Lite + Brite Newsletter 2/13

Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.

Don’t be too blown away by how high-tech we are, but please be a little blown away, because Lite + Brite finally has a website! So now, rather than having conversations that go like this:

YOUR FRIENDS: “Where do you find so many cool things to do?”
YOU: “In this newsletter that you’ll never be able to find on google.”

You can instead have conversations that go like this:

YOUR FRIENDS: “Where do you find so many cool things to do?”
YOU: “In a newsletter that you, too, can subscribe to. Just visit liteandbriteatx.com!”
YOUR FRIENDS: “Wow, thanks! Now we don’t need to be your friends anymore because you have given us the tools to find cool stuff to do all on our own!”

This week we have Galentine’s Day craftingnail artaerial performances, and donuts; Valentine’s Day speakeasiespool parties, and erotic variety shows; plus the bonus holidays of Gaylentine’s DaySchmalentine’s Day, and Lupercalia. For these events and lots more, keep scrolling. 
 
If you’re not already a subscriber to this newsletter, click here. Also, please support us by forwarding this email to your friends who enjoy things like listening to music and leaving the house sometimes. Or tell them to visit our website, because, to be clear, we have a websiteliteandbriteatx.com

Let’s do fun stuff!

—Leila + Brian

DJ Stuff

On Monday we celebrated the one year anniversary of No Lights No Lycra in Austin with cake, party favors, three DJs, and lots of dancing in the dark. Huge thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us. The playlist is here and at the bottom of this email. 

This coming Monday we’ll be back to our usual format, with Brian on the decks all night long. Come through!

Want to hear what No Lights No Lycra sounds like? Or just want to hear some dope jams? We’ve got a ton of recordings of our resident DJ Brian Blackout’s sets up on Mixcloud you can listen to, and we’re regularly adding more.

Finally, we need your help. Guan Yin Tea House, our beloved home for No Lights No Lycra for the past year, will be shutting its doors at the end of February. (This is not our fault.) (As far as we are aware.) NLNL has become a valuable outlet for many of us, and we’d love to keep it going in a new space. Do you have any ideas for venues? Please send them our way!

What is No Lights No Lycra?
Austin’s weekly judgment-free, substance-free, high-impact dance thing in the dark. It’s a DJ night that’s not at the club, a workout that’s not at the gym, a personal meditation that’s anything but silent. 8:30-10pm every Monday at the Guan Yin Tea House, $5 suggested donation.

Events we’re eyeing 

Thursday 2/13
The Hand That Feeds You at the Vortex
‘A live studio audience at a taping for a surreal new game show’
Ain’t Love a Drag at the Austin Motel
‘Part sketch comedy, part drag show, part 70s pool party’
SXSW EDU Austin Meet Up at SXSW Center
Discuss all things SXSW + get badge discounts
Family Movie Night ~ workin at the D.Q. at the Ana Lark Center
Archival footage + a secret feature film
Galentine’s Event at the Alibi
‘Live artists, local vendors, tarot, donuts, cocktails & DJs’
Eastside Pop Up Nights “Galentines Edition” at Hotel Vegas
‘Drink + Dance + Shop + Repeat’
All Girls on Deck presents ‘Is This a Date?’ at the 13th Floor
All-girl vinyl DJs + nail art
Galentine’s at East Austin Hotel
Galentine’s TV shows, crafting, and girl-friend-making

