A 18
Three Chords and the Truth By Ronnie Narmour ronnienarmour@gmail.com
Road trip… It was time to shed this island, blow this pop stand and go see the family. Cabin fever was clouding my brain. So on Friday I packed it up, called in the dogs and headed north up Austin way. I called my pal, Preacher Keen, and told him to find us some good shows to see. The next day he shot me a text saying, “Ronyea, you picked the wrong weekend to come. There’s a huge motorcycle rally (the Republic of Texas- ROT) and we’re expecting something like 30,000 bikers in town. This town is about to be ate up with bikers” Too late Preach, I’m already on my way. I got to mom’s place near Bastrop Friday afternoon and started investigating. Sure enough, the city was already inundated with thousands of motorcycle wielding revelers with many more on the way. It was all over the news and Facebook… extreme traffic conditions were eminent. (And this is on top of an already maxed out traffic condition to start with.) I must confess, they scared me off on Friday. I laid down in fear and spent the evening with the fam. I decided to summon my strengths for whatever was to be and face this monster on Saturday. I’m glad I did.
music and love to dance. On this night, we saw a band my friend, Steve Dean recommended, Dave Insley and the Careless Smokers. They were an old school country band complete with a pedal steel. It was good stuff and just what the doctor ordered. After a little while we decided to leave our cars there and walk down to Sixth Street proper (about 8 blocks) and check out the biker mayhem on the other side of I-35. We walked the entire length of Sixth and saw probably 5,000 motorcycles parked on the street. It was a friendly atmosphere. I detected no aggressive behavior from anyone except the street dudes trying to bum money off me. There was a large police presence. Saw a ton of richeous bikes. Heard a ton of righteous bikes. No hints of Waco.
On to South Congress…
Dave Insley and the Careless Smokers played the White Horse in Austin last Saturday
Buggaboo played the Continental Club in Austin on Saturday
Preacher and I decided to meet at the White Horse, one of the more popular venues on the “new” eastside. It’s located just off 6th and Comal, about 6 blocks east of I-35. This area was “Crackville” the last time I lived in Austin over ten years ago, but they’ve cleaned it up and developed it into another really sweet entertainment district that is safe and honestly, very cool with lots of new bars, restaurants and live music venues. The White Horse is my favorite. They have choice bands every night (Los Pinkys, Rosie Flores, Gulf Coast Playboys, lots of zydeco, swing and old school country, etc) and the vibe reminds me of old Austin. It’s sort of a Shorty’s meet Gruene Hall. The patrons are unpretentious, care about the
We finally made it to the Continental and a band named Buggaboo was playing. We paid the $10 cover and saddled up to the bar. The place was jammed. The crowd was of the “tragically hip” ilk. I felt a little out of place with no tattoos or piercings. The band had a sort of eerie vibe going… a kind of death march with inaudible lyrics using the voice as an instrument. I thought it was interesting in the same way that I thought the synthesizer was interesting the first time I heard it. I kept thinking of something an old black blues singer from Mississippi I used to manage, Miss Lavelle White, said to me one time as we were driving down the road
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Mike Flannigan & Denny Freeman…
Shelley King will play Giggity’s on Friday. DO NOT MISS LIST Coming this weekend…
The Mike Flannigan trio with legendary guitarist Denny Freeman and Kyle Thompson on drums played the Continental Gallery on Saturday
By the time we got to Congress Avenue, we decided to keep walking on to the Continental Club. It was a pretty good clip but there was no turning back now. When we got in front of the Elephant Room around 2nd Street, about a hundred bicyclists were coming towards us, well over half of them completely naked. I can’t make this stuff up. I witnessed enough bicycle riders to fill one whole lane down two city blocks riding on Congress Avenue in downtown Austin completely naked. I gotta say this is one town that takes its weirdness seriously. I have no idea what that was all about… some sort of “clothing optional” bicycle club, I suppose. It was pretty impressive to say the least. Scratch that one off my “Must See” list.
First stop: the Eastside…
and listening to an R.E.M. song, “What are them white boys whining about?”I just wasn’t feeling it so after a few minutes we opted for the upstairs joint next door and made it over to the Continental Gallery. In all honesty, I didn’t give this band its fair shake. They may have had some peppy tunes in their arsenal, but I didn’t stick around long enough to find out. All I caught was a dirge in E minor.
Clothing optional…
On the streets of Austin, a concerted effort to keep Austin weird. You can’t make this stuff up
With Preacher Keen on Sixth Street last Saturday
June 18, 2015
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To my delight, the Mike Flannigan Trio was playing at the Gallery. Mike Flannigan plays deep groove B-3. The bigger than a Volkswagen (almost), Hammond B-3 organ and Leslie speaker cabinet he plays lives up there. Nobody in their right mind would ever consider moving one up and down those skinny stairs more than once. Consequently, Flannigan is pretty much the house entertainer. He has various musicians accompanying him each night like Frosty, Mike Keller and Johnny Moeller, etc. I knew Flannigan back when he used to play with the Keller Brothers , a young band I booked back in the 90’s when I had my agency. Most recently Mike records and performs with ZZ Top. To my extreme delight, a great old friend was playing with Flannigan on this night. Denny Freeman was in the house and was laying down some wicked tracks. I met Denny in the mid 70’s when he played with Paul Ray and the Cobras along with a young aspiring guitarist, Stevie Ray Vaughan. They were the house band at Antone’s, when I worked there as a bartender circa: 1976. Since then, Denny has played with Bob Dylan, Taj Mahal, James Cotton, Percy Sledge, Jimmy Vaughan and a ton of other blues giants. I lost contact with Denny when he moved to California to play with Dylan and hadn’t seen him in years. It was great to catch up. Pound for pound, Denny Freeman is one of the tastiest and most versatile guitar pickers on the planet. The trio played an sweet array of jazzy-bluesy instrumentals that were perfect for this sophisticated martini drinking crowd .
