AME Weekend Forecast 07/08-07/10

MOVIES

Horrible Bosses - Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis square off against evil employers Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and Colin Ferrell in this promising, raunchy comedy.

Zookeeper - Kevin James teams up with Rosario Dawson and a team of talking animals to win love.

MUSIC/OTHER

FRIDAY

Antone’s – “Uncompromised, unadulterated, true rock band” Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers will play a show with Sons of Bill. Doors at 8 PM.

ACL Live – One of America’s top comedians, Cedric the Entertainer, will delight an Austin crowd. Doors at 8 PM.Beerland – It’s the music/bar/fun house’s 10th anniversary! At Beerland’s 10-Year Anniversary, the lineup will consist of Fleshlights, Creamers, Bottle Service, Best Fwends and We Know Where You Live. Doors at 9 PM.Additionally, Austin Music + Entertainment wishes a very happy birthday to Parish manager and The Frontier Brothers drummer Travis Newman. Party it up tonight, Travis!

SATURDAY

Beauty Bar, Red 7, The Side Bar, Plush – It’s a huge, multi-venue throwdown for Austin’s newest music, culture and art magazine. The Backbeat Magazine Block Party is “a sunny day full of music, refreshments available from Torchy’s Tacos, Side Bar and Ritas Water Ice and of course a Dunking Booth where you can dunk the band you came to see and make sure they gave you a good show. All proceeds from the booth will go to Band Aid School of Music to help provide education to young musicians.” You must RSVP on Do512 for $5 entry and bring a copy of the confirmation email and present at door in order to receive discounted entry. Starts at 2 PM.

Lanai Rooftop Lounge – Hypersonic Radio invites you to indulge in the best Electronic Dance Music (EDM) in Austin as they set the vibe to perfection on Saturday nights with ‘Rooftop Sessions” at Lanai. FYI, The Rooftop Lounge never has a cover. The DJ’s in attendance are Jason Jenkins, Jesse Brede, Remmington Steele and Francis Preve. Doors at 8 PM. Also, this happens every Saturday.

Stubb’s – Austin-based soul/pop group Suite 709 have won both the “2010 Chronicle Music Award-Winning Artist” and the “Best Find at SXSW 2011″ awards, and now their buzz will become even louder for their CD Release Show (the album is called Keys). Also playing: The Canvas Waiting, The Vettes, BK & Mr. E. Doors at 9 PM.SUNDAY

Lustre Pearl – Crawfish season is in every Sunday for the Lustre Pearl Crawfish Boil. $10 gets you in and the event starts at 2 PM.The Mohawk – Denton’s Centro-Matic just released their new album Candidate Waltz, and on Sunday they’ll play with fellow Texan troubadour Sarah Jaffe. Doors at 6:30 PM. At 5 PM Centro-Matic will also play an in-store show at Waterloo Records.Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz – Another every-Sunday event, Stag Comedy: Live + Video Sketch Comedy at the Ritz was created by Joe Parsons of Master Pancake Theater and their last two debuts sold out, so this time they’re bringing two shows. Doors at 7 PM.

Album Review: Bob Schneider, “A Perfect Day”

The quest for the greatest party record ever continues for Bob Schneider with A Perfect Day, the eclectic singer-songwriter’s 15th solo release (wow!) since 1998. After Lovely Creatures was beaten up so badly in the press, longtime Schneider fans could read something into A Perfect Day‘s humorous, self-effacing cover. Bob himself is in an inspired mood on opener “Let the Light In.” Warm chorals and keyboards trace an uplifting melody and refrain until the songs becomes a practical anthem in its final ninety seconds. It’s an ambitious, strong first song that suggests Schneider is not taking things cautiously.

“Honeypot,” the second song, grows with similar spiritual fervor over Schneider’s well-honed imagery of wooing a lovely lass at his “place down at the lake.” It’s cliched to write “la la la”‘s into your song these days, but darnit if Schneider doesn’t earn it here. Both of these early tracks are going to be barn-burning concert staples.

Interesting keyboard and electric piano textures further lift up the early going of the record. The funky breakdown driving “Everything Is Cool” gives way to one of Bob’s most celestial and lovely verse melodies. Plainspoken “Peaches” is given a hip, bopping attitude by Moog-y keys.

