185 on passes, why give them $50 tickets—but rather the mouth-breathing, ticket-scalping general public.
 
*The exact quantity of these limited number of tickets is unknown and ACL and Frontgate don’t seem too eager to release it. 

Like most hot items released online at a set time, even if you’re in the know, getting these tickets involves a fair share of browser-refreshing luck to push through the online clusterfuck and land on the purchase page. Frontgate Tickets attempted to manage the mess by offering a digital queue, though many were left waiting in line long after the tickets were sold, afraid to navigate away from the page for fear of losing their chance at passes.

The point in time at which these tickets would be sold was announced via Twitter from ACL to their 25,000 followers on Wednesday, Oct. 13.

This cryptic message didn’t require Columbo-like detective skills to crack—a simple Google search of Giles, Giles and Fripp would reveal one of their biggest hits was a song called Thursday Morning—but things got interesting when people turned to our generation’s go-to source of information, Wikipedia. Several creative edits from curmudgeonly would-be $50 pass purchasers made that clue a bit harder to solve.

The original Wiki reference:

… was changed dozens of times after the announcement, in the hopes of throwing prospective ticketbuyers off track. Here are some of the highlights (click for full size):

Fanfarlo, Freelance Whales at The Independent (12.02.09)
By @SupercoolEric

Last night, the gang reluctantly watched me battle giant scorpions in Fallout 3 while we drank cheap beer in preparation for the Fanfarlo show at The Independent.

If you’ve never been there, The Independent is a surprisingly barren venue resembling a black box theater. It’s located on East Fifth just west of Progress Coffee. The inside is all black and curtains cover the walls, which go up two stories. Paper lanterns from IKEA spot the ceiling and are illuminated with blue bulbs. A short, smallish stage is in the back corner. The beer is reasonably priced ($3 for a tall can of Lone Star) but the barely elevated stage leaves something to be desired. Even though I’m well over 6 ft. tall, I have trouble viewing the stage unless up close. Luckily, the sound is pretty good and there’s plenty of room.

We arrived just after Freelance Whales went on to a crowd that was larger than expected. Though I was a bit distracted — like I said, the view from the back sucks ass — Freelance Whales put on an enjoyable set of joyous, quirky pop with a slight country twang driven by a cornucopia of instruments, choral harmonies and hushed, high-pitched male vocals (sounds like The Format, Loney Dear). They also win points for a spot-on cover of Broken Social Scene’s “7/4 Shoreline.”

Pushing up close for a better view of the stage, we were treated to a set of beautiful music from the lovely London five-piece Fanfarlo. The band’s sound will immediately strike a chord with fans of Arcade Fire and Beirut but has a more poppy delivery not unlike that of Coldplay circa 2000.

The band has toured extensively and has played SXSW several times over the past few years. The experience on the road shows. The percussion, violin and guitars, all softened on the album and tucked away under layers of male and female vocals, were far more vibrant live. Fanfarlo played every track from their debut Reservoir, and without exception, every song was an improvement over the album. An unreleased song was included on the set list as well, a tune the guys said they wrote when stuck in the tour van one day.

The band started their set with a stripped down version of “I’m A Pilot” but turned up the heat on “The Walls Are Coming Down,” opening with a minute of percussive stage stomping before the rest of the band jumped in.

The guys came out for a planned encore of “Ghosts,” but as the crowd begged for even more, the band whispered among themselves to find a song they all remembered (sadly, it wasn’t “We Live By The Lake,” which several people in the audience requested but the band said it had forgotten how to play) before settling on “Sand and Ice.”

LISTEN
Fanfarlo on Hype Machine
Freelance Whales on MySpace