Lite + Brite: 32 Electric Austin Events 1/25
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
OK, firstly and most importantly, tonight we are hosting an all indie sleaze edition of No Lights No Lycra, our bimonthly dance party in the dark, and you can trust us to do it justice because this genre is our Area of Expertise.
Secondly and equally importantly, we’ve made some updates to our website and to the header of this newsletter. Maybe it will look more or less the same to you, but we promise the differences are significant. We used to have a different font and now we have this one! The background used to be all black and now it’s black with a pattern! This took hours of work, btw.
Finally and still importantly, there are plenty of good-looking events going down this week, including a 215th birthday party (Edgar Allan Poe) and a 268th birthday party (Mozart). The brass band Blowcommotion is playing a free outdoor show for a charity whose acronym we do not understand. It’s called “WOSP” and it’s in all caps like that, so obviously it stands for something, but what?? If you attend and get any intel, please report back. This week you can also compete against fellow consenting adults in spelling and in three-legged races. Or you can enjoy one of the things that Austin does best: interdimensional comedy wrestling. Scroll down for details on all this and more.
If you’re not already a subscriber to this newsletter and you want to be, click here. We do one newsletter a week, usually on Fridays, plus a bonus edition around the start of each month. If you enjoy this newsletter, please support us by contributing to our Patreon and by forwarding this email to your friends who enjoy things like listening to music and leaving the house sometimes.
Let’s do fun stuff!
—Leila + Brian
liteandbriteatx.com
OUR STUFF
We’re hosting a special indie sleaze edition of No Lights No Lycra tonight, with lots of dancepunk, electroclash, blog house + indie music from the early 00s. If you’ve never been, NLNL is the dance party we throw in near complete darkness in the big backroom at West China Tea. Brian Blackout normally spins a broad mix of anthems, obscurities, + guilty pleasures across many decades, except this time we’re focusing on a specific era. You can listen to a live recording of the last show we did to hear how it sounds, or scroll down for the full tracklist and more info.
No Humans Allowed once again returned to that old chestnut: get ChatGPT to write something really dumb and then read it on a radio show. This week there is a whole alternative history thing going where, way back in the Bronze Age, some ancient Egyptian hack0rs cobbled together some bronze robots, who then promptly founded the legendary lost city of Atlantis. I don’t wanna spoil anything, but let’s just say robots have trouble swimming. This charming tale was accompanied by a new age, downtempo, + deep house tunes brimming with synthetic harp sounds, some fat ancient-sounding pads, and more pan flutes than one person should be allowed to play in one sitting. Stream the show here or scroll down for the tracklisting. NHA broadcasts live every Wednesday at 6pm CT on kpiss.fm.
What is No Lights No Lycra?
Austin’s twice-monthly, 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. It’s produced by us, your kindly L+B overlords, and usually one or the other of us is on the hook for DJ duties. Read more about us in the Austin Chronicle. You can listen the kind of music we play over on Brian’s Mixcloud.
EVENTS WE’RE EYEING
Friday 1/26
- Cocktales at Pershing Hall
A storytelling event about sex + dating - Critical Mass at 25 Pedernales St.
Convivial convoy of wheeled vehicles of all sorts - WEIRD Sleep Away Sword Camp at the Austin Sports Academy
How much could you sleep when people are competitively swordfighting around you?
Saturday 1/27
- Slam Portal at Central Machine Works
Interdimensional comedic pro wrestling at its very finest - Mozart’s 268th Birthday Bash at High Noon
DJ + a band wearing a full Mozartian getup incl powdered wigs - Edgar Allan Poe’s 215th Birthday at the Glass Coffin
Poe readings, DJ, tarot, tattoos + vendors aplenty - WOSP 32nd Grand Finale at the Mueller Amphitheater
Kids activities, Polish food, dancers, DJs + live music - MLK Community Festival at Huston-Tillotson University
Rescheduled march, fest, + food drive for MLK’s bday - Austin Witches Ball at Elysium
Vaudevillian musical performers + DJ spinning “WitchWave” - City of Austin Equity Forum at Vuka North
“Discussion, connection, and action” to make the world a better place - Totally Wired at Drinks Lounge
Vinyl DJs spinning a mix of punk, glam, mod + soul - Free Day of Dance at Asian American Resource Center
Engage in dances from across the world w/varying energy levels - Adult Team Spelling Bee at the APL Spicewood Branch
“Do you have what it takes to be the top bee?” Get to spellin - Queer Field Day at Festival Beach
Sporty events for folks in Austin’s LGBTQIA2S+ community - Hyper Femme Opening at Mass Gallery
Performers who “explore femme as a term that’s claimed, rather than accepted” - The Electric Church’s Electric Funeral at the 13th Floor
Say goodbye to a great venue w/live bands, DJ, + funeral attire - Subculture Swap at the Ballroom
Vintage vendors, s’more manufactory, tattoo artists, + tooth gems - Flea Market at the French Legation
Big ol “open-air vintage, antiques + crafts market” - Under My Skin at Bobo’s Snack Bar
A thematic combination memoir book signing + glam dance party - Vast Is the Sea at Co-Lab Projects
Sound artists doing nautical presentations w/musical, dance, + video flourishes - Le Garage Sale at the Palmer Events Center
A fashion shopping bonanza with an eye for gallic naming - WEIRD Sleep Away Sword Camp at the Austin Sports Academy
How much could you sleep when people are competitively swordfighting around you? - (weekly thru 2/17) Frontera Fest Best of the Week at Hyde Park Theatre
“Alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre” - (weekly thru 2/17) Sextet at ColdTowne
“Improvised romantic comedy” centered around love + coupling
Sunday 1/28
- Cimarrón Commons: Re-Dreaming at Collection Rert
Art opening, live music, vendors, + documentary screening - Le Garage Sale at the Palmer Events Center
A fashion shopping bonanza with an eye for gallic naming - WEIRD Sleep Away Sword Camp at the Austin Sports Academy
How much could you sleep when people are competitively swordfighting around you?
