Austin
We arrived in Austin quite exhausted from the chaos of New Orleans, but I was excited since I had heard great things about the city. It didn’t disappoint. On the evening of our arrival, we grabbed a quick bite and headed over to a gig venue called Strange Brew which had been recommended to Paloma. It consisted on one side of a small coffee shop whose customers seemed primarily to be deeply engaged in whatever was on their computer screens – the kind of patrons I’ve noticed now seem to make up the majority in America’s coffee shops. A door connected the café with the music venue on the other side, a space which was set out like a kind of casual concert room, with rows of chairs placed in fairly intimate distance of the modestly sized stage. There was a cover charge for the gig, something we hadn’t previously encountered in the café-style venues before, but it didn’t take long for us to see why.
Perhaps it was naïve of us to assume that the heavily pregnant woman who was doing the sound check must be some kind of assistant, but in our defence she was heavily pregnant and all I’ve ever heard is that women in such conditions must not remain too long on their feet or endure too much exertion. Well not this lady. We were pleasantly surprised when she somehow strapped on her guitar and began singing in a striking voice which was soft, powerful and distinct at the same time. The singer, called Suzanna Choffel, was accompanied by a band of highly talented musicians on guitar/keyboard, bass and drums, together creating a sound for which I’m having difficulty finding a description. This doesn’t seem uncommon, as even her website says her style is hard to pin down. The Internet tells me indie folk, reggae, R&B and pop, which is sort of in keeping with my brother’s description of ‘alternative with elements of reggae’ and Paloma’s use of the ‘singer-songwriter’ umbrella label.
Whatever you want to call it, we all agreed that Choffel’s show was very good. I loved her voice and the way she performed, because of the combination of her relaxed, easy and friendly rapport with the audience as well as her band, her energetic delivery (I’m talking at most two months away from childbirth here) and just the quality of her music. She was also extremely warm and friendly when Paloma told her about the documentary. When we looked her up after the show, we found out how much she’s done, from festival appearances to award wins and international tours. She was also a contestant on the third season of The Voice and was featured in the Catfish film. Not that you’d guess she was so successful from the modesty she gave off and the fact that her show really just seemed about the music. I also wouldn’t have known she’s played to crowds of literally millions given how easy and comfortable this more intimate performance at Strange Brew felt.
The next morning we did a few loops around downtown Austin to find parking, unfortunately an activity we’ve become used to during our various city visits, before taking a stroll around the impressive state capitol – which none of us actually knew about – and going inside briefly to take a look before meeting Francois, a friend of Robbie’s and mine who came from San Antonio to have lunch with us. We went to a barbecue restaurant, which was a good choice since we were under strict instructions from Paloma’s mum to sample ribs both in Texas and Tennessee to help settle an apparently long-standing dispute about which are better. We had a great time and were very grateful to Francois for making the effort to come up and see us. He also put us in touch with his sister Maddie in Memphis, who was absolutely wonderful when we visited there, but I’ll leave it to Robbie to sing her praises in the Memphis post up next. Still, a huge thank you from me to the family for their immense kindness. We’ll also have to give the rib verdict in the next post.
Following our lunch with Francois, we had an interview with two members of a bluegrass band called Whiskey Shivers. They were very nice and funny, and I found their interview both interesting and amusing. I actually didn’t hear their music until after, and when we played it in the car its authenticity just made these guys even more intriguing to me. I never would have guessed that was their style of music from meeting them, and I love being surprised like that. They also sang Austin’s praises in the interview, referring to the community-like feel among artists who are all about helping each other, rather than competing. This was interesting because this strong support network was also mentioned by our next interviewee, Lauren Bruno, so there must be something to it. Another interesting point Whiskey Shivers made, I thought, was when they said how they might have made more money doing other music in the past, but that they had never been happier than they are now, and that was what they valued. It is, to me, a perspective which sets the lesser known artists apart from the big names in a very positive way.
After the interview we headed over to the South Congress Avenue or SoCo area, a trendy district of the city known for its wacky independent shops and cool restaurants. After perusing some shops and getting some food in a hipstery veggie café, we headed back to the Airbnb, the home of the very welcoming Jenny and Ian, for an early night as Paloma had an early flight to Miami the next morning for her mother’s birthday celebrations.
On our last day in Austin, Robbie and I took a free walking tour offered by the city’s visitor centre. Our guide, an Austin native who’s lived there his whole life and had consequent extensive knowledge of the city’s history, showed us the historic sights of downtown Austin, including the huge state capitol and various buildings and spots in the Congress Avenue area. We ended the tour at the jaw-dropping Driskill hotel.
Next, we had an interview with singer-songwriter Lauren Bruno, who shared an interesting perspective of the music scene and told us about her band, Les RAV, which is described online as a ‘riveting female fronted and piano driven quirky chamber-pop group featuring dark yet inspirational folk music’. What I most enjoyed about Lauren’s interview was how her enthusiasm for and belief in her music came through.
In the late afternoon, Rob and I walked more around downtown and made our way over to the town lake area, which looked very nice at dusk, before heading over to the buzzing Sixth Street area which is full of bars and restaurants and tonnes of live music. We chose a sort of country blues band to record for a bit, but unfortunately didn’t get to experience the district’s full potential, as we had to be up bright and early for our solo ten-hour drive to Memphis.
It’s probably clear from the length of this post how much I enjoyed Austin. I think it is one of my favourite cities so far, and it really had that I-could-live-here feel for me.
On a side note, a considerable omission on my part has been brought to my attention. In my post on Washington DC, I neglected to mention a certain canine character who was part of our host family. The reason for this omission is purely that it has been more commonplace for us to encounter dogs at the houses of our hosts, but I can safely say that Mica was not only the most beautiful, with her piercing blue eyes and strong build, but by far the cleverest. Her walk time shenanigans showed off her playfulness as well as her intelligence to give her the number one place in our Road2Roots dog rankings. And this is serious business, considering she beat out a dog actually named James Brown.
