Fivehead, Stickpony, the Pretty Please
Carousel Lounge, Jan. 16 Downtown is an uphill battle on a rainy night when three of the town’s better musical options are tucked away at a cozy bar off Cameron Road near I-35. It’s no secret to local cognoscenti that the Carousel Lounge has played host to some of the best local bills for years now, and apparently now the cops know as well. A handful of Austin’s finest traipsed into the well-populated BYOL bar around 11pm, in time to catch Stickpony’s juiced-up take on Li’l Cap’n Travis’ slack-country stew. Like an easygoing Grand Champeen with Gram Parsons on the mic, Stickpony was the night’s pleasant surprise. The laissez-faire vibe was much needed after the tense storm clouds of the Pretty Please. Helmed by a pair of local Trance Syndicate-era standouts in drummer Kevin Whitley (Ed Hall, Cherubs) and singer/guitarist Carrie Clark (Sixteen Deluxe), this was the band’s first gig after changing their name from the Via Satellites. Whitley’s m.o. — manic, push-pull rhythms and fuzzy, meaty lines thrown down by bassist Matt Hovis (Cotton Mather) — was the order of the day but not without space for Clark to do her thing. And these days, her thing is dark, naughty, and Kim Gordon-esque (evidenced by an R-rated revision of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”), but with a dollop of the sugar-pop that made Sixteen Deluxe such a gas. Capping out the night was Fivehead, Austin’s most consistently satisfying rock warriors. Rugged dynamo John Hunt pummeled his guitar with sweat and conviction while dwelling on the life lessons of a crappy day. Co-frontman Beaty Wilson took the booze-soaked fallout and forged it into the beautifully broken melodies of “Goodie the Rat” and “Antidote” behind the rhythm section of Jeff Jones and Davis Comeau. The passion and precision with which they tore through material like the extended Chapel Hill guitar duel of “Teen Sensation” showed that, as they near the long-awaited release of their second album, Guests of the Nation (Tight Spot Records), these blue-collar blokes just might be at the top of their game.This article appears in January 23 • 2004.