bluegrass to lonestar

Last night we went to see Okkervil River w/ Man Man at Emo’s.  We biked down to Creekside Lounge to get some drinks before the show.  We met up with Lauren’s friends Gesse and Kady and hung out on the deck for a while because shows here start later than anywhere I’ve ever been.  I really liked Creekside.  A cursory glance at the jukebox seemed promising but there was a DJ so we didn’t get to try it out.  The deck is on a creek, hence the name, and it’s built around trees.  It was a nice little area to relax and chat.  The drink deals were awesome, the best I’ve found in Austin so far.  $2 Pabst tall boys and $2.50 well drinks.  Lauren got a bourbon and coke and it was stiff and perfect just like they make at Mag bar in Louisville.  After a few drinks we headed to Emo’s for the show.

The show was outside and the stage was elevated so it was easy to see from everywhere.  Man Man was great as always.  They are probably my favorite band to watch live, just tons of fun and energy.  It was nice to hear some of the new tracks live.  After they finished their set we moved close to the stage for Okkervil.  The Okkervil set was incredible, they played for almost two hours.  It was really nice to see them play in their hometown.  The crowd was another story.  They sucked.  I did my best to ignore them and not let it bother me.  After much singing and dancing we left to bike home.  Outside was pandamonium.  The strangest mix of people spilling out from all the bars into the streets.  The long bike ride home, mostly uphill, was not so fun.  My bed never seemed so inviting.

On my run Sunday, I caught a whiff of the food beginning to cook at this festival so Lauren and I decided to dine there for lunch.  Apparently 6th Street used to be Pecan Street and they have a yearly festival in rememberance with arts, crafts food and music. Oh and ponies, can’t forget the ponies.  It was pretty hot out so we grabbed a limeade and headed for the shade.  There were several streets worth of booths setup with things like handmade jewlery, paintings, and soap.  After browsing all the booths we had to decide on a meal.

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Monday night we went to Stubb’s to see RATATAT.  It could not have been a nicer evening.  The temp decided to drop and it was in the high 60’s, there was a full moon and the show was outdoors.  They played a good mix of old and new stuff.  We managed to get a spot about mid-range from the stage.  It was so loud the bass made my pants move.  The crowd was pretty lame, they went crazy for anything off of “classics” but seemed lost when the played songs from the other albums.

We managed to get stuck behind a guy I am going to refer to as “meat hands”, he seemed to dance entirely with his arms.  It looked like a cross between a hula dance and motorcycle rev.  Luckily he moved on after a few songs.  The visuals were great and the stuff from “Predator” and Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” was pretty funny.  It made me miss dancing with the Bloomington people.  It would have been a lot more fun with everybody there.

The venue itself was ok, but that might have had more to do with how nice it was outside.  It is a BBQ restaurant also, so you can get sandwiches during the show.  Something to consider in the future.

Setlist:
Bruleé
Mi Viejo
Mirando
Gettysburgh
Bird Priest
Snifters
Lex
Mumtaz
Loud Pipes
Flynn
Falcon Jab
Wildcat
Schempi

Encore:
Montana
17 years

I am enjoying Austin for the most part, but a few things are bugging me.

1.  Grackles – There are a TON of these nasty purplish black birds everywhere you go.  They have an awful cackle and tend to puff up their feathers and convulse seizure-like.  Their name suits their disgustingness.  They have no fear of humans.  If Old Scratch had an army of birds at his bidding, they surely would be Grackles.

2.  Sidewalks (or the lack thereof) – I never realized how much I used sidewalks until they disappeared from my life.

3.  Stoplights – I have never been anywhere in all my years where the stoplights take as long to change as they do in Austin.  And this isn’t just downtown or major intersections, EVERYWHERE.  I say this as someone who very rarely drives.  Even as a pedestrian, it’s annoying.

After the letdown that was Pub Quiz 1 we decided to try out a another bar’s version.  We went down to Mother Egan’s on 6th Street last Tuesday.  The place was packed, which was something at least.  We grabbed the last table outside and scrounged up some chairs.  Our waiter let us know repeatedly that it was his first night and used such charming phrases as “what’s crappening?” and “sweet potatoes!”  He also appeared to slip in and out of a bad Irish brogue.  We kept the team name “Cooter Burger.”

Once again the actual quiz had little pop culture element.  It was mostly current events and history.  Not our cup of tea.  Maybe I have the wrong impression of what a pub quiz is.  Austin’s mayor did show up as the Emcee for one round, but it was his birthday so, alas, he left to go get blitzed.  We did not do as well this time with so much competition.  Even the cheese round, which I thought we would dominate, was intensely hard.  I believe we lost to “One Tequilla, Two Tequilla, Date Rape”–charming crowd.

Rumor has it there is at least one quiz left in this town that we have not tried.  But I’m not getting my hopes up.