Friday 2/14 (V-Day)
The Hand That Feeds You at the Vortex
‘A live studio audience at a taping for a surreal new game show’
Ain’t Love a Drag at the Austin Motel
‘Part sketch comedy, part drag show, part 70s pool party’
Valentine’s Weekend & Hot Air Balloon Experience in Fredericksburg
Hot Air Balloons + Helicopters + Fireworks + Music + Food+Drinks
Schmalentine’s Day at Alamo Drafthouse
Watch movies, send love notes (for charity) and win stuff
Bingo Loco at Rustic Tap Beer Garden
‘The runaway child of traditional bingo complete with rave rounds, lip sync battles + dance offs’
The Galentine’s Show at the Cathedral
Art + DJ + open bar + supporting a good cause
The Opulence Ball: Harlem Heat 2020 at the North Door
Jazz Age party w/live music, dancers, libations, costumes + dessert buffet
Toma Mi Corazon: 28th Annual Fundraiser at la Peña
Silent auction of wooden hearts decorated by community members
Mer-Made with Love at Wonder World Cave
Art party inside an ancient earthquake cave. Also mermaids!
A Jazz and Wine Valentine at a secret location
Jazz, wine, and hors d’oeuvres in an intimate central Austin home
Gaylentines Party at Symphony Square
DJ + drag performers + themed food pop-ups + games n prizes
Valentine’s Dinner at SRSLY Chocolate
Dinner at a chocolate factory
A Ruby Red Valentine’s Day Cabaret at Native Hostel
1920s-themed dinner cabaret w/ live jazz music burlesque
Tea and Chocolate at Guan Yin Tea House
Farm direct tea and artisanal chocolate pairings
The Boiz of Austin Cabaret at Scissor Sister’s Hair Salon
‘European-style immersive cabaret experience’ + paired dinner
Boner Bizarre: A Clockwork Orgy at Come and Take It Live
‘XXXtreme erotic variety show’ w/a commitment to the perverse
Heaven VS. Hell at Coconut Club
Heavenly DJs above on the roof deck, Hellish DJs below in the rave cave
Puppy Love at Swan Dive
Bands, burlesque + raffle benefitting Love-a-Bull pit bull rescue
Poo Poo Platter: Peaches vs Christeene! at Elysium
Drag performers + DJ spinning house+disco

Saturday 2/15
The Hand That Feeds You at the Vortex
‘A live studio audience at a taping for a surreal new game show’
Valentine’s Weekend & Hot Air Balloon Experience in Fredericksburg
Hot Air Balloons + Helicopters + Fireworks + Music + Food+Drinks
Star Party at Jester King
Live music, telescopes + goats. What else do you need?
Galentine’s Day: The Ladies of Pop at Sky Candy
Pop-themed aerial + circus performers plus shopping, drinks + tarot
Austin Poetry Brothel at Infinite Monkey Theorem
‘An immersive literary cabaret that celebrates sexuality & art’
10th Annual Austin Roller Disco at Austin Roller Rink
Live disco + DJs soundtracking a late night of rollerskating
Mythic Ocean – Indie Game Demo & Art Sale at Game Over
Launch for locally produced game + original art sale
Pawject Runway Casting Call at the Venue ATX
Auditions to compete with your pooch
Lupercalia Evening Market at the Glass Coffin Vampire Parlour
Gothic speed dating, DJ, vendors + games celebrating a pagan holiday
Sunset Disco at Reina
Daytime disco+house dance party
Y.E.S Fest Live Valentines House of Holographic Hearts at Indra’s Awarehouse
Live music, DJ + ‘acrobatic dance, aerial and ecstatic dance’
The Parts Unknown at Collection Rert
‘A tag team of multi-media artists and musicians’
A Bloody Valentine’s Day Dance at Elysium
DJs spinning dark Valentine’s themed goth+industrial
All the Single Theydies at Cheer Up Charlies
‘Queer-centric Valentines Day dance party’
Karaoke Underground at Indian Roller
Sing karaoke to punk/indie/alt classics
Love Languages w/ Joeski at Vulcan Gas Company
House music dance party
Shoegaze + Dream Pop Nite: Valentine’s Day Hangover Edition at the 13th Floor
Vinyl DJs spinning shoegaze + dreampop all night
9 Year Anniversary at Yellow Jacket Social Club
Group wedding (followed by group annulments on Sunday)

Sunday 2/16
Bat City Artisans: Love Hangover Market at Shangri La
Vendors, live portrait drawings, palm readings, photobooth, DJs, etc
The Vortex Vision Arcade Opening Mixer at the Vortex
‘A multi-disciplinary, interactive exhibit’
TEAyazaki – Spirited Away at Guan Yin Tea House
Tea service served alongside Miyazaki’s Spirited Away
F*ck Your Degrassi Podcast at Fallout Theater
Live podcast recording about the classic Canadian teen soap Degrassi

Monday 2/17
Sad Girls Only at Sahara Lounge
‘A softer side to drag’ w/diary readings + ‘delicious cake for you to cry into’
No Lights No Lycra at Guan Yin Tea House
A dance party in the dark

