Lite + Brite: 27 Tricky Austin Events 8/2
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
Between the return of that evil villain, Texas Summer Weather, and the ongoing sporting spectacular that is the Olympics, this could be the single most compelling week to crank up the A/C and stay in the comfort of your home.
But!
If you did so, you’d miss out on a passel of fun of all types. Millions of birds forming intricate patterns, Pride gatherings, Pride vendor markets, disco burlesque, occult burlesque, nightclubs having their closing night, cats in pop culture, + cat videos. You could see outdoor art inside a space with A/C, or recreate the Olympics episode of The Office with our friends at ATX TV Fest. And the coup de grâce, or maybe the coup de glace, is one of our favorite events of the year, one that combines our love of Austin institutions, weirdness, + most importantly, ice cream. The Amy’s Ice Cream Trick Olympics! So, maybe you’ll still decide to stay in and find out how many medals they can possibly give Simone Biles or Katie Ledecky. But maybe, just maybe, you’ll take a break for some fun stuff.
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
As you might have seen in our monthly newsletter earlier in the week, we compiled a playlist of Paris-inspired music to listen to for the fleeting few moments in which we aren’t watching Olympic coverage of gymnasts, runners, swimmers, kayakers, rugby players, field hockey players, and people in whatever a scull is. Listen to the playlist here in whatever streamer you like.
Last week, No Humans Allowed celebrated 200 episodes with a double-size edition full of the best italo, synthpop, + kitschy electronic tunes of the show’s 4 year span. This week, Brian compiled a mix of French House, French disco, French pop, + French language synthpop. Listen to l’Ordinateur here or scroll down for more info.
EVENTS WE’RE EYEING
Friday 8/2
- Float Films at the Austin Motel
Watch classic blockbuster films while floating a pool w/themed cocktails - Spray at Club Eternal
Club Eternal’s final late night techno party w/touring + local DJs - Learning Secrets at Lolo
Wine + DJ-selectors spinning some excellent vibes - Disco Fevre at Elysium
Burlesque + disco meet w/costume contest, vendors, + raffle - Body Mechanics at 4211 Todd Ln.
DJs happily blurring the lines between a dance party + a fetish party - Purple Martin Parties at La Frontera Village
Half a million migratory birds flying in big ol clouds. Nature is cool - Night Birds at the Cathedral
“Unique immersive ballet experience surrounded by local art”
Saturday 8/3
- The Office Olympics at Vacancy Brewing
Recreate The Office’s Olympics ep w/games + prizes - Mini-Workshop Day at the Future Front House
Learn creative skills from workshops led by queer creatives - Night Market + Fantasy Karaoke at Tiny Minotaur
Costumes-only karaoke in concert + night vendor market - Community at DASA at 506 Congress
Big Pride gathering w/live music, drag, storytelling, activism - ATX Pride Market at Distribution Hall
Little Gay Shop-curated local maker vendor market for Pride - Postmodern Jukebox at the Paramount
Live music “time-traveling musical variety show” - Banner Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Republic Square
Celebrate new art banners w/live music + art activities - Fish n Chips at Higher Ground
DJs spinning British electronic genre UK Garage - Hysteria at ColdTowne
Irreverent comedy show about abortion + benefit for repro rights - Open Studios at Canopy
Artists at Canopy open up their studios to the public - Purple Martin Parties at La Frontera Village
Half a million migratory birds flying in big ol clouds. Nature is cool - Cat Video Fest at Violet Crown Cinema
Why watch cat vids on your phone when you can see ’em in a cinema - Black Austin Film Festival at ColdTowne
Film fest “highlighting shorts by Black artists, Q&As, panels” - POP Cats at Palmer Events Center
