Whiskey Sisters

 On Thursday night we had a couple of choices before heading to an early bed (our plans were to leave Austin on Friday morning at 6:00am so we weren't going to be up late). Our friends we met at the Rosie Flores gig had recommended some young fellows playing under the live oaks at Guero's Taco Bar but as it was a cool night we decided instead to see the Whiskey Sisters who were playing a happy hour gig at the Continental Club (on Congress just down the street from Guero's).

We have tried to get into the Continental Club one evening earlier in our stay but the power was out and the bar was not letting anyone in. That was a very windy day and I suppose tree branches, which were falling all over town, would have been the cause.

I had read a bit about the Whiskey Sisters in the local press. These "sisters" are Austin singers Teal Collins and Barbara Nesbitt who have solo careers but began playing together since last year's SXSW Festival. They had recently released an eponymous CD that was getting good reviews. The two women sing harmonies as well as playing acoustic guitar and sometime ukulele. The support band consisted of three fellows on electric guitar, electric bass, key board and drum kit. This was a free happy hour gig starting at 6:30 but the small venue was quickly filled with an appreciative audience who crowded the dance floor and clapped loudly, hootin' and hollerin' after each well received tune.

If I was to characterize their music I'd say they sounded a lot like the Dixie Chicks. The difference being that each of these Austin Chicks has a strong powerful voice of their own like that of Natalie Maines. We really enjoyed their music and the audience support. They're professional and with good tunes, strong vocals and a strong support band. As this was a "free" gig they passed the tip jar around and it was quickly filled. They had fans, loyal fans.

I would complain a bit about the acoustics in the Continental Club. The band seemed to have everything turned up loud -- as if everyone had the volume on their amps turned up to 11 (on a scale of 10). This made things a bit hard to make out. With an appreciative audience they could have turned the sound down a bit -- people were there to listen. Their CD (or buy it on iTunes) has, as you would expect, a better mix. I enjoyed them and would not hesitate to recommend them.

Drinks at the happy hour were really cheap -- $6.50 for two margaritas (drinks were $1.00 more after happy hour which still is very cheap). But they weren't the best by any means. Guero's makes far better margaritas but then you spend more there. But for an early evening's entertainment -- the Continental Club is well worth a visit. We've been there several times over the years and have seen some great acts.

One caution -- the Continental Club is a tiny and seedy hole in the wall kind of bar. It's small but does have several rows of tall chairs with tall cocktail tables. But most folks were there as "standing room only". There's lots of entertainment all night long, even during the afternoon on weekends. But it certainly ain't no "ferny bar". It's an Austin institution.

Dropkick Murphys

 Today is our last full day in Austin ... we'll be busy getting ready for the trek home but do hope to catch a last act at Guero's under the live oaks tonight.

Last night we had dinner and saw (from a distance at least) several bands headlined by the Dropkick Murphy's at Stubb's Bar-B-Q in the Red River Road area of the downtown entertainment area .. just up the street from Esther's Follies. That was another great adventure I ought to record.

The picture above is the Revilers who opened the show shortly after 7:00 in the huge outdoor amphitheatre behind the restaurant. We quite enjoyed them -- their sound was somewhere between Motorhead and DOA. Loud, fast head banger punk. They're from Massachusetts like the Dropkick Murphys and describe their music as Hardcore / Punk / Rock. As you can see I was able to get up close to the front and snapped a few pictures with Kate's pocket camera.

Cameras and concerts! I've got a gripe. This has happened a few times lately and happened again last night. I have a Canon T4i with a battery pack. It's black, it's an SLR, it's a nice camera but not a professional camera and I don't pretend to be anything other than an amateur taking pictures for personal enjoyment. I arrive at a concert and they tell me I can't bring in "that camera". Oh yes everyone can bring in iPhones, pocket cameras, etc. but you can't bring in "that camera" -- it's an SLR. What's the deal there anyways?

Kate and I had a vegan lunch in East Austin at Counter Culture (tofu "eggs", cashew "cheese", nothing but veggies) so a bit of Bar-B-Q at Stubb's was my reward. Slow cooked BBQ dry rub pork ribs, falling of the bone, with pinto beans, mashed potatoes and white gravy. Mmmm ... ain't that Texas cooking something!

Kate toughed that out by ordering some vegetarian sides. She's not as keen on Texas cooking but is willing to indulge my weakness.

Back to the concert. We were aware that this was going to be an outside standing room only event and were hoping for good weather as they have a "rain or shine" policy -- the show goes on no matter what! The weather has been a little cooler the last few days so we bundled up accordingly. The other issue was finding a place for Kate to sit -- with her bad knees she can't stand for very long. We had read that they were sympathetic and would accommodate anyone with disabilities. You weren't allowed to bring a chair or stool; they'd provide a place to sit. At arrival, we got there promptly at 6:30 as the doors opened, I asked for help and we were given a folding chair at the very back of the area. They told me we couldn't take the chair elsewhere as apparently they could be used as weapons (sic!) in a rowdy crowd. Those with disabilities aren't accommodated very well to my mind.

