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

November 14 • 2008

Nov 14-20, 2008 / Vol. 28 / No. 11
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Cover Story

Holder Versus Obama on Man-Min Sentences

It looks like former Eric H. Holder, Jr., is likely to be tapped by President-elect Barack Obama as his nominee to become the next attorney general. Holder is a former deputy AG during the Clinton administration, who previously served as a judge and U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. If confirmed by the Senate, Holder would…

by Jordan Smith

Vaaranam Aayiram

Vaaranam Aayiram 2008, NR, 145 min. Directed by Gautham Menon, Starring Suriya Sivakumar, Sameera Reddy, Divya Spandana, Simran Bagga. A Tamil-language film about the importance of love and memories of the dead.

by Chronicle Staff

Photo Gallery Updates!

In the next few weeks we will be doing a major overhaul on our online photo gallery. We will be integrating our photos with flickr.com to make it easier to view/share our photos as well as make our gallery more visually appealing. In the meantime, check out some photos from last week to give you…

by Logan Youree

Honoring the Grassroots

Just because they are not organizing it, doesn’t mean our local activist groups are not helping push the momentum of this weekend’s protest.

by Kate X Messer

Indie Pizzas

Niki’s Pizza Dobie Mall, 2025 Guadalupe #228, 474-1876 Tech Ridge Center, 1100 Center Ridge Dr. #320, 989-6868 www.nikipizza.com Daily, 11am-10pm Brooklynite Niki Neziri has been cooking New York-style pie in Austin for 30 years, so no way can he be called a newbie. But he does have a new location out at the Tech Ridge…

by Mick Vann

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Adolescents Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 Old punks never die; they just don’t leap as high as they used to. Which explains why Adolescents original guitarist Frank Agnew recruited his son, Frank Jr., to handle backup shredder duties. Like father, like son: This snarky apple not only missed falling far from the proverbial tree, he’s actually…

by Marc Savlov

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Franki Chan/The Toxic Avenger Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 Franki Chan and the Toxic Avenger have established a rapport from touring together, so it was no surprise when Chan showed up onstage an hour early to let the crowd know their two sets would be meshed into one extended mix-up. That was about all you heard…

by Chase Hoffberger

Indie Pizzas

Salvation Pizza 624 W. 34th, 535-0076 www.salvationpizza.com Monday-Thursday, 11:30am-2pm & 4-10pm; Friday, 11:30am-11pm; Satur­day, noon-11pm; Sunday, 5-9pm Salvation is located just west of Guadalupe in a two-story bungalow (the old Starlite location) and is owned by Michael Dinsmore, Eric Lambert, and Elizabeth Mahoney. Mahoney grew up around pizza at her parent’s Harry’s Pizza in West…

by Mick Vann

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

All Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 Pop-punk powerhouse All pitched its classically candid, sweet, and sometimes angry love songs from the FFFF stage with the same energy it’s had since the early 1990s. “Skin Deep,” “Mary,” and “Dot” inflicted blows immediate and heartbreaking, though easier somehow now that we’ve all grown up. Branded in the minds…

by Francesca Camillo

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Clipse Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 Amid testimonials that “the meaning of a classic is defined” when their Till the Casket Drops in early 2009, Virginia Beach, Va., brotherhood Clipse made it its business Sunday night to cement the legend of its catalog. Bangers from Lord Willin’ and Hell Hath No Fury cut deep to a…

by Chase Hoffberger

Indie Pizzas

Hoboken Pie 718 Red River, 477-4256 www.hobokenpie.com Tuesday-Friday, 11:30am-2:30am; Saturday-Monday, 5pm-2:30am Hoboken sits on the west side of Red River, next to Bull McCabe’s, and is owned by Jason Daniels and Matt Getchell. Hoboken does 14-inch and 20-inch “Jersey-inspired” pies (or by the slice), a rectangular Sicilian pie, and three different salads. There is limited…

by Mick Vann

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Bishop Allen Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 Bishop Allen ignites something in audiences that’s hard to identify. Bright poppy melodies match the little dance Justin Rice does throughout the set, but it’s more than that. Performing above the dust bowl that FFFF became as the afternoon sun peaked, the Brooklynites were good sports, playing hard and…

