on the Cusp

So as I am temporarily relocated to the quaint little hamlet of Pflugerville, Texas i shall make the best of it. Pflugerville (the p is silent) is on the north side of Austin. So, where as I am not legitimately in the live music capital of the world, I am still surrounded by places to go and bands to see!

I have been to Hanovers (http://hanoversaustin.com/) before and taken you on the descriptive tour, but I will do it again for consistency. Located in what would affectionately be called downtown, Hanover's is just a block off of the main street. With plenty of parking,there is not much fear of having to walk to far and loss your way at 1 a.m. 

As you walk in the front door you see the building is a rectangle shape with yourself entering on the short side of the rectangle. The bar is immediately to your right and runs down the entire length, ending at the doors to go to their massive backyard area. As you stand and continue to survey, the stage is opposite the bar on your left and is of a very modest size. Easily accommodating most bands. From the small 3 piece to the funktified band with a full horn section, rhythm section, and everyone in between. There is a small dance area in front of the stage, seating at some hi top tables and along the bar. 

There is seating immediately to your left as you stand at the door and seating with pool tables farther back, past the stag on the far left back corner. All in all it is a very nice set up and great if you want to get down in front with your favorite local band or something new. 

This particular evening it was something new FOR SURE. 

I caught the last 5 songs from White Label Analog (http://www.whitelabelanalog.com/). Fresh off their new CD release, White Label Analog had the house P A C K E D! It was energetic and sharp. Even walking in on the tail end of their set had me a little sad. I wanted to be out of breath and jumping around like the rest of the crowd. It is know doubt these guys are not only a crowd pleaser, but their polished looks to keep them busy her in the Austin area and have them traveling to farther cities and pass the good jams on. It is never a bad ticket if you get to see this band, doesn't matter who's on the bill....worth it!

Speaking of worth it, thanks to my friend Dave Prewitt! He warned me about the sheer awesomeness of this next band more than a year or two ago. I have followed them on FB and even made plans to go to previous shows. My own lame ass self for not seeing them sooner and experiencing the wonderousness of SCORPIO RISING (http://scorpiorisingmusic.com/)!

What the hell was wrong with me and what the hell is wrong with you. Follow the bands link NOW and find out where they are playing next that is near and dear or far and funky, GO!!!!!!!!

Scorpio Rising is fronted by Madame Scorpio...of course! With their worker jumpsuits on, this 3 piece is so beyond comparison of most anything I have seen in Austin yet. Funky, rocking, fun, energetic, and surprising all do little justice to Scorpio Rising with what is their own brand and style of danceable rock! It was like watching a funky ass aerobics video to very, VERY good music. Madame Scorpio is the epitome of a charismatic lead singer and entertainer. It was kind of sexy, but in a naughty, is-she-really-doing-that-oh-my-god-this-is-so-cool kind of way!



I believe the bass players name is "Wonderbread", if I am to believe the back of his jumpsuit. This guy was on the stage all of less than 5 minutes for the entire performance. Moving through the crowd like a hellion robot, moving non stop, and yelling for the crowd to constantly cheer and make more noise. It was IMPOSSIBLE not to smile and scream for more with Madame Scorpio on stage and the Wonderbread peering into the crowd and moving amongst us. Just a fantastic performance.

To top it off, they even called for a dance contest among the patrons for prizes from their merch table. Yes, people danced, people won, and we all yelled for more. Although I have never been a tremendous fan of bands or people playing to looped or pre recorded tracks. Doing it right is way beyond the level of what Scorpio Rising did. It doesn't matter because it was ridiculously thrilling and fun!

Laters

Wagners on a nice night

Wagners Backyard (http://wagnerbrosbackyard.com) in Pflugerville, Texas is located right off of IH 35 North. Appearing to be in between a used car dealership and a movie theater, it's not what you would expect. It is not just a great watering hole, but a kid and pet friendly kind of place until 10 pm.

The actual bar is huge inside, an all log cabin look to the inside. It appesrs to be two stories, with a large bar along the wall immediately across from you when you walk in the door. There appears to be a small indoor stage directly to the left of the front door, where there are two nice motorcycles parked?! There is some seating inside, a pool table, and the bathrooms to the back, left of the bar. BY THE WAY, the bathrooms are awesome. All cedar lining the walls leaves the bathrooms not smelling like bathrooms at all! 

