Lite + Brite: 44 Star-Crossed Austin Events 2/13
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
This is the kind of week that causes Lite + Brite to get up early in the morning (well one of us) and slave away in front of a hot ultrawide monitor to craft the perfect newsletter for all of you. Do I say that because it’s Valentine’s and I want you all to Be Mine? Kinda. But mostly because this is the kind of week that brings out the best in Austin’s artists, weirdos, + cyberpunk pirates.
If you’re looking for love-centric or anti-love-centric activities, this week has it in spades. Get a performance artist to publicly break up with you, encourage your valentine to cling to you in a haunted house, watch burlesque performers inspired by psychedlic Italian slasher flicks, express love in a 90s manner, express love while wearing black at a gothic ball, express love for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, watch lust-filled experimental film + poetry, satirize straight love with drag kings, try to stop your heart from throbbing to sparkly vampire aerialists, or watch as a couple gets legit married at a dance party.
Valentine’s can also be a bummer. You might think with all that, there’d be nothing left for the folks who don’t even wanna think about love this week. WELL YOU’D BE WRONG! Satirically protest the Austin marathon with lazy drag performers + comics, watch string ensembles hiss, spin, stomp, + chant, imagine a futuristic Texan dystopia (no not 2025, like even MORE dystopian and futuristic), get help living in the current Texan dystopia, compete in a Field Day at a bar, learn to linedance at a Ho-down, celebrate brutality + goats, or attend a cyberpunk pirate dance party with a very aggressive dress code.
All of that is happening, plus all the normal hijinx we catalog here in the pages of this very pageless institution. Probably don’t try to print us you’d use so much ink. Two other things I want to mention quickly: Brian lovingly crafted a playlist of songs about love and crushes which we debuted in our February monthly issue, and this week we will debut both of our picks for bands coming to SxSW you should check out below.
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 held No Lights No Lycra last night and danced in the dark to love songs of all stripes. We’re back at 3rd eye on February 26th and then we’ll have a new round of dates to slide into a photo collage for you. Scroll down to see a track list + hear a recording of last night’s love-ly NLNL or click here to listen now.
It was also all love on No Humans Allowed, where Brian extolled the virtues of loving your household electronic devices while serenading them with italo, electro, boogie, + Kraftwerk. Stream Computer Love here on the Kpiss archives, and tune into No Humans Allowed live on Tuesdays at 6pm central.
LITE + BRITE’S SxSW 2025 PICKS
SxSW is nearly upon us, and resident wristbands are now available! $149 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. Here are some of the bands we’re excited to see at this year’s fest:
Brian’s Pick of the Week
Kap Bambino
Hyperactive French synth punks evoke Bis, 00s sleaze, + horror soundtracks
Leila’s Pick of the Week
The K’s
Indie rock from a Northern English town. It’s giving Arctic Monkeys.
EVENTS WE’RE EYEING
Friday 2/14
- Boner Giallo at Come and Take It Live
If arty Italian horror films get you uh, excited, this is your moment - Valentine’s Rave at Indra’s Awarehouse
Valentine’s Day dance party w/“a drizzle of aerialists + dancers” - Love Bites at Tiny Minotaur
Buffy-inspired Valentine’s vampire hijinx, karaoke, games - Break-Up With Me at shedshows
Enjoy performative public break ups as a viewer or participant - Valentine’s Day in the Real World at Hotel Vegas
Local bands covering 90s alt + indie, 90s photo booth + vendor market - Gothic Hearts Ball at Elysium
DJs spinning gothic tunes w/ love altar, go go dancer, + vendors - Your Favorite Sin at Sky Candy
Student aerialists perform to angsty punk, emo + indie tunes, ASL interpreted - Get Lucky with Glaze at Cheer Up Charlie’s
