Off the Record

In the Line of Duty

By all accounts, Bun B kept it trill at Emo's last Wednesday, and Memphis' Kinfolk Thugs notched a 2008 summer anthem with "Dumptruck" ("back it up, and dump it on me"). Things couldn't have gone worse, however, for Robert "Lowkey" Hein, one-half of local opener Southbound. After being ejected from the venue due to an altercation with the club's bouncers, the 23-year-old was forcefully apprehended by the Austin Police Department as he was leaving with his twin brother, Michael. "It was one of the worst beat-downs I've ever seen in my life," testifies South by Southwest booker and event organizer Matt Sonzala. "There were four cops holding him down on his stomach with his hands behind his back, Tasing him, punching him, and beating the fuck out of him with their billy clubs." According to APD's Public Information Office, Hein was formally charged Thursday at 1:09am with assault on a peace officer, public intoxication, and resisting arrest. A video capturing the last two minutes of the arrest hit YouTube late Thursday and has since been viewed more than 1,000 times. "I never had a chance to defend myself or resist anything," argues Hein, who was released the following afternoon on a personal-recognizance bond. "This crooked shit happens a lot more than people think, and I want to take whatever action I can take to let people know." Manning the corner of Sixth Street and Red River, Emo's owner Frank Hendrix, who originally asked one of the officers to escort Hein away, saw things a bit differently. "[Hein] turned around and swung at them," he says. "Had he been cooperative, he wouldn't have even gone to jail. All he had to do was leave. ... Instead of escalating the situation, the police diffused it and got the guy out of there. I have to give them kudos." Hein has not registered a formal complaint with the Police Monitor's Office, but is planning on filing a civil lawsuit against the city of Austin. Witnesses can contact him at [email protected].

Random Play

• Full Service's homemade video for "Alpine" (www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UOOxD-JcPk) documents the local Sublime enthusiasts' stomping grounds on South Congress and the effects of its ongoing gentrification. Other music industry representatives looking to voice their opinions about social issues facing the local music scene can do so by completing the Live Music Task Force's survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=6PTM5iTkCnWiI8WeyR_2b1qA_3d_3d.

• Austin and Li'l Cap'n Travis welcome back guitarist Christian Braafladt from his two-year sojourn in Durango, Colo., on Saturday at the Continental Club, which also marks the release of the Gary Newcomb Trio's eponymous debut.

• Appearances from Austin's Ray Wylie Hubbard, the Belleville Outfit, and Eliza Gilkyson were among the highlights from the first week of the annual Kerrville Folk Festival, which continues through June 8. See www.kerrvillefolkfestival.com for complete details.

Number of the Beast

The galloping, singularly cryptic vision of Iron Maiden captain/bassist Steve Harris has spawned generations of loyal acolytes, but watching daughter Lauren Harris' spinal tap at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Selma on Wed-nesday was like a heavy metal version of Hogan Knows Best. As for the UK troopers, the opening night of the Somewhere Back in Time summer tour only affirmed the enduring allure of Maiden's ironclad dance of death. Dusting off the band's 1985 Egyptian backdrop, Bruce Dickinson and company pillaged Powerslave's temple of doom with the introductory couplet of "Aces High" and "2 Minutes to Midnight," later revisiting the ancient runes with "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and the sneering title track. The operatic, two-hour time continuum, somewhat marred by swirling sound on a clear, windy night, concluded with the exorcising encore of "Moonchild" and "The Clairvoyant," both from 1988's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and "Hallowed Be Thy Name." Long live Eddie.

Good Riddance

The most striking difference between Green Day and its mid-1960s garage rock alter ego, Foxboro Hot Tubs, as evidenced last Thursday inside Emo's, was the band's beverage of choice: Pabst Blue Ribbon. "Get close to me," instructed a guitarless Billie Joe Armstrong, under the fur-coated guise of the Rev. Strychnine Twitch. "I'm pourin' out the Pabst." Backed by three of Green Day's touring sidemen, the merry pranksters walked harder than Dewey Cox at Stubb's late last year, indulging in a series of in-jokes that included Warning's "Blood, Sex, and Booze" and a nod to the band's short-lived New Wave side-project, the Network. A convulsive cover of the Who's "A Quick One (While He's Away)" sounded right at home beside the Kinksian crunch of Foxboro Hot Tubs' debut, Stop Drop and Roll!!!, while Armstrong even dimmed the lights for the moody "Dark Side of Night." For the 350-person capacity crowd, some of whom waited outside the club for tickets beginning at midnight the night before, PBR will never taste so sweet again.

My Aim is True

Rock royalty doesn't come more dignified than Elvis Costello and Diana Krall. Last Sunday, the married couple enjoyed a romantic dinner at Eddie V's Downtown and became so enthralled with the Kris Kimura Quartet that Krall eventually sat in with the local jazz ensemble for renditions of "Route 66" and "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You." "You could hear a pin drop the moment she came up on stage," recalls Kimura, still giddy with excitement. "People from the other side of the restaurant came over to the lounge. It was just unreal." Costello and Krall left with copies of both Kimura CDs, only to return the following evening with glowing reviews and partake in an extended encore that ended with Costello leading "My Funny Valentine." "The second night is a little bit of a blur," Kimura says. "I was so overwhelmed that I literally had trouble breathing."

Texican Style

How far is heaven? For 100 members of Los Lonely Boys' fan club, the answer was easy to come by Saturday night at the Saxon Pub as the San Angelo-based trio previewed its Steve Jordan-produced third LP, Forgiven, due July 1, on Epic. The 90-minute set, which benefited local charity Music for Literacy, was lilted by a handful of choice covers, including "Mustang Sally," "That's Alright, Mama," "Mystery Train," and Forgiven-favorite, the Spencer Davis Group's "I'm a Man." "No ... we don't do Menudo covers," laughed guitarist Henry Garza, who dazzled on harp, shot-glass slide, and, for the finale, kazoo with brother Ringo. "We do love menudo, though."