The Scoot Inn will be packed with local bands this Saturday night (4/9), all to benefit the people of Japan…The Boxing Lesson, One Step Program, Lean Hounds (above) and more will take the stage. Be sure to go check out One Step Program, whose track "Bad Spaceman" is my own all-time favorite profanity-laced boasting track narrated by an astronaut – bar none. How often can you hear that live AND help people? 

Matt Smith’s Austin recording studio Hot Tracks has been forced to relocate, and to help cover costs a superb lineup of local bands (and fans/friends/colleagues of Hot Tracks) are putting on a big, badass show at Club De Ville; in addition to helping out a good local biz, this is a phenomenal way to catch 10 killer local bands in one night. All proceeds go toward the relocation. Friday, 4/15, bands inside and out, including David Wingo (above), Leatherbag, Danny Malone, The Eastern Sea, Wiretree, and many more…full lineup (times TBD): 

Corrina, Corrina
Danny Malone
David Wingo (of Ola Podrida)
The Eastern Sea
The Gary
The Great Nostalgic
Leatherbag
My Education
The Pons
Wiretree

Beginning with the legacy of The 13th Floor Elevators, Austin’s keeping a stronghold on their empire of psychedelic rock and bands like Rayon Beach are testament to that reign. Having played last year’s Psych Fest, a fuzzed out festivus of feedback both local and national, Rayon Beach is a crown jewel in the city’s trippy crown. Rayon Beach strikes the perfect balance of bludgeoning garage rock, synthesized beach pop, and hallucinogenic ambience- a trifecta for any summer playlist. The trio’s been spacing out together since 2009 and put out Memory Teeth last year. Enjoy the title track and prepare for some serious flashbacks.

–Lucy Barber

The latest installment of 101x’s Homegrown Live series takes place tonight 4/1 @ the Mohawk, headlined by What Made Milwaukee Famous but also featuring Tacks, The Boy Disaster, Ovenbirds, Shapes Have Fangs, The Curious Mystery, and Rayon Beach. 

Tacks, The Boy Disaster, the rare, grammatically confusing band with a comma, have been around creating their dreamy, lush, orchestral pop for a few years now, occasionally disappearing from view but always worth seeing if their heads appear. They granted their EP Oh, Beatrice a comma as well; they may even give a few out at the show tonight. Video above for "Frozen Feet" directed by none other than Sunset‘s Bill Baird. 

The Great Nostalgic, in addition to having the best profile pics in the known universe, also have a new album: Hope We Live Like We Promised. It’s catchy, distinctive, and imported carefully intact from another earth, like everything they do.  They’ll be celebrating the vinyl release at Emo’s on Saturday (4/2) in the fine company of Burgess Meredith, One Hundred Flowers, and Royal Forest. $6, Great Nostalgic on at 11:15…

No one does pre-school fundraisers quite like Austin: this Friday at the Primavera Montessori campus, you can see both Matt the Electrician and Eliza Gilkyson performing under the stars. Bring a picnic…apps, drinks, desserts provided. I feel confident saying you won’t hear better music at a preschool event all year. 7-10 pm Friday April 1st, 1934 Berkeley Avenue, more details here. 

Ok, this time for real: The Belleville Outfit announced their imminent breakup not so long ago, and tomorrow night (3/26) they’ll play their final show at Momo’s. For almost exactly four years, they’ve been bringing their own stew of folk-jazz-Americana to fans in Austin and beyond; though they will all undoubtedly all continue to create, they will no longer do so as Belleville. So go see them off in style…they’re on at 10, preceded by Joe Moody and King Corduroy, and followed at midnight by Melissa Ludwig. 

Hanson isn’t normally a band we devote much coverage to, given that they’re A) not Austin-based, and B) not exactly indie; but we have to admit one of the more inspiring acts from SXSW this year was none other than the Hanson bros., who threw together a livestream telethon and ended up raising over $100,000 through sxsw4japan. Locals found ways to pitch in too, from simply putting out a donation jar during shows (as we saw Sahara Smith do at the Frog ML showcase) to posting original songs for download and donating all proceeds (as Kimberley Freeman and One-Eyed Doll (above) did with their "Water Song", which you can find right here). 

