Austin - Summary

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We had a week long visit to Austin, Texas in November of 2009. Part of our time was for a conference at the Driskill Hotel -- we stayed there in a cosy (small) room in the old part of the hotel during the conference. After the conference we moved to a long stay near 1st and Barton Springs. Our friend Alison from Winnipeg came to visit and she stayed in the Driskill as well. But in the new tower where the rooms are much larger.

The photo at left is Jovita's -- a restaurant/bar/dance hall on South 1st where we saw the Carper Family. We'd been to this restaurant a while ago and saw Cornell Hurd in a front room. Since then the place is greatly expanded.

The Driskill hotel is smack in the heart of the 6th Street (aka Pecan Street) entertainment district. There's a ton of bars with live music but it mostly caters to the young college crowd. Our hotel did recommend a nearby restaurant, the Iron Cactus, where we enjoyed freshly made table side guacamole (and a couple of margaritas too). Further down there's Esther's Follies, a comedy revue, that we try to catch when in Austin. They're always very funny (although some skits have a very long life having seen them on previous visits). The magician does some unbelievable slight of hand, the audience is involved as too are people on the street as the stage backs onto Pecan and often engages pedestrians walking by.

I did a conducted tour of the State Capital which is just up the street on Congress and learned a bit more about Texas history. The other way on Congress is the Mexic-Arte Museum. It's not very big but always has some interesting exhibits. Since it was close to the Day of the Dead there were some alters/ofrenda to the dead. There's also a great gift shop with lots of Mexican folk art, Frida Kahlo posters, etc

We did a some trips out of the city. We went to Gruene Hall (south on the I35 near San Antonio) to see a packed concert by Robert Earl Keene -- one of our favorite Texan musicians (e.g. "The Road Goes on Forever and the Party Never Ends"). It was packed, standing room only!

Another trip was to a wine tasting in the Pearl Brewery District. This is a developing area on the far north end of the river walk, past the old Lone Star Brewery (now the San Antonio Art Museum). We went for a wine tasting in the market area of the Pearl District. It was a lovely sunny day and we enjoyed the wine. While in San Antonio we went to the Mexican Markets in the Historic Market Square -- lots of Mexican folk art there!

Of course we tried the Tex/Mex food at Guero's Taco Bar on South Congress. But more interestingly we attended a Vegetarian Chili Cookoff at a Farmer's Market on North Lamar. Kate's a vegetarian hence the visit. In Texas there's a rule that "You don't put beans in Chili" but they made an exception here. There were lots of Chili's to try and lots of interesting competitors and people like us tasting their wares. I caught some very funny T-shirts on people visiting, Kate bought one for the Cookoff.

Back in the city we were able to try the "Sacred Waters of Barton Springs". November is pretty warm (by our standards) so swimming in this natural spring fed pool went well. Mind you the water is pretty chilly (it is spring fed) so our swim skins helped.

On South Congress we caught "Purgatory Hill" at an early show at the Continental Club. They were just a couple. He played driving blues an electric cigar box "gitar", while she accompanied on tamborine. A small band for sure but they really had a big sound. I enjoyed them thoroughly.

When Sam came for her visit we had an expensive gourmet dinner at Uchi on South Lamar. It's probably the best of the best in Austin. We took her to see Sara Hickman at the Cactus Cafe on the UTX campus/Guadalupe Strip. It was an intimate show and Sara's daughter played a bit with her. Another night we had a dinner at Z-Tejas on west 6th (near Waterloo Records and Whole Foods) and saw Will Sexton, Stephen Doster and Will Carter. The funny story here is that Sam asked Will Sexton if he was any relation to Ron Sexsmith (they both have Sex in their last names). He was sort of non-plussed by the question. In later years Sam claims it was Kate who asked this dumb question.

There's a developing wine region in the hill country around Austin. Kate and I had a romantic and expensive gourmet lunch at Flat Creek Wines which is on the north side of Lake Travis (North and West of the city). There was hardly anyone there. We enjoyed the lunch and the wines. We brought back a "Super Texan" (cf. Super Tuscan) for our friend Terry.

Near the end of our visit we saw an outdoor concert with James McMurtry and his band at Threadgill's South on the corner of South 1st and Barton Springs.  It was a short walk from our extended stay. There's an "original" Threadgill's North way north on Lamar where Janis Joplin first played but we've never been there. We've often seen James McMurty solo and acoustic over the years but this was a first for us with a full band -- he can be very loud and electric. It was a little bit cool out, there was a fire pit burning to help stay warm. It was a great concert.

We had our dinner at Threadgill's South before the show. Every time I'm in Texas I try a "Chicken Fried Steak" with "white gravy" (I blame Guy Clark's song "Texas Cookin'') . The steak is a cheap steak that's been run through a tenderizing stamping machine, battered and deep fried. White gravy is made from sausage drippings but, as the name implies, is very white and looks like paste. Everytime I try this combination I am disappointed, Threadgill's is no exception.

