The Mother Hips from SXSW 2009

Local Natives
up n comers – catchy songs and amazing singers.
2pm • The Parish (NPR) Listen Live on KUT

Fader Fort – Thursday Lineup Highlights
3:45 Neon indian
4:30 Local Natives
5:15 Bomba Estereo
6:45 the Morning Benders
7:30 Fucked Up

Dam Funk
3:30pm • Carniville Party

The Mother Hips!
5pm • Kayceman Treehouse Party @ Cheers – FREE!
11pm • Encore patio (official sxsw)
the Fathers of Califonia Soul are back in Austin – DON’T MISS THEM

Lissie
8pm • The Parish (official sxsw)
great vocals – great songs and a magnetic presence

Mountain Man (check out my interview w/ them)
9pm • Buffalo Billiards (official sxsw)
trio of girl singers from vermont – spooky and beautiful folk hymns

The Low Anthem
10pm • Palm Door (official sxsw)
Don’t call it Americana – great songs, rootsy, real, raw vocals

jj
10pm • Mohawk Patio (sxsw)
Mysterious electro pop from Sweden w/ sexy female vocals

Holy Fuck
11pm • Mohawk Patio (sxsw)
Amazing instrumental band from Toronto. Thom Yorke digs it.

Music in the Kitchen: Favorite Recipes from Austin City Limits Performers

When Austin salsa music legends, Beto and the Fairlanes, were asked to submit a recipe for the newly released “Music in the Kitchen: Favorite Recipes from Austin City Limits Performers”, they of course chose the best salsa in Austin – Our own Chappy’s Green Salsa!  Thanks Beto!  We are honored to be included in the book.

Other recipes include My Morning Jacket’s “Quinoa Eggs with Cheese, Please!”, Willie Nelson’s “Willie’s Tequila-Mango Salsa”, and Joss Stone’s “Veggie Lasagna.” You’ll find the recipe for Beto’s favorite – our famous green salsa on page 25.. [amazon link]

The 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival is shaping up to be the best yet, with cooler weather, lush green grass, a very solid lineup, and perhaps finest crop of food vendors ever assembled…This ain’t yer daddy’s “state-fare” of turkey legs and funnel cakes…We’re talkin gourmet, Austin-style goodness…even vegetarians have options….and so here’s the…

Taco Town Approved Grub at ACL Fest:

Hudson’s on the Bend
Hot & Crunchy Cone: Shrimp/Chicken/Avocado
NEW! Purple Pig Cone: braised pulled pork w/ purple slaw & horseradish sauce

Mesa Verde Grill
Quesadillas: Spinach Mushroom, Chipotle Chicken or Steak
Smoked Wings with Sweet BBQ or Mango Habenero Sauce

Torchy's Green Chile Pork taco

Torchy’s
Green Chili Pork Taco
Potato Bean Green Chili Taco
Trailer Park Taco

Wahoo’s
Blackened Fish Tacos
Grilled Chicken Tacos
Burritos: Fish/Chicken/Veggie

Moonshine
Fried Fish Tacos w/ Jicima
Lunar Burrito

> NEW South Austin music venue/taco shop opens this Saturday | Its called Villa’s Music Garden – just north of Hill’s Cafe on S. Congress.  Shout out to our boy Shawn Nelson, who’s on this inaugural bill | event page

> Houston Taco Truck Tour by Camera Phone

> Austin Bloggers take the Houston Taco Tour 2009
Long Point Drive is Houston’s version of South 1st Street. taco Mecca.

> “Show Me Your Taco” is going to Iowa July 6th for a Taco Tour good luck Nelson, but if Davenport is any indication – Iowa tacos pretty much blow cabritos.  Sorry, el Boz.

> Stop Laughing at THIS retarded preacher, or you’re going to Hell

Photo by John Anderson

Much Respek to the brothers Vallejo and their 2nd annual Pachanga Latino Music fest this past weekend in East Austin.  The fest was huge success by all accounts…but more importantly, they managed to expand the definition of “a musical instrument” to include the BBQ Grill.

