A Week In the Life of Austin

A Week In the Life of Austin

Austin is a city of over 840,000 in the Hill Country of central Texas. It’s the state capital and home to a major university as well as an in-fluential center for politics, technology, music, film and a food scene.

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Austin’s embrace of alternative cultures is commonly emblazoned about town on T-Shirts and bumper stickers that read: “Keep Austin Weird.” This interpretation of the classic, “Texas-style” sense of independence refers to: the traditional and proudly eclectic, lib-eral lifestyles of many Austin residents; a desire to protect small, unique, local businesses from being overrun by large corporations; and as a reaction to the perceived rise of conservative influences within the community.

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Austin is also marketed as the “Live Music Capital of the World” due to the large number of venues and “Silicon Hills” reflecting the many technology companies.

The central business district of the city is home to some of the tallest condo towers in the state, with the Austonian Condos topping out at 56 floors and the 360 Condos at 44 floors. The 360 Tower and the Four Seasons Condos are condo towers in Austin, opened in early 2008. Former Mayor Will Wynn set out a goal for having up to 25,000 people living Down-town by 2015, and the city provided incentives for building residential units in the urban core. Be-cause of this, the city has been driven to increase density in Austin’s urban core. The skyline has drastically changed in recent years, and the resi-dential real estate market has remained relatively strong. Downtown growth has been aided by the pres-ence of a popular live music and nightlife scene, museums, restaurants, and Lady Bird Lake, consid-ered one of the city’s best recreational spots.

“...25,000 people living downtown by 2015”

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The 2nd Street District consists of several new residential projects, restaurants, coffee shops, record stores, upscale boutiques and museums, and the Austin City Hall. Across 2nd Street from Austin City Hall is the newly re-created TV set for the long-running PBS program Austin City Limits, which is housed beneath the new 478 feet (146 m) W Hotel. The new Austin City Limits location also presents national and local live music performances unrelated to the television show such as recent performances by story-teller Garrison Keillor, and music groups Return to

Forever and George Thorogood. South by Southwest (SXSW) is hosted downtown and is one of the largest music festivals in the United States, with more than 2,000 performers playing in more than 90 venues around Downtown Austin over four days, in March. Though it is an industry-based event, SXSW Music links locally with events such as the annual Austin Music Awards show. SXSW is the highest revenue-producing special event for the Austin economy, with an estimated economic impact of at least $167 million in 2010.

1. Mozart’s Coffee2. See Bob Schneider3. Cap City Comedy Club4. Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trails5. Bridal Extravaganza6. Austin Segway Tour7. Visit University of Texas Co-Op8. IMAX Theater at Bob Bullock Museum9. La Fuente’s10. Rudy’s BBQ11. Blanton Museum of Art12. Volunteer at Town Lake Animal Shelter

13. Austin Boat Show January 14-17th14. Sprouts Farmers Market15.Texas Basketball Game16. Enjoy the view at the Oasis17. Hey Cupcake!18. Climb Mount Bonnell19. Tuesday Trivia Night at a Local Bar20. Kerbey Lane Café21. Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center

22. Peter Pan Mini Golf23. Huts Hamburgers24. Stubbs BBQ Gospel Brunch25. Sunshine Community Garden26. Dog & Duck Pub27. Taste of Austin28. Indoor Rock Climbing29. The Belmont30. Le Garage Sale31. Trudy’s32. Free Swing Dance Lesson at Ruta Mayas

33. Playland Skate Center34. Cafe Monet35. First Thursday on South Congress36. Free Margaritas at El Chile37. Austin Zoo38. Third Base39. Tiff’s Treats40. Hancock Golf Course41. Take a Pedicab Ride42. Bobby Bones Singles Mingle

Explore...

