Classic Blues Joint Antone’s To Switch Location

Antone’s in its current location at 5th and Lavaca in Austin, Texas.

Antone’s, the fabled Austin, Texas, blues and rock club that’s been in business more than 37 years, will move from its current location into a new, more customer friendly spot this April.

This will be the fourth move in the history of the club, which opened in 1975 on Austin’s Sixth Street. It was the first live music club on that street, which has now become the heart of Austin’s lively music scene.

Yes, that’s Clifford Antone.

The club’s Frank Hendrix said Antone’s current downtown location has discouraged customers due to traffic and lack of parking. Last year, Hendrix relocated both Emo’s and the Beauty Ballroom to larger spaces on East Riverside, about three miles from downtown.

Club owners are considering five possible sites, with some in the downtown area, others on the east side. The club will finalize relocation plans by the end of January and will make the move after the SXSW music festival in March.

By establishing his club in downtown Austin, Clifford Antone gave the region’s musicians a place to call home. He helped jump start the careers of Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, among others, and featured legendary blues artists like Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Clifton Chenier in extended multi-night stands at the club.

Antone died in 2006 with the club, as well as a record store and label, continuing the tradition with his name. No musical mecca to Austin is complete unless you visit the iconic Antone’s. It will be rich with history and soul, no matter where it opens its doors this spring.

This iconic shot of Jimmie Vaughan of the Fabulous Thunderbirds was shot at Antone’s in 1980, by the great Art Meripol.

MP3: “Down At Antone’s” by the Fabulous Thunderbirds

Antone’s Home of the Blues club official website

Art Meripol’s Concert Photography Blog

Spring Break! And SXSW Free Music!

This is Austin's version of spring break.

In most places, spring break means warm weather, scantily clad college girls and drunken frat bros with an effective projectile puke accuracy radius of 20 yards. Not in Austin, Texas. Here, spring break means lots and lots of live music, free food when you can find it, and sheer insanity. Plus all of that other stuff above.

Next Wednesday, the big ol’ South by Southwest (SXSW) music event kicks off, and in this year of Twenty Aught Twelve the SXSW has grown to such incredible proportions that “epic” is simply not sufficient to describe it. What started out 26 years ago as an industry conference designed to spotlight unknown and unsigned music acts has morphed into an orgy of superstars, has-beens, wanna-bes and never-wills. And that’s just the music event – the SXSW interactive and film conferences start today.

This year, more than 2,000 music acts will play the official part of the festival, but there are hundreds of unofficial side parties that will feature at least a couple thousand more performers. SXSW music emanates from Austin’s downtown area to its South Congress neighborhood, to spacious Auditorium Shores park, to the up-and-coming east side and beyond.

Spotted in Austin just last week!

Start at the top of the list of performers and you have Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Lionel Richie, Jay-Z, Santigold, The Roots, Jimmy Cliff, Norah Jones, the Cult, Counting Crows, of Montreal, The Shins, Mumford and Sons, Blitzen Trapper, the dBs, Skrillex, Ingrid Michaelson, the Alabama Shakes, Best Coast, Fiona Apple, Dan Deacon, Andrew WK, various members of R.E.M., Alejandro Escovedo, Jesse Malin, Garland Jeffreys, Billy Joe Shaver, Gary Clark Jr., Chuck Prophet, Lil’ Wayne, Nas, Big K.R.I.T., Tom Morello and many, many more. Multiply each of those names by about 10,000 fans and you will get a picture of what it’s like.

Wish you could be here – you might be better off if you aren’t. So here’s the next best thing: some links where you can get free music from acts playing SXSW. In past years friendly corporate sponsors allowed you to download free MP3s of acts, but this year they seem to have figured out how to stream more stuff live. We have listed as many as we could find here:

Spinner’s SXSW 2012 Free Songs

Ioda Records SXSW sampler (via Amazon.com)

SPIN magazine’s 32 Songs From Must-Hear Artists at SXSW

Stereogum’s 25 Bands We’re Most Excited To See at SXSW 2012

Paste magazine’s Twenty Must-See Bands at SXSW 2012

NPR’s “The Austin 100: A SXSW Mix” (some songs downloadable)

“Let’s Get Messy” SXSW party mixtape

Canadian Blast @ SXSW artist sampler

And here are some streaming events (local time, ya’ll):

Jay-Z – Sponsored by American Express and YouTube, Jay’s concert will be streamed live on Monday, March 12, at 7 p.m. CDT. Here is the link. Go early and Tweet your request, maybe he’ll play it live. Here is another link.

