beauty in a wicked world.

Sure to be an infectious track on sweat-drenched dance floors everywhere, Beyonce's first single off of her highly anticipated summer release, "Girls (Who Run The World)" has leaked prematurely. The song was produced by Diplo and Switch (aka Major Lazer). For those of you acquainted with the DJ/producer super duo, you will quickly recognize the backbeat. Yes, it's a remastered version of their hit track "Pon De Floor", personally handed over on a silver platter. It's always strange to hear certain songs enter the mainstream, but thus is the norm nowadays. I look forward to hearing the final cut without the obligatory drops. Considering the net worth of B. and Jigga, they pretty much could run this world (or at least a part of it). I would be first in line to get citizenship in that country.

Check out and download below:

As most musically-inclined Houstonians know, 91.7 KTRU is the sole college radio station that showcases indie and international music, among many other genres. Over the past six or so months, Rice University has gone back and forth, threatening to do away with the current format and convert it into another classical music station. Although the majority of this city probably doesn't understand the implications that go along with this (or plainly just don't give a shit), the indie crowd has been up in arms about the situation and signing petitions left and right. I haven't heard anything about the possible change lately, so maybe there has been some voice of reason to change the university's mind. Don't get me wrong, classical music will always hold a special place in my music collection, but one classical rad station in this city is enough. Anyways...

The KTRU festival this year was a great way to start off the outdoor season in Houston. Great bands, free St. Arnold's beer, and...well, the entire event was free, in general (minus parking). Performers included: Mister Heavenly, Real Estate (pictured above), Fat Tony, Houston-based Young Mammals, and Washed Out. As most of you know, Mister Heavenly features Michael Cera as a bassist, and I can't tell you how obnoxious it is to see people flock to the band purely for that reason. Girls (and guys) were freaking the fuck out over it.  This isn't Oprah's Favorite Things. I quickly had the urge to cry out, "Get the fuck over it. Yes, it's Michael Cera. You are all posers." In my opinion, they are worth flocking to because of the Man Man/Islands/Modest Mouse combination. I dealt with the same predicament at SXSW. Still, I appreciated the performance, and Cera wasn't overcome with absolute awkwardness. I popped my Fat Tony cherry as well. Despite his obvious inebriation, the performance quite entertaining and often humorous. Fifteen minutes prior to his 8:00 pm set time, I was disappointed by how brief his set was (25 minutes, but I feel like that's typical of most hip hop shows. As a special treat, Nick Diamonds made an uncomfortable guest appearance with Fat Tony which lasted all of three minutes. This happened more so because Fat Tony was obsessing over him on stage. My favorite aspect of rap shows at events like this is the audience. Let's be real, it was mostly white hipsters.  I was engulfed in a sea of the stereotypical "white boy dancing". I just stood in the back and smirked. For some, I believe it was drug-induced, but nonetheless I was amused.

Minus a spilt whiskey and Coke, the festival was lovely. A nice day with great friends, music, beer, and sunshine. As the sun set in the sky, Washed Out closed-out the festival with a hazy, electro, colorful ending. Because my hunger pains were overpowering my senses, I felt it was time to vacate the premises halfway through their set.

womp. womp.

Yet another concert with plenty of homosexual overtones....I feel as if this is becoming a trend in my life, but I'm not surprised at all. Jake Shears, Ana Matronic, and the rest of the Scissor Sisters gang made their way to Houston this past Monday on their Night Work tour. The last time Scissor Sisters performed in Houston, they served as the opening act for Lady Gaga in 2010. As much as I love them, I had no intention of shelling out the bucks for that show. Surprisingly, the crowd was more mixed than I expected, and it appeared to be a somewhat older as compared to the Robyn concert in February. I was a bit disappointed with the attendance. The $35.00 price tag might have turned away some concertgoers, but let's be honest; how much does a typical gay spend during a night at the gay bars? Nonetheless, there was enough of an audience to allow for a colorful experience. With some of the outfits people were sporting, you could tell they were more than ready for a show. At the top of my list of fashions was a certain fellow in a skin-tight, latex police officer get up. I can only imagine how much he was probably sweating. I thought about wearing my new black pumps, but I would have been bitching the entire night. Girl, I've got to learn to walk in heels before I can dance in them. I have a new found respect for women. Heels might be cute and all, but damn...they are fucking painful.

