Electric Lounge, Friday 19
Weep, O Austin, for our beloved bard departs come the tears of the
next
sunrise. Off to the musical crusades in New Yorkshire, goes he, leaving
behind
sorrow in the streets, and a pall cast over our parish of Austin.
Mothers hold
your children close to the breast, explain to them why the sky darkens,
and
animals howl in pain and fear. Comfort them with tales of Hamell’s
punkish and
frenetic street scenes – beauteous caffeine nightmares, sung-spoke to
the manic
strum of his guitar. O, miserable life. Steel yourselves for the last
act. Make
your pilgrimage to the Electric Fortress, and cast your weeping eyes
upon
Hamell’s shining dome one last time. His final call to arms goes out in
the 10
o’clock hour, followed by the hard armor of the knight Buick MacKane,
with the
black eve finishing with Wammo on Trial (Sir Ed coupled with the jester
Wammo).
Fare thee well Ed.
NATHAN & THE ZYDECO CHA-CHAS
Antone’s, Friday 19
Nathan Williams’ soul-saturated zydeco is smooth… smooth as an
alligator’s
tooth darlin’. But that tooth is sharp, and Nathan can pump that
accordion just
like his friend Buckwheat Zydeco, with plenty of Creole spice and bayou
boogie.
Friday brings him from the Lafayette clubs like El-Sid-O’s and
Hamilton’s to
Antone’s, where even his cover of Clarence Carter’s ribald anthem
“Strokin'”
won’t be out of place. Sue Foley opens.– Chris Grey
FIGHT, VOODOO MONSTER MACHINE
Back Room, Friday 19
Van Halen aside, Fight’s Rob Halford is the only other Eighties metal
God that
found the secret for survival in the Nineties, mixing his tough,
familiar Judas
Priest doom-driven shrieks with a young band of Pantera-style thrashers
that
pride themselves on leaving their cultish metal fans screaming for
vengeance.
Industrial metal/punkers Monster Voodoo Machine open the fracas.
–Chris Marsh
WALT LEWIS
Babes, Saturday 20
If anyone were worthy of resurrecting the noble title of country
`outlaw,’
surely it’s Walt Lewis. His prairie blend of country blues is as real
and
energizing as riding the open plains of Texas and Oklahoma. Thus, Lewis
and his
new CD Wrong, Wrong, Wrong are already wanted in five states.
Ray Wylie
and Robert Earl look out!
BILLY BACON & THE FORBIDDEN PIGS
Continental Club, Saturday 20
Rockabilly comes in so many shapes and sizes these days, it’s hard
to keep
track of all the strains. This one comes from Tucson in the form of big
ol’
bass playin’ (stand-up, natch) Billy Bacon, who cuts it up pretty good
word
wise – and show wise – but always keep the rockabilly at a boil. His
new disc
The Other White Meat isn’t quite as raunchy as the last, but
with help
from friends like Dave Alvin, Candye Kane, and Chris Gaffney it’s not
ready for
slaughter either. Charlie Burton opens.
BUTT TRUMPET
Emo’s, Saturday 20
Last week Anal C*nt, this week Butt Trumpet. What’s next – no,
nevermind, I
don’t wanna know. Just like I didn’t wanna know that the Trumpet’s
Bianca
Butthole wants to eat the corn out of your sh – no you don’t
wanna
know. Though if you did, you’d wanna check out their Primitive
Enema, an
L.A. punk answer to 2 Live Crew. Then again, maybe all you
really need
to know is that it’s hard and fast. Black Angels Death Song, and Blort
in
support.
STEVE BROOKS
Chicago House, Sunday 21
Dallas business writer moves to Austin, where he writes for the
Chronicle, studies up on his singer-songwriters – folk like
Butch
Hancock – and shows he can play the game with the release of his CD,
Purgatory Road. That’s Steve Brooks, and being a solid
wordsmith, the CD
turned out just fine thanks to some country flavor, a tinge of James
Taylor,
and not being afraid to kick up some dust.
WAYNE KRAMER, HORMONES
Electric Lounge, Tuesday 23
If you wonder where punk rock guitar was born, Wayne Kramer and his
former
band the MC5 are a good place to start looking. But while many of his
peers and
descendents have burned out or faded away, Kramer returns to the scene
with the
muscular wisdom of an elder punk statesman on The Hard Stuff,
his aptly
titled new solo disc on the rocking Epitaph label. With songs that play
out
like vivid street scenes, Kramer’s far more than a mere guitar hack,
though his
style (which influenced everyone from Johnny Ramone to Richard Lloyd)
remains
incendiary. With the recent passing of his MC5 bandmate Fred “Sonic”
Smith,
Kramer may now be as close as we’ll ever get to the MC5 magic. Kick out
the
jams once again, motherfuckers! – Rob Patterson
VALLEJO, MEG HENTGES
Steamboat, Wednesday 24
As a regional success without a classifiable style (Santana meets
Bang
Tango?), Brimingham Alabama’s Vallejo seem destined for Austin. In town
only a
few months, they’ve already found a home at Steamboat, where the Ugly
Americans/Little Sister crowd has fallen for the band’s impressively
tight mix
of Southern boogie and Latin percussion. And with three brothers,
Vallejo’s
already got Van Halen beat by one. Guitar gangster Meg Hentges opens.
– Andy Langer
CHARLIE SEXTON SEXTET
Shady Grove, Thursday 25
High cheekbone Charlie and MCA have really gone for it with the
release of
Sexton’s ambitious Under the Wishing Tree – a shaded area under
which
Los Lobos and Robbie Robertson dream of Texas, while Daniel Lanois
talks of
Louisiana. Seek that shelter yourself under the trees at Shady Grove,
outside
on this warm summer night.
ALSO PLAYING
Friday: Van Wilks, Storyville, Eric Johnson, Austin Music
Hall
Saturday: Alejandro Escovedo, Greg Trooper, La Zona Rosa
Sunday: Susanna Sharpe Trio, Manuel’s
Monday: Elias Haslanger, Cedar St.
Tuesday: Don Walser, Jovita’s
Wednesday: Archers of Loaf, Emo’s
Thursday: Jonathan Richman, Electric Lounge
This article appears in May 19 • 1995 and May 19 • 1995 (Cover).