With the construction of Emo's East completed last month, we have turned our attention to the original Emo's lately, feeling nostalgic about the venue that burgeoned the Red River indy-music scene in dowtown Austin. The end of the year will see the live music landmark close it's original location. Consequently, we have made an effort to catch a few shows over there recently. Saturday evening, incendiary act, The White White Lights performed followed by more great music by Black Pistol Fire. It was an insanely enjoyable double bill that left us grinning with pleasure. Yeah. Both acts were that good.
When we say incendiary, we mean that in a good way. Like how vocalist Jenny Gacy transforms from mild-mannered young lady from Austin who works in a candy shop to an intense, shrieking vocalist for an up and coming experimental rock band. Gacy's vocal work on WWL's cover of Leadybelly's "My Girl" was just as compelling as Kurt Cobain and Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance.
White White Lights guitarist, Deluxe Peroux put on his own show, playing a mean harmonica, cavorting with his Epiphone guitar, thrashing so hard, his glasses flew off his head onto the stage. These artists have stage presence coming out of their ears and the chops to pull it off. The rythymn section was so tight, they brought to mind the late Stevie Ray Vaughn's guys, Double Trouble.
Following the set we chatted with Gacy who spoke of working in a candy shop, playing frequently and losing most of their possesions in the Bastrop Fire this past Summer.
Recounting the disaster, Gacy remarked, "It was so scary. The police came and told us we only had five minutes [to get out]. I grabbed the dogs and he [Peroux] got a few of his guitars. He lost his entire [recording] studio though. We're ok because I have family here we are staying with."
Gacy said this with bright eyes and the hopeful tone of youth. Her resilience is awe inspiring. Youth really do bounce back quicker than adults. Speaking of youth, that is who WWL reminds of, Sonic Youth but more animated on stage. Gacy mentioned their next performance will be at Frank on November 16th. We circled the date on our calendar already.
Download The White White Lights six song EP here.
Black Pistol Fire
A year and a half ago, we were wandering around The Pecan Street Festival and stumbled onto these two guys tearing it up in front of Emo's. At least we had the sense to capture some of the show on video. Last night Black Pistol Fire performed following The White White Lights, delivering an equally engrossing set that had fans cheering Eric Owen (drums) and Kevin McKeown (guitar, vocals) for their musical prowess. McKeown who is from Toronto mentioned to the audience it was fellow Canadian Neil Young's birthday and began playing heavier version of Ohio than Young may have imagined when he wrote it.
The pair have polished up their act a bit since that Pecan Street performance last year. Music fans have embraced the Candian duo who relocated to Austin to pursue their passion. It has been paying off, with a record deal, concert promotion from C3 Presents and a regional tour.
Much like Examiner stumbling across the duo accidentally downtown, their current album was produced someone liked what they heard:
"While playing a local Austin hotspot, Producer Jim Diamond (The White Stripes, The Von Bondies, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) approached the band about recording their next record. That album was recorded in 2 separate sessions, in an abandoned building in Detroit in about 20 hours. The album was recorded, mainly off the floor on to 2” tape. The filth from Detroit and the dust of Central Texas can all be heard on Black Pistol Fire’s debut LP." -Black Pistol Fire band bio on Facebook.
BPF are slated to play Lubbock on November 18th and Los Angeles on November 22nd.
Are you a fan of Austin indy music? Which bands would you like to see covered here at Examiner.com?
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