We declined the offer and ended up instead sitting on a short wall near the entrance in about the middle of the outdoor area and met a lovely young couple from Fort Hood who had driven down for the event. Fort Hood is about 1:30 hours north on the IH-35. She was about 7 months pregnant and had seen the Dropkick Murphys in San Antonio recently -- pre-pregnancy we assume because she told us how she ended up black and blue in the mosh pit. Her husband is a big fan of the Dropkick Murphys (and hockey which seems to be an integral part of being a fan) and this event was a treat especially for him.

As the evening progressed the placed filled up to standing room only -- standing only in the sense that you couldn't move one step in any direction. It was really packed. Those at the front of the stage seemed to have a great time -- fists pumping, body surfing, singing along with band members who jumped into the audience. From a distance it looked like quite a great time was being had by all who could participate. But there were a couple of thousand there and for those who weren't at the front the music was muddy and the words impossible to make out.

We are fans of Celtic punk -- the Pogues, Flogging Molly, the Mahones, the Dropkick Murphys and more. However, Celtic punk should be more than Irish tunes played at break neck speed by amphetamine fired banshees tearing around the stage. There should be an occasional subtlety and tunes should be more than bellowed slogans. There's never been a band yet that can match the Pogues, there wasn't one last night. We ducked out early to catch a cab home (before the several thousand were let loose on the streets).

The middle act was Old Man Markley from LA was a bit of an exception.  They're a Celtic punk band as well and we liked them very much -- I bought their latest CD. They're a large group of players including two young women -- one on violin and the other on autoharp. The violin adds a distinctive sound, the autoharp adds very little. The women's voices modulated the music down from the tired bellowing of head banger punk. Yet they played loud and fast with a great stand up bass beat. Like the other acts members were always careening around the stage. I find it hard to imagine that one can sustain that energy very long. And sometimes it becomes a bit of a parody of itself.

It was an interesting evening of punk and Celtic punk music. I'd have rather seen all the acts focus a bit more on their music and a little less on the theatrics for the mosh pit.

The Flatlanders

Our good fortunes continue with an evening at Antone's with the Flatlanders! As pictured -- Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock. Accompanied by electric bass, drums and electric guitar (mandolin, etc.).

We had missed Joe Ely when he played Gruene Hall earlier in the month -- we had just got into town and weren't willing to drive the hour or so down the IH-35 after driving three days from Ontario to get here. We were therefore really surprised to open the Austin Chronicle on Thursday to see that the Flatlanders -- the whole gang not just Joe Ely -- were playing a benefit on Sunday for a Lubbock friend who had lost his home to a fire recently. In the Chronicle we read:

Academy Awards night two years ago at the Moody strutted Diana Ross. Lubbock’s Three Musketeers aren’t quite as showboat, but musically they’re every bit as Austintatious. Last month at the Paramount, Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock enthralled a full house with timeless Texicana. That the trio’s songcraft could fit comfortably anytime in the past half-century should make every local bow down and kiss the ground that we all live in the here and now. – Raoul Hernandez

We have been fans for years having been introduced by our friends Pat and Cindy around 1990. Pat rightly recognised their place as founding fathers of Americana -- although back then the label wasn't used much if at all and the band had been ignored for decades as a bit of quirky Lubbock madness. Nowadays people "kiss the ground" -- Pat would have if he were here. Pat introduced us to the Flatlanders through Joe Ely: "You'll like this guy, he toured with the Clash". And sure enough we did.

The Flatlanders have a "new" CD/DVD out. The Odessa Tapes were recorded in January 1972 (sic!) by what would have been a bunch of kids. They played together as the Flatlanders 1972-73 and then went their separate ways. The Odessa tapes were recently discovered and have been remastered. Their "debut" album came out in 1991 when Rounder Records issued More a Legend Than a Band (again from 1972 recording sessions) -- that would have been the album Pat introduced to to us. With the success of that album they tour sporadically as the Flatlanders. Each player has had some modest success on their own. Joe Ely in particular does well as a solo performer. Jimmie Dale and Butch are better recognised as writers whom Joe Ely has popularised but they both are great performers as well. Butch and Jimmie Dale are usually acoustic solo acts, Joe often plays electric with a band -- hence the Clash connection.

