Live Music Capitol of the World

As most of you know, we specifically chose the suburb which we now call home because of its close proximity to Austin, Texas...self-proclaimed "Live Music Capitol of the World." Austin has a lot to offer for people with a myriad of interests, but the one driving force always comes back to the music. Two of the largest, most anticipated music festivals in the world, Austin City Limits Festival, and South By Southwest (SXSW), are both held in Austin. When I first visited Austin, back in August to look for a house, I got to see M.Ward live, who I'd never seen play before. The show was at historic Antone's, one of the first music venues on legendary 5th & 6th Street, Austin. Many famous musicians have performed there, including Stevie Ray Vaughan who basically started his career at Antone's, so it was cool to live a little part of music history.


Wolfmother, Live At Stubb's

All up and down 6th Street are venues and bars with windows that open onto the sidewalk so live bands can catch the ear of passersby. One particular band which caught our ear during the Old Pecan Street Festival, was The Travis Brown Band, a tight blues band consisting of three high school-aged kids! As we were walking past the club, I heard the easily recognizable notes of "Voodoo Child" coming from inside, so we decided to stop and check out who was playing. To our amazement, 14-year-old Travis Brown was the one absolutely ripping a flawless rendition of the Jimi Hendrix classic.



The Travis Brown Band

In the video you'll notice him glancing out the window, laughing at the huge crowd which had formed on the sidewalk outside.


The next band we saw was one of our long-time favorites, Austin Latin band, Del Castillo. They played at Antone's and we got a spot right next to the stage. If you're not familiar with Del Castillo's music, you might have heard their work on such movies as Desperado or other Robert Rodriguez movies in the El Mariachi trilogy. The band is named after the two guitarists, brothers Mark & Rick Del Castillo. Even if you're not into Latin music, I highly recommend this band if for no other reason than to witness the unbelievable talent of these guitarists. It is quite an experience.



Rick Del Castillo



Mark Del Castillo & Singer, Alex Ruiz



Mark & Rick Showing Off

The next band we saw was another longtime favorite of ours, Australian band Wolfmother. They played at Stubb's Barbeque amphitheater to a sold-out crowd. Unfortunately we weren't able to get as close as I would have preferred, but we still got a few good shots and it was a really great performance. Wolfmother just released their new record, Cosmic Egg and it's definitely a keeper.



Waiting For The Show To Start



Wolfmother



The last show we saw, we didn't get any photos of because they didn't allow cameras in the venue. The band was the highly anticipated super group, Monsters Of Folk, which consists of Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and M.Ward. This was also a sold-out show and was an awesome performance. They played for over two-and-a-half hours, covering original songs from the MOF record, as well as many original covers from each of their individual bands. Three bands for the price of one!

Some shows we're looking forward to in 2010: Patricia Vonne & Del Castillo, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Niko Vega, The Famine....the list really could go on and on.