'Best of Austin' 2007

Readers Poll

Arts & Entertainment

Best Actor/Actress: Lee Eddy
She's got more talent than a carbonated beverage has bubbles and makes us go all fizzy just watching her step onto a stage. Whether she's cracking wise as Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Molly Sloan in Salvage Vanguard's Intergalactic Nemesis, re-enacting the curly onslaught of puberty with the St. Idiot Collective, or showing improv comedians how it's really done, this tall drink of sweet water could charm the needles off a prickly pear.
Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Rd., 474-7886 www.salvagevanguard.org

Best Annual Festival: Austin City Limits Music Festival
We'll deal with the diaper rash and heat stroke. We'll even take that dust storm and turn it into lemonade. Why? Because we adore our annual outdoor music festival, all just an easy stroll across the fields of Austin's favorite park, where you can manage to lose even yourself in the colorful crowd of skin and backpacks. So many options, so many big names, so many badass musicians: Let one headliner pull out, because there's a hundred more on the bill to take its place. This yearly dose of social stimulation is by far our readers' fave contained cluster of human potential.
C3 Presents, 478-7211 www.aclfestival.com

Best Art Gallery: Women & Their Work
Explore the works of a new female Texas artist every five weeks or so, with installations ranging from high-end crafters like Whitney Lee to world-class photographers like Iranian artist Soody Sharifi. The gallery focuses on one artist at a time, giving each full control of everything from wall color to room size, creating a beautifully focused presentation. And don't miss their amazing gift shop (with the best coffeetable-book collection ever), worth a trip in and of itself.
1710 Lavaca, 477-1064 www.womenandtheirwork.org

Best Cheap Date Place: Alamo Drafthouse
When the original Alamo on Colorado locked its doors for the last time on June 27, a collective tear glistened in the eye of Austin’s film community. But the spirit of founders Tim and Karrie League’s dream of modern grindhouse lives on: in their indie-tastic multiplexes; in their loving, ongoing renovation of the old Ritz; and in their so-cheap-they're-free midnight cult-movie screenings.
2700 W. Anderson, 459-7090; 1120 S. Lamar, 707-8262; 320 E. Sixth, 476-1320 www.originalalamo.com

Best Clothing Designer: Chia
A local favorite among the SoCo set, Chia has many fans who insure multiple "Best of Austin" awards. Pink Salon and Boutique, among other retailers, can hardly keep Chia's clothes in stock. From her signature kitty-hats to bags, halter tops, and children's accessories, Chia designs have vast appeal in their naive charm.
457-9456 www.chiahats.com

Best Comedy Troupe: ColdTowne
What do you get when a bunch of displaced NOLA kids start doing improv locally, gaining enough exposure and word-of-mouth to turn the ever-empty Space in to something useful: a place to laugh? You get ColdTowne, changing tragedy into comedy, their fate into a movement of laughter, right here in our lucky town. No one could ever be grateful for Katrina, but our readers are very grateful for ColdTowne coming to our town.
4803 Airport, 524-2807 www.coldtowne.com

Best Composer: Graham Reynolds
The maestro magic of Graham Reynolds is hard to define. He's a composer, a collaborator, a bandleader, a pianist, a drummer, an everyman musician destined for the great masses. Whether scoring a blockbuster movie soundtrack or playing a local gig, one thing is certain: This is a man who makes sounds unlike any you've heard. We're lucky to call him ours for now, but catch him before his star rises him right out of our city limits.
3010 E. 14th 1/2, 773-4653 www.grahamreynolds.com

Best Dance Club: Elysium
Sunday nights have meant Eighties dancing for way too long, and Elysium is just a fixture of Austin nightlife, always a sweaty, smoky good time in one of the darkest, gothiest bars in town. It's a dance club. No gimmicks, no frills. Just drinks served by tough-looking cookies, great music, and lots of black-clad kids.
705 Red River, 478-2979 www.elysiumonline.net

