Night Owls on New Year’s

The time has come for us to go our separate ways. May everyone have a great holiday break and come back refreshed and rejuvenated, ready for another (maybe your last?) semester of school. If you happen to be sticking around Austin, however, I am sure you will be looking for something amazing to do for New Year’s Eve. I’ve never stayed in the city for the holidays, so I can’t vouch for anything, but hopefully one of these options can provide some fun for you.

Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears are playing their second annual New Year’s show at Stubb’s (8th and Red River). Tickets are $32, but include a barbecue buffet and champagne toast. Doors open at 9 pm. buy tickets here

Robert Earl Keen, Randy Rogers Band, Wade Bowen and Band of Heathens are playing Austin Music Hall  (2nd and Nueces). Tickets are $50 for general admission or $75 for two balcony seats. Doors open at 7 pm. buy tickets here

Joe Ely is playing Antone’s (W. 5th). Tickets are $30 and doors open at 9 pm. buy tickets here

First Night Austin happens throughout the downtown area, specifically Auditorium Shores. This will be the 5th year the city of Austin celebrates the New Year with this even that provides  “Austinites and Central Texas with a free, inter-generationally programmed, family-friendly, alcohol-free, public celebration, showcasing the unique culture of Austin through expressive, creative traditions of performing and visual arts.” The events begin at 4 pm and the website has a schedule of the full day. Within the free event, one can also buy tickets to the “Long First Night,” a banquet at the Long Center. Regular tickets are $15 until Dec. 18th when they go up to $20 and give you access to the cash bar, food and entertainment. VIP tickets include access to the Long Center and all entertainment, as well as access to open bars, complimentary buffets and chefs stations, and a private VIP party.  They are $95 until the 18th, when they go up to $110. buy tickets here

Alamo Drafthouse Ritz New Year’s Bash is a showing of the classic 1960′s film The Apartment with a classy five course meal consisting of a club sandwich, sweet and sour lobster with Maitake dumpling, chicken noodle soup, braised lamb shank, and strawberry chocolate fruitcake. Tickets are pricey at $75 each, but that includes your meal. The show begins at 7 pm. buy tickets here

Happy holidays! It’s been a pleasure writing for you.

Concerts to Reminisce By

While I’m sure that most of the students reading this blog have locked themselves in libraries and late night coffee shops and have no plans for going out until finals are over, I found a few events worth mentioning. Maybe you could treat yourself to these concerts that bring back the good ol’ days of middle school/high school, perhaps a time when finals were less stressful, or maybe even non-existent…

Bowling for Soup and the Riddlin’ Kids are playing at Emo’s Thursday Dec 3 at 10 pm. You may remember these Texas bands from your  local “alternative” radio station in the early 2000′s. Bowling for Soup had such hits as “Girl All the Bad Guys Want” and “1985″ and were even nominated for a Grammy in 2003. They’ll be promoting their newest album, “Sorry for Partyin’” this Thursday night. Come out and see them with fellow alt-pop band Riddlin’ Kids at one of their first gigs since they got back together. No joke, I heard from a friend of a friend that one of the Riddlin’ Kids band members actually works at a Chuy’s in Austin. Here’s to hoping this concert can help get them back on their feet. Tickets are $12 and doors open at 9pm at Emo’s on 6th and Red River. buy tickets

311 is playing with State Radio Tuesday Dec 8 at Austin Music Hall. I guess technically these guys are still going strong, but you have to admit their better stuff came around in the late ’90s and early ’00s. Doors open at 7pm, the show starts at 8 and tickets cost $39 (seriously?) buy tickets

Sister Hazel is playing at La Zona Rosa Dec 9 at 9 pm. Think back to the mid-to-late ’90s and imagine a world where “All For You” and “Your Winter” topped the chart. Does this bring a smile to your face? Then you really need to put the books down and head to this show. They’re touring to promote their latest album “Release.” Tickets are $10 and only available the night of the show at the door.

Sister Hazel– “All For You”

Our final selection is a bit of stretch. The mid-to-late ’90s also brought about the rise of ska, and who better personifies ska-punk than Sublime. Not to get your hopes up, because, no Brad Nowell is not back from the dead, but Badfish, a band that exclusively covers Sublime songs will be playing at Emo’s at the end of January. Doors open at 9, show starts at 10 and tickets are $15. buy tickets

Badfish covering Sublime, covering the Grateful Dead

Good luck with finals everyone! Hope this list could help you procrastinate a little bit and reminisce about when school was much much easier.

