We hired the Grooves after seeing them perform at a friend's wedding. They did a fantastic job and…read morekept everyone engaged during their 6 hour performance at our wedding. My favorite thing about working with Ron was his professionalism. If you are looking for a band, you might not be thinking that this is an important factor, but leading up to the wedding, it made a huge difference for me. Ron sent an email every time he received a payment confirming receipt and updating our new balance. Three weeks from the date of the event, he sent a brief confirmation sheet pertaining to our schedule of events. In addition, I provided him with an extensive script and schedule which they did a great job of following the night of. The band sounded great and we received many compliments on how much fun they were from guests. Great job THE GROOVES!

The Grooves were an amazing Austin band! They kept the crowd going and dancing. Not only were they…read moreamazing at performing, but very easy to work with and responded immediately to my inquiry. I work with a lot of bands being an event producer and I would definitely recommend this band!

PART TWO: OK, I'm…read moredone with my "rant" (sorry, I was "born this way"; oops, wrong artist), time to focus on the actual show. Steve Vai was simply AMAZING! I don't think he's capable of putting on a bad show. I bought my ticket well in advance, & still wish I'd done it sooner. I was in the Orchestra, about 15 rows back. Show was at the PARAMOUNT THEATER. What a JUXTAPOSITION! Opened in 1915, The Paramount harkens back to an even earlier period, somewhere in the 19th Century. Contrast that with some of the most technically advanced music of OUR age, & it blows the mind! Man, if the original architects could see it now, completely restored, still every bit the JEWEL of Downtown Austin as it was, "back in the day". Pick out something YOU like, and GO! Find yourself a REASON to get inside the building! I've seen everyone from the late Carlos Montoya to Pat Metheny, & many others. Folks were SHORTER 100 years ago; I'm "average" height (6'1"), & the Balcony seats are cramped, but ONLY from there can ya truly appreciate the ornate GRANDEUR of the scroll work surrounding the Stage, from top to bottom. A modern movie theater is made from tilted concrete walls, & has no soul. The Paramount Theater's truly a SHRINE to the Arts. In our clamor for "progress", we've lost something. I'll cover the Paramount more on its own page, but I had ta digress; back to "Little Stevie Vai" (what a NICE little boy!). NO elaborate light show, NO costuming (well, there was the one "alien?" suit he wore). NO GIMMICKS! It's all about the MUSIC. Let's make sure EVERYONE gets their just due. The main members of the Band for "The Story of Light" tour include: BASS: Philip Bynoe GUITAR: Dave Weiner DRUMS: Jeremy Colson And a few supporting members whose names I don't know; sorry. Much (but not all) of Steve's music is complicated, poly-rhythmic, in odd time signatures, & maybe not "accessible" for the "GAP" (definition in Part One). It's difficult to classify what "genre" it is; I guess "fusion" would come the closest, but that label seems to conjure up images of Avant Garde Jazz. Steve Vai is NOT Jazz. You just have to hear for yourself; you'll either hate it, or you will LOVE it. And apparently, younger folks are fans too; there were TONS of twenty-&-thirty-something's there! He might not be the biggest "draw" in the Industry, but the age range is an indication folks will be listening to Steve Vai for a LONG time. Most of the show (as usual) was instrumental. Steve's got quite a bit of solo material, but many (including me) think "Passion and Warfare" is one of his best albums. Accordingly, the songs in this work are ALWAYS a major part of his shows. The climax of the concert (though not the end) is "For the Love of God". Also from "Passion", there's "The Audience Is Listening", a depiction of a "show and tell" from yer Grammar School days, with his ACTUAL childhood teacher, Nancy Fagan, pleading, BEGGING him to turn it down ("boys, it's getting too LOUD."). I mean, he warned her ("Just wanna warn ya; it's gonna be LOUD"). The song is re-enacted live, compete with Nancy's (recorded) voice. That's another thing about Steve: his humor. He's a virtuoso, but he doesn't take himself too seriously, or seriously AT ALL, really. None of the "angst" with which too many Jazz musicians are afflicted. The music will play to your intellect, but you'll also LAUGH YOUR ASS OFF! As always, there's an acoustic set, & Steve is just as mesmerizing doing "Wooden Music" as on Electric. He brought up a coupla audience members, to "write" a song for the band. He'd have them sing or "beat box" lil' parts, and "build" the song by adding each part, one at a time. But we need someone else, to complete the picture; we need (Steve's words here, I'll not argue): "The BEST guitarist in the World!" Well, we ARE in Austin, right? Can ya see where this is going? Who should walk onstage but ERIC JOHNSON! Now, I've seen Steve before, and Eric sat in that time too. So, at a certain point, I knew what was coming, but that didn't make it any less COOL. Of course, they played with Joe Satriani, in G3; I believe they were the FIRST to tour with him under that name (saw that too, at AMH). Of course, there's the obligatory Encore, & afterwards, possibly the nicest, most sincere "Thank You" to the audience I ever heard. Steve loves coming to Austin, as do many other artists, so we sometimes get that EXTRA special show the rest of the Country doesn't (like Eric Johnson stoppin' by). But Steve's got other friends in Austin as well (Terry Bozzio, for one), so I know when he talks about loving Austin, he really MEANS it! All in all, a GREAT SHOW! Again, I encourage you to at least check out "Passion and Warfare", and you'll see why I'm so enthusiastic about Steve Vai. I'd ask ya to go check him out, but by now, he's in S. America, on the next leg of his tour, so ya missed out. larrythediner .

My husband and I have been to see several shows by the Texas Performing Arts. Every show we have…read moreseen has been amazing. The artist that perform are always excellent at their jobs and the shows are always great. The sets and scenes are creative and the overall experience is fun. I really enjoy watching the musicals. We will continue to go watch different performances in the future.