Tuesday 2/18
Knot Tying Workshop at Buzz Mill
Learn how to impress sailors, boy scouts, and ex-boy scouts (with knots)
Sweet Reads: Book Swap at Prohibition Creamery
Texas Book Fest book swap and ice cream

Wednesday 2/19
SXSW 2020 Community Meet Up at the SXSW Center
Discuss all things SXSW + get badge discounts
Magic Mustache Club at the Mohawk
Intimate magic show. Unclear what mustaches have to do with anything
2020 Debate Watch Party at the North Door
Cheer + jeer at your favorite Dems on a 25′ screen
Art After Dark at the Dougherty Arts Center
DJ, art installations + make-your-own artist trading cards

SxSW Picks
Have you bought your SxSW resident wristband yet?

Every week between now and SxSW, we’ll be sharing bands we’re excited to see at the festival. This week’s recommendations:

Brian’s pick: Marble Arch. Anglophilic Parisian dreampop band heavily indebted to Creation Records circa 1988/89. Bounces between catchy hooks and sleepy textures.

Leila’s pick: TC Superstar. Local synthpop with a bit of a Neon Indian feel (plus I’m told they have dancers!).

Past weeks’ picks: 
Partner. They have a song that reminds me a lot of “Stacy’s Mom,” so either you’re into that or you’re not.
Protex. Classic upbeat punk, in the style of the Buzzcocks and the Undertones, with every song about two minutes long.
Shopping. Frenetic, nervy, and fun post-punk from London/Glasgow.
The School. Established Welsh indiepop, for fans of the Allo Darlin’, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and the Field Mice.
Yumi Zouma. Lazy, ethereal pop from New Zealand, sounding somewhere in between Cut Copy and a paper thin version of Sade.
Charlie Faye & the Fayettes. For fans of 60s girl-group revival acts like the Pipettes and Lucky Soul–and of course fans of the Ronettes, the Supremes, and the Shirelles.
Vistas. For fans of the Wombats, the Vaccines, Two Door Cinema Club, and other poppy British guitar bands. 

NLNL 050 Playlist

This past week we celebrated the first anniversary of No Lights No Lycra in Austin with three DJs (plus some cake and party favors). We assembled all their song picks into one mega-playlist. With three different DJs bringing their unique voices to the mix, this week’s party really ran the gamut of all kinds of genres and types of dance music.

Listen on YouTube

Leila’s set
Every Time the Sun Comes Up – Sharon Van Etten
Bad Ones – Matthew Dear feat. Tegan and Sara
All Day and All of the Night – the Kinks
Walk Like an Egyptian – the Bangles
MoneyGrabber – Fitz and the Tantrums
Blitzkrieg Bop – the Ramones
Warm California Sun – the Rivieras
Dog Days Are Over – Florence and the Machine

Brian Blackout’s set
Could Heaven Ever Be Like This – Idris Muhammad
9 to 5 (Butch le Butch Remix) – Dolly Parton
Goin’ up in Smoke (Super Value Edit) – Eddie Kendricks
Cake (Sweater Beats Bootleg) – Rihanna
Hungry Child – Hot Chip
Crying My Heart Out – Young Galaxy
Pick up the Phone (Arithmatix Remix) – Dragonette

DJ Phil Does It’s set
The Beginning by Spencer Parker
Emerge 1 (Processed Original) by Substance and Vainqueur
Playing With Knives (Quadrant Mix) by Bizarre Inc
Genital Blue Room by In Flagranti
I Heard It Through The Grapevine by The Slits
Release The Beast by Den Haan
Work It (Soulwax Remix) by Marie Davidson
A Weekend On My Own by Nebraska
Boys by Sabrina
On A Good Day by Joanna Newsom
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue by Marianne Faithfull

How do we choose which events to feature?
There is no strategy. We just make note of anything in Austin that we, personally, would conceivably want to go to, generally excluding things like ACL Fest because you probably already know about that, and excluding normal concerts and movie showtimes because there are many other good resources for finding those. If you have an event that you want us to consider including, send it over.

Who are we?
We make this newsletter. We put on No Lights No Lycra each week. We do some other stuff here and there. We love going out to creative events in Austin, and we want you to join us. Visit us at https://liteandbriteatx.com/