band of skulls last night at mohawk. 10 year anniversary of their first album, played a lot of stuff from it...which was great. did a couple acoustic numbers as well, which were halfway drowned out by the band that was playing on the inside stage. not a whole lot of people there but it was a very comfortable night for an outdoor concert.
the standard free parking is usually lot F. there's a shuttle that runs from the lot to the venue. you can watch the concert from the crown royal lounge.
King gizzard at stubbs was fucking nuts. Haven't seen that much energy at a concert in a long time. It's like the entirety of stubbs was actually there to enjoy the concert and not socialize! It was spectacular.
the nude party at antone's. every once in a while you get lucky enough to see a band turn the corner and really come into their own. the last time i saw these guys it was at the electric church playing for about 12 people. last night they sold out antone's and played an exceptional set. they've added a pedal steel player, which fits their sound really well. crowd was super into it and the band sounded great.
the opening band, boa, was also worth checking out.
mogwai friday night at emo's. as always, loud as fuck. been a couple years since they came through austin, glad i got to see them. they are masters at building up an atmospheric mood then just punishing the fuck out of you with guitar noise.
the growlers in san antonio at paper tiger on friday night. i like that venue a lot, reminds me of old emo's.
the growlers in dallas at granada theater on saturday night. this was the best of the 3 shows i saw on this tour. crowd was super into it and the band had great energy. they sounded very good. played a couple new tracks off their album that will apparently be coming out soon. looking forward to that, and hoping they stop in austin on the subsequent tour.
friday night- buzz electro and rickshaw billies burger patrol at the lost well. that was a fucking rock show. buzz electro is bluesy psych rock. rickshaw billies is heavier and really catchy. recommended. then i went over to empire control room and saw think no think. the drummer from the sword is playing with them now, he's good. i liked their set but feel like i need to hear their new album and be more familiar with the songs to really get into it.
saturday night- the well at empire control room. they are a lot of fun, head banging sabbath riffs that dont' get old.
saw the growlers in denver at the ogden theater last weekend. good venue...austin needs more mid size indoor venues like that. they sounded good just wish they would have played more pre chinese fountain material. they still have the weirdest fan base...teenage girls and 30's men.
the well friday night at barracuda. don't know how i hadn't seen these guys until recently, they are exactly the type of stoner blues rock that i like. love their new album and they were fantastic.
Mastodon last night at cota. It was the perfect July evening for an outdoor concert. They were the opener (wtf) and started at 7:40. It was 83 degrees with a nice cool breeze. Played all of crack the skye plus a few more. Sounded fantastic. The place was not very full, lawn was completely closed...I was the only one on my row in section 203. Left after mastodon and was home before 10pm. On the way back to the car had a few people ask me if the show was already over, they were not happy when they learned mastodon had already played.