Night Owls Embark on Studying for Finals

As a college student, the first couple weeks of December are consumed with finals, projects, and papers. Every year I end up camping out at a coffee shop, because I know I won’t get anything done in my apartment. I mean,  there’s a TV there, and lots of things on my DVR list that need to be watched…so I’m easily distracted. Here’s a map of ten Austin area coffee shops/restaurants that stay open 24 hours or late into the night to give our Night Owls a place to plunge full force into preparing for the end of the semester.

 

 

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Put a Hex on the Aggies

Monday night marks the annual UT tradition of the Hex Rally. Each year, the university comes together to root on their football team against Texas A&M.  This pep rally dates back to 1941 when a local fortune teller advised university students to burn red candles the week leading up to their game in order to break the “jinx” A&M had put on the UT football team. Of course, the Longhorns won the match-up and the tradition has stuck ever since.

This year’s rally will feature speeches from head football coach, Mack Brown, strength and conditioning coach, Jeff “Mad Dog” Madden and players from the team. Tthe Longhorn Band, Texas Cheer and Pom, Redefined Dance Company, and the Ransom Notes will perform before the ritual of lighting those red candles. Why should you attend this year’s Hex Rally? Besides the fact that our football team is awesome this year and has a shot at going to the National Championship, Emmily Attyah, UT sophomore and the co-director of special events and rallies for Texas Exes Student Chapter gave me various reasons why she loves the rally and thinks everyone should attend.

“It is a way we can all come to together in a fun atmosphere to root against our enemy,” said Attyah, “It makes you definitely feel proud you can say you are a Longhorn.”

As co-director of special events and rallies, Attyah plans both of the main pep rallies at UT (against Oklahoma and Texas A&M). Her job involves designing a t-shirt for the event, booking an emcee, notifying student organizations, planning with the football team, designating the space, leading her committee, finding the candles, and creating a playlist for the preshow.

“There is a lot of work, communicating and planning that goes along with this job,” she said.

Attending the Hex Rally should be on the list of things every Longhorn should do at least once. Head over to the Main Mall tomorrow night at 8 pm and put a Hex on A&M. Texas Exes Student Chapter will be hosting an after party at Austin’s Pizza on the drag immediately following the rally.

“I suggest everyone to come to at least one rally because even though we are one of the largest universities,” said Attyah, “the rallies really show how united we are.”

South Austin Trailer Park and Eatery update

Here is some video I took of our bartender at the South Austin Trailer Park and Eatery re-opening event that I talked about the other day. She explained to us what the event was for and how to make Liquid S’mores cocktails.

Holiday Preview Tonight at South Austin Trailer Park and Eatery

Come down to South Austin Trailer Park and Eatery on South 1st St. and eat food from Man Bites Dog, Holy Cacao, and Torchy’s Tacos for a good cause. Tonight, November 19, from 6:30-9 pm, 10% of all their proceeds will be donated to the families of Fort Hood victims.

In addition to Holy Cacao unveiling their holiday cake balls, they will be serving up free “Liquid S’Mores” cocktails made with Dripping Springs vodka and 1921 tequila. Man Bites Dog will be making their official debut on the trailer food scene with their gourmet hot dogs. The event itself is free and requires no RSVP.

 

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Check back this weekend for video from the event!

Time Warp Back to 1997

On Thursday evenings, Alamo Drafthouse’s downtown location, The Ritz, hosts its famous sing-along shows. As I mentioned in a previous post, these shows are a great example of things to do that are completely unique to Austin. I had the opportunity to attend the 1997 Sing-Along last Thursday and had an absolute blast.

The idea is basically group karaoke. For about two hours, music videos play on the giant movie screen with words to follow along. You can remain in the audience area and sing to your hearts content, or even get up on the stage in front of the screen and put on your own show.

Two hosts guide the crowd through the experience and get everyone excited and involved in the show.

Our hosts for the evening dressed the part in 1997 fashion.

It was my friend’s 21st birthday so they called her up on the stage for a free shot.

The birthday girl is standing in the middle wearing a dress.

Then the show began with “Bittersweet Symphony” by the Verve. I was expecting the show to cater more toward people who remember only the most extremely popular music of 1997– Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, Hanson– but it surprised me by including popular music from many genres. Sublime, Foo Fighters, Third Eye Blind and Radiohead evened out the bubblegum pop. Reply in the comments if you know what song this is:

I feel like people tend to forget about this artist when they think of the '90s.

I won’t  give away the whole playlist, because Alamo still has two more showings for ’90s lovers– tomorrow night at 9:50 pm and next Thursday at 9:45 pm. I recommend purchasing your tickets now online because sing-alongs tend to sell out many hours before their showings. If you miss the 1997 shows, Christmas sing-alongs begin the following week.  Not only do you get to sing popular versions of holiday hits, but afterward the audience is invited to carol up and down 6th street, spreading Christmas cheer to all of downtown.

