Lite + Brite: 29 Undeadful Austin Events 2/16
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
Here at L+B HQ, we are delighted by groups that self-organize around a shared interest. The more niche and absurd that interested, the more delightful. The Austin Facial Hair Club is right up near the top of this pyramid. Do we want to watch folks compete in categories such as “Gnarliest Beard” and “Goatee (No Sideburns)”? Of course we do! Other shared interests that are bringing Austinites together this week include socially unacceptable eroticism; science education; fringe theater; queer transmedia art; contemplating mortality; indie rock karaoke; indie video games; dancing in the dark; and dogs with a funny body-to-leg ratio. Scroll down to find your own niche + absurd community.
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Let’s do fun stuff!
—Leila + Brian
liteandbriteatx.com
OUR STUFF
We are currently in Paris, eating croissants and being flâneurs. (Genuinely, Leila is eating a pain au chocolat as she types this.) But we will be back for No Lights No Lycra, our dance party in the dark, on Thursday! Come out and maybe you’ll hear something off a new record Brian picked up while crate-digging in the Marais.
On February 25th, we’ll be hosting a subscriber meetup followed by a party where we watch very good YouTubes together, all at Bobo’s Snack Bar. The event will be free and a great opportunity to chat with us and with other Austinites who like doing fun stuff and leaving the house sometimes.
As we’re traveling this week there was no new No Humans Allowed episode, but Brian went into the archives to bring back an older show to celebrate Valentine’s. You can listen to Your Robot Crush in the Kpiss archives, and 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 2/16
- Boner Bizarre at Come and Take It Live
Burlesque + associated performers focus on the “perverse, grotesque, + socially unacceptable” - Star Cross’d Cinema at Hotel Magdalena
Watch one of the most romantic movies of the 90s with your Valentines or pal-entines - PowerPints at the Highball
Make Clippy proud w/comedic presentations + pints of beer - Love Bites at House of Torment
Grab each other tightly at a Valentine’s-themed haunted house - Frontera Fest “Best of the Fest” at Hyde Park Theatre
“Alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre” - Outsider Fest at the Vortex
Film fest focusing on outsider “queerdo transmedia art” - (weekly thru 2/25) Portal into the Mind: The Starseed Experience at 10203 Old Manchaca Rd.
Art + sculpture meets live visuals, DJs, + performers
Saturday 2/17
- Come and Shave It at Sagebrush
Compete in or witness competitors in fun facial hair categories - Living Funeral Ceremony at Yoga Common Studio
Embrace your own mortality in a gentle supported environment - Hearts on Fire at Sky Candy
Art Island + Sky Candy collab w/aerialists, fire dancers, + more - Karaoke Underground 20th Birthday Party at Coral Snake
Sing karaoke to your favorite punk, indie + alt classics - Embracing All Shades Everywhere at 2324 Studios
Celebrate Black History Month w/DJs, artists, + vendors - Undeadfully Yours at the Glass Coffin
Celebrate the demise of V-Day w/DJ, “Goth speed dating,” kink play costumes - Sextet at ColdTowne
“Improvised romantic comedy” centered around love + coupling - Vast Is the Sea at Co-Lab Projects
Sound artists doing nautical presentations w/musical, dance, + video - Games Y’all at the Museum of Human Achievement
Play + discuss indie games under development + meet the teams - Ghost Tour at Pioneer Farms
A haunted hike through 19th century farm buildings - House Tour at Casa Neverlandia
Get a tour of a unique Austin home + the cover of “Weird Homes” - Love Bites at House of Torment
Grab each other tightly at a Valentine’s-themed haunted house - Frontera Fest “Best of the Fest” at Hyde Park Theatre
“Alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre” - Outsider Fest at the Vortex
Film fest focusing on outsider “queerdo transmedia art” - (weekly thru 2/25) Portal into the Mind: The Starseed Experience at 10203 Old Manchaca Rd.
Art + sculpture meets live visuals, DJs, + performers
Sunday 2/18
- Texas Roller Derby at the Palmer Events Center
Two tough teams battle in a banked track roller derby - Lunar New Year Festival at Paper + Craft Pantry
AA vendors, traditional Asian dances, story time + face painting for the kiddos - Shiny Market + Fire Jam at Shiny Things for Shiny People
Fire dancers, DJs, vendors, live painters, crystals, tarot, + potions - House Tour at Casa Neverlandia
Get a tour of a unique Austin home + the cover of “Weird Homes” - Love Bites at House of Torment
Grab each other tightly at a Valentine’s-themed haunted house - Outsider Fest at the Vortex
Film fest focusing on outsider “queerdo transmedia art” - (weekly thru 2/25) Portal into the Mind: The Starseed Experience at 10203 Old Manchaca Rd.
