Social media Rock Star

Kickstarter's favorite rock star Amanda Palmer comes to Austin on a crowdsourcedtour

Photo by Shervin Lainez

When people in Austin throw around the phrase “social media rock star,” it’s most likely said admiringly (or pejoratively) to emphasize that someone’s particularly adept at using the Facebook/Twitter/et al series of tubes to connect with people in magnetic fashion.

But the closest your typical social media rock star ever gets to rocking a real audience in the flesh is at SXSW Interactive's annual TechKaraoke.

Amanda Palmer, on the other hand, is a social media rock star in the most literal double-meaning of the phrase.

Since debuting as half of the Dresden Dolls in 2000, Palmer’s been a risk-taking, provocative genre-bender, blending cabaret, punk, and piano balladry into a formula that’s found a cult following of fans that skews steampunk but is decidedly more diverse than that.

In addition to her wide array of original material, she’s delved into eclectic cover version territory through the years that is fiercely post-modern. These include haunting versions of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” and Neutral Milk Hotel’s “Two-Headed Boy,” archly comic renderings of Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” and the literal video version of Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” as well as an entire EP of Radiohead covers played on ukelele.

She’s amassed a Twitter network of more than 662,000 followers, built over the past few years by particularly direct engagement with followers, including, for a time, a series weekly Friday computer chat sessions hashtagged #LOFNOTC – standing for "Losers Of Friday Night On Their Computers."

After her escape from her contract with Roadrunner Records in 2010, where she characterized herself as an unappreciated outlier inadequately understood or promoted by the label, she took to the artist fundraiser site Kickstarter and raised a staggering $1.2 million to fund the just-released Theater Is Evil album and the subsequent tour (which makes its Austin stop at Stubb’s tonight.)

The album debuted at #10 on the Billboard charts this week; of course, the charts are increasingly confusing in this multi-channeled promotional landscape. Billboard noted, deep into an article on this week's Top 10 (in which the Dave Matthews Band still, depressingly, has the power to debut at #1), that Palmer's high placement had a lot to do with the Kickstarter campaign, and its donors receiving copies of the album for helping fund its creation.

But as Palmer herself is fond of Tweeting, #wearethemedia, and Theater Is Evil adds an intriguing new facet to the continuing narrative in which we’re pretty much all both consumers and producers.

But for all the positives that social media has brought Palmer, she’s also borne the special brand of public scorn that comes from living so publicly online. At the outset of this tour, she went online to offer local horn and string players the chance to join the band on stage at various tour stop cities, to be paid in beer and joy.

This attracted the attention of media outlets (including the New York Times) and critics (including the irascible Steve Albini, the indie rock celebrity most likely to say “Get Off My Lawn”) wondering why Palmer couldn’t afford to pay musicians in actual money when she’d tapped into so much Internet booty.

Palmer, to her credit, addressed the criticisms head on via Twitter, even retweeting some Twitticisms directed her way in the interest of transparency (or, perhaps, following the maxim that all press is good press). She also clarified that members of The Grand Theft Orchestra, her touring band, are indeed receiving salaries and not just subsisting on the joy of playing live.

It’s made for an interesting debate, to say the least, among the Pay All Artists camp and the Haters Gonna Hate camp.

Perhaps more importantly, Theater Is Evil is a genuinely phenomenal album, worthy of the investment all those fans made. Those familiar with her work will undoubtedly recognize throughlines on this album from previous ones: some plaintive songs heavy on piano and emoting, some campy pomp, and some style-conscious indie pop. But there’s also some textures on the new album owing to first-generation new wave, replete with herky-jerky guitars and vocal bravado, that Palmer wears especially well.

Placing herself firmly in 2012 Internet lexicography, the album’s first song is titled, “Smile (Pictures Or It Didn’t Happen)” and mentions Instagram. Another song references playing Van Halen and Slayer on a ukelele, which might be a sort of cryptic shout-out to herself and the Radiohead project. It's arguably the best album to put into a 2012 time capsule, if the Mayans are inspiring anyone out there to do that.

Palmer’s also an arresting live performer, as those Austinites who saw the November 2010 Dresden Dolls reunion show at La Zona Rosa can attest. It was — if it's even possible to sum up that night in a single phrase — a marathon of a show full of emotional oscillation and awesome costuming.