Location:
320 E 6th St
Austin, TX 78701

Review: Pretty Lights Concert

Seeing as we are blogging from the live music capital of the world, it’s only natural that we night owls occasionally attend a concert here and there. As I wrote in my last post, La Zona Rosa hosted Pretty Lights last night. My friends Amy and Katya, and I decided to make a night out of it.

We needed to have dinner, so our first stop was Blu Cafe, an Italian-inspired lounge. Located on the ground floor of the new 360 Condominiums, it was a great place to start the night. Katya ordered a dirty martini, and Amy and I ordered peach martinis. Prices on drinks were a little steep at $8.50 per glass, but the pizza was only about $9 and we were able to split it among the three of us.

Amy and Katya cheers to the end of a long day

Katya likes her dirty martinis with tons of olive juice, and our bartender was happy to oblige her wishes.

Our next stop was Garrido’s, a new Mexican restaurant right around the corner, also in the 360 building. We enjoyed mojitos and then were on our way to La Zona Rosa for the concert.

Inside the venue

As soon as Pretty Lights came on, I found my friend Madeline and we pushed our way to the front

I found Madeline!

Then I documented parts of the show with my BlackBerry:

The show was really energetic– pretty much a huge dance party. Considering how many concert events Austin hosts, it’s not hard to find live music any day of the week. Going out on a Wednesday is not usually the most practical idea, but dancing and enjoying Pretty Lights’ mixes was a great way to forget about the stress of school.

Preview: Pretty Lights Concert Tonight at La Zona Rosa

Tonight I will be attending the Pretty Lights concert at La Zona Rosa on W. 4th St with some friends. Doors open at 8 pm, and the show, which also features Alex B and Gramatik, begins at 9 pm. As of 3:30 pm today, tickets are still available and cost $20 at the door. What is Pretty Lights? According to their myspace page:

Pretty Lights is giving the people what they want; electro organic cutting-edge party rocking beats that fill venues with energy and emotion, and send dance floors into frenzies.

The group consists of Denver music producer Derek Vincent Smith, accompanied by Cory Eberhard, who plays the drums at their live shows. All of their music is available for FREE on their website.

I’ll definitely be taking pictures and hopefully (fingers-crossed that it works) some video too! Check back tomorrow for a review.

TGIT (Thank Goodness It’s Thursday)

This semester I have been blessed with NO FRIDAY CLASSES, the holy grail of college schedules, in my opinion. This means that when Thursday comes around, my weekend has officially started. Here are some of the things I usually end up doing on Thursdays, seeing as I can afford to lose the sleep.

**WEST CAMPUS

Cain & Abels — as I have mentioned before, this is one of my favorite places to hang out near campus. The special on Thursdays is $6 Texas Teas all day long. Out of context, this might not seem like a deal, but usually these large drinks served in mason jars are $8 a pop!

Lil’ Woodrow’s — With locations on the drag, West 6th, Parmer, South Park Meadows and Bee Caves, Lil’ Woodrow’s is kind of ubiquitous around Austin these days. Thursdays on the drag offer 25 oz. mugs of domestics and premium domestics for $4.

Plucker’s (Rio Grande) — At Plucker’s wing bar, Thursdays are Tijuana Thursdays featuring $2 margaritas and Tecates, $2.50 for all other Mexican beers and $4 Mexican martinis.

**DOWNTOWN (note: there are limitless night owl activities available on Thursday nights downtown, these are just a few that I have personally partaken in and enjoyed)

6th street (photo by John R. Rogers)

Alamo Drafthouse Ritz — Tonight you have three choices: Michael Jackson sing-a-long, Heathers quote-a-long or a showing of the new Michael Jackson movie This Is It. Obviously this is more than just a movie theater. They provide a full dinner menu along with beer, wine and some cocktails. I have plans of attending a sing-a-long next Thursday and will definitely be reporting back on it!

Shakespeare’s — Every Thursday, this 6th street dive offers $5 pitchers of any “well” drink. Plan on taking a cab or the e-bus home after that!

Cedar Street Courtyard — With its large, multi-level outdoor patio on 4th street in the warehouse district, this venue is perfect Austin’s fall weather. Cedar Street is known for its live entertainment, usually cover bands, and a full bar. Thursdays have lately featured Skyrocket!, the winner of SXSW 2007′s Best Cover Band. They play mostly 70′s and 80′s party hits.

Peckerhead’s, Maggie Mae’s and Mooseknuckle — all on 6th street, all have $2 you-call-its.

I know there are tons more Thursday night owl activities for central Austinites. Leave your favorites in the comments section and have fun and be safe tonight!