Best of Austin 2009Readers PollArts & Entertainment
Best All-Time Winner: Emo's
Franklin Delano Hendrix: Has an obvious ring to it, doesn't it? Eric "Emo" Hartman had it too, back in May 1992 at the corner of Sixth Street and Red River. By the new millennium, Hendrix, the current owner of Austin's vaunted Emo's, wasn't about to rebrand the newly acquired home of "alternative lounging" to a more presidential "Delano's" ("FDR's?" "FDH's?"), so he expanded, eventually bringing the Emo's empire to 22,000 square feet at the red-and-blue heart of Austin's wellspring. Such fertile native soil could scarcely be ceded to a better music baron. Hendrix's relaxed Southern bonhomie originates from Charleston, S.C., but as one of the Lone Star State's adopted sons – an Air Force brat – he landed in the Texas state capital in ample time to attend high school in Del Valle and have his once-long hair blown back by acts such as the Clash and Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Armadillo World Headquarters. Used cars and 1980s River City real estate yielded enough for Hendrix to almost leverage another Austin outlaw hothouse, Soap Creek Saloon. His mother and only brother stuck around too, his sibling a filmmaker with long-term documentary ops at the universally renowned live music venue. "had money before I went into the bar business," laughs the sentry of Sixth and Red River on any night of a mondo Emo's show. "I found out what they mean by 'labor of love.'" That same labor is why Planet Rock loves Emo's. Now you know where to find the Live Music Capital's true seat of government. 603 Red River, 505-8541 www.emosaustin.com
Best All-Time Winner: Paramount
The Paramount is the grande dame of Austin theatres, the crown jewel of Austin’s Downtown arts panoply. For nearly 100 years, the palatial theatre has stood in the heart of Austin’s Downtown. Renovations in recent decades have kicked the dust from its jambs and put a shine on its patina (though some resilient ghosts may continue to lurk in the rafters). Originally opened in 1915 as the Majestic Theatre, the stage hosted traveling vaudeville acts and silent movies before changing over to a first-run movie theatre in the 1930s and changing the name to the Paramount Theatre. Renowned in the 21st century as Austin’s foremost cultural purveyor, the Paramount presents a year-round program that caters to an immense variety of artistic experience. Live theatre performances and one-person shows; music acts, dance companies, and comedy troupes; national touring shows and homegrown productions; red-carpet premieres of new films, an annual summer schedule of movie revivals, and gala film-festival events – all find berths on the Paramount’s graceful stage. And have we mentioned that the Paramount Theatre includes beer, wine, and liquor at its concession stands and that the volunteer ushers are among the most dedicated and helpful aisle assistants in the business? Here’s to another 100 years of Paramount glory. 713 Congress, 472-5470 www.austintheatre.org Best Actor/Actress: Arthur Simone
Of course the winner of Austin's regional Air Guitar Championship and the Alamo Drafthouse's Air Sex World Championship can convincingly go through the motions of whatever you've got. But, as we've seen with Simone's work with the ColdTowne improv troupe, when he's performing with his dog (Robin Goodfellow) as "Buddy Daddy," and when his self-authored Dear Frailty series of twitchy monologues galvanizes a stage, the man's got big acting talent even when words are in the mix. www.arthursimone.com Best Art Gallery: Okay Mountain
Okay Mountain is one of Austin's most ambitious and experimental art galleries. Founded in 2006 by a group of artists, the gallery has since been on the cutting edge of local and national art scenes. In addition to exhibiting the likes of genderqueer video artist Ryan Trecartin (and very recently our own former art director Taylor Holland, among many others), the artists who run Okay Mountain often exhibit elsewhere as a collective – spreading the gospel of Austin contemporary art far and wide. 1312 E. Cesar Chavez Ste. B www.okaymountain.com Best Clothing Designer: Chia Chia Guillory's constant innovation and instinct for what's next must be why she's taken this category four years running (if you missed her arm warmers last year, they should be at the top of your fall wish list). Though demand for this Austin Craft Mafia capo's ubiquitous Chia hat is undiminished, these days Guillory's appeal goes way beyond furry ears. 457-9456 www.chiahats.com Best Comedian/Comedy Troupe: Master Pancake Theater Bald-headed Latin scholar John Erler and Joe "the Teacher" Parsons and their Pancake friends are so clever and merciless in their live parodying of big-screen classics and clunkers, so relentless in their popular comedy onslaughts at the Alamo Drafthouse, that Erler doesn't even have to strip down to his tighty-whities to get the big laughs. But, no, that doesn't stop him for a minute. 