[Austin, TX] we were there to see a ‘better’ band but Rockboy assured me he’d seen this band before and they had a crazy lead singer who would writhe on the floor – that’s always all right by me so I waited patiently – the band is an assortment of young and very old geeks in red shorts and red t-shirts – and also a hussy lead vocalist in too-low white jeans, a white crop top, and an eager g-string – they started and the best I can do to explain their sound is Parrothead space rock – they kind of segued into funkier stuff that might be compared to Red Hot Chili Peppers if I were feeling charitable – I wasn’t and I’m not – and it turned out that Rockboy had mistaken this band for another more exciting band so no entertaining lead singer was going to appear either – this band was awful and we left before even seeing the ‘better’ band – the really old hippie guy on bass was kind of cute I have to admit because I kept wondering how he ever ended up in this band of odd young people… I’m not sure I have the name of this band right or Rockboy was correct on the lead singer and he just didn’t show this night – it doesn’t matter because you don’t need to see them

[Queensland, Australia] they were exciting right from the start with their 3 excruciatingly pretty boys (guitars and drum), 1 gothic-looking two-dimensional female fiddler, and 1 three-dimensional Hawaiian-looking female vocalist with a pom pom on her shoulder – the vocalist ruled the stage as did her bad-ass fiddler pal – she fiddled like the she was trying not to make a deal with the devil – they were some crazy mix of indie rock and dance music – they made me think of The Gossip and The Eurythmics – they’re kind of 80s synth pop too – I’m definitely not one to dance but this band made me wish I was in a room alone with a gay boyfriend – ThinLizzyLover is mad for them

[London, UK] clean funky guitars – verocious drums – slightly distorted female vocals, thought she was Siouxsie but she’s either happier or angrier – little bit of afro pop, little bit of Slits post-punk – good energy – quite liked them

I don’t necessarily follow this band but they definitely stood out amongst the masses of current indie bands – two effortlessly remembered songs (“Cowbell” and “In Houston”) … and Rockboy was made to go… and they happily turned out to be much better than I expected – all krispy flaky guitar and bass: crisp, fast, and rich – they’re less indie and more dance-y southern rock funk – they’ve got character and soul – guess I will have to be a follower now

[New York, NY] queer culture band – I kind of loved them – so odd looking I thought they were clueless foreigners but I think that’s their intention – crazy lyrics like how it’s really expensive to buy babies so s/he’s just going to “fuck all her friends” until she has a little baby – it sounds crass but s/he made it cute – electronic disco punk

[Indianapolis, IN] I understand that hipsters get annoying with their anti-style style, but it wasn\”t clear if this band\”s style was a step further (anti-any-style-at-all style) or genuine unstylishness – similarly, their music was rebellious and disobeyed melody and sense = no wave – the kind of funky tribal no wave that you can just about dance to – they had heavy drum beats with a dancing guitar – synth drops and strong vocals

WomanInCharge, true to form, didn’t invite me to this show (Dirty Projectors) but told me I was going… this band was darling darling darling – smiles washed over the crowd – had the stage presence of Matt & Kim: happy clean jumping dancepunk – the little girl with the long hair in a barrette and the green eyelashes painted under her right eye was fierce and inflamed with a voice that reminded me of Grand Ole Party and maybe CocoRosie – her compatriot guitarist with the 70s fluffed hair matched her energy – lots of drums, a keyboard, a whaw pedal, occasional trumpet, sometimes a saxophone – a synthy disco rock inferno – maintained hyped up stage presence until it was certain that the audience had been saved – they almost outshone the headiners

may be the most professional slick band I\”ve seen in Austin, and while that usually annoys me, it suits their music – they\”re local but touring in support of the New York Dolls – lots of soul, some wah-wah 70s funk and then some Chicago blues – a brass section of saxes and a trumpet, two guitars, drums, etc. etc. – whole assemble was having a good time – Joe Lewis\” voice isn\”t remarkable but he has a pleasing innocent fun demeanor on stage – he supposedly started as a blues singer in Austin with the likes of Scott H. Biram but found his success with the addition of the Honeybears

