Here’s the good news, kids: You pretty much know where everybody’s parents are going to be Sunday night. Your first clue should have been when your dad asked you where his friend could score some “weed.” Or maybe you figured something was up when he dragged his Rick Perry-style leather bomber jacket out of the back of the closet. Don’t dis. That shit looks hot with some pleated jeans and snow white Reeboks. Then again, he might decide to blow it up with the H-bomb: The Hawaiian shirt. (Oh no you di—int!) If pops is a player, he likes it unbuttoned just a little past the sternum – aka the “Treasure Trailhead.” Maybe you overlooked the fact that all of the sudden your mother is bouncing around the house braless in a faded black Stones 1981 American Tour T-shirt you’ve never seen before and scrunching her hair with mousse for that “rocker” look. Speaking of rocking, you might have just noticed Moms is rocking saddlebags and funbags. Shake those bad thoughts out of your head. So what if Sunday night she’s in front of the stage, clamping your dad’s head in a Daryl Hannah Blade Runner headlock, pumping her fist to “Honky Tonk Woman” and giving Methuselah Mick an eyeful of menopausal mammaries? Good for her, right? Life is short (unless you’re Keith Richards, and even Keith has to crawl back into his casket before sunrise) so you might as well rock it, eh? Now shut the fuck up and burn that Sticky Fingers CD like your mom asked you to and maybe get Dad’s PT Cruiser washed while you’re at it. It’s a small price to pay to have Sunday night all to yourself – at least until 10pm when the ‘rents come in reeking of booze, weed, and old people sweat. Save yourself the recap by fleeing to the Hole in the Wall for Paul Minor’s new Rock & Roll Free-for-All featuring special guest Bryce Clifford. The Rock & Roll Free-for-All was one of Austin’s favorite mid-Nineties hangouts for scruffy, up-and-coming bands like Spoon, Fastball, Li’l Cap’n Travis and the like. The new version features only one new band per Sunday instead of several, but Minor’s Superego is still awesome, featuring seasoned veterans Landis Armstrong, Kevin Pearson, and Andrew Duplantis. It’s unlikely that the Mick will choose the Hole for his afterparty, but if he does, your parents will probably be asleep by then anyway.
This article appears in October 20 • 2006.