Anyways, that pretty much covers our adventures. Here's a photo album if you are interested.

Threadgill's & James McMurtry

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Saturday, Nov. 21.

Today it's Threadgill's South and James McMurtry.

Our last day in Austin is wet, gray and cool. Not the weather we've been banking on. Nevertheless, we've read about an interesting Latino / Texas / Mexican event in town and bike over to East Austin to see La Pastorela — a reenactment of the Shepherd's Christmas story. It's supposed to be at a seedy bar called The Iron Gate at noon. However, when we arrive, the bar is closed with a fellow raking leaves in the yard who has no idea what we're looking for or talking about. We had seen this advertised in the entertainment section of the Chronicle so it must be true. Only it's not! It never happened, or at least we never found it.

We have since learned: "La Pastorela, the traditional Christmas play about the journey of a group of shepherds who are following the Star of Bethlehem to visit the newly born Christ child, has been performed in Mexico for centuries." 

We visited a Taqueria on 6th East where they're quite busy. It reminds us of the St-Viateur Bagel shop in Montreal. We have lunch at the nearby Buenos Aires — an Argentine restaurant. For the east end this is very upscale. The Iron Gate is still closed when we're done and there's still no sign of La Pastorela. There is an East Austin art / studio tour today, with La Pastorela being one of the many events over a very large area. We have a map we have been given by a couple at the Taqueria but we can't figure things out.

We return to our hotel and pack the bikes into the car for a return to the North Lamar bike shop. It was good to be able to use these bikes to explore the bike trails around Town Lake. On the way back we stopped at Waterloo Records for postcards and one last browse of the CD collection.

We have dinner at Threadgill's South and are going to see the James McMurtry show in the beer garden afterwards. The dinner is very white gravy — Reg has chicken fried steak (where you expect white gravy on the side) while Kate has shrimps and sweet potato fries. The place is interesting for historical posters of Threadgill's North (the original site), the Armadillo World Headquarters (which was here before the restaurant) and all the musicians who have played at these places ... but the food is pretty uninteresting. It's "home cooking" in the "Cracker Barrel" style: steam tables, white bread, white gravy, mashed potatoes, meat loaf and overcooked veggies. There are large portions and some like it this way, we don't. We don't think it's the "Texas Cookin'" Guy Clark was referring to in his song of the same name.

But it's a warm enough evening and the concert is outside under the trees with a wood fire burning. It's cool but warm enough by the fire. The fire pit is about 4 ft. across by 4 ft. deep. People gather here to chat and warm up while waiting for the show to start. Others remain here as the show goes on.

Kate makes friends with a couple from College Park, Ohio who have been here at a conference. They are sort of ticked that the weather has changed to wet and miserable. He was at Penn State and knew the spouse of a colleague (Wayne) who Kate has worked with.  Small world! We met another couple — he's a union organizer, and she's a lecturer at UT. James should have done "Can't Make It Here Anymore" for us lefties but he avoided politics tonight.

James is playing with a live electric band; he has a bass player and drums. He did lots of tunes from "Just Us Kids" and other recent albums. A big hit for the crowd is "Choctaw Bingo". It's a dense story with a driving beat about a holiday car trip to a family reunion in Choctaw City, Oklahoma where they sedate the kids with Benadryl for the car drive and visit an uncle who cooks speed, has an Asian bride, they shoot guns and have an all around "gay old time". There's a verse in the song about having a "big old hard on" for a pair of cute buxom twin cousins. It used to get the most audience response but now as the audience seems to be aging it's the Benadryl line. It's an older and pretty sedate crowd; there's some dancing but not much.

Reg discovered a drink at Threadgill's called the "Janis Joplin" (she got her start playing at Threadgill's North). It's a glass of finely chopped iced topped with lots of bourbon and a splash of Southern Comfort. A dangerous drink for sure, look what happened to Janis! Kate stuck to the Becker Chardonnay.

Tonight was a gay old time with no gun fire. A great concert, a lot of fun, and a chance to see James perform with a full band as he does every Wednesday midnight at the Continental Club. We enjoyed ourselves and are to bed by 12:00 midnight. That's very late for us! We're seldom up this late.

Sunday, Nov. 22

We had a 12:30 departure out of Austin, a long wait in Detroit for our connection, but flew home to arrive at London airport by 8:45 that night. We returned to St Marys where all is well. Our nephew Ken has done a good job of tending the plants, critters, etc. at our home. We are grateful for his help.

We are tired travelers with stories to tell, pictures to share, and memories to hold onto. But now, to bed.

Transcribed and edited during the OMIGOD! pandemic of February 2022 from notes taken at the time.

Hill Country Wine & Jovitas

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Friday, Nov. 20.

A rainy day, a wine tour, and Jovita's.

It's raining in the morning and has been all night. The tailgate party in the parking lot outside our window last night was quite loud and lasted quite late. What were they doing?