One time, years ago, when we came to Austin we called up Butch to see what acts he'd recommend! At the time he had a gallery in town and was kind enough to take our call and recommend some acts we ought to see. Kate recalls he recommended Will Sexton who we have seen. I had heard that he'd moved from the city to Terlingua in the Big Bend country and no longer lives in the city.

We bought our tickets on line (at $12 each they were very reasonable) on Thursday as soon as we saw they were playing. We weren't going to miss this one. We had been to Antone's years ago when it was up near the university but had not been to the downtown location. Antone's is famous as a blues bar but I see it also has current punkers of various sorts. We were worried about seating -- often these places are standing room only with no seating of any sort. And you don't want to be stuck in the back row where you can't see or hear very well.

There were a few "tables" as well as general admission tickets but all the tables were sold. We weren't sure what to expect so arrived early with Kate's stool to make sure we had a place for her to sit and could claim a place near the stage. Other folks were wise and brought lawn chairs! For an inside event! Keeping Austin Weird.

There were only a very few in line including some folks we met holidaying from Oregon. So we got in early and found a good place to park ourselves. As you can see from the photo we got a good location -- we ended up at a table at stage right with the friends we met from Oregon. The two guys who had paid for the table were happy to share with us and we're grateful for their generosity. Our friends from Oregon got the two chairs, Kate had her stool, I stood and sat on the floor. Mostly the venue is a standing room only "barn" that can hold some 350 people but of the 350 we got the better spots.

The Flatlanders took to the stage promptly at 7:00 and played a lengthy set of familiar classics like "Dallas from a DC9" and "If You Were a Bluebird" to an enthusiastic audience with an encore of "White Freightliner Blues" by Townes van Zandt. As the band exited the stage I got to shake hands with Joe, Jimmie Dale and Butch and congratulated them on a great performance.

We loved every minute of it. So much so that we've bought tickets to see them again in April at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto with Cindy! And the other great thing about this event? We were home by 8:30! There were several acts to follow but we "kissed the ground" and returned home well pleased with the day's adventures.

Recommendation -- if you ever get a chance to see the Flatlanders, do it.

PS. Kate tells me Billy Joe Shaver and Ray Wylie Hubbard are playing a free event at Antone's on Friday, March 8. She's trying to extend this holiday another week.... So many bars, so little time.

MapJam

Saturday was a lovely warm and sunny day in Austin. The perfect day to bicycle over to East Austin and take in some free gigs at the KUTX sponsored MapJam 2013 -- KUTX is the University of Texas FM radio station. East Austin is the new SoCo in as much as property there is still affordable and would attract a university/student crowd.

There were 9 events scheduled at various spots on the other side of the IH-35 (why is it the IH-35 in Texas and the I-35 in every other state?). We couldn't catch all the acts so had picked out a few. Even then we skipped out on some we really wanted to see -- like Los Pinkys (conjunto) and Residual Kid (pre-teen punk!). There were lots of interesting musical forms to explore.

The photo above is the band Mother Falcon playing at Tillery Park. This was the farthest bike ride -- it took us about 45 minutes to bike home from their gig. The park was pretty tiny and full of fans. I was able to get up close to take a few pictures. As you can tell this ain't no honky tonk band. There are quite a few in the group with an interesting mix of instruments. Here you see a couple on cellos with a fellow behind on accordion. I liked their music a lot. They reminded me a bit of the Montreal band Arcade Fire who have had some popular success. I see from the band's web site that they're trying to raise money to record a second EP that they can tour and promote. Best of luck to them.

The Tillery Park location is a bit of an oddity. It's just a largish narrow city lot fenced off with a few garden center stores. The stage area was set up at one end of the park and lots of folks sat on the ground which was covered in cedar mulch to enjoy the sound. The music was quite good at the front of the stage. Behind those on the ground was the standing room only group and behind them Kate had laid claim to a bench near the single beer vendor and the two johnny-on-the-spot crappers. Far too few of both for a crowd of that size. Kate couldn't catch much of what was happening so we left early in the set.

Earlier in the day we caught Wood & Wire at the Hops & Grain Craft Brewery. They're a very good blue grass group who played from a loading dock at the brewery to a large and appreciative audience. This was a standing room event in the large parking lot. Kate found a place to sit at the edge of the lot on a bit of grass with some shade. By the end of the day it was obvious that we had had too much sun. We both glowed, nobody chundered.

The Brewery sold beer through a ticketing system but as there were only two guys selling tickets and another two serving from the sampling bar you can guess the result. There was a very long line out the door for people buying tickets and then an even longer line of people out the door waiting to get into the sampling room to cash their tickets. As Kate and I had arrived early we did get to sample some very good beers. One was a dark and hoppy IPA, the other was an equally dark beer aged in Chardonnay oak casks. The oak finish was quite pronounced. Unusual but enjoyable. The tickets that remained I gave to some fellows who were staying. We headed off to the Tillery Park event.

