Links
Archives
- 09/01/2003 - 10/01/2003
- 10/01/2003 - 11/01/2003
- 11/01/2003 - 12/01/2003
- 12/01/2003 - 01/01/2004
- 02/01/2004 - 03/01/2004
- 03/01/2004 - 04/01/2004
- 04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004
- 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004
- 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004
- 09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004
- 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004
- 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004
- 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005
- 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005
- 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005
- 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005
- 04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005
- 05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005
- 06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005
- 07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005
- 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005
- 09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005
- 10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005
- 11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005
- 12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006
- 01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006
- 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006
- 03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006
- 04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006
- 06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006
- 07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006
- 08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006
- 09/01/2006 - 10/01/2006
- 10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006
- 11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006
- 12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007
- 01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007
- 02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007
- 03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007
- 04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007
- 05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007
- 06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007
- 07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007
- 08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007
- 09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007
- 10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007
- 11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007
- 01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008
- 02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008
- 03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008
- 04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008
- 05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008
- 06/01/2008 - 07/01/2008
- 07/01/2008 - 08/01/2008
- 08/01/2008 - 09/01/2008
- 09/01/2008 - 10/01/2008
- 10/01/2008 - 11/01/2008
- 11/01/2008 - 12/01/2008
- 04/01/2009 - 05/01/2009
Flanfire (Duggan Flanakin) is bringing LIFE to Austin music -- and telling the world how sweet it is!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Drew and Dustin, Dylan Meek, 
Drew Smith and Dustin Welch acoustic at Momo's; Alli Russell and Awna Texeira of Po' Girl; Clyde (right) and Clem at the Hole in the Wall; Suzanna Choffel and Chad Pope ham it up behind Wendy Colonna (too pretty to show here!); Jeremy of JT and the Clouds; Dylan Meek playing with Slim Richey at the Elephant Room. 
The young troubadour broke out three brand-new songs during a thirst-quenching set (with The Will Evans Project playing before and Jeremy Nail afterward) -- Jolly Jolly Junker (with the full band), Too Blue To Tango (Tangle?) with You, and my favorite, (a good day to get) Lost at Sea. The set also included Idaho Moon, Empty Parking Lots and Don't Tell 'Em Nothin' (among others). The very next night Dustin teamed up with Drew Smith for a stripped down acoustic song swap that was like having fine wine and a good cigar after a five-star dinner. Drew sang "Nilsson Sings Newman," "Are You Lonely?," "Diamonds" and (among others) "You Help Me Get That Feeling Too" -- while Dustin sang the new songs, "Silver Pictures," "Dresden Snow" and "My Heart Don't Beat the Same." The rapport between these two close friends and great songwriters (according to Warren Hood, who plays Sunday night at Momos) was infectious -- the night ended too early. [A sweaty Will Evans playing electric for a change!]
I also caught up with Ricky Stein at Jovita's (band sounded great!) after checking out Matt Maye's new band at Hickory Street (after hearing Matt, Tara Craig, and Gina Chavez and also seeing Grace Pettis at Austin Java a few days earlier). Then there was the joy of Uncle Bruno, with Damon Garcia on sax (and his mom in the house!) spreading that Nawlins FUNK! And Momo's became a jazz club as my pal Fito Kahn banged the bongos for the Duane Carter band (featuring Carter on trumpet, Eric Calistri on guitar, Kit Holmes on piano, Steve Sargent on drums, and Dewayne Morris on bass -- songbird Lauren Kahn was missing from the lineup (she is my Blastbeat pal!).
After spending this afternoon watching "August Rush," I trekked down to the Elephant Room to catch up with a real-life prodigy -- new driver Dylan Meek, who is off for his fifth summer at Berklee in July. The ageless Slim Richey was on guitar (with Francie Meaux Jeaux on bass, of course), and the family affair also included Marcus Gonzales on trombone and the lovely Gaila Kenneally on vocals -- with a surprise visit to the stage by LZ Love (did I mention I had gotten to see her at Central Market on June Teenth?). LZ belted out Billie Holliday's "God Bless the Child," while Kenneally offered up "Blue Skies" and "Angel Eyes" along with a smokin' version (in Portuguese) of "The Girl from Ipanema." Slim and the band also kept the audience hopping with One O'Clock Jump. This was a wonderful hour of pure joy.
Clyde and Clem -- and Much More!
Drew Smith and Dustin Welch acoustic at Momo's; Alli Russell and Awna Texeira of Po' Girl; Clyde (right) and Clem at the Hole in the Wall; Suzanna Choffel and Chad Pope ham it up behind Wendy Colonna (too pretty to show here!); Jeremy of JT and the Clouds; Dylan Meek playing with Slim Richey at the Elephant Room.So much music -- so little time to write. But here's a synopsis of SOME of the music Flanfire has seen and heard lately -- so much of it so very good. Let's start with THIS week's shows. Monday night marked the return of Dustin Welch to Austin from a songwriter's workshop.
