Brightly-colored murals and monuments are everywhere in East Austin, SXSW, Thursday, March 15, 2012
South By Southwest
The Historic Victory Grill, East Austin
The Victory Grill is one of the oldest African-American nightclubs in the country, and one of only a select few stops on the “chitlin’ circuit” to still be functioning in 2012. Of course it sometimes books rock bands these days, and the front has become an excellent coffee bar called the Purple Bean. But it is very much still in operation, and during SXSW sponsored a daylong tribute to the memory of Miles Davis.
The Blue Dahlia, East 11th Street, East Austin, Thursday, March 15, 2012
Cincinnati’s The Lions Rampant perform at the cool outdoor venue in East Austin known as Kenny Dorham’s Backyard, next door to the historic Victory Grill. Jazz trumpeter Kenny Dorham was a native Texan, and spent time in East Austin when he was young. Thursday, March 15, 2012
East Austin scenes, SXSW, Thursday, March 15, 2012
Directly across the street from the Carver Museum is Trailer Space Records and East Side Pies pizza. Trailer Space is a performance venue, and was featuring a girl band called the High Class Hillbillies when I visited. I had always thought of Trailer Space Records as more of a punk-rock store, but they had an amazing selection of avant-garde jazz, including the latest CD from the group Yells at Eels, which features my friend Alvin Fielder on drums.
Colorful murals depicting African-American history adorn the Carver branch library and the Carver Museum in East Austin. The Carver complex is a SXSW venue. Thursday, March 15, 2012
Austin might rightly be called the Seattle of the South, since coffee bars are found in nearly every neighborhood, and most of them are really good. Better yet, some of them, like Bennu or Epoch, never close.
Austin is burger central, and it would probably take a month to eat your way through all the different burger restaurants in the city. Then SXSW is the time of year when even a burger restaurant would hire a band. Thursday, March 15, 2012
The Magnolia Cafe is another mainstay of SXSW. Like 24 Diner, it never closes, and there are two locations, but the one on Lake Austin Boulevard is closest to SXSW and always crowded. Thursday, March 15, 2012