ACL 2008 Artist: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

Sharon Jones was born in Georgia in 1956. According to one bio, she sang gospel in church and funk with local bands, and earned back-up vocal credits (often as "Lafaye" Jones). She also supported herself as, among other things, a corrections officer and armored car guard. Jones received a late break in 1996 after she appeared on a session backing Lee Fields, "a soul and deep funk legend."

The Dap-Kings, a funky soul band. They formed some time shortly after 2000, backing Sharon Jones, although many members have deeper roots as musicians in the industry. The band plays in the Austin area pretty frequently. Good press has been building. If Rolling Stone's take on the recent performance at Bonnaroo is any indiciation, ACL 2008 should be a great show:

New York-based outfit Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings ripped up the Which Stage. They might not have been the most suavely-dressed of the three groups – former corrections officer Jones was decked out in a ruffled get-up she called her “Tina Turner dress,” and her band sported stifling black suits – but they were by sure the funkiest. Over sexed-up riff-driven funk and retro-style big-band soul, Jones unleashed her firey pipes on tunes about broken and breaking hearts.

Here are a recent performance and interview from Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings:

ACL 2008 Artist: Roky Erickson

Roky Erickson is not a typical comeback story. Way back in the the mid-60s, he was putting out great psychedelic hard rock with his band The 13th Floor Elevators. By 1968, he began to have mental problems. Although he was active off and on for a while, it wasn't after 2000 when his brother, Sumner, took over his care and Roky began to improve significantly. Here's a great article from the Austin Chronicle about Roky from late 2005. He's now rokking again, and since he's living in the area, we should be seeing him on the club circuit. Great news for fans of music.


Roky Erickson and unannounced special guest Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) play Two Headed Dog (Red Temple Prayer) (1974) at Emo's in Austin, May 2008.

Roky played at ACL in 2005, and is back in 2008. He played Emo's in Austin last month (see video above), but I had guests in town at the time and did not make it. He plays at the same time as The Black Keys and Iron & Wine. If we miss him at ACL, we'll catch him around town.


Roky and the 13th Floor Elevators 60s TV appearance (Bandstand?)

More visitors, more fun, more food

In 1992, when Jon was studying overseas in London, his father and stepmother, Robert and Barbara, came to visit him and arrived on his birthday. We had a great week plus that started in London, moved to the Costwolds and finished in Paris.

In 2008, they did it again, arriving for a short visit to Austin on Jon's birthday, May 15. Another set of first-timers. As we have with our other visitors, we kept 'em busy.

We hit a lot of the same spots we have with other visitors, like Mount Bonnell, the Downtown Farmer's Market, South Congress, UT (of course, this time we went while they were setting up for the most gigantic commencement ceremony I've ever witnessed), Central Market and Auditorium Shores. We also got to do a few new things:

• Birthday dinner at the beautiful ristorante Mexicano, Fonda San Miguel.
• A visit to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, a fun museum that covers the twisting story of Texas from the precolonial days to the present.
• A swim in the cool waters (on a hot day) at Barton Springs, the soul of Austin.
• Lunch at Enoteca, a great little casual Italian spot.
• A trip out to the beautiful site of the Austin Museum of Art - Laguna Gloria.

One of the huge, twisted Live Oak trees at Laguna Gloria

• Mexican breakfast at Las Manitas Avenue Cafe, one of our favorite breakfast and lunch spots, and one of Ann Richards' as well, in the heart of downtown, where we were joined by Barbara's friends Evan and Frank. Muy delicioso.

Frank, Barbara and Evan, outside Las Manitas

• Lunch at Ruby's Barbecue near UT.
• Another museum visit, the Blanton Art Museum -- although Rachel and Jon spent that time at Halcyon Cafe downtown.
• Casual French dinner at Chez Nous, also downtown.
• A memorable night of watching the Congress Street Bridge bats!

Can't wait for the next visitors, whoever they may be. If you come before the fall, be prepared to sweat!

Rachel, Rob and Jon at the farmer's market


Jon preparing to serve a bottle of his first homebrew to his guests

Spring = Music

Austinites are lucky when it comes to the live music scene. The local scene is amazingly active, with dozens if not hundreds of shows going on most days. It also attracts a great variety of regional artists -- blues, rock, latin and music from Louisiana are popular -- and big-time acts in almost every genre. Plus the festivals -- SXSW, ACL, and lots of other smaller ones like Mess With Texas, the Reggae Festival and the Fun Fun Fun Festival.

There is a noticeable lull, though, during the late fall and winter. Come April or so, the season starts to kick into gear again, and by May there's something good going on almost every weekend.