With only a DJ as an opening act, there wasn't much of a delay after the scheduled 9:00 pm show time. As the vodka, club remixes, and stage fog circulated through my system, the only two thoughts in my head were 1) let's get this show on the road, and 2) how revealing will Jake Shears' outfit be? At about 9:30 pm, the lights dimmed as the backing band entered the stage. The tension was quickly building as we waited for Shears and Ana Matronic to make an appearance. Finally, the vocal duo made an in-your-face entrance on to the stage in coordinating outfits. I don't think I have to go into detail about Shears' magnificent body. All I can say is that he's even more beautiful in person, and I don't think one person in Warehouse Live, gay or straight, would disagree with that statement. 

The nearly two hour set fired up with their title track, "Night Work", and the dance party was already at full speed. With the constant audience interaction and confetti, there was no time to be distracted by anything else. During one song, Ana Matronic requested that everyone put they're "fucking cameras and cell phones" away for it's duration. It's quite easy to become obsessive when taking pictures and videos during a concert, and I myself have been guilty of this concert OCD. That gave me three and a half minutes to not think about taking pictures, tweeting, or text messaging. It wasn't easy.

The setlist consisted of eighteen tracks with plenty of interspersed banter to keep me thoroughly entertained. She even mentioned The Menil (which is one of my favorite art museums in Houston). Naturally, they performed more tracks from their latest album, but there was still a good mix of earlier works. During the encore, Shears crooned a very intimate, stripped down version of "Sex and Violence". That was definitely a highlight for me. Both Shears and Ana Matronic showcased there true vocal talent with several solos throughout the night. Other favorites included "Filthy/Gorgeous", "Invisible Light", "Tits On The Radio", "Any Which Way", "Take Your Mama", and "Laura". As a result, sing-a-longs were inevitable and welcomed by the band. This explains why I was so soft spoken the next day. Check out the full setlist here. As much as I wish "Mary" would have been on the roster, the fact that it wasn't didn't tarnish the experience.

Being my first live Scissor Sisters concert, I had certain expectations of quality, energy, danceability, and personality. They certainly made the mark on all parameters. Each "sister" even had three or more costume changes. Luckily, Shears revealed an ample amount of skin each time. The magnetic chemistry between every member of the band was undeniable. Once the final note was sung, I was still on a music high until the next morning. I was also reeling from $1.00 post-concert wells at Cecil's Pub. Afterwards, I dreamt that I tattooed the Scissor Sisters symbol on my side. Is it bad that I don't think it's a terrible idea?

All-in-all, it was simply a fun, engaging, and occasionally raunchy show. It was impossible to leave Warehouse Live without a smile from ear to ear. 

P.S. I tweeted Scissor Sisters enough for them to follow me. That's not creepy, right?

Congratulations/kudos/accolades to the A&M women's basketball team on their national title! Leave it to the girls to have bigger balls than any of our men's sports teams. The Aggies needed something to cheer for, and we finally got our wish. Lord knows our football and men's basketball teams have yet to truly deliver. I hope the ladies get the "welcome home" that they deserve as they return to College Station today. For those of us who didn't pay much attention to A&M women's basketball before, I'd say we have all had a change of heart. Hell, this was a much more exciting game then the men's championship, and I doubt anyone expected that. I'd be lying if I said I actually watched the men's game because I was too busy getting my gay on at the Scissor Sisters concert.

As the game clock dwindled to zero, we decided to take celebratory Irish Car Bombs. No, we did not take these because we felt an ounce of sympathy for Notre Dame. We took them because those Irish Car Bombs would soon end up in the toilet....just like Notre Dame's and "Crouching" Muffet's pride. We were also the only group of Aggies at the bar, but that didn't stop us (or at least me) from breaking out into a good ol' fashioned "Aggie War Hymn" sing-a-long. No, I wasn't drunk (shocking, I know).