Bruce Springsteen – His keynote speech will be streamed live on Thursday, March 15, at noon CDT. The entire event will be available at NPR Music, via the NPR Music iPhone and iPad apps and at SXSW.com. The NPR Music broadcast will also air on many public radio stations across the country, including WXPN Philadelphia and WFUV New York (check local listings). NPR Music critic Ann Powers will host a blog during the keynote, and will take questions from audiences around the world.

Warner Music Showcases – Warner Music and Nikon will stream SXSW showcases at La Zona Rosa for three consecutive nights at 7:30 p.m. CDT starting on Tuesday, March 13. Headliners on Tuesday include Santigold and Chuckie; Dr. John and Gary Clark Jr. on Wednesday; and T.I. and B.o.B on Thursday. Go to The Warner Sound captured by Nikon site for updates.

The Fader Fort – One of SXSW’s most popular side parties, the Fader Fort will feature 50 Cent, Santigold, Big K.R.I.T. and many more. Fuse TV will stream music from The Fader Fort Wednesday through Saturday March 14-17 . Go to the link for the complete lineup.

Mess With Texas – Just a stone’s throw from Fader Fort, the Mess With Texas party is another very popular unofficial SXSW event, featuring alternative/punk/rock acts. Vans and Stickam.com will stream daily select sets live Thursday-Saturday at the Mess With Texas official website. Among the artists planned to perform are Built To Spill, ASAP Rocky and Cults (check the site for schedule).

South by San Jose – One of our favorite unofficial side parties, this year’s event features Alejandro Escovedo, the Alabama Shakes, Billy Joe Shaver and more. Check the schedule here then go to Radio Free Texas and listen (requires a free registration).

KGSR Live Morning Broadcasts – The hip-cool Austin station will commence its live morning broadcasts at 6:30 a.m. CDT Wednesday-Friday, and 8 a.m. on Saturday. This year’s lineup includes Kat Edmonson, Tom Morello, Bob Schneider, Delta Spirit, Ingrid Michaelson and more. Check the complete lineup here and listen live to KGSR from its home page. You can also play music from a bunch of SXSW artists here.

Waterloo Records– Austin’s coolest independent record store sets up a big stage in its parking lot and lets fly with great in-stores all during SXSW. This year’s performers include Jimmy Cliff, The Little Willies (with Norah Jones), Chuck Prophet, Ruthie Foster and more. The fun begins Wednesday, check the lineup and the live stream at the Waterloo official website.

Orchestral Maneuovres in the Dark in Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop.

KEXP Live – Another one of our favorites, the Seattle radio station does its live shows in Lance Armstrong’s Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop. This year’s performers include Howler, Of Monsters and Men, Shearwater, Youth Lagoon and others. Check out the lineup and tune in Wednesday-Friday at the KEXP Blog.

KUT Morning “Live at the Four Seasons” – The radio station of choice for many Austinites, KUT-FM will feature 30-minute sets from the likes of Justin Townes Earle, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and others with only two names.  They go Wednesday-Friday at 7 a.m. CDT, and 8 a.m. Saturday. Check the schedule here; KUT’s complete SXSW coverage schedule is here. To listen live at any time, just mosey on over to the KUT official home page.

NPR Live Showcases – Yeah, NPR again – this time they will stream live Wednesday and Thursday nights. Wednesday’s lineup from Stubb’s BBQ begins at 7:45 p.m. CDT and is scheduled to include Fiona Apple, Andrew Bird, The Alabama Shakes, Dan Deacon and Sharon Van Etten. Thursday’s showcase from the Parish begins at 12:30 p.m. CDT and is scheduled to include The Magnetic Fields, Polica, Sugar Tongue Slim and La Vida Boheme. Check ’em out at the NPR Music website.

Springsteen week kicks off tonight

Bruce Springsteen charges into Austin on Thursday. (Photo by Jo Lopez)

If you’re a Bruce Springsteen fan, life is very good right now. With the release of the excellent new album, Wrecking Ball, comes a bevy of appearances before the world tour begins.

