Isaac Slade of The Fray at the Frank Erwin Center photo by staff photographer jeff barringer

The Fray
Hometown: Denver, Co.
http://www.thefray.net/
The Fray Concert Photos
Monday, January 29, 2007
Frank Erwin Center (Austin, Texas)
also: MuteMath

Moondog called to remind about this gig, and I want to thank him for helping me get the credentials to shoot this. Austin's Frank Erwin Center, known locally as the "Superdrum" or the Special Events Center, is the home to the University of Texas basketball program and, with a capacity of over 20,000 is the largest venue in Austin.

I got a close look at it when I registered for my U.T. classes as a freshman. The paint was still relatively fresh, Ronald Reagan was still president, and the lines of students wandering through its halls seemed endless. Over the years have seen an untold number of performances from both the cheap seats in the nosebleed section, all the way down to front row on the floor. Some of the bands I 've seen there include AC/DC (with Brian Jones), Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Genesis , Rush, Yes, Neil Young, the Moody Blues, Van Halen, and a host of other acts throughout the seventies, eighties, and nineties.

I'd never been behind the scenes for any of the SEC events, and it was good to get a guided tour from UT's publicity department as we were ushered into, around, and through the venue. I could swear we passed the same maintenance guy three times on the way to the stage. For this show, we would actually be escorted from shooting location to shooting location by UT staff who got us through the various levels of security, which is nice because I'm getting pretty tired of fighting my way to the stage every time.

Charlie Sexton at Antone's photo by staff photographer jeff barringer

Hometown: Austin, TX
http://www.charliesexton.com/
Charlie Sexton Concert Photos
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Antone's (Austin, Texas)
also: Hundred Year Flood

A long long time ago, in a decade far far away called "The Eighties," local (at that time) guitar hero Stevie Ray Vaughn and I were talking offstage one night. He had just finished a set opening for the then-hot Delbert McClinton at an Austin night club, now long gone, called Club Foot. This is back before he became "THE Stevie Ray Vaughn," and Stevie was still Austin's own private little secret.

We were chatting about some of the local musicians who he favored, and he mentioned that he was really impressed by this new kid known as "Little" Charlie Sexton. Charlie had been opening a number of sets at Antone's and other venues about town, and amazing people like Stevie with his prowess. At that time, Charlie was only thirteen or fourteen, and was already creating a strong buzz among Austin industry veterans, rightly being labeled a child prodigy. I made it a point to check out this guitar wunderkind, and after seeing him play at Antone's I, too, was impressed both with his skill with a guitar and with his look as well. With his Matt Dillon-like chiseled features, he had the look of a rock star.

Shortly after our chat, Stevie Ray Vaughn went on to fame and later misfortune, releasing his classic album Texas Flood, touring with David Bowie, and then much later dying tragically while en-route to play at Alpine Valley. Stevie's everlasting legacy is that his rise to stardom lifted all of Austin's musical boats, helping to make Antone's and Austin's live music scene legendary, and propelling a number of local artists into the national spotlight. Charlie Sexton, and to a lesser extent his equally talented younger brother Will Sexton, were direct benefactors of some of that legacy. Charlie went on to his own mainstream success with his 1985 album release of Pictures For Pleasure, released when he was just sixteen, charting the hit single "Beats So Lonely," and setting the hearts of thousands, if not millions, of teen girls aflutter.

Brandon Boyd of Incubus at La Zona Rosa photo by staff photographer jeff barringer

Hometown: Los Angeles, Ca.
http://www.enjoyincubus.com/
Incubus Concert Photos
Saturday, January 18, 2007
La Zona Rosa (Austin, Texas)
also: Albert Hammond Jr.

Fans of the band Incubus got a real treat this week when they brought their HUGE entourage (I counted four buses, two semis and at least two vans) into Austin's La Zona Rosa nightclub, in what for them would be considered an intimate set.

Parking wasn't the only thing that was limited as anyone approaching the venue was destined to be accosted by roving gangs of ticketless teenage girls.

Seriously.

I got asked well over 100 times if I had extra tickets, and what tickets were available from the few scalpers were going for $200 and up. One individual was turned away after buying a phony "will call" for $500 off of EBay. According to James Wetz, member of Direct Events publicity team, the online tickets for the show sold out in an incredible 12 seconds.

Mike Einziger of Incubus at La Zona Rosa photo by staff photographer jeff barringer

Was the show worth it? Certainly the hard core Incubus fans that got in thought so, but what did they get for their money? An incredibly tight performance by Incubus for one thing. Both the sound mix, and the band's performance, were album perfect and flawless. Fans also got a set list to die for. Interspersing songs from their new Light Grenade album with songs many would consider their "greatest hits," the band started off slowly with "Quicksand," then launched into "Kiss to Send Us Off," and then "Wish You Were Here."

Our three songs expended, we photographers were shooed out of the pit, and I left the venue to secure my cameras. I missed "Have You Ever" and "Paper Shoes," but the walk to my vehicle was accompanied by the off key singing of the ticketless teen girls' choir that had formed outside the venue gates.

I returned just in time to catch them mid-song in "Anna Molly" from the new album. They kept on playing, stopping to switch to acoustic for "New Skin" and "Drive." Other crowd favorites included "When it Comes," "Dig," and "A Crow Left of Murder," as well as both "Light Grenades" and "Earth To Bella" from the new disc.

