another SundayFunday

I hold firm to the belief music soothes the soul. If you are feeling down or just not yourself, bummed out and depressed, or just simply tired. The difficult thing about dealing with these things is just the simple fact to get up and do something.

Not feeling a 100% didn't stop me. My beautiful wife caught me just sitting on the sofa late on a Sunday morning. All I heard was simply "...and The Nightowls?" I looked up at her as she was smiling. "Oh! They are on the road." I responded.

"No. They are at Icenhauers today. You wanna do a Sunday Funday?"

...And off we went.






















The parking downtown, near the lake and Rainey St. is pretty ridiculous. Especially at 3 in the afternoon. We circled twice and then snuck into a spot that was open. Took a stroll down Rainey St. It was a nice afternoon. Not to hot. The sun wasn't out cooking us, it was simply nice.  Strolling up to the line in front of Icenhauers (http://www.icenhauers.com/) was not really a surprise. The Sunday Funday here has been epic for about as long as they have been open. I can think of four different bands that have set crowds dancing shoes on fire since their beginning.

From Eagle Pritchard Murray Band, The GoodNites, The Jack Burton Trio, and now...                                                 The Nightowls (http://wearethenightowls.com/). Icenhauers on a Sunday afternoon is pretty much the definition of SundayFunday. I believe if you look it up in the Urban dictionary there is a picture of this place. OH! It is crowded. Ridiculous! Jam packed - body to body - bumping - jumping - hands up in the air - don't go anywhere because you cant move - kind of crowded. It is great! The music from The Nightowls are out of this world, Motown reincarnated in Austin, Texas good!

With all the great music, with the energy of the crowd, and the fresh air. It was simply the best way to feel good (and the Allisons didn't hurt either). Even for the short length of time we were out, it was all good. Another Sunday Funday in the books. Maybe you should try it too.


Laters

It was Rainey for SXSW

That's right, it was Rainey St. to kick off what would be my last day of SXSW.

Rainey St. is the newest edition to the down town entertainment district. Located just on the south end of Red River, but still close enough to walk to several other down town venues. Rainey St. seems to have it all. There are establishments that serve food, some with lots of TV's, some whiskey bars, some beer gartens, and a great time to be had along this small stretch of road. All of the establishments are designed to maintain there original small, older home facade, but then you step in or step out back and you are blown away.

Bungalow (https://www.facebook.com/bungalowatx) was our first stop on our last day and is definitely one of those places. "Bungalow was inviting and is definitely set up for people to stay and have a cocktail (cocktail = beer or whatever else you drink).  It's a nice place to meet people or just hang out. There is a food trailer outback that provides tacos for good eats so they definitely don't want you to go anywhere. You can stay for drinks, a good time, and eat there too!" Mariza Cruz

With performances by The Dunwells (http://thedunwells.com/) and the Roosevelts on tap it would prove to be a great start to a great day. Although we did sit through the sound check for The Dunwells, (which doesn't qualify as a performance) it did keep the audience riveted. As they sound checked on several tunes to make sure everything would be perfect for the evening performance, the audience was definitely drawn in. I can say with the harmonies from the brothers that fronted the band, I look forward for an opportunity to check out a real set, and hopefully soon!

The Roosevelts (http://www.wearetheroosevelts.com) I did catch. Now that I have been privy to several performances already, including a late night fireside acoustic set (DAMN! There should be a BAD ASS video coming from that!!!!!! can you hear me James and Jason, can you hear me?) I am going to turn over the crowd source reaction to Ms Cruz.


I did catch The Roosevelts at a previous show in early February (http://livemusicinaustin.blogspot.com/2013/01/no-reservations.html), but there was much conversation, I was seated in the back, and the crowd was front to back and side to side. It was not easy to see the performance and sort of OK hearing it. THIS EVENING on Rainey St., in Bungalow, during SXSW was a whole different beast. Standing quite close to the stage and being able to enjoy the performance and see the crowd was wonderful. The full and true enthusiasm that The Roosevelts bring to the stage is completely telling. It tells of their joy in performing the music they create, it tells of their joy in performing on it stage, and most of all it tells in the audience reaction. The opportunity was definitely not lost with the band. To have many new faces in the crowd it seems that the band embraced it and returned the excitement ten fold. They have a new video they have released and it there was total crowd participation with "Everybody Knows" (http://youtu.be/TYMLzYJ-pt4). I hope 'everybody knows' about the Roosevlets soon because they are a joy to see and hear.


Laters

Written by:
M. Cruz
edited by:
William Tompkins

A Sunday cocktail (or two)

A little Sunday evening cocktail at Icenhauers ( http://www.icenhauers.com/ ). Located on Rainey St., in the ever expanding down town entertainment district, sits a row of quiet little bars. A newly revitalized area that stands in stark contrast to itself. The east side of Rainey is predominantly occupied by renovated homes turned into drinking establishments, some with nice little backyards designed to accommodate a stage. The west side of Rainey has a few newly renovated homes but the stark contrast is the homes that still exist and are occupied by the home owners (I think there is a story in that as well and might just explore that in the near future.) Icenhauers has a nifty story on their website and some really great before and after pictures. It does make me smile and feel good that even though life, progress, and developers have encroached upon this little corner of Austin, they are doing well in preserving it also!

The bar has been described previously as a simply gorgeous, small little house. A very nice seating area out front. The entry has two modest sized rooms to the left and right with seating and televisions for watching what sport is on at the moment. A little farther in and you hit the main area with a well stocked bar to the left and access to the back yard. Floor to ceiling windows let you observe the festivities from inside.

The musical flavor for this late afternoon was provided by The Nightowls (http://www.facebook.com/ryan.harkrider?fref=ts ) with Ryan Harkrider sharing the vocal leads with his attractive co-vocalist Autumn ( http://www.facebook.com/autumnsmusic ) The music has that Motown sound with that black tie appeal. No doubt about labeling this band, as they will admit the sound they are going for is in fact Motown. The alternating vocals from male to female are fun and great, and the sound from the band was distinctly better than the last time I saw them at another venue (I will leave unnamed.) This switching keeps it entertaining and allows them a wide variety of tunes they can pull off with great respect.

It was a beautiful evening with perfect weather and a friendly crowd. Everybody definitively had a great time socializing. The Nightowls do it perfectly! With the ability to be great background music to any good conversation as well as performing those favorite tunes that do make you stop talking and listen, they are a great dinner/happy hour/out-for-a-few-cocktails type of band. They do play frequently around Austin so look them up and go.

Laters