Party Ends

   It’s 5 o clock somewhere am I right or am I right? Or am I right?   Which means it is time to give away the new freshness from the Fader/Southern Comfort 7-inch series.  This one is really really good.  Side A is  Busy P who you know from the lovely Ed Bangers  excursions and Side B is DJ Blaqstarr who gets the titular hook in the latest mix from our boys over at Central Booking’s latest internet mixtape outing “hands up.”

   Over the years  Fader has been right there with everything good and holy – This piece of vinyl is no different. The only pattern that this limited 7inch series (only 500 of each edition) is following is taking a blossoming genre and throwing an unreleased dope track out for the world to drool for and wish they had it in their collection.  This is the only motif or theme that crops up again and again.  We want to help you.  Email PartyEnds@Gmail.com by this Friday October 5th with “Fader” in the subject line and we will randomly pick a winner of this hot 45.  This process is typical conducted by a hybrid of me asking a coworker to pick a number and a strange ceremony with my cats.   

   I would post one of the tracks now for you but that would take away half of the fun that you might get in your mailbox.  Just trust us that it is living room dance floor ready. Also- check out the latest Fader podcasts!

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(photo : john gross : the birdhouse : Aug 2007) 

   We are extremely excited to be a part of a hugely involved and unique show next Saturday the 6th at the Mohawk involving all sorts of bizarre Phrenology, Cabinet of Curiosities, Nickelodeons, Spirit Photography, Patent Medicines oh- and AMAZING musical performances.  We are helping bring together one of our favorite local bands Mothfight with a bill fit for Theodore Roosevelt.  The trivial $6 cover gets you a whopping supporting lineup on dual stages including Numbers, The Noise Revival Orchestra, Attack Formation, and Ume.  Also- a real life barbershop quartet will be keeping things going in between everything.

   This is truly a unique night of experimental rock and roll.  This will be the most involved event that the Mohawk has hosted in its year of existence and we cordially request your attendance and participation.

   Mothfight recently returned to Austin from their first DIY national tour and have been scheming on doing this show up as big as possible since they have been back. They have also just been added to the Fun Fun Fun Fest lineup.  At the Pageant the group will have their first recording available for sale from Natrix Natrix Records, a limited edition 7-inch that has been sitting high on the KVRX charts for over a month.  Footage from the night will be captured by Austin’s Super!Alright! and incorporated into the group’s NEXT limited edition EP that will be out on Artifact Workshop Records. Numbers is from San Francisco, on Kill Rock Stars and are amazing.   

$6 Tickets can be purchased via Front Gate Tickets. Everything is explained in more detail here.

This night has been lovingly assembled through the hard work, cleverness, and ingenuity of Artifact Workshop, Natrix Natrix Records, Party Ends, Super!Alright!, and The Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata.

MP3: Mothfight– Hopscotch

MP3: Mothfight- Hopscotch (Pt. 2)

See the rest of the Mothfight house party pictures here!

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   The Dan Deacon show was both the most frustrating thing ever and the most intensely awesome thing ever. After an unending dilemma of malfunctioning duct taped equipment and faulty iPods, the show had several false starts but the energy and devotion of the crowd at the Mohawk was something right out of a early Black Flag show.  The only song Deacon was ready to play was the epic Wham City so, what is typically a closer was an opener for this special Austin line up.  Lyric sheets in hand- the crowd screamed at the sky as a huddled mass about ghosts, cats, pigs, bats, brooms, bats, wigs and rats. During the 12 min. song he sent a fan across the street to his hotel with electronic key card in hand to retrive a back up laptop.  really.

Things I learned from my magical night with Professor Deacon:

• 1) if I decide to start a band- start an actual band and don’t just get an iPod
  2) never let anyone build condos in my town and if they do I should burn them down.
  3) Never trust an iPod

   At one point Deacon who was set up in the middle of the audience had everyone form a gauntlet for all to run/dance thru- twas easily one of the happiest moments in my life.  Ever apologetic of the technical difficulties Deacon soothed the ears of the giddy crowd with some Sebastian jamz from the Little Mermaid and made up songs about how drunk and embarrassing he is.  Despite all the irregularities in his set- he assured us over and over that his next time thru Austin in January would blow us away.  As he closed with Wham City again (?!!!?) and my face dripped to the floor I knew that he was telling the truth.  As an added bonus to make up for the sound issues he sold all of his merch at cost.  What a guy.  