Serrano’s owner Adam Gonzales actually cooked fajitas LIVE, onstage during the Panchanga All Stars set – a super-group featuring members of Vallejo and Grupo Fantasma, with Michael Ramos, Willie Alvarado, Haydn Vitera and a bunch more…

Now TacoTown calls that innovation.

Full Festival Review here >

Blitzen Trapper

• THURSDAY – 5pm – NPR Party @ the Parish
• THURSDAY – 12mid – official sxsw set @ Radio Room

One of the more vibrant and creative bands on the scene today, Portland’s SubPop sextet Blitzen Trapper combine great folk/rock tunes with warped sonics, skewed arrangements and sticky melodies.  They also put out one of the best albums of 2008. [website: http://blitzentrapper.net/ ]

Listen To: Jericho  (unreleased song from their Daytrotter Session) [See post to listen to audio]

Cabeza’s SXSW schedule

The Mother Hips

• Thursday – 2pm – Habana Calle 6 (free)
  
• Friday – 1pm – Cheers (free)
  
• Friday – 6pm – Hotel San Jose (free)
  

Brewing their own fine blend of california soul-rock since the early 90′s, the mother hips have earned a devoted west coast following along with scattered deciples acros the globe.  We here at tacotown are among those that have worship their music.  Their harmonious rock songs and laid back vibe harken back the essences of the Beachboys, Neil Young, and The Band. They took some time off a couple years ago and have since reformed stronger than ever, marked by their latest release Kiss the Crystal Flake, 2 tracks of which were picked to be included in the latest Guitar Hero!  [myspace: http://www.myspace.com/themotherhips]

Listen To: TGIM from Kiss the Crystal Flake (2007) [See post to listen to audio]
Listen To: Everybody Knows this is Nowhere  (live Neil Young cover) [See post to listen to audio]

Cabeza’s Full Schedule Here > http://sxsw2009.sched.org/eboz

Data Rock

• Tuesday – 8pm – Speakeasy (badge only ass)
  
• Friday – 10pm – Austin Music Hall
• Friday – 1am – Emo’s Annex

One listen to the latest album from Bergen, Norway’s DataRock and you get it.. this is party music at its finest.. with retro dancefloor beats, shouty euro vocals, and that romanticization of 80′s American culture that fondles your inner childhood memories (think: revenge of the nerds, breakin’, rad).  I think their song ‘Princess’ could have been the defacto party anthem of 2008. its the kind of song you put on when you want to get pumped up for a night full of jager bombs and sweaty dancefloors. Their live show promises to be highly entertaining… with the band sporting their signature matching red track suits, and a designated hype/dance man running around to whip up the crowd..[website: http://www.datarock.no/]

Listen To: Computer Camp Love from their Self Titled release [See post to listen to audio]
Listen To: Princess from their Self Titled release [See post to listen to audio]

Cabeza’s Full Schedule Here > http://sxsw2009.sched.org/eboz

We are proud to announce that along with HearYa.com, Quinnstorm.com, and Tom Schraeder, Taco Town presents to you – Austin Stimulus Package 2009 Wednesday March 18th from 11am-2am at Paradise cafe’s new upstairs music venue.. (think: a smaller Parish).. A full 15hrs of live music, booze, giveaways, and more (sxsw is all about surprises).. We will be on hand with handouts! Sample jars of our signature green salsa, stickers, free hugs and $2 wet willys..

More Info can be found at HearYa.com and AustinStimulus.com [RSVP HERE]

note: we actually had some very ambitious plans to give out free tacos at this party from some of Austin’s finest taco purveyors, but the plan crashed and burned when we got word that it was not ok to give out free food when a restaurant is trying to stay open for lunch.. who knew? whale..we are happy to be involved with this cool event in any form.. and theres always next year.. so lookout for the 2010 World Taco Forum, where sxsw taco dreams are realized.

bask in the goofy glory:

TheButterRoom.com: It’s Ice – Phish [8/17/96] from The Butter Room on Vimeo.

its coming again..here are some bands that caught my eye from the initial announcement:

