We’re not normally the types to get all giddy for the weekend, because us scientifically engineered blogging armadillos still haven’t earned the right to a 9-5, 5 day work week. But this cold is getting super obnoxious and the dose of sun meteorologist types claim we’ll see over the next little while has us uncharacteristically excitable. That could also be because of the very impressive crop of weekend shows we’ve got, from the eerie, brittle sounds Hotel Vegas has curated tonight to the celebration of Austin’s rocking women at Cheer Up Charlie’s Siren Sound Temple and beyond. Allow us to schedule your burst of sunny weather. – Nick Hanover
Friday
All the points for creativity go to Chaos in Tejas for this ridiculously awesome line-up at Hotel Vegas tonight. Brutal noisemakers Pharmakon may have the national cred, but Austin is representing in full with the more cinematic, noir drenched instrumental synth tunes of ssleeperhold and spastic bleak punk outfit Institute. Although he has yet to follow up our Top Albums of 2013 selection Ruleth, ssleeperhold had a busy 2014, popping up on a number of eclectic bills and this Vegas event carries on that proud tradition. Institute might be the band to beat, though and not just because their knife stab sonics are the right kind of terrifying. The band’s performances are like watching some solemn punk dudes tensely keep the music going as their lead singer melts into himself like a man fighting off a nerve toxin and there’s no way you can convince me you wouldn’t want to experience this in the flesh (unless you’re that YouTube commenter bringing up the specter of Darby Crash, in which case fuck off and get a new hobby):
Saturday
On Saturday, Shame Shame Productions has curated a mini-festival for Cheer Up Charlie’s featuring 18 Texas bands fronted by badass women as well as a number of interesting vintage clothes vendors and art stalls. Somehow this event is sponsored by Modelo, a beer I thought only I drank and even then only in strict emergencies, like while trapped at an outdoor amphitheatre where the only other options are the diarrhetic offerings of Miller/Coors/Budweiser and 48 oz guitar shaped glasses full of ooze optimistically called margaritas. Oh, the sacrifices of the music journalist. But Modelo connection aside, there is no reason not to come out and support an event that showcases Austin’s frankly phenomenal women musicians, including Megafauna, who you might remember from our own list of the Nine Best Bands Fronted by Women, as well as upstart Ovrld faves like Madd Comrades, Mystery Achievement and Annabelle Chairlegs. It’s $12 but you’re kind of an asshole if you aren’t willing to pay less than a dollar per band. Just saying.
Sunday
It’s a little weird that Denitia and Sene’s stop in Austin is getting so little attention, especially on a Sunday where literally not a single fucking other thing is happening. The Brooklyn-by-way-of-Houston duo have quietly been garnering buzz at places like Interview, where the twosome’s intriguing interest in making music that is both feminine and masculine, throbbing and lithe at once, makes for excellent copy. Luckily the tunes back it up, with Sene’s production wildly diverse, flitting between Weeknd darkness and Junior Boys precision. Denitia’s voice is a thing of beauty, smooth as a cup of syrup but lush and vulnerable, her inflection offering hints of the same darkness Sene’s beats offer in bigger portions. Because this is a Scoremore show, I have no clue who or what else will be on this bill, and you have to either gain entry by getting tickets off TicketFly or by tracking down one of the Scoremore volunteers who bravely posted their cellphone number and offered delivery to anyone who wants tickets on the event page. The poster, of course, doesn’t listen the cover/ticket fee, but it’s at least $15. Come to think of it, maybe all this ticketing stupidity is to blame for that low RSVP count. Imagine that.
Nick Hanover got his degree from Disneyland, but he’s the last of the secret agents and he’s your man. Which is to say you can find his particular style of espionage here at Ovrld as well as Loser City, where he mostly writes about comics. You can also flip through his archives at Comics Bulletin, which he is formerly the Co-Managing Editor of, and Spectrum Culture, where he contributed literally hundreds of pieces for a few years. Or if you feel particularly adventurous, you can always witness his odd .gif battles with his friends and enemies on twitter: @Nick_Hanover