Check out the rest of the pictures from the night here

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(the paperchase at wall of sound)

   Dear Ft. Worth,

   I am a little ashamed- you didn’t represent as well as you could have this weekend at the Wall of Sound fest.  Are you too cool to see Explosions in the Sky on a baseball field? Are you too cool to go to the Wreck Room after party to drink cheap beers and dance?  For shame.
You redeemed yourself by being into Doug Burr, White Denim, Astronautalis and the Paper Chase, but overall- where were you?!  This weekend was your moment to shine and let the greater indie community of Texas know that you deserve to have awesome festivals with amazing lineups plopped down in front of you.  Next year you better bug all of your friends and family member out to the WoS because at this rate- it will be bigger and better (!) but the catch is- you have to come out and support it!

   You should be pleased with how your WoS fest compared to ACL- the festival dominated in seating, shade, air conditioned bathrooms, and the ability to pay for beer and nachos with a credit card. As much as I was shocked that there were not twice the amount of people there to have their jaws dropped by Ghostland Observatory and Explosions I was also a wee bit thankful that I had so much room around me and could so easily navigate to and from stages etc.

   Overall, Wall of Sound was a blast.  It’s not every PaperChase show I get to see the drummer throw up.  Cheers to you Wall of Sound.  

Cordially-
John
Partyends.com 

 (white denim at Wall of Sound)

*****************************************************************************

Dan Deacon tonight outside at the Mohawk!!  Can’t wait.
Check out my photos of his day show performance he did for us back at sxsw here.

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   You loved Clive Owen in Sin City right? Well, this is basically a continuation of where he is – still doing good and kicking ass. Paul Giamatti is one of my favorite millionaires out there who I want to see continue to make more and more money right along with Kanye West and Seth Rogen- so the cast of this movie had me smiling from the time I heard about it to the time I walked out of the theatre.  

   The movie is full of smart post modern one liners, social commentary and a gunfight that takes place while falling from a plane.  It was a perfect completely fun, brainless movie that has lately only been rivaled by Crank.  

   What little there is of a plot is part of the fun of the movie. The violence is fun- never hard to watch, the blood spurts are worthy of the theatre cheering, when the bad guys die you feel good about it and Clive Owen steals a car parked by a non-handicapped "prick" in a handicapped space you understand and smile.  He’s like Robin Hood or Larry David- he does what needs to be done that sometimes the rest of us can’t or won’t do.  Again- most of the fun of this movie comes from the casting- oh and the guns…. Lets not forget those.

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   Wall of Sound was a  blast.  Between Bjork at ACL and Explosions in the Sky at WoS- i feel i have had a very lucky summer or music fests.  More on all of this later.......

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                              (Grilled Tofu San’ich from Spiral Diner... yum)

   In one day I will be seeing some of my favorite bands… in a minor league baseball field at the WALL OF SOUND FESTIVAL. I can’t wait. The Paper Chase, Astronautalis, Explosions in the Sky, and on and on and on. The road trip to Fort Worth should be fun… I am looking forward to seeing some DFW friends, hanging out with Austin friends in a different city and of course swinging by the best restaurant in the world Spiral Diner. Tickets are still available here!

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   VHS or Beta had my attention about 2 years ago when I would hum “night on fire” to myself now and then.  Now, I find myself completely oblivious to them and normally their arrival in Austin would mean nothing to me- but the band that is opening for them-Walter Meego- is fantastic and DEF worth noting.  The show rolls into the Mohawk on Saturday night (sept. 21st) and those of you not making the trek up to ft. worth for the Wall of Sound Festival should check it out.  Walter Meego is a few dudes who make electronicy dance rock that is about to turn a lot of heads.  They landed a sweet looking multi record deal with (Sony subsidiary) Almost Gold Records the same label that just made “Peter, Bjorn and John” household names.  Download a lowkey track from their SXSW set they did at KVRX last march here

   But rest assured that their live show and normal songs are straight up dance awesomeness.  Check out this youtube video from a recent show at Studio B in NY here
Ish gets pretty crazy towards the end… or maybe it is just my epilepsy kicking in because of those strobe lights….

   Don’t forget to come to the Beauty Bar TONIGHT for a one buck rock show with LA SNACKS, QUIET, LOVELY, and STAY GOLD. 

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You know what to do Thursday night… but what about Friday?  I have just the irony packed activity complete with multiple costume changes for you: PLEASEEASAUR!

