On Friday night, in an effort to warm up the crowd from the main event this weekend, the Austinist (sometimes home of Big Diction’s Rob “Don’t Call Me Gay” Stiller hosts their sixth “Local Music Is Sexy” at the Mohawk and, if I may say so, I think this one may be the sexiest yet. How do I know? Let’s count the reasons:

1. Brothers and Sisters

photo by Courtney Chavanell

With the release of their second album Fortunately earlier this year, this Austin super-group headed by “Brother Will” built on the wild alt-country successes of their ‘06 eponymous debut with stunning efficiency. The new album stands on the same folk foundations that drew them comparisons to bands like the Jayhawks, but it also sees the band expanding their horizons, incorporating its fair-share of guitars that are more prone to crunch than they are to twang. Brothers and Sisters put on one helluva show, and you’d be hard pressed to find a better representative of sexy local music than “Brother Will” (a strictly platonic observation I might add).

Brothers and Sisters - You’re Gone”

Brothers and Sisters - The Air Is Getting Thicker”

2. Foot Patrol

The sometimes-comical Hung Nguyen and TJ Wade comprise this foot-fetish driven hip-hop group who fill the number 2 spot on the lineup. With album titles like Smellabration and Toetry In Motion, this band speaks for themselves, and I dare not try to match their wits.

Trample Me Intro

Trample Me

3. The Lovely Sparrows

It’s safe to say Bury The Cynics was one of Austin’s best releases this year. Finally with the opportunity to expand on the short but stunning EP Pulling Up Floors, Pouring on (New) Paint, Sparrows‘ leader Shawn Jones has outdone himself lyrically and musically - even if it did take him nearly two years to do it. Though the band is essentially Jones, they come to us Friday as a six-piece, which may be one of a few occasions you’ll have to hear the album performed live as it was written.

The Lovely Sparrows - Department Of Foreseeable Outcomes

4. Leatherbag

Photo by: Dena De La Paz

Whether Leatherbag’s fantastic new album Love and Harm is the sleeper-hit of the year or the century, I doubt Leatherbag (aka Randy Reynolds) could care less. The man has, over the course of multiple albums, been refining and redefining his sound, mixing and matching between bands as famous as Richard Buckner and The Velvet Underground and, more recently, bands from Austin’s mid-80’s “New Sincerity” movement. We caught Leatherbag with his new backing band (which consists mainly of players from Jude Ross’s band) last week and, needless to say, we’re itchin’ for more.

Tennessee

5. The Eastern Sea

The Eastern Sea were recently featured on Austin Sound’s Sound Off. Here’s what they had to say:

“Though the Eastern Sea has gone through several variations in the past few years, both in lineup and sound, Matthew Hines has finally developed a quartet that gorgeously explores the contours of his songwriting. Their recently released self-titled debut EP is beautifully subtle but rich in harmonies and delicate unwinding textures, with touches of Iron and Wine or Seven Swans-era Sufjan Stevens. Yet there is also a mesmerizing force underlying the songs, hypnotic in Hines’ deft guitar work as he rolls through oblique personal narratives that suggest the Microphones and Mountain Goats.”

The Menu

Sexy enough? Thought so. Progress Coffee will be on site serving up drinks and rumor has it there will be food on hand as well. The show starts Friday at 8pm and is 21 and up, so get them ID’s ready.

Note: The show has been moved to La Zona Rosa

Well proud Americans, if you hadn’t noticed already tomorrow is Election Day. So as with all other major events in your life, it would be unnatural to not go with a hearty hangover. That’s why Do512 is throwing an election-themed party tonight called Red State Blues - A Concert for Change at La Zona Rosa. Unless you intend to cast your ballet sober, I highly suggest being in attendance tonight.

Now it probably goes without saying that, since this party takes place in Austin, you’re going to find the whole show slanting more than slightly leftward. But if you’re reading this website at all (you know how to use the internet), chance are your leanings are liberal already (unless of course, you’re on this website).

Looking at the lineup, the music at this show could draw a serious crowd election or not. Headlining the show is the amazing Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, whose timeless contributions to funk and soul are hardly worthy of my descriptions - suffice it to say, missing a chance to see Sharon Jones is a serous mistake. Have a listen to “100 Days, 100 Nights” below if you really need any convincing.

Sharon Jones - 100 Days, 100 Nights

Local mainstay James McMurtry, who is no stranger to singing about politics, also plays tonight. His fantastic new album Just Us Kids, which dropped earlier this year, may well be one of the best local albums of the year, and it draws heavily on the failures of the current administration (can you say wealth of material?). After nine releases McMurtry remains a beacon of Austin music, capturing the laid-back southern vibe and political left-leaning/common sense that has made our city famous.