So – amidst concerns that SX might be turning Austin into Ft. Lauderdale, good to remember a little Austin always shows through. Bad news continues to roll in from Japan; if there are other benefit efforts from local bands still under way, please let us know & we’ll use this little platform to boost awareness. 

Austin-based dream pop band Norushi Minx will provide a SXSW hangover cure show on Friday, March 25 at the ND @ 501 Studios. Norushi Minx is vocalist/guitarist Huyen and bassist V. Marc Fort (Schatzi, Bo Bud Greene, The Fuckemos) joined by friends: guitarist Mike Vlahakis (Dynamite Hack), guitarist Jon Sanchez (Roky Erickson, Paraguay) and drummer Jared Hoffman. Norushi Minx will debut material from their second EP to be released this summer, as well as a Cocteau Twins cover.

Norushi Minx drop their bliss-inducing noise pop at 10:30 p.m. Paraguay – featuring Sanchez and Claire Hamilton – headline the show at 12:30 a.m. The Low Lows (Austin via NYC) rock at 11:30 p.m. and Glad We Were open the show at 9:30 p.m.

(Ed.: this post taken from Norushi Minx’s post on our DIY Open Blog, check out other Open Blog posts in the Deli Kitchen.)

Amidst the quiet post-SX recovery the news came through that the great Pinetop Perkins died in his home in Austin. Perkins won multiple grammys for his blues piano work, and played with many of the blues greats throughout his 97 years. He called Austin home for the last seven of those years, and continued to play gigs, including one at Antone’s less than a month ago. He will be remembered with a special blues tribute tonight at Antone’s, lineup TBD. 

Another day walking South Congress in the sun…Bahamas at the San Jose, a very well-named guitar and drum duo, sounded like the islands: laid back, quirky, carefree. Before that some thumping electro-pop from Living Days, somewhat at odds with the beer & taco vibe at Guero’s. 

Kind of enjoyed the improv mood that sprang up at Music By the Slice after they were forced acoustic, so returned there in time to check out Still Corners, who I don’t think were ever very loud to begin with. The Autumn Defense turned in an elegant set at San Jose; but easily the highlight of the day was the Ben Kweller listening party for Go Fly A Kite. 

Billed as ‘blogger kegger’, it was a low-key event in the backyard of the very hip St. Cecilia’s Hotel, involved a couple of kegs, pizza, some toddlers running around. Kweller said a few words about the album + old school recording process, and pressed play…and Go Fly A Kite sounded rich, warm, vibrant, fun. Maybe it’s the beer talking. If it was the beer talking, the beer liked the album quite a bit. The beer would like to listen again. Kweller’s left his previous label (ATO) + started his own (The Noise Company), seems to have done him good.

And we head back out… 

One of the reliable treats of SX is the unexpected show…stumbled on to a couple good ones totally unplanned today. Out under the oaks at Guero’s (which my auto-correct wants to call ‘hurtle’ – what?) I caught Operator Please, a dance/punk Australian band with echoes of Bananarama and plenty of attitude. Singer had a bubbly, love-it-or-hate-it sound; I loved it. Across South Congress, Ross Flournoy of Apex Manor (whose set I just missed) told me the venue had a visit from the Austin police, who informed them that they would be shut down if they plugged in…so all of Music By the Slice went impromptu acoustic. Typhoon, a tightly packed twelve-person band, adapted well to the new set up. 

Out later in time for the end of Cowboy & Indian, Austin locals with a freak-folk-blues thing going, then back across South Congress once again for the end of Wanda Jackson – no sign of Jack White. Finally ducked into the Continental Club for the Blurt showcase & saw K’s Choice, a Belgian band with a four-guitar attack and an androgynous, Bowie-esque lead; imagine Mars Volta with Simon & Garfunkel harmonies, and you’re halfway there. Now back to it…