I love Texas Performing Arts! I've been going to shows at Bass Concert Hall since I was in high…read moreschool and it's so cool that they have ticket lotteries, discount tickets for students, and the Bass is just an amazing venue. There isn't a bad seat in the house and the acoustics are great. I've seen Broadway musical shows here like Hamilton, Rent, Hadestown, Shucked, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, comedians like Flight of the Concords and artists like Yuna. Go see a show!

ARSJB are great! I love to go to Quality Seafood on Mondays to eat crabs and listen to good music!…read more Not only do they have musical talent; they are great performers with excellent interaction with the audience.

Fantastic! Their musicianship is stellar and they have so much fun, and such a sense of humor,…read moreit's just impossible to not have fun at their gigs. They do traditional jazz, which is, itself, very fun music. This band brings it on to the max! They played our wedding and it was outrageously fun. I highly recommend them as a wedding band. They're great musicians, really fun, professional, and nice people you'd actually want to have at your wedding. And in addition to that, as a huge bonus, they do traditional jazz which is a kind of music that people of all ages really enjoy.

This has to be one of the most unique and interesting ways to celebrate a milestone of any sort…read more From birthday celebrations to drag bingo, Extragrams has you covered. I've seen Extragrams do a surprise drop-by with a drag queen doing a drag telegram (virtually at that during a video call) and it was the most grandest thing to see. As a few months went by, I recently had the chance to see them in action hosting a live drag bingo night I attended and the comedy from the drag artist, Celia Light, was superb and A-star quality. I found myself laughing so hard because they were so dumb and knew how to get the crowd going. They are perfect for creating some priceless memories and I'll be booking them myself soon enough.

I LOVE Extragrams! They 100% know how to surprise and make you smile - and dance!…read more My first experience with Extragrams was when my bestie surprised me after I was simply having a bad week and not feelin' myself. She lifted my spirits with Extragrams, who showed up at my gate as I was leading a video team call. It was epic... I brought along my laptop so my team could witness the surprise at my door. I had SUCH a memorable moment that I booked Extragrams for a friend's birthday party since I couldn't be there in person. My friend to this day says that was the best gift he'd ever received! And to my surprise, he'd never seen a drag performance prior to Extragrams poppin' his cherry! If you want an epic gift for a friend or entertainment for a party, funciton, gathering... go with Extragrams. Important to note: Extragrams now services Houston, which is what these two experiences and review are based on.

I did not know this was a weekly thing, but we saw the 4th of July concert and fireworks show. It…read morewas not nearly as crowded as I expected (feared) it to be, and it was a great show. At least for the 4th of July, there were plenty of vendors, or you could just bring your own coolers and lawn chairs to enjoy the music. The Yeti Flagship is within walking distance, and we saw MANY people with brand new Yeti coolers on the lawn if you're doing last-minute planning.

Sunday evenings! Love them. I steal a couple of glorious hours hosting a leisurely picnic with…read morefriends while watching the sun go down and being serenaded by a portion of the Austin Symphony with the picturesque city skyline as a back drop. In their ninth season, these concerts are the Hartman Foundations summer gift to Austin. During this 2011 summer season, every Sunday from June 5 to Aug 28, they rotate a weekly program of Strings, Brass, Woodwinds and Big Band. The music starts promptly at 7:30 but die hard Symphony goers, extreme picnicers and take out eaters start are known to get there 30-45 minutes ahead, and enjoy the evening. It is family, kid and dog friendly. It is the perfect wind down to a summer weekend! Here is their 2011 schedule: http://www.austinsymphony.org/events/hartman-foundation-concerts-in-the-park/

I saw them in Fredricksburg, TX last weekend and they were the best. The music was diverse, and the…read morecrowd loved them. I danced all night and had a great time, I'd see them again if I had the opportunity.

We stumbled into our normal north Austin restaurant for happy hour yesterday around 6pm.  Caboose…read morewas going to be performing at 8:15, and they were doing a sound check.  The drummer was pounding the drum over and over again.  The bass guitar was also playing notes for the sake of noise and the keyboard would randomly check in.  Most people go to Happy Hour to chat with friends after a long week.  With this "sound check" going on and on it was simply impossible to speak.   We've been here many, many times, and all the Friday evening bands have to check levels, but it's never gone on like this. We spoke to our waitress who said it had been going on since 2:30 and the wait staff appeared to be annoyed.  She spoke to someone who said he could turn off the sound and we'd just hear vocals.  Which was true, for about 5 mins.  Then they sang a number to check their levels (it's now about 7pm).  They finally sat down for a break before they're officially started.  We were able to could continue with conversation asking to for our tickets around 8pm. We heard the first song, which was obviously well rehearsed, however you couldn't hear the vocalist over the bass guitar.  It seems if they are going to interrupt a happy hour for several hours to check levels, the levels should be spot on when it begins.   Again, I stress, this band has a perfectly wonderful sound.  Obviously well rehearsed and work together.  However, they're never ending sound check needs to be taken into consideration to business owners realizing that patrons will have to experience a cacophonous happy hour while the band sets levels which seems to lead to a bass guitar solo while the gifted vocalist's lyrics can't be heard.     I don't think the blame falls Completely on the group though (hence three stars instead of 1), the restaurant manager should have been more proactive in getting them under control.

Saw them lst week in Rockwall. They were awesome and a ton of fun. After the first couple of…read moresong, the crowd started signing along, and then each song was better than the one before. The whole place was signing and dancing. Thinking about hiring them for my wife'd bday party.