Best Dance Company: TIE: Tapestry, Ballet Austin
When it comes to having all the right moves, both Tapestry Dance Company and Ballet Austin more than fit the bill. The 50-year-young ballet – now in its brand-new Downtown home, the Butler Dance Education Center and Community School – can satisfy traditionalists with classical work like Don Quixote and The Nutcracker (44 Christmases and counting!) but mixes in some mighty modern dance, such as this season's premiere of Cult of Color: Call to Color, blending choreography by Artistic Director Stephen Mills, music by Graham Reynolds, and artwork by Trenton Doyle Hancock. Multiform Tapestry – also in a new home this year – crafts a custom blend of original ballet, modern, and jazz spiced by new music from around the world in programs like November's Footprints, but co-founder and Artistic Director Acia Gray never neglects history, as is clear from its National Endowment for the Arts-sponsored, award-winning show The Souls of Our Feet, re-creating legendary routines of oh-so-sweet rhythm tap. Both companies also offer exceptional education programs, getting children and adults alike on their feet and joyfully in step.
Tapestry Dance Company, 2302 Western Trails, 474-9846; Ballet Austin Studio, 501 W. Third, 476-9051 www.tapestry.org; www.balletaustin.org

Best Dance Lessons: Go Dance
Whether you have a natural gift for the swing or never graduated past the Humpty Hump, there's something for you to learn at Go Dance. They embrace the philosophy that we all can and should dance. With classes such as salsa, Western, ballroom, and then some, they teach more than 300 students monthly. With practice and the encouragement they're famous for, you'll be twinkling your toes in no time!
2525 W. Anderson, 339-9391 www.godancestudio.com

Best Drag Queen/Drag King: TIE: Saffire Trinity-Barin, Trevor N. Deavor

Saffire Trinity-Barin, Trevor N. Deavor

photo by Celesta Danger

Behind the scrim, the shadowy figure preens: regal, dramatic, queenly. The profile, especially the hairdo, is distinct. When she emerges, there is no question: Saffire Trinity is Joan Crawford. It takes a lot of woman to be able to pull off an icon like Joan … or Dolly or Tina. Well, once the gown is draped and the foundation sets, even at the tender age of 21, Olin Meadows as Saffire Trinity-Barin is all woman: already titled (United Court Princess Royal) and credited for successfully hosting the first drag show in Williamson County. That takes eggs. Another shadowy figure with plenty of huevos is Trevor N. Deavor. Kristen Gerhard was a founding member of the 2001 A-Town Boys, the presages to Austin's premier drag king troupe, Kings N Things. Part randy, part dandy, part cad, when Trevor electrifies with original routines to the Zombies' "Time of the Season," Rufus Wainwright's "Oh What a World," and Jeff Buckley's take on "Hallelujah," the lip-syncing gender genre is raised to new levels of high-art blur.

Best Emergent Local Filmmaker: Rowdy Stovall
When most Texans get into a hairy situation south of the border, they hightail it home and never talk about it again. But triple-threat writer/producer/director Stovall turned his bad trip into his debut feature, Mexican Sunrise. It has picked up a raft of festival screenings, a batch of awards, and the attention of critics, film-buffs, and power players alike. All the more amazing, he turned the whole thing around in between finding out he was going to be a daddy and his daughter's birth in March this year. Mazel tov!
Red J Films, 970-1971 www.redjfilms.com

Best Film Series: AFS@Dobie
It's a fairly recent re-pairing, the Austin Film Society and the Dobie Theatre, as this was the spot of the start of the society more than 20 years ago. This past year AFS@Dobie featured works from notable directors Lars von Trier, Ken Loach, and Johnny To, as well as timely documentaries like James D. Scurlock’s Maxed Out. Several award winners were spotted, too: The Wind That Shakes the Barley, winner of a Palme d’Or from Cannes, and three grand-jury prize-winners at Cannes and Sundance.
1901 E. 51st, 322-0145 www.austinfilm.org