Akron/Family (Williamsport PA), Annuals (Raleigh NC), Beach House (Baltimore MD), Bedouin Soundclash (Toronto ON), Andrew Bird (Chicago IL), The Crystal Method (Los Angeles CA), Delta Spirit (San Diego CA), The Duhks (Winnipeg MB), Easy Star All-Stars (New York NY), Explosions in the Sky (Austin TX), Tim Finn (Auckland NEW ZEALAND), Sage Francis (Providence RI), Gang Gang Dance (New York NY), Grizzly Bear (Brooklyn NY), Ben Harper and Relentless7 (Los Angeles, CA), Joseph Israel (Ukia CA), Kraak & Smaak (Leiden THE NETHERLANDS), Lissie (Los Angeles CA), Justin Nozuka (Toronto ON), Peelander-Z (New York NY), Ra Ra Riot (Syracuse NY), Stars of Track and Field (Portland OR), Langhorne Slim (Brooklyn NY), Solange and the Hadley Street Dreams (Houston TX), That 1 Guy (Los Angeles CA), 3oh!3 (Boulder CO), Vetiver (San Francisco CA), Wax Fang (Louisville KY), The Wrens (Teaneck NJ)

Our dad Willie sings a lost Christmas hymn/
and the words ring true, “Let not mankind bogart love…”

-cabeza

Band: Metallica
Album: Death Magnetic
Producer: Rick Rubin!

Believe it- The Four Horsemen have risen from the ashes of peer-to-peer purgatory (see: Lars makes peace with Pirates) and late-career mediocrity (see: the last 4 albums) now fully embracing the unbridled, epic, head-banging Pre Bob Rock (PBR?) era that cemented them as the undisputed Kings of Metal.  Perhaps the recent chainsaw noises of Austin’s The Sword or the ever-heavy Mastodon have awoken this sleeping giant.  Clearly the results ROAR for themselves: Death Magnetic is 80 minutes of relentless, triumphant, punishing, whiskey-chuggin RAWWK!

Lars Ulrich puts all haters six feet deep with his most ferocious performance in 2 decades.  James Hetfield is angry yet melodic, Trujillo breaks necks and steals bikes, and Kirk Hammett drops the bullshit – preferring to trample on graves before masterbating on them.  All i can say is Thank God (or Satan)…I wanna break somethin.

Listen to “All Nightmare Long” from Death Magnetic [See post to listen to audio]

Listen to “My Apocalypse” from Death Magnetic [See post to listen to audio]

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
I dribble the Source onto my balls while air-drumming to this
- Cabeza

More info:
Metacritic | iTunes | Official Site

TacoTown is proud to accept the award for ‘best place to find a decent taco’ in the 2007 Austin Chronicle Best of Austin Awards.  Despite having to share this prestigious honor with rival taco-nauts: taco journalism, we here at tacotown will continue to be trusty sources of taco knowledge.  So if you’re in from out of town, or just stumped on where to go in Austin to find the best taco, burrito, enchilada, torta, or other mexican food dish.. look us up and you’re sure to get the no holds barred report.. and maybe you’ll see some kind of non-related funny video or picture.. who knows? we wont apologize for our taco lifestyle.. its all we know.

Best Way to Find a Decent Taco: TIE: Taco Town, Taco Journalism
(Critics Picks, Food & Drink)
We suspect these guys love tacos more than they love sex. Taco-passionate bloggers fulfill their destiny as pioneers in the quest for the perfect Mexican meal. The search starts in Austin and often ventures far beyond home. From Torchy’s Tacos to Zuzu Handmade Mexican Food, from Brownsville to Seattle, these Austin gustatory guides take it in the gut, sample it all, and report back with their findings to all of our gastronomical delight. So straighten up, taco stands and Mexican restaurants, Taco Town and Taco Journalism are coming to critique your flan and fish tacos and tell it to the world. www.tacotown.org; tacojournalism.com

and for the record.. we make love to tacos…so your point is moot.

