Austin, Texas, Capitol of Texas; and more Good Times

Austin, Texas, Capitol of Texas; and more Good Times
June 11th-16th
Arriving in Austin after a brief tour of the hill country and removing myself from Kerrville, all the new discoveries, am I ready for Austin, The Live Music Capitol of the World, sorry Portland. My host says we must see the bats, they are amazing, a beautiful evening after a great meal at Curra’s, wonderful Mexican food with some delicious salsa and Texas Mexican food Tex-mex, then we head to the river, the crowds have gathered, we go to the north side of the river, you can watch from the south side, but you are under the bats there, if it feels like rain, but smells different, it's bat poop, the bridge is a great spot to watch as well, or in one of many boats. The History of Free tail Bats in Austin ... In 1980, while reconstructing the Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin, bridge engineers had no idea that new crevices created beneath the bridge would make an ideal place for a bat roost. Even though they had lived there for years, it was headline news when the bats suddenly began moving in under the Austin Bridge by the thousands. After the novelty of this unusual occurrence had worn off, the public began to react in fear. Many activists within the Austin community began petitioning to have the colony eradicated.
About that time, a group now know as Bat Conservation International, stepped in and began an educational process about the bats. They educated Austinites to the fact that they are gentle and incredibly sophisticated animals, and that they eat from 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of insects, including mosquitoes, each night.
The campaign proved to be successful as Austin came to appreciate its bats and even erected a bat sculpture in honor of this unique and spectacular mammal. Since then, the population under the Congress Avenue Bridge has grown to be the largest urban colony in North America. Up to 1.5 million make nightly flights creating a most unusual tourist attraction for Austin.
They arrive in mid-March and return to Mexico in early November. They emerge at different times every night, but the hotter and drier the weather gets, the earlier they will get hungry and set out for food.
August is the best viewing month, not only because they come out before sundown, but because the newborn bats (called pups) are just beginning to forage with their mothers.
Austin's bridge bats are Mexican Free-Tail, which migrate each spring from central Mexico. Most of the colony is female, and in early June each one gives birth to a single pup. The pink, hairless babies grow to be about three to four inches long, with a wingspan of up to a foot. In just five weeks, they'll learn to fly and hunt insects on their own.
Great fun, and Austin is a great small city, not without it’s issues, growth, their wonderful Barton Springs, a great place for swimming is becoming being invaded by algae because of development around the lake, they could use a better transportation system, maybe copy Portland, it works well here, like Portland it’s a place people want to live. I would love to live here. And the music scene, are there 30 hours in a day? The older, poor neighborhoods are being purchased and remodeled, and there are still some unique pockets of culture here. So, Good luck Austin!
On to fun stuff, we eat at Curra’s Grill Monday night, everything was excellent, try the salsa sampler, my favorite was the roasted pumpkin seed salsa, and they have whole fish, too.
Our table eats everything, we tasted everything from each other’s dishes, and the prices are also not bad.
After Kerrville, there is a review at the Cactus Cafe on campus, lots of known famous people got started here, tonight is a one song review night by the staff and fellow musicians, everyone is clean, and we smelled good, and we got to look at each other in fresher clothes. The music was filled with great spirit, and final good-bye’s till next year.
Grant, one of many new friends called, Johnny Winter is playing in Bee Cave, he can flat out play guitar and at his age, he can still kick most (all) people's butt, he did a Muddy Water’s tribute, his playing was out of this world, sadly his voice, does not have the strength it had, all in all, he’s still alive and well, finishing the night with Dylan’s Highway 61, ironic that’s were I am headed. Please Robert Johnson send me a message.
On my final night, I had an Austin night out, Jerry Stile’s, who has a song “I found a Trailer to match My Truck”, great fun Tejas country music at Artz BBQ, the ribs was good, the service, let’s call her Casper, they pay servers like $2 per hour here, you would think, you would try harder for a tip!
Then we when to Jovita Café to hear Colombian music by a group called Cerronata, they were hot, and the dancers are even hotter. We finished the night at the Saxon with Jon Dee Graham, he rocks, his gravelly voice, lyrics and stage performance, we rocked till 2am.
This is the best town for live music, there are great bands and venues in Portland, but we are infants compared to Austin. There are so many clubs, Threadgill, Antoine’s, the Continental Club where Toni Price plays every Tuesday at 7pm. Get the Chronicle their weekly paper, and have fun.
The food joints I counted had 170 listings for BBQ, 472 for Mexican, and there are other types of food as well, where to start. My favorite BBQ is the County Line, the beans are the best I have ever tasted, and the ribs tender, sweet, the sauce perfect!
Other places to try Salt Lick 360, Rudy’s Country Bar-B-Q and the Iron Works to name a few.
It’s downtown is full of shops, small and large, lots of eateries, tour the Capitol, you can walk to so many clubs here, you could go to a different restaurant and club in 365 days and not go to the same place.
Austin has a delightful Art Museum AMoA, it’s recent show OVER+OVER, Passion for Process, 13 artist, surprising beauty out of the mundane, using playing cards, pencil stubs, tires, road maps, dollar bills, marker caps, twist ties, and pasta.
“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons” from T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” 1917, he overheard women who, come and go talking of Michelangelo, artist of his time were more likely inspired by cups, saucers, spoons and newspapers.
Finishing out my day, there was a parade celebrating the freeing of the slaves 141 years ago called Juneteenth, all over Texas there were celebrations, and marching bands, Texas is a land of many peoples, with a rich history dating back to the Native Americans and even before. It’s in the rocks, the water, the food, song and dance, its weather and it’s a damn big state.
Well I do have to go, to wander once more.
Thanks Austin, I will be back, soon!