Jamie Lidell - The Ring

Last week my local hangouts reached an almost ghost town-like status when a lot of friends, musicians, bartenders, regulars headed down to Austin for a few days of amazing music, food, and parties. There was nothing much to report while they were away. Issue #10 of FOUND hit the stands with only a few minor hitches (with nearly the entire staff gone), I caught the Leslie and the Lys show at The Waiting Room with Clark (which must not have made that big of an impact on me since I didn't care enough to write about it here) and not much else happened.

Now, with SXSW behind us, it seems like things have begun to pick up again. I got the chance to see It's True on Tuesday with Steel Train. I could tell the boys were a bit off - having just gotten back from their trip to Austin - but they still delivered a stellar performance. Steel Train was much better than I anticipated, and they did a pretty great cover of Dancin' in the Dark, but I didn't really absorb most of the music that night (blame a three week-long sickness and lack of sleep for that one). Anyway, it seems like things are getting back to normal again. Here's a few highlights for the week: It's True! made the cover of this week's Reader. Both the Reader and The City Weekly feature some pretty solid SXSW reviews/recaps, so be sure to check those out. The newest issue of FOUND hit the stands last night, and there's a new mixtape from Brad Hoshaw featuring his picks from SXSW.

The most important bit of news is that the FOUND in Benson FOUNDraiser/Flea Market/Potluck/Show is this Saturday at the Foundry in Benson. The Flea Market starts at noon. It's ten dollars if you want to rent a table to sell, or you can stop by if you just want to browse. The word on the street is that Brad Hoshaw should have some vinyl for sale (which means I will probably end up spending way too much money, as per usual). The potluck starts at about 5. You can bring something to share if you'd like or just stop by and chow down on whatever people bring. Then, at around 8 (I think) the music starts. There will be a $5 cover if you plan on staying for the music. The FOUND staff is accepting donations for the magazine but the cover goes to the bands playing that night. Make sure you stop by to support a great local publication, enjoy some food, music, and have a good time.

In other news, this is my new thing to be excited about:



I love this video. I love this song. It's so funky. So danceable. So fun. The video perfectly captures Jamie Lidell's totally out there style. I literally cannot WAIT for this album to come out. Hits stores May 18th. You can definitely tell Beck had his hand in the production on this one. And that's a good thing.

It's True! Whoop-Di-Doo

Last Sunday I had the chance to stop by the Barley Street Tavern for It's True!'s Big Whoop-Di-Doo. This party was put together by the boys in It's True!, along with The Reader, as a way to celebrate before heading down to Austin for SXSW. It was meant to be a listening party for the new album before it was actually released. Also, John P. Campbell showed some of his work-in-progress footage for the It's True! documentary he's been working on. Finally, the night concluded with a performance by the band. Tickets for the event were $15 (a lot for most of the shows in Benson, BST especially), but that price included the documentary viewing, a preview of the new album, a live performance, and an advanced copy of the new album once it's completed, delivered to a place of your choosing.

Let me just say, the price was well worth it. If all went according to plan, they only sold about 65 tickets to the event. When I arrived around 8:30, the place was already pretty full. People mingled while the new album played in the background. The back room of the Barley was arranged so people could sit and listen and chat and take in the music. Though I thought the album sounded great, I can't wait to get a copy so I can listen to it at home.

Next came John Campbell's documentary. He reminded us that he still had a few kinks to be worked out (since he didn't have the proper video editing software) and that it wasn't really a trailer for the documentary as much as it was a few things he'd cut together to give folks a good idea about what he'd been shooting with the band. Even though what Campbell showed was unfinished I was happy with what I saw. The 'film' included intimate footage of the band on tour; in the van and on the road, inside homes performing after hours shows, in the studio and on stage. Also included were some great interviews from the boys from It's True! - Adam, Kyle, Andrew, Karl, and Matt. There was also some great stuff from the band The Haunted Windchimes, who will be playing at the It's True! CD release next month.


(video by Beck Lowri)

Finally, there was the performance. The band was great, as usual. That being said, I think Kyle said it best when he said that it felt like they were playing a corporate event. Even though the boys put on a great show, the energy in the crowd seemed low. It could have been the fact that it was a Sunday night show, or that they'd already played the entire album, or that the band was preoccupied with the looming prospect of the road and their upcoming SXSW performances, but something seemed a bit off. I'm hoping that once the boys have Austin behind them, and everything has been finished with the album pressing, things should be back to full energy level in time for the CD release at the Waiting Room on April 30th.



If you haven't seen The Haunted Windchimes, I'd say they're reason enough to go out to the show that night. They're a great band with a unique sound. I saw them play Brad Hoshaw's CD release last year and they nearly stole the show.

All in all, it was a great night of music with great friends and a great band. The It's True! boys are headed down to Austin today for a few shows and should be back early next week. If you'd like to check it out, the band was featured on NPR's Austin 100 Mix (out of over 1,500 bands performing) and they're on the list with some pretty heavy-hitters (Sharon Jones, Raphael Saadiq, Broken Social Scene, Spoon, and She & Him, just to name a few). The stream plays the bands in alphabetical order and what I heard of the rest of the list was pretty solid. You should check it out here if you have a chance. I wish It's True! the best of luck in Austin and hope this trip means great things for them in the future.

Music News

I just found out that It's True got accepted to play at SXSW this year! Add this to the list of reasons I wish I had enough money to go. I am so proud of this band.
Also, this Friday will be the grand re-opening of The Waiting Room - since they've been closed for the remodels the past couple of weeks - and there's a free show with Kyle Harvey, Little Black Stereo, and Little Brazil. Yes, free. You should probably go.



Also, this Saturday at the Barley Street Tavern Kyle Harvey, Kick Narl and the Boys (Nick Carl), and All Young Girls Are Machine Guns will be playing. Starts at 9, $5. Should be a solid show. If you haven't seen Nick Carl before, you should definitely come out. Also, you can check out AYGAMG YouTube channel here for her original music as well as some local and classic covers.