Watch a couple get legit married, + DJ, karaoke, drag + burlesque performers - Club Body at 207 W. 4th
Body Mechanics crew spinning vinyl in the old Club Eternal space - Meet Cute at the Bookshop with BookPeople
Meet cute w/ Valentines for authors, themed bevs + flash tats - Mortified ATX at the Highball
Folks tell tales of adolescent angst in a new comedic light - Variations on a Love Theme at First Street Studios
Modern dance + chamber classical performances about love - Star-Crossed at Saengerrunde Hall
Enjoy beer, wine, + pastries while string quartet plays romantic tunes - Let’s Get Physical at Yellow Jacket Social Club
Aerobics with Erica Nix + singles-themed karaoke night - Frontera Fest Best of the Fest at Hyde Park Theatre
“Alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre” - Love Bites at House of Torment
Valentine-themed haunted house w/immersive scares, axe throwing, zombie simulator - (weekly thru 2/21) Hell Is These Four People at the Hideout
Existential improvisers tackle Sartre and the afterlife
Saturday 2/15
- Twilight: The Aerial Show at Sky Candy
Finally, someone puts sparkly vampires up in the air - Wild Shapes Night at Tiny Minotaur
Nocturnal animal-inspired costume night - Doom Forge Day at Jester King
Celebrate brutality w/metal bands, vikings, witches, fires, + live smithing - 9th Annual Lez Prom at Spiderhouse Ballroom
Dedicated prom for queer women + NB folks, complete w/prom portraits - The Art Market: An Immersive Gallery at Bolm Arts
An event reenvisioning Bolm as a market for immersive art - Three Voices at the Museum of Human Achievement
Ensembles play string instruments, stomp, spin, sing, hiss, + speak - Lunar New Year Celebration at Meanwhile Brewing
LNY-themed beer release, vendor market, + lion dancing and DJ - Die Felicia at Elysium
Die Felicia returns from the dead for Valentine’s Horror Drag - Plunderin’ for Love at Cheer Up Charlie’s
Dress as a cyberpunk pirate or else “swim with the artificially generated fishies” - Heaven Can Wait at Bolm Studios
Imagine a dystopian Texas at cyberpunk multimedia art opening - Quadrant at dadaLab
Quadrophonic live electronic music w/live visual artists - Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular at the Paramount
Cover act of the most laseriffic band, Pink Floyd, accompanied by lasers (naturally) - Mortified ATX at the Highball
Folks tell tales of adolescent angst in a new comedic light - Variations on a Love Theme at First Street Studios
Modern dance + chamber classical performances about love - Star-Crossed at the Neill-Cochran House Museum
Enjoy beer, wine, + pastries while string quartet plays romantic tunes - Let’s Get Physical at Yellow Jacket Social Club
Compete in Field Day-themed challenges for prizes + live music - Frontera Fest Best of the Fest at Hyde Park Theatre
“Alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre” - Love Bites at House of Torment
Valentine-themed haunted house w/immersive scares, axe throwing, zombie simulator - (weekly thru 3/1) The Rose at Coldtowne
Annual improv show parodying reality romance TV
Sunday 2/16
- SitFest at Dark Horse
Celebrate sloth w/”lazy drag,” “sit down comedy,” pajamas, + arts n crafts - Hunky-Tonk Valentine’s Ho-down at Austin Motel
Neon Rainbows DJ spins country tunes while Erica Nix teaches linedancing - Sacrificio + Ritual = Eros at 1209 E. Cesar Chavez
“Lust-filled, ritualistic” curated experimental film + poetry - Full of Love at St. Elmo Springdale
BIPOC, Latine, + LGBTQIA+ community gathering w/DJ, drag, + workshops - Variations on a Love Theme at First Street Studios
Modern dance + chamber classical performances about love - Let’s Get Physical at Yellow Jacket Social Club
Recover w/massages, tooth gems, bang trims, facials, + nail art - Love Bites at House of Torment
Valentine-themed haunted house w/immersive scares, axe throwing, zombie simulator
Monday 2/17
- Dreams Reclaimed at Doottiewood Studios
Wellness workshops, massage, “dance + art experiences” w/complimentary childcare - Sad Girls Only at Swan Dive
