Archive for the ‘Reviews and Show Reports’ Category

Pictures and Report from Baconator vs. The Thingamabots

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Saturday night, ND (formerly The Independent) hosted an evening of music, drinks, and robots. So many robots! The event, put together by Couch Professor Entertainment, was also a “robot dance party” world record attempt. I was there in my favorite ascary evil robot shirt from Southside Sanctuary to capture the madness. Here’s the report, along with some tasty pics.

The Good: Pretty much everything about the event was good but I have to give it to the people that came dressed up. There were some fantastic robot costumes, from the group of fembots to the fully functional costume with CD player, flashing lights, and extendable arms. People really got into the spirit of the show, which makes for a fun night.

The lineup was stacked with local favorites, drinks were free until 11pm, and the event was run well. The ND is a great space; they’ve made some much-needed improvements recently including the installation of a full bar as you walk in. Much better than that tiny bar at the back of the venue they started out with.

Also, special mention to the projector girl from Wave Hands Like Clouds. I’m not a very artsy guy, but I was enthralled watching her projected creations move around on the wall. The pictures in the gallery below don’t really do it justice.

The Bad: I haven’t heard the final report, but I’m fairly certain we didn’t break the record. Attempts were made throughout the night, but there weren’t more than 250 people there (we needed over 400 to get close to the record). It didn’t put a damper on the night, though.

People wanting quick, free drinks had to exercise a little patience. There was a DIY mojito station that had a long line the whole time. The bartenders helping people make their mojitos get special mention; they were constantly assisting people. Many TwoGroove props to the patience and professionalism of those two!

The Funny: Just seeing all the costumes, as well as 200 people do the robot is funny enough. However, the girl who kept cutting in line to make ever-more-sloppy mojitos gets the crown on this one. She would butt in, slop together what can only loosely be described as “mojitos” and then push her way to her friends. By the third time she did this, her friends stopped accepting the drinks, leaving her with a handful of drinks. I can almost guarantee she was worshipping the porcelain throne at some point.

What made it even better was the one time she offered a drink to the bartender. He didn’t even look at her; he was too busy helping people who had waited in line make their mojitos. She put the cup in his face, asked him his name, and finally stormed away when she wasn’t getting the attention she felt she rightly deserved. Stay classy, drunk chick.

Without further ado, here are some pictures from the night. I wasn’t able to stay the whole time, but I think you’ll get a good feel for the party from the pictures below. There were plenty of photographers, so dont be surprised if you see a metric F-ton of pictures on blogs, Facebook, and the like.

Many thanks to Andy and Cole of Couch Professor Entertainment for putting together a killer event. They tirelessly promote and organize these things!

  • Share/Bookmark

Two big album releases this week – The Glitch Mob and Pendulum

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

If you are a fan of hard-hitting electronic music, you are probably already on top of this. If not, I will do my best to convert you. This week, two major electronic acts dropped brand new albums. The Glitch Mob, who just made their album tour stop at La Zona Rosa last weekend, released their debut album Drink The Sea. Aussie drum n’ bass-DJs-turned-hybrid-electronic-rock-act Pendulum released their third studio album, Immersion, Monday. I’ve been lucky enough to listen to both albums a couple times in the past few days. The bottom line is that it’s a good week for those of us that like our beats to be driving and powerful.

So sit back, relax, and bear witness to the very rare TwoGroove review times two!

Drink The Sea, which came out Tuesday, is pretty much what you’d expect from glitchstep (is that even a real genre?) trio The Glitch Mob…with a couple exceptions. Fuzzy synth melodies and fat basslines are tweaked and modulated over heavy, sparse beats. It’s a fantastic first effort from the group but sadly fails to capture the raw energy of their live show. To hear The Glitch Mob at their best, you need to see them live. Second best is their 2009 mixtape called Crush Mode. Here’s a link to a free download. Drink The Sea feels like the trio held back a bit, not willing to get as much in your face as both the mixtape and their live show. That’s not to say there aren’t some absolutely banging tracks. Check out “Drive it Like you Stole it”, “We Swarm”, and “Fistful of Silence”.  Despite some slight disappointments with the album, it’s still easy to recommend. Take it for a test drive here at Xlr8r.