The final event we saw was early in the evening. The MapJam events continued all day but we skipped out. We were home for much of the afternoon to let the cats out and to have a of nap to prepare for the evening.  Some friends we met described the nap you take so you can stay up later as a "Rock 'n Roll" nap. At our age we don't stay up late. However, we do get up early.

In any case, the final event was Rosie Flores & the Riveters at the Scoot Inn where we had seen Susan Torres earlier in the month. As this was an after sunset event we drove over and parked nearby. I think I've described the Scoot Inn before. Suffice to say it's a tiny seedy bar in a seedy neighborhood with far too little by way of street lights. The event was outside the bar where there's a stage, concrete pad and a bit of turf with picnic tables. Lots of space that would hold several hundreds of people. We claimed a spot at a picnic table where we met our friends who coined the term "Rock 'n Roll" nap. We talked about places we should see and covered much common ground -- e.g. they recommended the Strange Brew venue which we liked as well. They both lived near us in South Austin.

Rosie Flores is yet another character that Pat had recommended to us. She's our age and seems to be friends with the usual folk we like -- Billy Joe Shaver, etc. She plays a rocking electric guitar in a three piece band. Her music is a blend of rockabilly, country and more. We would have liked to have caught her act.

Unfortunately the concrete pad in front of the stage and between us and the stage quickly filled up with a standing room only crowd. If you were within the first few rows, and able to stand, you would have caught a dynamite act. Worse yet than the obscured view was all the people around us who seem to have come to talk/yell at one another at a volume where they could compete with Rosie. I really wish that those who have no interest in the performer would go elsewhere, or at least go to the back areas farthest from the stage to talk. They spoiled the event for us. We ought to have brought Kate's stool and claimed a space near the stage as we did for the Flatlanders at Antones.

One reason why we and our new friends recommend Strange Brew is the attentive audience. You go there to listen to music not to yell at one another.

Therapy Sisters

Friday was a gray and cold in the day in the morning – a bit depressing. But you can't have it perfect every day. The sun came out for lunch and it's snowing back home so we are grateful.

Reg went by taxi to Howdy Honda on Ben White (just south of us, the major road to the airport) to get a loaner car this morning. Our car had developed some clunking noises in the suspension and we felt it best to investigate before returning on the long drive back home. He had dropped off the car on Thursday but they weren't able to get parts to fix it right away. Then Friday morning we find they're not going to get parts until Monday so they're renting a car for us from Enterprise. Reg had to be shuttled home to get his passport (in spite of the fact that we've rented from them many times) and then on to Enterprise to rent a car. We're now driving a late model Chevrolet but would rather be in our Honda.

In the afternoon we went out to do a bit of shopping in North Austin. We had a pizza for lunch and some wine outdoors at the Central Market café on North Lamar not too far from Uchiko where we had had dinner with Sam. They often have music events at the café so we were interested in checking that out. The Central Market is an upscale Austin grocery chain competing with Whole Foods. We found some interesting Texas wines to take home as souvenirs for friends. Then on to Sue Patricks on Burnet Rd (got a little lost on the way) to see if Kate could get another pair of the Capri pants she bought there a couple of weeks ago and really liked. They didn’t have any in black in her size and she didn’t like the other color so we didn't get any pants. But we did get a few souvenirs for staff back at work. I think we're pretty much done the souvenir shopping.

At about 5:30, we went to Patsy’s Cowgirl Cafe on Ben White near the Howdy Honda to have dinner and see the Therapy Sisters whom we had seen before at the EmilyFest at La Zona Rosa on a trip with Jack and Doreta back in 1994 and remembered liking them.

Of course, they were doing Emily Kaitz songs at the EmilyFest – we weren’t so crazy about the music they do (sort of jazzy swing) but it was an interesting night. They were very openly lesbian (3 out of 4 in the band dressed pretty manly as well) and had a few friends who had come to see them (both lesbian and straight) so it was a pretty jovial crowd. At the end of the show they thanked everybody who had come out to the show and especially thanked those that had "come out" as well.

Purly Gates who had played with Emily Kaitz every once in a while threw in a protest song – usually to the tune of an existing song – e.g., blowing in the wind done about the environment, one about the health care system. one about never getting same sex marriage in Texas. One of the other singers did a song (more in their style) about being nickle and dimed by the trickle down.

