Lite + Brite: 30 Serpentine Austin Events 3/29
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
We’re going to try to keep this intro brief because really we need to turn our attention to tax prep (ugh). Last weekend we threw our first subscriber meetup and BYOT (Bring YouTubes. Okay, Thanks) at Bobo’s Snack Bar, and we had a blast. It was so fun to see everyone who came out and to share ridiculous YouTubes with y’all. We’re hoping to do it again soon. If you weren’t able to make it—or if you were and ever since then you’ve been wondering, “What was that one where they interviewed a penguin?”—we’re pleased to share this playlist of every video we screened on Sunday.
For a quick overview of this week’s upcoming events, we have more sound baths than you might expect (two); as many goat events as you’d expect (four); a celebration of prison book projects; a screening of the most important feminist film of 2015; an evening of campy experimental performances; and so. many. donks. And, perhaps most importantly (to us), we’re hosting No Lights No Lycra, our dance party in the dark, tonight at West China Tea.
Okay. That wasn’t actually all that brief. I guess we don’t want to do our taxes?
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Let’s do fun stuff!
—Leila + Brian
liteandbriteatx.com
OUR STUFF
Tonight at West China Tea, we’re hosting No Lights No Lycra, our dance party in the dark. Resident DJ Brian Blackout will be laying down his signature blend of indie, disco, rock, house, guilty pleasures, + more. Want to hear what NLNL tends to sound like? You can listen to a recording of the most recent edition—an all-vinyl set DJed by the fabulous PhilDoesIt—here. (By the way, there are no lights at No Lights No Lycra, so DJing with vinyl is extra-impressive. PhilDoesIt is not fooling around.)
Maybe we’ve got a theme going here? No Humans Allowed this week was all about rising above the red tape (i.e. taxes) via ethereal-sounding synthpop, indiepop, + italo disco. You can stream it on the Kpiss archives here. 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 3/29
- Texas Hold ‘Em Ball at Cheer Up Charlie’s
Listening party for the new Beyoncé w/DJs, performers, MCs - Persephone’s Garden IV at Elysium
Burlesque performers inspired by characters from mythology - Tree House Sound Bath at Pease Park
Bathe in some live music while enmeshed in a giant tree fort - Geekgasm Revue at Kick Butt Coffee
Classic drive-in themed “nerdlesque” + drag performers - Baby Goat Party at Suds Monkey
Baby goats, cuddles, beer, + pizza all unite
Saturday 3/30
- Living Funeral Ceremony at Yoga Common Studio
Embrace your own mortality in a gentle supportive environment - Hyde Park Storytelling at Batch Craft Beer
Storytellers ply their trade in a local craft beer spot - Annual Donk Contest at Givens Park
See some killer Donks, aka tricked-out cars or “rolling artwork” - Books Through Bars Book Release at Alienated Majesty
Hear works by incarcerated authors read aloud - Breaking News at Neon Grotto Rooftop
Extra, extra! DJs spinning italo + other leftfield 80s dance music - Get Lost Collages Gallery Show at Almost Real Things
Art show for collage + connect, plus DJs, live art, raffles - Games Y’all at the Museum of Human Achievement
Play + discuss indie games under development + meet the teams - Salon Show II Pick-up Party at Highland Collective
Art show featuring work by artists from one of our fave collectives - (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 3/31
- Easter Party at Yellowjacket Social Club
Hang w/Easter Bunny, pet animals, + seasonal food n drink - EasterWeen at the Glass Coffin
Bunnicula-themed Easter party w/photo ops, DJs, tarot, vendors - Baby Goats and Brunch at Vista Brewing
Now you don’t have to choose between baby goats or brunch - Salon Show II Pick-up Party at Highland Collective
Art show featuring work by artists from one of our fave collectives - (weekly thru 4/21) Sherwood Forest Faire in McDade, TX
Central Texas’ own renaissance faire w/medieval food, entertainment, + dress
Monday 4/1
- Monday Night Jammie Jam at Kick Butt Coffee
April Fools-themed burlesque + variety acts - (weekly) Hyperreal Film Club at Hotel Vegas
Group watch of everyone’s favorite film about male strippers
Tuesday 4/2
- Serpent of the Sun and the Moon Sound Bath at Waterloo Park
Hear the sounds of a sculpture created for the upcoming eclipse - One Page Salon at Radio Coffee & Beer
Hear local writers read their works outdoors (weather permitting) - Bike Night at COTA
Whiz around COTA’s raceway on your own bicycle
Wednesday 4/3
- REST Fest at Dougherty Arts Center
Light+dark-themed fest w/dining, art, music, + more performers
Thursday 4/4
- Glamp Glamp at Lynny’s
“Queer performative weirdness” a la camp talent shows - Mariposa Relámpago Unveiling at Laguna Gloria
The debut of a new bus-sized sound sculpture - Queer Theory 101 x ATX TV Fest at Barrel O’ Fun
Two Austin media-centric crews unite to discuss film + tv - The Galactic Salon at Kick Butt Coffee
Literary burlesque + readings by “both dressed, + somewhat undressed readers” - Vogue Nights at Swan Dive
Ballroom performers, MCs, + DJs return to Swan Dive - Lysistrata Comedy Festival at ColdTowne and Rozco’s
Female stand up + improv comics improving the world w/comedy - REST Fest at Dougherty Arts Center
Light+dark-themed fest w/dining, art, music, + more performers
No Humans Allowed 185
Rhapsody in Red (Tape)
For this edition, we’ll dance witchily and effortlessly through this world’s red tape with some untouchably ethereal synthpop + italo. Taxes shmaxes. Emails shmeemails. Embrace the red tape. (Note: no cats were harmed in the taping of this show, they just knocked over some stuff while on mic).
Tracklist
Dot Allison – Colour Me
Northern Picture Library – Love Song for the Dead Che No.1
Denim – Synthesizers in the Rain
Lansing-Dreiden – A Line You Can Cross
Fra Lippo Lippi – Shouldn’t Have to Be Like That
Kate Bush – Running up That Hill (Datassette Remix)
808 State – Ooops ft. Björk
Noriko Miyamoto – Arrows & Eyes
The Orchids – Avignon
Birdie – Spiral Staircase
Erlend Øye – Ghost Trains
Bell Towers – Call Me, Please
Silent Circle – Touch in the Night
Quadro d’Autore – White Stink (Hysteric 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 164
w/DJ Phildoesit
Recorded live in the dark (on vinyl!) at West China Tea House on March 14, 2024.
Listen to No Lights No Lycra 164
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 hitting SXSW hard and promoting our subscriber meetup and YouTube party at Bobo’s Snack Bar. 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 are Leila + Brian. We make this newsletter. We do our own events, most often No Lights No Lycra (every second and fourth Thursday of the month), + also BYOT, a party where we share very good YouTubes (here’s a playlist from the last one). We go very hard seeing bands at SxSW (here are playlists of our favorites from 2024). 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.