Red-Green Blue-Yellow

It has a meaning. This means something to about 3 million people per year. It also means "Up and coming Kings of Austin Pop Punk scene!"

If you haven't had the opportunity to see the band Colorblind (https://www.facebook.com/Colorblindtx/), it is another must see band. Colorblind is comprised of brothers Tyler (drums) and Travis (vocals) and Nicholas and Justin on bass and guitar. Colorblind has this completely polished sound, with a pretty cool backing track, their shows are electric and very exciting. The vocals by Travis are stunning and perfect for their style of music. The fans they have are loyal and bring even more excitement to the performance. It may also be because of frontman Travis, as far as I could make out, from all the screaming girls.

I have seen the band a couple of times. Once at The Dirty Dog and then again at Come and Take It Live. Here is an interesting reflection of their performances.


The show at The Dirty Dog was a pretty packed house. Colorblind was towards the end of the bill that night, before the headliner. It was a great performance with tons of energy from the band and it was felt through the crowd. As I stood and enjoyed their set I was able to over hear some of the remarks around me....Yeah! It seems like the headliner that night was in awe of the performance by Colorblind.

















Move forward several months and Colorblind is on the opening side of a national tour show at Come and Take It Live. The first two or three bands up were cool. Not anything I would give blog time to. BUT Colorblind came on...I will tell you what, where there was almost no crowd all of a sudden swelled to a large crowd in front of the stage. It's just a truth for you to ponder on the band and the fans. Even better is when they launched into their hit song, 'Parting Words' (https://youtu.be/MaIC5L_h6x8) the crowd just went off.  BE WARNED - the video in no way evokes their live show performance...but it is simply a great song!

Follow the links to find the band for upcoming performances. Go see them and then meet them and say hi. Watch the video or go find the song on your favorite streaming service and put Colorblind in your rotation.



Laters

Dirty Doomsday

Playing host to yet another bad ass Austin based event, Come and Take It Live   (https://www.facebook.com/comeandtakeitlive/) continues to make their mark on the Austin music scene at the place to see and be seen.

Located on Riverside Dr in South Austin, just mere blocks from the hustle of the down town music scene sits this landmark of a venue.

As you pull up, the giant neon lit sign begs you not to know where you're at! Depending on the event, the parking can go from "Bad ass spot." to "Holy Fucking shit...get an Uber!" Outside is a very nice little seating area for smoking, conversation, and some good eats from the food trailer there. As you walk in the door you are greeted by a very nice divider that displays some of Texas' awesome history and an awesome piece staring you in the face. To your left, the club opens up to a large U shaped bar and the stage farther back against the far wall. There are 3 different areas to view shows; from down in front on the floor, a second level by the merch and sound booth, and then a loft - VIP area with its own bar.

This particular night Come and Take It was hosting an event a few months in the making and what seemed like what the rap/hip hop community seemed to be needing - Some validation.

George Vondoom vs Smackola

The artist thirsting for the title vs the lifetime acheivement

The rapper building brand and fan base vs The Brand not a band with fans that defy boundaries

I can make this very short, but probably won't. What I can say is this should simply be left up to those lucky people in attendance.

It was two completely different shows. There was no battle. The style of Vondoom and the style of Smackola are simply on two different planes. I will not go into the genre stylings between the two. I will just go to the performance.

Vondoom (https://www.facebook.com/GeorgeVondoom1/) had a performance, artistic piece of his show set. The long intro with the mysterious figure and his dog. The epic entrance from Vondoom and into his set he went. The whole set, overall, was more of an artistic expression. Either you got it, or you didn't. But what he did do was keep the eyes turned towards him as he plowed though each of his songs in his 45 minute set. He was like a man possessed.

Smackola (https://www.facebook.com/SmackolaDWZ/) came out on stage, checked himself in the mirror and then just threw down. He was the man called out. He was the champ. He didn't have to prove himself, he simply had to to entertain. He did. This was not an artistic set. It was the "I'm gonna come out and do my damn thing!" He did. But remember this is a different style, beat and tempo. It can't be compared. Just can't.

