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Book Review

Karen Morgan made it her mission to make fabulous gluten-free versions of every baked item in her repertoire

by Kate Thornberry

Texas Platters

Tomás Ramírez (Austin Records) In 1983, when most of this material was initially released on an LP titled Thanks for the Goodbyes for local imprint Fable Records, saxophonist Tomás Ramírez was a prominent figure on the local scene, closely associated with musicians of all genres. Known as the Jazzmanian Devil (the album was issued under…

by Jay Trachtenberg

The Illusionist

From the director of The Triplets of Belleville comes this new animated feature, which is based on an unproduced script by the great French filmmaker Jacques Tati.

by Marc Savlov

Texas Platters

Chris Brecht & Dead Flowers Dead Flower Motel Chris Brecht’s 2008 debut, The Great Ride, saddled up Dylan with convincing, if overly indebted, promise. The local songwriter’s sophomore album proves he’s capable of rising to the next rung. With a crack band that calls upon members of Austin’s new roots scene (the Happen-Ins, Deadman, Ricky…

by Doug Freeman

Texas Platters

Candace Bellamy A Thousand Shades of Blue Bellamy’s calling card is her voice, a smoky, soulful instrument of joy well-suited to a variety of cover bands locally, as well as A Thousand Shades of Blue. The album’s fortuitous placement of six gorgeous co-writes by Bellamy and Austin veterans Ruth Carter (Robert Palmer, Stevie Ray Vaughan)…

by Margaret Moser

Texas Platters

Edie Brickell (Racecarlotta) There’s little to distinguish this self-titled solo offering from the Edie Brickell material you already know. That’s not a bad thing necessarily, as the Dallas native doesn’t reach beyond her grasp on this Charlie Sexton-helmed effort. Bob Dylan’s local guitar slinger gives the disc a lush, lustrous accompaniment to Brickell’s always fine…

by Margaret Moser

Waiting for the Axe: The Task Force

The Austin ISD Facility Master Plan Task Force began its work before the state and district budget collapse, but the group is finalizing what is supposed to be a 10-year plan in the fires of the shortfall. With the first draft due Feb. 14 and the final recommendations scheduled to be submitted to the board…

by Richard Whittaker

Texas Platters

Meagan Tubb & Shady People Cast Your Shadow Meagan Tubb didn’t choose the title Cast Your Shadow casually. She went about creating a well-mapped plan to cut her notch in Austin’s blues belt. For that, she gets full props; this is unabashed Southern rock with bluesy Texas underpinnings protruding proudly (“Damn Good Man,” “Sweet Dream,”…

by Margaret Moser

Highfalutin Without the Gluten Roulette

The eateries listed below all have gluten-free options, some offer 100% gluten-free menus, and they are all sensitive to dietary restrictions in general. Enjoy your gluten-free Valentine’s! Estimated meal cost per person: $=<$10 $$=$10-25 $$$=$25-40 $$$$=$40+ DOWNTOWN Beets Living Foods Cafe Austin’s premier raw food spot, Beets serves gluten-free all year long. 1611 W. Fifth…

by Chronicle Staff

Texas Platters

Lucy Billings No Other Road (Sassy Time) No Other Road arrives as an unexpectedly warm debut, ably grouped with Paula Held’s Drive from last year, both albums coming from women who aren’t fresh out of college and/or delivering angsty debuts. Lucy Billings’ heart is in country, albeit with a wry smile and cocked eyebrow –…

by Margaret Moser

Texas Platters

Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus Ray of Hope (Berkalin) There’s an underlying sweetness in the acoustic music of Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus, enough to evoke smiles of indulgence, but not to dismiss Ray of Hope as featherweight folk. Polishing the various guises of coupling (“Wrong End of Love”), most honestly and authentically in the…

by Margaret Moser

How High

Divination or hallucinogenic drug? Whichever way you look at it, The Spirit Molecule is gonna move you.

