Idgy Vaughn : Austin, TX
We caught her short set at Ruta Maya on Saturday and were drawn in by her delicate voice and tasty instrumentation (Austin mainstay Will Sexton accompanied her on a reverb’d out dreadnaught acoustic). Turns out her folky story-songs are autobiographical- in a nutshell: midwestern girl ends up working at a truckstop in Buda, TX; a customer finances her album after winning the lottery; instant success is marred by a bitter custody battle for her daughter that leaves her estranged from her family. Its the stuff country music is made of…KUT did a nice audio-story on her here>

Liam Finn : New Zealand
We had already attempted to catch Liam, the eldest son of Neil Finn (lengendary leader of Crowded House and Split Enz) Thursday at The Ale House – but like I said 10 times this weekend, “if you’ve heard of them, the line’s too long.” Luckily, we had another chance Friday at the Paste/Stereogum Party. Armed with electric guitar, drumset, two Line-6 delay pedals, and one talented female sidekick, Finn proceeded to floor the 200 or so in attendance. Great hooky songs (instantly Finn-like) that build into layered sing-along anthems. The drumset was probably his most impressive talent – pulverizing finales over looped grooves / I suspect the album sounds very different- which makes his live act even more a MUST SEE.

just 1 night down at SXSW, but here’s 2 very good bands we stumbled onto:

Afenginn : Copenhagen, Denmark
We caught them by chance while grabbing dinner at Rio Grande – the brisket taco’s were bland, but these bad ass gypsy pickers brought the Danish Sabør – very melodic and inventive klezmer jams. And their bass player is disgusting/

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AND

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The Aggrolites : Los Angeles, CA
It was nearing 1AM, and the Black Keys showcase had an absurb line outside, so we took a chance on the Flamingo Cantina – IMHO the most reliable venue on 6th street. The Aggrolites dropped our jaws immediately with their air-tight Ska/Reggae/Funk stew- like The Specials meets James Brown in East LA. They had this vato on the B3 just rippin it up…really impressive live band/

-cabeza

we like to do SXSW the cheap way around here.. even better yet – the FREE way.. you can catch us at numerous unofficial events this week. its all about doing your research and then getting out there in the mix, unafraid to poke around in search of the triumverate of slacker gold – free music, free booze, free food! here are some links that will help you do SXSW renegade style:

• Show List Austin – a list of non-wristband shows
• On the Cheap – an article about how to do SXSW Cheap
• SXSW Baby – free event listings
• Top 10 Free SXSW Concerts – from austi360

fellow Austin taco bloggers and hot pepper enthusiasts from the Nuclear Tacos crew are throwing their annual SXSW party Monday March 10th, 6pm at Brush Square Park downtown…. this food aint for the meek..true taco explorers should prepare to shed tears of joy, sweat beads of blood, and deal with nuclear fallout that is sure to confuse your bowels in the hours following this event…[info]

Dubbed the TOXIC TRIANGLE, its the 20,000 home subdivision in the southwest part of San Antonio, TX [map] – built atop a former Air Force base. Years of chemical spills, careless dumping and undocumented disposal of mystery barrels have left the area’s water supply contaminated with a dealy plume of cancer-causing chemicals, including Trichloroethylene (TCE)- which has been linked to serious health effects including liver, kidney and breast cancer. Literally hundreds of Toxic Triangle residents have died of cancer over the past 10 years.

While the Air Force authorities have assumed the burden of cleaning up the mess, they still view the cancer studies as inconclusive, and “to bitter, impatient residents, the Air Force’s reluctance to take direct blame for the incidence of disease in the area is demonstrated by what they consider to be an outrageously slow, half-hearted cleanup effort.” SA Current – Full Article here

“WTF does this have to do with Tacos?” you ask??

Well, now the Air Force is pulling what i can only decribe as Taco Town’s Conspiracy Mashup of The Year- combining overt racism with pass-the-buck right wing science (ala global warming denial) Brilliant!

The Airforce is funding (at least partially) a study into the theory that this cancer plague is actually caused by corn tortillas! Here’s their only evidence:

Donnelly says a study in Africa found that a toxic mold sometimes found naturally in corn and grains is believed to be a contributing factor to liver cancer cases among some local residents there, but those people also suffered from hepatitis, or had other liver problems.
“There was a study that was specifically done in South Texas that showed that there are certain corn products that do have relatively high levels of these chemicals in them,” explained Dr. Donnelly, “So, yes, we are suspicious of corn products.” …Full Article Here

What genius came up with this one? Could it be an Aggie scientist (irony in itself)? YES!…I can see it now: “Well, ders lots o’ mexicans over there in San Antonio…bet they eat lots o’ tacos n corn n shit…maybe we can blame it on the tacos?”

You know what else causes cancer? EVERYTHING! cigarettes, red meat, sweet n low, diet coke, computers, microwaves, cell phones…etc…oh and also massive amounts of TCE!!!

But surely this has nothing to do with a Giant PLUME of toxic waste in those mexicans’ drinking water!…Nahhh…its the tortillas…and genetics…

FUCK THAT!!!
- Cabeza.

after the break: links to more info about this mess
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