Depending on your expectation and your personal preference and taste  one would suit you better than the other.



Yeah Smack is the lifer and has built a brand from his band. The fans have a name, his music has the heart and soul of that old school rap, with the new world edge.



But Vondoom, 20 years in the game persistance, polishing of the craft, and some kid is gonna by knocking on your door.

I will qoute both of these damn fine artists and performers...nah..I'm gonna steal the remark.

If this was a Rap battle

The City of Austin Texas, the fans of hip hop, and all those in attendance were the winners.




Laters

Emo Nite - dos

I was just here a month ago...I swear. It was that much fun for me and apparently for the crew that puts on this touring event. Emo Nite La Presents loved the city of Austin, Come and Take It Live, and the crowd so much the had a repeat event only 30 days after their first

Come and Take It Live (https://www.facebook.com/comeandtakeitlive/) is poised to be the hottest, most flexible venue in the Austin music scene. Nearing their 1 yr anniversary, it is events like this which prove how much fun and exciting this place is. Where I stepped into this event previously solo, tonight I had an entourage. My wife, 4 friends, and my daughter. Running into the singers for both Call Me King and Gold Steps, only proved the fun and excitement this event brought. I was even surprised to run into a couple of other friends whom I would have never guessed would go to an Emo event. So it was really a great time for all.

The event is just music. DJ's doing an electronic set with all of the music that made everyone sing at the top of there lungs. From the opening kick drum beats of Fall Out Boy - "Sugar, We're goin Down" to My Chemical Romance - "Black Parade" and every other song you could think of in between, there was never a stop in the singing and crowded floor.

Not just exciting to be at and feel the energy, but hearing my daughter exclaim, "Oh my God dad! I never have been to bar or venue where they play all the music I love!"

Look forward to this coming around again and hanging out with more friends.

Twas not sad at all

Emo Nite seemed more like a giant High School graduation party for ages 21 and up! 

Held at Come and Take It Live, Emo Nite was no doubt a roaring success! The venue was packed! 

Come and Take it Live is probably the hottest "New" venue in Austin. Although it has had many incarnations prior to this one... think Dr. Who type transformations, it appears to have found it's home and niche with owners and long time friends Ben D. and Anthony S. There is no stopping a venue this big and bold. Located on Riverside Dr. just a few blocks East of IH 35, with the big, red and white neon sign on the front corner, just daring you to 'Come and Take It'. Come and Take It Live can play host to every kind of music genre. From Metal and Hip Hop live acts to a DJ set of Emo music, it is certainly equipped.

From the interesting and almost museum like entry rail - paying tribute to Texas' colorful history, you turn right into a large oval shaped bar. From there the options are traveling up to a second and possibly third level (if open - but not on this night only - it was VIP photographers only) to your left or the main stage to the far back corner. 

So, because there was no live band it will be a short review of the general vibe on this particular night. It was crazy exciting and electric. With the crowd primarily in the younger and mid-twenties there was not a shortage of wide eyed energy in the place. The music at first was just your typical crappy radio rap music, but then just before 10pm the first first song dropped. It was chaos. Everyone started screaming and yelling, and all at once the entire place erupted in a giant sing along. It stayed like that until I left at about 1am.

I was drawn to this event because I know the owners and I received a FB invite from a local band - Forever Starts Today, the beautiful and amazing lead singer Christina Murphy was going to be doing a guest DJ set. She did. I got photos. And the event as a whole seemed to be a tremendous success as proof from the photos. 

With no shame I can say I can't wait for this to happen again so I can get my 21 yr old daughter to go - This is right up her alley!

Laters

Mushroomhead 2017

with special guests Slop Musket, XIII, Ventana, and Unsaid Fate.

I have been to this venue a couple of times already. I actually went there a few times before it was this particular incarnation. But this night was the first time I walked through the door with the brand on the outside, proudly displayed for all to see...Come and Take It Live! (https://www.comeandtakeitlive.com/)

There is plenty of parking all around the building. As you walk up to the entrance there is a large fenced in area for smoking and enjoying some grub from the food trailer to the right. As you walk in there is the ticket counter immediately in front of you and the large main bar to the right of that. This is where it gets interesting. As you face the bar from the entrance, the large stage is to the far back left of the bar, bathrooms are to the right behind the bar and there are some steps to your left that lead up to a second level viewing area and a merch sales area behind that. As you walk up the steps, to your left and almost behind you is a flight of stairs that goes up to the next level.

