While Wayne Toups & Zydecajun were still unconfirmed at press time for
their Friday gig at LZR, Steve Riley & Co., are definitely on for Saturday,
and if you caught this New Orleans Cajun crew’s rockin’ dopsie of a set this
summer on Sixth Street, you know to bring every ounce of your dizzy, dancing,
party spirit, because Riley’s accordion will whup ya good. Dis da real thang,
sugar pie, dance wit` me until ya cry.

DRIVIN’ N’ CRYIN’, MOONPOOLS & CATERPILLARS

White Rabbit, Friday 3

Once hailed as the savior of the South, Georgia’s Kevin Kinney may not be
General Lee, but he’s still Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ through burning fields of
hand-wringing pop, which on the band’s new release, Wrapped in the Sky,
sounds like a back-alley scuffle with the BoDeans. Equally (and possibly more)
engaging are Moonpools & Caterpillars, an L.A. by way of the Philippines
quartet, led by the Cranberry-Sundays sounds of singer Kimi Ward Encarnation,
found on the band’s pretty pop debut Lucky Dumpling. Live, she should
turn the Juliana Hatfield trick.

STRETFORD, MISS UNIVERSE, HORMONES

Hole in the Wall, Friday 3

Do I really have say anything about the names on the marquee here? Need I drop
the three “P’s” (power, pop, punk)? Or names like Carl Normal, Michelle Rule
and Tim Stegall? And I better not have to tell where these three Jiffy-pop
explosions are from. If I do, then just send me $60 and your address in El
Paso, and your Chron subscription will start right up.

THE DICKIES

Emo’s, Saturday 4

For damn near two decades now, the Dickies have been ranting about some girl
in Texas, who promised herself to them if they would only come here. Well, that
girl may well be dead by now, but if she isn’t, the high-speed powerpoppunk of
the Dickies — finally making their Austin debut — just might kill her. Live,
the band’s razor-sharp sense of humor may be blunted and their killer melodies
may be hard to make out, but the supersonic speed of Dickies classics like “You
Drive Me Ape (You Big Gorilla)” and newer blasts like “Roadkill” are enough to
raise the dead — groupies, et al. — Ken Lieck

GUY FORSYTH

Antone’s, Sunday 5

Like so many in Austin, Guy Forsyth (that spanker on Asylum street) and his
barrel-house blues are easy to take for granted. Not so after listening to his
new Antone’s CD, Needlegun, a one-eyed and foaming bucking bullroar of
an album that puts to shame most of the contemporary blues albums out there.
He’s about to hit the pavement and gore the unsuspecting in other cities, so
catch the thunder now.

JIM LAUDERDALE

Continental Club, Tuesday 7

Despite the fact that country rocker Jim Lauderdale is seen as an “alternative
country” artist in L.A. and Nashville, he’s decidedly more straight and narrow
in Austin’s truly “alternative” country universe. This, however, doesn’t mean
Lauderdale’s new one, Every Second Counts, isn’t full of toe-tapping,
catch-yourself-singing numbers, which evoke everyone from Little Feat and Dr.
John to Rickie Lee Jones. Roots-rocker Jesse Dayton opens.

JO CAROL PIERCE

Cactus Cafe, Thursday 9

Love from a woman’s perspective. Not something new, except if that perspective
is Jo Carol Pierce’s and it’s the one found on her new Monkey Hill CD, Bad
Girls Upset by the Truth. If you per chance weren’t in Philadelphia early
this year and missed the stage version of Pierce’s musical monologue, here’s
your chance to see this witty, Austincentric vision of life in Texas. Look for
her Waterloo Records in-store Friday 3.

EVERCLEAR, RUTH RUTH, MAGNETO USA

Electric Lounge, Thursday 9

Three bands, three pop-punk premises, and still enough variation amongst them
to make this one a strong bill. Everclear, most recently seen blowing away
Filter at Liberty Lunch, is out supporting Sparkle and Fade —
distinctive as both Janeane Garafalo’s favorite album, and a nice collection of
tight songs that lay off the hokey lyrics just in time for a monster hook. If
Ruth Ruth’s “Uninvited,” featuring the best radio sing-along chorus since “Come
Out and Play,” is any indication, their Austin debut should be an interesting
first-look at a rising band. Which brings us to Magneto USA, who are headed to
El Lay to record their Hollywood debut, making this a last look for a while. — Andy Langer

MERCURY REV

Liberty Lunch, Thursday 9

A thundering herd from Buffalo, Mercury Rev went grazing in a different, more
drug-laden pasture for their new record, See You on the Other Side. The
end result is the resonant impression they’re living on the art rock/sonic jazz
periphery and probably won’t come back because their musical layerings are
truly stupendous. — Taylor Holland ALSO PLAYING

Friday: Jerry Jeff Walker, Hang ’em High

Saturday: Bob Dylan, Ian Moore, Austin Music Hall (Sunday too); Burn, Necrofix,
Back Room

Sunday: Mad Cat Trio, Gingerman Pub

Monday: Don Walser, Babes

Tuesday: Christina Marrs’ Speakeasies, Ritz

Wednesday: Lunachicks, Rancid, Liberty Lunch

Thursday: Ian McLagan, Continental Club

This article appears in November 3 • 1995 and November 3 • 1995 (Cover).

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