Reg went to talk to Purly in the break to ask if she was the same person who had recorded with Emily – told her we saw them at the EmilyFest, we were from Canada, etc. So of course, during the second set, she mentioned about the wonderful folks visiting from Canada (Reg and his lovely wife – can’t remember her name) and that people should talk to us about our health care system (actually given some of our experiences – maybe they shouldn’t). At the end, one of the other singers said that they were changing the pledge of allegiance – “one country under Canada.” Also at the end of the protest song about same sex marriage, the third singer (who had done the song about trickle down), yelled out “Oh Canada” and held her arm up in a cheering way. It turns out they know about Canadian health care and same sex marriage – which in Austin makes them love us, in the rest of Texas, makes them hate us.

We had a good time with the music. Reg enjoyed his Texas slow smoked BBQ brisket with BBQ sauce and mashed potatoes -- it was melt in your mouth tender. Kate had some fish tacos with rice and beans. And then pecan pie for desert. Mmm ... ain't that Texas cooking something.

And the other good thing? We were home by 9:00!

Amanda Cevallos

Click image for more photos ....

Tuesday was my birthday so we popped into the Broken Spoke on South Lamar for dinner and a bit of music by Amanda Cevallos.

The Broken Spoke is an old time honky tonk dance hall (built in the early 1960's by the owner James White) that is being squeezed out by development on South Lamar. Not too long ago Lamar was a lazy street out in the country and the Broken Spoke was surrounded by empty fields with plenty of parking in the gravel lot. These days Lamar is a busy 4-lane highway and there's new buildings going up on either side with only a bit of parking remaining on the gravel lot in front. While "this [still] ain't no fernie bar" they now have valet parking!

I suspect this honky tonk ain't long for this world what with land prices and development on Lamar. Worse yet, I understand that James White owns the building but only rents the land. And he's not a young man any more. So, if you're ever down this way, soak it up while you can.

I had just listened to a Sunday night podcast on the Americana Music Show where they shone a spotlight on Amanda Cevallos and her regular appearances at the Broken Spoke. We hadn't been in a while and I hadn't experienced a Chicken Fried Steak with white gravy (the Broken Spoke advertises that there's are the best in the world) so we hopped a cab and headed over for dinner. PS. we had missed Chris Wall who played the dance hall on the day we arrived in Austin.

Amanda and her band (she writes, sings and play acoustic guitar) were setting up in the dining room as we arrived. They play in the dining room from 6-8, there's dance lessons in the big hall from 8-9 then another dance hall band at 9:00. Amanda introduced herself as we entered, welcomed us and asked where we were from. She asks everyone where they're from and predicted, rightly, that people from all over the world would arrive for dinner.

The Americana Music Show had advertised her music as "Tejano". I'd describe it as good old fashioned honky tonk country. The band consists of able musicians on electric, bass and drums. She played some covers and some originals. There wasn't a set list, they just played the tunes that came to them. There were a few folks who were moved to dance between the crowded tables. We really enjoyed the music and bought a copy of her new CD "I'll Never Honky Tonk You" -- that's probably the first time "honky tonk" has been used as a verb.

There weren't many locals there for dinner (I suspect they come later for the dancing) but I did get my Chicken Fried Steak and it was pretty darn good. Unfortunately it was too early for mashed or baked potatoes so I had to settle for french fries. White Gravy really should have mashed potatoes. 

Oh my, momma ain't that Texas Cookin' something
Oh my, momma it'll stop yo' belly and backbone bumpin'
Oh my, momma ain't that Texas Cookin' good
Oh my, momma eat it everyday if I could
---- Guy Clark (1970)

Well, it isn't that good if you're a vegetarian.  Kate had cheese quesadillo's -- the only vegetarian dish on the menu apart from salad. This is a meat and potatoes kind of place.

Our waitress spotted our Canadian accents (everyone in Austin is from some place else, how did she spot us?). Turns out she had gone to school in Buffalo, NY where she obtained a Master's in Languages and was familiar with our accents and our part of the world -- Niagara Falls, Ontario, etc. She had even been to Georgian Bay. I'm from a little village called Walter's Falls in the Georgian Bay area. We all agreed that is a beautiful part of the world ... albeit snow covered at this time of the year. We were surprised that she was waitressing with her education but she told us this is what she enjoys most.  I guess she's doing her part -- Keeping Austin Weird!

Hmm.. It's another sunny day this morning and I've rambled quite a bit here. Let's cut to the chase -- I'd recommend you visit the Broken Spoke in Austin and, if you're a fan of honky tonk country, check out Amanda Cevallos and her new CD.

Hug-In Dance

Saturday was a full day for Kate and I with her brother Gord and his squeeze Val at the Luckenbach, Texas Hug-In. That's a Valentine's Day celebration in a tiny village (population 3) made popular many years ago by a Waylon Jennings song entitled "Luckenbach, Texas". There's a general store cum bar and a dance hall -- oh yes, there's the feed lot and an outdoor crapper. But there's also lots of huggers camping, pickers picking with the chickens under the live oaks and just generally hanging out drinking beer, telling lies and singing songs.