by Marc Savlov

Texas Platters

Graham Reynolds The Difference Engine (Innova) Graham Reynolds & the Golden Arm Trio Duke! Three Portraits of Ellington (Innova) Premiered last February in a commission for Ballet Austin, The Difference Engine hums Graham Reynolds’ hybrid classicism. A triple concerto, its five compact movements spotlight a trio of soloists – Leah Zeger (violin), Jonathan Dexter (cello),…

by Raoul Hernandez

Texas Platters

First impressions can last a lifetime. Black Books breaks the ice with a four-song offering limited to 150 physical copies but available for free download on the local quintet’s website. Lifting off like a CliffsNotes version of My Morning Jacket, An Introduction To airs out on electronic gadgetry in lieu of guitar, a comparison driven…

by Austin Powell

Texas Platters

The Zakary Thaks Passage to India (Cicadelic) Texas’ foundational contribution to rock & roll in the 1960s included stellar garage rock acts across the state. Dry South Texas emerged as an uncommonly fertile ground for such bands as the Zakary Thaks. From 1966 to 1969 in Corpus Christi, which also begot Bubble Puppy, the Thaks…

by Margaret Moser

Texas Platters

Candi & the Strangers 10th of Always Name referencing Warhol starlet Candy Darling, a Fleetwood Mac-esque lineup, and a recent cover of the Cars’ “Moving in Stereo” stock the cookie jar of local dream-weavers Candi & the Strangers. The Austin quintet – couples John and Samantha Constant and Angie and Greg Rose, plus ubiquitous producer…

by Audra Schroeder

Day Trips

Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World is where some of the finest parade floats in the world are created

by Gerald E. McLeod

Texas Platters

Danny Schmidt Man of Many Moons (Red House) Following 2009’s loosely themed exposition on money, Instead the Forest Rose To Sing, Danny Schmidt’s sixth studio effort proves more personal and shaded. In the soft quiver of his lightly scuffed voice, Schmidt hearkens poignant undercurrents reminiscent of Richard Buckner’s Bloomed, but with a gentler heart and…

by Doug Freeman

Food-o-File

Wine and dine your valentine, chefs play matchmakers with a Texas food and wine competition, and more cheese, please

by Virginia B. Wood

Texas Platters

Carter Doster Sexton (CDS) The first recorded collaboration between three of Austin’s premier musicians shouldn’t surprise us. But it does. Performing infrequently at unlikely places like Z’Tejas and North by Northwest Restaurant & Brewery has obviously served Bill Carter, Stephen Doster, and Will Sexton well, as they conjure 14 songs of ringing roots pop and…

by Jim Caligiuri

Off the Record

Great music in odd places: punk rock at the Grand, Billy Gibbons’ Twin Liquors visit, and ‘Rehearsal at the Astoria’

by Austin Powell

The Eagle

This sword-and-sandals epic is an old-fashioned boys’ adventure tale about Roman warriors in the second century.

by Marjorie Baumgarten

Texas Platters

My Jerusalem Gone for Good (One Little Indian) Misery loves company. After a solo tour in 2008, Jeff Klein corralled his contemporaries Dave Rosser (the Twilight Singers), Rick Nelson (the Polyphonic Spree), Cully Symington (Bishop Allen), and Ashley Dzerigian (Great Northern) into My Jerusalem, an Austin/New Orleans-based collective with a penchant for fire-and-brimstone indie rock.…

by Austin Powell

Oops!

The “Quote of the Week” in last week’s News section contained the word “medication” instead of “Medicaid.” The correct quote bears repeating here: “It is not schools, it is not the school children … it is not people on Medicaid, and it is not the mentally ill that have created this deficit.” – John Folks,…

by Chronicle Staff

Texas Platters

Afrofreque Jewels & Gems (Frequeshow Music) Building on the funky formula of 2008’s Fresh Soul Frequencies, Austin party purveyors Afrofreque mine P-Funk, Ozomatli, and Digital Underground to unearth Jewels & Gems, a slick set of synthesized global party jams. The catchy title track oozes positive vibrations and stands out as a single on an album…

by Thomas Fawcett

UT Softball

Reigning Big 12 Pitcher and Freshman of the Year Blaire Luna will lead her 15th-ranked Longhorns into the 2011 season today (Thursday, Feb. 10) at McCombs Field as they host the three-day Texas Classic. They’ll be facing Tulsa and Northern Illinois, both of whom they have never played, and Louisville, whom they’ve only played once.…

by Mark Fagan

Luv Doc Recommends: Cleavage Chronicles: Everybody Loves Boobs

Boob is without a doubt America’s favorite palindrome – followed closely by tit. They are often used interchangeably, but unfortunately tit is a much harsher, drier sounding word – the pronunciation of which forces upon the speaker the beginnings of a sneer. Boob, on the other hand, has a full, soft, voluptuous sound. Its elocution…

by The Luv Doc

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