2700 W. Anderson, 459-7090; 1120 S. Lamar, 707-8262; 320 E. Sixth, 476-1320 www.originalalamo.com Best Composer: Graham Reynolds Whether he's leading the legendary Golden Arm Trio into the Alamo Drafthouse to score yet another silent film classic or working alongside Golden Hornet Project co-founder Peter Stopschinski to create an utterly unique musical experience that practically screams (albeit melodically) Austin, Reynolds is the very definition of a polymorphous and perverse purveyor of musical magic. Quiet: Genius at work! 3010 E. 14th 1/2, 773-4653 www.grahamreynolds.com Best Dance Company: Ballet Austin Stephen Mills: Those two words say more about ballet in Austin than a thousand performances could. And if you know what those two words – Stephen Mills – can do, you'll forget all about that fusty old ballet schlock you grew up on. The dancers themselves have a synergy with their choreographer palpable from the stage. Mills has made ballet sexy again, and Ballet Austin takes it all in stride. 501 W. Third, 476-9051 www.balletaustin.org Best Emergent Local Filmmaker: PJ Raval
He's directed videos for metal gods the Sword, served as cinematographer on Kyle Henry's remarkably disturbing Room, and co-directed the one-of-a-kind documentary Trinidad (go ahead, name another independent doc that travels to Colorado and unearths the sex-reassignment capital of the world, we dare you). As if that weren't enough, Raval also did cinematography (with Kimberley Roberts) for the Academy Award-nominated New Orleans doc Trouble the Water, which, while it didn't nail the Oscar, did pick up the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2008. Top that! 507-8158 www.unraval.com Best Gay/Lesbian Hangout: Rain on 4th "Let's have some fun, this beat is sick. I wanna take a ride on your disco stick." Thanks, Lady Gaga, for summing up what we love about Rain – the party atmosphere, the wicked music, and the hordes of beautiful potential make-out buddies. Oh, and the bartenders are as sweet as cherry pie! Many an unforgettable night has been had at this Fourth Street mainstay, and we suspect many more are to come. You'll find us on the lit-up dance floor, sweating out our inhibitions, singing along with the latest Gaga. What was that part about a "disco stick," again? 217 W. Fourth, 494-1150 www.rainon4th.com Best Jukebox: Casino el Camino The eyeballing starts as soon as you walk in. Someone's already there, you have to wait. But are they going to play your song? This is part of the thrilling wait at Casino el Camino. What are you supposed to do with a killer jukebox that houses songs from the Shangri-Las, T. Rex, Iggy Pop, the Modern Lovers, the Monks, Tom Waits, the Ramones, Loretta Lynn, the Cramps, and Serge Gainsbourg? Start smoothing out those dollar bills. 517 E. Sixth, 469-9330 www.casinoelcamino.net Best Live Club/Party DJ: DJ Manny
Sometimes you get lucky at a party and get a good DJ. Side conversations stop, and friends you've never before seen dance head out onto the floor. With his years of expertise, DJ Manny makes this happen every time. If you can't have him following you to every important business meeting, you can at least put together a commuting soundtrack or pick up some turntable skills at his shop, DJ Dojo. 411 W. Monroe, 447-3656 www.iscratchvinyl.com Best Movie Theatre: Alamo Drafthouse When people say they like to keep Austin weird, we hope they are referring to places like the Alamo Drafthouse. It would be weird if no one had thought of this brilliant idea: Serve pizza and pub grub alongside adult bevvies (!) while screening the best in current (and past) cinema, as well as hosting Fantastic Fest, South by Southwest Film screenings, QT Fest, and so much more. 2700 W. Anderson, 459-7090; 1120 S. Lamar, 707-8262; 320 E. Sixth, 476-1320 www.originalalamo.com Best Museum: Blanton The Blanton is known as much for its ambitious program schedule, including the monthly art party B Scene, as it is for the world-class art collection adorning the walls. With curators taking risks in the museum's project space – Lisi Raskin and Jim Drain are two recent exhilarating examples – and university scholars' carefully studied surveys of neglected moments in art history (the Park Place Gallery), the Blanton is much more than a repository for past masters. It's a place where are is active, connecting wtih viewers in teh present and moving toward the future. MLK & Congress Ave., 471-7324 www.blantonmuseum.org Best New Club: Shangri-La