Order you drinks at the bar and step outside, to the right of the bar, into Wagners Backyard. The unexpected, huge outdoor area is pretty damn nice. A very large deck with some seating and a small bar as soon as you walk out. Walk down the steps to some more seating on a lower deck to your right and a really large outdoor stage immediately in front of you. As you stand with your back to the stag,e the backyard is comprised of a full size sand volleyball court. There are all sorts of 'booths' that line the perimeter of the yard. A poker table booth, washers, and bean bag toss area are to the right of the deck and stage as you survey the yard. A food trailer (haven't tried it yet so I can't speak), another bar (that looks to serve liquor and some beer), and a Hookah Booth (hum...okay...whatevs). There are random picnic style tables scattered around the yard for seating. 

The layout of the booths around the perimeter makes sense to leave lots of room for seating. Unfortunately, with the tables seemingly scattered about, it makes the seating awkward and difficult to find a place to hang out. Taking from my personal experience of another particular outdoor venue in way south Austin, it seems like they could just improve the seating by lining up the tables end to end. You could add more seating and it would allow folks to co mingle. C'mon...if you are there to have some drinks, a good time, and enjoy some music, do it with as many people as you can. 

To the music...

Fusion (http://www.fusionatx.com)- specializing in pop/rock covers. There is a female English lead singer who was very good. The band seemed more of a background or fill for the energy the lead singer provided. The crowd loved the covers and wasted no time dancing. Right away, though, my ear seemed to get bent at the sound quality. 

Not knowing if it was Fusion or the sound system, since this was both my first time at Wagners and the first time hearing/seeing Fusion. At this point I wasn't sure if it was the house system or the band. It was basically pretty bad. I mean this...the performance of the band was great! The crowd loved Fusion, their songs and performance, but DAMN! it just sounded like crap. For me it made me cringe. I can't slay the band for a bad sound man or sound system so I am going to reserve the full wrath of a Karaoke worthy cover band music until I get to see Fusion again in a different setting.

On a second trip to Wagners Backyard, on a different nigh,t we were treated to the Matt Cline Band (http://www.mattclinemusic.com). Country covers and some originals. So this would tell me that the sound system for Wagners is pretty bad and Matt Cline Band brought their own set up. It was the same sound man (because I saw him) and it sounded completely different and amazing! 

First song out of the gates had people two stepping. Here again was another band playing to the crowd. Mixing up loved and known covers with some of their originals. I have always held out that I am not the biggest fan of country music - the truth is, it is probably the 'Bro Country' that ruins it. The so called 'Outlaw Country', pretty much everyone likes. 

The Matt Cline Band did a great job of being entertaining, letting the crowd tear it up, and sounding good and professional. Personal preferences aside, when it's good, it's good. 

Take your chance, take the time, and stop on in at Wagners Backyard. Without music it is a fine time with great people watching and things to do besides have some beer. With music, it poses for a good time as well. Glad they are there!

Laters

Sideshow Live in Austin

Cap City Comedy Club (http://www.capcitycomedy.com/) is located on Anderson Ln. in  N. Austin. As you walk in, the ticket counter/will-call is immediately to your left. The room opens up to a lounge area with nice seating and a bar to the right, as you step in past the ticket counter.

Immediately to your right when you are standing at the entry is a hallway that leads to the large main room. Stepping into the main room reveals seating for approx 300+. There is elevated seating both stage left and right. The stage is on the opposite wall of the entryway.

Tonight was KLBJ FM'S morning show, Dudley and Bob with Matt (http://www.klbjfm.com/shows/dudley-and-bob), doing their podcast (The Sideshow - http://podcast.klbjfm.com/show/dudley-bob#2015-09-11) in front of a live audience. Although it seems like it might be odd to go to a live recording of a radio show doing a podcast for the Internet, it was fantastic! If you have your own favorite local radio show and they would do something like this, you have to go. Entertaining, raw, and unedited.

It was like going over to a friends house, have some beer and burgers and just bullshitting with each other about stuff. Tonight's show did have somewhat of a theme, with it being on the eve of Labor day weekend, it was all about shit that happened to them in school. As a fan of the Dudley and Bob with Matt morning show it was great to see them do it live. It was every bit as chaotic and irreverent that I expected and wanted. It was glorious.

I would describe to you who the players are and what their stories were, but you can go on the net and find the recording (http://podcast.klbjfm.com/show/dudley-bob#2015-09-04).

So the Cap City Comedy Club has a 2 item minimum which is fine for a reasonably priced app and a drink. Whether you live here or are visiting, this is not a bad stop and a great way to spend a couple of hours. Better than a movie.

Laters