43. Esther’s Follies 44. Sweetbarks 201045. Mangia Pizza – Heart Shaped Pizza46. Lyndon B. Johnson Museum47. Evangeline Cafe48. Cactus Cafe (While You Still Can)49. Juan In A Million50. Frank Hot Dogs & Cold Beer51. Free Tour & Beer Tasting at Live Oak Brewing Company 52. Pease Park53. Chaparral Ice54. BYOB B-I-N-G-O55. Zach Theatre56. Volunteer at Capital Area Food Bank57. Max’s Wine Dive58. The Veloway59. Austin Restaurant Week60. Allens Boots 61. Texas Capitol62. The Spazmatics at Cedar Street

Courtyard63. Aussie’s Grill & Beach Bar64. Berry Austin65. Volunteer At A City Park66. Moonshine67. Mexic-Arte Museum68. Taco Shack 69. Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum70. The New Movement71. SXSW72. Star of Texas Fair & Rodeo73. Zilker Kite Festival74. Big Top Candy Shop 75. Blazer Tag76. Fado Irish Pub77. Meet the Budweiser Clydesdales78. Crown & Anchor Pub79. Monkey See Monkey Do80. Peacock Watching at Mayfield Park81. Austin Java

Explore...

82. Texas Longhorn Baseball Game83. Cathedral of Junk84. Flip Happy Crepes85. Midnight Rodeo 86. Westgate Street Festival87. Taverna 88. Capital City BMX 89. Big Stacy Pool90. P. Terry’s91. The Mighty Cone92. Be An Extra On Friday Night Lights93. The 11th Annual Easter Pet Parade & Costume Contest94. Texas Football Spring Jamboree & Fan Fest95. Caffe Medici96. Dog Almighty 97. KVET Free Texas Music Series at The Hills Cafe98. Lonestar Rod & Kustom Round Up99. See The Eggmen

100. Hula Hut101. Free Mimosas with Brunch at Rio’s Brazilian Cafe 102. Lions Municipal Golf Course 103. House Wine104. Free Yoga In The Park105. KGSR’s Unplugged at the Grove106. Austin Reggae Festival107. Austin Toros Basketball Game108. American Hero Celebration at Camy Mabry109. Love & a 45 Record Player Party at Rio Rita110. Explore Lady Bird Lake with a Kayak or Canoe111. Earth Day Festival at The Triangle112. Barton Springs Pool Clean-Up113. The Alamo Drafthouse 114. Eeyore’s Birthday115. Art City Austin 116. Nelo’s Cycles Shop Weekday Ride117. The HighballE

XPLORE

views from castle hill graffiti walls

100. Hula Hut101. Free Mimosas with Brunch at Rio’s Brazilian Cafe 102. Lions Municipal Golf Course 103. House Wine104. Free Yoga In The Park105. KGSR’s Unplugged at the Grove106. Austin Reggae Festival107. Austin Toros Basketball Game108. American Hero Celebration at Camy Mabry109. Love & a 45 Record Player Party at Rio Rita110. Explore Lady Bird Lake with a Kayak or Canoe111. Earth Day Festival at The Triangle112. Barton Springs Pool Clean-Up113. The Alamo Drafthouse 114. Eeyore’s Birthday115. Art City Austin 116. Nelo’s Cycles Shop Weekday Ride117. The Highball

118. Our Body: The Universe Within 119. Volente Beach 120. Play Disc Golf121. Pecan Street Festival 122. Austin Lemonade Day 123. Curra’s Grill 124. STOMP at the Paramount Theatre125. La Condesa Cinco De Mayo Downtown Block Party 126. Home Slice Pizza127. Backspin Sports Bar 128. German-Texan Heritage Society’s 15th Annual Maifest129. 7th Annual Art of the Pot Tour 130. Shoal Creek Greenbelt 131. Take A FREE Stand Up Paddle Board Class132. Foster An Animal From The Austin Humane Society 133. Good Pop 134. Conan O’Brien at Austin Music Hall135. First Annual Family Nature Crawl

136. Olivia137. Trash To Treasure Donation Drive138. Sazon Mexican Restaurant 139. Triangle Farmer’s Market 140. Lake Travis 141. Car2Go’s FREE Concert at Republic Square Park142. Austin Civic Choic Honors All Those Lost143. LOST Weekend: All LOST Quiz at Waterloo Ice House144. Summermoon Coffee Bar145. Kahuna’s Tiki Bar & Grill146. Red Bud Isle 147. Spicewood Valley Trail 148. Live From The Plaza at Austin City Hall149. Southpark After Dark – Free Michael Jackson Tribute150. Sunday Afternoon Market

When you visit Austin, or if you decide to live here, you’ll have no shortage of inter-esting and satisfying places to eat. Austin’s restaurants are a feast for the mind and the palate. The listings below are only a sampling of the diverse and plentiful Austin restaurant scene. Austin has many high-end, destination restaurants, but it also has many high-quality, unique, and inexpensive restau-rants where the locals eat, drink, and social-ize every day (all day).