These kids today can’t get over the irony of including “clap” in the name of your band. I’m over it. We were there because WomanInCharge said that NPR had recommended them, though we eventually wondered why we were relying on popular music advice from NPR. 7 members in the band, with stand-outs being 1) the 40-something paisley-shirted, scraggly-hair lead guitarist (it was noted that his porno appearance suited the music); 2) his 70s soul brother in big sunglasses and a polyester shirt on the keyboards; and 3) their 2 barely-legal females in 80s garb. WomanInCharge was probably correct in her observation that the girls were the attractive foil for a somewhat older collection of better male musicians. The girls, per the demands of their generation, were in high-waisted jeans and one even had horrid horrid shoulder pads on – they remained cool and unmoved by the music throughout the set – playing their tambourines like girls in a Robert Palmer music video. They started off straight disco but then devolved into psychedelia with bright moments of funk. An indie electronic / dance rock band from Brooklyn which was only evident when one of the girls did an old-school rap over a funky backbeat. 70s vibe all over the place. Liked them.

I am embarrassed that I enjoy this band so much what with their unfair use of everything good in rock and roll: heavy bass lines, groovy blues licks, funky pick-ups, but to their redemption, they\”ve also got talent, soul, authenticity, and diversity. At previous shows, they\”d been more about the tight hopped-up songs (which they still did), but tonight there was only three band members (lead guitar, pedal steel and drums) and they did some extended intense jams as well as some lighter country numbers (Moonhanger songs?), with both guitarists exchanging vocalizing duties. I like Chili Cold Blood, I cannot lie.

as good as I remembered, some kind of heavy-riff wah-wah-funk bar blues, from Sabbath to classic rock to, apparently have another band that’s all old country (Moonhangers)

a testament to the diversity and quality that my favorite venue was offering for free week, chaos ensued from this point on but it was a string of be-horned guys doing funk-blues, possibly in a line and stepping in unison as if it were 1965

unimpressive rap/funk outfit at first – first rapper was too Tribe but the second rapper (he walked in late through a side door in his sweat suit and gut) was a little dirtier and much smoother – very interesting concoction of a band: keyboard, two guitarists, drummer, sax, trumpet, trombone and two rappers – though Mr. Rapper was good I think I enjoyed their departure into salsa the most – they did get people dancing in an unreceptive bar

just didn\”t impress, that bland white-boy soul rap aura (they\”re black though) which annoys me, they\”re actually more of a funk band

always link them to Aaron Neville 90s nastiness but they are a classic funk outfit, so I saw them

from New York, two saxes, trumpet, bass and two other guitars, drummer, put on an excellent show, continual stream of mildly gimmicky stage moves, all instrumentalists were attractive and of undisclosed ethnic background (NY) but could have stood to appear to be enjoying themselves, lead singer was a short fury of a black woman who controlled all Al Green style, some politics, some fun, some sad, I loved the whole spectacle, the soul funk makes me want to dance harder “within myself” than any other kind of music, LameGuitarGuy turned up his nose and said that the vocalist eclipsed the musicians and that his funk band was more jazz than soul, white boy

70s funk DJs (they weren\”t seen but MyHero says there\”s usually a guy with mic on stage ripping on people in crowd), people love this stuff, it is a new resurgence or has forever been loved?

a large collection of white boys-lots of brass, knew how to work the music to work the crowd, breakdowns, had the white hippie boys dancing

two girls put this event (Freaks the Funk Party) on to support their website and “community” of performers (white girl?), D-Madness is purportedly an Austin legend-plays drums, guitar, harmonica and sings at nearly the same time, him and a funk bassist

good hard jazz funk but seen enough this weekend

jazz-funk overlaid with rap, rap annoyed-juvenile, slur-messy style-lyrics about school, harmonica nice addition, groove but always the same, Jack Johnson helped start show with two ballads

MandolinWoman raved about their steel guitar-looked like a lap guitar to me (?), black near-ghetto-style boys with a white mustached guitar player, passionate and hard, gave shout-outs to Steely Dan, basically did excellent covers of Jimi Hendrix

brother knows how to move a crowd-had the white ones thinking they were black and soulful, he was near scary in his exclamatoriness and the music was 70s porn-style soul and funk

New Orleans jazz funk rock, excellent backbeats and variety, heavy on the funk

many members, Spanish festival music, good I’m sure since they play everywhere all the time, put the dance into people

fun, fun, fun, rap boy lead (beautiful voice and keeps the party rolling), horns, mix of funk/old jazz/little rap, really interesting, from Denton Texas

5 guys with 2 guitars, 1 fiddle, 1 banjo and 1 massive bass, LOVED them, individually tight and fluid together, bluesgrass jam band that strayed into funk and “Friend of the Devil,” could have had more interplay on the stage with each other