“An evening of sadness held by some of the saddest queens in Austin”
Tuesday 2/18
- Art Is Activism at the LBJ School of Public Affairs
Exhibit of local artists inspired by liberation, + live jazz music
Wednesday 2/19
- Boyz of Austin at Elysium
“Drag King + gender diverse troupe” satirizes straight love - OUTsider Fest at the Vortex
Film fest focusing on outsider “queerdo transmedia art”
Thursday 2/20
- Games Y’all PowerPoint Night at 1908 Kramer Lane
Local indie gaming crew gives Powerpoint talks + shows off games - Art and Wellness Night at 2324 Studios
See art exhibits, make collages, meditate + move mindfully, shop art vendors - Artist Meetup at Cheer Up Charlie’s
Get arty w/fellow local creatives, watch live poetry performance - Queer Film Theory at the Highball
“Basically, we ruin films for straight people + yell about the characters that made us feel gay” - Highland Vogue Nights at Highland Lounge
Zodiac-themed vogue performers work the runway w/DJs + MCs - OUTsider Fest at the Vortex
Film fest focusing on outsider “queerdo transmedia art”
No Humans Allowed 223
Computer Love
Find that silicon buddy in your household that helps make your existence bearable and give it a great big kiss. Laptop? Sous vide wand? Smart fridge? Roomba? Ok maybe not a kiss for the Roomba. A pat? Anyways our love for computers + computerized devices goes deep and this week we show some love with italo, electro, boogie, + more anthems of 01001100 01101111 01110110 01100101 (that’s LOVE in binary).
Tracklist
MillionYoung – Cynthia
D.D. Sound – Burning Love (Glossy Edit)
Roger – Emotions
The Source – You’ve Got the Love ft. Candi Staton
Davide Franca – Love Devotion & Logomotion
Umo Vogue – Just My Love (Bell Towers Edit)
Mount Sims – Escape Hatch
Judie Tzuke – Shoot from the Heart (Louis de Tomaso Edit)
Love Command0 – Glass
The Age of Love – The Age of Love (Flying Mix)
Kraftwerk – Computer Love
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 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 179
w/Brian Blackout
Recorded live in the dark in 3rd Eye Meditation Lounge on February 12th, 2025
Listen to NLNL ATX 179 on Mixcloud
Tracklist
Airbird – Trust
The Paradise – In Love with You
Midnight Star – Midas Touch (CFCF Remix)
Nude Disco – Remind Me of U
Diana Ross – Love Hangover (DJ Apt One Edit)
Charli xcx – Boom Clap (Aeroplane Remix)
Tamiko Jones – Can’t Live Without Your Love
Stevie Wonder – Do I Do (U-Tern Edit)
Conway & Temple – Love Lights (Young Pulse Rework)
Crystal Waters – 100% Pure Love
Whitney Houston – Love Will Save the Day
Aroop Roy – Save Our Love
The Source – You’ve Got the Love ft. Candi Staton
Heavy D & the Boyz – Now That We Found Love
Stardust – Music Sounds Better with You
Cut Copy – Saturdays
The Presets – This Boys in Love (Lifelike Remix)
Fleetwood Mac – You Make Loving Fun (Trailmix Remix)
The Outfield – Your Love (DiscoTech Remix)
The Monroes – What Do All the People Know?
The Cure – Just Like Heaven
Prince and the Revolution – I Would Die 4 U
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
Home – All at Once
Mayer Hawthorne – Green Eyed Love (Classixx Remix)
Electric Light Orchestra – Letter from Spain
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 it in the Austin Chronicle. You can listen to the kind of music we play over on Brian’s Mixcloud.
PATREON THANKS
A huge thank-you to our Patreon subscribers Lilly Ettinger, Michael Sales, Zach, Gino Scaramuzza, Erica Speegle, Jarrett Holtz, Thomas Refferson, Dale Markowitz, Bones Malones, Amy Hayes, Katie Green, Christina Jue, Colleen MB, Lena Long, Amalia Litsa, Alexander Freed, 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 enjoying 1-800-CLOWN-TOWN at Kick Butt Coffee, exploring Mesmerize, and experiencing the 37th Street Lights. Follow Lite + Brite on Instagram to keep up with our adventures. We’re now on Bluesky too. Yay federation! 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, Concept Animals’ ATX Art for You for gallery openings + artist talks, 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, + 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.