Austin Fanzine Project

AND THAT WAS JUST ENOUGH.

Scott had promised me he'd do what he could to get Ben and Carl in to the club (the Empty Bottle is 21+ and Ben and Carl were 16). When they got there no one was watching the door, so they just walked in, but soon they were spotted. They explained that they were with me and I explained that I was with the Grifters and Scott explained that they were cool and the guy marked up their hands real good and instructed them to stay at least 20 feet from the bar at all times and to go to the light booth if the cops came and to say that they worked there. Ben and Carl were fucking thrilled! Especially when Tripp remembered to thank them during the show for running lights. I left them and went into the back room to drink. The room was full of pot smoke and smoke smoke and every time someone knocked on the door I got worried. Each time though, it was the club owner coming to see if the bands needed anything. They would ask for more beer or whatever, but finally someone asked for some tequila and the owner brought a whole bottle.

The Grifters played one of the best shows I've ever seen a band play. It was just incredible. I was having a little trouble standing up, and they were up there doing their thing better than I can explain.

I couldn't believe it. The only sign that they were drunk was at the end of the set when Dave couldn't get his guitar off and cursed, "Tequila."

I hung out for the rest of the weekend with my brother and his friends. We went to see one of the Grifter's instores the next day and just fucked around in Chicago. I really miss that place.

∞Jennifer LaSuprema

Photo caption: The Grifters (Tripp, Dave, Scott, Stan) in front of the Music Box Theatre next door to Blackout Records in Chicago.

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