It’s a town built for living in, and the affordable, excellent restaurants show it. Just so you know you’re in Texas, Austin has a large number of plac-es serving Texas Barbeque and Tex-Mex; many of them are venerable, famous, and exceptionally good eating.Austin is vegetarian-friendly, and many restaurants have a good selection to choose from. Most supermarkets such as HEB, Fiesta and Randall’s offer inexpensive prepared food.

Winning Dinner // Justine’s

The best place to eat, drink, party and after party—just

a really fun place to have a drink or a late dinner. It’s

a French brasserie with an amazing patio and a really

intimate dining area. The music is played off records.

I like ordering anything off the daily board.

4710 E. Fifth St., justines1937.com

QR CODES

Meat Market // Salt and Time The best butcher’s shop, with the freshest meat in

town. They always create new cuts for us to play with—

flanken rib, heavy chops (this includes the pork belly

with the chop), beef oysters. They also have beer and

cold-brew Cuvée coffee—local roasters—on tap.

1912 E. Seventh St., saltandtime.com

- Chef Paul Qui

Late-Night Snack // Las Trancas

A taco trailer that’s still open after I get off work.

It’s the perfect low-key spot to grab some tacos,

quesadillas and tortas. They also serve grilled

whole chickens on the weekends; the key is to go

around noon, when they are fresh off the grill.

1210 E. Cesar Chavez St.

T R I B E Z A

U R B A N S P O O N

Y E L P A U S T I N

Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill 90%$$$ Downtown - American, Southern/Soul 303 Red River StHut’s Hamburgers 86%$ Downtown - Burgers, Southern/Soul 807 W 6th StClay Pit 85%$$ Downtown - Indian, Vegetarian 1601 Guadalupe StWhole Foods Market 94%$ Downtown - Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches/Subs, Vegetarian 525 N Lamar BlvdFogo de Chão 86%$$$$ Downtown - Brazilian, International, Steakhouse 309 E 3rd StLambert’s Downtown Barbecue 85%$$$ Downtown - American, Barbecue, Steakhouse 401 W 2nd StEddie V’s Prime Seafood 89%$$$$ Downtown - American, Seafood, Steakhouse 301 E 5th StThe Old Pecan Street Cafe 87%$$ Downtown - American, Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch 504 Trinity StFrank & Angie’s Pizzeria 88%$ Downtown - Italian, Pizza 508 West AveP.F. Chang’s China Bistro 87%$$ Downtown - Asian, Chinese, Vegetarian 201 San Jacinto BlvdChez Nous 87%$$$ Downtown - French, Seafood, Steakhouse 510 Neches StRoaring Fork 91%$$$ Downtown - American, Southwestern, Steakhouse 701 Congress AveLa Traviata 91%$$$ Downtown - Italian 314 Congress AvePiranha Killer Sushi 90%$$ Downtown - Japanese, Sushi, Cocktails 207 San Jacinto Blvd

-Courtesy of urbanspoon.com

BANGERS - RAINEY ST.

