Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Alien Time Ensemble

I ventured out last night to see an Austin Music Foundation (AMF) friend, David DeMaris, play with Alien Time Ensemble. The gig was at the Salvage Vanguard Theater off of Manor Rd. I unfortunately caught only the last 4 songs of the show, primarily because of my late start, and inability to find the place.

None the less, it was enjoyable despite not being able to listen to the whole set, and missing Carlos Villareal/One Umbrella, the opening act. It was nice change of pace from the Elephant Room crowd, with a heavy dose of post-bop improvisation. A little reminescient of the 2nd Coltrane Quartet (when Alice Coltrane was playing piano). It was somewhat interesting as well, since the Acoustic Bass was all done on keyboard.

Will have to go see more acts like this and I am encouraged that I discovered a new venue/scene that focuses on genres other than Texas Blues or Americana. I think the time is ripe for trying to jumpstart a Knitting Factory scene here in Austin.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Fripp Skipping TX again ;(

Hoping to be an audient, once again, I was somewhat happy to see that the League of Crafty Guitarists had announced a tour of the US. Once the realization set in that there would be no TX dates, I was disappointed. Given the turn out for the CGT (with Austin supposedly being one of their favorite places) and with PM living here, you would figure that Austin would be a no-brainer.

Damn, I was anxious to see LCG again, since close to 20 years have passed since I last saw them at the Chance, in Poughkeepsie. Over 10 years have passed since the ProjeKct 3 shows here in Austin, making me regret not trying to fly and catch KC, on their last 2 tours. It's been quite a while since I've been able to catch Fripp live.

Let's hope that more US dates are announced for early next year.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Ravens vs. the Cards

Well, we had another ugly win today, blowing a 23-6 lead, but winning with a walk-off Stover Field Goal. I found myself asking during the 4th quarter, Who is this team on the field and what did they do with the Ravens' defense? The drop-off in our pass rush, with Trevor Pryce out, is big ;( Worse, with Samari Rolle out, our mutated 46 defense is not all that effective. Having our Nickle or Dime back cover a #2 receiver is dangerous.

That said, Kyle Boller, in relief of McNair, saved the day, with a good drive to put us in FG position. In the last 3 games, he is starting to look like a legit NFL starter. I'm actually happy for him, since he has been generally vilified in the past.