Homebody goes out in Austin: Fireants, Split Rayfield and some band I didn't like

Some background about me. I'm kind of a homebody. I don't think I always used to be a homebody, and I actually don't like the term homebody (I prefer to say that I'm very good at entertaining myself) but between moving a few times and not having any friends in the area, I'm perfectly happy staying at home watching bad television, playing with my dogs, and doing artsy dorky crafts.

My fiance, is not.

He needs to be entertained, and loves going out and meeting new people. In this way, we're a really good match because I keep him in the house enough to justify paying rent and he makes sure I don't become a crazy cat lady at home alone.

So last night we went out in Austin. It's the live music capital of the world, and hubby is a big live music fan. He pitches a lot of shows to me that I have absolutely no interest in, but last night there was a bluegrass / folk / band with a mandolin playing and it sounded good to me so I agreed to go.


As we walked to the venue and passed this couple riding a souped up tractor down the road, I was glad I decided to go out. We ended up at Antone's , which is a neat little divy blues club downtown. Besides the fact that he first bartender charged me $2.50 for a diet coke (wtf dude, i'm driving drunky home), I really liked it. Smaller venue, concrete floor, simple folding tables. A place you can go in jeans and an old t-shirt and not feel like you have to impress anybody.



First band, Fireants, I loved. They're a bunch of teenagers and have that arrogant, finding their way kind of attitude that you'd expect any teenage band with some talent and credibility to have. The lead singer and fiddler has a decent voice, and an amazing talent for the fiddle. He's also a decent entertainer, though is still finding some comfort with the stage. Extra points for the super cool girl bass player. I wish I was that cool in high school (but definitely wasn't).

Second band, don't remember the name. They jumped around from being jesus freaks (with an empty whiskey bottle on the symbols... that was interesting), singing 60's television jingles, conservative "This is AMERica" songs, and ending with a GREAT song called "Fuck Fuck Fuck This Really Fucking Sucks." They didn't suck, but need some kind of consistency.



Last band, Splitlip Rayfield was the headliner and the hubby's obvious player. Granted these cell phone pictures are horrible, but if you look at the photo above you can probably notice that the bass isn't an ordinary instrument. It's a freakin' fuel tank converted into a base, and that guy was rockin' it. I should have donated him the parts from my burning car (that's a story for a later date), he probably could have turned the scarred brakes into a piano. To be honest, it was getting late (for me) at this point and I faded before the show ended - but the band was really entertaining and rich with talented musicians.

Tonight, I'm cleaning my dirty house which we've almost unpacked and looking forward to the weekend.

Texas is ridiculous.

No really, it is.

Tonight we walked to a bar near our house that has just glowing yelp reviews for having good food (Why my fiance thought going out to dinner sounded better than tofu pop hot dogs, I don't know). So when we sit down at Gibson's I don't know anything about it besides "They have really good food," and as I look at the menu it's pretty clear why they have really good food - because it's pretty much all burgers, hot dogs, and fries. Who doesn't like burgers hot dogs and fries? Not only that, but they're trailer park themed burgers & fries, because everything is cooked in a 50's silver trailer next to the bar. No need to make junk food classy in Texas, yeehaw.

So I get a grilled chicken something and the fiance gets a veggie burger. There was a brief plea from him for me to order a - and this is true - baked potato hot dog. Because a plain hot dog isn't enough oh no, but we should wrap it in bacon before putting it in a bun with a wedge of potato, cheese, sour cream, and chives. Tasty? Oh yes, but my rationale of "I walked 1/4 a mile to get here so that means I can eat french fries" wasn't extending so far as a baked potato hot dog.

Then our food arrived.


Your eyes are not deceiving you. That is a veggie burger with a donut for a bun. Ohmygoddonutbun! Neither I nor dear hubby read the fine print on this one, so this came as a surprise. A sugary fattening wonderful surprise. OK, so I only had a bite but this officially confirmed the sneaking belief I had all along - that Texas is insane and I haven't even begun to see it all here.