Lets start with a biggie tonight. For the first time in Bruce’s 40 plus year history, he and the E Street Band will grace the stage at The Apollo Theater in Harlem. It’s part of Sirius/XM’s tenth anniversary celebration of satellite radio (once you get it, you will never go back. Trust me.).  This will be the band’s first full gig without the “Big Man” Clarence Clemons, but if the appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last week are any indication, the horn section, featuring Clemons’ nephew Jake, can cover his parts nicely.

What they can’t do is replace Clemons’ massive presence, and his interaction with Bruce. That will be sorely missed. It will be interesting to see how Bruce handles the band introductions (if he does them at all) because Clarence was always “last but not least.” The show is set to start at 8 p.m EST with a pre-show featuring Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh at 6 p.m.

If you don’t have Sirius/XM, you can get a seven-day free subscription by going to their website. You can also win tickets to that last show of the U.S. leg in Newark,  by tweeting a photo of your “Springsteen Apollo Listening Party.” You can enter that contest here.

Update: Video from the Apollo show

Next Thursday, Bruce will be the keynote speaker at the SXSW Music Conference in Austin. The format of the presentation is kind of up in the air. My guess is that he will have someone interview him, then take a few questions from the audience, then pick up the acoustic guitar and play a few tunes. That scenario would be ideal, but it remains to be seen what will actually happen. We here at 30 Days Out will be there to provide complete coverage and if you want to experience it live, NPR will stream the keynote address. Check NPR’s website for the schedule.

Later that evening at a secret, intimate location in “Live Music Capital of the World,” Bruce and the band will do a private show for badge holders and media who are lucky enough to win a drawing to get in. Our guess is he will play Stubb’s BBQ, a venue that is no stranger to big acts during SXSW. Metallica played there three years ago and John Mayer and Train are set to play there on Saturday.

We are hoping for this location because if we can’t get in, we can at least listen to it “out in the street.” There is also a chance he will play the new ACL Live venue, but that seems unlikely unless they were going to tape for TV or DVD or do an Austin City Limits show, which would be great if that happens. However, if he wants to create a huge buzz, Stubb’s would be the best place to do that. Also, we bet Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine will hop on stage with the band at some point. He’ll be in town doing his own shows during the four-day weekend.

Other possible sightings around Austin might include an appearance with friend and manager-mate Alejandro Escovedo at the Austin Music Awards on Wednesday night or with his buddy, Garland Jeffries, at Antone’s on Thursday. Should we cross our fingers for a surprise acoustic set at Waterloo Records ? Not likely, but we’ve got nothing to lose.

Finally, the Wrecking Ball World Tour kicks of March 18 in Atlanta, then heads overseas and hopefully back to the states in the fall. Like I said at the top, it’s a good time to be a Springsteen fan.

Bruce Springsteen official website

Backstreets magazine

Bruce Springsteen News on Facebook

Review: “Wrecking Ball,” by Bruce Springsteen

On May 8, 2006, my boss called me into his office. “We have eliminated your position,” he said. “We are letting you go. It’s not because of your work, it’s because…” By this time I had tuned him out, and the only thing I could think of was… how am I going to feed my wife and children?” When I listened to Bruce Springsteen’s grand new effort, Wrecking Ball, this past week every emotion I felt at the time came flooding back.

I was the man in the reflective “Jack of All Trades,” who kept convincing himself that everything is going to be alright even though he isn’t sure how his family is going to make it. I was the lost man in the haunting “This Depression” who told his wife over and over he is hopeful even though he can’t see anything on the horizon. I was the pissed off guy in the powerful “Death to My Hometown” who felt betrayed and stabbed in the back by the “robber barons” who put his family jeopardy because of their ineptitude. I was the guy in the spiritual “Rocky Ground” who discovers the moment when everything is going to be alright and I was the guy in a great new rendition of “Land of Hope and Dreams” who finally sees new possibilities.

Wrecking Ball is simply outstanding. Springsteen has always had the unique ability to tap into the emotions of what is going on and the people who are going through it. His lyrics of despair, depression, hope, and redemption are thoughtful and strong, and are enhanced by powerful instrumentation and rhythms rarely heard on a Springsteen record. Producer Ron Aniello really captured Bruce’s live power on disc for the first time in a long time.