Pendulum alienated some fans with their second album In Silico. They made a switch from being epic drum n’ bass DJs/producers to trying out a DnB-infused hard rock style. The result was a hybrid that used their trademark drum n’ bass beats (played live by a drummer most of the time) to back some soaring electronic rock tracks. Pendulum took a step toward their drum n’ bass roots with Immersion. Tracks on the album are mostly synth-heavy dnb anthems with vocalist Rob Swire heard on almost every track (you might know him as the guest vocalist on Deadmau5′s “Ghost’s N’ Stuff”). The formula works well and there is plenty of variation between songs to keep you interested. They even try their hand at a metal-meets-drum n’ bass song with Swedish death metal band In Flames on the track “Self Vs. Self”. It’s the only track that had me rolling my eyes. I love Pendulum, but it felt like I was standing in Hot Topic waiting for my little brother to finish trying on spiky bracelets. Thankfully, the rest of the album is more mature and, to be honest, completely rockin’. The album isn’t available in the US yet, unless you get the digital download directly from the Pendulum website. As an added bonus for audiophiles, you get the songs in lossless WAV format.

  • Share/Bookmark

Pictures from the Bass in Ya Face boat party

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Last Sunday, LegitArt rented out a two-story party boat to put on the Bass in Ya Face cruise. Captian Marcus Swagger (thankfully they didn’t let him drive the boat) hosted the festivities…in his entirely too-short swimsuit. We boarded around 7pm and people were already getting silly when we disembarked at 7:15. There was plenty of free booze to be had to go along with the pumping tunes blasting out of both stories.

Although the boat held 200; I think there was a little over a hundred people on it. Lines for the bathroom and bar were short and by nightfall, the dance floor upstairs was packed. By the end of the cruise, bartenders were pouring Red Bull & vodkas in tall cups instead of the little ones, ensuring we used up every last bit of booze. Funny thing was, I asked two bartenders about who the vodka sponsor was. The first didn’t know, and the second said “you don’t want to know”. Whatever, it was free!

For those of you that couldn’t join us out on the water, here are some pictures for your enjoyment. Note the lack of pictures after sunset…I was on the dancefloor and couldn’t be bothered to take pictures.

  • Share/Bookmark

Show Report: Infected Mushroom at Republic Live

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

So last Thursday I am at work, minding my own business, when Mike from NightCulture sends me a text asking if I would cover the Infected Mushroom show that night at Republic Live. Before that text, my night only had the potential to be mostly awesome (the default setting). After, it was headed into “totally” territory. For you see, I am a giant electronic music dork and I freaking love Infected Mushroom.

For the uninitiated: Infected Mushroom was an Israeli psy-trance duo, much the way Pendulum was a drum n’ bass DJ duo. Both groups added live instrumentation to the mix and started playing rock heavily influenced by their previous DJ experience. Both groups still go on DJ tours, but it’s the live show you really need to see.

Infected Mushroom made Republic Live the Austin stop on their US tour, joined by locals Randy Seidman, DJ Exceed and Mike Cherches. So, without further ado, here’s The Good, The Bad, and the Funny (below the break). Check the bottom of the post for a set of pictures, including a good one of the huge, creepy mushroom that was on stage!

(more…)

  • Share/Bookmark

A review of MOG All Access

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

MOG recently launched their own streaming music service called MOG All Access to compete with the likes of Pandora and Spotify. For a small fee, MOG puts millions of tracks, both indie and major label,  at your fingertips. You can create playlists of your favorite songs and albums and listen to them ad-free, without having to download any software. Click here for an overview.

Full disclosure here: TwoGroove is a member of the MOG Music Network, a network of music blogs across the world. TwoGroove gets a free subscription to MOG All Access and MOG’s ad network populates the banner ad here, but they do not inform any of our content.

Ok now that’s out of the way, let’s talk about MOG All Access. Be warned: this is a long post.

(more…)

  • Share/Bookmark