Austin Fanzine Project

were offering ? and the Mysterians t-shirts, bandannas, glossies, and "sunglass". The sunglasses were random design -- all black, all different, by no means a signature style. I saw both the Shakewells and the Sir Finks for the first time and they were both excellent. And when they were done a ? and the Mysterians pitch man took the stage and told the crowd about the most recent rave reviews found in various organs of the mass media. He also pitched the items for sale at the merch table, and finally, he introduced the band. The various middle-aged Latino men, all dressed in orange-and-black ? and the Mysterians shirts and bandannas swung into a snappy sixties garage-psych-rock ditty. It was really good. I was trying to guess which one was Mr. ?, when he came bounding on stage. OH MY GOD! I DID NOT EXPECT THIS. This guy was a spandex-panted-flamenco-shirt-wearin'-cowboy-hat-bandanna-(wig?)-headed animatronic cross between Prince and a Latino Richard Simmons. [see photo] So, long story short, they were fucking great, played "96 Tears" last, did a six-song encore including two new songs (to be released on their upcoming Norton album) and"96 Tears" again, and, as I was finally leaving, some of the band had left the stage to be replaced by Joe King Carrasco who was dueting with Mr. ? on the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction". It was all I could take. But they are coming back this summer, so you gotta go. I'll definitely be there.

Those Bastard Souls 1.17.98 Emo's

Missed the openers, but I had come expressly to see how this band could pull of what the Grifters' Dave Shouse had created in the studio ot come up with the only release under the name Those Bastard Souls: the fantastic Twentieth Century Chemical. The lineup at this show consisted of Dave Shouse on guitar and the late Jeff Buckley's girlfriend on violin and some other guys. (Sorry about the lineup vagaries -- I can't seem to find the letter that Dave sent me, which is where that info resides.) Anyway, the show was incredible. I am really tempted to give up hope for the rest of the year and proclaim it the best show of '98.

George Jones 1.24.98 Billy Bob's Texas

This was not so much a show as it was a weekend-long Texas experience. My friend, the bluegrass superstar Miss Emily, my boyfriend Cooper, and I left Austin on Saturday morning. Miss Emily is from Nashville and is the biggest country

music gossip buff I have ever met, and she insisted that we listen to George all the way up there. She even regaled us with numerous funny stories from the George Jones shame file. When we got to Fort Worth we went to the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art and checked out their collection of Remingtons and Russells, an excellent photographic exhibit, and other assorted works of Western art. A great collection, for sure. Then we checked into the hotel and freshened up for the show. The best part of the whole weekend was just going to Billy Bob's Texas. Talk about a lesson in culture! The place is fucking huge! There is no mechanical bull, just LIVE INDOOR PROFESSIONAL BULLRIDING EVERY WEEKEND NIGHT!

Instead of a disco ball over the dancefloor, there is a huge mirror-encrusted saddle. There were even chicks in leather Rockies! Anyway, our seats were far away from the stage, but luckily there were TV monitors close by. George is kinda sick of playin' live, I guess. He did a couple of medleys, the chorus of "White Lightnin'," and let his backup band do a few instrumentals without him. It was cool just to see him and be there and all, and the glow emanating from Miss Emily's person (she is also a member of the George Jones fan club and kept flashing her membership card around all night) lit up the room.

[Photo: "Cooper and Miss Emily at the only bar information desk I've ever seen."]