          

The regal silliness of PLEASEEASAUR will rock every soul in Emo’s Friday night with his um.. unique brand of infomercial electro comedy.  

If nothing else you should go to see the befuddled (opener) Black Joe Lewis fans.  Check out the rest of my photos from the last PLEASEEASAUR Austin show he did with Neil Hamburger here!!!!

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MP3: La Snacks- Are We in Danger

MP3: La Snacks- Emo Kind of Love 

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   So, gees. It's been a while since I did one of these but there has to be some good stuff out there these days on the ol' inter-tv-sites. There are a few things that I've been watching over the last few weeks on occasion that have really resonated with me, from music videos to TV shows, and I would now like to share a few of them with you. In no order, rhyme, or reason, and with no congruent theme, here are some videos that I hope you like:

Video: the Professor Brothers - Movie Talk (pt. 1) 

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   I have sweat so much, and stepped over so many tiedie blankets the last two days that I am starting to feel beat by the festival.  If I did have some sort of accountant- he would probably be upset with me on how much I have spent on Sweet Leaf Tea.  One more day to go...

   Yesterday St.Vincent started my day at the festival with a solo show and ended it last night with her set at the Hot Freaks party at the Mohawk.  Due to a flight dilemma with her two male band members her daytime performance was a rare treat to those who saw it and truly one of the best acts I saw overall.  

   Yesterday’s quick thoughts: Andrew Bird is way cool.  No one really seemed to care about Artic Monkeys, although I still like their cds.  Clap Your Hands Say Yeah didn’t care about their set at all- thankfully the crowd was into clapping along anytime the beat allowed for it.  The Arcade Fire dominated.  Their stage show was unmatched- from the neon bible decorations to the immense energy that they always deliver.  I still marvel at how good they were on the inside stage of Emo’s opening for the Unicorns years ago. It is hard to believe that they have grown into a band that can please such a wide variety of people.  

   Quick thoughts on today: Yo La Tengo could be hit or miss- I am eager to see them.  The National has a lot to live up to in order to replicate their amazing cd.  I have heard good things about Ian Bell.  DeVotchKa will be amazing.  Got to see Bloc Party, Regina Spektor, My Morning Jacket and other inside Emo’s veterans Ghostland Observatory.   As I walked by Stubb’s last night I heard Bob Dylan and his (large?) band play an interesting version of All Along the Watchtower which got me all the more excited for seeing him tonight.  Today should be good- assuming I can hang out in the shade of the Austin Kiddie limits stage drum circle again.

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   Bjork literally set the speakers on fire last night.  What an ACL memory that will be.  I can’t even explain the magical video-touchscreen NintendoDS-Theremin-circuitbending-technology that her beat and computer guys were using.  It was amazing. She is a true futurist of music and performance whose childlike grace is magical to be in the presence of. That being said- I was extremely disappointed with the video crew working the jumbotrons for her set- it was out of focus and would highlight the most uninteresting parts of the show while Bjork’s painted face and unreal voice deserved much better treatment from the ACL teamsters. Nonetheless- that show alone was worth the price of a wristband.

   Quick day one recaps: MIA was a little off. She got “political” and protested the higher ups not allowing her dj to use any gun sound effects from his sampler by using them to excess.  Turns out that everyone around me at LCD Soundsystem knew all the words to every song, which really surprised me for some reason.  Spoon was better than their Mohawk show but still not as a good as their cd.  Bjork- good god-Bjork.  

   Afterwards- the DFA/Factory People party at Red 7 was immediately at capacity.  The crowd was happy to see the Factory People crew back in action- the only thing missing was an open bar.  And from what I understand a complete overhaul to the women’s room at Red 7.  I was digging the midtempo disco hits that James Murphy was playing so much I didn’t hop in the long line to get into the Beauty Bar to see Low-Bee and MIA.

   Today- I’m pumped for St. Vincent, Andrew Bird, CYHSY, and of course Arcade Fire. Be sure to check out St. Vincent tonight along with Sparrowhouse, Yellow Fever and the Rosebuds at Hot Freaks! Try not to catch fire if you are going to be out there....