Monday 1/29
- Beat Sessions at Spokesman
“Artists are pitted against each other in a competitive timed format” w/DJ + MCs - (weekly) Hyperreal Film Club at Hotel Vegas
Watch a film about a Drew Barrymore crime spree set to an indie rock soundtrack
Wednesday 1/31
- Weenie Dog Races at Skinny’s
How fast can tiny legs carry you? Do they fit into buns? So many questions - Game of the Month Meetup at the Museum of Human Achievement
“It’s like a book club, but for games”
Thursday 2/1
- Indie Orchestra at Austin Media Center
Local musical acts combine forces w/chorus + orchestra - The Susie House Launch Party at the Vortex
Listen to a brand new horror story in podcast form - Create and Heal at the Carver Museum
Interactive art + African dance workshops - Fusebox Presents: FOOD at the McCullough Theatre
Food: it’s not just a thing we eat. Now it’s also an immersive dinner party experience
No Humans Allowed 179
Chronicles of Copper + Gears
On No Humans Allowed this week, we’ll explore the myth of an ancient Bronze Age robot civilization full of synthesized faux ancient sounds. Did it exist? No, we made it up. Is it dumb? Definitely, just look at these two gentlebots. Get ready for some synth harps, new age pads, and more pan flutes than you can possibly handle.
Stream Chronicles of Copper + Gears
Tracklist
John Carroll Kirby – P64 by My Side
Synagetic Voice Orchestra – A Tale
Discovery Zone – Nu Moon
Egyptrixx – Bible Eyes
Egyptian Lover – Egypt, Egypt
Encarta ’90 – The Flight
The KLF ft. Tammy Wynette – Justified and Ancient
Jungle Wonz – Time Marches on
Jump St. Man – B Cause
FM Skyline – Ancient Domain
Merge – Modern Walking
Clannad – Why Worry?
The Art of Noise – Art of Love
Apiento – Things You Do for Love (Heartbeat Version)
Hassan Ideddir – Aftalouna (RFX Edit)
No Humans Allowed is Brian Blackout’s award-winning, dodgy European news coverage receiving, weekly robots-themed radio show on internet station KPISS.fm. Machine vibes 4 machines. Songs for robots, androids, mandroids, cyborgs, AIs, cylons, skinjobs, roombas, wifi routers, smart devices, anything colored Bondi blue, and virtual assistants. Humans not required. Broadcasts live every Wednesday at 6pm CT on kpiss.fm, with over 150 episodes now streamable in the archives on topics like and Beach Simulations, Roomba dance parties, undersea adventures + Cyber Texas.
No Lights No Lycra ATX 160
w/Brian Blackout
Recorded live in the dark at West China Tea House on January 11, 2024.
Listen to No Lights No Lycra 160
Tracklist
The Orb – Little Fluffy Clouds (Pal Joey Mix)
John Grant – He’s Got His Mother’s Hips
Ssion – Inherit
Carly Simon – Why (Partner Music Edit)
David Bowie – Dance, Magic Dance
Britney Spears – Anticipating (Alan Braxe Remix)
Róisín Murphy – Murphy’s Law
Heavy D & the Boyz – Sister Sister
MARRS – Pump up the Volume
Luke Million – Ice Ice Arnie (Cool Party)
Kelis / B.W.H. – Milkshake / Stop
Lexsoul Dancemachine – Beef Grinder (RFX Edit)
The Dare – Girls
Justice – D.A.N.C.E.
Confidence Man – Feel Like a Different Thing
MSTRKRFT – Work on You
Technotronic – Pump up the Jam
Hot Chip – Hungry Child
New Order – Perfect Kiss
Kano – Super Extra Sexy Sign (Turelli Edit)
Fergie – Glamorous (M-town Remix)
Talking Heads – This Must Be the Place (Young Edits Sophisticated Melody Version)
Home – All at Once
PATREON THANKS
A huge thank-you to our Patreon subscribers Katie Green, Christina Jue, Colleen MB, Lilly Ettinger, Lena Long, Amalia Litsa, Jacob Rosenberg, Alexander Freed, Spencer, Kristen Backor, Timon A., Kate Murray, and Amy Wilde. We’re deeply grateful for your support, which allows us to do things like “pay our Mailchimp fee” and “spend hours researching Austin events when technically we should be working.”
If you’d like to support us on Patreon and get access to exclusive member-only benefits, you may do so here.
SOCIALS
Recent weeks found us celebrating “Bouncemas” at UT, partying with Art Island at the Coral Snake, and admiring art lamps at Highland Collective. Follow Lite + Brite on Instagram to keep up with our adventures. And come chat with us and the rest of the L+B community on our Discord server!
ABOUT US
How do we choose which events to feature?
Honestly, it’s pretty random. We might include anything in Austin that we, personally, would conceivably want to go to, generally excluding normal concerts, comedy shows, and movie showtimes because there are many other good resources for finding those. (We especially recommend Showlist for live music, The Darker Side of Austin for goth and metal stuff, and the 60+ Weirdest Things in Austin for exactly what it sounds like). This list is by no means exhaustive; it’s just stuff that caught our eye this week. If you have an event that you want us to consider including, send it over.
Who are we?
We make this newsletter. We do our own events, most prominently No Lights No Lycra (every second and fourth Thursday of the month). We once got called “local Austin couple” by KXAN. 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 liteandbriteatx.com, and support us on Patreon if you like what we do.