Luckenbach's hey-days would have been in the 1970's when it was purchased by an eccentric hill country character by the name of Hondo Crouch. It became a hang out for the developing Outlaw Country music movement -- Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker and more. You can drop in most days to find someone plucking on a guitar and singing some songs. It's a testament to it's popularity that you will find it on most road maps even though there really is no village there. Population 3 is an exaggeration.

Back in Austin we met a server at Joe's Crab shack who said he came from the Fredricksburg area (Luckenbach is about 10 miles from Fredricksburg) but had never heard of Luckenbach. He was a very nice friendly fellow but we told him he lost his Texas-cred on that one.

Kate and I enjoyed an afternoon outside under the live oaks drinking beers and listening to the singers and poet. Gord and Val explored the village and hung out in the camp grounds where they have adventures to tell. We retreated into the store to warm up around the wood stove when evening arrived while Gord and Val grabbed us some seats in the dance hall for the evening's adventures starting at 9:00. We grabbed a corner table in the tiny bar. Kate had brought her guitar (we travelled to Texas with bikes, cats and guitar!) with the intention of encouraging others to sing. It worked! We had a wonderful time sitting in the some of the pickers and even joined in on a few

Luckenbach is about an hour and a half out of Austin and as I was the designated driver I kept my wits about me and stayed sober. We had been to the hug-in several times over the years (the first time we found Luckenbach back in 1990 was a hug-in) this was the 38th annual hug-in. And this was the only time and I was able to stay vertical for the dance.

Gary P Nunn and the Bunkhouse Band played the dance hall at 9:00. The hall was packed as pictured above. Fortunately Gord and Val had saved us a seat else we would have been standing -- and Kate can't do that! We were glad of the opportunity to enjoy the music with the 3-500 in attendance.

We've seen Gary a couple of time before at the Broken Spoke in Austin (another old time dance hall) and this is music just made for the dance hall and the Texas 2-step. You will be familiar with the song London Homesick Blues made famous as the theme music for Austin City Limits with the famous "I wanna be home with the Armadillo" refrain and perhaps the haunting What I Like About Texas which enumerates some of what we love about the state. Gary has a ton of great tunes and the Texas-cred to go with them. He's one of the gang that made Outlaw Country what it is today -- Gary was in the Lost Gonzo Band and sang London Homesick Blues on Jerry Jeff Walker's Viva Terlingua album recorded live in this same old dance hall back in 1973.

Gord and Val were dancing the night away while Kate and I played it low key -- with her bum knee dancing was not on our radar. For some a snooze in the car seemed the better part of valour..

We crept away at midnight to the sounds of Gary P Nunn playing "Reggae Armadillo" -- it's time to leave when they parody their hits. An uneventful drive back to Austin with three passengers gently cutting wood made for the end of another perfect day.

"You ask me what I like about Texas? Well I could tell you, but we'd be here all night long." -- Gary P Nunn

Neon at Night

If you like neon lights you'll love Austin. The city glows with beautiful lights advertising one of a kind stores, bars, restaurants, etc. Do a Google image search on "Austin Neon" and you'll see what I mean.

I'm particularly fond of this one on South Lamar because it reminds me of a CD that Pat and Cindy liked -- the "L-Ranko Hotel" by Bell & Shore (1989). Yes I know the El Rancho restaurant has nothing to do with the L-Ranko hotel. I'm not even sure if there is hotel by that name. I'm just saying it reminds me.

Kate tells me there is a connection -- the joke is it's the El-Rancho hotel but the the letter's "E" and "H" are burned out to leave "L-Ranco". We need Pat to clarify.

I'm not sure if the El Rancho really is the "Best Mexican Food in the World" but they advertise that they are. I've written a bit about Guero's and the Magnolia already (both have great neon signs). The "Sorry, we're open" of the Magnolia is a classic. There's lots of Mexican and Tex/Mex restaurants around Austin and quite a few in our neighbourhood. Most are modest and reasonably priced. So much so that we seldom prepare food at home!

We had lunch yesterday at the Habanero Cafe around the corner on Oltorf. It's a short walk and pretty authentic specialising in serving the morning and lunch crowd -- it closes most days at 3:00pm (later on Thurs-Sat). There's a small dining area with a sun room on Oltorf where we ate. While our intentions were to just have a "wee bite" we ended up with a lunch that filled us up for the rest of the day. Kate tried a shrimp gordito while I tucked into a a pair of pulled pork burritos. There were lots of crispy corn chips and a very spicy salsa (perhaps a bit of habanero for heat?) while we checked the menu and placed our order. Our lunches arrived shortly thereafter on huge plates loaded with lots of refried beans, rice, guacamole, salad and smothered in cheese. It was good food, very filling and very reasonably priced.