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   Today- excited to see MIA and Bjork (!!!!!!) and end up at Red 7 for the Factory People and DFA records afterparty to check out Ghosthustler, Clap!Clap! and Lady Pterodactyl and of course the sultry sounds of James Murphy and pals spinning all the DFA-esq toonz.  Expect lots of repetitive keyboards and cool hi-hat mini-fills.  I can’t wait.  Depending on how crowded everything seems I would love to go next door to beauty bar again to see Low-B from Htronix do his thing while MIA acts as a hyphy (wo)man.  

It’s gonna be a long sweaty day.

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   Also tomorrow night over at Beauty Bar is Flosstradamus (they promise they will show up this time) and Single Frame which is an unholy alliance of acts that make me very very happy.  ACL will be welcomed all up and down Red River - even tho ACL doesn’t want any of the live music that takes place this week to be associated with the festival for fear of it upstaging them.  

Now, as you plan your ACL kickoff plans try your best to watch this video without throwing up on yourself.

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   So, we've been sitting on this incredible video long enough, and since tomorrow night is the first show from CS(w) since the release of the phenominal the Bandit, we want all of you poor people who weren't at the party of the Summer to see what a great time the rest of us had, and rub it in your face. And so, here is the video from Austin's Super! Alright! that melds one of my favorite tracks off the album with some of the excitement and sweaty dancing this evening had by the bucket. Check it out:

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   Saturday night come check out Car Stereo (Wars) take on prom at Beauty Bar. There will be plenty of “complete bullshit” music played because it will be a lot of funny toonz from the late 80’s and early 90’s with B-more beats mashed in with all sorts of new jams that we will surely look back and laugh at in 10 years.  If my memory serves from the last CSW prom - there isn’t a better shitty slow dance song to make your lady swoon quite like “Glycerine.”

   Have you guys seen the insane lineup of trillness that B Bar has lined up for ACL next week?  Good lord.  I about flipped out when I saw Low Budget and MIA . Single Frame and Young Heart Attack shows are never to be missed especially with the great Flosstradamus who has some extra big shoes to fill after they didn’t show at their last Austin gig.  It ended up being ok tho because Pase Rock and Prince Klassen were able to kept things moving and to fire out jam after jam like those tennis ball guns that Nitro and Turbo used.  (They are about to remake American Gladiators – click HERE to apply to be on the show!)

MP3: Car Stereo (Wars)- Who Likes Nick McKenna

MP3: Car Stereo (Wars)- Gator McKlusky’s Gold

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MP3: the Party - Hands Up

Check out below for the full listing. 

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                                      (Photo from my trip to mexico)

ACL Fest is fast approaching.  Those of you who are still in mourning about Amy Winehouse canceling (she’s in ‘rehab’ in an ultimate irony that VH1 Best Week Ever talking heads are sure to have a field day with) should get on the prayer chain with me for replacing her with the Hold Steady.  Now, that is a good ACL band.
Here is a checklist for you to prepare for ACL:

1) Buy some water jugs and begin mounting them in your turban so you can stay hydrated.

2) Buy tickets for the amazing looking DFA and Factory People after party featuring DJ sets by James Murphy (!!) and music from PartyEnds all-stars Lady Pterodactyl and Clap!Clap! ! i would be excited about Ghosthustla, but last time i did that they up and cancelled their austin show.  fool me once shame on me.... well, we won't get fooled again.  Get all the steamy afterparty details here

3) Be watching ASTRONAUTALIS’ Dell Lounge freestyles about ACL acts and god knows what else.  These are absolutely worth you cranking up the speakers and getting a small represenative taste of what this virtuoso artist is capable of. Most notably watch the Clap! Clap! one.  These amazing little video chunks are hard to get to but go here then click the 'Sound and the Jury' (get it?) for a whole slew of them..

4) And of course the Hot Freaks are killing it again like they did doe SXSW over at the Mohawk.  Art Brut, St. Vincent and Yellow Fever are the artists that are especially notable in their selections this time around.  I am very happy that Yellow Fever is getting all sorts of internet love lately!  Read about em on Brooklyn Vegan  Skatterbrain  and Aquarium Drunkard

5) Get a mandanna ready to cover your face from what will surely be a Iraq level of sand being kicked around by KGSR listeners right into your nostrils.

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(Photo by Lori Baily) 

MP3: Head of Femur - Leader and the Falcon 

   As a bonus- here are some tracks off their 2005 release Hysterical Stars

MP3: Head Of Femur- Elliott Gould Is In California Split

MP3: Head of Femur- Oh You're Blue

MP3: Head of Femur- Curve That Bird

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