Well Dressed Thieves 1-28-11

by Sophie Block

Friday night I went to see Austin alt rock trio the Well-Dressed Thieves at Headhunters. Located kitty-corner from Stubbs, the home of BBQ and big-name acts, Headhunters gives stage space to lesser-known bands. They have two stages: a small platform in the corner of the first level, and the Cannibal stage. The latter is outside on the second level, with room for the audience on a porch-like deck and the loft above it. The bar decor is very eclectic--a mixture of skulls and tiki items. This hodgepodge reflects the vast array of musical genres that play there.

Upon my entrance I found myself lost in a sea of long hair and denim jackets, and at least one KISS t-shirt. Metal band Fur-King was filling up the tiny room with enough energy to fill a stadium. I rocked out to a few songs, and was impressed with how tight their sound was. That’s one of the great things about Headhunters, you can stumble upon great bands on your way to see a different one.

The Well-Dressed Thieves took the Cannibal stage, and they were indeed well dressed! All clad in black, they opened with “A Blues Thing,” a song with a catchy emphasized downbeat. Guitarist Troy Dry’s strumming was clean during the verses, but he brought on the distortion later in the song in a bluesy riff.  Bassist Greg Baldwin took over vocals for the second song, the fast paced “Corina, Cocaine.” The Thieves' fuzzy vocal style over their defined instrumentation gives them a trademark sound. They’re rock with elements of trash, blues and punk. They play with distortion and feedback, and have clear punk influence in some guitar patterns and drums.

The band looked like they were having a lot of fun on stage and got the audience dancing (myself included!) Half way through their set and in the middle of a Nirvana cover, the Thieves were forced to stop playing. Apparently the Austin police called the show a noise violation, just shy of 1 am. Seriously? Even in the concert venue mecca Red River District in the world’s Live Music Capital, we can’t have a good time without getting in trouble. C’mon, Austin, that’s not very Rock and Roll.

Alas, despite the concert being cut short, it was a really fun show. The Well-Dressed Thieves took it like champs, and had a drink with the rest of us.

Sarah Jaffe, Bosque Brown 1-21-11

by Sophie Block

Friday night at the Ghost Room, two Texan acts played to a packed crowd of eager listeners. Sarah Jaffe, a singer-songwriter with a powerful voice and fluid guitar playing, headlined the show. Bosque Brown, a minimalist gospel band with strength in its simplicity and Mara Lee Miller’s lead vocals, kicked off the night. The Ghost Room, winner of “Best New Club” at last year’s Austin Music Awards, is located in downtown Austin. But this cozy venue stands alone on its 4th St. block --close to our many other bars, but tucked away from the crazy hubbub. The warm, dark wood and exposed brick interior is offset by elegant chandeliers in a space that set the low-key vibe for the night that was about to unfold.

Bosque Brown started off the night seated in their respective chairs, humble under the spotlights shone on them. Miller mostly played simple guitar picking patterns under her strong, haunting vocals with a vibrating timbre. About half the audience was seated on the floor, listening intently while the rest stood or watched from the wooden pew-like bleachers to the left of the stage. Her bandmate played synthesizer, keys and electric guitar. His contributions supplemented her sweet, driving sound by adding depth with each complimenting tone. His instrumentation, like his backup vocals, were soft and supportive. Bosque Brown started off its set acoustically, but after the first song, they incorporated electric beats, primarily utilized as the thread to tie songs together. Becky Howard from Sarah Jaffe’s band joined them onstage at one point to play violin and sing with Miller. The band ended the set with “Fine Lines,” a song about off of their first album, Bosque Brown Plays Mara Lee Miller  (Burnt Toast Vinyl, 2005). The set was pretty mellow with a lot of spirit behind it.

Eager fans in the crowd stood up and packed in elbow to elbow to see Sarah Jaffe. Jaffe, whose career blossomed in her adopted home of Denton, TX, toured with Norah Jones in 2010. Tonight, fans were singing along with her and taking photos. Jaffe played with a full band, including guitar, bass, keys, violin and drums. The drummer incorporated a lot of use of his mallets, driving the sound forward; steady and low. Jaffe was dressed casually, and her coiffed platinum hair was in a James Dean-like swoosh above at her crown. She was warm and welcoming to the crowd, and seemed elated at the big turn-out. Her song “Clementine” off of her album Suburban Nature  (Kirtland Records, 2010) got the biggest cheers of the night. The song is catchy and beautiful, and builds from lullaby sweetness to a powerful anthem. Jaffe mixed up her repertoire, playing a new song “Sucker for Your Marketing” for what she said was the second time in front of a live audience, and even covered “Hang With Me” by Swedish pop artist Robyn.

Jaffe played an immediate encore after what she said was her last song, and treated the audience to the beautiful “Plateau,” short and sweet. Jaffe, with champagne flute in hand, said that everyone should end the night with a glass of champagne, and emphasized how much she loved everyone who came out for the show. What a pleasure it always is to be in Austin, she said, whether it is to play a show or just for a visit. And might I say it was a pleasure for us, too, to have her here with us.

