Welcome to Austin

October 6, 2018



Gang of Youths





Molly Burch

Welcome to Austin

Austin is my kind of city, there is always something cool going on. Weird, interesting, artistic and most importantly one of the music capitals of the United States, Austin has a vibrancy and positive vibe that makes it unique. I am sure those that live there bemoan the continued explosive growth, burgeoning population, traffic woes, loss of historic landmarks and venues in the name of development, but in spite of all those real issues, Austin is still a pretty amazing place to visit.











One of the funniest radio ads that I heard while visiting, welcomed visitors asking them to enjoy all that Austin has to offer and then leave. Please do not move here it said, pretty hilarious but also to the point of what is happening in so many places that become so loved that they are overwhelmed and thus lose the very thing that attracted people in the first place.









For myself though, I was fully aware of my visitor status and as a tourist, I wanted to take as much in as I could during the brief time I was there. I was hoping to attend a Beto for Senate rally that was being held at the University of Texas, but it was too crowded so I opted to try something that I had never done and go wait in line at the famous Franklin’s Barbeque and try to get lunch.





Since opening in 2009, Franklin’s Barbeque has a well-deserved reputation as the best barbeque in Texas and arguably the best in the entire USA. Patrons line-up every morning to wait for generally over two hours to get in to get the daily allotment of brisket, ribs, pulled pork and sausages that are served until they run out each day, generally around 2 PM. “Bon Appétit” magazine recently named it one of the country’s twenty most important restaurants and people literally travel from across the world to try their fare.









In previous visits, the line has simply been too long for my schedule, but this time I was determined and as luck would have it, the wait time when I arrived was only about 35 minutes. The entire thing is quite an experience, but it was well worth the wait as both brisket and sausage was still available when I reached the front of the line. The food was as advertised, some of the best bbq that I have ever experienced and I was thrilled to have finally experienced this Austin landmark.







That same afternoon, I found myself at another Austin institution, Waterloo Records, for an in-store appearance by Molly Burch, a local singer/songwriter who was set to play the ACL festival over the weekend and was releasing her second CD , “First Flower” this week.  I was totally unfamiliar with her, but figured a free show from any of the ACL performers was worth checking out.



Molly Burch



With Molly Burch

Burch was great, she has a unique voice and style that brings to mind torch singers from some long lost era, but is still accessible and enjoyable. The performance was wonderful and I have a feeling that we may be hearing a lot more from this talented young woman as she embarks on her first ever solo tour in support of the new CD.







The show that I had been planning to see that night was an official ACL late-night show at the famous Antone’s nightclub featuring Gang of Youths with opening act Annabelle Chairlegs. I was not really all that familiar with Gang of Youths, I think I had heard maybe one song, but I took a shot in the dark because I had read some good things about them and their show figured well in to my schedule.

Annabelle Chairlegs



Gang of Youths

Annabelle Chairlegs opened the show, an up and coming Austin based band had been highly recommended by my Austin friends Kayla and Max and they were as advertised a damn fine band to open the show. They played songs from their 2015 release “Watermelon Summer” as well as some from their upcoming release as well an availed themselves quite nicely to the sold out crowd.







The headliners, Gang of Youths, is an indie band from Sydney, Australia currently touring the US in support of their 2017 second CD, “Go Farther In Lightness”. They are hugely popular in their home country of Australia and the CD won four ARIA awards (the Australian equivalent of a Grammy) including Album Of The Year, Best Group, Best Rock Album and Producer of the Year. They haven’t quite broken through in the US yet, but if their performance at Antone’s is any indication they soon will be and I will be telling my friends how I saw them before they hit it big. The fact is their entire North American tour is sold out, may be an indicator of what is coming.







David Le'aupepe, lead singer and principal songwriter is charismatic performer and seems to make every effort to personally connect with each audience member, he is not shy about rubbing their hair, clutching hands and even had an extended point in which he took his unique dancing style into the crowd. It was a pretty amazing experience and sold me on the band’s future.





After the show concluded, I headed over to the Barracuda where my friends Max and Kayla were watching an even later, late-night show featuring the bands Mothers and Lala Lala. Coming from the sheer raw energy and passion of Gangs of Youth to the much quieter, introspective and artsy music of these bands was something of a culture shock, but they were both great in their own way. It was so great to hang with Max and Kayla, some of my favorite Austinites.



Mothers





https://franklinbbq.com/
 
https://www.annabellechairlegs.com/

http://www.gangofyouths.com/