Brandon Boyd of Incubus at La Zona Rosa photo by staff photographer jeff barringer

By the time Incubus moved into their encore, the show was well over an hour, and they finished up their set with "Pendulous Threads," "Pistola," and "Megalomaniac," doing a total of nineteen songs. The audience was ecstatic, crowd surfing the entire night. Incubus has a very complex and intricate sound that pushes the boundaries beyond the mainstream "pop" world, begging, borrowing, and stealing from a variety of genres. It was neat to see them shift back and forth from pop, to metal, to hip hop, and do it so effortlessly and note perfectly. I don't think anyone was left disappointed.

I was not able to cover the opener, Albert Hammond Jr., touring solo rather than with the rest of The Strokes. He sounded pretty good from the bar .

It was great to run into Jay West and Moondog working the show; it's always fun to compare notes and pictures side by side. Thanks to James Wetz and Emily at Direct Events for hooking me up with the photo pass and to the guys in Incubus for letting me shoot their show.

Chris Kilmore and Mike Einziger of Incubus at La Zona Rosa - photo by staff photographer jeff barringer

Lower Class Brats at Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

Geez, this one is going to be hard!

I saw so many good bands and performers picking 10 sets from among the hundreds I have seen this year will not be easy.

I went to SXSW, ACL Fest, Fun Fun Fun Fest, plus dozens and dozens of other shows, usually with multiple bands. I saw punk shows, emo shows, 14 flavors of metal shows, acoustic sets, electro-dance, brit-pop, reggae, and on and on. I also visited many of Austin's major and minor venues from the legendary such as Antone's to the occasional like The Jackalope and The Ritz.

Picking my list from 2007 will probably be even harder

1. James Brown at Stubb's - What can I say about the legend?
2. The Zico Chain at SXSW - I still keep coming back to the Zico Chain. Hope they come back for SXSW again. If they do I will be there and so will the ghost of Kurt Cobain.
3. Drums and Tuba at Austin Music Hall - These guys are so good it's spooky. Dark, moody, Tool with a Fluegelhorn.
4. Dropping Daylight at La Zona Rosa - Could teach Billy Joel what a piano is really used for.
5. Linea 77 at SXSW - These guys prove that Italy knows how to rock.
6. Deadboy and the Elephantmen at Emo's - Stripped, raw, basic.
7. Broken Teeth at Red Eyed Fly - McMaster and crew still have it and know how to work the crowd.
8. Buckethead at La Zona Rosa - I am still picking the feathers out of my camera bag.
9. Lower Class Brats at Fun Fun Fun Fest - These guys alone were worth the price of admission.
10. Les Claypool and His Fancy Band - I couldn't decide between this and Primus but I think Gabby La La and her sitar make the difference.

So many others deserve mention like Ghostland Observatory, Slayer, Teabag, Mower, Peaches, Trish Murphy, and so many more. Austin just has so so much great live music, both home grown and touring, I can't hope to cover it all by myself, but I am willing to die or go deaf trying.

Jesse Sublett
Hometown: Austin, Tx.
http://www.jessesublett.com
Tuesday, December 29, 2006
Flipnotics Coffee House (Austin, Texas)

Let me start this off talking about Flipnotics.

Squeezed into a crook on a bluff on Barton Springs Road, across the river from and just South of Austin's entertainment district, Flipnotics Coffee House is the hip South Austin hangout for artists, musicians, and students wanting to grab a hot cuppa.

Earthquake Shake One Murder Ballad (you'll never hear on Austin City Limits)

Located upstairs over the Flipnotics clothing store, the coffee shop has a small room tucked all the way in the back, smaller than my first apartment, that serves as one of Austin's most intimate music venues. A great room for one-on-one sets, the venue only holds about 30 people, and it's perfect for an artist wanting to showcase new material before moving on to larger audiences.

That was both the setting and the premise for Jesse Sublett's solo acoustic performance on a rainy night last week. Invited by Jesse, I arrived just in time to get my video camera out and set up. Jesse wanted to try out some of his new songs, and play a few old ones as well.

Sublett, former frontman for Austin's locally legendary Skunks punk band of the 70s/early 80s, has of late been doing a lot of writing, and needed a small audience to work out the kinks on a few songs. That said, it was understandable that some of the polishing was still going on and dropping a line or two, or fumbling the fingering once in a while was to be expected.

Starting out for the first songs on an acoustic guitar, he launched into "The Ballad of Jean Harris," "That Love Thing," and "Razor Blade Man." I have always though that Jesse's vocals sounded like a cross between David Byrne, Lou Reed and Bryan Ferry, and in an acoustic solo environment, those similarities are magnified. He also did "Her Heart Belongs To Crime," and one of my new favorites, "Who Put The Sting On The Honey Bee."

Switching to an enormous stand up double bass that barely cleared the ceiling, Jesse covered an old Skunks tune, "Earthquake Shake," and then a modified version of the old blues/jazz standard "St. James Infirmary."

Moving back to guitar, he started to close out with a new song, "One Murder Ballad (You'll Never Hear on Austin City Limits)," a scathing tune about growing up punk in small town Texas, that, although not autobiographical, certainly draws on his own personal experiences growing up locally in the 70s. The songs "S-O-L" and "Pissing in the Wind" ended the set after roughly an hour.

It's good to see Jesse out and about in Austin's music scene again.