South by Southwest: the land of blaring live music, open bars, hipsters screaming for attention, cigarette butts, and waiting in line. 2011 marked the 25th anniversary of the internationally known music, film, and interactive festival and "conference". Compared to the magnitude of the event now, I cannot even imagine what it was like during the inaugural year. I'm guessing the conference aspect of it actually meant something. I read somewhere that SXSW was "40% larger" than it was last year. I'm not sure what parameters they used to make such an estimate, but it is undeniable that the festival has grown immensely in size. My hypothesis for this growth is simple: accessibility. Five years ago, the general music audience would never have even heard of half these music groups, but times are a-changin'. With the use of the plethora of social media outlets available to everyone, it is much easier for people to make themselves believe they are "indie". In effect, more people are likely to be turned into concert goers, whether they truly appreciate the music or not. There has been a quite a surge of, excuse my French,  douchebags attending concerts that would never have seen their faces five or more years ago. Can you tell that I'm not pleased with this evolution? This has also made me deal with more waiting for shit, but I digress....

SXSW is known for it's surprise guests and secret performances as well. This year, Kanye West performed on the last night at an abandoned power plant with array of special guests. Did I even attempt to make my way into that event? Hell no. Apparently, he didn't take the stage until 4:00 am, and let's be real; I'm getting too old for that shit, and I don't do drugs to stay awake that long for five nights in a row. Besides, I saw Kanye perform at SXSW two years. 

This was my fourth time braving the streets of Austin, TX for this magical week, and I was not disappointed by any means (and this was my first year without a music badge). I witnessed some great shows, ate from a variety of food trucks, raged with a gang of great people, drank enough booze to kill a good amount of liver cells, and was more often than not covered in body glitter. 

One of the most memorable moments...scratch that, THE most memorable moment was conversing with Justin Vernon (lead singer of Bon Iver, but you should know that by now). I walked into Side Bar to meet up with a few friends, when someone nonchalantly informed me, "Hey, Justin Vernon is sitting right over there." That statement literally stopped me in my Am Appy tracks. I've been in love with this man's music for years now. The two times I've had the pleasure of seeing him in concert (including my first year at SXSW), I shed several tears. Anyways....as he stood up to make his way to the bar and/or bathroom, our group might have had the balls to accost him. Luckily, he is sweetheart and chatted with us for about thirty minutes. He took the time to listen to us, learn our names, etc. It's special when people you idolize are as genuine in person as the appear in the media. PS: I knew he was coming out with a new Bon Iver album before Pitchfork posted it. Suck it P4K.

This year, I kept note of every band I stumbled upon because I maintained a steady buzz my entire stay in Austin. Some of the highlights were:

Twin Tigers, Ponderosa, Violens, Jonquil, The Generationals, Theophilus London (If you think you're special, you probably aren't), Solid Gold, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., The Dodos, Baths, !!!, James Blake (Yes, I'm on Team Blake), Har Mar Superstar (fat man in a thong...mmmm), Chikita Violenta, Nervo, Surfer Blood, Big Freedia, The Oh Sees, La Sera, Das Racist, The Authors, Mr. Heavenly, and Esben and the Witch.

Sadly, I did not make it on stage this time for Big Freedia. As consolation, my friend frightened the shit out of straight boy with his dance moves. Along with everyone around us, I was dying with laugher. I was also double fisting a beer and a Red Bull/vodka.

Luckily, I only vomited one night out of the five. Those are good odds, right? [nod your head]. Also, it was St. Patrick's Day, which made for a double whammy. South by Southwest AND St. Patty's Day? Of course I puked. I can't say no to Irish Car Bombs and unlimited drinks/tequila shots. I ended the week on Sunday afternoon with Gay by Gay Gay. Yes, you read that correctly. It turned out to be a gay hippie fest out in the middle of nowhere. The music was subpar, but we enjoyed ourselves.

"SXSW Karma" reared it's ugly head the following week though. The pollen and dust was terrible throughout the week which led to allergy issues, which in turn led to a sinus infection, which also ended with a case of pink eye. Despite my "disco sickness", it was all worth it. 

The lead singer from The Dodos