The way 2020 unfolded, it seemed to offer a musical choice akin to “fight or flight”: Either you 1) embraced pandemic-inspired music and/or music reflecting the turbulent social upheaval all around us; or, 2) you embraced[…]
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Playing some year-end catch-up on local reviews: Jackie Venson, Bill Callahan, Ringo Deathstarr
For me, the last few months haven’t been conducive to new posts. But the break I took from fresh entries here on Ear Traffic, I’m telling myself, was warranted because the less that’s written about 2020,[…]
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Love & Lightstream, and what live music looks like in late summer 2020
In this “Take what you can get” year, where that phrase applies to just about anything related to fun or general fulfillment, Love & Light gave us something. A sweltering, tasty, festive something that —[…]
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Local reviews (Sweet Spirit, Tameca Jones, Heartless Bastards) and a brief tribute to One-2-One Bar
(Photo by Nicole Berlin Photography) Last spring, when it became clear that COVID was going to grab the throat of some number of Austin music venues and force their heads into a filled bathtub[…]
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On Jackie Venson’s all-Black Blues on the Screen, and Blackillac’s music of the moment
(Photo by Nicole Berlin Photography) Blackillac released a blistering tribute to being Black in 2020. Jackie Venson, the always-smiling queen of guitar, put that trademark joy on the shelf and took a principled stand. And now,[…]
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