Officially Austin
Every time we fly into Austin, we’re bombarded with signs from the moment we emerge welcoming us to “Austin: The Live Music Capitol of the World.”
Which is nice and all, except that after two years of living here, we’ve failed to attend a single live music event.
Fortunately, Bart’s dad came to visit this weekend and we were able to rectify the situation by wandering up and down Austin’s famed Sixth Street and popping in and out of various venues and being pretty wowed by the various performers.
Bart and my favorites were actually not on Sixth Street, but at the Light Bar by where we’d parked our car. We could hear the music from the street and went in and listened to a young guy who was playing with his guitar and was really very good (his between-song chatter, however, was a bit cringe-worthy. He was not very smooth). Afterwards, we went up to the roof of the same establishment and listened to a five-man piano/bass/guitar/drums/vocal band that was extremely good and really fun. The weather was perfect and we really enjoyed ourselves.
Before all the music-chasing, we had dinner at a sushi restaurant called “Kenichi.” I’d been with my parents about a year and a half ago when my dad’s company took us and a group of others out to dinner (my parents would not have chosen a sushi joint). Bart wasn’t there, though, and so when his Dad suggested he pick a restaurant where we could celebrate his upcoming birthday, it seemed like a good choice.
The food was all phenomenal and the restaurant is gorgeous. The best part, though, was the dessert we split – a macademia nut brownie with sliced bananas, whipped cream, and coconut gelato. Wow, that gelato made all the difference between it being a fairly average dessert and being a dessert I’ll drool over for years to come.
The other major event of the weekend was a trip to the Alamo Drafthouse. There are four of these movie theaters in Austin and it’s considered a major local attraction. They show a combination of first run and old movies and there are tables in front of each row of seats and you can order food before the movie starts and they bring it during the show. And you can keep ordering over and over again until you’re ill. We’d heard a lot about it but never been.
We finally got ourselves down to a matinee on Saturday and saw “Horton Hears a Who” and had lunch. The food was quite good (particularly the burgers), but overall, it didn’t seem that amazing to me (perhaps this is because we paid $8.99 for one burger?) and well, the idea of eating during a movie isn’t exactly revolutionary in my book. However, the movie was really really hilarious. Bart’s dad kept commenting how much better it was than he’d expected. We laughed more than anyone in the theater, but how could you not? It was so so so funny.
Anyway, it was a really lovely weekend, full of fun events, and a good time with Bart’s dad.
And we feel like we are now official Austin-ites.
Now that you’re so experienced with Austin’s live music scene – you guys should take Troy and I down there sometime!! We’ve been wanting to do that. And we LOVED that movie – so funny! Sounds like a great weekend!!
Sounds like a blast! We have yet to partake in Austin’s live music scene as well, which is really a shame because I used to be a concert-goer in my former life. Did you happen to see any strollers and kidlets out on Sixth Street?
Also, thanks for the rave about the sushi restaurant. I haven’t had good sushi since we moved from Seattle 4 years ago!
If you ever stumble upon a band called The Wonderland Avenues, that’s my cousin playing guitar. He looks nothing like me.
Congrats Austinite! (What do Austin locals call themselves?)
xox
Do you think you’ll live there for a while or just until you finish school? Do you have a place you both want to settler permanently?
I’ll have to come to visit you in TX sometime, I’ve never been there!
Janssen, I had fun too and want to do it again. That last rock guitarist was also a real talent. In each case it seemed like the musicians were far better than the venue they were playing in and could have been the first act of some major musician. I also have to laugh about how much of a rooky I was when I added quite a bit of soy sauce to my drink. Brilliant! Also, I loved your home made chowder and wheat muffins. Can you overnight us a batch?
You two have a great life there in Austin.