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Word up and Happy Friday to you all! It occurred to me that maybe some of y’all are like me and are procrastinators when it comes to figuring out what you’re going to do for Halloween weekend this year. If that’s the case and you live in or around the Austin TX area, I’ve got a cool list of things that I plan on doing and thought maybe you’d dig too! Have your own agenda this weekend? Post it in our comments section! We don’t care where you live, just tell us what you have going on!

Friday 10/29

Personally, I am laying low tonight, at least that’s my plan. There is so much going on Saturday that I can’t possibly handle Friday too, but if you are looking for something fun to do, check out the Do512 page. There are so many events going on that you’ll have to come up with 3 different costumes just so all of your peeps won’t catch you wearing the same thing out Friday-Sunday! Below you’ll see the costume I’ve chosen for today. Yup, I am the only one here at Sweet Leaf Tea dressed up today. That’s alright. It wouldn’t be Halloween if I didn’t rock some crazy outfit! Still looking for costume ideas? @SweetLeafCharla wrote a cool post last year where she shared some good ideas. Consult and get creative!

Saturday 10/30

There is an INSANE amount of stuff going on this Saturday in and around town. Even the boot camp that I do, Fitness Unleashed is planning to have a costumed workout tomorrow morning. I won’t be there, but I’m sure it’ll be entertaining! Here’s a look at what I have coming up, but if it’s not your bottle of tea, don’t sweat it. Use that link I shared above for Do512 and check out what else is going on.

Tour de Fat The awesome folks at New Belgium throw an annual party dedicated to all things bicycle, sustainability and BEER! It starts this Saturday at Fiesta Gardens at 10:00AM for a COSTUME-FILLED parade and then the shenanigans begin! Roll on up, dress crazy, act wacky, but always, drink responsibly. It’ll be early yet!

Longhorn Game If you know me then you know that football is not my shtick but since I live in a burnt orange-crazed town, I think it’s only fair to mention that there is a game at 6PM against the Baylor Bears. Go get your tailgate on with some @TitosVodka and a touch of Granny, and watch some Horns throw down. Plus, you football fanatics will keep people off the streets for those of us out on bikes in costume.

Back to my reality…

Zombie Ball This party will be so freakin’ ridiculously off the chain that if I can’t find the time to use my tickets with all of the other fun stuff I have on my dance card, I’ll cry. Yes, really. It’s supposed to be THAT cool of a party. These partying zombies even combined their efforts with the Austin Bike Zoo to offer everyone a parade-type ride from the Red Scoot Inn to the Seaholm with all of the other zombies. MOREEEE BRAINSSSSSSSSSS!!

Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9) These guys are amazing live and are playing both Friday night and Saturday night at Stubb’s. Tickets are sold out but if you have the chance to see them, DO IT!

Did you go to STS9 and decide that you needed a little more? Good, head on over to The Parish. You will not be disappointed by what you see and hear. I am a HUGE fan of aural delights and Saturday night in Austin will be filled with them. Spooky, sultry, bass-filled and ELECTRONIC!

We are dying to know where you plan on spending the weekend. Holla!!

Have you ever “discovered” a band that had actually been around a long time, but for some reason or the other, you avoided it like the plague? The Gorillaz were just that band. I have friends that really dig them, but I guess I just didn’t give them a chance until they started popping up in my Pandora stations in recent years. You’d think as much as I love me some new wave, that I’d be totally interested in any band lead by Blur front man, Damon Albarn. Well, now I am. In fact, he’s my latest crush, right up there with Lorin from Bassnectar, James Murphy and Jack White. The dude is a genius. But more on that in a moment…

When I saw that they were coming to Austin, I jumped on the chance to pay a lot of $ to see them with some friends, fearing that it could be my only chance. Without studying up on them and being happy with the amount of music by the cartoon-character lead band that I had heard, my roommate and I headed out on our bikes to the Frank Erwin Center. DANG! After N.E.R.D. got the crowd going, the stage lit up in blue with giant letters that spelled out the band name, the cartoon story and music began and soon we were all looking and listening to a GIANT Snoop Dogg welcoming us to the world of the Plastic Beach.