Best Gay/Lesbian Hangout: Rain on 4th
Hooch, hot dogs, and Hedda Layne's divine electro-beats. Rain knows what Austin's gay and lesbian party people want, and they know their clientele can be as proudly nerdy and sporty as anyone else. Yeah, they'll fire up the Xbox 360 for some competitive Dance Dance Revolution, but Mondays can get a bit Rob Halford with Guitar Hero happy hour. And what self-respecting Texas bar doesn't show Sunday Night Football or keep it's eye on the ball when the Longhorns are on the field?
217 W. Fourth, 494-1150 www.rainon4th.com

Best Jukebox: Casino el Camino
Dim, skull-and-gargoyle interior or inviting garden patio, this bar boasts a vibe more chill than the average Sixth Street joint, and the backdrop couldn’t be better for the hip assortment they pack in the jukebox. Sing the blues with Nina Simone, jam with Funkadelic, rock it out with John Schooley & His One Man Band – Casino el Camino’s box offers enough to match 10,000 moods. Must be why it came out tops for the 12th year running.
517 E. Sixth, 469-9330 www.casinoelcamino.net

Best Karaoke: Austin Karaoke
Austin's best for their bright and colorful private rooms, their ever-expanding song list, and their microphones that have a magical way of bringing out the diva in all of us. Is it magic? Is it music? It's ridiculous amounts of fun, and bravo to Austin Karaoke for playing along without ever once asking for the gift of earplugs.
6808 N. Lamar Ste. B-120, 323-9822 www.austinkaraoke1.com

Best Live Club/Party DJ: DJ Mel

photo by Celesta Danger

Every Monday night since 1997, unpretentious mix master DJ Mel has rocked the house at Nasty's hip-hop night. He spins an eclectic mix of head-boppin' beats pulling from classic tracks, from Positive Force's "We Got the Funk" to Dr. Dre, while sliding in the unexpected Eighties pop mixes, the highlight of his Rock the Casbah performances. He draws from a vinyl goldmine, beyond your average Top 40 player. As a great party DJ should, his classic flow appeals to whole rooms full of booty shakers. www.djmel.com

Best Movie Theatre: Alamo Drafthouse
When the original Alamo on Colorado locked its doors for the last time on June 27, a collective tear glistened in the eye of Austin’s film community. But the spirit of founders Tim and Karrie League’s dream of a modern grind-house lives on: in their indie-tastic multiplexes; in their loving, ongoing renovation of the old Ritz; and in their so-cheap-they're-free midnight cult-movie screenings.
2700 W. Anderson, 459-7090; 1120 S. Lamar, 707-8262; 320 E. Sixth, 476-1320 www.originalalamo.com

Best Museum: The Blanton Museum of Art
The wait for a world-class art gallery was a long one, but in its second year open, it's hard to believe we lasted without it. The coolly elegant Blanton, with its labyrinth of galleries looping around the massive central atrium, has an Old World grandeur. The 17,000-piece collection, regularly supported by touring exhibitions, proves Austin knows its Durer from its Rothko, and the monthly B Scene late-night event has lived up to its playful name by becoming must-see artistry. And by next fall, the twin building will be up and running with an auditorium, cafe, gift shop, and classrooms.
MLK & Congress, 471-7324 www.blantonmuseum.org

Best New Club: The Belmont
A club so hot it should have spontaneously combusted by now – the Belmont is modern and chic while taking guests on a stroll through Palm Springs with the Rat Pack, circa 1961. Sip a mai tai on the Palm Terrace overlooking the patio while watching the suave live band, or plan a party in the luxe Imperial Room. The Carlyle Room is the kind of place Sinatra & Co. would have brought their wives … but the Dakota Lounge is where they would have brought their mistresses. The Belmont has it all.
305 W. Sixth, 457-0300 www.thebelmontaustin.com