Kate has been researching the musicians we saw at Z-Tejas the other night, and we send a note to Alison letting her know what we have figured out. Stephen Doster played with Nancy Griffith's "Full Moon Orchestra" and is a producer of some renown. Will Sexton and his older brother Charlie Sexton were raised here in Austin by a hippy mom with a bad drug habit and equally bad taste in men (jail, dead, etc.). Bill Carter wrote songs for Stevie Ray Vaughn and the Thunderbirds. We see that Bill Carter and Stephen Doster are accompanying someone at the Driskill happy hour tonight. We could see them again if we wanted.

We did a very small wine tour around Lake Travis. There is a developing wine industry in the nearby Hill Country. One winery, Flat Creek, has a lunch and wine tasting. It's on the north side of Lake Travis but getting there seems to take forever. We have a nice lunch — they aren't very busy. They are about 9 years old and make what they call a "Super Texan". That's a play on "Super Tuscan" — a kind of fancy expensive Italian wine that's all the rage. We buy a bottle to take home as a souvenir for Terry, our Italian Wine Aficionado. It's actually a pretty good wine.

Stonehouse Vineyard is on the south side of Lake Travis and a long way away in from the main road. It turns out they make only one wine! It's a nice enough red made from "Norton" grapes, which we had never heard of before. And they have lots of wine that they import (from Australia) and label as their own. That's not really Texas wine! We learn that a lot of these wineries are using grapes from the Llano Estacado area of the Texas panhandle, or importing grapes from California, Oregon and Washington. There's really not much by way of local vineyards. It's a developing industry.

Back in town we visit Threadgill's South, which is a very short walk across our parking lot, to buy tickets for James McMurtry who will be playing there on Saturday night with his full band. We've seen him before as a solo acoustic act but never with his full band. He'll be outside on a small stage in the beer garden if the weather clears. Tickets are $15 each which is a pretty good deal.

We head to Jovita's on South 1st a few blocks south of us for the happy hour and some music. We are stuffed by the apps we've ordered and have some margaritas, beer and wine. This place has expanded a lot from the last time we were here. They now have a big concert area at the back — before it was just a small room with a small stage where we saw Cornell Hurd back in 1998.

The music tonight is a "Women's Night" with lots of friends and family as the audience. For more information on the women who live and play around town see Girl Guitar Austin. We buy a calendar of Austin girl guitar players which has some very nice photos.

The first act is a singer / song writer in the folk style with a fellow accompanying her. The second act is three girls called "Camptown Girls" who sang bluegrass. The stand-up bass player (I think it was Melissa Carper) was a very pretty butch girl in men's clothes with ratty matted dreadlocks. She could have been a model but had decided to be a poster girl for the homeless. However she had the nicest voice. The fiddle player (I think it was Beth Chrisman) was a very big girl and wore cowboy boots. She seemed to be the lead on some of the more traditional bluegrass twangy stuff. The banjo/guitar player (didn't catch her name) was very slim in a short tunic type top, tight leotards and cowboy boots. She wrote several of the tunes as did the fiddle player. Plus they did some Hank Williams and other traditional music. They were pretty interesting.

We ducked out early and did not stay for the CD release party of the closing act. They were guys, big guys, with drums, electric guitars, etc. What were they doing there on "Women's Night" anyways?

Transcribed and edited during the OMIGOD! pandemic of February 2022 from notes taken at the time.

Will Sexton & Z-Tejas

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Wednesday, Nov. 18

Lunch on Barton Springs Rd., Will Sexton at Z-Tejas

In the morning Kate and Reg enjoy the weather and take their rental bikes on a ride on the Town Lake trails. On the north shore there's the Waller Creek trail which quickly peters out. We know the city has approved a $18 million project to spiff it up and control flooding but that hasn't started. Someday that may be more like the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Today it is not.

We picked up Alison at 12:30 and drove over to East Austin to show her the house we had seen for sale while biking the other day. She chatted up some of the workmen who are laying a patio. We all got out with her, and we're chatting away about housing prices in the area, when the lady who owns the house arrived with her child. So we asked her what she was hoping to sell for. The worker had guessed $500,000 and was spot on. There were two homes that were going to be sold (different sellers) and the one was asking $475 while she was feeling the market at $550. They are identical homes, big at approximately 2,200 square feet, each with three bedrooms and two baths. We took her card but didn't look at the place even though she offered. Both are well outside of our range. We can't afford a winter home at that price!

We have lunch at a Tex/Mex restaurant called the "Baby Acapulco" which we had spotted earlier on Barton Springs Road near Zilker Park. Their logo is a baby elephant on its back drinking a margarita. We picked it for the outdoor patio bar as it was a nice day. The server persuaded us to try their fancy margaritas which featured some racy tequila. Reg is of the opinion that you shouldn't waste your money on expensive tequila if you're just going to use it to make a margarita. Their version was very yummy but it was sort of oddly yellow colored. Kate thought the food was even better than at the Magnolia Café South where we often go.