From this moment on, we were completely captivated and engrossed in this fictitious world full of 2-D, Murdock, Noodle, Russel, Bruce Willis and more. Have you ever been lucky enough to see Pink Floyd live? They work really hard to get you to focus your attention on the music and the show as opposed to what they are doing on stage. I got the feeling that Damon Albarn prefers to operate the same way. As the man behind the curtain, Damon is able to control every bit of what we, the audience see and hear coming from the stage. There were so many musicians revolving around that it became impossible to count everyone up there and Damon was the one responsible for orchestrating the whole show. It was mind blowing. While dancing and watching the show my thoughts kept drifting back to work and the wonderful world of marketing. Why is this happening when I’m surrounded by my friends, incredible music and a complete spectacle? Because the Gorillaz are a brand and the Maestro makes sure that you and everyone present know who’s world you are entering. The giant screen had some of the best animation I’ve ever seen and mixed throughout all of the cartoons was the name, “Gorillaz”. At one point, towards the end of the show a giant, “I <3” flashed on the screen directly over the branded marquis. Was this sneaky? Maybe, I looked around when the “I love Gorillaz” sign flashed to see if anyone else was excited as I was by this surprise and uber intelligent branding, but apparently I was the only one in section 62 that appeared even outwardly aware of this amazing marketing. And yes, I was clapping like a crazy person. Crazy-in-love with how ridiculously savvy Damon is where branding is concerned. If you were there did you notice the overt branding? If so, were you offended by it? I wasn’t offended at all and actually became even more in-love with the Gorillaz and feel like they helped take the folks in the audience from “fans” to “family friends” in one set. Can you name another band that has successfully pulled that off without making you gag? I honestly can’t.

As a person who admittedly went into to this pseduo-blind, not only was I blown away by the (easy) marketing efforts by Damon and The Crew, I was also completely moved by the two last songs that went together, “Don’t Get Lost in Heaven” coupled with “Demon Days”. Just writing about this song, all of the hair on my arms is standing on end and I honestly feel like it was a life changing song. (It’s going on my “Mid-Life Crisis” mixed “tape”. Yup, that’s how rad it was!)  How many times in your life do you come across a brand, a band, a song or a person that seems to show up just when you need them to? This is one of those times and I’m glad that I could be a part of the show/life-changing event.

Curious about the set list? Check out what my buddy @AustinBloggyLimits had to say and share. Also check out the photos that the rad folks from the Austinist posted.

As you have read in my last blog, I have been running around in search of great parties and films related to the Austin Film Festival. So, after this Friday/Saturday/Sunday I have some pretty great stuff to report on! (in a timeline matter)

Friday:

So on Friday, I LEAP out of the office to hit up my first #AFF10 Expericnce, and I can’t think of a better way to do so than the Film Texas BBQ Supper!  I Scooted up there with @Sarahkwolf in a Vespa fashion and jumped right in.  Stubb’s BBQ was being served, red wine was being drank, and the film makers of the fest were out and about.  I met up with my friend Dan Steele, who later in the fest won the Teleplay Sitcom award [see left].  I ate, drank, then sprinted over to the Paramount to catch a Huge Buzz movie, Blue Valentine.  Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star in this film as a contemporary married couple that undergoes the trails and tribulations of married life, while the story bounces back and forth through the life of their relationship.  GREAT Movie, very depressing.  Surly, this movie will be receiving some oscar nominations.  One bonus from attending this film is that I sat directly behind JESSICA ALBA! (so hot…I mean, errr….classy).  Post J.A. awe, we headed over to Ruth Chris for the post party and snacked on some tasty seared ahi tuna and gin cocktails.

Saturday:

Opening my crusty eye at 11:30am, I realize that the first film of the day, and one I was most excited about, Echotone, was on at 1. So I jump out of bed and make it out to the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, to catch it. This movie was, from what I thought, going to be about the high-rise condos and sound ordinances that the city was rising vs. the live music scene in Austin.  It was not. The movie talked about some local bands and the struggle of being a musician, bands not wanting to sell out their soul for mass distribution, the fall of Sound Team after they signed with Capitol records, and touched on some city council meetings about the live music in Austin and how it was helpful to the Austin economy.  Overall, the movie had no direction and seemed like someone filmed a bunch of bands in the austin area, grabbed some city council meeting tapes, put it in a blender, punched grind, and poured it out on a plate.  After the movie, we grabbed some Bloody mary’s at a crappy 6th street bar and pranced back into the Ritz to catch Pickin and Grinnin.  Outside the two main characters were playing a song from the movie!  Awesome, see photo here <==.  This movie rocked.  About a brother duo trying to make it in the country music scene and driving across the US in their winnebago Gomer.  Funny story with guest apperance by ZZ top’s Billy F. Gibbons.  Great film.  Company Men was up next at the Paramount. So, we scooted over there to catch a glimpse of this Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones movie about 2 men trying to survive a round of corporate layoff and how to make it through hard times.  Great movie played well by all parties.  One side note, after going to all these movies to realize that the paramount seats are the most uncomfortable seats you could imagine.  after 15 minutes your booty is begging to leave. (FYI)