LIVE MUSICCAPITAL OF THE WORLD

As Austin’s official slogan is The Live Music Capital of the World, the city has a vibrant live music scene with more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city. Austin’s music revolves around the many nightclubs on 6th Street and an annual film/music/interactive festival known as South by Southwest (SXSW). The concentration of restau-rants, bars, and music venues in the city’s downtown core is a major contributor to Austin’s live music scene, as the zip code encompassing the downtown entertainment district hosts the most bar or alcohol-serving establishments in the U.S.

cThe longest-running concert music program on American television, Austin City Limits, is recorded at ACL Live at The Moody Theater. Austin City Limits and C3 Presents produce the Austin City Limits Music Festival, an annual music and art festival held at Zilker Park in Austin. Other music events include the Urban Music Festival, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Chaos In Tejas and Old Settler’s Music Festival. Austin Lyric Opera performs multiple operas each year (including the 2007 opening of Philip Glass’s Waiting for the Barbarians, written by University of Texas at Austin alumnus J. M. Coetzee). The Austin Symphony Or-chestra performs a range of classical, pop and family performances and is led by Music Director and Conductor Peter Bay.

SXSW ‘14 PREVIEW By Peter Blackstock

With more than 2,000 bands in town for South by Southwest, this 20-song playlist represents just under 1 percent of your options for the week. There’s no intent to be completist here, or even representative of the festival as a whole; no sample size this small could manage that.

Consider it, instead, just a curated primer of favorites falling into a va-riety of categories: well-known names such as Twin Cities rockers the Hold Steady and local country favorites Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison; Scandinavian singers Kurt Nilsen of Norway and Agnes Obel of Den-mark; buzz bands both local (Not in the Face) and national (Alabama’s St. Paul & the Broken Bones); acclaimed singer-songwriters both female (Laura Cantrell, Basia Bulat) and male (Noah Gundersen, Robert Ellis).

A ringer is Japan’s Bo Ningen, a fascinating hard psych-rock band called to our attention by former Austin American-Statesman music write Chris Riemenschneider (now with the Star Tribune in Minneapolis). Classic cover songs are served up by Starlings, TN, and the Haden Triplets. And a couple of couples weigh in with beautiful acoustic tunes: Mandolin Orange’s “There Was a Time” and the Mastersons’ “Birds Fly South.”

Michael Martin Murphey closes out the playlist with his early ’70s song “Alleys of Austin,” recently revived by Alejandro Escovedo at January’s “United Sounds of Austin” concert. Will Murphey play it at either of his two SXSW showcases? Who knows, but if not, you can hear it here, as you prepare for your own SXSW journeys down the alleys of Austin.

Austin Music History

Austin Music History

A large portion of Austin’s early musical heritage began in the German Beer Gardens and Halls in the late 1800s, places such as Scholz’s Garden and Hall (the hall later to become Saengerrunde Hall) and further up the road at Dessau Hall. Dessau Hall peaked in the 1940s and 1950s with acts as diverse as Glenn Miller, Hank Williams, and Elvis Presley. Other major venues for country music included Big Gil’s on South Congress and The Skyline on North Lamar. Local singer/yodel-er Kenneth Threadgill opened Threadgill’s in 1933 on North Lamar, a venue that later hosted Folk/Country jams where Janis Joplin participated in her early days. On the Afri-can American East Side of town other music venues such as the Victory Grill, Charlie’s Playhouse, Big Mary’s, Ernie’s Chicken Shack, and Doris Miller Auditorium featured local and touring acts. These destinations, which were part of the “chitlin circuit” featuring big bands, jazz and blues, became famous for later hosting musical legends including Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Bobby Bland, B.B. King, Ike Turner and Tina Turner.

In 1964, the Broken Spoke, opened featuring country acts such as Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, and the young Willie Nelson. The late-1960s and 1970s saw the country music popularized by Willie Nelson and others being joined by a host of other music brought by the more liberal inhabitants, who migrated to Austin during these two decades. Specifically, Roky Erickson and his 13th Floor Elevators helped bring in this psychedelic era.Austin was home to the Vulcan Gas Company that featured headliners such as the 13th Floor Elevators, (Johnny and Edgar) Winter brothers, and Shiva’s Headband. The Vulcan morphed into the Armadillo World Headquar-ters in 1970 and for more than ten years featured music of all genres, from Bruce Springsteen to Bette Midler, as well as local ballet, blues and jazz. The artwork from this establishment was a part of the Austin scene and the Armadillo became the Austin city an-imal. Songs such as Gary P. Nunn’s “London Homesick Blues” (which includes in the cho-rus “I want to go home with the armadillo”) made this a staple of Austin. The artist who began the Armadillo logo was Jim Franklin, who is still working today.

