Hot Summer Nights kicked off in Austin’s Red River District last night [live video]
Thursday evening’s California-like weather encouraged fans to get out early (and often) to support local musical acts performing on the first of four evenings of no cover shows in downtown Austin. The event, dubbed Hot Summer Nights seeks to duplicate the success of January’s Free Week. Both events which are aimed at getting patrons in the door during typically slow times of the year for local music venues, have done well in achieving that goal. Last night’s busier-than-normal pace in the entertainment district speaks to that sentiment.
The Cosmic Clash joined the thrill seekers on Red River at Cheer Up Charlie’s for Kay Odyssey’s 9:30 p.m. slot on their impressive rock-wall backed outdoor stage. The all-female foursome delivered a typically energetic set that featured some new tracks from their forthcoming sophomore effort which is now being mixed in studio according to bandleader Kristina Boswell.
Following that perfect way to begin the Hot Summer Nights weekend we jumped over to Empire Control Room and Garage to catch Coattails. The psych-rock / hard rock outfit brought the energy, distortion and fuzz, stomping through a 40-minute set that felt like it’d be just as comfortable on the Monterrey Pop Festival stage as Empire’s expansive Garage. We tend to forget the high-quality lights and sound values really amp up shows in the space.
After some righteous head-banging for Coattails we downshifted to the indoor Control Room for a new project by BLXPLTN member Jonathan Horstman, Urban Heat Island Effect. The quartet turned in their second performance ever at the venue they began at with a dark-wave, synth-pop performance that had the nearly full room of fans pogoing around the room like it was 1987 all over again.
We capped the night by rocking out with bombastic front woman, Dani Neff and her raucous and super tight band, Megafauna. If you haven’t caught the dynamic rockers yet, this video will give you a hint of what you’re missing. Neff might be the most underrated guitarist in town. She appears to effortlessly reel off gigantic riffs while delivering scorching vocals to match. We’re huge fans. The clip below is explanation enough.
Megafauna’s latest record, “Ghost Coast” which dropped earlier in the year is one of our favorite local records of 2019. Click the link above to grab a copy and thank us later.
Hot Summer Nights continue throughout the weekend in Austin with zero cover charge. We recommend getting out and checking some of the shows this weekend. For recommendations check our man, Greg Ackerman’s Do512.com calendar or search Hot Summer Nights on Facebook. See you in the crowd!