A few weekends ago, we caught our first show at Stubb's Barbecue. Stubb's sells a pretty well known brand of its sauces in stores across the U.S. Stubb's also has a popular, spacious barbecue restaurant downtown in the heart of the club district along East 6th and Red River. The restaurant has two stages: a small indoor room and a large outdoor venue, but small enough so that you know you'll find a good spot no matter when you show up. Plus the BBQ is supposed to be decent. No wonder people like Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth call Stubb's their favorite club to play in the U.S.

We went to see the Raconteurs on the first night of a two night stand at Stubb's. The Raconteurs are most well known for being the second band of Jack White of the White Stripes. They play a straight-ahead classic hard rock style that lends itself well to the stage. Now that they have two albums out, they were able to play probably a bit longer than they did when they first toured in 2006. They played 19 songs over one set plus one encore. Two thumbs up for the show and the venue.


Video for Steady As She Goes

Eight days later, we caught a Wilco show at Stubb's, who were also there for a two night stand. We had seen them a few times before, but this show was one of the best. The band has featured a lot of departures and additions over the years, but the current line-up has been together for a while now and can really play beautifully live. Also, Wilco recently played a five night series at a hall in Chicago where, over those days, they ran through their entire catelog of songs. Since then, they've been incorporating older songs into their set, including a few songs we'd never seen them play before. For Hoodoo Voodoo, from the first volume of the Mermaid Avenue collaboration with Billy Bragg, Pat Sansone picked up a guitar and had a memorable duel with "guitar god" Nels Cline, trading riffs like welterweights. Jeff Tweedy traded instruments with John Stirratt, who took a rare turn at lead for It's Just That Simple from first album A.M. Great stuff.

You can find setlists and all sorts of other information on Wilco shows at WilcoBase, including the Austin show.

A few weeks later, we went to another legendary venue for the first time, Antone's. Stevie Ray Vaughan took a big step toward becoming a star and legend there. That night, we saw a great show by Gary Clark, Jr. I had barely heard him, but had read good things. Clark played guitar with a bass and drum rounding out his trio, and ripped through a an energetic, eccestric set of bluesy, hard, roots rock, with occasional moments of more modern rock that conjured up U2 of all bands to a few of the people in our party. Maybe you've heard of Clark from his role in the movie Honeydripper? Potentially a star on the rise.


Gary Clark Jr. with the Honeydripper All-Star Band

The highlight of the night might have come after the show. On the way home, we stopped with some friends at Mrs. Johnson's Bakery, an Austin landmark. Mrs. Johnson's stays open well past midnight, serving a tempting variety of doughnuts, kolache and other treats to the many people working their way home after a night out. Drive-through only. Plus they always throw in a free doughnut, even if you only order one yourself. Rachel and I both liked the cake doughnuts were great -- "[A] delicious cake doughnut, of which I crave more," raves Rachel!

More and more good shows are popping up on the schedule. The schedule for ACL (Austin City Limits music festival) was just released too, so there's that to start studying. Stay wired.

Barbecue Update: Sam's Bar-B-Cue (Perry's Visit)

Jon's brother-in-law, Perry, came into town in early May for a business seminar. We only found out a few weeks earlier and were excited to have another visitor. He let us know via email that he'd be expecting to eat some BBQ. On the night of his arrival, we picked him up downtown and decided to stay nearby. I'd heard good things about Sam's Bar-B-Cue, so we made the short drive to the east side of the city. Sam's is in a small building on East 12th Street. There are only a few tables inside, but there are also a few benches on a deck outside. The two people working there were extremely friendly and happy to accomodate our requests for whatever assortment of meats we wanted to try. The brisket was some of the best I've had. Not quite as smokey or spicy as Louie Mueller's, but still very tender and flavorful. I thought the chicken was outstanding. The sausage is local and good, with the more granular texture that is typical in these parts, and Perry enjoyed his pork ribs. The sauce was sweet but tasty -- my only complaint is that they put too much on my food. Just a bit on the side would have been better. A worthwhile experience -- fun, tasty, and a little bit adventurous.



Perry and Sam's server (Wanda?)


Perry's plates


Washing down dinner at the Gingerman




A short video about Sam's

Barbecue Update

Hard to believe, but it's been six months since I posted about Texas barbecue, and five months since we left for Texas via White Castle and O'Charley's. From the sound of it, we've spent 97% of the time eating, looking for places to eat, discussing food with our friends, planning or attending food-related events, or doing some other culinary activity. Well ... crunching the numbers, that's probably a little on the high side. The posts don't lie, though -- we're certainly somewhat food oriented.