In the following years, Austin gained a repu-tation as a place where struggling musicians could launch their careers in front of receptive audiences, at informal live venues. A major in-fluence during this time was Clifford Antone and the namesake blues club he founded in 1975, at the age of 25. Antone’s located on Austin’s 6th Street fostered the careers of a number of musicians, including Stevie Ray Vaughan. Lib-erty Lunch was a live-music venue in Austin and during its heyday in the late 1970s and 1980s featured all kinds of music, including reggae and ska, punk, indie, country and rock. The venue was forced to close to make way for Austin’s downtown redevelopment rampage in the late 1990s. Since then, Liberty Lunch has at-tained a (partly deserved) legendary status in the history of Austin music. Now-defunct Arma-dillo World Headquarters has attained a similar status. The punk/new wave era in

Austin began in earnest in 1978. The Club Foot played an important role in hosting many of the local punk/new wave acts. The city’s first two rock/new wave bands, the Skunks and the Viola-tors, made their debut at a University-area club called Raul’s in February. The explosive show by the Sex Pistols in San Antonio the previous month helped build toward an excited reception for local purveyors of the style. The Skunks’ lineup con-sisted of Jesse Sublett on bass and vocals, Eddie Munoz on guitar and Bill Blackmon on drums. The Violators featured Kathy Valentine (later of the Go-Go’s), Carla Olson (later of the Textones), Marilyn Dean and Sublett on bass. The Violators were short-lived, as all the members except for Sublett moved to LA the following year. Margaret Moser, of the Austin Chronicle, later wrote that “The Skunks put Austin on the rock n’ roll map.” Another influential band that led the punk scene in Austin was the Big Boys.

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Antone’s Nightclub

“Austin gained a reputation as a place where struggling musicians could launch their careers in front of receptive audiences...”

Austin became one of the import-ant stops on every tour of important punk/new wave acts. Many of these bands, such as the Police, Joe Jackson, Blondie and Talking Heads, played at the Armadillo. A number of them, in-cluding the Clash, Elvis Costello and Blondie, would make appearances at gigs by the Skunks and take the op-portunity to jam with the band.

The 1980s and 1990s also helped shape Austin’s music scene. Waterloo Records, which has been voted the best independent record store in the country and hosts live in-store shows, first opened in 1982. Austinite Stevie Ray Vaughan won a Grammy in 1990 for best contemporary blues album. After tragically dying in a helicopter crash, he was memorialized with a statue on the shores of Austin’s Lady Bird Lake. Additionally in 1991, Austin city leaders named Austin, “The Live Music Capital of the World”, because of the number of live music venues.

Visitors and Austinites alike may no-tice the 10-foot guitars standing on the sides of the city’s streets. In 2006, Gibson Guitar brought Guitar Town to Austin, placing 35 of these giant gui-tars around the city.

The Austin Music Foundation is one of several Austin groups that help inde-pendent artists further their music ca-reers. Assisting musicians with medi-cal needs are the Simms Foundation and Health Alliance for Austin Musi-cians (HAAM). Helping to promote the $1 billion music industry in the city is the Austin Music Office. A department of the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Austin Music Office offers creative, personalized assistance in booking live music, discounted Austin Compilation CDs and mini-guides to the city’s live music scene, assistance with utilization of live music venues for off-site events, and guidance with local music attractions and creation of music tours.

Z-RO & TRAE PERFORMING @ EMO’s EAST IN AUSTIN

•Antone•s•Austin Music Hall•The Backyard•Beauty Bar•Beerland•The Black Cat Lounge•Breakfast Club

•Breakfast Club•Cactus Cafe UT campus••Carlos•nChar•lie•s•The Carousel Lounge•Cedar Street Courtyard

•Antone•s•Austin Music Hall•The Backyard•Beauty Bar•Beerland•The Black Cat Lounge•Breakfast Club

•Breakfast Club•Cactus Cafe UT campus••Carlos•nChar•lie•s•The Carousel Lounge•Cedar Street Courtyard