Schneider’s influences pop up throughout the disc. Horns out of ’80′s Steve Winwood hit dominate “Am I Missing Something,” while Bob’s lifelong debt to that other Bob (Marley) plays out in “Yeah, I’ll Do That” and the chunky guitar part on “Another Bad Idea.” Elsewhere, “Everything You Love” and “Penelope Cruz” are two successful, wistful mid-tempo compositions. I think if you slowed some of these songs down, Schneider could be a great crooner. “Cruz” has an especially affecting echo effect on the guitars and backup vocals that makes me think of romantic beaches and starlight.

“Funcake” lives up to its name and “Dirtmouth” seems to borrow a melody from TV on the Radio’s “Dirtywhirl.” The song still has a nasty energy that works for it, though. Closer “Hand Me Back My Life” charges to its finish with a demanding, catchy refrain. And after these 12 songs it feels like Bob Schneider has gotten his comfort zone back after the haphazard last release. He still hasn’t made that masterpiece of a party record he wants to, but A Perfect Day is progress. And a very enjoyable LP, to boot.

Final Grade: ****1/2 (out of five)

From the Bedroom to Now – Talking to (a Few Members of) Mother Falcon

An intimate space, used to Mother Falcon's advantage: Claire Puckett in the center, Tamir Kalifa to the far right

Mother Falcon used the Austin Music Volume 10 compilation to “jettison” them into SXSW 2011. The “none of the above” winner at the Austin Music Awards in 2011 is one of the most bemusing outfits playing in the city right now. An unusually large lineup creates hard-to-pin down music that combines the earthy musings of folk, the erudite sophistication of Romantic music and the postmodern snark of alt-rock. At this year’s Austin Music Awards they closed the ceremonies.

“That was a big honor,” says bookish vocalist and accordion player Tamir Kalifa. “This is our first time out here and it’s a critical moment for the band.”

Tamir and his interview partner, raven-haired vocalist, guitarist and pianist Claire Puckett represent roughly 10% of Mother Falcon’s stage-busting lineup. Their name originates from cable TV showings of Die Hard where a commonly said expletive phrase had to be cleaned up for family viewing (as in, “Yippee-kay-yay mother falcon!”).

“We’re thinking a lot about moving into regional and national circles,” Kalifa says. The band “repped Austin hardcore” at the 35 Conferette music conference in Denton in March. Their new album, Alhambra, was released earlier in 2011.

Mother Falcon has officially been around for three years. Originally the music was nearly “3/4^ths cello,” but once Claire joined the group it “slowly morphed and grew” to its present shape. Some of the members had played with Nick Gregg in high school, and both Claire and Tamir fondly recall gigs with “crazy-packed stages and violinists spilling into the crowd, three violinists sharing a microphone.” Early performances took place in various living rooms, as well, where Mother Falcon could “use the intimacy” of the location to their advantage. “We’d get everyone’s faces flushed with warmth,” Puckett poetically states.

“We released a 5-song EP about a year ago, and that’s how we hit Austin,” Tamir recounts. “We then were just playing out for a while, and with this we developed a more cohesive and mature sound.”

The duo says the ginormous band has been trying to get away from their earlier aesthetic of “a big classical sound.” Tamir says “the new music can be jazzy or groovy rock.”

“The strong point of Mother Falcon is the live experience,” Puckett says. “We try to capture that on album by recording in a church as it happened. We captured our live sound, live.”

The band later held their CD release party at the same church. “If we can develop our dynamics, I can play my part to the best of my ability,” Kalifa describes.

“Earlier on, the quiet moments would get lost or we’d get lost in the loud sections or vice-versa,” Claire explains. But that doesn’t happen anymore, as the group has grown into a surprisingly tight unit for such an ungainly setup. There has to be a lot of different musical interests and influences coming through at any given time.

Tamir, true to the band’s universal outlook, has been listening to the exotic, buzzing alt-rock band A Hawk and a Hacksaw. “It’s led by the drummer from Neutral Milk Hotel (ed’s note: Jeremy Barnes),” he informs. “Also, Esperanza Spalding is great.”

Claire has kind words for Sufjan Stevens’ latest opus, The Age of Adz. “I also want to get the new Radiohead,” she says. “Li’l Wayne’s back, too, and I’m excited about that.”

The two say that right now there is a “war” among the band over the merits of divisive hip-hop superstar Kanye West. AME, of course, thought his last record was pretty great.

