Flanfire

The Lamar Pedestrian Bridge as a music venue? Absolutely! Just don't tell the cops or the city nannies who might shut it down. Austin High's Will Thompson (age 16) and a huge number of his friends and friends of friends (well, several dozen at least) put on yet another in an almost impromptu series of gigs on the bridge on Friday evening, to which I was invited thanks largely to his impresario dad Bill III. It was a high energy evening of pure youthful joy - but the hidden little secret is that the three (or four?) all-teen bands were all stocked with quality musicians.

Guitarist Will has long been the lead singer and organizer of The Steps, which in this reincarnation includes 14-year-old cousin Sam Thompson on lead guitar (whose ever increasingly hot licks can in part be attributed to hanging with Geno of the Gene Pool), Zee Lynch (also 14, we are told) on drums, and Travis Perlman on bass. These guys are doing all original songs, with Sam and Will sometimes playing twin leads for added energy. Will says he is hoping to spend the next couple of months writing new songs and working in harmony vocals with Travis, his longtime bow hunting buddy. But if all goes well, they will be back on the bridge to polish their act before returning to clubs (the earlier version of The Steps has played Stubbs and other venues).

Next up on the improvised stage (thanks to the bridge designers for the plug and play) were The Offisaurs - who started out with a freestyle tribute by a tall, lanky kid who is not really in the band, then morphed into a Beatles tune. Jacob Hamrick is the chief singer (screamer?), and some of the other guys are Henry on bass and Damon on guitar. The highlight of the evening (at least for the slam dancers in the crowd) was the hot set by the punkish Stiff As Snakes - also featuring Will on guitar along with a kid named Tomas who hails from McCallum High and Henry on bass with a drummer whose name escaped me - plus Travis Perlman (in skin-tight pants without a shirt, 5-8 and all of 101 pounds or so it seems) in high-energy vocal studliness. This band, too, has original songs, and it was obvious they were a crowd favorite. The on-stage acrobatics seemed scary to some mothers lurking in the background (Town Lake is more than a few feet down!), but everything was under control.

To get to the bridge, I had left Central Market while Roscoe Beck and his new band (maybe The Readers?) were still wowing a huge audience under the stars. David Murray on guitar, Riley Osborne on keys, Brannen Temple on drums, and Mike Cross on vocals -- plus Roscoe's patented bass leads and original songs by most of the members of the quintet. This is NOT the Blue Monday Band, even though many of the players are the same guys. Gigs are lining up, songs are being recorded, and Austin and the world had best pay attention. And they already are - in the house (among others) were Grammy nominee Eliza Gilkyson, song stylist Natalie Zoe (recovering from carpal tunnel surgery), and gospel impresario Greg Adkins, plus the usual dozens of happy, dancing children and their significant adults.

Thursday evening late (yes, your columnist makes great sacrifices for his readers) I fulfilled a promise to go to MoMo's to hear Adrian and the Sickness - having met Adrian herself (compleat with long blonde dreads and a winning smile) at the Back Room the Friday before. I was rewarded not only by the presence of pal Cheryl Latimer (local sculptor and CD jacket designer par excellence) and one of Austin's premiere left-handed female bass players and budding singers, but by an amazing set of high-energy rock and roll. Adrian's alter ego is as lead guitarist Angus Young in the all-girl AC/DC cover band, Hell's Belles, and even in this trio (also featuring bassist Heather Webb and drummer Ric Furley) she writhes on the floor, shakes her dreads until you wonder if her neck is coming off, jumps around on and off the stage, runs through the audience and plays hot licks right in your face, and says a few (0kay, more than a few) naughty words that seem to be part of a well-developer persona and not her sillier self - and then rocks you some more with her little girl voice and fully grown guitar riffs. The hidden secret in this band, though, is Heather Webb's voice - she needs to sing more. [As a side note, one wonders how long this hard rock diva can continue burning herself out to please her fans and how soon before she fully wakes up to her more soulful side.]