by Francesca Camillo

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

The Cynics Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 For the Cynics, the brevity of a festival set became an opportunity to shelve their ballads in favor of no-frills rock, reaching back to the 1980s for some of their rippingest garage punk. Indeed, the set seemed to get harder and faster as they warmed up, with “Now I’m…

by Daniel Mee

Headlines

• At press time, Capital Metro drivers and mechanics voted to accept the latest contract offer from StarTran, after intervention from public officials and a marathon session last Friday resulted in a tentative deal. See “Point Austin.” • The post-election fallout continues at the state House, where a razor-thin split (76-74) led to speculation and…

by Chronicle Staff

Indie Pizzas

Hoeks Pizza 511 E. Sixth, 474-6357 www.myspace.com/hoekspizza Tuesday-Sunday, 7pm (or later)-3am The ambience of Hoeks Pizza is testosterone incarnate: fevered death metal assaults the sensibilities at deafening volume, the walls throb blood-red and black, and the pizza boxes are emblazoned with a cartoon, lingerie-clad, porn-o-licious blonde. Although I am sure it can’t always be the…

by Kate Thornberry

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

The Black Heart Procession Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 This wasn’t the right time or place to watch the Black Heart Procession. Guitarist Pall Jenkins and keyboardist Tobias Nathaniel looked uncomfortable with the sun in their eyes, and between the dust and noise from other stages, the day’s distractions neutralized the hypnotic power of the San…

by Daniel Mee

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

D.O.A. Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 D.O.A. just turned 30, and Joey “Shithead” Keithley hasn’t lost a step. If anything, he’s a more capable musician. D.O.A. ripped through a satisfying selection of the expected classics, including “General Strike,” “Liar for Hire,” and, naturally, “Fuck You,” but they also turned in blistering performances of a few shockingly…

by Daniel Mee

Indie Pizzas

East Side Pies 1401-B Rosewood, 524-0933 www.eastsidepies.com Sunday, noon-10pm; Monday, 4-10pm; Tuesday-Thursday, noon-10pm; Friday-Saturday, noon-12mid Perched on the southeast corner of Rose­wood and Angelina, East Side Pies is the brain­child of Michael Freid and Noah Polk. The interior is tiny, but there are small outside tables front and back. A glass counter holds an assortment…

by Mick Vann

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Centro-matic Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 Centro-matic is Will Johnson’s most formidable vehicle, but the quartet’s polish often threatens to overwhelm the raw emotion inherent in the Dentonite’s songwriting. Such was the case with the first half of Saturday afternoon’s set, and with only a half-hour slot, the band never settled into a groove. The rough…

by Doug Freeman

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

High Tension Wires Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 Taking the stage between D.O.A. and Cro-Mags was a tall order for High Tension Wires. The part-time fivepiece features members of the Riverboat Gamblers, Marked Men, and the Reds herky-jerking through breakneck pop-punk snot rockets that eschew mosh pits in favor of a spazzed-out pogo requiring ample arch…

by Greg Beets

Indie Pizzas

Pizzeria La Boca 5706 Manor Rd. Ste. E, 933-9400 www.labocapizza.com Monday-Friday, 9am-7pm; Saturday, 3-7pm; closed Sunday Fotini and Fernando LaGuardia are Californ­ia transplants, she originally from Greece and he from Argentina. They’ve made a name for themselves by selling their Empanadas La Boca at numerous venues around town, some 30 varieties in all. Pizzeria La…

by Mick Vann

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

The Dead Milkmen Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 With a suddenness that surprised everyone, including the sound booth, the Dead Milkmen leapt back to life Saturday night by opening with “Punk Rock Girl.” The swirling mass in front of the stage sung along to the unlikely starter with loyal ferocity, which nearly made up for sound…

by Greg Beets

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Islands Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 “This is Islands time,” bandleader Nick Thorburn announced from the stage. Decked out mostly in black, the Montreal fivepiece (one violinist mysteriously absent) plunged into opener “Kids Don’t Know Shit” from this year’s Arm’s Way. Bouncing from “Creeper” and a fierce “Pieces of You,” buoyed by Patrice Agbokou’s bass clarinet,…