From the opening rocker “We Take Care of Our Own” to the closing “We are Alive” where the narrator rides off into a much brighter sunset, we see a 62-year old rocker still doing work that is relevant and powerful. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying Wrecking Ball is truly some of Springsteen’s best work. He is an artist that continues to evolve and get stronger with each album and I couldn’t be happier.

You can stream Wrecking Ball at Bruce’s official website.

Clips from “Wrecking Ball”

Bruce Springsteen met with the foreign press in Paris yesterday.  He spoke about his forthcoming album Wrecking Ball, and how the death of Clarence Clemons was like losing the rain. Included in this video are some clips of “Easy Money,” “Shackled and Drawn,” “Wrecking Ball,” and “Land of Hope and Dreams.” We here at 30 Days Out are eagerly anticipating a Springsteen gig in Austin during SXSW. We will be there to cover his keynote address and, if we’re lucky, a live performance.

Bruce Springsteen official website

Backstreets magazine

Bruce Springsteen News on Facebook

Live: Weezer, Austin

Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo keeps the Austin audience enraptured (Photo by Lily Angelle)

Editor’s Note: With no classes to attend this summer, our Austin correspondent Lily Angelle is finding more time to attend concerts – like the second night of Weezer’s two-night stand in Austin.

Many hardcore Weezer fans, myself included, gathered outside Stubbs yesterday as early as seven hours before the gates opened. With a cooler filled with water, I braved the 100 degree heat for a chance to secure a front-row spot to see my favorite band of all time, and I must say their performance was well worth the wait.

Some Weezer fans may disagree, but it seems that over the last few years Weezer’s music has become steadily less relatable and genuine. Diehard Weezer fans cling to their first several albums as evidence of their nerdy authenticity and blissful, relatable angst. That’s why, when Weezer launched their Memories Tour  and announced they’d play The Blue Album and Pinkerton, their first two albums, over the span of two nights and in their entirety, old-school Weezer fans went apeshit. Unable to afford to go to both shows, I was forced to choose. The choice was easy- Pinkerton, without a doubt.

After The Knux’s short opening set, Weezer humbly made their way onstage, opening with “Memories,” off 2010’s Hurley. Before launching into Pinkerton, the band did a little “time machine” set, starting from recent songs and working their way back to their very early stuff, circa 1996/1997. Rivers Cuomo knew how to pump up the crowd, stepping offstage into the audience, and even jumping from the speakers onto the roof of Stubbs.

The opening time machine set featured a song that Rivers said had never been performed live, “Longtime Sunshine,” which is on his album Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo. They also performed crowd-pleasers such as “Suzanne,” “Jamie,” and “Only In Dreams.”

After the trip down memory lane, Weezer left the stage to regroup before performing Pinkerton. During the intermission the band’s longtime friend and video/photo/website guy Karl Koch presented a slideshow presentation of old pictures, posters and set lists of Weezer, which was pretty cool.

Finally after a wardrobe change, Weezer came back to perform the entire Pinkerton album, with few breaks in between songs for talking or pumping up the crowd. Pat Wilson rightfully returned to playing the drum set, although he played guitar throughout the entire time machine set. The songs transitioned smoothly, and I could see Rivers’ emotional attachment to the music.

The show closed on a quiet note, with Rivers performing “Butterfly” on an acoustic, backed by Karl Koch on the drum set. As the crowd roared with approval, Rivers flashed the trademark Weezer hand signal, and the crowd was quick to return the gesture. Even though the competition was fierce when it came to snagging a setlist, we were able to get the attention of someone on stage to hand us an unripped setlist, and then we high-tailed it out of there before someone could rip it from our hands.

Weezer’s Memories Tour is most likely one of the last times fans will get a chance to hear a good amount of their early stuff, so make sure that you check it out!

Tuesday night’s setlist:

Live: Robert Earl Keen, Austin

Robert Earl Keen is always a favorite in Austin. (Photo by Lily Angelle)

Editor’s Note: Our Austin correspondent Lily Angelle has been busy with classes and writing for her, ahem, new blog … so we’re grateful she wrote us a short review of a visit by Texas singer/songwriter Robert Earl Keen to Stubb’s in Austin.

