The Black, Blackheart Society, Red Leaves, Red X Red M December 9, 2006

Callithump's "Black & Red Christmas" show at Club Dada, 2720 Elm St at 9pm w/ The Black, Blackheart Society, Red Leaves, Red X Red M, $6/21+, $8/under 21 (1/2 off admission when you bring a new toy for Toys for Tots!)
The Black bio: "The Black rise up from the gravelly bed of rock and roll, looking back at the history of American music in order to find themselves in the present. Inspired by such phenomenon as Stager Lee, Bob Dylan and the Band, Stax Soul and Hank Williams, the Black search restlessly for the familiar rhythm and the hidden note.
Centered around the songwriting of David Longoria and Alan Schaefer, the Black assemble their music with the help of members of various Austin, Texas musical institutions such as ...And You Will Know us by the Trail of Dead, Voxtrot and Knife in the Water.
The first release, Tanglewood, was recorded in 2004. Touring began in 2005 as the group crossed Europe, Canada and the USA with Trail of Dead. Further touring through the midwest and east coast as well as frequent stands on Austin stages have followed.
The Black recently recorded a new set of songs in Austin with Erik Wofford (Voxtrot, Black Angels) at Cacophony Recorders. Titled Donna EP, the new recording finds a more focused sound, recorded live in one afternoon with no overdubs."
Red Leaves review on Austin360.com: "A few years ago, when nobody was really looking, the Cure stopped being a phase hip kids went through in high school and became a genuine influence. The flanged guitar, the keening, moaning vocals, the whole shebang started showing up in every independent rock band from the Arcade Fire to Franz Ferdinand.
Red Leaves understand. The six clipped, fuzzy songs on "All the Zombies" blends Cureish singing with muffled, lo-fi guitar pop. This is a tough combo to pull off and actually has more potential than you might think, but Red Leaves sound like they just started to tap it on "All." David Lujan has his Robert Smith sing-moan down cold on the title track, which really does sound like a demo off the Cure's "Seventeen Seconds" album. (That's really the record these bands love to sound like, and the world might never know why.) Bassist Singer Mayberry ("Singer" is both name and job) lightens things up with her soft background vocals, while fuzzy guitar livens things up on "Always Behind." But Red Leaves will have to decide if they're going to use the lo-fi sound to their advantage, a la '90s indie pop bands such as Sebadoh and Beat Happening, or move on to something a little more hi-fi, something that lets their post-punky darkness shine a little brighter."

Official Website: http://myspace.com/callithumpproductions