Friday, March 6, 2026
The Cosmic Clash

experimental

Portugal the man 5 ACL Live Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Portland act Portugal. The Man showed no creative bounds at ACL Live with La Luz

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Alaska natives and Portland-based musical collective Portugal. The Man is an outfit that knows no creative bounds. Built by visionary John Gourley and rounded out by a laundry list of collaborators who have come and gone over the years, the Oregon vehicle has retained a creative streak that’s produced 10 full-length studio projects since forming in 2004. For the last stop on their run supporting new LP Shish, the Portugal company made their way to Austin’s premier venue ACL Live on Friday, December 12 for a headlining extravaganza that brought the new and old material, with a lot of new in rotation to celebrate the latest release.

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ReviewRobert Dean

Gallery review: Hunter S Thompson would have loved Meow Wolf

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I take every chance I can get to escape the wheels of the capitalist death machine. My phone is constantly telling me someone’s been shot in a mall, or the asshole with the long red tie has done something to make me clutch my humanity pearls, so when an opportunity to melt away into dimensions unknown presents itself, I’m taking it. This past weekend, to celebrate my boys’ birthdays, we took them to Meow Wolf’s Radio Taves experience in Houston, and I’m still thinking about it. I got lunch next to a fucking rat in a blonde wig while a three-titted bar was above my head. This place was madness of the Hunter S. Thompson variety—save the ether binge.

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Water Damage Ann-Marie Rijn
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Seven more buzz bands to see at SXSW 2025

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The South By Southwest music festival is less than a week out, and the roster of artists can seem overwhelming at first glance. With a lineup that can satisfy every kind of music lover, The Cosmic Clash brings you another seven buzz bands you should put on your list for the upcoming long week of music in Austin. All set times and venues can be found on the SXSW website and SXSW GO mobile application. All listed acts are official SXSW artists. 

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Frankie and the Witch Fingers mosh
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: seven buzz bands to see at SXSW 2025

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The 2025 edition of South By Southwest is fast approaching, and the list of acts making their way to Austin for the six-day music festival spans multiple genres and geographic origins. With this in mind, the Cosmic Clash team has curated a group of seven buzz bands we think you should put on your list for the long week of around-the-clock music. All acts are Sx official artists. All set times, along with venues, can be found on the SXSW website and SXSW GO cell application. 

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Flakefest Vol 1 2024
Amanda QuraishiLive MusicReview

Live Music Review: Flakefest Vol. 1 defied expectations at Mohawk June 28

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Nowhere could this phenomenon be better illustrated than at FLAKEFEST Vol. 1 on Friday, June 28, 2024 at Mohawk. Two bands – Como Las Movies and Starflake – took to the stage along with a handful of other local music luminaries and brought us an evening of homegrown, Latin-infused, experimental music that defies expectations and crushes definitions.

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Amanda QuraishiPremiereSong

Song Premiere: Starflake Has Landed With Single NuBooty

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Instead, O’Brien is running head-first into a brand new project – an experimental tropi-punk ensemble called Starflake. He is joined by two of the hardest working musicians in the Austin music scene, drummer Zac Catanzaro (Walker Lukens, Song Confessional) and percussionist Juan Alfredo Ríos (Como Las Movies, Easy Compadre!), both also members of The Bright Light Social Hour; as well as bassists/synth-psychonauts Ben Nelson (Molly Burch, A. Sinclair) and Alex Holeman (Chroma Phase).

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Mikaela Davis at Austin Psych Fest 2024
April RiggsLive MusicReview

Live music review: Mikaela Davis was angelic at Austin Psych Fest at Far Out Lounge

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My first time seeing Mikaela Davis was on the BMI stage at the Austin City Limits Festival in 2015, and I expected her sound to be folkie, singer-songwriter music that I’m not typically into. When she took the stage with her harp, I heard an angelic, neo-psychedelic country sound that pleased my ears and I have followed her career via social media since. 

Fast forward nine years to Day Three at Austin Psych Fest (2024), when festival-goers almost lost a mellow day of music due to the weather. The rain moved on and Van Mary eased us into a swampy day at the Janice Stage with a super-chill set. The afternoon continued to heat up as Mikaela Davis & Southern Star took to the Willie Stage for the final day of APF.

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Danny Brown at Empire 3 Caitlin Clark
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Danny Brown threw down a rager at Empire Garage

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Sometimes, live music crowds can be major downers. Austin, Texas’ vibrant music scene has a massive influx of live shows that draw a variety of different crowds, some good, some bad. For Detroit-turned-Austin oddball rapper Danny Brown, an unforgettable live spectacle made sure to cancel out the entitled personalities that attempted to harsh the triumphant vibes of Danny’s homecoming for yet another Austin appearance, this time at Empire Garage on Thursday, April 11.

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Swans Paramount
Case CockrellReview

Live music review: Swans evades fire code shutdown at Paramount, delivers two hour onslaught

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Michael Gira’s multi-genre outfit Swans showed an Austin crowd that age is just a number on Sunday night at the historic Paramount Theatre down the street from the Capitol. For those unfamiliar, Swans is a New York band that has gone through various phases, line-ups, genres, and forms through the leadership of multi-instrumentalist, Gira since 1982.

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