Sunday:

HAIR OF THE DOG BRUNCH!  I was stoked to be able to check out Ranch 616 for the only time they serve brunch each year.  Chorizo scrambled eggs, endless mimosas, bacon, biscuit and gravy, refried beans, queso, brisket, homemade tortillas, HOT DAMN it was amazing.  Makes a small town country boy so excited he eats 3 lbs of food and passes out for 3 hours missing a movie he really wanted to see……damn.

time lapse

7:00pm I get in line for a movie that I was SUPER excited about.  S&M Lawncare!  This film ismade by a production house in Oklahoma called Singletree Productions.  It is comprised of a few guys, low budgets, and hilarious films.  This movie was awesome.  It covered small town best friends that own a lawn care business and suddenly they start losing lawns to a competitior.  It’s a low budget comedy and full of laughs!  Plus I stood next to the actors in line to get into the theater, see photo left.

Overall, this weekend kicked-ass!  Tons of movies, friends, and good times!  PLUS, It’s not over. I still have 4 more night coming up!  If you are out and about seeing 127 hours or Black Swan, hit me up!  I’ll be there with a grin on my face, popcorn in my mouth, and some titos in my pocket.

–@SweetLeafDanny out!

OK.  So I picked up my badge and am STOKED about hitting up all the films this year.  I sat down last night and hashed through the film guide, downloaded the iPhone app (super helpful and a must if you have a badge/pass), and picked all the movies I am trying to see and created my schedule at www.austinfilmfestival.com.  I can’t wait!  Two films that I’m making sure I get to see are Echotone [see trailer below] and S&M Lawn Care!  Echotone is a film about the sounds ordinances in Austin and the struggle between the venues/bands/performers and city hall/home owners.  (from what I got from the trailer).  S&M Lawn Care is a comedy about 2 guys that own a lawn care business, definitely a comedy [trailer below].  More information on these film post viewing.

I’m also checking out some of the parties.  Tonight, I’m hitting up the Texas Film BBQ Supper at 5:30PM and then the Luna Film Makers Happy Hour around 11PM.

Check out my schedule below and hit me up if I need to make some changes or what you think about some of the films!  –@SweetLeafDanny out.

Austin Film Fest has been hitting the Austin Streets in Mid to Late October since 1994.  Last year I ended up winning 2 Lonestar Badges for the festival and saw some [over 10] amazing films.  Precious and Up in the Air to name two. This festival is a great time to see some films that are not yet released, some indie films that may never get released, and to enjoy the art that is cinematic features, including shorts! This year, I’m at it again with @SarahKWolf. I love walking across austin, feeling the chill of fall breezes against my face, and then ducking into one of Austin’s theaters with popcorn, a loved one, and quite possibly a flask in my hip pocket.

Today, I’m picking up my badge and I couldn’t be more excited.  I mean, a laminate with your credentials and your photo on it would make anyone feel important, right?   I feel like I’m with the CIA when I walk up the the Paramount downtown and flash the badge to jump line!

Unfortunately,  because I have been so busy with ACL, I haven’t had time to research some of the films.  I know I want to see 127 Hours [see trailer below], but other than that I have no clue what is worthy of seeing!  I am going to check out the schedule tomorrow, but If you have any suggestions, send them my way!  I’ll be recapping my favorite films/shorts after the fest is over.  If you don’t have a ticket…get one here! It’s $50 but that is 5 movies at regular price, plus you get priority in line!   They are cheap and worth it for a quality cultural experience that keeps Austin, Texas, what it is today!  –@SweetLeafDanny

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