I heard once that in forming the Hold Steady, Craig Finn and
Galen Polivka were watching The Band's Last Waltz
wondering why there weren't more bands doing the whole
"Band" thing. Well, The Hold Steady aren't exactly doing
the whole "Band" thing, namely because they've got their own
"Best Bar Band in America" thing (which sells a ton of
records). But there's a new band in Austin who seems to at
least know what Robbie Robertson had in mind: The
Happen-Ins.
Now before we go any further, let me warn you: the
Happen-Ins aren't up to anything new. In fact, you might be
better off hitting the "well caked in dust" rack over at
Antone's. Are they redefining Austin music? No.
But when the music's this much fun in its unashamed revival
of rock her, who really gives a damn anyway? Says fellow
Austin Sound writer (and friend of the show) Marc Perlman in
his
review
of their new album, "The band has crafted an album that is
perfectly suited for late night whiskey and beer binges,
early morning bloody marys, back yard barbecuing or cross
country drives at sunsets." Essentially, this is the
band for those of you who though about giving up drinking
beer during the week for Lent but ended up going through a
case of Lone Star by Wednesday because "Who would cook 25
pancakes for dinner without having a few beers before,
during and after?" (yours truly).
The Happen-Ins are for those of us who like good music.
Where other "revival" bands fall flat on their own stale
pseudo-covers, the Happen-Ins drive forward with a sense of
energy and joy. Like a chef (or in my case Pancake-Chef) who
continues to prepare a recipe, passed down from generations
back, with all the same care and devotion its original
creator did, the Happen-Ins standout against a backdrop of
the revivalist equivalent of Sonic drive-thrus as far as the
eye can see.
Their album comes out on vinyl on March 12. You can (read:should)
buy it, it's at Waterloo.
:The
Happen-Ins - Baby:
Sorry, no jazz this week, I haven't bought any new albums
recently (but will be doing so soon). I'm headed to Paris
next week though, so this video seemed a fitting
replacement:
John Michael Cassetta keeps his own blog, Big
Diction, and writes for the local website Austin
Sound. Comments, complaints, and solicitations
may be directed
here.
- John Michael
Cassetta -
Unless
otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any
related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by
John Laird under a
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