Lite + Brite: 44 Post-Capitalist Austin Events 9/12
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
A few notes from us. First of all, last night we went to Dance Carousel, which is like Lite + Brite catnip. 40 original dances in 40 minutes, one of which is set to the tune of Mulan’s “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” with someone intoning over it words of wisdom like, “Be a good man. We don’t like bad men”? Yeah, duh, sign us up. Second, one of our favorite local artists, Amanda Witucki of the Paper Committee, is moving away—but she’s having one final Austin show before she goes.
This week’s award for best event copy (figurative; there is no literal award… yet) goes to Holy Hell, a pole and burlesque show produced by a local company specializing in selling demon horns. The best name for an event this week is, simply, “Virgins.” Speaking of virgins, we can give you a heads up that you’re going to be seeing a few Twilight 20th anniversary parties in the coming weeks; the first is happening this weekend.
If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to subscribe to Lite + Brite on Patreon, now is probably it. If you join us at just $5/month, you get access to our advance tracking spreadsheet (which currently has more than 60 events running through November), and you’ll get early access to our much-heralded (by us) Halloween spreadsheet. It’s going to be a big one this year, and you probably want to get a jump on buying tickets and planning your autumnal festivities.
If you want a birdseye view of the month, the September Monthly now lives on our website, including a Levitation playlist and our beginner-friendly guide to Austin news sources worth following.
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
EVENTS WE’RE EYEING
Friday 9/12
- Inclusion Prom at Wanderlust Wine Co.
Prom reinvisioned for maximum inclusivity w/DJs, art, ASL, + chill lounge - The Poet Is Present at 2102 Travis Heights Blvd.
“Immersive & interactive poetic theatre experience” w/audience-crafted narrative - Post-Capitalist Love Notes at Vesper
“Evening of sound meditation w/dreamy instrumental music, poetry, + themes of collective wellness” - Gothwave at Coconut Club
Darkwave DJs declare: “Being sad is cool” (we agree) - Holy Hell at Sterling Stage
“Burlesque ritual of satanic liberation” promises witches, succubi, profanity - Dance Carousel at Ground Floor Theatre
Bite-size modern dance w/40 one-minute dances by 10 choreographers
Saturday 9/13
- Bookwyrms Book Faire at Tiny Minotaur
Local booksellers take over Tiny Mino w/tales of adventure + more - Decompress Fest at the Carver
LGBTQ+ health fest promoting healing, relaxation, + self-care - DASH 12 at Mueller Park
Participate in a puzzle game played across the country - Bloktober Fest at Oddwood Brewing
Vendors, German fare, + competitive “steinhoisting” (picking up beer) - One Year Birthday Party at Hyperreal Film Club
Celebrating 1 year of Hyperreal’s physical location w/DJ + karaoke - What a Wild Ride at 1301 Gallery
Farewell show for Austin artist w/sculptures from recycled materials - End of Summer Swap Meet at Ani’s Day and Night
Clothes swap, DJ, trans vendors + informational resources - Fire + Flow Market at Ani’s Day and Night
Free night of fire spinners, DJs, + vendors - Crow Party at the Book Burrow
Dress up in black + trade trinkets like your favorite corvid - Roots, Boots, + Bathing Suits at Shady Springs
Learn to two-step from “Dance Daddy” by the pool w/live band - PowerPints at the Highball
“Drink + learn things” at comedic talks on a variety of esoteric topics - Texas Woodworking Festival at the Palmer Events Center
“Keep woodworking weird” w/furniture makers, antique dealers, + live music - Holy Hell at Sterling Stage
“Burlesque ritual of satanic liberation” promises witches, succubi, profanity - Dance Carousel at Ground Floor Theatre
Bite-size modern dance w/40 one-minute dances by 10 choreographers - (weekly thru 11/29) Goat Yoga at Tiny Minotaur
“We call out to the beasts of the land to come forth and JOIN US!”
