Juliana Sheffield @ the Parish, Oct 22

I can't believe I forgot to post an entry about this show I went to last Friday night. Suggested by my friend Kelly, whose terse text message invited me to hear jazz music at "jazz on 6th upstairs," I was immediately excited when I recognized the venue as the Parish, my favorite music venue in Austin. We arrived a little after nine and noticed with pleasure that the place has become non-smoking (or at least it was during that show).

I had never heard of the singer, but was impressed with her soulful voice and tough-to-categorize music. Although most of the tunes definitely flirt around the edges of pop, there is a definite jazz accent and some of the trippier songs leaned in the direction of Mazzy Star. Overall, the entire mood of the music is very dark, even on the poppier songs.

Juliana herself is raven-haired, beautiful and ridiculously skinny. Her stage presence easily commanded the attention of the room. With her was a band she said flew in from L.A. to help her out. I don't think they are the group she normally plays with. They all did a good job of both supporting her, and occasionally jamming out. The one thing lacking was a lead guitarist. The keyboardist played guitar-like leads, but it wasn't the same as having an actual guitar, especially in a live performance.

At the very end of the set, they played a song from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. I didn't actually recognize the song (probably because I blocked that movie from my memory- I think it traumatized me as a child), but it was incredibly cool. Sheer energy filled the room with an electric feeling that only develops at live performances where there is a synergy between the musicians and the audience. It was so amazing that the three in my group who had ridden together, en masse at the end of the performance, immediately trouped to the back of the room to buy a cd. Although I'd liked what I'd heard, I had no intention of buying the cd until I heard that last song. The cd, entitled Persephonics, is released under the band name of Maimou. Although I'm not too crazy about the first song, which is maybe a little too r & b-ish for my taste, overall when I listen to it I really enjoy reliving some of my favorite parts of her live show, including such songs as "Exit Wounds" and a coupla other songs that I can't remember the names of. I can't seem to find a track listing on-line, either, weirdly (I don't have the cd with me right now). I'll try to update this post later with more details, but in the meantime, I strongly recommend this girl. In addition to being a very talented performer and song-writer, she seems really nice, too.

Since there's apparently going to be a remake of the Willy Wonka movie (starring Jonny Depp), and they've submitted their version of that song for it, I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of Juliana and her group in the future.

The Pixies @ Stubb's, Wed, Oct 20

Although Stubb's BBQ was recently acclaimed by readers of the Austin Chronicle as Best Live Music Venue for 2004, I must admit I have never been especially fond of the place. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that last year after the Dashboard Confessional show there, my ears rang for three whole days. (Not so much due to the music itself, but more owing to the hordes of screaming teenage girls.) I've been a lot more open to the idea of wearing ear plugs, since that day...

The fact of the matter is, until Wednesday night, I had never been to a show at Stubb's where I was particularly impressed with the sound quality. I've stood in a variety of different locations around the outdoor amphitheater, but it seems no matter where I've listened, the music has always sounded sort of, well, muddy, for lack of a better word. Not so at the Pixie's concert this week.

I did in fact wear earplugs for most of the show (the whole Dashboard experience majorly freaked me out- being a musician myself I try to avoid incurring permanent hearing damage), which kind of cut out the high end unfortunately, but even with them in it still sounded good. The few times I took them out briefly I was satisfied with the audio quality at the show. I can't say as much for the air quality, since the sold-out show was totally packed with people, and it was a very hot and humid Austin night.

Gripes about external conditions aside, the event itself was an enjoyable experience. We arrived early enough to hear probably half the songs played by the opening band, the Thrills. Similar to other "throwback" bands with names that all sound like "The <something>s," I got the impression that the Thrills were capable of putting on a better show than they did. Like, maybe if it wasn't 95 degrees at 98% humidity, and if half the band members hadn't been wearing long sleeved shirts, they might have had a better time of it. The lead singer had a really charming way of thanking the audience at the end of every single song they played. It probably would have been tiresome if he hadn't sounded so sincere, every time.

I recall their music as mostly upbeat, punchy pop with a dark, smoothly vintage finish, a la The Strokes, but perhaps a bit more refined, along the lines of Elefant. In all honesty, it didn't really stand out to me. Maybe it was too vanilla, or maybe it was just the heat. I had the feeling, though, that they were capable of more.

