Fun Fun Fun Lists

The Charlatans UK Sat., 3:20pm, Orange stage UK legacy act, 25, imports Some Friendly danceable psych rock from the UK charts to the U.S. underground. Drive Like Jehu Fri., 7:25pm, Black stage Rare reunion gig from post-hardcore San Diego jammers with Rocket From the Crypt/Hot Snakes connections. Grifters Sun., 2:10pm, Orange stage Memphis’ favorite sons…

by Michael Toland

Fun Fun Fun Lists

American Nightmare Sat., 4:35pm, Black stage Recently resurrected Boston hardcore outfit Give Up the Ghost returns to its original name. Chain of Strength Sun., 4:35pm, Black stage Late-Eighties/early-Nineties SoCal straight-edge band reunites after a long absence. Dag Nasty Sun., 5:55pm, Black stage Minor Threat/Bad Religion guitarist Brian Baker and his seminal mid-Eighties D.C. melodic punk…

by Tim Stegall

Friday Fun Fun Fun Fest Album Reviews

Scuzzed San Francisco pedigree or no, multi-instrumentalist Mikal Cronin’s critical path always arced toward aspirant pop. The Ty Segall compatriot employs full-bodied arrangements and summit-cresting guitar solos to craft a grand statement on solo LP three. Roiling strings drive “Turn Around,” an exclamatory overture sabotaged by lack of resolution, while the cruise-controlled cowbell clip of…

by Greg Beets

Friday Fun Fun Fun Fest Album Reviews

Racetrack buzzes open Toro y Moi’s fourth album, but What For? isn’t speedy. Instead, its boogie daydream reiterates the abundant gifts of South Carolina producer Chaz Bundick. Breathy riffs on “Empty Nesters” whisper Tame Impala’s Currents, but the Seventies guitar pop is all Bundick, whose increase in vocalizing here eliminates the need for heavy synths…

by Chronicle Staff

Fun Fun Fun Lists

Doomtree Sun., 3:55pm, Blue stage Minneapolis indie collective – rappers P.O.S, Dessa, Cecil Otter, Sims, and Mike Mictlan, plus producers Lazerbeak and Paper Tiger – slaughter with raging lyrical dexterity and unending genre-bending. GZA Sat., 2:50pm, Yellow stage Supreme lyricist also known as the Genius, the Wu-Tang spiritual leader waxes philosophical about chess, street grime,…

by Kahron Spearman

Friday Fun Fun Fun Fest Album Reviews

Gonzo garage maniacs King Khan & BBQ Show offer the aural equivalent to a drunken hook-up: short, weird, messy. Bad News Boys ends a six-year hiatus since 2009’s Invisible Girl and finds both Khan and Mark “BBQ” Sultan once again spinning unhinged madness, from the deranged doo-wop of “Alone Again” and “Buy Bye Bhai” to…

by Thomas Fawcett

Friday Fun Fun Fun Fest Album Reviews

The Amory Wars are over. Band visionary Claudio Sanchez called a cease-fire on Coheed and Cambria’s seven-album sci-fi sprawl, and now dips into more emotionally grounded territory. Pop rock rather than space prog, The Color Before the Sun is akin to his beloved Rush’s permanent wave goodbye to fantasy epics in favor of radio-friendly AOR.…

by Richard Whittaker

A Closer Look at No Sit/No Lie

In 2009, House the Homeless, an education and advocacy nonprofit, surveyed 500 people experiencing homelessness in Austin. After analyzing the surveys, Richard Troxell, the founder of House the Homeless, discovered that nearly half had serious health conditions, including congestive heart failure, cancer, traumatic brain injuries, and mental illness, that prevented them from working. These illnesses…

by Makeda Easter

Headlines

It’s back to the drawing board for Travis County: The $287 million bond proposition for a new civil courthouse was defeated Tuesday by about 1,000 votes of 73,000 cast, 50.7% to 49.3%. See “State and Local Elections,” Nov. 6. Statewide voting results show overwhelming passage of all seven constitutional amendments. The lowest vote-getter, at 66%,…

by Chronicle Staff

Friday Fun Fun Fun Fest Album Reviews

Although 2013 debut The Bones of What You Believe ventured into prog and rambling imitations of the Pet Shop Boys, Chvrches embraces an unabashed joy of pop on sophomore offering Every Open Eye. The Glasgow threepiece has figured out what works: in this case, catchy funk-pop (“High Enough to Carry You Over”) that threatens the…

by Abby Johnston

Saturday Fun Fun Fun Fest Album Reviews

Massachusetts outfit Speedy Ortiz’s sophomore album is a biting, brooding affair: a Nineties feminist soundscape stippled with dissonance often verging on sinister, and wielding brainy guitar lines and lyrics. The tracks on Foil Deer thus hover between vulnerable and aggressive. “My Dead Girl” recounts a group of men converging on frontwoman Sadie Dupuis’ pulled-over car…

by Libby Webster

Oops!

In our Austin Film Festival preview story “Booger Red Finds the Truth in Fiction,” (Screens, Oct. 30) we incorrectly identified Patrick Kelly as still being incarcerated, when it is in fact Dennis Pittman who is still in prison. The Chronicle regrets the error.

by Chronicle Staff

Shove

Fun Fun Fun Fest headliners L7 come roaring back on the lips of Donita Sparks

by Neph Basedow

Saturday Fun Fun Fun Fest Album Reviews

Via singer Ty Segall, familiarity ensues early on this power trio’s sophomore LP. In this outfit, the busy “Girlfriend” songwriter bandies his wonted six-string for a noble go on the drums. Commencing the hourlong disc is brazen seven-minute opener “Time Collapse,” its stoner psychedelia mash enduring throughout 14 tracks. Black Sabbath echoes in Segall’s vocals…

by Neph Basedow

Saturday Fun Fun Fun Fest Album Reviews

Whether Joey Bada$$ wearing his influences like honor badges is cause for celebration or critique depends on the listener more than “the lyrical New York City bandit.” Like the mixtapes preceding it, official debut full-length B4.DA.$$ revels in East Coast golden era nostalgia despite the fact that the 20-year-old rapper was conceived roughly the same…

by Thomas Fawcett

Quote of the Week

“I believe the decision is an injustice of grave proportions.” – Travis County Democratic Party Chair Vincent Harding, on the federal court decision to drop charges against former APD Detective Charles Kleinert in the fatal shooting of Larry Jackson Jr.

by Chronicle Staff

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

Most of the people in U.S. jails have not been convicted, but are awaiting trial. In 2000, 56% of those in jail (349,800 people) were nonconvicted inmates. In 2014, 62.8% of those in jail (467,500) were nonconvicted. Scientists from McGill University say Americans are uniquely likely to report feeling better after taking totally fake painkillers.…

by Mr. Smarty Pants

Saturday Fun Fun Fun Fest Album Reviews

Since turning into an indie staple with 2012’s “Polish Girl,” Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo has done some growing up. Resurrecting his original electro master persona, Palomo introduced Vega Intl. Night School with a hotline welcoming listeners with a “Hey there, sexy.” The 51-minute groove compilation emulates late-night VH1 on a heavy dose of synth and…

by Chronicle Staff

Soccer Watch

UT Longhhorn goalkeeper Abby Smith got the 30th shutout of her career, breaking Dianna Pfenninger’s school career record, as the Horns blanked Montana, 3-0, in Friday’s regular season finale. They earned the No. 3 seed in this week’s Big 12 conference tournament in Kansas City; they’re playing Kansas in the first round as we go…

by Nick Barbaro

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