Celebrating cats + pop culture w/adoptions, photo ops, workshops - Night Birds at the Cathedral
“Unique immersive ballet experience surrounded by local art”
Sunday 8/4
- Jane Austin at Fallout Theater
Improv comedians dress up and skewer 19th century literature - Public Art Tour at Bass Concert Hall
Outdoor art meets A/C inside a big indoor space - Cat Video Fest at Violet Crown Cinema
Why watch cat vids on your phone when you can see ’em in a cinema - Black Austin Film Festival at ColdTowne
Film fest “highlighting shorts by Black artists, Q&As, panels” - POP Cats at Palmer Events Center
Celebrating cats + pop culture w/adoptions, photo ops, workshops - Night Birds at the Cathedral
“Unique immersive ballet experience surrounded by local art”
Tuesday 8/6
- Heavy Metal Potluck at Tiny Minotaur
Part board game night, part potluck, + part celebration of metal - Art in Motion at the UMLAUF
Live music, aerialists, flow art, karaoke + sculpture
Thursday 8/8
- Amy’s Ice Cream Trick Olympics at Southpark Meadows
Slingers from across the Amy’s empire creatively toss + catch ice cream - Evonne’s Art House Meetup at Higher Ground
Live music + art-centric networking, discussion, + vending - Malum Malus at the Vortex
Wicca-inspired “occult-based burlesque performance art”
No Humans Allowed 201
L’Ordinateur
Bonsoir! This week on No Humans Allowed we’re celebrating all this Paris coverage during the Olympics with a mix of French-speaking synthpop, italo, library + balearic tunes. (If you’re looking for info on last week’s 200th special episode, a tracklisting and more is here).
Tracklist
Nite School – Do You Speak French?
Bibi Flash – Histoire d’un Soir (Bye Bye les Galères)
Armand Duchien – (10.9.8.7…) Compte a Retours
Style – Playboy en Détresse (GuyDee Edit)
Jean Michel Jarre – Diva
Mr. Flash – Interlude “Le Fétichisme”
Maya – Lait de Coco (les Yeux Orange Edit)
Telex – En Route Vers de Nouvelles Aventures
Artefact – Mae
Ari Boulogne – Le Petit Chevalier
Laurent Voulzy – Les Nuits sans Kim Wilde
François Feldman – J’ai Peur (Tucan Discos Edit)
Alain Chamfort – Paradis (Paradis Reprise)
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 nearly 200 episodes now streamable in the archives on topics like and Beach Simulations, Roomba dance parties, undersea adventures + Cyber Texas.
No Lights No Lycra ATX 170
w/Brian Blackout
Recorded live in the dark at West China Tea House on July 11, 2024. This was our last event at the space.
Listen to No Lights No Lycra 170
Tracklist
The Housemartins – Caravan of Love
Thundercat – Dragonball Durag
Airbird & Napolian – In the Zone ft. Erika Spring
Primal Scream – Loaded
The Isley Brothers – Love the One You’re With (Roctakon Edit)
Bobby Reed – The Time Is Right for Love (Flip Edit)
The Phenomenal Handclap Band – Do What You Like
Amerie – 1 Thing
Happy Mondays – Step on
Soul II Soul – Back to Life
Neon Indian – Slumlord
Hall & Oates – I Can’t Go for That (DJ Apt One Edit)
Róisín Murphy – Something More (Soulwax Remix)
Stevie Nicks – Stand Back (Eli Escobar Remix)
Robyn – Dancing on My Own
Anna Prior – Nervous
Judie Tzuke – Shoot from the Heart (Louis de Tomaso Edit)
Dee-Lite – Groove Is in the Heart
Paula Abdul – Knocked Out
LCD Soundsystem – Tonite
Kylie Minogue – Love at First Sight
Dérivative – Put Your Hand in MIne (Club Mix)
Daft Punk – Digital Love
Junior Senior – Move Your Feet
The Cure – Just Like Heaven
The Drums – Best Friend
David Bowie & Queen – Under Pressure
MGMT – Time to Pretend
The Killers – Mr. Brightside
Home – All at Once
PATREON THANKS
A huge thank-you to our Patreon subscribers Bones Malones, 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 watching brass bands at HONK!TX, watching the eclipse at Bobo’s Snack Bar, and watching dancing forklifts at The Way of Water at Onion Creek. 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.