by Darcie Stevens

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Deerhoof Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 “It’s like Blonde Redhead meets … Shellac?” a friend remarked halfway through Deerhoof’s set. No doubt the San Franciscans’ music generated its share of head-scratching, pigeonholing, and jokes, but that tag’s most likely due to the groove they’ve found. Singer Satomi Matsuzaki hit the stage in a tiger suit as…

by Audra Schroeder

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

J*Davey Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 Better late than never. After nearly 30 minutes of technical snafus, Hollywood hipsters J*Davey unleashed a mix of spaced-out funk grooves and glitchy hip-hop beats to a thin Stage 4 crowd. Backed by live drums, bass, and guitar, the duo of singer Jack Davey and producer Brook D’Leau have spent…

by Thomas Fawcett

Robert Harrison on ‘The Bride of Light’

‘The Bride of Light’ was the first piece conceived for the new record and actually predates the 18-day writing and recording episode which became Peoria. I cooked it up a month earlier, one cold afternoon in St. Louis while walking about some museum grounds in an effort to distract myself from the nervousness I felt…

by Chronicle Staff

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

El Paso Hot Button Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 Twisting and pushing the buffet of effects pedals at his feet and slapping the tambourine at his left shoulder, El Paso Hot Button accented his superlative one-man show with a thorough thrust of true love. With limbs weaving in every direction, he pushed sharp, bluesy rock from…

by Francesca Camillo

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Kool Keith Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 Dashing rumors that he was a no-show, Kool Keith took the stage dressed for a blizzard, his face wrapped in a sequined scarf and head covered by a thick hooded overcoat. “I wear my own curtain because I can’t let my energy be revealed,” the wacky wordsmith explained. “It’s…

by Thomas Fawcett

Future Clouds & Radar Reviewed

Future Clouds & Radar Peoria (The Star Apple Kingdom) Following up 2007’s eponymous double-disc debut, Peoria finds Future Clouds & Radar distilling principal Robert Harrison’s pure pop ambition into a concentrated storybook salvo that ends just under the 30-minute mark. It’s a little like XTC going backward to squeeze Skylarking out of Oranges & Lemons.…

by Greg Beets

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Tim Fite Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 The F3 Fest has generally placed a premium on the off-kilter, but the bizarre sincerity of Tim Fite was a spectacle unto itself. Part carnival barker and part MC, Fite swung around the small Stage 4 with a wild-eyed, lurching gait, while his sidekick, Sexy Leroy, climbed the stacks…

by Doug Freeman

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

The Revival Tour Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 Stripping songs to an acoustic minimum, the Revival Tour toned down the fury of punk frontmen Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Tim Barry (Avail), Ben Nichols (Lucero), and Tom Gabel (Against Me!) but proved no less powerful. Bookended by full band stomps that included upright bass, steel guitar,…

by Doug Freeman

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Magnetic Morning Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 Though Magnetic Morning’s drummer, Sam Fogarino (Interpol), and guitarist, Adam Franklin (Swervedriver), have worked together more than a year, the current full-band lineup played its first show less than a month ago. At FFFF, the newness was apparent in a degree of hesitancy, with the lead guitarist (who looked…

by Daniel Mee

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

St. Vincent Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 “The thing about Texas is we know how to kick out the jams,” announced Dallas expatriate Annie Clark before oozing solo into the Beatles’ “Dig a Pony.” St. Vincent isn’t merely another precious singer-songwriter earning ducats with nothing but good hair and eyelashes. Clark’s a troubadour, and with a…

by Darcie Stevens

House

In this Christian horror film, a mad killer who claims to have slain God, torments two couples seeking shelter.

by Marc Savlov

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Mammoth Grinder Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 Nearly imperceptible, the secret high sign may have, in fact, come directly from the stage, where Mammoth Grinder shuddered and shook like prehistoric quarry caught in the death throes of premature fossilization. Regardless, one U18 with a large “X” on his fist nodded to another, and on the local…

by Raoul Hernandez

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Tim and Eric Awesome Show Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 The performance kicked off with a song ostensibly called “Diarrhea,” which was repeated, uh, ad nauseam for five-plus minutes in nude-colored bodysuits covering flabby frames that also sported giant, fake genitalia. This is what Tim and Eric fans have come to expect; hit ’em with the…

by Audra Schroeder

Camille

Not screened for critics but described as a “honeymoon-gone-awry road movie” starring Sienna Miller and James Franco.