Hard Proof Afrobeat 1-14-11

by Robert Crump

Last Friday night, two Austin bands gathered on stage to give a glimpse of music loved and cherished in far-flung regions across the globe. Hard Proof Afrobeat and Atash played The Ghost Room to a sizable dancing crowd. I had no idea that so many people appreciated this kind of music enough to miss Girl Talk and whatever else was on tap for A-town this night. World music offers American patrons a foreign aesthetic and a unique state of mind to enjoy themselves. I don’t like the words ‘exotic’ or ‘escape’ when talking about music. Exposure to new art forms allows you to experience yourself in a new way. What might have been foreign becomes something remarkably familiar when you live it with a group. Atash has already been covered by LMC Radio, so I’ll devote this blog post to Hard Proof.

Most African music being played in the United States traces its origins back to the late great Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who first coined the term Afrobeat. The principle behind Afrobeat is to unite the musical styles of the Diaspora onto a single stage. To accommodate so many genres you need a lot of musicians and a flexible design to composition. Hard Proof succeeds brilliantly through this medium. Their dynamic improvisation is held together by a tight rhythm and expansive composition. It’s really thrilling to watch the players unfold their expression individually and collectively on stage. Hard Proof leans more towards the Afro-Cuban style than any of the others available under the larger banner of Afrobeat. A casaba and bongos thrown into the mix bring out a very vigorous sound, and the crowd ate it up. Everywhere I looked, people were grinning and dancing as Hard Proof navigated from funk to jazz and back again. For good measure, they threw in an Ethiopian song by Mulatu Astatqe, which was definitely my evening’s highlight.

Hard Proof inspire an infectious joy from their audience, which comes out through movement. Like a lot of Afrobeat, the horns lead the sound and tempo. I was especially impressed with the baritone sax player. The brass section digs into a deep funk groove only to pull out into a sultry soirée. Hard Proof’s dynamic variability wins over crowds of beautiful dancing people. The wonderful thing about fusion is that it allows the artist to cast a wide net while remaining true to a single aesthetic and giving individual artists space to improvise and communicate. I love Hard Proof because they reaffirm Fela Kuti’s brilliant insight that the funk, jazz, African, and Latin sounds can all work together. But there’s a catch: you have to be damn good to pull it off. Luckily, Austin has one of the best Afrobeat bands in the U.S.

Heybale's Gary Claxton

Heybale's Gary Claxton dies at 50  --  Richard Crenwelge

Austin lost another of its great musicians last week, and may he rest in peace.  Gary Claxton was a singer/songwriter, and the frontman for Austin-based supergroup Heybale, which boasts some of the most sought-after musicians in country music.  With Earl Poole Ball and Redd Volkaert on the roster, the band has a virtual all-star lineup, and that perhaps explains why they are able to so effectively capture that real, authentic honky tonk sound. 

You can learn more about Gary and Heybale at (insert link) http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/music/entries/2011/01/07/rip_heybale_singergary_claxton.html?cxntfid=blogs_austin_music_source.

Although Gary is an icon of the Austin country music scene, I did not meet Gary through his music, but rather through another amazing talent of his, and that was Brazilian jiu-jitsu.  I write about this because it is important for us, as music fans, to realize that our local musicians have lives outside of music.  When I first began learning jiu-jitsu here in town, he was one of the few men in the room that wore a black belt, and for those who are familiar with jiu-jitsu, you are aware of how difficult it is to earn a black belt in that system.  It is an honor that very, very few people are able to achieve.  Gary did not just achieve a black belt, however; he went on to win the jiu-jitsu world championships (the Mundials) in 2010, which is even more rare of a feat, as most jiu-jitsu enthusiasts never even fight or compete at all, and he fought successfully at the highest levels.  Therefore, it is an honor for me to have trained on the same mats as him.

The best jiu-jitsu practitioners in the world are not just competition-proven champions, though.  They also display an almost child-like eagerness in learning, a gentle aggressiveness in training, and extreme grace in their losses.  I saw all of these things in Gary.  I was not a training partner of his, but I watched him spar many times, and the immediacy and potency of jiu-jitsu lays everyone's personality bare for all in the room to see.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.  It tests your mental toughness, your patience, and your humility.  Even then, I did not see Gary ever lose his patience or become frustrated, and every training session seemed like a joy for him. 

Ultimately, there are several things that we can learn from Gary's passing, and they are all extremely important to our understanding of Austin as a community.  One is that Austin really is the Live Music Capital of the world, and we must enjoy it for all that it is.  There are a seemingly infinite number of bands playing an infinite number of shows, so go out and enjoy them while you can.  Secondly, all of these musicians are working against time, and will not be around forever.  Get to know their music.  And third, get to know them as people.  There is much, much more to everyone out there than the face that they give to the public.