Trippy organs, groovy beats, and thick greasy chords characterize the emanating sounds which are are reminiscent of 1960’s Brit-Rock groups like The Kinks or Syd Barrett’s early version of Pink Floyd, and are on par with modern acts such as The Black Keys, Jet, and The Strokes. Walk into their live show and it’s clear by the end of the first song that The Hi-Tones have what many other bands lack: an outstanding front-man who commands the attention of the audience. Debonair and soul-shattering lead vocalist Johnny Flores, slender with jet black curls, not only has a impressive set of pipes, it seems he has borrowed some fancy footwork from Mr. James Brown himself. Sensual and sweat drenched, he spins, jumps, slides and shakes with relentless passionate energy. Bassist Gary Delgado, tall and dreamy, floats on his own introspective plane of existence thumping out punchy rhythms that pop like the exploding flash-bulbs of the 1930’s. On cue, savvy guitarist Chazz Bessette steps out armed with a with a classic fireglow red Rickenbacker selected meticulously from an arsenal of vintage guitars. The crowd begins to pack the floor and becomes wild with dancing and excitement. The sexual energy given off by the music is apparent by the amount of flailing females that line the front row of the audience. By the end of the set, a dull evening has turned into what feels like a jiving bohemian dance party. Native Texan Kevin Culwell delivers pulsating guitar licks with a sense ease while the crowd dances in a frenzy. Kurt Lammers sits back with a smile and keeps the bodies moving with a constant beat that never seems to lose a click. I have seen the future!

The Hi-Tones are currently in studio with Grammy nominated producer Frenchie Smith [Jet, Trail of Dead] in Austin, TX. Watch for their debut album in 2010! 

(Ed.: this post taken from The Hi-Tones’ post on our DIY Open Blog, check out other Open Blog posts in the Deli Kitchen. The Hi-Tones are also among the nominees in our current poll…) 

Summer Sessions at the beatific One World Theater Saturday night was a dance party made better by the gorgeous view, art, and cocktails in the gallery. There were a couple of surprises; one being that Cowboy and Indian (and Rider) never saw the stage but was banished to the gallery. Their balanced harmonies and costumes managed to steal a handful of fans from the sunset, the art, and the bar in the opposite corner. L.A.X. began in the upstairs theater soon after Cowboy and Indian dismantled, followed by the headliner.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the Black and White Years,” and with flashing red lights, the band launched into a set that got the hipsterati to pause their photo opps and do what they drove out to Bee Caves to do: dance.

For a solid hour pulses climbed as blood pumped by an ecstatic collective heart, which had napped through the preceding acts, was finally awakened by shuddering guitars, thunderous drums, and frantic yips from lead vocal Landon Thompson.  His stage presence is goofy but dangerous. Nervous, maniacal giggles and the glare of stage on Thompson’s thick glasses transformed him from mere mortal to demon nerd hopped up on prescription study aides; guitar as his pitchfork. Up-tempo grooves spanning their work induced brownian muscle spasms among the crowd and band. Scott Butler’s twisting grew in proportion to the accelerated thumps coming from Billy Potts’s drums during Steady as it Goes, the climax of a frantic set. It wasn’t until the first song of their encore, Broken Hand, that the band slowed, but only for the verses.

–Resalin Rago  

The venerable and venerated Austin venue Antone’s turns 35 this year…perhaps this day…and at any rate celebrates tonight (7/15) with the help of another Austin institution, the versatile Bob Schneider. Electronic maestros Speak (pictured above, photo by Jon Patillo) will open… 

Bazile’s Mississippi roots and a love of film music contribute to his unique style of songwriting that is both visceral and refined. Sometimes accompanied by drums and synthesizer but often relying strictly on his voice and a guitar, Bazile’s live performances offer stripped-down arrangements of his Ravel-inspired harmonies. In the studio, Bazile overdubs stringed and keyed parts until the track reaches a critical mass of melodic and ambient sounds. This sonic mass could be considered a second cousin to both Sufjan Stevens and Radiohead. Bazile simply calls it Space Folk. Though based in Austin for the last three years, Bazile’s recently released debut, The Sojourn of Professor Narducci, reflects his previously itinerant lifestyle. Living and visiting several continents motivated him to write about themes that cover just as much territory. On Professor Narducci, Bazile is equally comfortable singing about science, religion and romance. These themes are explored via his middle-aged, Italian alter-ego, who spends his sabbatical on a quixotic quest for women and wisdom. Bazile’s versatile vocals, which can produce both the smoothness of Bossa Nova and the grit of Honky Tonk, allow him to cover the narrator’s broad range of emotional rambles.

Ola Podrida officially launched its July tour in support of 2009’s Belly of the Lion at the Mohawk last Thursday night with a satisfying 12-song set.  It was raining outside when Ola Podrida took the stage in Mohawk’s cozy wood-flanked indoor space. David Wingo opened his mouth to pour out his first inciting words of the evening: “Let’s go raid your father’s basement.” The visceral images of prank calls and nudey mags set to blankety guitars were clean as ever as Wingo led us into his friend’s father’s basement with his soft somber nostalgia. The audience was full of people slowly nodding their heads to the lush music, adults indulging in memories from the narrator’s youth, who were unknowingly attesting to how evocative Wingo’s use of detail is, both musically and lyrically. 