Sunday 9/14
- Boulet Brothers’ Dragula at Emo’s
Touring horror-themed drag performers as seen on TV - The Films of David Wojnarowicz at We Luv Video
Watch the work of celebrated filmmaker, author, + AIDS activist - Juntos Festival at Fair Market
Latino Heritage Month-themed vendor market w/live music, Austin F.C. players, + kid activities - Twilight 20th Anniversary at Stargazer
Celebrate 20 years of sparkly vampires w/cosplay, friendship bracelets, bingo - Visionaries at the Cathedral
Work by young artists + screenwriters, plus vinyl DJs, food, + raffle - Texas Woodworking Festival at the Palmer Events Center
“Keep woodworking weird” w/furniture makers, antique dealers, + live music - (weekly thru 9/21) Splashdance at the Austin Motel
Poolside aerobics with Austin’s most creative aerobics instructor
Monday 9/15
- Mexican Independence Day Party at Republic Square
Celebrate the 215th anniversary of Mexico w/trad dance + mercado - Mexican Independence Celebration at St. Elmo Brewing
Celebrate Mexico’s independence w/mariachis, traditional dance + food - All-Star Activism at Hopsquad Brewing
Live podcast taping on the topics of soccer + activism
Tuesday 9/16
- The Austin Salon at 1109 Angelina St.
Discussions on the psychology of ambition in conversational setting - Mexican Independence Day Fiesta at Hotel Vegas
Celebrate Mexico’s statehood w/tacos, mariachis, + DJs
Wednesday 9/17
- Virgins at Cheer Up Charlie’s
Drag performers riff on Lorde’s recent LP in honor of her Austin tour stop - Clown Night at Fallout
Clowns and improv comedians “dazzle, baffle, + delight” - Indie Game Night at Tiny Minotaur
Play from a wide selection of lesser-known TTRPGs and board games
Thursday 9/18
- Filth! at the Museum of Human Achievement
An evening of filthy queer underground erotic cinema past + present - Elections! Zines! Fun! at 2324 E. Cesar Chavez
Learn about upcoming local democracy + make zines - Making Rope from Plants at Buzzmill
For the next time you’re in a ravine with a bunch of plants and no rope - Line Upon Line at dadaLab
Live musicians perform avant garde works on percussion + harp - Games Y’all at Capt. Quack’s
Meet up with a crew of folks who make + love indie games - Latte Art Throwdown at Civil Goat
Spectate or enter into a latte art contest for lattes of prizes - PowerPints at Radio East
“Drink + learn things” at comedic talks on a variety of esoteric topics - Austin International Drag Festival at Holiday Inn Midtown
“The world’s largest and most diverse International Drag Festival” - Alluvius at East Side Performing Arts Center
Modern ballet performance set to metal + hard rock soundtrack - The Wizard of dOgZ at the Vortex
Family-friendly retelling of Oz with puppets, aerialists, circus arts, + dogs - Urban Dreaming at RBJ Residences
“Immersive movement opera” which “fuses contemporary + aerial dance”
No Humans Allowed 249
Mobile Edition
We flew out to NYC for the Kpiss 10th anniversary party which meant we had to do a radio show from a hotel room, which was a fun challenge. No mixing, just out of print tracks from the series of tubes.
Tracklist
Cayran – Don’t Look Back
Katy Gray – Hold Me Tight
D.A.N. – Premintal
Bob Esty & Cheeks – Elektronix (Roller Dancin’)
Gerald Masters – Old Cortina
Meiko Nakahara – Friday Magic
The And – Marshmallow in a Keyhole
Planet Ha Ha – Home
Robots in Disguise – Boys
Jo Lemaire + Flouzem – Je Suis Venue Te Dire que Je M’en Vais
Captain Sensible – Glad It’s All Over
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.
PATREON THANKS
A huge thank-you to our Patreon subscribers Andrew Creswell, Robert B., Roman Gonzalez, Nick Ivons, Molly Fonseca, Lilly Ettinger, Michael Sales, Zach, Gino Scaramuzza, Erica Speegle, Jarrett Holtz, Thomas Refferson, Bones Malones, Amy Hayes, Katie Green, Christina Jue, Colleen MB, Alexander Freed, Kristen Backor, Timon A., 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 getting ready for Prick Up Your Ears, watching the Buda Wiener Dog Races, and experiencing a toy art exhibit at Collection Rert. 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 (where we sometimes post stuff early too).
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 2025). 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.