Austin Heat will play the Back Porch on Friday and Giggity’s on Saturday.
The Thieving Birds will play the Black Marlin on Saturday Tonight, Thursday the 18th, Jerry Diaz and Hanna’s Reef will bring their Parrothead tunes to the Back Porch, Selfie will be at Shorty’s and Pat Green and Cory Morrow will play Brewster Street. On Friday, blues belter extraordinaire Shelley King (Austin, TX) will return to Giggity’s and the Independent Thieves will play Shorty’s. One of my favorite bands, Austin Heat, will play a double-header this weekend, playing the Back Porch on Friday and Giggity’s on Saturday. This is truly a DO NOT MISS band. Their lead singer, Brian Scartocci was a finalist on The Voice and is nothing short of amazing. Girls…prepare to swoon. On Saturday the 20th, Gary P. Nunn will play the Porch, Roots rockers Thieving Birds (Ft. Worth, TX) will play the Black Marlin and the Ty Dietz Band will play Shorty’s. Be safe out there.
♫ ♪ And, that’s the truth! ♫ ♪
Live Music Tonight
Thursday, June 18 Jerry Diaz & Hanna’s Reef @ Back Porch Selfie @ Shorty’s Uel Jackson @ The Gaff Free Beer Band @ Giggity’s Duke E. Brown @ Rockit’s Pat Green, Cory Morrow @ Brewster Street Robert Brown @ Scuttlebutt’s
Friday, June 19 Austin Heat @ Back Porch Independent Thieves @ Shorty’s Shelley King Band @ Giggity’s John Boyd @ Schlitterbahn Flatbroke @ Rockit’s Kit Gutherz @ The Gaff Hanna’s Reef @ Brewster Street Chris Saenz @ Scuttlebutt’s Shadowmoon @ Katz 21 Amplified Heat, Numb to the Blow, Switchblade Jesus @ House of Rock Saturday, June 20 Gary P. Nunn @ Back Porch Ty Dietz Band @ Shorty’s Austin Heat @ Giggity’s Thieving Birds @ Black Marlin Russell Edge @ The Gaff Darrell & Kathy Sorrows @ Schlitterbahn Metal Shop @ Brewster Street Buckshot @ Scuttlebutt’s Cover Alls @ Katz 21 Resz, Anthem for the Sun, Arcade Hustlers, Golden Meanies @ House of Rock
Jerry Diaz
June 18
Austin Heat
June 19
Gary P. Nunn
June 20
Green Light Pistol
June 25
American Aquarium
June 26
Joe King Carrasco
June 27
132 W. Cotter St. Port A On the Waterfront
Selfie Every Thurs. Independent Thieves June 19 Ty Dietz Band June 20 Pete Benz June 25-27 Hold Fast Fables July 3 Lyrical Binge July 4 OPEN Till 2am • 823 Tarpon St. Port Aransas
Full Bar & Grill Jim Dugan (6-9)
June 19
Rich Lockhart (5-8)
June 20
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Sunday, June 21 Antone & the All Stars @ Giggity’s John Eric @ Scuttlebutt’s Teenage Bottlerocket, Copyrights, Johnny Five @ House of Rock Monday, June 22 Open Jam w/ Selfie @ Giggity’s Rich Lockhart @ Scuttlebutt’s American Aquarium, Austin Meade, Hope & Hostility @ House of Rock Tuesday, June 23 Open Mic @ House of Rock Paul Taylor Band @ Giggity’s John Eric @ Scuttlebutt’s
Wednesday, June 24 Stevie Start @ Giggity’s Fabian Rivera @ Scuttlebutt’s John Cortez @ House of Rock Thursday, June 25 Green Light Pistol @ Back Porch Pete Benz @ Shorty’s Free Beer Band @ Giggity’s Duke E. Brown @ Rockit’s Billy Snipes @ The Gaff Darren McGill @ Scuttlebutt’s Clarissa Serna, Lakeita Valon & Frank Reyna @ House of Rock Friday, June 26 American Aquarium @ Back Porch Pete Benz @ Shorty’s Ulrich Ellison & Tribe @ Giggity’s Mark Wilks @ The Gaff Kevin Lee Hill @ Schlitterbahn Flatbroke @ Rockit’s Chris Saenz @ Scuttlebutt’s Saturday, June 27 Joe King Carrasco @ Back Porch Pete Benz @ Shorty’s Todd Dorn & the Sea Drifters @ Giggity’s John Eric @ Schlitterbahn Robert Brown @ Scuttlebutt’s Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis @ Black Marlin Belt Sander Races, Uncle Willie, Russell Edge @ The Gaff Timeline @ Katz 21 Sunday, June 28 Antone & the All Stars @ Giggity’s John Eric @ Scuttlebutt’s
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Monday, June 29 Open Jam w/ Selfie @ Giggity’s Rich Lockhart @ Scuttlebutt’s Tuesday, June 30 Open Mic @ House of Rock Paul Taylor Band @ Giggity’s John Eric @ Scuttlebutt’s