Up here is another bar to you left, in front of you, as you reach the top of the stairs. There is a VIP lounge area back behind you that has sofas and some additional seating and overlooks the stage. Where the bar is has a long halfwall that allows you to look down on the stage and the crowd below. There are also a couple of very nice Jack Daniels pool tables. There is also a hidden room that is called the 'Skybox'. This sweet little retreat is actually over the top of the stage on the side. This  allows for some pretty good views of the onstage antics. The skybox can seat about 5 people comfortably, and more if you are comfortable with the crowd.



In all, for its quirky, different levels and areas, Come and Take It Live allows for a great view from just about anywhere in the house.

On the bill for this night of music were two Austin bands opening for three road bands. Slop Musket (http://slopmusket.com/) was up first to open the night. Of course it always has to be a tough spot to be the very first. Not everyone has arrived. The crowd is just starting to get their drink on, it's just generally tough. There was about 25 or 30 people down on the floor when Slop Musket took the stage. With their different style of rap and rock, Slop Musket powered through their short set. As entertaining as they were, it was super difficult to get a grasp on their set in general...and there was just not a whole lot of feedback from the crowd. I am sure I will run into them again and hopefully be able to give a proper review for their set.

XIII (https://www.facebook.com/xiiiasylum) was up next. Tell you what, the crowd had swelled enough to pay attention. And it took all of 35 seconds from the start of XIII's set for the small, growing crowd to react with cheers. Although they opened with a cover song, it was still a pretty fucking epic and ballsy jump off. The great thing is their sound and set didn't change much. Rolling into there originals XIII kept it high energy and exciting for the crowd and myself. Credit to the band for doing a great job of hyping themselves and their upcoming CD release show. It was musically bad ass enough and interesting enough that I made plans to attend their event.

Ventana (https://www.facebook.com/VentanaBandOfficial/) was the first of the three road bands to hit the stage. Costumed and on point, Ventana laid into the now warmed up crowed. Here was another band with an energetic front man and dueling lead vocals to make the crowd start to break into a sweat and start a circle pit. The little snippets of sound intros to a couple of their songs where quite charming as I caught myself laughing at some in the crowd who didn't know it was a recording or didn't get the joke and poke at politics. Of course if you have not seen Ventana live you wouldn't know. The solution...go see Ventana, for the love that is All-American, Apple Pie, and all that other fucking shit.

Unsaid Fate (https://www.unsaidfate.com/) came out onto the stage with a pretty much packed house and ran with the set. With the vocals by the show stopping Jackie LaPonza, Unsaid Fate just blistered the crowd. even greater than the musical part of the show was how great Jackie was in being completely interactive with the crowd down in front. At one point she even snagged a fans phone who was filming and ran around the stage capturing the magic from the stage perspective. All in good fun of course as she handed the fan back his phone when she was done. There is a souvenir that goes down as once in a lifetime. Unsaid Fate charged through their set, barely giving the fans time to rest or catch their breath. It was just perfect. To build on what had come before, and prepare the crowd for what was about to happen, Unsaid Fate definitely has a new fan here!

Mushroomhead (http://www.mushroomhead.com/)! YES! This is my fourth time seeing them. It is absolutely worth it EVERY SINGLE TIME. The stage production is always different. The set list changes and stays fresh, but keeps some of the great tunes in a different order than the last time you saw them. In all, Mushroomhead puts on the show of all Muthafuckin' shows! It's loud, it's bright and flashy, and completely non stop energy. Even when the did a little homage to Prince by doing a super clean and tight opening of 'When Doves Cry' the crowd never stopped screaming. Mushroomhead pounded us with the sound and presence for over an hour and when they were done....they were done. No need for an encore if you kick it to the crowd like Mushroomhead does!

Laters