Every now and then, it can be quite refreshing to check out popular local acts in the Austin area. The sold-out rock show gets tiring after a while, and sometimes you just need to change things up a bit. I am in no way an avid country music fan, so I did not know what to expect when I went to Stubb’s last week to see the Texas singer/songwriter Robert Earl Keen.

I noticed from the get-go that the scene was much different from what I’m used to – there were no lines wrapped around the venue, anxiously waiting to stampede toward the stage once the gates opened. In fact, much of the crowd did not even arrive until after the opening act.

When Keen and his band appeared onstage, opening with “What I Really Mean,” I immediately sensed a very chilled-out, personable aura about their music and demeanor. They made eye contact with the audience, smiling as people sang along to songs and clapped with the beats. I would describe the show in its entirety as quite humble and friendly. Even though I knew none of his music, I could not help but nod my head along with the soothing acoustic guitar melodies.

The crowd consisted of young and old fans, and was rather relaxed, giving each other respectable amounts of space. However, there are always a few drunk trouble-makers, and halfway through their set a small fight broke out in the middle of the crowd. Security was quick to step in, and soon peace was reestablished and the crowd continued singing along.

Obviously, the crowd went wild when Keen closed with the popular favorite, “The Road Goes On Forever.” They reappeared onstage for an encore to play “Dreadful Selfish Crime” and “I Know You Rider.”

As a Texas A&M graduate and former Austin resident, Robert Earl Keen is a cherished local act among many fans in the area. Austin’s local music scene is always growing, and besides Keen, artists such as Bob Schneider, Alejandro Escovedo, and Spoon have established a strong fan base here in Austin. When long lines and sold-out shows get you down, it may be a nice change of pace to check out your area’s local music scene.

Robert Earl Keen always turns in a relaxed, accomplished show. (Photo by Lily Angelle)

Robert Earl Keen official website

SXSW Fever Begins: Cheap Trick to play free outdoor show

The big South-by-Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin has begun its annual preseason of rumors, speculation and the occasional announcement … with the very real confirmation that pop-punk-rockers Cheap Trick will play a free show at Austin’s Auditorium Shores park on Friday, March 19.  Opening act will be the BoDeans, who will have a new album out this spring.

These big shows are official SXSW events designed for the locals who don’t want to go to other “official” SXSW showcases.  In recent years, the 0utdoor concerts have featured acts like Spoon, Ian Hunter, Rosanne Cash, Public Enemy and Mastodon.  These free shows will usually feature more recognizable names, as opposed to the literally thousands of emerging artists that SXSW is supposed to be about promoting.  However big stars like Kanye West and Metallica slipped in last year to steal a lot of the thunder from the new bands, so we wonder if SXSW will continue that trend this year.

SXSW music festival official website

SXSW Report: Austin Crazy Time

The South by Southwest music conference is a big event every year in Austin that masquerades as an important opportunity for music industry types to get together, discuss their business and get exposed to a few new acts.  What it really is – and it shall hereafter be referred to as SXSW – is a huge-ass party with more than a thousand music acts playing nearly continuously for about four days.  Big Fun.

Over the years we’ve covered this event for various news media outlets, but we stopped doing that about 10 years ago.  Now we just go for the free, unofficial “side” events (also known as day parties) that are way more fun than the official SXSW-sponsored events.  Plus they almost always have free beer.  If you’re lucky (or get there really early) you might get a cup or two.

The Gaslight Anthem, 2008

So we’re going over to Austin next week.  My advice has always been to make a plan, pick a few must-see acts and just “go with the flow.”  Last year we parked the car and heard a band playing.  Just a few steps, and we’re watching the Gaslight Anthem.  Take a look at the crowd in the photo … you wouldn’t see that for this band today. 

And that’s really why you go to SXSW, to discover new acts that you really like, and who might sooner or later (or never) become big stars.  Oh sure, we had a blast when the Stooges played in 2007 and when Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Mick Jones of the Clash returned last year with Carbon Silicon – and this year the big rumor is a possible appearance by Metallica – but that sort of stuff is actually a sideshow.