Surprisingly, we really haven't sampled all that much 'cue in those five months, but I thought I'd update readers on some of our BBQ-related thoughts. This one's in honor of Perry Zinn-Rowthorn's upcoming visit to Austin.

BEST BARBECUE WE'VE HAD SO FAR

Hand's down, we both agree that the best barbecue we've eaten is at Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, TX, home of my employer. Maker of righteous brisket that they rub with a magical blend that is purportedly comprised of little more than a blend of salts and peppers, the brisket is magically moist, tasty and a little bit spicy when it emerges from one of the pits that fills the entire main room up with smoke.


Board full of business cards darkened by smoke from the pits at Louie Mueller

Thankfully they've put a second dining room next to the main one, which is a little smoky but more tolerable than the main room. You do order in the main room, and even that can leave you smelling like smoke for the rest of the day. When you get to the front of the line and they take your order, they rip off a couple of feet of butcher's paper and put it on the counter, along with the Holy Grail of barbecued brisket: a small cube they cut off -- it really sort of falls off -- and place on the corner of your paper for you to enjoy while carve up your order. The brisket, offered in choices of fatty or leaner, comes sliced a bit thicker than most places, and is moist and tender, with a sick crust and great smoky-spicy flavor. The smoked turkey breast has the same crust, though a little thinner probably from shorter smoking time, and is great to eat on a sandwich. The chicken runs out quickly but is moist and a little more mild than the turkey or brisket. Louie Mueller usually serve three kinds of sausage: chipotle, jalapeno and regular, all Elgin variety. The pork loin is supposedly great. I haven't tried any ribs. Louie Mueller also makes steaks and some other things, including a nice side of pintos. If you have time, make it out to Taylor for the best.

NEXT UP

The two best places are outside Austin, each about 30 minutes on a good day. Kreuz Market, in Lockhart, is an institution. It is often touted as the best in the area. We went one day when Don & Sheila, Jon's parents, were in town. It is in a huge red building with two dining areas with the requisite picnic benches. Your order is taken in the back, along side the amazing array of pits. We ordered from a lady who looked like one of the original employees from 1948. With four of us, we ended up deciding to taste several things, including brisket, spare ribs, two kinds of sausage, along with beans and slaw. I thought the jalapeno sausage was the best thing. Nicely firm casing and a less mealy inside than most Elgin sausage. The brisket great, although not as flavorful, in my opinion, than Louie Mueller's. Sides were good. Definitely worth checking out if you like the meat. Kreuz serves lots of things, like shoulder clod (leaner beef than brisket), pork and beef ribs, pork chops, ham and homemade wieners.


Sign at Kreuz Market -- I'd listen to the people there, they know what they're talkin' about.

A LOCAL FAVORITE

One of our favorites within the confines of Austin is the first barbecue place we ever visited. In fact, if my memory is correct, we went there on the first night of our first visit here in September 2005. Ruby's is near the UT campus, and serves more natural, organic meats, along with salads, tacos, Cajun food, vegetarian items, and soup and side dish specials. Very nice brisket sandwich. Good turkey and chicken, too.

THE REST

• Mann's Smokehouse, also within the city limits, is in small building under the highway to the north of the city center. The spot isn't the prettiest, but Mann's makes a mean jalapeno sausage and very good smoked turkey. The friendly people there threw in free brownies last time, which were excellent -- just the right richness.
• Iron Works is solid barbecue and conveniently located near the heart of downtown.
• I've only eaten frozen barbecue from the Salt Lick, in nearby Driftwood, but it was decent. Not in the same league as Louie Mueller or Kreuz, if you ask me. The huge place is in a nice spot out in the country just south of Austin.
• Rudy's, a chain, isn't as bad as some people say.
• Also a chain, Bill Miller probably isn't too different in quality from Rudy's, but has more of a fast food vibe. I thought the BBQ chicken sandwhich, with pulled chicken, a little sauce and optional pickles and onions on a poppy seeded bun, was actually pretty tasty and a good buy.
• Green Mesquite, just south of Lake Austin, serves up lots more than BBQ. We ordered a BBQ sampler one of the two times we've been there, and it was pretty good, if not memorable.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, we've tried quite a few places, but there are a ton more left. Just in Lockhart, home of Kreuz Market, there are two other legendary BBQ joints: Black's and Smitty's each of which has a large, dedicated following. We're trying to plan a "barbecue crawl" with some friends, which should provide an opportunity to do some more investigative eating. Of course, we'll have to fill you in.