Wingo playfully twanged into the stellar “The Closest We Will Ever Be,” and mounted steadily into the deadslung dare to “come cast one on me.” Perhaps the most poignant moment of the night was when the band performed “Donkey,” the title track from Belly of the Lion. Wingo’s drawl cracked with honesty as he confessed “in the belly of the lion, I’ve been tryin’ to breathe through his nose” and then the band broke into a series of anthemic, crushing lalalala’s. David Wingo seems to have an understanding of music so deeply felt, it can cause movies that don’t exist to happen in one’s mind. On “Jordanna,” Wingo practically burned a hole in his guitar from strumming so hard. His poetic sensibilities were undeniable as he crashed his voice into the microphone with rhythmic undulations of exaggerated middle syllables of each word. 

Between songs, Wingo was relateable, once prematurely switching to banjo and realizing it said, “fake-out banjo alert, just keeping you on your toes,” as he slung his guitar back on again. Wingo played guitar for 11 of the 12 tunes in gray new balances and a Cleveland Cavaliers t-shirt. He remained in the same outfit but switched to banjo for the closer “Cindy.” Backboning the stage in a cross-array of pearl snaps and rolled sleeves were David Hobizal on drums, Andrew Kenny (American Analog Set) on bass, and Colin Swietek (Corrina Corrina) on guitar. Other set standouts included the slide guitar landscaped “Sink or Swim” and the tenderly picked “Photo Booth” off of the band’s self-titled debut. 

Before Ola Podrida came on, Wingo stood amongst the audience and watched the vinyl-crackle-voiced Bosque Brown perform, one of the band’s openers. Dana Falconberry opened as well. An acoustic guitar, a drum, and the crinkling of a newspaper page complemented her performance. Ola Podrida heads to Houston tonight and from there will continue east. 

–Lauren Hardy (photo by Stephan Laackman)

Tomorrow (7/10) at the One World Theater the latest installment of The Sessions will take place, featuring the Black & White Years (above, looking somewhat perplexed), L.A.X., and the relatively new and much talked about Cowboy + Indian. Cowboy + Indian are one part Jazz Mills and one part either Jesse Plemons or Daniel James, depending on the evening. 

Ola Podrida (above) kick off their tour tonight at the Mohawk in the company of Bosque Brown + Dana Falconberry. Above is a celebratory remix of the Podrida track "Monday Morning" courtesy of Spencer Stephenson (of Sleep Whale). Below are tour dates. All around is a general sense of well-being. And rain.

7/24 – Denton, TX @ Hailey’s 

The Mercers don’t need pillow talk as foreplay or to supplement their sound.  Without pomp and circumstance, the four members took their positions and filled the Parish Saturday night with thrashing guitars and keening wails.  While two fans expressed their enthusiasm with manic turns and leaps, most showed their appreciation with gentle sways and bobbing heads. More joined the dance party (albeit not as extreme as the spinning duo monopolizing the dance floor) as the waves from the speakers grew stronger, climaxing around lucky number seven. 

 The Mercer’s sound is like contained liquid bubbling over itself: the only thing keeping it from spilling over is the tension and attraction between individual molecules. Peter Wagner’s voice—evocative and resonant; ethereal and redolent—is backed by driving beats from drummer Ethan Herr and bassist Bryan Ray while synthesist Erik Ray adds ornamental flourishes like the jangling of a tambourine in between sips of Lonestar beer.

The set was comprised of tracks from their full-length album Pretty Things Walk as well as their two EPs, Hovercraft and the recently released Giant. Their new song "Urgency" was welcomed by the crowd, though the two improv dancers were shown the door before the Mercers delivered their rendition of the Genesis song "Abacab".

–Resalin Rago

Texas country-punkers (and current poll nominees) The Golden Boys will bring their tangy flavor of rock up to the Salvage Vanguard Theater this Friday (7/9); SVT, up at 2803 Manor, is much more than a performance venue, it also holds classes, features art exhibits, and in general positions itself in the center of many things theatrical, musical, visual, and wonderful happening in Austin, and smiles upon them. Check it out.  

Red Falcon, The Sour Notes, and Pink Nasty join the Mercers at the Parish this Saturday (7/3) for an eclectic lineup of impressive local talents…The Mercers are enjoying many kind words about their recent EP Giant, and are dazzling their fans with a monthly single, which you’ll find here. As for the newly formed Red Falcon, you’ll recognize members from Built By Snow, Your Kisses Cause Crashes, Aster, and The Seas up on stage, and you’ll also be among the first to hear ’em all together. Pink Nasty forms one half of the irrepressible and entirely uncensored Nasty siblings, and really owes us a new album by now…maybe she’ll say where that stands if you ask. And finally the Sour Notes (above) will bring their recently delivered, much loved It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty up onto stage and make it live and breathe. All in all, we’re hyped. We’ve now hyped ourselves for this show. It’s simply four fascinating Austin bands. At the Parish. 

Just a quick round-up of some Friday of Fourth of July Weekend hap’nins: Built By Snow bring their brand of electro-geek rock to the Mohawk on Friday the 2nd; they’ll be accompanied by our most recent poll champions Guns of Navarone, along with Whitman and On After Dark. Meanwhile, Markov will celebrate the release of their album This Quiet over at the Beauty Bar with a stellar lineup including …and You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Girl in a Coma, Lights Go Out, and White Rhino. And that’ll do. (Above, On After Dark…well, sorta.) 

Austin dream pop/indie rock band Norushi Minx will record their second EP with new member Andy Bracht engineering the session at ACC Studios in North Austin in July 2010. Bracht and Norushi Minx bassist V. Marc Fort met during the early ’90s while playing together in the ambitious indie rock band bo bud greene. Look for the new Norushi Minx EP to receive a digital release in August 2010 and a physical release during the fall.

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