Art + sculpture meets live visuals, DJs, + performers
Monday 2/19
- (weekly) Hyperreal Film Club at Hotel Vegas
Watch an 00s rom com about traveling to Tuscany
Tuesday 2/20
- Games of the Month at the Museum of Human Achievement
“It’s like a book club, but for games”
Wednesday 2/21
- Corgi Races at Skinny’s
Just how fast can their furry little legs take them? - Retro Photo Slap Wrap Bash at the Dougherty Arts Center
Unabashedly 80s event w/photobooth + slap bracelet workshop - An Evening with Bill Nye at the Long Center
Listen to a talk by the friendliest science communicator out there - Unstill Life at Wolf House
“Self-guided durational movement performance” in 19th C mansion
Thursday 2/22
- No Lights No Lycra at West China Tea
Our very own dance party in the dark - A Dinner for Love at Casa de Luz
Chocolate lovers + lovers of love unite - Unstill Life at Wolf House
“Self-guided durational movement performance” in 19th C mansion
Our SxSW 2024 Picks
SxSW is nearly upon us, and resident wristbands are now available! $169 for a Music Festival wristband and $120 for a Film Festival Wristband—it’s 1/10th as expensive as a badge, and all of us Austin residents are eligible.
Brian’s Pick
Los Premios
Catchy psych-infused indie rock a la Tame Impala, from Valencia, Spain
Leila’s Pick
kvn
Energetic Austin-based threesome reminiscent of a more ironic HAIM
Previous Picks
La Securité
Icy female-fronted post-punk from the Great White North
Discovery Zone
Berlin-based Bedroom synthpop with a unique sense of wonder. A highlight from SxSW 2022
The View
Scottish indie rock ‘n’ roll. I last saw this band in 2008 and am so excited to see them again
No Humans Allowed 52
Your Robot Crush
Love is in the air, which means humans everywhere are falling for robots. Yes, they may be sexy, powerful, and self-assured, but as we will learn in this edition of No Humans Allowed: however enticing it may be, the match between a human and a robot is just plain wrong.
Tracklist
Asphixiation – The Crush
Bottin – YAML ft. Lavinia Claws
Fun Fun – Give Me Your Love
Rollover DJs – Ciao
Jessie Allen Cooper – In My Heart
The Kitch Club – Can’t Stop Saying I Love You (Ferrari Remix)
Anna – Like They Do in the Movies
It’s a Fine Line – Woman (a Makhnovshchina Repossession)
Lime – Angel Eyes
Anoraak – Summer Is Over
Rupert Hine – Arrested by You
The Dream Academy – The Love Parade
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 162
w/Brian Blackout
Recorded live in the dark at West China Tea House on February 8, 2024.
Listen to No Lights No Lycra 162
Tracklist
Lovetempo – The One
Julien Love – Peace, Love, Technique
Will Smith / MFSB – Gettin Jiggy Wit It / Old San Juan
Naked Eyes – When the Lights Go Out
Paladin – Third World
Aaliyah – Rock the Boat (Satin Jackets Remix)
Carly Simon – Tranquillo (Young Pulse Rework)
James Brown – Sayin’ It and Doin’ It (Sugarloaf Gangsters Mix)
Stevie Nicks – Stand Back (Eli Escobar Mix)
Aeroplane – Let’s Get Slow
Gorilla – Dare (DFA Remix)
The Tough Alliance – A New Chance (Mungolian Jet Set Remix)
Daft Punk – Something About Us (Eastar Remix)
Donna Summer – Bad Girls
Pepsi Sine – Friendsomine
Missy Elliott – Lose Control (Machinedrum Remix)
Icona Pop – I Love It
Confidence Man – Angry Girl
Rozalla – Everybody’s Free (to Feel Good)
Devo – Girl U Want
Prince – Let’s Go Crazy
Elvis Costello – Welcome to the Working Week
Cheap Trip – Surrender
Bruce Springsteen – Dancing in the Dark
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, 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.