“We don’t have any huge plans right now,” Puckett states. “We’re doing a Texas tour at the end of the summer; we’re starting small.”

One of the biggest changes for the current touring incarnation of Mother Falcon is the addition of “an actual drumset,” in Claire’s words, to the lineup. “It’s drums as opposed to rhythmic texture, which was our old approach.”

Kalifa describes the band as “taking a new direction. The new direction is louder, we’re not going to rely on classical moments, but we’re also not a rock band. There is not a wall of sound.”

“Our last three songs were the hardest to write,” Kalifa continues. “We’re pushing what we’re doing, and it feels epic. Like two and a half minutes with a lot packed in.”

“Structurally, it’s simple,” Puckett says. “But it’s got as many people involved in the singing as possible.”

Alhambra is available now. Stay tuned to AME for further Mother Falcon updates.

AME Weekend Forecast (07/01-07/03 – Happy 4th of July!)

MOVIES

Transformers: Dark of the Moon - The third chapter in Michael Bay’s epic, blockbuster sci-fi franchise replaces Megan Fox and hopefully does a lot of things better than they did with number 2.

Larry Crowne - I didn’t think Tom Hanks would ever direct again. But here he teams up with Julia Roberts about a middle-aged man (guess his name) who goes back to college.

MUSIC/OTHER

FRIDAY

The Parish – Those American Northwest folk-poppers, Priory, will play a set with Three Leaf and Laney Wright in tow. Priory’s self-titled debut came out in June. Doors at 8 PM.

Cactus Cafe – Are you in the mood for jazz? Check out Don Harvey & A is Red with Radiola as backup. Doors at 8 PM.

Threadgill’s – Jimmy LaFave and New Zealand import Jackie Bristow hit the stage. Doors at 8 PM.

The Continental Club – Austin four-piece Crooks have been accumulating buzz as they head up to record their debut album. They’ll get a leg up with Two Tons of Steel. Show at 10 PM.SATURDAY

Waterloo Records – Foster the People will have a busy Saturday as they play an in-store set at 5:30 PM, then follow that with…

Emo’s  – …another Foster the People set with Gardens and Villa as backup. You can hear “Pumped Up Kicks” live twice in one day! Doors at 9 PM.

SUNDAY

Emo’s (inside) – Pop singer Christian TV is on tour with Millionaires (the headliners), Breather Electric and Set It Off. Doors at 6 PM.

The Saxon Pub – It’s a busy lineup for the Saxon on Sunday as Miss Lavelle White plays an 83rd birthday celebration show. Also playing: Bobby Whitlock and Coco Carmel, The Resentments and Bri Bagwell’s special, midnight CD release show. Everything starts at 6 PM.

Happy Birthday!

Hyde Park Bar & Grill (South) – The fine dining establishment showcases The American Spirit, the new vehicle for rootsy songwriter Gabriel Strycharz. Goes from 7-9 PM.

Whitewater Amphitheater (New Braunfels) – Hayes Carll, one of the Lone Star State’s most respected singer-songwriters, will play a set as his tour for his latest album, Kmag Yoyo, comes through town. The album was released in February. Show starts at 7 PM.

The Cedar Park Center – Wiz Khalifa brings his Rolling Papers World Tour 2011 to the ATX at 8 PM.

Album Review: Sounds Under Radio, “Where My Communist Heart Meets My Capitalist Mind”

The ambition of Austin’s overwrought hard rock band Sounds Under Radio is revealed in its first moments, as its untitled (on account of it’s “name” being made up of symbols I don’t know how to type), instrumental opening track builds in intensity until it washes into “The Arsonist,” the true first track. The song is a muscular, leering introduction, and it reveals singer Lang Freeman’s arena-tripping vocal abilities. He sounds like Queens of the Stone Age majordomo Josh Homme combined with the wailing acrobatics of someone like a Geddy Lee.

If you couldn’t tell by its mouthful title, Where My Communist Heart Meets My Capitalist Mind is a pretty self-serious album. Freeman’s vocals are the key thing that saves the music from collapsing under its own drama, but it should be said Sonny Sanchez’s rock hard drums keep things from getting too over-processed (check how his machine gun backbeat keeps “Army of Me” menacing). Guitarist and bassist/keyboards Doug Wilson and Bradley Oliver add real heft to the instrumental sections and then go a step further by adding electronic effects that enhance the record’s atmosphere.