Best Place to Find a Lover: Whole Foods
Is that an organic, locally produced squash in your basket, or are you just pleased to see me? If you want to know what lies in a hottie’s heart, look what they’re putting on their plate, which is likely to be pretty healthy here. And you could always invite them for a quick gelato on the way past the tills.
9607 Research #300, 345-5003; 525 N. Lamar, 476-1206 www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Best Place to People Watch: Lady Bird Lake
Lady Bird Lake, the aqua artery of this fine city formerly known as Town Lake, draws an estimated 1.5 million people per year, mostly Austinites, from all walks of life to its cool breeze and inviting shade. People-watching, not only the proud activity of the bored and eccentric, is prime in the hike-and-bike bustle that rings Lady Bird Lake every day. Admire lovers as they stroll hand-in-hand, or check out the parade of dogs. You can rest at one of the many benches nestled along the 10.1 miles of trail or take a canoe out on the lake itself and gander at more than just the geese.
Colorado River between Tom Miller Dam and Longhorn Dam, 974-6700 www.cityofaustin.org/parks

Best Place to See New Art: The Blanton Museum of Art
The wait for a world-class art gallery was a long one, but in its second year open, it's hard to believe we lasted without it. The coolly elegant Blanton, with its labyrinth of galleries looping around the massive central atrium, has an Old World grandeur. The 17,000-piece collection, regularly supported by touring exhibitions, proves Austin knows its Durer from its Rothko, and the monthly B Scene late-night event has lived up to its playful name by becoming must-see artistry. And by next fall, the twin building will be up and running with an auditorium, cafe, gift shop, and classrooms.
MLK & Congress, 471-7324 www.blantonmuseum.org

Best Theatre Director: TIE: Jason Neulander, Dave Steakley

Jason Neulander (l) and Dave Steakley

photo by Celesta Danger, Bret Brookshire

Zach Scott's Dave Steakley has an especially deft hand with musicals, but this year he showed his boldness by daring to stage the all-conquering behemoth that is Disney's High School Musical and by presenting two big nonmusicals: Take Me Out and Noel Coward's Present Laughter. Meanwhile, Salvage Vanguard Theater's Jason Neulander started the year by promising it would be the biggest ever for his nurturing home for up-and-coming playwrights and did it in big style with an ongoing national tour of The Intergalactic Nemesis and by finally finding a home for his own itinerant troupe- a permanent place on Manor Road. Both prove bigger doesn't mean blander.
Jason Neulander: Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Rd., 474-7886; Dave Steakley: Zachary Scott Theatre Center, 1510 Toomey, 476-0541 www.salvagevanguard.org; www.zachscott.com

Best Theatre Performance Space: Zachary Scott Theatre Center
Zach Scott is well-deserving of an award for its performance spaces. With the original Kleberg stage; the smaller, newer Whisenhunt stage; and the soon-to-be-built 500-seat Kuykendall stage, Zach will have no trouble retaining the honor. With extraordinary set designer Michael Raiford usually at the helm, the simple spaces are transformed into a myriad of locales from churches to nightclubs, from city parks to lake fronts, from Jerusalem to New York – all right here in Austin.
1510 Toomey, 476-0541; 1421 W. Riverside, 476-0594; 1510 Toomey www.zachscott.com

Best Video/DVD Rental/Purchase: Vulcan Video
What could be better than being able to rent Cannibal Ferox, that shiny new transfer of Yojimbo, Pink Flamingos, and A Charlie Brown Christmas in one trip to the video store? Getting them on Vulcan’s two-for-one nights. With a nation-by-nation shelving policy, the two locations also serve as a pocket education in global cinema, from schlock to doc.
609 W. 29th, 478-5325; 112 W. Elizabeth, 326-2629 www.vulcanvideo.com

Best Visual Artist: Michael Sieben

photo by Celesta Danger

His cartoon-style artwork – replete with booze-swilling cats, homeless savants, and things that go happily bump in the graffitied night – brightens the walls of alleyways and galleries alike, whether in Austin, in L.A., or beyond. Is he big in Japan? No bigger than he is in Austin, where his post-Camp Fig stature continues to increase with every series of screen prints and each exhibition of his highly recognizable drawings and paintings. www.msieben.com