The Second Sunday Sock Hop is always packed with sweaty shakin' booties, the indoor area sports a couple of pool tables and some arcade games, and the spacious outdoor patio is a great place to share a drink with a friend. And best of all, it's (well-behaved) dog-friendly! No wonder our readers love this laid-back paradise. 1016 E. Sixth, 524-4291 www.shangrilaaustin.com Best Party of the Year: South by Southwest It's that conflict of emotions that can drive even the smoothest club rat crazy: that familiar "I love you but I hate you" that gnaws at your insides when SXSW comes to an end. This annual partay is so on and so damn fun it hurts, leaving your indie radar and your liver in tears of joy and you, like a child with a popped balloon, wearing a big frown when it's done. The megafest has so much to hear, see, smell, laugh at … some plan way ahead and coordinate their exact routes minute for minute, band by band. Others get a cab and go wherever the festival takes them 'til four in the morning. And when that best party of the year is over, the only consolation is this: It'll be back next year. 1000 E 40th St, 467-7979 www.sxsw.com Best Performance Space: Long Center Celebrating the Austin Symphony, Ballet Austin, and Austin Lyric Opera as resident companies, the Long Center has been an acoustic and visual treasure since its debut a mere year and a half ago. With the balcony view of Downtown's reflection on Town Lake vying with every seat in both theatres as best-in-house, the roster of both local and internationally acclaimed can’t-miss nights keeps growing. 701 W. Riverside, 457-5100 www.thelongcenter.org Best Place to Dance: Beauty Bar
Yes, it's crowded, and yes, the line at the bar is often longer than the ones to (or in) the bathrooms, but dammit, man, this shit is off the fucking hook, yo. Seriously: Where else can you shuffle your indie/hipster Chucks to the cacophonous clamor of My Education or Many Birthdays on the back porch before heading inside to bust a glute on the dance floor to DJ Mel, Car Stereo (Wars), or Santigold? Nowhere else. (Added bonus: The front porch is the key scene to be seen doing bad things late at night, à la Warhol, et al.) 617 E. Seventh, 391-1943 www.beautybar.com Best Place to See Local Art: East Austin Studio Tour Now in its seventh year, EAST is the best way to experience Austin's growing contemporary visual art scene. The intimate format – you pace your travels to the array of artist studios – denies the possibility of a cool and distant art experience. Instead, the art is often visceral and immediate. Did we mention it's entirely free?! Austin may not have schmancy museums built on old Texas oil money, but we have a handful of innovative galleries and hundreds of fiercely independent artists who call this place home, which is why an event like EAST should be compulsory for every naysayer of Austin's art scene. Bolm Studios, 5305 Bolm #10, 385-1670 www.eastaustinstudiotour.com Best Scenester/Mover & Shaker: TIE: Stephen Moser; Henri Mazza One is a professional party host, the other a professional party guest. One dresses like Michael Jackson as often as possible; the other has such impeccable fashion standards he puts us all to shame. (Even the cargo-pants arsonist – of Governor's Mansion fame – is no match for Chronicle "After a Fashion" columnist Stephen Moser's leather pants and fur coat.) The last 10 years have been a fertile fashion decade for Austin, and Moser has been right there in the middle of it – pyrotechnics and all – giving new local talent their weekly, bold-face due. No fashion show, boutique opening, or fundraising gala is complete without him. Meanwhile, no swanky South Austin restaurant, hip Eastside dive bar, or Downtown afterparty (all in a night’s work) is complete without Henri Mazza, the Alamo’s work-hard-to-play-hard creative director. Though he’s known for packing the Alamo theatres with his original programming (think film festivals, sing-alongs, and Thriller dance-offs), carting famous people like Kristen Bell around town, and uncannily tapping in to the pop-cultural zeitgeist over and over, our favorite thing about him is his heart of gold – and his gold high-tops to match. Stephen MacMillan Moser: The Austin Chronicle, 4000 N. I-35, 454-5766; Henri Mazza: Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz, 320 E. Sixth, 476-1320 austinchronicle.com; www.originalalamo.com Best Theatre Director: Bonnie Cullum
The Mistress of the Vortex has staged so many original phantasmagorias over the years – Dark Goddess! The X&Y Trilogy! Vampyress! – and provided theatregoers with diverse visions of myth and magic like some Neil Gaiman tarantula-venom fever dream. Now, following this year's spring production of her ambitious and watery Oceana, the intrepid director is set to unveil The Dragonfly Queen, the newest multimedia musical spectacle from partner-in-theatre, ethos. The Vortex, 2307 Manor Rd., 478-5282 www.vortexrep.org Best Visual Artist: Jill Pangallo This award is bittersweet for us because Pangallo has recently moved to New York City. (New York City?!) Such is the way of big fish in small ponds. She swears she'll be back, though, and here's hoping. The appeal of Pangallo's aesthetic is wide. Her visual art encompasses live, video, and photographic performances, gaining her fans from within and without the art world. Pangallo's personae are as hilarious as they are tragic, and there's the rub; when she lets multiple characters out to play, as she did in this year's Let Me Entertain You, the effect is dizzying. Jill, stay in touch and send us a postcard every now and again. www.jillpangallo.com |
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