You gotta appreciate Beck…always evolving- never making the same record twice, but still always sounding like BECK- that skinny, white, creative, versitile, funky, soulful, scuffed-up goodness. its a defining voice in my generation

He had an amazing run of creativity with Odelay > Mutations > Midnite Vultures > Sea Change…Alas, the next 2 records just couldn’t live up to his Golden Age – though they had their moments…Modern Guilt hits a similar bittersweet mark…and after 2 listens…I like it, but dont love it.

Chappy sent me the album over email- prefacing with a comment that “Beck had phoned-it-in on this one”…not sure i totally agree.

i can dig that 60′s psychedelic vibe…DangerMouse produced. not a huge fan of him. title track is cool.  The best songs on here are the real band tracks/ Chemtrails, Soul of a Man (listen below)
I must say DM’s samples are lacking melody and life in their grooves – as opposed to earlier beck albums- Dust Bros. era- those managed to retain that raw, live-band feel even with shit loads of samples thrown in.

Listen to “Soul of a Man” from Modern Guilt
[See post to listen to audio]

its got 3-4 good songs on it, but overall its lacking that spark that we know beck’s capable of
Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

more info > www.modernguilt.com

cabeza

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/

…

AND

…

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

Pastor Al’s heroes, the mighty gods of rock, Led Zeppelin reunited its 3 surviving members (plus late drummer John Bonham’s son Jason) today at London’s O2 arena for one of the most anticipated rock concerts in history. The whole thing was a benefit for their late friend and music industry pioneer Ahmet Ertegün. you better believe we’ll be scouring the torrent world for the bootlegs, but until then, here’s the first review from NME, or better yet, David Fricke’s account for Rolling Stone, and some nice flickr photos.

update: Just found a pretty good clip of Kashmir from the audience…

Behold the setlist:

Good Times Bad Times
Ramble On
Black Dog
In My Time of Dying
Trampled Under Foot
Nobody’s Fault but Mine
No Quarter
Since I’ve Been Loving You
Dazed and Confused
Stairway to Heaven
Song Remains the Same
Misty Mountain Hop
Kashmir
E: Whole Lotta Love, Rock n Roll

So I’ve always been a big fan of the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (jfjo) – mostly because of their bass player, Reed Mathis. He blows my mind, and not in a technical, Jaco-sense (though he’s got serious chops), but because he’s one of the few bass players that can tap into the soul and visceral power of the music almost at will. Melodies and grooves literally spill out of his hands like he’s got a fuckin T1 connection straight into the great pipeline of thick musical crude being pumped from the nucleus of all creation by God himself. In other words- the dude can fuckin jam.

Need proof? just download this classic JFJO Show from the Ole Point Bar in 2002 or stream this amazing Steve Kimock show w/ Reed on bass. Or peep this Reed Mathis tune, HOVER for some octave-bass goodness…

JFJO has always teetered on the outskirts of the party-festival jam scene, while also managing to gain some much-deserved respect as modern jazz pioneers and master improvisers…each camp has its pitfalls and purists to navigate. So, when Reed announced this week that he’d be filling the Bass role for San Francisco’s Tea Leaf Green- a semi-successful hippy jamband complete with hula hoops and patchwork- that’s when the grumblings began. The message boards sprang to life with jfjo fans exclaming their various opinions on Reed’s new gig. Posts like: “Plus, they’re no where near the level that Fred is on…..I would think he would get bored playing their generic, mediocre jamband music…”

SO leave it to Reed himself to set the record straight and impart some perspective on the situation. enjoy this:

Subject: My thoughts on the matter….
Posted by: “reedmathis23″ reedmathis23
Date: Thu Nov 15, 2007 3:23 pm ((PST))

wowsers!

here’s a few things i’d like to say:

First, Jacob Fred is the greatest band in the history of the
universe. i just got word that we are actually Beethoven’s favorite
band of all time. Hendrix, too. and Bird. they all like Jacob
Fred almost as much as I do. We just confirmed a 20-night run at
Carnegie Hall in 2010, and I’m pretty sure the record we’re working
on is going to go triple-platinum. for real.

i hear you, though. it is, possibly confusing.

i listen to as much late coltrane as hotchkiss does, and as much
ornette as eric dundee. that music is my church and scripture.

jazz didn’t start out elitist. originally, it was FOLK music. made
by semi-illiterate accidental-scholars who simply wanted to party
and let people party. the fact that the opera houses of 1890′s New
Orleans could only afford a single pianist (rather than a full
orchestra), who coincidentally had a night gig at a brothel and a
buddy in a brass band is a happy accident in the culture, and the
upside of the karma of slavery. we are so fortunate that this
happened.