The young troubadour broke out three brand-new songs during a thirst-quenching set (with The Will Evans Project playing before and Jeremy Nail afterward) -- Jolly Jolly Junker (with the full band), Too Blue To Tango (Tangle?) with You, and my favorite, (a good day to get) Lost at Sea. The set also included Idaho Moon, Empty Parking Lots and Don't Tell 'Em Nothin' (among others). The very next night Dustin teamed up with Drew Smith for a stripped down acoustic song swap that was like having fine wine and a good cigar after a five-star dinner. Drew sang "Nilsson Sings Newman," "Are You Lonely?," "Diamonds" and (among others) "You Help Me Get That Feeling Too" -- while Dustin sang the new songs, "Silver Pictures," "Dresden Snow" and "My Heart Don't Beat the Same." The rapport between these two close friends and great songwriters (according to Warren Hood, who plays Sunday night at Momos) was infectious -- the night ended too early. [A sweaty Will Evans playing electric for a change!]The same could be said for Tuesday night's Po' Girl show, which once again featured JT Nero (in white, above) and a powerful rendition of "Who Shot Sam Cooke?" plus a song he wrote while driving on a cold day through northern New Mexico and the Po' Girl song "Prairie Lullaby." Alli and Awna (again with Ben Seidlinger and his hand-made dobro) opened with "Things We Believe In," brought up the Spankers' Famous Jake for a song, sang a few more and closed with JT's "Till It's Gone." The new record (crafted by Bukka Allen and his pals) is done, and sadly we may not see these amazing women for many moons (though JT promises an earlier return). An hour with these minstrels is like a shower in the rain with lavender and jasmine and pure honey.
From the sublime to the ridiculous -- twice in a month (at Flamingo Cantina and the Hole in the Wall) I have caught up with Clyde and Clem's Whiskey Business. This band of hillbillies (sic) has both been practicing and adding to their show (Skwerl has a new standup bass, everybody is getting into the singing act, and they have learned to break just about every guitar string in a single set). Kinda like a poor man's Spankers, Clyde and Clem, along with Skwerl, Old Red (banjo), Boxcar Stanley (washboard), and Smokin' Guns (harmonica) are bawdy, bold, and sometimes even on key -- but always entertaining (you can dance to it!).
On another night at the Hole, I caught up with Brent Adair who has been showcasing his new record, "Ostrich" and showing off the wonderful ostrich (shown here) made in honor of the music. Brent's backing band included Jeff Botta, John Leon, Derek Morris, and the inscrutable John Thomasson. I liked the quiet songs that reminded me a little of both Jeff Buckley and Rodney Crowell. On the same bill were The Century (Travis McCann's farewell show before he moves to St. Paul), and Juan Gutierrez was in bono vox indeed!; Slowtrain (Adoniram brought up Ricky Stein for a song); and Trey Brown (who gave me his new CD to listen to -- nice stuff!). ANd speaking of the Hole, Matt Meshbane (shown here dancing to Chris Brecht's music) is excited about booking weekday Happy Hour shows with some of Austin's best talent (including Hole heroes from the past).
I also caught up with Ricky Stein at Jovita's (band sounded great!) after checking out Matt Maye's new band at Hickory Street (after hearing Matt, Tara Craig, and Gina Chavez and also seeing Grace Pettis at Austin Java a few days earlier). Then there was the joy of Uncle Bruno, with Damon Garcia on sax (and his mom in the house!) spreading that Nawlins FUNK! And Momo's became a jazz club as my pal Fito Kahn banged the bongos for the Duane Carter band (featuring Carter on trumpet, Eric Calistri on guitar, Kit Holmes on piano, Steve Sargent on drums, and Dewayne Morris on bass -- songbird Lauren Kahn was missing from the lineup (she is my Blastbeat pal!).
After spending this afternoon watching "August Rush," I trekked down to the Elephant Room to catch up with a real-life prodigy -- new driver Dylan Meek, who is off for his fifth summer at Berklee in July. The ageless Slim Richey was on guitar (with Francie Meaux Jeaux on bass, of course), and the family affair also included Marcus Gonzales on trombone and the lovely Gaila Kenneally on vocals -- with a surprise visit to the stage by LZ Love (did I mention I had gotten to see her at Central Market on June Teenth?). LZ belted out Billie Holliday's "God Bless the Child," while Kenneally offered up "Blue Skies" and "Angel Eyes" along with a smokin' version (in Portuguese) of "The Girl from Ipanema." Slim and the band also kept the audience hopping with One O'Clock Jump. This was a wonderful hour of pure joy.
Upcoming shows of note include Dustin and Kevin Welch at the Continental Club on July 3rd, the Bellville Outfit, Warren and the Hoodlums, and then Noah Jeffries and Dennis Ludiker all at Momos this Sunday. Plus T-Bird and the Breaks at Threadgill's on July 11th (word is their upcoming CD is killah!). Sadly, I had to miss a great show (I owe ya one, Betsy) at Antone's last night -- Flatcar Rattlers and American Graveyard and Turbo 350 -- just so I could rest up and get this report out to all of you.
Flanfire -- Bringing LIFE to Austin music.