After about six different various guitar techs and roadies in Pixies shirts had been shuffling around on the stage for about half an hour, the anticipation was mounting. The band strolled onto stage in what seemed a jovial mood (which seems kind of strange when you consider that the Pixies' music probably wouldn't be described as "jovial") and started off strong with "Bone Machine."

I don't know all of their songs so I can't say for sure, but the set they played sounded fairly identical to what they played at ACL Fest last month. Of course, the scene was much more up-close and personal. The crowd, a comfortable mixture of goth-punk-wannabe-teens, hipster 20-somethings and (slightly older) diehard original Pixies fans was energetic despite the heat. This is only the second time I've seen them, so I can't say how the show compared with performances from their earlier days. I couldn't find a reason to complain, though. They plowed through one song after another, then, just when the crowd might have been getting a little listless, re-energized the entire scene with a rousing rendition of "Where is my mind?", during which even the most jaded hipster in the audience felt compelled to join in the background chorus of "wwoooooooooh."

Other highlights to me included bassist Kim Deal's vocals on "Gigantic," and the energy level of "Here Comes Your Man." They saved "Debaser" until close to the end of the set, which lasted for probably close to two hours. No need to fear feeling jipped after a Pixies concert; after "Where is my mind" it felt almost like a complete second set of music. I was actually surprised by how long they played. Well, maybe it just felt like a long time because it was so hot. I was really glad I didn't pass out.

When at last we stumbled out, exhausted and dusty, sweat-streaked and hungry, we felt no regret for going to the show. After we were seated at Magnolia Cafe (on South Congress... and might I add, one of my favorite restaurants in Austin), the waitress asked us wistfully if we had just come out of the Pixies show. "Yeah, it was great!" we accidentally blurted, then noticed her downtrodden expression.

"I mean, it was a total bummer..." I amended. "You didn't miss anything at all..."

My gig at La Tazza Fresca

So last Saturday, October 15, I played at a cute little cafe called La Tazza Fresca (located between campus and Hyde Park, at Guadelupe and 37th), for the first time. A girl named Denise Kotrla played at 9, so I caught most of her set, arriving around 9:15 or so. Her stuff was emotionally-driven like mine is, but more country-ish sounding. She had a really nice voice.

I started playing a few minutes after 10. Thankfully, my friend Emma arrived a few minutes earlier with her guitar, for me to borrow. Unfortunately, due to some technical difficulties with strings, my guitar had become unplayable earlier that afternoon. I had feared playing an unfamiliar guitar might throw me off, but much to my surprise it didn't seem to bother me at all.

My voice was kind of rough that day (I'm not sure if it's allergies or I'm fighting something off or what) and during the first three or four songs, it had a very raspy, kind of Janis Joplin-esque sound to it. Emma and some of my other friends said they liked it, but I was pretty worried. In some ways, I like the way it sounds when my voice is rough like that, but the big problem is that it's much harder to control. Also the higher notes are more difficult to hit. Maybe if I had some kind of vocal training I could learn to work with it better. At any rate, I was relieved when my normal voice returned about 20 minutes into the set.

I plowed through a fairly large set of my original songs in a surprisingly short time. I think I finished playing by around 11:40. There was a pretty good-sized group of people, most of whom i knew. I was really happy with the turnout. Everybody seemed to be having a good time. I had planned to play 3 cover songs during the entire set- like, I thought whenever I felt like I was losing the crowd's attention, I would play a familiar song to draw them back in. It wasn't necessary, though. I did play "Fade Into You" by Mazzy Star, but only because I was in the mood for it. I was really pleased with how much the group seemed to be into my music. Some of them even sang along when I played "Stupid Pennsylvania," although Joel (predictably) pretended to be from Pennsylvania when I asked if anybody was.

I was a little disappointed in the lack of any kind of response from the management, considering how many people I brought in, but I still would say La Tazza Fresca is a good place for any singer/song-writer to make an Austin appearance, as long as you don't mind not getting paid. (A tip bucket is made available by the cafe, so if you want to ask for tips you certainly can. I didn't ask for anything, but I still made a few bucks.) They have a decent P.A. system for your use, and it's a very charming venue, patronized mainly by a mixture of students and professionals. Overall, I had a great time playing and I felt like the entire episode was a success, despite the initial setbacks. I hope my audience had as enjoyable a time as I did.