Reg asked the server about "conjunto" music (that's a popular Mexican influenced style with an accordion and a distinctive plunking guitar). She asked the guys in the kitchen, who are probably Spanish, and returned to say that San Antonio has lots of conjunto (e.g., the Texas Tornados, whom we have seen, are influenced by that style) but there's nothing really to recommend in Austin. We had been over in East Austin exploring that morning and Reg had seen some places that looked promising. After all, that is the "Spanish side of town". But nothing is listed in the entertainment magazines. The waitress said we could explore East Austin bars but it's a bit "risky". She suggested we explore "May-nar" Road (spelled Manor) across the I-35 from UT; perhaps it's a good bet and safer too.

After lunch Alison wanted to explore Book People and Anthropologia at 6th in Lamar again. Reg wanted to explore some new record stores and Kate hadn't been to the Whole Foods Market in hours. So we parked at Whole Foods, agreed to go our separate ways, and to meet back at the Whole Foods Café on the second floor.

Reg walked north up Lamar to find "Cheapo's Records". It's a CD store at 10th and Lamar and that's only a short walk up from 6th street. It's the biggest CD store he's ever encountered and it specializes in used CD's. It's well organized with one wall of Texas music, perhaps 50m long, the same for country, another aisle for folk, and lots of vinyl. Reg bought several CDs that are only just out and highly recommends this place. This might even be better than the nearby Waterloo Records or the Tower Records on the UT Drag. Reg will return another day.

Our plan was to go to the Continental Club and Gueros for dinner that evening. But we saw something in the entertainment listings and changed our plans to a place called Z-Tejas on 6th just around the corner from Waterloo records, the Whole Food Markets, Book People, Anthropoligia, etc. It's a very nice restaurant/bar in an area called the West End. It's more of a restaurant than a club, and it's certainly not a dive. A fellow, Will Sexton, is playing for the dinner crowd, and we recall he was recommended by Butch Hancock on a previous trip to Austin. Butch used to have a store in Austin, "Lubbock or Leave It", but now lives out near Big Bend in the west of Texas. We like Butch and trust his recommendations.

So that evening we took a cab to Z-Tejas in the West End and arrived shortly after 5:00 in time for happy hour!! They have good margaritas, house wines by the truckload, etc. With a few happy hour appetizers — fish beignet, tableside guacamole (big disappointment - onions!) and fish tacos — we really tied one on without ever having a proper dinner.

There are three musicians who are the entertainment that night for the dinner crowd. It turns out that it's Will Sexton and his two friends. All three are quite accomplished and have long been part of the Austin music scene. They are Will Sexton whom we mentioned already, Bill Carter, and Stephen Doster. Bill Carter wrote songs recorded by Stevie Ray Vaughn and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Stephen Doster has long played around town and has a producer connection with Nanci Griffith and many others. They're all playing guitars tonight, but Bill also plays a bass sometimes. Will Sexton's brother Charlie famously plays with Bob Dylan and others.

The entertainment starts with several covers. They played a couple of sets, e.g., all Rolling Stones when a certain friend was in the room, but only the very occasional song of their own. Alison fell in love with all three of them and bought them a round of drinks so they all came over individually to chat and thank her during the breaks. She got hugs and kisses (on the lips no less!) from at least two of the three. She also bought a CD. One of them (we recall it was Bill Carter) wrote a song that she knows. Kate chatted with Will about various artists and managed to get Joe Carol Pierce's phone number! The plan, which was soon discarded in the sober light of a new day, was to call her up and take her out to lunch or dinner. She's a social worker in town and for us she's famous for the record / show / play called "Chippy". She is part of the Lubbock gang, went to high school with Joe Ely and Butch Hancock, and was married for a time to Jimmie Dale Gilmore. We have Chippy on CD — it's an oddly interesting album and she would certainly be an interesting character to meet.

Will's guitar was obviously handmade with some artwork burnt into the wood. Will tell us it's his 9-year-old daughter's guitar and was given to her by Abra Moore — she of the night before at the Cactus Café. It's a small world. Will used to play with her as a session musician and on tour. We have an Abra Moore CD that was bought on some earlier trip and Reg found it again while browsing at Cheapo's. She has at least three more CDs. 

We stayed to the end at 10:00 and would have stayed longer, and drank even more, if they had played more. But the dinner service was long over and they were shutting the show down. Nobody recalls the cab ride home although MasterCard and the receipt found the next day details how much damage we did. It was almost as much as the gourmet dinner at UCHI! And all we had were drinks and apps.

There is one really funny story from this adventure that must be recorded. Will Sexton was chatting with us and Alison asked him if he was any relation to Ron Sexsmith (the Canadian singer/song writer). Will was a little stunned and responded with a really puzzled look. Reg explained to her that, although both names had "Sex" in it, Sexton and Sexsmith are not the same name. Alison claims that it was Kate who made this faux pas but records from the time indicate clearly that it was her!

