Tonight, you should definitely check out Dengue Fever at the Mohawk. We first caught them during Fun Fun Fun Fest, when their Cambodian-influenced indie rocked our faces off.

Tuesday

Ouch. What is it with Tuesday nights in Austin lately? It’s almost like they are the new Thursday, with the amount of stiff competition between awesome bands playing one night. For this Tuesday, you have a choice between Cake at Stubbs and Mates of State at La Zona Rosa. Cake is sold out, but enterprising souls can find ways to get hold of a ticket or two…

Thursday

The Black and White Years are playing a show indoors at Stubbs, if you haven’t heard. It’s likely to sell out, so you may wanna buy tix now.

Friday

Death Cab for Cutie is playing the Austin Music Hall with Matt Costa and Ra Ra Riot. Brothers & Sisters are doing their feel-good brand of folk-y alt-country at Scoot Inn with JC & Co (Jason from Belaire and Voxtrot) and others. T-Bird & the Breaks (pic above) are throwing down neo-soul dance-friendy funkiness at Emo’s.

Saturday

The Red River Revolution II! The first one was late last fall, and it was already very chilly. With warmer weather upon us, the bonfire won’t be as essential as it was in the past, but will likely play a crucial role nevertheless in marshmallow-roasting endeavors. Featuring The Story Of, Sunset, Diagonals, and more, including DJ sets from members of the Black & White Years.

Also going down: Ume at La Zona Rosa. They’ve been making major waves with their post-punk grunge-y indie, along with lead singer Lauren’s powerhouse vocal stylings.

The Kills have a disquieting intensity to their music. It reflects into their videos – the gritty, unsettling, often violent cinematography of Last Day of Magic and Black Balloon exemplify – and, appropriately enough, carried into their live show on Friday. Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince prowled the stage, pacing and circling each other like a cat and dog ready to fight. They leaned over a sea of grasping hands and sang into the crowd; Jamie aimed his guitar at Alison like a gun; they each snarled lyrics into the other’s face.

Within the three-song encore, they included a cover of I Put A Spell On You… it was entirely appropriate.

More at Mary’s Flickr photo set.

Spoon played last night to a sold-out hometown crowd for a solid hour-and-a-half, with a mix of old and new material.

The first part of the set was devoted almost entirely to new music, and it showed in the band’s slight hesitancy at first: you could tell that they were not quite comfortable with the songs yet. At the same time, their focus on recording over the past months also meant that some of the older songs showed the same hesitancy, as the band tried to get back into the swing of playing live again.

The crowd called out requests for old favorites, Britt laughed off any slip-ups with a rueful smile, and the sound was superb. The new material was intriguing, and while Britt didn’t let slip any details about a release date, you can be sure we can’t wait to hear the tracks all polished and pretty.

For more pics, check out Mary’s Flickr photo set.

In other album news, the Pixies have a new album, apparently titled Minotaur, coming out June 15th, which excites us beyond measure…
ETA The Pixies’ Minotaur is actually a box set of all their studio albums, along with some other extra goodies. Not quite as awesome as new material, but very cool nevertheless.

The Lollapalooza lineup is out, and is – of course – a doozy. Just a few of the Chillville artist making an appearance include Depeche Mode, Thievery Corporation, Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, Fleet Foxes, Santigold, Lykke Li, and so many more it’s kinda ridiculous.

You know what’s going to be awesome tonight? Dan Deacon at Emo’s, that’s what. He completely killed at Fun Fun Fun Fest in the fall, sending hundreds of festival-goers into a dance-party frenzy. His blend of electronic distortion and yelled-out dance move commands is guaranteed to be a blast, and the backing 15-piece ensemble, which includes 9 percussionists, is going to ensure that this is a show you will not soon forget.

Also awesome, an entirely local and entirely rocked-out lineup at the Parish with White Denim, Corto Maltese, and Ume. Or, check out the fundraiser for When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (who got their equipment stolen recently, and are pictured above) at Beerland with the down, dirty garage rock of the Strange Boys. The Dinos, normally one of the most ear-meltingly loud bands in Austin, are playing an acoustic set, which is definitely intriguing.

Saturday

The French Kicks are back in town and playing their mellowed-out indie rock at the Mohawk. They’ve played there before to a decent crowd that left happy, so expect a fairly crowded venue and some fun tunes.

Before that, you should get your spring BBQ on with Do512 at their headquarters on south Lamar. From 5-9, there will be food, vodka-infused watermelon (and other alcoholic things of a drinkable nature), and DJ Thibault spinnin’ some tunes. It sounds like an awesome way to kick off your Saturday night before heading downtown.

Wavves

King Khan and the Shrines

Department of Eagles

M. Ward

Will Sheff (of Okkervil River)

Juliette Lewis

Their new EP is going to see wider release very soon soonish, and we have a feeling they are about to get some major online love for it, so check them out now if you want to say ‘I heard them when’. Sadly, I doubt they’ll be touring around here any time soon, but we can always hope for SXSW next year.

Via Gorilla vs Bear.