Classic Rock

Cornerstone Austin music venue celebrates a decade-long empire with a month of special events

Empire Control Room Empire Garage interior Austin

Empire Garage & Control Room is celebrating its 10th anniversary this August with a series that showcases both local and national talent.

Photo courtesy of Empire Control Room & Garage

As far as aptly named Austin businesses go, Empire Control Room & Garage takes the cake. After 10 years in business, it has its own gravitational pull; That is, it's unreasonably hard to walk past without making an impromptu visit, or even just checking to see who's playing that night.

The venue is celebrating its anniversary this August 4-26 through a series called "A Decade of Empire." Every Friday and Saturday night throughout the month brings new shows, a mini-museum of Empire photos and "ephemera," and giveaways, among other unnamed surprises.

Although every Austin venue has some kind of a tone or usual crowd, Empire really is the everyman's venue. Thanks to its position in the Red River Cultural District (RRCD) and its openness in booking, it hosts everything from industry talks, to thoroughly alternative rock, to queer-coded pop dance parties.

Empire rocked Hot Summer Nights, an annual festival of free shows organized by the RRCD, hosting exceptional shows by Austin bands like Foxtales, Bigfoot & The Gregs, and Caleb de Casper. Another event in the winter, Free Week, shows just how busy Empire and the venues around it are year-round.

The RRCD and Empire are big parts of each other's success, and a portion of proceeds from "A Decade of Empire" will benefit the district's nonprofit. The one exception, a VIP closing party on August 26, benefits DJ Chicken George, who is raising money for cancer treatment.

"This is a momentous occasion for us," said COO and co-owner of Heard Presents and Empire Dave Machinist in a press release. "We started as a small band of musical misfits, and today, we stand proudly as a pillar in the Live Music Capital. It's been a wild ride, and we owe our success to the unwavering support of musicians, music lovers, and our dedicated staff. To show our appreciation, we're throwing an epic celebration that will last an entire month!"

The release describes an uncertain time for the music scene when the venue opened, "with major consolidation in the live music marketplace and the threat of redevelopment by condo and hoteliers looming over the area now known as the Red River Cultural District." More than just celebrating a milestone anniversary, the monthlong installation tracks the growth of the area through the various shows and conservation efforts that have passed through the venue over the years.

"I am so proud of our Empire family and everything we have been able to achieve together," said CEO and co-owner of Heard and Empire Stephen Sternschein. "I am grateful for the continued support of all of the music people in this city as we look towards another next ten years of making as much noise as possible. We want everyone to be a part of our birthday month and to prepare for some serious mayhem!"

Here's the mayhem on the schedule:

August 4: Klub Nocturno hosts a "Rock En Espanol" party throughout the venue
August 11: Empire and Float Fest present Slenderbodies and Daft Disko
August 12: Empire hosts a SIMS Foundation Fundraiser, “Moondance Mini Fest"
August 18: Whitney and Tunesmiths play
August 19: Fred Armisen plays and does comedy
August 25: Robert Glasper plays
August 26: Empire presents a benefit for DJ Chicken George ft. Riders Against the Storm and Blackillac with Third Root and Adrian Quesada, plus an anniversary party

"A Decade of Empire" events welcome visitors who purchase individual tickets or a limited edition "Key To Empire" ($250) which grants access to every show, and includes one drink per show and a commemorative T-shirt. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit empireatx.com.

concerts live music red river cultural district downtown music venues

Movie Review

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 really knows its audience: fans of the game

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Sonic the Hedgehog (Ben Schwartz) in Sonic the Hedgehog 3

The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie in 2020 was one of the few video game adaptations that managed to appeal to both fans of the Sega game and those who just want to watch a fun movie. As the series moved into a second and now third film, though, it’s become increasingly reliant on giving the video game fans what they want, with not as much attention paid toward simply telling a good story.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) continues to live with human friends Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter), as well as Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba), who stuck around after the events of the second film. Dispensing with any kind of narrative coherence, the trio is called away by an undefined military force to help with the escape of Shadow (Keanu Reeves), another alien hedgehog who has been locked away off the coast of Japan for many years.

Suffice it to say that the trio does not initially fare well against the powerful Shadow, forcing Sonic to do the unthinkable: Ask his nemesis, Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey), for help. What Sonic doesn’t anticipate is that Shadow has a history that left him with a grudge against most of human society, and he’s intent on using his powers — with a little help from his former mentor, Gerald Robotnik (also Carrey) — to exact his plans for revenge.

Made by the same team of director Jeff Fowler and writers Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the film is a combination of manic action, jokey sequences, and a dash of heart. The addition of Shadow ups the mayhem considerably, and the filmmakers rarely slow things down (although, oddly, the super-speed of Sonic and company feels lessened this time around).

The initial casting of Carrey gave the comic actor permission to indulge in whatever wackiness he could imagine, and giving him two roles in this film means double the nonsense. Ivo and Gerald (who’s Ivo’s grandfather, for the record) face off in a number of silly scenes, none more absurd than a dance sequence aboard a space station threatening to explode Earth (yeah, this movie is a lot).

Does the plot make a lick of sense? Absolutely not, but the filmmakers seem to acknowledge that fact, throwing anything and everything at the screen to try to entertain kids and/or fans of the video game series. It should come as no surprise that the end credits tease yet more characters from the video games joining the franchise, making it abundantly clear who is expected to get the most enjoyment out of the series going forward.

In addition to Carrey, the voice actors continue to make the characters fun. Schwartz and O’Shaughnessey provide the cartoon-style acting, while Elba and now Reeves give a nice counterbalance with their deep and serious voices. Marsden and Sumpter aren’t given much to do this time around, and Krysten Ritter shows up as Director Rockwell, a character who’s mostly there to move what little plot there is further along.

A four-quadrant movie is one that appeals to all ages and genders; Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a one or maybe two-quadrant movie at most. But it’s more fun than the other family-friendly offering this Christmas season, and fans of the video game will likely love the depiction of their favorite characters on screen, so it’s doing something right.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is now playing in theaters.

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