Live music preview: Cosmic Birthday with Poly Action,Kay Odyssey, Lowin, Bitter Birds at Hard Luck Lounge

This Saturday, December 16 The Cosmic Clash is hosting a super great lineup of local bands. Poly Action, Kay Odyssey, Bitter Birds and Lowin are all set to perform at Hard Luck Lounge on their giant back patio. The evening is also a celebration of TCC founder, Mike Cosmic's birthday. It's also free of charge. Yes, you read that right. Show up early, buy Mike a shot of Maker's and get ready for an night of great music and pay no cover charge. 

In honor of the blog turning five and Mike getting another year older, booker Genesis Vasquez put together an impressive roster of bands for a late December show when most promoters are looking to South by Southwest and points beyond. 

Mike Cosmic

I caught Poly Action recently at Hotel Vegas and they're legit. Ray Garza and company delivered a completely entertaining rock n roll set that was equal parts prog, pop, garage and punk which makes me think their name is a perfect vehicle for the band. After taking another listen to their Bandcamp page I'm hyped to see them again.



Kay Odyssey's psych rock weirdness might be a little too authentic for Austin. By that I mean front-woman Kristina Boswell projects the awkward/hip vibe you'd expect from an uber-cool rocker. I've always been smitten with her style and the excellent music follows suit with a tight all-female band. Kay Odyssey just dropped the weirdest (there's that word again) and quite suggestive music video for the dreamy psych-rocker, Mountains in My Step from this year's "What's A Woman To Do." Watch below:




Bitter Birds' pedal organ-driven music fits right into the unorthodox theme. A duo, the band has been compared to early Cure, but a dark, bleaker version by none other than KUTX's Laurie Gallardo. Can't say she's wrong. Laurie knows her stuff.

Show opener Lowin might be one of the more underrated bands in town. Lead singer, guitarist and founder, Sara Houser has been performing for years in Austin, first with San Marcos-based outfit, The Couch and later with her own band. The good conversations I've had with her about creative risks are evident in her work which continues to evolve from hard-charging rock to something different as heard on Lowin's lastest single, Sloop which has more of an alt-indie feel. Either way, I like the music and I think you will too so you get here early enough to catch this set.

There will be be several vendors on hand; FutureMoon (Handcrafted Crystal Jewelry), AnnaMarie Liberati (Handmade Copper Jewelry), PureRomance by Chelsea-Erin, Showpiece Boutique, Meowmod Vintage, Vivelavida (handmade jewelery), EVRYNG Apparel, Cindy Elizabeth Media (PRINTS BY 5TH SEASON) and Lindops (Handmade Treasures) for your holiday shopping pleasure.

RSVP on Facebook. 

Set times: 

LOWIN 745-815P

BITTER BIRDS 830-9P

KAY ODYSSEY 915-945P

POLY ACTION 10-1030P

Live Music Review: A Giant Dog brought their new 'Toy' to Hotel Vegas

By now, most Austin music fans have heard of A Giant Dog (AGD) or sister act Sweet Spirit. What many folks may not know is how underrated A Giant Dog is due to the local popularity of their larger, more irreverent, glam rock act. After all, Mayor Adler proclaimed them his favorite band earlier this year.  If A Giant Dog's standout pervious Merge Records release, “Pile” didn’t convince you the five-piece garage punks aren’t headed for stardom (or at least a cult following), the more commercially accessible, “Toy” (released September 25) will.

 As good as those two recordings are, their live show has the kind of raw, visceral energy that would stop even the most prolific of the guitar "rock is dead" naysayers to rescind their claims and admit rock n roll never died. In fact, we would argue hard-charging guitar rock is on the upswing. Just look at the list of acts similar to AGD on Spotify. They’re all guitar-dominated bands at their core.

Friday evening’s album release at Hotel Vegas was moved up a day to mitigate possible weather issues from Hurricane Harvey’s approach early Saturday morning. With the wind whipping up and storm clouds approaching, A Giant Dog turned in a superlative 20-song set in front of an enthusiastic, sold-out back patio crowd following a rare opening garage-rock set from the previously on-hiatus Austin trio, HARLEM.

Lead vocalist Sabrina Ellis appeared on stage in a trademark leotard with fishnets pulled up over the bottom half, a hood and red, lace-up Doc Martens. The band led off the performance with new track, “Photograph”. It is fitting this song is the first track on the new album as it exemplifies the group’s transition from garage-punks to allowing their glam rock side out amid Andrew Cashen and Andy Bauer’s typically loud guitars and in-your-face lyrics delivered by Ellis.  As much credit Ellis gives Cashen for creating an endless supply of riffs the band turns into songs, the lyrics she puts to the music packs a punch. Photograph’s refrain is unforgettable:

      I wanna stare at you like a photograph 

      I wanna make you come if you can make me laugh 

     Wanna spin you upside down like a rodeo between the sheets 

      I wanna stare at you with my eyes all wide 

      I wanna make you cry I wanna make you cry 

      Like an eagle to the sky, bolt of lightning every time we meet 

AGD reached back to 2013’s “Bone” with the next two songs before dipping back into “Toy” with “Lucky Ponderosa” and “Toy Gun.” The latter has a hook that catches the listener’s attention right away along with Sabrina doing a count-off vocally like the Violent Femmes’ classic, “Add It Up.” The song has the kind of hit potential as Pile's "Sex & Drugs" which the band saved for later in the performance.

The surprise of the evening came when A Giant Dog rolled out a cover of INXS’ “Don’t Change.” The group gave the song an AGD “treatment” turning the dance hit into a guitar-heavy rocker softened by Ellis' vocals. Check a clip from the song recorded live at Hotel Vegas above. A Giant Dog wrapped up the crowd-surfing party with a five-song encore that began with “Sex & Drugs” followed by “& Rock & Roll.” See what they did there? “Creep” (not a Radiohead cover), “Angst in my Pants” (Sparks cover) and “Too Much Makeup” rounded out the set list as exuberant fans heaved a sigh of contentment. Cashen told us the new cover will be in the tour set list "until we get tired of playing it."

View the complete set list here.

A Giant Dog are currently on tour nationally in support of “Toy.” Catch them at a venue near you by clicking through to this list of tour dates. The band lands back in Austin early November for Sound on Sound Festival.