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Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchesta perform Wednesday night at Stubb's at 9 p.m. Tickets are still available via Stubb’s website.

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High Score

Austin named the nation's pickleball capital in industry report

Photo by Henry Selis Photo

Other Racquet Social Club is back after city woes.

It's no secret that Austinites love pickleball. A new study proves just how much by ranking Austin the No. 1 city for pickleball in the whole country. Dallas and Houston also made the top 10 at Nos. 3 and 8, respectively.

The report was published by TeachMe.To, an online marketplace for learning sports (and sometimes music) from private instructors. It used data from its own platform, USA Pickleball, Places2Play, local pickleball associations, and more. It also referred to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), which named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America, with a growth rate of 223.5 percent over three years.

Similarly, TeachMe.To ranked Austin as the fastest-growing city for pickleball, and citing this as the main reason for the overall title of "the nation's pickleball capital."

It name-checked the Austin Metro Pickleball Association (AMPA) — with approximately 3,000-3,500 members — and the Austin Pickleball League (APL), estimating that overall, "15,000-20,000 people play pickleball at least occasionally in the greater Austin area." About half of those players — about 8,000-10,000 people — play at least twice a month.

The report did not include gender data on Austin, specifically, but it did note that not only are two-thirds of pickleball players female; women's involvement in the sport is also growing 50 percent faster than men's.

New courts everywhere
This probably isn't a surprise to people who have noticed the number of courts opened around Austin in recent years. By 2024, TeachMe.To's data shows 32 dedicated courts in Austin, and thanks to with a utility rate of 92 percent it doesn't look like that'll be slowing down.

In the summer of 2023, the online booking platform Swimply noticed how many pickleball courts there were in Austin compared to such great demand, and added courts to its service. In fall 2023 and summer 2024, at least two important developments expanded that availability: Other Racquet Social Club opened as a friendly, country club-like neighborhood option, and national chain The Picklr announced it's bringing five locations to Austin and Round Rock.

Perhaps because Austin is such a food-obsessed city, there seems to be some growing opportunity for food and beverage hospitality around pickleball, too. Other Racquet recently started hosting the Bill's Dips food truck, a spinoff of the popular downtown restaurant Bill's Oyster; and a pair of bars with pickleball courts, Drifters Social Coffee & Cocktails and The Pickle Pub, also opened in South Austin this year, with strong online ratings already.

The trend has even reached into real estate (see this cute house with its own pickleball court) and inspired athletes to introduce similar sports to the local market, as in the case of the padel club Paddle39. TeachMe.To's report also mentioned tech companies adding pickleball to their campuses.

Aside from growth, the study also considered lesson activity (including information about teacher availability and diversity of clinic offerings), infrastructure, community vitality, the tournament scene.

Austin had the highest concentration of all the cities of players under 40 (65 percent), as well as the highest share of national lesson bookings. At 16.90 percent, that means about one in six of the pickleball lessons contracted through this platform were in Austin. Lesson demand, the report says, is growing 125 percent year-over-year.

Elsewhere in Texas
Dallas was No. 3 thanks in part to its "central location" according to the report.

"The city's 45 dedicated courts and 85 [percent] public accessibility rate have fostered one of the most active competitive scenes in the country, with 8,500 registered league players," it says. "The combination of strong tournament presence, extensive infrastructure, and a 112% growth in lesson bookings solidifies Dallas as a powerhouse in the national pickleball landscape."

Houston made No. 8 with an emphasis on integrating pickleball with other sports.

"The city's 22 dedicated courts have seen a 92% increase in lesson bookings, driven by innovative programming that includes the nation's first corporate league system," it says. "Houston's success in integrating pickleball into existing sports infrastructure while maintaining 72% year-round utilization demonstrates a sustainable model for rapid growth."

Overall predictions
After laying out data about the top cities in pickleball, the report made some predictions. As the Austin newcomer mentioned above believes, the report also thinks padel is the next big thing. It also guesses more cities will act like Houston by focusing on hybrid facilities.

It also expects to see an expanded professional circuit and mainstream coverage, more technology used on the court, a rise in the prevalence of young players, and more opportunities in corporate wellness and real estate. "Dedicated pickleball facilities will become as common as swimming pools in luxury developments," it says. Texans will be the judge of that one.

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