That commitment to creating a totally-defined aural world goes a way to help Sounds Under Radio earn their pretentious presentation. The celestial pining of “Sing” or “Surrender” shows off the band’s depth of performing and songwriting skills. The production and engineering of Will Hoffman (with some assistance by frontman Lang) couches the buzzing guitars and punishing rhythms into a pleasing assault. For you gearheads: Cephas, Wire Recording and Folsur Studios – all in Austin – were the studios used.

Additional listens to Communist Heart show how pathos-laden and nearly-sentimental Sounds Under Radio can be. Freeman can scream, but it feels like he’s having more fun crooning the record’s best song, the blatantly emotional “What You Wanted.” Freeman’s and Wilson’s guitar work sounds like Billy Corgan’s on that Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness double record.

You know, on my first listen to this record I wasn’t too excited by it. But it’s a grower. I still have contentions – performance points are occasionally forced or saccharine, an attempt to infuse the record with underlying political themes feels half-formed at best, there isn’t a totally consistent level of quality song-to-song – but there’s no doubting that this is a rarity: a hard rock album that doesn’t sound like people trying to re-record Houses of the Holy or Master of Puppets. Sounds Under Radio have put together an album that, warts and all, is a fulfilling listening experience, having obviously been assembled with extreme thought to playing it all the way through. An album that flows this well wins by its virtues.

Final Grade: **** (out of five)

AME Weekend Forecast 06/24-06/26

MOVIES

Cars 2 - The sequel to Pixar’s much-successful living-automobile feature, with returning stars Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy.

Bad Teacher - A misanthropic, selfish high school teacher (Cameron Diaz) tries to worm her way into the heart of the new, wealthy hire (Justin Timberlake) while the charming gym coach (Jason Segal) pines for her. Dark comedy, anyone?

MUSIC/OTHER

FRIDAY

The Mohawk – With their eponymous debut album coming out in August, post-rockers The Calm Blue Sea wash into Austin with The White White Lights, The Couch and Watch Out for Rockets. Doors at 8 PM.

The Parish – It will be a hot night for three exciting modern groups when The Rosebuds (still going despite founders Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp’s recent divorce!), OAX and Other Lives hit the stage at 9 PM.

SATURDAY

Whitewater Music Amphitheater (New Braunfels) – Girl Talk continues to tour in support of his newest record, All Day. The opening show is by some of our favorites, The Bright Light Social Hour. Gates open at 7:30.

Stubb’s – Striking vocalist Alela Diane will bring the forthright, cooing charms of her latest, Alela Diane and Wild Divine. Doors at 9 PM with The Parson Red Heads backing up.

SUNDAY

South Steps of the State Capital – After a schedule change, the attempt to reclaim the Guinness World Record for most number of instrument pluckers and pickers playing at one time, entitled Pickin’ for the Record II, will take place on the South Steps. From the Texas Music Office press release:

“We simply must assemble the necessary pickers to bring this Guinness World Record back home to Texas in support of our Troops. We must have adequate registrations well in advance of our event date to insure success. Because this is an Official Guinness World Record event, we need specific information on every picker. Guinness requires precise documentation, and we want to give adequate time to officially register at least 6500 pickers on our website (http://voicesofagratefulnation.org) in advance of the June 26th event date. Because failure is not an option, we’ve elected to make this important change: Registration Is Now Free!”

Flipnotics – Having just released his latest record, Welding Burns, gravel-voiced Nashville veteran Rod Picott will hit the stage with Texas gal Amanda Shires. It’s the happy hour show at 6 PM.

Hyde Park Grill (South) – The swingadelic Jitterbug Vipers will grace the Hyde Park patio once again. They promise to deliver an evening of toe-tapping 1930′s rock melodies inspired by Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday. Show starts at 7 PM.

AME 06/23 Pick: Michael Fracasso & Local 99 at the Continental Club

Austin singer-songwriter Michael Fracasso released the smoldering Saint Monday earlier this year, and tonight he plays a hometown spot at the Continental Club. Alongside Fracasso will be crack backers Local 99. The show starts at 10 PM, with The Krayolas closing the place at midnight

Thursday night is the beginning of the weekend. Remember that.