Thursday, Nov 19.

This is a day for nursing our hangovers from the night before.

We slept in and took Alison to the airport that morning for her return to Winnipeg. It was a quick trip and a time to say our goodbyes. She had a good holiday, some adventures to remember and the weather held for her. The weather can be changeable, it isn't always so nice.

In the sober light of day we decide we aren't going to call Joe Carol Pierce. That would just be too weird. We biked along Town Lake to the west passing Zilker Park and the MOPAC to find the Magnolia Café West. Our reward is a lunch and then we're back to our room to read, lay about and rest up.

We drove far south on Menchaca Road to check out a used computer store and then to a HEB (Here Everything is Better) grocery store to get some salad fixings for dinner. We stayed home resting until quite late. Rest today, there will be more adventures tomorrow.

Transcribed and edited during the OMIGOD! pandemic of February 2022 from notes taken at the time.

Iron Cactus & Cactus Cafe

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Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Today we're at the Magnolia Café on South Congress, the Iron Cactus on Pecan, and the Cactus Café at UT for a show that night.

This morning we learn that the young woman on the front desk at our hotel is called "Precious." We don't know if that's her real name or not, we've never met a "Precious" before (other than in "Lord of the Rings"). It seems a real "southern" kind of name.

The plan is to meet Alison at lunch time for a feed at the Magnolia Café on South Congress (pictured above). But first we're out in the sun to enjoy the morning and bike some more of trail. This time to the east end of Town Lake. It is much quieter here and we find an interesting house for sale. We had looked at property before in Austin and this one might be possible. It's one of about three and each are the same architecture. They look out onto Edward Rendon Park, a large green space on the north side of the lake, and a small cove on Town Lake. They're modern, narrow, with a flat roof and lots of glass to exploit the views. They are three stories tall where the first story is open for the garage, with the front and back sections separated by an open air stairwell. Houses in the neighborhood tend to be more modest much older single story structures.

East Austin is defined by the IH-35. The area was colored (i.e., segregated) and working class but is now transitional. Artists and musicians live here because it's cheaper, but it's still very close to downtown and we hear there's a developing club scene. If any property close to downtown is affordable this will be where it's found.

Back at our apartment Kate looks for a MLS realty listing on the internet but can't find the house we've seen. Reg calls the agent who is listed on the "For Sale" sign but it's an answering machine. Kate reads that realty in Austin is still very hot. There is no recession here and we can expect it to be expensive, even it it's East Austin. It's surely out of our price range.

We start some laundry at our hotel (that's another reason to like the long stay facilities). Kate feels that Reg is getting to look like a street person. Fortunately our plan is to go to a fundraiser for the homeless at the Cactus Café tonight — he'll fit right in.

We pick up Alison at the Driskill at 12:30 and take a drive along Barton Springs Road. It's a sunny day, cool but not so windy. The open air patios are in use in the clubs along the way and we decide that it would be a good idea to go there for lunch on a warmer day. The pool at Zilker Park (the "sacred" Waters of Barton springs) is not so busy today. Perhaps it's only 65° F or so — warm enough to enjoy some sun bathing but not for swimming.

We deal with the laundry and we're at the Magnolia by 1:30 or so for a lunch. And it's a big lunch as usual. Alison's cornmeal pancakes on the side are really a meal in themselves and only $0.95. Reg has some "Love Migas" ("migas" is a Spanish word, it's the corn chip crumbs and bits from the bottom of the bag) with scrambled eggs. Kate has a veggie stir fry with gulf shrimp. The restaurant isn't busy at this time of day, it's often busy at lunch time. Perhaps having a late lunch has advantages.

After lunch we do some shopping at "Prima Dora", the gift store next door — the girls are after souvenirs and presents for friends back home. The Magnolia Café, which is open 24 hours, has a neon sign saying "Sorry, we're open!" the gift store next door has another sign saying "Sorry, we're open too!".

We do some more shopping at nearby shops on South Congress and Kate holds up pretty well but is failing. She is still recovering from her nasty ankle sprain back in October when we were in the Algarve. There's some more shopping at 6th and Lamar. Alison is keen on the place called "Anthropologia" which is mostly clothing, but also dishes and other stuff. Reg is keen to have his first hit at Waterloo Records which is just across the street.

After lunch and this shopping spree we drop off Alison at the hotel so she can get prepped for the evening. We arrange to meet at the Iron Cactus rooftop patio, which is just down the street from the Driskill, for happy hour. We are able to park the car for free on Pecan / 6th Street. At the Iron Cactus we have margaritas, chips and salsa while waiting for Alison. When she arrives the girls order "Mexican Martinis" which are basically a double Margarita on ice served in the cocktail shaker with a splash of olive brine. The olive brine is the "martini" part. They are quite yummy and a heck of a deal.