Oh it keeps getting better: Brownout!, winners of the Best Latin Contemporary category at this year’s Austin Music Awards, open the show.

But wait, here’s where it gets really good. Do512 are also offering a VIP package ($75) which includes a number of sweet perks. You’ve got your typical VIP things (free food and drinks), but also something a bit more enticing: a exclusive performance by Chrysta Bell and Paris 49. Rumors are abound that this might be a 8 1/2 Souvenirs reunion show, but don’t hold me to it.

So remember, voting is just about standing in long lines because you procrastinated about early voting, and it’s not just about scrolling through 10 pages of judges who’s names you don’t know to get to “Barack Obama,” it’s also about good music and good people. Need I say more?

If you’re in the market for a great show this Saturday night (as you should be), may I humbly recommend checking out Jaguar Love at Emo’s with Polysics tonight.

Jaguar Love, who hail from Portland, just released their debut LP, Take Me To The See, on Matador Recs. The band’s lineup is a combination of remnants of bands past, including Johnny Whitney and Cody Votolato of The Blood Brothers (whose demise came only last fall) and Jay Clark of Pretty Girls Make Graves.

It’s no surprise then that the band retains some of the punk sound that characterized these earlier projects, but I can’t help but notice a pop attitude in some of the new songs. The music is slightly more, shall we say “wholesome,” than most of the Blood Brothers releases. To some extent that’s a good thing, as while the band may loose some of the cult appeal drawn by the searing riffs of Blood Brothers, Jaguar Love is more universal: there’s still the same driving, energetic angst behind Jaguar Love, but there’s also catchy riffs and howling synths, all combined into a strange hard-core-glam-rock that’s highly enjoyable. It’s successful on the album, and my bet is that the live show will only get better.

All that plus Polysics’s Japanese New Wave. Seriously, nothing says Saturday like weird pop music. Tracks from Jaguar Love below, and check out Polysics myspace for tunes (I suggest “Arigatou” and skip to like 1:40). See you tonight.

Jaguar Love - Highways of Gold

The Donkeys - Photo: Jeff Wenzel

First of all, I know I’ve been out of touch lately, with hardly any posts up, so let me apologize for my absence, but also suggest that you check out some of the other great sources of music we have linked to in our “Links” section off to the side whenever we’re out of the office.

Second, and more importantly, Living On The Other Side, this new album by The Donkeys, is a must listen for fans of good Americana music. And guess what: they’re playing Wednesday night right here at the Mohawk in Austin on the second stop of their cross-country tour supporting the new album.

The Donkeys are experts at musical progress, channeling the music of their elders with pride while still making considerable creative progress in their own right. Owing their musical direction to time-tested Americana traditions, most of the album tends to sounds vaguely familiar to the undiscerning listener, like a Blues record that got lost in an extensive collection, unheard for years. That sense of familiarity is the genius of a band like The Donkeys: it’s clearly not a ripoff - you can never put my finger on exactly which band they sound like - but it embraces the spirit of its influences (the ones Americana has been preaching for years), placing that spirit at the album’s core and building freshly from their. It’s no surprise then that even with repeated listens there is still that sense of familiarity and Americana identity.

To describe the band any further would probably do their music even more of an injustice, so I’ll hand it over to The Donkeys after the jump, where you can download “Walk Through A Cloud” and “Nice Train” straight off the new album. If you like what you hear, be sure to head out to the show tonight at the Mohawk. They’ll be playing with local acts Golden Bear and Visitors (who also come highly recommended).

Music, tour dates and more after the jump.

Tunes:

Donkeys - “Nice Train”

Donkeys - “Walk Through A Cloud”

Info:

Living On The Other Side is available 9/9/08 on Dead Oceans.

The Donkeys Fall 2008 Tour Dates:

09/02/08 Denton, TX - Rubber Gloves
09/03/08 Austin, TX - Mohawk
09/04/08 Houston, TX - Rudyard’s Pub
09/06/08 Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree
09/08/08 Charlotte, NC - Thirsty Beaver
09/09/08 Philadelphia, PA - M Room
09/10/08 Cambridge, MA - The Middle East Upstairs
09/11/08 Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool
09/12/08 New York, NY - The Cake Shop
09/13/08 Purchase, NY - The Stood
09/14/08 Rochester, NY - Bug Jar
09/15/08 Bloomington, IN - Cinemat
09/16/08 Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
09/18/08 Des Moines, IA - Vaudville Mews
09/19/08 Lawrence, KS - Replay Lounge
09/20/08 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
09/21/08 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
09/23/08 Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern
09/24/08 Portland, OR - Someday Lounge
09/25/08 San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern

Having seen Micah P. Hinson and Sarah Jaffe open for Will Johnson only about 20 times, I can highly recommend checking them out as they release new CD’s along with Dove Hunter tonight at Stubb’s.

