The Weekend Flow: December 17-20
Boy, ugly sweaters are back in style this winter. Sure, parties celebrating the brightly colored wool abominations were called out last year by Stuff White People Like, but that didn’t stop them from coming back in force in ‘09, dammit. (One wonders if there’s someone out there with a sweater so horrible that they’d be able to sweep *every* Ugly Sweater Contest — the Chris Floyd of the sweater world, if you will). Fortunately for everyone, there’s plenty of cool n’ free stuff going on this weekend to make the whole thing easier to stomach. Stay warm, Austin!

THURSDAY, DEC. 17
Austin Post Citywide White Elephant Party
6-9pm
Free cocktails, pizza, sushi, and other crazy stuff. Bring a wrapped gag gift for swappin’.
Lanai Rooftop Lounge, 422 Congress Ave.

Tje Austin at Cedar Street Courtyard
6-8pm
Cedar Street Courtyard, 208 W. 4th St.

Do512 Holiday Party
7-10pm
Free Fireman’s #4 beer while it lasts; $3 Tito’s drinks. Music by All My Friends
Black Sheep Lodge , 2108 South Lamar Blvd.
Free, RSVP REQUIRED

Bright Pink Charity Launch Party / X-Mas Sweater Party
7-10pm / 10pm-2am
Free vodka 7-10. Benefits Bright Pink, a non-profit organization
that provides education and support to women who are at risk for breast and ovarian cancer. The X-Mas Sweater Party starts after the launch party and features a “champagne jam,” music by the New Drugs and photos with Santa courtesy of Alison Narro.
Beauty Bar, 617 E. 7th St.
No RSVP

Charity Bash Appreciation Party
8-10pm
Free drinks by Grey Goose.
Free with RSVP

The Liberty’s First Holiday Party
9pm-2am
Free homemade food; drink specials. Bring an unwrapped toy to donate to Salvation Army.
The Liberty, 1618 1/2 E. 6th St.
Free, no RSVP

Crystal Antlers, Audacity, Harlem @ The Mohawk
10pm-2am
Mohawk, 11th and Red River


FRIDAY, DEC. 18
The Saggi Ball
8pm-2am
Free Dripping Springs Vodka from 8-10 with toy donation, plus: photos by Trevor Ray, Inebriated Santa Costume Contest and the 817th ugly sweater contest of the season. Music by The Pons, The Boom Boom Box, Ripe, Ok Sweetheart, DJ Czech One and the ubiquitous DJ Prince Klassen.
Beauty Bar, 617 E. 7th St.
$5, no RSVP

No Sleep Til Brooklyn
9pm-2am
Free vodka from 9-11:30pm. Bring 5 canned food items for free shots. Free champagne all night for the ladies.
Gruv, 101 W. 5th St.
Free, no RSVP


SATURDAY, DEC. 19
Santa vs. Satan Soiree
8pm-2am
Hosted By TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls, the soiree will feature music by local bands Whiskey Business and Petals and a raffle, as well as “tinsel-covered pillow fighting” (I’m intrigued…).
$3 if you dress in Santa or Satan attire, or $5 if you decide not to dress up for some reason
Tiniest Bar in Texas, 817 W. 5th Street
No RSVP.

Swerve! Reunion
9pm-2:30am
Free Sailor Jerry rum from 11:30pm-12:30am. Mike from @ThePeenScene and DJ Orion are bound to go all out for their birthdays, so this should be a wild one. Music by: Ocelot, Bird Peterson, Go Go Garcia and Prepmode
Barcelona, 209 E. 6th St.
$3, no RSVP

Saturday Night Afterparty
12-5am
Assuming Mike “Peen” Hernandez survives his birthday party at Swerve, the rager will continue into the wee hours on East Sixth.
$5 donation gets you all the beer you can drink
Music Gym, 815 E. 6th St. (just east of IH 35)


SUNDAY, DEC. 20
Sideshow Grand Opening Party
2-6pm
Free beer and bands at the grand opening of the new tattoo shop
Airport and 45th St.
Free, no RSVP


MONDAY, DEC. 21
Octopus Project, Neiliyo, and Sunset at Tibaut’s 30th
Doors at 7:30pm
Mohawk
$10/presale, $12/door

Rat Trap Ball
10pm-2am
Free beer at a crazy dance party featuring a selection of rock n’ roll 45s.
Trophy’s
Free, no RSVP


Plug zone:
- Check out @SupercoolEric’s predictions of music critics’ picks for the best albums of 2009.
- Be our fan on Facebook. We’ll be your best friend.
- Give us a holler if you’re at La Zona Rosa tonight for the much anticipated Phoenix show. À bientôt!

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