Archive for the ‘Austin’ Category

Franklin Barbecue Burns

Saturday, August 26th, 2017

We take you away from Hurricane Harvey footage to bring you important Austin food news: Franklin’s Barbecue has suffered a fire.

One of the state’s most popular barbecue joints suffered a massive fire early Saturday morning, according to reports.

Franklin Barbecue, located in downtown Austin, has been a barbecue staple in Texas for years now and the destination for smoked meat lovers across the country.

Austin fire officials tweeted just before 6 a.m. Saturday that they had officials on the scene fighting a blaze at the location in the 900 block of East 11th. Within half an hour they reported that the situation at the two-story building had been controlled.

Here’s footage of the fire and firetrucks arriving:

Franklin is currently closed:

No reopening date estimate yet…

Shoegazer Sunday: The Octopus Project’s “Sharpteeth”

Sunday, June 18th, 2017

How did I miss The Octopus Project until now? You would think an Austin band with a female theremin player would be right up my alley…

Austin Restaurant Notes

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2017

The Logbook of the Saturday Dining Conspiracy, the redheaded stepchild of the Dwight and Lawrence blogging empire, has shambled back to life this months with two bits of news:

  • Hudson’s on the Bend has closed.
  • A variety of other Austin restaurant openings and closings.
  • You might want to take a look if you like dining in Austin.

    Shoegazer Sunday: Single Lash’s “Bitemarks”

    Sunday, October 16th, 2016

    Austin’s Single Lash was one of the bands playing at that Luscious Heaven show at Cheer Up Charlie’s. I only managed to catch one of their songs, but I thought the lead singer was really good. “Bitemarks” may or may not have been that song.

    Shoegazer Sunday: All in the Golden Afternoon’s “The Long Goodbye”

    Sunday, October 9th, 2016

    Hope you like drone rock with a repeating riff played for an extended period of time, because that’s what Austin’s own All in the Golden Afternoon is laying down in “The Long Goodbye,” which reminds me of Talking Heads’ “The Overload.” The ubiquitous Ulrich Schnauss was evidently involved in this as well.

    All in the Golden Afternoon is one of six bands that will be appearing at Lucious Heaven, a night of shoegaze bands at Cheer Up Charlie’s on October 15, 2016, which is a mere $5.

    Shoegazer Sunday: Vet Trip’s “Finland”

    Sunday, September 11th, 2016

    Hey look, it’s another Austin shoegaze band! Vet Trip is a four-piece that sounds a little bit like Thrushes by way of Seasurfer.

    Library Addition: Signed PBO of Aaron Allston’s Sidhe Devil

    Monday, August 8th, 2016

    Since I already had a signed first of Doc Sidhe, I picked up this signed copy of the sequel from the Fred Duarte Estate.

    Allston, Aaron. Sidhe Devil. Baen, 2001. First edition paperback original, a Fine copy with some foxing to inside covers. Signed and dated by Allston.

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    Brian Jonestown Massacre’s “She’s Gone”

    Sunday, May 15th, 2016

    I consider Brain Jonestown Massacre more of a psych than Shoegaze band, but this is the final song they played at their set with Slowdive in Austin, and that’s good enough for me.

    Important Safety Tip

    Wednesday, May 11th, 2016

    Try not to kill anyone over cutting in line for a taco trick.

    Just after bar-close at 2:38 a.m. on Sunday, May 8th, the Austin Police Department responded to a report of gunfire at what appears to be the Tortillas Hecha a Manos taco truck in Lanier Village, just south of Peyton Gin and North Lamar. When police arrived, they found 39-year-old Rigoberto Jose Castillo dead and three others injured, one critically.

    You may be asking, what could have caused all this mayhem? As the story goes, it all began when someone allegedly cut in line for tacos.

    According to witnesses, a fight started over who was in line for tacos first. Nobody appreciates the wait for a taco, but police say that Mr. Castillo took special exception to the alleged line-cutting when two men, Osiel Benitez Benitez, 44, and Juventino Benitez Carbajal, 38, allegedly attempted to order out of line.

    Things escalated to fisticuffs between Rigoberto and Osiel Benitez, the police report says, leaving Benitez unconscious on the ground, before all hell broke loose. Police go on to claim that a moment later Carbajal went to his truck, pulled out a gun, and began firing into the group of patrons. In addition to Castillo’s death, three women were also injured.

    It’s also a bad idea to try and cut in line for a taco trailer. Upside: You get your taco faster. Downside: Getting shot to death over tacos. Plus it’s just not polite…

    (Hat tip: Bill Crider.)

    Levitation Austin Music Festival Cancelled

    Thursday, April 28th, 2016

    Well, this sucks:

    Due to safety concerns regarding dangerous weather, Levitation 2016 has been cancelled. This decision is heartbreaking, but it’s a decision officials have made for the safety of festival attendees, and safety is our first priority.

    We’ve been working with county officials trying to find a way to carry on, but at this point the decision has been made, and it is beyond our control. The cancellation is due to dangerous weather conditions in the forecast combined with weather complications to the grounds and the Colorado River.

    We are completely devastated. We have been working for a year, looking forward to this weekend and seeing you all at the ranch. We know that many of you traveled from far away, and that this news is extremely disappointing for everyone.

    At this point, the projected impact of the storms has intensified, and we are now left with no choice but to cancel. You may remember that in 2015 we had severe weather warnings as well, but were able to get through the weekend. The difference between 2015 and 2016 is the severity of the storms being predicted, including high wind, large hail and tornado warnings, combined with high water levels from last week’s flooding.

    We have tried every avenue to continue with the festival, and the county has been working with us to find a way, but today at 5:00pm the final decision was made to cancel the festival due to public safety concerns related to severe weather. Following this announcement, the festival has to evacuate the site, meaning that staff and equipment must be loaded out. This leaves us with no opportunity to continue the festival later in the weekend. Even if the weather has improved drastically on Sunday, we would be unable to produce an event at the ranch.

    We will be working to keep everyone updated. Please see information on refunds, potential venue shows and other important info below.

    Refunds will be issued, but those may take up to 30 days to issue.

    Obviously the universe just doesn’t want me to see Slowdive…