The new Hinson album, which is called Micah P Hinson and the Red Empire Orchestra, is streaming in its entirety on LastFM right now, and I must say it’s entirely fantastic, and that now three LP’s in, Hinson somehow continues to release albums that are everything I could ask for in a pseudo-folk record. The new album is available on Jade Tree Records in the US and Full Time Hobby in the UK, where he’ll be touring all fall (see below for dates).

As excited as I am to see Hinson again, the real excitement tonight is for the long awaited release of the first real EP from Denton folkstress Sarah Jaffe, titled Ever Born Again. Jaffe you may remember from when she opened for Centron-matic/South San Gabriel at their Austin unveiling of Dual Hawks this past summer, or any number of other times she been through Austin recently. I’ll be honest: Jaffe may be my favorite artist coming out of Denton, or even all of Texas, at the moment. If you had to “classify” her, you might tag her as ‘folk’, if only to account for her knack for terribly perfect lyrics and love of a big acoustic guitar. You can hear most of the EP on her myspace right now.

Judging from the few tracks I’ve heard off Dove Hunter’s debut album The Southern Unknown, they sound like an oddly Southern version of Califone, which is of course a very good thing. The album, which was named Most Highly Anticipated Album of 2007 by the Dallas Observer, has been generating enough hype to kill a small child. I haven’t heard the full album yet, but from what I’ve been reading it lives up to the hype quite nicely.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the ATM to stock up on cash for all these great albums tonight.

Show Info:
Micah P. Hinson / Sarah Jaffe / Dove Hunter
At: Stubbs (inside)
August 9th, 2008
Doors: 9pm
Tickets: $8 (via Front Gate Tickets)

Micah P. Hinson UK Tour Dates:

15th august 2008 palais du grande large - la route du rock, st. malo, france
31st august 2008 electric picnic, stradbally
2nd september 2008 club ifor bach, cardiff
3rd september 2008 holy trinity church, leeds, uk
4th september 2008 academy 2, liverpool, uk
6th september 2008 frig & fiddle, cheltenham, uk
7th september 2008 bestival, bbc stage, isle of wight
9th september 2008 junction 2, cambridge, uk
10th september 2008 bodega, nottingham, uk
12th september 2008 end of the road festival uk
2nd november 2008 stereo glasgow uk [0844 847 2487]
3rd november 2008 the cluney newcastle uk [0191 230 4474]
4th november 2008 ruby lounge manchester uk [0161 832 1111]
5th november 2008 glee club birmingham uk [0871 472 0400]
6th november 2008 scala london uk [020 7833 2022]
8th november 2008 thekla bristol uk [08713 100 000]
9th november 2008 wedgewood rooms portsmouth uk [023 9286 3911]
10th november 2008 norwich arts centre norwich uk [01603 660 352]
11th november 2008 the zodiac@academy oxford uk [0844 477 2000]
12th november 2008 hanbury club brighton uk [01273 606312]

Brazos, the fantastic local band who has me on the edge of my seat with any news of new material, will be at Progress Coffee every Friday this month, starting the 11th and ending on August 1st. This Friday, they’ll be joined by The Weird Weeds and Nat Baldwin (formerly of Dirty Projectors).

Brazos haven’t been out much lately, and their debut EP A City Just As Tall is still in regular rotation on my CD player at home. I’ll be excited to see what new stuff they’ve been cooking up in Martin’s bedroom, or wherever they’re recording now-a-days. Check out the mp3 for “Mary Jo” below if you really need more convincing to see them at one of four shows.

The Weird Weeds put out their third album I Miss This earlier this year, which was met with rave reviews, at least by this critic. As far as live shows go, Sandy Ewan spends most of the show on the ground with her guitar and a bow and along with guitarist Aaron Russell and master drummer Nick Hennies craft some of the most interesting live shows in town. If you’ve never seen The Weird Weeds, now’s the perfect time to start. If you’ve been there, done that, there’s no reason not to do it again. Be sure to welcome them back from their June tour.

Continue reading Show Preview: Brazos, The Weird Weeds, Nat Baldwin - Friday, July 11, Progress Coffee