Music for the Soul at The Parish in Austin

Austin Texas is supposed to be home of some of the best music and music venues around, so we had to see for ourselves if we could find an authentic Austin experience. We were told to check out 6^th St. for music by our camp ground host. 6th street was full of local college students and promoters trying to bring people into to their bars and see their show. [pullquote]It was like a sanctuary standing in the mist of the madness of 6^th St.[/pullquote]

It was overwhelming to have all these choices. Fortunately it was a magnificent late October night and we had plenty of time on the parking meter to just browse the streets. The streets were loaded with music venues promoting all types of music, how does one choose?

As night came on and the temperature cooled we found ourselves at the door of The Parish. It was like a sanctuary standing in the mist of the madness of 6^th St.  We found what we were looking for–we had found our music outlet.

We hardly took notice of the Parish at first. The first floor bar and restaurant seemed to blend in with everything other place lining the street: loud, dark, and crowded.

The manager, Matt, came outside the double-doors of The Parish while we where making a decision about whether to take a seat or keep walking. Matt intercepted us just in time and invited us to be his guest at the show and experience the famous venue.

We didn’t know that it was famous, but Matt told us that they have often been written up for having an amazingly well equipped sound system, the whole place is designed to have great acoustics, and that it’s one of the best venues in Austin.

We climbed the stairs to the large room removed from the party scene below that housed a small bar, a stage off to the corner, and about fifty seats. Matt explained that the performers asked for a small personal show, and we got the last of the seats.

The bartender passed us a couple of Lone Star beers. We had never seen these before, it must be a Texas thing. We were blow away by the smooth flavor. Malted and not overly hoppy, it set the relaxing mood for the show just right. We sat down and savored our beer while we waited for the show to start.

Excited to get the Austin music experience, we didn’t much care who was playing, we had faith that The Parish would not let us down. Our faith paid off, we got one great show.

The sweet voice of Jonah Werner came at us first. His wonderfully playful showmanship was a joy to watch. Each song had a fun story. His mellow voice took us on journey through his life as an awkward teenager making the change to adulthood while growing up in Colorado.

After Jonah’s show I could hardly think what the next act would be like. Jonah’s voice still was resonating in me. So when Trace Bundy appeared on stage with just a guitar and several brightly colored capos (guitar fret clamps), I got excited.

Trace had accompanied Jonah on a few songs so we had gotten a preview of his talent, but he was definitely playing in the background and letting Jonah’s songs shine. Once he began his solo show he really pulled out all the stops (and all the capos)!

Trace  was playing his guitar in a beautiful enchanting way that reminded me of other instrumentals bands like Dirty Three and Explosions in the Sky (some of my favorite).  With just a few pure notes, and a clean sound from each note played, it is its own voice. I love the instrumental rock/classical music genre and was excited to find a new artist.

He also told personal stories to introduce his songs, this gave each song a deep moving meaning that we as an audience could follow and become a part of.  His music was really enjoyable for me; I love the simpleness of using just a guitar, yet he created complex songs that really make you think and feel something deep inside yourself.

Trace Bundy and Jonah Warren gave us a memorable show, leaving us in a haze of their performance and The Parish gave them an acoustically balanced stage to perform on.Austin music definitely stood up to all the hype. I think we probably found the best show on 6^th St., at least the best for us.