Bird grew up playing in big bands for dancers. the music he
accidently invented was still heavy on melody, and he often still
played for dancers. his followers didn’t, but they still played
melody. THEIR followers didn’t play for dancers, and rarely played
literal melody, instead becoming true impressionists of the internal
realms. those listeners who had bumped into their own internal
realms heard evidence of the common struggle, and called this
music “higher.” Elvis, Dylan, and the Beatles were created by
SOCIETY to fill the gap that Bird opened. young people need to
dance and get laid, and sing along. jazz once provided this
service. then it became “higher music.”

is ornette “deeper” than louis armstrong? is the coltrane
quartet “higher” than fletcher henderson? are church-goers
catagorically better people than non-chuch goers? does cab
calloway belong in the jazz cannon?

this is an important conversation, i think.

music CAN be a force for unification and community. why are the
differences between us our favorite thing about ourselves?

why do we want coltrane INSTEAD of the rolling stones. why not
coltrane AND the rolling stones?

is there really more heart in charles mingus than there is in neil
young? or phish, for that matter?

why assume that the inward-pointing music is greater than the
outward-pointing music? is this the grandchild of the Biblical “you
are not of this world” hogwash? why should we be so proud of our
divorce from earth? because we’ll die here? is that why the inward-
pointing music is greater than the outward-pointing music? because
we wish we didn’t have to die?

are we trying to make the world in our own image? it cannot be
done.

musicians can be prophets and heralds, it’s true. thank god.
musicians can also be a loving friend to a people in need. and
people don’t always need to be taught. sometimes they need to be
hugged and listened to. just ask my wife. we musicians are in
a state of RELATIONSHIP to the listener. doesn’t a healthy
relationship take the needs of the Other into account? doesn’t a
loving partner try to affirm and please the Other? you can’t tell
your lover what he or she likes. my lover is ANYBODY who is hip
enough to go see live music. my teacher is the Archetypal Need for
music, in EVERYBODY.

do people need music?
if so, what do they need it to do?
??????????????????????????????

?????
what do people need music to do?

the drive to exclude, or to convert, this is killing the planet.
the drive to worship the complex and the superficially new, this is
killing the planet.

we have to worship what is already here. we have to play the music
that all people are composing. i believe that Tea Leaf Green does
this. i believe Jacob Fred does this. all musicians express the
music of all people. some musicians express the fear and isolation
of the socially excluded. some musicians express the joy and
comfort of being a tribal people. some musicians express both,
because most of us feel both extremes. the RANGE of human
experience… this is our subject.

anyway, just thinking out loud.

personally, i’m excited to learn some new things.

i’ve learned a lot from Mr. Josh Raymer. and i don’t have to tell
you that i’ve learned a lot from Mr. Brian Haas. and Sean Layton,
and Matt Leland, and Jason Smart, Steve Kimock, Robert Walter,
Marco Benevento, Matt Chamberlain, Zack Najor, Karl Denson, Skerik,
Mike D, the brothers Barr, Stephen Perkins, Joe Russo, Jon Fishman,
Peter Apfelbaum, Jamie Janover, Jeff Coffin, my parents & uncles,
Peter Tomshany, Annie Ellicot, and a hundred amazing others. should
i not add to this list?

to me, the whole concept of heirarchy is fear-based. the musical
continuum is, if anything, a SPHERE…not a line. 3-D, baby!
nothing in front, nothing behind. nothing above, nothing below.
it’s all spinning and equal.

plus, in the words of the great John Cage, “A music’s only value is
in it’s USE.”

any thoughts? let’s blog it down, friends.

love, reed