We have some "Table Side" guacamole made fresh right at our table by the waitress. You get to pick what you want to have in the guacamole and the girls asked that she hold those onions. The version of guacamole she makes for us consists of two avocados, half an orange, half a lime, salt and pepper, cilantro, and a deveined jalapeno all mushed up in a stone bowl using a couple of forks. The orange is a novelty we've not seen before. We polished that off and are still hungry for more. Kate wants more guacamole but we persuade her to try the quesadilla. Quesadilla are basically grilled cheese sandwiches made with tortillas. Again, it's very yummy. And another heck of a deal.

It's cool on the rooftop patio and they have some propane heaters that are lit as the sun goes down. You can see other rooftop bars. Across the way on 6th Street there's a 20-ft projection TV, another patio has a stage with a big sound system. Alison is interested in these bars which are just seedy enough without being too seedy. The Iron Cactus, by contrast, is a white table cloth posh restaurant. Our rooftop happy hour snacks here count as our dinner tonight. Next on our schedule is the event at the Cactus Café.

At the Cactus Café homeless benefit that night the performers are David Gaza on piano and more, Sarah Hickman with her daughter Lily, Abra Moore, and Kat Edmondson on drums and percussion. We have CDs by Sarah Hickman and another of Abra Moore from previous Austin trips, but don't know the other performers. We were here at this club only once before and that was back around 1990 to see Sarah Hickman; she is one reason why we've returned for this show. It should be good.

Reg drops the girls on Guadalupe, on "The Drag", near where he recalls the café is located. He ends up parking up the street and returns to find them in the queue to the café. We're early at 6:45, the doors open at 7:30, and the show was scheduled at 8:00. Being numbers three to five in the queue, we are pretty much guaranteed good seats so Reg is sent out to find some drinks. He returns without much luck — it's the University of Texas campus and this might be the only bar around. Alison is concerned that the people aren't queuing up "properly" and worries we will "lose our place". She's more than a little weird about this and sets herself up as the head enforcer of the queue.  This is odd given the crowd of well behaved middle-aged folkies in line who don't need, and probably resent, the enforcing. But we manage the wait and are able to get very good seats.

David Gaza seems to be the organizer of this event. He sings, plays piano, and guitar. What makes this weird: it would seem he's had a relationship with both Sarah Hickman, whose husband is there filming, and also with Abra Moore. He dedicated a couple of love songs to each of them! Abra Moore comes on stage during Dave's singing. She's very thin, long hair, very expressive and comes off as a "Billie Holiday" jazz type combined with the "Morticia Addams" goth look. Kate and Alison are quite impressed by her; Reg is not a jazz fan. Alison met her in the washroom and gushed that she loved her singing. Reg felt that she just creeped him out with the Addams Family vibe.

Sarah Hickman is 20 years older than when we last saw her but still young and singing with the same vigor. This time she has her 13-year-old daughter Lily to accompany and harmonize. Lily closes the set singing the song "Simply" which we recognize as one of her mom's from 20 years ago. It really brings the house down. "Oh my god!!" the audience gasps.

Alison had to leave as the dynamics were too weird between the various parties on stage. David Gaza had also sung "Simply" earlier as a love song dedicated to Sarah! When he sang she held her daughter Lily's hand and rolled her eyes. Sarah sang a love song to her husband (he was their filming) with a lengthy introduction which David kept interrupting. In retrospect it was pretty weird. Alison was probably right, but it wasn't creeping out Kate and Reg as much.

We cut out at the first break. We might have stayed longer but Alison needed to get away from the odd dynamics.

Transcribed and edited during the OMIGOD! pandemic of February 2022 from notes taken at the time.

Joe's Crab Shack & UCHI

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Monday, Nov 16. 

Alison arrives from Winnipeg, Joe's Crab Shack, and UCHI for dinner.

In the morning we went for a bike ride around Town Lake. It's a sunny and clear day but windy and a bit cool. The trail is some 10 miles long but we only did part of it. And even that gave us sore bums on these new bikes that we have rented for the week.

We stopped at Joe's Crab shack for lunch and a rest. It's on the south shore of the lake on Riverside Drive between the IH-35 and Congress. Reg ordered a "Sunset Fire Grill" which is an assortment of crab, shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes cooked in the bag and served in a big blue enamel pot with lots of butter. It's not fancy, it's messy to eat, and that's why they give you a bib. See the picture at left.

The server was a young fellow who, although born here in Austin, had been raised in Houston (of "You don't want to go there. No, not never" fame). He'd been here for about 6 years now and all of his family had moved back so he saw no reason to ever leave. It turns out that his parents had their first date in this very restaurant. Before it was Joe's it was Landry's (which we had been to in San Antonio) but that version burned down, and before that there was a themed restaurant where the servers wore historical costumes — dressed as Pharaohs, Romans and such. That would have been odd. We talked about restaurants and the various places we had been to. He gave some recommendations for restaurants along Barton Springs Road but he seemed to be more of a "meaty" kind of guy. He liked the Australian restaurant near us because it serves "Brizzie Bits" which seem to be bits of chicken coated with cornmeal and then deep fried. It didn't catch Kate's imagination, she's a vegetarian (actually a pescatarian).

