Robert Dean

SXSW Ramble: From Ben Nichols to The Spits to a neighborhood block party to Tear Dungeon and Fugitive

March 22, 2024 Robert Dean 1280 Views Black Keys, Cavalier, live review, Lucero, new music, Play to the Plants, Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol, Ringo Deathstarr, Riverboat Gamblers, Sunset Strip Comedy Club, SXSW, Tear Dungeon, The Lost Well, The Oxys, Urban Heat

Some people hate SXSW. But just the same, another contingency finds magic within the chaos. The festival is draining; it takes a lot out of the festival goer, the musicians, and the service industry staff slinging the tacos, cleaning up the puke, and loading up the plastic cups full of whatever poison gets the job done. Standing late Sunday night at Empire Control Room at the crossroads of that perfect place of drunk and happy, I consistently remain in the latter regarding where SXSW lives within my heart.

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Event preview: Joi Chevalier runs Cook’s Nook chef designed food security program with same love she has for music

February 7, 2024 Robert Dean 1737 Views charity, community, Cook's Nook, food sustainability, Joi Chevalier, Lenoir, Texas Table

Culture is huge in Austin. It’s the backbone of what we do as a community at large. As the city grows and changes, some things that make the city uniquely “Austin” shouldn’t ever be taken for granted – which is why supporting local events like “Texas Table: A Feast for A Cause” on February 27 is essential.

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Austin artist profile: Filmmaker Issac French Embraces his Dark Half

June 13, 2023 Robert Dean 896 Views artist, Austin, filmmaker, Interview, Issac French, profile

while the city’s musical history is alive and well due to the musicians holding down the kitchens or wrenching on your car. But when you hit Red River Street for a night of service industry mayhem, one of the best bartenders in town has a pedigree that few others have in the Capital City: award-winning filmmaker, Issac French.

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Comedy review: Game Bang Bingo is the best new thing on Monday nights

May 17, 2023 Robert Dean 1285 Views comedy, Game Bang Bingo, Grace Kirk, Price is Right, Review, Thai Rivera, Vulcan Gas Company

Things in my life I never expected: watching a 1960s Batman-themed porn in a group setting. And that’s precisely what happened last night at the Vulcan Gas Company. And that was just one of the moments drowning in the sleaze that is Game Bang Bingo, possibly one of the best things to do in Austin.

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Live music review: Live Nation nails Two Step Inn Festival and T-Pain carried the day

May 11, 2023 Robert Dean 2193 Views Clay Walker, country music, Diplo, live music, Live Nation, Review, T-Pain, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, Two Step Inn, Tyler Childers, Zach Bryan

When attending festivals, there’s a game of cat and mouse between security and journalists. And at the Two Step Inn in Georgetown April 15-16, me and my media brethren bonded like a pack of wolves. I went into the gig with wholesome intentions to capture the heart and soul of the event, despite the sun’s rays beating down on me while my boots gathered layers of dust.

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Live music review: Bad Times for Bad Larry’s and Little Brother Bar Shows

April 26, 2023 Robert Dean 924 Views And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Bad Larry's, Converge, live music, Rainey Street, Review, Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol, rock n roll, Trail of Dead, Weekend at Larry's

Little Brother Bar on Rainey Street is an Oasis against the throngs of shitheals with popped collars and bad manners. It’s a tiny closet of a bar that brings big fun with strong drinks, a bartending crew full of characters, and of course, the beloved Bummer Burritos. But for the last year or so, the bar would partner up with the Bad Larry Burger crew and throw the best free shows in Austin that were the thing of legend. And then they were forced to stop.

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Live music review: Black Flag at Mohawk and Combichrist at Elysium Saturday

March 27, 2023 Robert Dean 2901 Views 13th Floor, Black Flack, Combichrist, Elysium, Greg Ginn, Khost, live music, Mike Vallely, mohawk, Review

I wanted to clown on this current incarnation of Black Flag. I really did. Going into the show on Saturday at Mohawk, my expectations were low. When a legendary band has gone through a cadre of lineups over the years, it’s hard to get excited when Greg Ginn is the only original member up there chugging away on the hits that are so influential to our lives.

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Essay: A SXSW 2023 true tale of heartbreak

March 20, 2023 Robert Dean 974 Views essay, gonzo, heartbreak, Robert Dean, rock n roll, SXSW

I’m an unreliable narrator – SXSW passes and all. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you learned about new bands, new places to eat, new bartenders to meet to serve you a drink. I hope you got an inside track about what the Austin music scene has to offer. But it was never about you.

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SXSW Strikes Again: Day Two and Three in Review

March 15, 2023 Robert Dean 1191 Views comedy, Grace Kirk, Lee Kimbrel, live music review, recap, Rocky Dale Davis, SXSW, Trevor Kevaloh, White Horse

across Austin, cool (and SXSW ) is something we’ve been monetizing since the first hip dude slipped on a Bob Seger shirt and a cowboy hat way back in the Nixon administration.

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SXSW: The Madness of Day One

March 12, 2023 Robert Dean 741 Views Bigfoot and the Gregs, Colton Downing, comedy, Deric Poston, Eshan Ahmad, Hip Hop, live music, Porcelain, Rckshawk Billlie's Burger Patrol, SXSW

I ventured into the bucket head-wearing throngs for night one. Accompanied by my spiritual advisor, the comic Trevor Keveloh, we dared to see what this year’s SXSW festival had in store for us, even though it was supposed to be only the “tech week.”

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The Lost Well: Austin Punk’s Last Stand

February 1, 2023 Robert Dean 1187 Views Austin, live music, music venue, punk rock, rock n roll, The Lost Well

Many of the bars and venues of the past are now alive thanks to a savvy marketer coupling with new construction Svengali, giving the names of their suites like the “Armadillo World Headquarters” or “the Trudy’s Room,” offering a gross impression of what was in a place steeped in so much cultural history. Yet some places remain – like The Lost Well.