anniverstronautalis - john
If you ever want to have an amazing one-year wedding anniversary here’s what you do: get Astronautalis to play on that exact date. Ok, so a fluke in a touring schedule just happened to work out for me but if you ever get the opportunity to see Astronautalis on ANY DAY OF THE YEAR- it will be an amazing day.
October 15th at Emo’s Astro rolled thru Austin along with some very notable tour-mates from Anticon Records- Alias and Tarsier. Remarkable songs from this set were ‘Seaweed Sheets,’ which Astro introduced as “a song about making out in a hurricane” which nicely followed set opener ‘Meet Me Here Later, We’ll Make Out.’ Variety is the spice of life.
No one knows this credo better than Astronautalis-the man who could shut down Eminem in an 8-Mile type freestyle. Each night of the tour- as always- he takes suggestions from the crowd ranging from genuinely cool and clever prompts- to folks being smarty pants trying to trip him up. It never works.
The highlights of the topics that were expertly handled were ‘Toxoplasmosis’ (a disease found in cat shit that can kill pregnant women’s babies) and ‘the repercussions of the Civil War in the state of Maine.’ Throw those in with an obscure Simpsons reference, aluminum siding, Martin Scorsese, wiener dogs, push pops and countless others that I can’t seem to remember and you have some amazing and truly original pieces of music. One lucky super fan got a long form freestyle for him about his future child being named after Astronautalis and what a bad life choice that would be. The super fan’s nearby pregnant wife seemed less than impressed.
The set closed with an aggressive as ever rendition of ‘My Dinner With Andy’, the lead single from his sophomore album, This is a song not quite about making out, but rather accidentally stabbing yourself after spilling wine on a first date. It’s a timeless story really.
On his recordings Astronautalis comes across like most Anticon acts, clever lyrics over interesting and sundry beats and hooks. A little hip-hop mixed with some clicks, clacks, blues and shoe gaze. He is heartfelt and at times wears the enduring and tongue in cheek “emo-rap” patch proudly on his sleeve. This is always interesting to try to explain to people –because: live is another story. Astronautalis’s live show is busting with energy, sweat and bulging veins. His humor is reviled only by his insane talent. I have never been able to grasp how the brain can work in a way where rhymes can be premeditated and improvised in tandem to such a skilled degree. I probably never will. It is really impressive to see when you get the chance. Astronautalis is the best performer out there.
Thanks to Christopher Ainley (who also happened to be the winner of our recent Now It’s Overhead contest.) for the photographs of the show.
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Hey Dallas people: All the theater kids better start lining up, The Decemberists and Lavender Diamond play tonight at the Gypsy Tea Room. There miiight be some tickets left, if your lucky.
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And, don't forget about our super cool, super FREE, super sickly sweet Vice: Guide to Travel screening coming up next Thursday at the Alamo Draft House in Austin, TX. Special Food, Drink specials, and 38 specials. Be excited, and drive a long way if you have to. Check out the flyer for more detials.