The place was pretty quiet, there were perhaps only four other tables with customers, and every once in a while the staff would get together to clap, dance and sing to some tune. For example, the Macarena. We guess they were just bored or perhaps tasked to liven up the place. Our friendly server asked if we wanted to join in. "Thanks, but no."

Kate had wanted to sit outside on the outdoor patio overlooking the lake but it was shaded and there was a cool breeze. When we left we noted a couple of devoted smokers on the deck. They were hacking away.

We had a nap in the afternoon and picked up Alison at 5:30 at the airport (she was arriving from Winnipeg via Denver) where short-term parking was free. We guess we were just short enough. We took her into town by Riverside Drive for the view of the city, the lake, and Joe's Crab shack. We continued on to Thom's Market on Barton Springs to buy some wine and then to the Driskill to drop her off.

Alison had a got deal at $138 in the new / modern tower of the Driskill Hotel. Our room, during the RHI conference, was in the much older historical part and was much smaller. Alison's room was supposed to be a tiny servants quarters kind of room but turned out to be way bigger than the one we had. There would have been room there to easily stow the pillows and other silly accessories. She had asked for a coffee maker in her room and Kate tells her that there's free coffee in the lobby, which we had only discovered on our last day.

We had "classic cocktails" at the Driskill bar at the half price happy hour deal. We asked, "Do you have margaritas?" "No, that's Thursdays." The waitress was a little snippy with us — perhaps the grubby attire is an affront to the good taste of the Driskill royalty. We'll go to a homeless benefit on another night and we'll fit right in there! 

We're back to our hotel at South 1st and Barton Springs where we change for our dinner at the UCHI restaurant on South Lamar. Kate had seen the chef of the UCHI restaurant on the "Iron Chef Challenge" TV show, is intrigued and has made a reservation for us. It will be a fine dining event and we need to dress accordingly. We took a taxi over to the restaurant with a driver who seemed very stoned. The ride was just over $5, Reg gave him a 20 and said make it $6 so he gave back $6. Reg said, "I'm a good tipper but not that good." Making change seemed to be quite a challenge thereafter. But we made it safely and we didn't have to drive. Actually we could have walked over if Kate were fit, it's not that far. (Just checked with Google maps: it's almost a mile and would take 20 minutes or so).

UCHI is a long narrow spot with an open kitchen / bar at the front. It was very busy and very noisy — you pretty much had to shout to be heard across the table. Our waiter had moved to Austin from Colorado. He's a budding photographer who shoots bands. He was patient with us and very nice. The style of food / serving is to have many dishes and share. Each dish is smallish but very flavorful. The menu is extensive and therefore hard to figure out. There's a couple of "trust me" tastings he recommends, but we ordered on our own after puzzling it out for a while.

All the dishes we had were great. We fell in love with the place and hope to return. Especially in love because it turned out to be quite the deal. We paid about $150 and had a dessert, a bottle of wine and some sake too. That's very reasonable for fine dining. Compare with our lunch at Joe's Crab shack which was $50.

At UCHI, it's not "Brizzie Bites" or Texas cooking. It's far fancier than that, but ain't that Texas cooking something?

Transcribed and edited during the OMIGOD! pandemic of February 2022 from notes taken at the time.

Veggie Chili & Purgatory Hill

Click image for more photos ...

Sunday, Nov. 15.

Today is the day of the "Veggie Chili Cook-off" and tonight it's some music at the Continental Club.

Kate did a review for Addiction and then booked the hotel in Melbourne for our Spring trip. She then looked on TripAdvisor and had second thoughts about her choice — damn! Our first outing this morning is to the Whole Foods Market for breakfast fixings, chips and salsa, wine, and salad fixings to go with our pricey feta that we had bought yesterday in San Antonio at the Pearl market. We have a kitchen and a fridge to stock for our long stay. We're going to be here for a week.

We drove to the Farmers' Market on North Burnett to spend the afternoon with the other hippie peacenics sampling vegetarian chili at the cook-off. It's a competition for who makes the best chili (cf. the Cook-offs in Luckenbach and Terlingua). We both voted for the Indian Garam Marsala chili as the best of the bunch but we didn't stay around to see who actually won. There were a lot of contestants. Texans like their chili, aka "a bowl of red", but they're usually the type that say, "You don't put beans in chili, you don't water good whiskey down" (Tom Russell). Here we're with the Austin vegetarians who will put beans in chili!

Kate bought Jessica a "Cats for Peace" t-shirt and a "Keep Chili Weird" shirt for us. There were many interesting T-shirts at the Veggie Chili Cook-off:

• Keep chili weird (vegan and delicious)
• If you're not part of the solution you're part of the precipitate
• Vegan girls kick ass
• Save an animal, eat a vegetable
• Austin boxing babes (don't mess with them!)
• Keep Austin vegetarian
• Don't have a cow man!
• Fight like a girl

There was this pretty young goth-girl with purple hair who was wearing a T-shirt that said "And then Buffy staked Edward. The end." We didn't know what this meant and had to ask her. It had something to do with the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV series. We've not seen the show.

