Esther’s Follies, Sunday 9
Perhaps the best off-handed recommendation for this internationally revered,
Amsterdam-based ensemble came from a dyed-in-the-wool rock & roll fan who
saw the Kollektief’s last Austin gig a few years ago: “This is the best band
I’ve ever seen without a guitar player,” he beamed. Austin saxist/flutist Alex
Coke, who has been a member of the band for several years, is slightly more
precise when he says this is the closest he’ll ever come to playing with the
Duke Ellington Orchestra. And indeed, the Kollektief has now been together over
20 years with most of the original members still on board. Breuker writes
virtually all the music, and, very much like Ellington, he writes pieces for
specific band members. Their music can be tightly structured and wildly
improvisational, deadly serious, and hilariously funny. You won’t ever hear
another band quite like them. – Jay Trachtenberg
DERAILERS
Austin Outhouse, Friday 7
Last week, smiling Derailer Tony Villanueva came in bearing son, and
bumperstickers. Within minutes, vultures were circling my desk for those big
black bumper babies. Oh no, I thought, the Don Walser cult of country
personality has train-jacked these local dance demons, and is intent on riding
them outta town and into national stardom along with Don, Dale Watson, and a
host of other local country-for-the-Fifties-and-Nineties acts. Outlaw
Country Part II: Nashville Loses Again.
PSYCLONE RANGERS
Emo’s, Friday 7
Last time Allentown’s Psyclone Rangers blew through town, they got caught up
in SXSW, and landed in the brush of a Sunday burn-out at Emo’s. Back through in
support of The Devil May Care, another funny and bitterly sarcastic
swipe at society delivered with lean, mean, Horton Heat-like rockabilly, the
Rangers headline one of Emo’s psychobilly nights with the Flamin’ Hellcats and
Flametrick Subs.
BRAVE COMBO, HORSIES
Liberty Lunch, Saturday 8
If they were good enough to sell last weekend, why not this one, too? By now,
though, I’ve had more time to pounce around to the polka for punks on the new
release Polkas for a Gloomy World, and have decided that Denton’s Brave
Combo are a moshing band, not a Third-world, indie, “eclectic” write-off. Hear
that, Horsies? I wanna surf the crowd.
IAN MOORE
Austin Music Hall, Saturday 8
Critical kudos for his debut, a video directed by Ice Cube, and an opening
slot for the Rolling Stones. What’s next for Ian Moore? To capitalize on the
momentum with full-lengther number two Modernday Folklore (see “Local
Release Round-up”), something he’s already done in Austin judging from the
crowds he draws. Breedlove opens.
KRIS MCKAY
Waterloo Ice House 42, Saturday 8
At her last Waterloo appearance, Kris McKay stopped mid-song to make sure a
friend on the guest list got a refund after he mistakenly paid. Yet, rather
than break the show’s rhythm, this scene somehow managed to illuminate McKay’s
charm as a performer – she’s so comfortable onstage that she’ll discuss
politics, songwriting, or cover charges whenever the mood strikes her. And
luckily, for someone who’s got such a vast genre-jumping bag of witty originals
and smart covers (Prince to Bruce Robison), McKay’s got a voice as flexible as
her stage persona. – Andy Langer
BREEDLOVE, BORROWERS
Steamboat, Tuesday 11
“Ah, they’re young, and don’t know anything – third-rate Black Cat stuff,”
said a scoffer. Not true – to the latter two. They are young, but
they’ve got spark – blues spark – and it’s obvious. Their Monday night Antone’s
gigs and their frequent Steamboat appearances are growing some hair on these
boys, and they’re good. Tyrone Vaughan Fullerton’s got Uncle Stevie Ray’s
cheeks, but the licks are his own (as much as they can be at his age), while
Dan Dyer is an appealing frontman who holds up his end of the bargain, as do
B-3er Ezra Dawkins and bassist Josh Dawkins. Check ’em out.
TOMAS RAMIREZ & TEJAZZ
Saxon Pub, Wednesday 12
Tomas Ramirez rides the lightning every time he climbs aboard that tenor sax
of his – Austin’s own Coltrane. He blows it hard and without remorse, sometimes
laying a Latin groove so hot as to make any haba�ero taste mild.
All that goes double for his excellent Vireo debut Tejazz – so far, one
of ’95’s finest. Jazzmanian devil on the loose.
STEVE FORBERT
Cactus Cafe, Thursday 13
Little Stevie Orbit isn’t so little anymore – it’s already been some 16 years
and seven albums since the Mississippi-born singer-songwriter was a regular
Hamell on Trial, opening for punkers at CBGBs. Certainly his career path has
been full of chuckholes, but the still baby-faced Forbert continues to craft
poignant pop songs about everyday epiphanies and deliver them with disarming
charm – which can also be said for his new Mission of the Crossroad
Palms and his many wonderful Cactus gigs (he’ll also play there Friday 14).
LAURIE FREELOVE
Chicago House, Thursday 14
The Pete Best of the Two Nice Girls set takes back the stage of Chicago House
in a gig celebrating her recent move back to Austin. The mysterious Freelove
plays solo this evening and packs a velvet ballpeen with her gritty,
impassioned vocals. The combination of the House’s cozy intimacy with
Freelove’s patented intensity: what a great way to start the weekend. –
Kate X Messer ALSO PLAYING
Friday: Cowboy Mouth, Wakeland, Liberty Lunch
Saturday: Faucet, El Flaco, Sweat Pea, Emo’s
Sunday: Hormones, Blue Flamingo
Monday: Don Walser, Babes
Tuesday: Glorium, Enduro, Flamingo Cantina
Wednesday: Hollowbody, Prescott Curlywolf, Hole in the Wall
Thursday: Joseph Marchione Quintet, Elephant Room
This article appears in July 7 • 1995 and July 7 • 1995 (Cover).