In the evening we returned yet again to the Strange Brew Cafe and saw the opening act Jodi Adair perform with some friends. Will Knaak on electric guitar (who we've now seen several times -- he must live there!) and Dony Wynn on drums/percussion. These friends raise Jodi's music above the bar; just the right gentle subtle touches and blazing bridges when required. Dony was an interesting treat to see and hear. He doesn't play a conventional drum kit. Even describing the kit as unconventional would  not do it justice. He sits on top of a bass box instead of behind a bass drum and noodles with instruments of his own making.

Jodi teased Dony into telling a funny story about playing in a sarong.  Yes you heard me right -- a sarong. Definitely the type to keep Austin weird. He doesn't do that any more -- you just end up exposing to much gear even if you are wearing underwear. I shudder to imagine the view. He's no Tom Cruise. Apparently at one event in San Marcos a lady in the audience became quite offended and belligerent when he played in a sarong ... because he was wearing underwear!

Weird eh?

Sam Adventures

Our friend Sam flew in from wintry Winnipeg on Thursday to enjoy a bit of sun with us in Austin.

On Thursday night we took Sam to Guero's on SoCo and caught some live music under the live oaks while exploring some of First Thursday on Soco (a once a month event)

On Friday morning we biked along Town Lake and had lunch at Joe's Crab Shack at Riverside. Friday night saw us to dinner at Uchiko and the play Tru at the ZACH Theatre. A one man play about Truman Capote that we really enjoyed -- it's not a barrel of laughs, very black by times. It wasn't very well attended but we thought it was a great production. It got a standing ovation. Afterwards we stopped in at the Wine House for an after theatre drink and a bit of live music. Fortunately saner minds prevailed and we went home early (I was driving and careful about drinking).

Saturday was a cool wet day so we three spent the afternoon playing a dominoes game called "Mexican Train". It was a Christmas gift from Joan and Ron that we had brought with us. We had lots of laughs and a few drinks while playing the afternoon away. Our plan was to take a taxi to the evening's events.

The ladies we met on Thursday night at Guero's Taco Bar under the live oaks on SoCo had recommended a restaurant on S. Lamar called "Barley Swine" which is near Oltorf and not too far from us. They described it as a "tapas" style service -- little nosh sized dishes. The restaurant web site warned us to arrive early as they do not take reservations and would be busy. We arrived at 5:00 and got the last table which we ended up sharing with another group of three. We really enjoyed the food and would compare it favourably with Uchiko on N. Lamar (rated #1 on Tripadvisor, #3 in the Austin Chronicle's Reader Favourites/AC RF) where we had an early dinner on Friday.  Uchiko is Japanese styled (which we're not very familiar with) while Barley Swine, if I were to put a local, I'd say California or haute-local. The menu at the Barley Swine (rated #18 in AC RF) is much easier to manage (it's much smaller and easier to figure out) and the atmosphere is more casual. The place is much smaller but the service is just as great. At both restaurants each dish is lovingly prepared, plated and served. We would have no hesitation recommending these restaurants.... if you want to get away from the chicken fried steaks and Tex-Mex.

Saturday night we saw some great music. The photo above is Wendy Colonna playing with some friends at the "Strange Brew" coffee club on Manchaca not far from us. It's a great spot to see good music. A place where people listen to the music, where friends gather to play with friends. We were there last week and will go again. It's a very nice spot.

Sunday morning we took Sam to the airport for an early flight home. We returned to bed and slept late. For a hang-over breakfast we headed over to the Magnolia Cafe ("Sorry, we're open") on SoCo for Love Miga's, Huevos Rancheros, etc.  ... a place we've been many times and quite the contrast to the fine dining of the previous evenings.

Keeping Austin Weird

Kate and I are having a bit of a vacation here in Austin Texas where the city motto is "Keep Austin Weird". We fit right in. The picture at left is from the Cathedral of Junk which Kate had researched before we were on the road. It's a huge lawn art sculpture of found objects located in the backyard of a  modest home on a quiet residential street a little south of where we're staying in the SoCo (South Congress) neigbourhood. Vince, the artist who built the cathedral, was at home when we biked by and invited us in to have a look. It's definitely weird. I gather it's his full time occupation these days. The life of an artist.

We drove down over three days getting out of Ontario just before the nasty winter weather set in. We've been in touch with friends back home (try Google Voice for free calls to any land line in Canada and the USA). Cindy told us about the snow storms and whiteouts that have resulted in huge crashes along the 401 and road closures in the usual snow belt locations. Mike curses our good luck to be away from it all.