We rented two bikes for the week at a bike shop near 29th and Lamar (just to the west of UT). We struggled to get them into the car with help of a young fellow with scabby knees who worked there. He recently had a "run in" with a car on his bike and that explains the scabby knees. 

"Were you wearing a helmet?" 

"No." 

Of course not — even motorcycle riders don't wear helmets!

We had looked into buying used bikes but ended up renting instead. It's hard to get hold of folks selling their bikes and we didn't want to fuss with repairs or selling them at the end of the week. The rentals are in good shape with locks and helmets and it only costs $70 a week for each one. With these bikes we can get some exercise, enjoy the weather and explore the bike paths around Town Lake.

When we got back to our apartment around 4:00 in the afternoon it was still quite warm. We packed our bathing suits and biked along Town Lake to Zilker Park and the Barton Springs Pool for a quick dip. There's still lots of folks taking advantage of the warm day and several snorkelers with fins, a few in wetsuits and one guy with a single huge fin for both feet who swam like a whale or a dolphin.

We biked back and decided we'd try Threadgill's South, which is at our doorstep, to have a drink and some eats on an outside patio, but they don't have a patio. We didn't want to eat their "home cooked food" in an inside air conditioned spot with suited folks so we return to our apartment. We didn't want to walk too far but there are lots of places within walking distance that we might have tried.

We had stocked up on food and wine at the market (six bottles of wine gives you a 10% discount, so of course, as Canadians, you buy six bottles of wine) with the intention of having dinner in our apartment. Turns out there are cockroaches in our apartment which makes that idea less appealing. We killed a big one (and yes everything, including the cockroaches, are bigger in Texas) and there are lots of little tiny bugs which we can only guess are the babies.  Anyways we enjoyed a salad with the feta, olive oil and sun dried tomato that we had purchased at the Pearl market. Kate enjoyed a Becker Chardonnay which is still great.

We took a cab over to the Continental club, it's a $4 cab ride that a healthy person could have easily walked. We had the bikes but weren't brave enough to ride at night. And Kate is still suffering from her twisted ankle acquired on our recent Algarve trip.

At the Continental Club Pat MacDonald, formerly of the band Tim Buk 3, and Melanie Jane, a classic cellist on tambourine, were the early act at only five bucks and they were playing from 8 to 10:00 which turned out to be more like 9 to 10:00. They play under the name "Purgatory Hill" and he plays electrified slide blues, e.g., Willie Dixon's "Spoonful", on a cigar box guitar that someone had made for him. The neck of the guitar seemed to be made from a pair of broom handles. It's an interesting instrument (it's sometimes called a "Diddley Box"). He also banged a base rhythm with his boot. They played "I Wanna Be Your Dog", the classic punk song by Iggy Pop. They had a friend on banjo (sic!) join them. It was a good show and interesting how they could make such a full sound on minimal instruments. We got a "Purgatory Hill" bumper sticker and later Kate used it to decorate her walking cane.

Melanie Jane was very good on tambourine and when it was explained that she played cello in another life this made more sense. She's very thin, almost emaciated. But she has clear/clean bare arms so the junkie theory is dead. They are touring and just visiting town. They were crashing with friends, couch surfing. She said she'd fallen in love with Austin and wanted to stay. But Pat MacDonald says, "If you do then there's an extra seat in the van" and then asked "Are there any volunteers in the audience who would like to tour with me?"

He seems to have some local fans. We recall that Tim Buk 3 used to play at the "Hole in the Wall" on the Guadalupe "drag" just at the north end of UT.

At the Continental Club there were old posters from 2006 for "Kinky as Governor" (Kinky Friedman is a popular, and very funny, musician from the Austin scene of the 1970's/80's who we love and who also ran for Governor). The place is still very tiny but not as grungy as we had recalled. There are three rows of tables facing the stage, say 12 people, some chairs and benches, say 12 more, and then standing room for perhaps two dozen more. The dance floor was not used as a dance floor tonight, instead it was standing room. The bathrooms are tiny and there is a 20-ft long stand up bar as you enter. There's a back room with a pool table which might hold another two dozen but seem to be more of a backstage green room area for the performers.

Gueros, where we ate the other night, is across the street and south one block from the Continental Club. They have an outdoor patio with music — but we believe it's really just a queuing area for the restaurant. Apparently Bill Clinton eats or ate there (cf. Lincoln slept here).

We hailed a cab on Congress to return home. We had asked the door man to call one for us but he said cabs won't come if they call because the fare will grab the first one that comes by. It was still quite warm when we got back but we head off for bed.

Transcribed and edited during the OMIGOD! pandemic of February 2022 from notes taken at the time.