Strange Brew

2015-02 - Strange Brew: Strange Brew Loungeside is a great place in south Austin to see live music. It's a large coffee shop in a non-descript mall with an attached lounge for live music which might hold 150 people at most. Each night they'll have three or more different performers with an hour and a half for each. We like it because the acts are often people we follow or of a type that we ought to follow. And we can go to early shows which is important for geezers like us.

It's a place where people listen to music -- there's even a “Silence” sign to encourage patrons to be quiet. While you can get a drink here it's not the noisy bar scene.

This year we saw Jimmie Dale Gilmore of Flatlanders fame (with Chris Gage and David Carrol supporting); The Hems (a talented pair in the style of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings) who I'd really recommend; Chris Gage has a regular gig and we went a couple of times when his guests were Danny Britt and Jeff Tveraas; Matt the Electrician has a regular gig and we caught Slaid Cleaves who I'd really recommend; we saw Butch Hancock of Flatlanders fame (with Bob Livingston and Richard Bowden supporting); caught a CD release party for Stephen Doster; and bumped into James McMurtry one night when his son Curtis was playing.

There are lots of places in Austin to see good live music. This is one of the best. HIghly recommended.