We missed all of that nasty weather by leaving early on a rainy morning late in January. Our first day we drove 12 hours. We crossed at Port Huron (where the border guard asked Kate if she had to twist my finger to go to Texas -- I had sliced the tip off my pinky on our kitchen mandolin) and drove to Bowling Green KY just an hour or so from Nashville TN. The next day we put in 8 hours to Texarkana and the last day 6 hours to Austin. That's 26 hours in total. Google Maps had predicted 25 hours (which we were skeptical about).

The short days on the drive were largely  motivated by our cats Richard Parker and Piscine Patel (see the Life of Pi) who have come with us -- Kate was worried about them. Actually they travelled very well and settled down pretty quickly. We're talking about zooming back in two long days on our return since the critters are so well behaved.

We stayed at the La Quinta hotel chain while travelling as they have a cat friendly policy. Both hotels where very nice and I would not hesitate to recommend them to others who are travelling with pets. We met lots of dog lovers staying at the hotels. You don't see as many people travelling with cats.

We also brought our bikes which made packing and unpacking each night interesting. We've been making good use of them biking around the neighborhood, along Town Lake and down to Zilker Park where we sadly discovered that the sacred waters of Barton Springs are closed until March for renovations of the dam and the creek bypass! Damn! The weather here has been very warm (in the mid 70's rather than the usual mid 60's) and we had hoped to go in for a swim.

We've rented a 2 bedroom home called Casita del Sol in the SoCo neighborhood through an Austin property management firm called VacationCake. The house is just great -- check out the photos on their web site. We have two bedrooms (we are expecting some family and friends), a great living and kitchen area and, best of all, a big back yard for the cats to play. The cats have settled in and are starting to expect regular supervised play time in the back yard. We indulge them several times a day. The house is very well appointed and in the few days we've been here we're already talking about booking again next year. We're just around the corner from 1st St S and a short bike ride from the SoCo funky area on Congress.

We've been to the Magnolia Cafe (an all day breakfast joint we always visit -- "Sorry, we're open") and Gueros (a large taco joint -- Bill Clinton eats here (sic!)) for dinner and music in the garden under the live oaks. Kate says the best tacos so far were at "Torchy's Tacos". It's a small chain which started here in Austin. We went to the one around the corner on 1st St S where we had a quick snack before going to see some conjunto music by Susan Torres y Conjunto Clemencia at a dive called the Scoot Inn on the east side of town. We liked the music a lot. We especially like that it was an early evening gig as we've not got in to staying up late.

We have plans to see more music, lots more music. We'll blog about that another day.

Keeping Austin Weird -- one day at a time.

Conjunto Festival

On Sunday we caught a bit of the Rancho Alegre Conjunto Festival (a three day festival with a ton of performers) in east Austin at the Austin Moose Lodge No. 1735, 2103 E.M. Franklin. This is the second year for the festival and it seems to be a success. They're already planning for next year.

The Moose Lodge is a bit of a dark and dreary spot with no windows and it was a beautifully bright day so we only stayed long enough to see a couple of acts -- the Conjunto Cats (young fellows) and Conjunto Los Pinkys (very seasoned fellows). The photo at left is "Los Pinkys". I understand they've been playing together for 60 years or so! I'm not surprised.

It was at this festival where I bumped into the record dealer who runs "Turntable Records" just down the street from us on 1st in SoCo. He seems to specialise in obscure music like conjunto. While it is popular amongst a certain population you need to search it out. You'll not bump into it in the many bars along Pecan Street downtown. I bought a CD by Los Pinkys ("Los Pinkys con Isidro Samelpa -- !Seguro que Si!" from 1994 -- they have been around for a while) and a T-shirt for Susan Torres and Conjunto Clemencia who he raved about. They had played earlier another day. On that recommendation we ventured over to east Austin on Tuesday night where we caught their early show at the Scoot Inn.

I've been aware of conjunto music for some years having been introduced by our friend Padric who is no longer around to vicariously enjoy our adventures in places like Austin. The Texas Tornados are, I suppose, a popularised version of the style. I can certainly hear where they come from when I sit in a dance hall with conjunto playing.

Clearly the music is shaped by the Germans who brought accordions to this part of the world as settlers in the late 1800's. A conjunto band should have four instruments -- an accordion, a 12 (or sometimes) 10 string guitar, bass guitar and drums. The accordion is the defining instrument -- likewise for Zydeco. Like Zydeco it's good time party music just made for dancing. For conjunto the dance is often a polka beat (there's that German influence) but sometimes a waltz or samba beat. People come to these gigs to dance and it's great to see. With Kate's bum knees we're not able to participate in the dancing .. but we sure enjoyed the music.

There's lots more music to see and hear. We're only here for a month but hope to see much more in more of the myriad styles available in this music capitol.