Thax Doesn't Miss Chicago, And Why Would He?

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on May 7, 2010 5:40PM

Thax -- rock poet, gadabout town, music lover -- moved to Austin last year and apparently the Chicago AV Club just figured out he was absent from the scene. (Funny how you don't appreciate the idiosyncratic ones that actually contribute to a city's scene until they're gone, huh?) That prestigious publication caught up with Thax this week to compare Chicago to Austin and, guess what, Thax likes Austin better.

Thax's primary gripes center around Chicago's in-crowd mentality (which is true) and the fact that bands in Austin play as if their life depended on it whereas the majority of Chicago bands are, in Thax's words, "hobby bands—people who have good jobs and get together to sing songs about zombies once a month or something like that." (Um, kind of also true, but what city doesn't really have those bands in it, right?)

Anyway, the funny thing is that we find we actually agree with a lot of Thax's opinions -- the Chicago band scene can be self-indulgent but ferchrissakes it ain't Brooklyn, Chicago taco joints are better, and record labels -- no matter what city you're in -- are pretty much the same through and through. There is one observation Thax makes in the AV Club piece that offends us to the bone, though. He disses Texas BBQ.

Thax, we spent ten of our earlier years in Texas and, dude, you can NOT beat BBQ brisket in that state. Next time we're down there we'll take you to this roadside joint about 45 minutes outside of Austin to blow your mind and your taste buds.