AustinSound.net - There are @ least 100 bands playing in town on any night in the week. This handy site gives reviews of local and touring bands, recommendations on shows going on that week, and sponsors a weekly radio show on KVRX, UT's student radio station.
A very, very, very cool site.
do512 - Exhaustively lists anything entertaining (music, theatre, special events) going on every day. You can conveniently narrow events down by type and neighborhood. I often use this site to find things for guests to do that are easily accessible via bus, since I can weed out anything that's happening too far away.
RECORD STORES
End of an Ear - a music lover's dream. They often have free instore performances. Great selection of indie, electronica, local, vinyl. High Fidelity, Austin-style
Waterloo - this is the one that turns up in all the guidebooks. massive selection of new and used cds and records. Fun toys and music magazines. Worth a trip to browse around, can be a bit pricey. Store logo mimics the London Underground.
Cheapo Discs - just up the street from Waterloo. THE place to find used CDs in town. It's usually a fun to find music @ Waterloo, then purchase it @ Cheapo. I've sent many travellers here who were burned out on the music they brought with them, with very enthusiastic results. Conveniently open until midnight.
Sound on Sound - best place in town for metal, hardcore, and other heavy things of that nature. They also often have free instore performances and a great selection of records.
MUSIC VENUES - 9 times out of 10, if a club says that doors open @ 8, bands won't start playing until after 10 pm. Unless they're playing @ Antone's. I found this out the hard way, and totally missed out on the Animal Collective show.
Emo's - everyone who is anyone plays here. If you are in a band, an Emo's show is a BIG DEAL. Sometimes I find myself here 2-3 nights a week. 3 stages: inside, outside, and the lounge. All shows are all ages, cover charges may be higher for those under 21. Emo's has a really awesome vending machine in the courtyard that sells CDs of local bands for the low low price of $10. $2 beers are also available. Restrooms are legendarily disgusting - I usually try to warn the faint of heart.
Trophy's - south of downtown, in the South Congress area. Trophy's has been undergoing a slow transformation from a seedy neighborhood dive bar to a desireable music venue. They sell beer @ the bar, but have no liquor license, so you can bring your own. This has led to some very rowdy, very Texan nights.
the Parish - I've seen some very excellent shows here. More of a focus on touring acts than local bands. Excellent sound, very cool vibe. Maybe a touch swankier than Emo's in terms of ambience, cleanliness. It's an upstairs venue, so when the crowd gets moving, the floor starts bouncing - but in a fun, not scary way. A downside is that there is no smoking area - smokers have to stand outside on 6th street to get their nic fix.
Beerland - very hip, punk rock venue on Red River. Home to rock n roll karaoke and lots of people with silly haircuts that will cause them to cringe at photos of themselves in 5 years. Fun times, cheap drinks.
The Austin Chronicle also has a great page that lists all the venues downtown, with their corresponding links and descriptions. The places above are just a handful of my favorites...THANKS ALI
We were real fortunate because Laurie had helped out by driving a few of us that organized a trip to San Jacinto the battleground for Texas Independence by defeating Mexican forces on the plains. Visually you’ll be able to see graves, monuments and the historical Museum of San Jacinto www.sanjacinto-museum.org . I did try to go out that night with a couple I met that night and we actually tried out several places, but it again just seemed that everything was spread out thin. We finally found some house music and people willing to dance up some kind of a storm…lol.
Get more information from the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau
Get ready to see as much as you can in a very diverse city by visiting the sixth largest port in the USA, Chinatown, Talento Billingue de Houston (one of the largest Latino cultural centers in the US), top 10 ranking for US cities visited by Hispanics and Asian American travelers. A few things that you must look at doing is, the Space Centre Houston, the Houston Zoo, Moody Gardens, Traders Village (over 800 vendors) and it’s equipped with more than 100 miles of hike and bike trails. The morning before venturing out, the girls and I wanted to get up a bit earlier than usual because we wanted to spend as much time seeing a bit of Houston and knowing that there was only so much we could actually do without a car we walked for our morning breakfast at an American favorite, Denny’s. Thank goodness we did because we needed the start and like most tourist sites you visit, the food trappings are never usually great but the prices are greatly inflated.
We were real fortunate because Laurie had helped out by driving a few of us that organized a trip to San Jacinto the battleground for Texas Independence by defeating Mexican forces on the plains. Visually you’ll be able to see graves, monuments and the historical Museum of San Jacinto www.sanjacinto-museum.org . I did try to go out that night with a couple I met that night and we actually tried out several places, but it again just seemed that everything was spread out thin. We finally found some house music and people willing to dance up some kind of a storm…lol.
While in San Antonio, I wasn't there too long but I did have enough time to join the River Walk, which is a must and engage in the beauty of it's restaurants. It's one of those experiences that would have been nicer with company :) So, after i decided to go to Coyote Ugly and see if i could find some company. Of course just as i did, i realized that my mobile was left in the cab earlier and thank goodness I was able to retain back in my possession. Ohh! i was told that the zoo and seaworld are must see attractions.
Fort Worth
I didn’t stay here, but a beautiful lady from the night before offered to show me some of the hotspots nearby, so of course I took her up on the offer. We started the day playing some mini golf and the facilities had a race track which I’ll have to see if she’s up for that on my next run through Texas. After that we headed to downtown Fort Worth and enjoyed a great meal at while listening to live music that was provided by the restaurant.
Rock the Bells and the Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards
I meet an acquaintance whom happens to be a friend of someone within the property and the night before we had gone out but this time we had ventured to the Java Monkey and to our surprise we got to hear some great tunes by:
Heather Luttrell - www.heatherluttrell.com - myspace.com/heatherluttrell
Joseph McGuinness - 770-354-7811 - http://www.myspace.com/joemcguinness
There are some french quarter walking tours and you can contact them at Friends of the Cabildo rsell@friendsofthecabildo.org or pamela@friendsofthecabildo.org and there is many self guided tours of the Garden DIstrict. New Orleans, eventhough on the mend there is still so much to do;
Kayak Tours, River Boat tour, Plantation tours, the Audubon Zoo, Swamp tours and of course Mardi Gras. The place is just filled with Music...Jazz and soul, anywhere you go you'll start stompin your feet. Try to make it to the Aquarium, it's going to be a tight schedule since they close in the earlier part of the evening but it will be well worth it and if you phone ahead you can find out the time of the feeding of the stingrays etc.
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