PLUS: Austin Chronic & 4/20 Merch • Summer Camps

August 29 • 2014

Aug 29 - Sep 4, 2014 / Vol. 33 / No. 53
Digital Edition

Cover Story

Becoming Drought Tolerant

In an August 1886 issue of the Kentucky newspaper Bourbon News, a journalist wrote, “The drought in Texas is so intense that potatoes are cooked in the ground, and all the people have to do is dig and eat them. The workmen carry salt in their pockets and don’t have to go home to dinner.”…

by Lizzie Jespersen

The Luv Doc: Unrecyclables

Hi there, Luv Doc! My husband tries to recycle everything – even things that clearly can’t be recycled. I take pity on the person (or machine?) that has to sort through our unrecyclables. We have the smallest trashcan available (we got a rebate for a composter to get it) and a tiny baby who creates…

by The Luv Doc

Food Events

Food for Thought Austin’s top chefs throw down signature dishes to support Communities in Schools of Central Texas. Features bites from El Alma, chavez, Dolce Neve, Trace, Baked by Amy’s, Noble Sandwich Co., and more. Thu., Sept. 4, 6-9pm. ACL Live at the Moody Theater, 310 W. Willie Nelson Blvd., 512/225-7999. $250. Oatmeal Festival All…

by Chronicle Staff

Headlines

• Today’s City Council meeting (Aug. 28) considers urban forest management and coyote management, the Butler Trail at Southeast Shore Master Plan and the Fiesta Gardens Plan, budget and tax rates – and a “Distinguished Service” proclamation in honor of the Chronicle’s own Amy Smith. • The first Pretrial hearing for former APD Det. Charles…

by Chronicle Staff

Texas Platters

Ruthie Foster Promise of a Brand New Day (Blue Corn Music) Snagging Grammy nominations for Best Blues Album, Ruthie Foster’s previous two LPs now pave the way for the Austinite’s eighth effort, Promise of a Brand New Day, which should deliver the same accolade. While the powerhouse singer-songwriter’s hallmark vocals, hovering emotively between low and…

by Doug Freeman

Texas Platters

Sarah Jaffe Don’t Disconnect (Kirtland) Deep inside the whirling dervish of Sarah Jaffe’s third full-length Don’t Disconnect lies traces of her folk balladry. Those roots date back to 2010 when she was armed with only an acoustic guitar and a Suburban Nature born from her Denton home base. Now, Jaffe’s working with a whole new…

by Abby Johnston

Day Trips

Southern Walnut Creek Hike and Bike Trail is a nice little 7.3-mile trip along the greener edge of Austin. Opened this summer, the trail is Austin’s longest paved non-motor-vehicular pathway. The 10-foot-wide sidewalk mostly follows the wooded creek bed from Govalle Park east of Downtown near Airport Boulevard and Bolm Road to Johnny Morris Road…

by Gerald E. McLeod

Texas Platters

Evil United Honored by Fire (MVD) There’s hardly a strain of amp-abusing heaviness Austin metal god Jason McMaster hasn’t fondled, from the pioneering prog metal of Watchtower and the spandex hard rock of Dangerous Toys to the NWOBHM stylings of Ignitor and AC/DC worship of Broken Teeth. Evil United puts thrashing power metal into the…

by Michael Toland

Texas Platters

Golden Dawn Arkestra Afrobeat bands often take their cues from Nigerian kingpin Fela Kuti, but Golden Dawn Arkestra’s influence orbits the interplanetary jazz-funk of Sun Ra. This Austin crew may actually prove even stranger. Recorded and produced by local A-team Erik Wofford and Adrian Quesada, the extraterrestrial 10-piece beams six songs in 24 minutes that…

by Chase Hoffberger

Hornography

Charlie Strong was less than 12 hours into his tenure as head coach when he failed his first performance review. From the loudmouth of UT booster and semi-professional opinion-haver Red McCombs: The man should never have been given the job to start with. “I think he would make a great position coach, maybe a coordinator,”…

by Eric Sollenberger

Texas Platters

OBN III’s Live in San Francisco (Castle Face Records) These 12 inches of vinyl revolving at 45 RPM arrived one month after Austin’s OBN III’s dropped a studio bid to become garage-punk’s Blue Öyster Cult, Third Time to Harm. Installment in a series curated by label boss John Dwyer from Thee Oh Sees (with whom…

by Tim Stegall

Quote of the Week

“We need to look at the states, which are lavatories of innovation and democracy.” – Gov. Rick Perry during an Americans for Prosperity event in Manchester, New Hampshire.

by Chronicle Staff

Texas Platters

Bobby Patterson I Got More Soul! (Omnivore) He never scored the hit that would’ve made him a household name, but Bobby Patterson remains way too good to be relegated a cult figure. The charismatic Dallas soul auteur recorded a pile of killer sides in the Sixties and Seventies, produced by the likes of Fontella Bass…

by Scott Schinder

Godspell

The Austin Theatre Project cast is exuberantly energetic, but it’s in the still moments that they’re most true to this musical

by Robert Faires

A Burning Matter

Once again, you salsa-loving Austinites braved the August blast furnace to demonstrate your love for live music, cold beer, and fiery food! In the process, you managed to generate more than 39,000 meals for the Capital Area Food Bank, and that’s a worthy service for the whole community at a time when demand is high…

by Virginia B. Wood

The 803 Rolls Out

Capital Metro held a dedication service for its new 803 MetroRapid Bus Service on Aug. 25 – even though the new express route, connecting the Domain to Westgate Mall via Burnet Rd., UT, and Downtown, started running the day before. At least the event had warmer weather than when the transit agency launched its first…

by Richard Whittaker

Tales of the Refugees

Last Sunday’s gathering at the Congre­gational Church of Austin on 23rd Street, just west of the UT-Austin campus, had all the markings of a worship service – pews filled to capacity and additional folding chairs to accommodate the crowd. But the noon gathering of about 100 people was intended to show support for Central American…

by Tony Cantú

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

Since 1973, the Downtown Hotel in Dawson City, Yukon, has served drinks with a unique garnish — a mummified human toe. Any drink becomes a Sourtoe Cocktail when the toe is added, provided the drinker’s lips touch the toe. Overeager customers have chugged nine toes over the years. In response, the bar raised the fine…

by Mr. Smarty Pants

24th Annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival Contest Winners

Individual Category Red Sauce 1st Place: Keith Salas 2nd Place: Randy Kirchhoff 3rd Place: Widespread Dave Green Sauce 1st Place: Doraelia Brackin 2nd Place: Gary Peifer 3rd Place: Rachelle Farmer Special Variety 1st Place: Adam Treadway 2nd Place: Craig Isaacs 3rd Place: Pierre Auxila Restaurant Category Red Sauce 1st Place: Mariachis de Jalisco 2nd Place:…

by Chronicle Staff

Soccer Watch

The Texas Longhorns got their first goal of the 2014 season from none other than junior goalkeeper Abby Smith, who curled home a 45-yard free kick 25 minutes into the season opener against Arizona State on Saturday. Smith is a preseason All American, but the Horns are not expecting to rely on her scoring touch.…

by Nick Barbaro

Civics 101

Thursday 28 Central Health Public Hearings Two public hearings about the FY 2015 budget, which includes a grant for Planned Parenthood’s three Austin health centers to provide preventive health care and birth control to eligible patients. 6pm. Central Health Administrative Office, 1111 E. Cesar Chavez. Free. www.centralhealth.net. Saturday 30 Volunteer Deputy Registrar Training Get trained…

by Chronicle Staff

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