Lite + Brite: 17 Rolling Austin Events 3/15
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
SXSW Music is in full swing, and that’s where our attention lies. If you’re looking to get the most out of these last few days of the music festival, Brian has made an incredibly useful spreadsheet of showcases. (I, Leila, am writing this intro, so I don’t need to be modest about the work Brian has done; it is an extraordinary service.) You can listen to the bands that we’re most excited about on Brian’s playlist here and Leila’s playlist here. And if you’re still completely overwhelmed by SXSW, we made a guide for you.
If SXSW Music isn’t where your attention lies, then scroll down for a bunch of unrelated events, including bike-themed storytelling, a Renaissance-themed movie, birds-of-prey-themed show-and-tell, a nuclear energy-themed art exhibition, a radium-themed puppet show, a writer’s block-themed performance, and doom metal-themed goat yoga. 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
No Lights No Lycra, our dance party in the dark, is tonight! DJ Phildoesit, the incredibly talented DJ who also very generously runs sound for us, will once again be gracing us with his two-stepping DJ skills. If you’re looking to get away from the SXSW madness and go to a place with *parking*, NLNL tonight has got you covered. Want to hear what NLNL tends to sound like? You can listen to a recording of the most recent edition here.
Brian took the week off of No Humans Allowed to attend SxSW properly, but will return next week. In the meantime if you’re looking for something to listen to then check out his SxSW picks playlist here, or listen to his post-SxSW radio shows from 2023 and 2022. 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 3/15
- Sexxy Beasts Dance Party at 2714 Guadalupe St.
What good is an international music fest if you can’t dress up like a beast + dance? - I Got Fired Fest at the Pearl Street Co-op
A rager full of bands + DJs for people who got fired + those who are yet to be fired - Beautiful Nuclear at Vuka – Bouldin Creek
An exhibit examining the clean energy potential of nuclear power - Caravaggio at the Elisabet Ney Museum
Watch arthouse film about Renaissance art + pushing boundaries - Undark: A Radioactive Puppet Play at the Vortex
Puppets perform a play about radioactivity, unfettered capitalism, + factories - Venardos Circus at Buck’s Backyard
Travelling acrobatic-forward circus comes to Buck’s - Latino Comedy Project at Hyde Park Theater
Long-running sketch troupe celebrates 25 years w/classic skits
Saturday 3/16
- Uncanny Attractions at Highland Lounge
Inclusive pro wrestling “with a side of drag” - Rolling Rave at the Texas State Capitol
Wheeled caravan w/a mobile DJ setup - Mutual Love Rest Fest at Future Front House
Achieve “rest, wellness, play, + healing” through music + many other means - Film & Friends at Motion Media Arts Center
Screen short films shot by students at Austin Film School - Raptor Show at Pioneer Farms
Learn all about birds of prey in the presence of some of said birds - Ghost Tour at Pioneer Farms
A haunted hike through 19th century farm buildings - Undark: A Radioactive Puppet Play at the Vortex
Puppets perform a play about radioactivity, unfettered capitalism, + factories - Venardos Circus at Buck’s Backyard
Travelling acrobatic-forward circus comes to Buck’s - Latino Comedy Project at Hyde Park Theater
Long-running sketch troupe celebrates 25 years w/classic skits - (weekly thru 4/21) Sherwood Forest Faire in McDade, TX
Central Texas’ own renaissance faire w/medieval food, entertainment, + dress - (weekly thru 5/25) Doom Metal Goat Yoga at Jester King
“We call out to the beasts of the land to come forth and JOIN US!”
Sunday 3/17
- Venardos Circus at Buck’s Backyard
Travelling acrobatic-forward circus comes to Buck’s - (weekly thru 4/21) Sherwood Forest Faire in McDade, TX
Central Texas’ own renaissance faire w/medieval food, entertainment, + dress
Wednesday 3/20
- Bike Story Night at the Meteor
A storytelling night that is bicycle-themed
Thursday 3/21
- Poolboy: Don’t Pick Up at the Museum of Human Achievement
A submission-themed memoir turned interactive play - Latino Comedy Project at Hyde Park Theater
Long-running sketch troupe celebrates 25 years w/classic skits
Our SxSW 2024 Picks
Still wondering who to see at SXSW? Listen to some bands we liked over on Leila’s playlist + Brian’s playlist, and read about some of our picks here:
Juanpalitoschinos
Smooth Mexican group inspired by Japanese city pop from the 80s
Friedberg
Catchy, danceable indie rock with choruses that hit
Vitesse X
Sleek, dreamy electropop w/nods to 90s dance from NYC’s 100% Electronica crew
Smut
Shoegaze-y jangle-pop with shades of the Sundays
Bodega
Imagine if Sonic Youth or Gang of Four loved fun, from NYC
Bleach Lab
Pretty, Mazzy Star-inspired, “sad-core” dreampop out of London
Los Premios
Catchy psych-infused indie rock a la Tame Impala, from Valencia, Spain
kvn
Energetic Austin-based threesome reminiscent of a more ironic HAIM
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
No Humans Allowed 96
SxSW 2022 Report
Back after 2022’s return to SxSW activities, No Humans Allowed dedicated an episode to some of the better bands with synthesizers, arpeggiators, + drum machines from that year’s festivities (including many who have returned this year, like Discovery Zone, Orion, + Psymon Spine). We’ll have another episode like this in a week or so full of bands who played this year’s fest, but why not enjoy a little nostalgia for SxSWs past.
Tracklist
Snapped Ankles – Rhythm Is Our Business
Psymon Spine – Modmed
Club Intl ft. Desire – Ride
Farah – Gay Boy
Discovery Zone – Fall Apart
Working Men’s Club – Widow
San Gabriel – Tape Machine
John Moods – New Skin
Sally Shapiro – Forget About You (Johnny Jewel Remix)
Johnny Jewel – Surgery
Orion – I Want You So Bad
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 163
w/Brian Blackout
Recorded live in the dark at West China Tea House on February 22, 2024.
Listen to No Lights No Lycra 163
Tracklist
Telex – Rendez-Vous dans l’Espace (Morgan Geist Remix)
The Preatures – Is This How You Feel? (Classixx Remix)
Zapp & Roger – Heartbreaker
Japanese Breakfast – Be Sweet
Caroline Rose – Feel the Way I Want
Jean-Philippe Goude – Energie
Friendly Fires – Paris (Aeroplane Remix)
Holy Ghost! – Hold On
C+C Music Factory – Gonna Make You Sweat
Kate Boy – Self Control
Sophie Ellis Bextor – Murder on the Dancefloor
Dolly Parton – 9 to 5 (Butch le Butch Remix)
Tata Vega – (I’ve Got My) Second Wind
Teddy Pendergrass – The More I Get, the More I Want
LCD Soundsystem – Tonite
Ssion – Comeback
K.W.S. – Please Don’t Go
Everything But the Girl – Missing (Todd Terry Club Mix)
Confidence Man – C.O.O.L. Party
La Bouche – Sweet Dreams
Nelly Furtado – Maneater
Peter Bjorn and John – Young Folks (Cousin Cole re-edit)
The The – This Is the Day
David Bowie & Queen – Under Pressure
Home – All at Once
PATREON THANKS
A huge thank-you to our Patreon subscribers Amy Hayes, 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.