2002

Rock and Roll at Ruta Maya

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SAT., FEB. 7, 2004

Usually when a beloved Austin institution moves and sets up shop in new and shinier digs, there issues a chorus of complaints about how it’s not as cool as the old place, or that the supposed institution has sold out. It’s the truth as often as not. Old Austin is characterized by its freakiness and funk. Newer places tend toward a more generic, less cluttered, culturally homogenized appearance that appeals to the largest possible demographic. Old Austin, to the uninitiated, is a little intimidating. Take Ruta Maya Coffee House for instance. The original Fourth Street location was a barely converted, un-air-conditioned warehouse filled with aging, mismatched furniture and an even more mismatched clientele. The porch was nearly always filled with dreadlocked, pierced, tattooed, alternative types smoking cigarettes and giving the skunk eye to starched-collar yuppies who dropped by for a pick-me-up after visiting ritzier places like Sullivan’s and Cedar Street. Inside was an equally intimidating gauntlet of noise, steam, smoke, and eclectic music whose terminus was a well-graffitied, two-stalled unisex bathroom with no lock on the outer door. Good times. Ruta Maya’s new location at Penn Field (actually, not so new anymore, having been there now for nearly two years) has same-sex bathrooms, air conditioning, a huge stage, and a great sound system. In short, other than the same-sex bathrooms, it’s a vast improvement over the old Ruta Maya. Why? Because it still possesses all of the elements of the old location, but in a larger, more accommodating space. Drawbacks? It’s more isolated for one thing. The only foot traffic these days is the occasional Exposé titty dancer who strolls up the hill for a cup of joe. Otherwise, it’s a drive-to destination, albeit one with ample parking and a pretty wicked view of St. Ed’s and downtown Austin from the back patio. Most importantly, Ruta Maya still buys its coffee from an organic farming cooperative in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, which helps improve the living condition of the cooperative’s participants and the region in general by promoting sustainable agriculture. If you’re going to feed your addiction, why not help feed people with it as well? This Saturday, Ruta Maya is host to Rock and Roll at Ruta Maya, a benefit for the Mayan Communities Fund which provides health care and social services to people in southern Mexico and Guatemala. For $3 you can enjoy six hours of glorious rock & roll from six Austin acts: Primordial Undermind, Beecher, the Band With No Name, Dum Dum & the Smarties, Madamimadam, and the Amazing CJ. That’s an attractively priced 50 cents per band, so you should have plenty of jack left over for some Mayan homegrown. If you’re not a coffee achiever, relax. Ruta Maya has plenty of other libations, both alcoholic and non, to get you through the night.

El Vez Xmas Show

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SAT. NOV 30, 2002

Let’s assume it’s Friday and you’re still fighting the overwhelming urge to shove your finger down your throat and bring up all that nasty Thanksgiving bloat in one giant autumnal heave. No, you’re not a spoilsport. You just recognize that the Pilgrims aren’t holding down a spot in the pantheon of epicurean achievement for a reason. They were starving. If it weren’t for Squanto, they wouldn’t have had two kernels of corn to rub together, much less turkeys – not to mention the Pilgrims didn’t get all that freaky with anything, so fusion was pretty much out of the question. Yes, Don Quixote was right, hunger is the finest sauce in the world, but no matter what you put on it, a turkey is still a turkey. Dark meat, white meat, skin or giblets, turkey is uniquely unable to transcend itself. Thus it is relegated to being the lifeless daily fare of weight watchers and the bland centerpiece of a yearly holiday meal. For the glass-half-full crowd, the turkey and all its starchy accoutrements serve as pleasant reminder of our common heritage and the bounty in which we are lucky enough to share. For the rest of us, it’s the milquetoast emblem of how bad things can be – especially if you let the guy in the black clothes and the belt-buckle hat run the kitchen.

Now that you’ve gotten Thanksgiving out of your system, you may want to brush your teeth and head down to the Continental Club for the spicy sounds of El Vez. Friday and Saturday at midnight, “El” will be performing two back-to-back nights of his special X-mas show, ostensibly in support of his latest CD, “Sno-Way José.” El Vez is all about fusion. Witness classics like “Mamacita Donde Esta Santa Claus?” and “Brown Christmas” and you’ll begin to wonder if maybe the holiday season isn’t such a bad idea after all.

Wafflefest

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NOV. 7, 2002

Improv comedy isn’t an easy sell–especially not live improv. It’s one thing to snicker at some anonymous ham on the TV, far removed from the intimacy of the corporeal, but to sit several feet away from a nosediving, sweat-soaked comic frantically trying to save the show can be an excruciating exercise in vicarious embarrassment. Very often improv audiences lean toward the masochistic inclinations of the improvs themselves. Therefore, attracting a more diverse crowd can be sticky business, which might partially explain Wafflefest 2002, an improv and sketch comedy festival hosted by the Heroes of Comedy that runs this Thursday through Saturday at the Hideout. Using all-you-can-eat waffles as a come-on for sketch comedy has all the makings of a “Bad Idea Jeans” commercial, but maybe that’s the point. Waffles, both as a word and a food, have a certain undeniable silliness, a whimsy that you just can’t get from something heavier, such as, say…blood sausage. Also, like comedy, there is a very fine line between just enough and too many waffles. An overdose of either can leave you feeling nauseated. Fortunately, the Wafflefest offers up comedy in easy-to-digest two-hour doses from some of Austin’s best improv and sketch groups: Well Hung Jury, National Comedy Theatre, Gag Reflex, The Clap, Ed32, Catch 24, First Round Draft, Fatbuckle, Girls Girls Girls and, of course, the Heroes of Comedy. This could be just the gluttonous break you need from the gravity and earnestness of Tuesday’s electoral bloodsausagefest.

