The Best Of 2010...Live Shows In and Around ATX

We say it every year, but it bears repeating. Fuckin' A. What a great year for live music in Austin and the surrounding Hill Country. And We even missed most of SXSW.

We didn't hit up too many of the really huge shows (skipped ACL and the aforementioned SXSW miss due to vacation) but we packed in a boatload of high quality local and smaller touring acts.

Here are some of our favorite shows. Links to the audio of the shows are provided where possible.

Leo Rondeau & Mike & The Moonpies at the Mohawk on 2010.01.01 (Leo's set, Moonpies set)
Scott Miller at the Cactus Cafe on 2010.01.19
Chris Wall at Our House Concert on 2010.01.30
Justin Townes Earle at Stubb's BBQ on 2010.02.04
The Gourds & Otis Gibbs at the Cactus Cafe on 2010.02.19 (the Gourds set, Otis Gibbs' set)
Cory Branan & Tumbledown at the Mohawk on 2010.04.12 (Cory's set, Tumbledown's set)
Roger Alan Wade and Friends at the Mean Eyed Cat on 2010.04.14
The Railbenders at Herman's Hideaway on 2010.04.23
The Gourds at Threadgill's South on 2010.05.28
Mark Jungers and Houston Marchman at Gruene Hall 2010.06.18 (Mark's set, Houston's set)
James Hyland & The Joint Chiefs at the Mean Eyed Cat on 2010.07.10
Shinyribs at the Belmont on 2010.08.03
The Sons Of Bill at Emo's on 2010.08.29
Chris Knight at the Cactus Cafe on 2010.09.18
The Old 97s at the Ghost Room on 2010.10.13
Whitey Morgan and the 78s at Lovejoy's on 2010.10.21
Joe Pug at the Cactus Cafe on 2010.11.06
Various Artists performing the Last Waltz at Club Deville on 2010.11.21
Mike & The Moonpies happy hour run at the Mohawk during September (2010.09.02 & 2010.09.30)

The Best Of 2010...Official Releases

2010 was an interesting year for us here at the alt512. Lots of our favorite traditional OKOM powerhouses are in between records (some moreso than others - Slaid, Hayes, Corb, Charlie Robison) which really allowed us to focus on some more of the truly independent and self-produced music that came out this year.

Our favorite individual track was a toss up between Roger Alan Wade's "Deguello Motel", JTE's "Harlem River Blues" and Josh Ritter's "Folk Bloodbath". Great fucking songs.

It's hard for us to narrow the best of 2010 down to a single favorite because all of these records are so good but Hyland's Celestial Navigation really blew us away.

Alt512's Top Eight:
James Hyland & The Joint Chiefs Celestial Navigation
Shinyribs Well After A While
Red Eye Junction Better Days
James Keyes Ruminations
Sara Petite Doghouse Rose
The Fox Hunt Long Way To Go -- Late addition to the list, like 12/31 late
Tim Harwill The Wander Man Revisited
Mike & The Moonpies The Real Country

The Best Of The Rest:
Roger Alan Wade Deguello Motel
Buchanan Suit Of Lights
Josh Ritter So Runs The World Away
Various Artists Broken Hearts And Dirty Windows: Songs Of John Prine
Tim Hus Hockeytown
Justin Townes Earle Harlem River Blues
Overmountain Men Glorious Day
Adam Carroll & Michael O'Connor Hard Times
The Tallest Man On Earth The Wild Hunt

James Hyland -- Celestial Navigation [Buy This Now]

I've had James Hyland's Celestial Navigation on my iPhone since before it was released earlier this week but finally found time to give it a listen. I will say that I am glad I didn't let it go any longer and that I love this fucking album. I just started my third listen all the way through.

Hyland, formerly of the South Austin Jug Band, spent a good, long time crafting this record, honing the songs and the sound at places like Momo's, the Saxon Pub and the Mean Eyed Cat over the last two years in front of dozens of people (literally). The resulting record is nothing short of incredible. Cohorts Warren Hood, Willie Pipkin, Kim Deschamps, Robb Kidd, Chris Maresh and Dennis Ludiker lend their tremendous talents to Hyland's vision-brought-to-life very skillfully by producer Steven Doster.

Having seen Hyland live year after year in the various forms of the South Austin Jug Band and solo, I've seen these songs evolve and evolve (Come To Me, 2008.04.01) and I can say with some modicum of authority that the result is nothing short of perfection. The ten tracks on this record flow seamlessly from one to another and yet each is able to stand firmly on its own. There is not a low point on the record. IMO, that speaks to the strength of Hyland's songwriting and collective vision and execution between him and Doster and the players, known here as the Joint Chiefs.

"American Son", "21 Days 21 Towns", "Paint A Girl" and "Girls From Lake Ponchartrain" are my early favorites after three listens.

Please, please, please, do yourself a favor and go download this record from bandcamp:
http://jameshyland.bandcamp.com/

Hyland is employing the name your-own-price pricing tier which includes FREE. Whatever you can afford, it will be worth your hard earned greenbacks or silver to pick up this record. What the hell are you waiting for? Go. Buy. Download. Listen.

If you're interested, you can find some recent Hyland live performances over at the LMA:
http://www.archive.org/details/jameshyland2010-08-27.fm.flac [solo, radio show]





http://www.archive.org/details/jameshyland2010-07-10.matrix.flac [Joint Chiefs (band) show]

Mean Eyed Cat Songwriter Night Part 4

If you're in Austin on Monday, July 20th, come out to the Mean Eyed Cat and check out the 4th installment of the Cat's songwriter night hosted by Lew Card. This month's guests are James Hyland (former South Austin Juggie), Doug Strahan (of Chili Cold Blood) and Will Sexton.

The last three have been fantastic. Check out the audio from the previous shows here:

www.archive.org/details/mecsn2009-04-06.sbd

www.archive.org/details/mecsn2009-05-04.sbd

www.archive.org/details/mecsn2009-06-01.sbd