by Marjorie Baumgarten

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

The National Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 Repeatedly disclosed as the band’s final show before a long recording hiatus, the National has never appeared as loose and unbridled as it did Saturday night. Their notoriously dark and angst-rattled aesthetic still propelled the headlining set as frontman Matt Berninger bathed in the blue light and cradled the…

by Doug Freeman

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Ume Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 Austin’s wild trio ignited Sunday’s opening of FFFF with the sharp mortar fire of Lauren Larson’s guitar. Like a fiery adaptation of Kim Gordon with avian grace, Larson and her guitar slaying were rabid, her vocals snarly, which is pleasantly incongruous with her petite frame. Drawing a generous crowd, Ume…

by Francesca Camillo

Quantum of Solace

It’s grim, dark, and relentlessly violent – James Bond as Terminator rather than Templar – but it delivers the goods in bloody high style.

by Marc Savlov

Readings

The argument that Harper’s Magazine is all that stands between ourselves and idiocracy is a bit much, no?

by Cindy Widner

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Parts & Labor Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 The dust began just after 2:30pm Saturday, in the midst of a crunchy set by Brooklyn now-fourpiece Parts & Labor. Perhaps it reverberated in the strength of Joe Wong’s double kick drum, employed only when it mattered. Then again, it might have been Dan Friel’s fierce red mop…

by Darcie Stevens

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Zeale & Phranchyze Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 Declaring their style “Austin hip-hop with no add-ins and no preservatives,” local wordsmiths Zeale’s and Phranchyze’s charm was put to the test early Sunday afternoon when the two moseyed on stage to a slim-picked crowd of early risers. That didn’t stop the charismatic pair from working over those…

by Chase Hoffberger

Synecdoche, New York

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s first venture as a director is audacious, ambitious, and amazing; it’s also intricate, self-referencing, and all-encompassing: in a word, a masterpiece.

by Marjorie Baumgarten

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Young Widows Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 3pm wasn’t necessarily a good look for Young Widows. Playing directly into the Saturday sun, the Louisville, Ky., trio, especially singer/guitarist Evan Patterson, looked uncomfortably red. In the end, however, it only added to their blistering set, as much as the six vintage Emperor amps surrounding them like Stonehenge.…

by Audra Schroeder

Dostana

New Bollywood film is set entirely in Miami and is a romantic comedy about two men who pose as gay roommates to rent an apartment, which sends the wrong signal to women.

by Marjorie Baumgarten

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Z-Trip Waterloo Park, Nov. 8 “I’m not like Girl Talk,” suggested Z-Trip. “I still got these turntables.” Z-Trip’s style is the real deal, and the sight of local pupil DJ Thibault’s rocking out atop a nearby picnic table during the set defined Trip’s ability to incite a riot. So did the crowd’s mad rush to…

by Chase Hoffberger

Let the Right One In

This multi-award-winning Swedish film might be summarized as a vampire tween romance, but that cheap and tawdry sum-up does zero justice to the magnificent emotional resonance of this gem. A discussion of the adaptation follows the film.

by Marc Savlov

Off the Record

Fun Fun Fun Fest kicks up some dust in Waterloo Park while Carlos Santana sets up shop in the Warehouse District

by Austin Powell

Fun Fun Fun Fest Live Shots

Bouncing Souls Waterloo Park, Nov. 9 Heralded by, of all things, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” Jersey’s finest pop-pub-punk rockers proved to no one’s surprise that a great riff nailgunned to an even greater chorus makes for a perfect slice of pie (aka “The Pizza Song”). Mining hopeless romantic frontman Greg Attonito’s tried-and-true tales of…

by Marc Savlov

Luv Doc Recommends: Billy Joe Shaver and Adam Carroll

If you’re new to Austin, consider this: You can’t really call yourself an Austinite until you’ve spent some quality time in a South Austin back yard – ideally one decorated with Christmas lights, old beer signs, and a liberal scattering of dogs, mosquitoes, and dirt-smeared children. There should also be an makeshift stage – perhaps…

by The Luv Doc

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