Black Cat Lounge Benefit

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AUG. 9, 2002

On an early Saturday morning about a month ago the Black Cat Lounge was destroyed by fire, marking a rather dramatic end to one of the most impressive runs on Sixth Street. In dog years the Black Cat was well over the hill, but in club years – Sixth Street club years, it was positively ancient. The original Black Cat was opened in 1985 by Paul Sessums. It was a biker bar first and foremost, but the fact that Sessums booked original bands gave the club a larger appeal. In 1988, Sessums moved the bar to its current location where it continued to thrive even after his death in a car accident in 1998. An extension of Sessums himself, the Black Cat was a no-frills, no bullshit venue. There was no air-conditioning, no roof, and the bathrooms were only for the truly desperate. Nonetheless, the beer was cheap, there were free hotdogs, and the bands took 100 percent of the door. Sessums also took chances on bands that couldn’t get a break elsewhere. Sometimes he was dreadfully, painfully wrong but most times he was right. Among those who played the Black Cat are a veritable who’s-who list of Austin music: Two Hoots and a Holler, Kelly Willis, Bruce Robison, Charlie Robison, Chapparral, Chris Duarte, Ian Moore, Soulhat, Sister 7, Bob Schneider, Dale Watson, Pushmonkey and more recently, the Flametrick Subs. In fact, the Subs, along with several other bands lost a considerable amount of equipment when the Black Cat burned. This Sunday from Noon to 8:30, Emo’s is hosting a benefit for those bands that features an all star lineup: Shorty Long, Django Walker, The John Evans Band, Basin Street and the Flametrick Subs with Satan’s Cheerleaders. There will also be free food and happy hour drink specials, but you won’t want to miss this one because it may be your last chance to toast(?) the end of an era.

Austin Symphony Fourth of July Concert and Fireworks

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JULY 4, 2002

Before you go speeding out of town to some rural backwater with a municipal ordinance that allows for the firing of rocket propelled grenades and whatnot, consider staying in Austin for the big fireworks display down at Zilker Park. Sure, the Zilker celebration is a daunting, 100,000 strong crush of locals, many with a fashion sense that calls into serious question the concept of freedom, but at least you won’t be a frazzled, neurotic mess from ducking bottle rockets and stamping out inadvertent brush fires. While it’s true that nothing exemplifies independence like cutting loose with your own private arsenal of colorful, Chinese-made pyrotechnics, the cost these days is downright staggering. By the time your punk has burned out, your overblown expectations and half your wallet have gone up in smoke. Why not invest those benjamins (be honest, you can’t throw up anything truly impressive for less than a c-note) in a new bandana for the Labrador, some plush lawn chairs, or maybe one of those giant coolers with wheels? That way you can kick back, listen to a little Tchaikovsky and stare up in slack jawed wonder at the brilliant spectacle above. Best of all, like America, it’s free.

Texas Pride Parade

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SAT. JUNE 1, 2002

If you’re not gay yet, this might be a good weekend to give it a try. Saturday and Sunday men and women from all across the Lone Star State will be converging on Austin celebrate Texas Pride weekend. If you want to kick things off a little earlier, you can start with the Dyke March, which will make its way from the Capitol steps to the Empanada Parlour Thursday night. For $5 you can hang out and enjoy the afterparty. Don’t take off your shoes just yet however, Saturday is the Texas pride Parade where possibly thousands of light loafers, comfortable shoes, and army boots will be padding down Congress Avenue in support of pink power. After a rousing rally on the capitol steps, you can kick up your heels at the Womens’ Dance at Fiesta Garden which runs from 7-12pm. A $10 donation gets you in the door. Maybe you’ll get lucky and meet someone to take to the Texas Pride Brunch the next morning. The brunch starts at 11am and for $25 you can nosh and hobnob with local and state political candidates. Or, you may just want to skip the brunch and go straight to the Texas Pride Festival where for $5 you can enjoy an all day smorgasbord of Austin talent emceed by former Big Boy Randy “Biscuit” Turner and Heather Gold. Some of the scheduled acts include the Sexy Finger Champs, Adult Rodeo, Susan Gibson, Austin Babtist Women, Sarah Hickman, and Patrice Pike. Augmenting the live music will be DJs Dig’m, Sue Johnson, and maybe even Filthy Rich as well as a drag show featuring James Perry (Miss Gay San Antonio), Paris Chanel, and Kelly Kline. With a lineup like that, you’re bound to be entertained regardless of your orientation, wouldn’t you say?