Twang Dang Doozie

By Michael Corcoran | Monday, October 12, 2009, 12:13 PM

Awards for selflessness should be passed around to the organizers of the Twang Dang Doodle. Those guys (and girls) personify what has made Austin the city everyone is proud to call home. When the Threadgill’s portion of Save KUTAustin’s awareness-raising Twang Dang Doodle was rained out, Joe Ables lent out his Saxon Pub for a full day of music.

A group of people, worried about changes at a radio station they knew helped build and define Austin as a music icon, stood up and did something about it. They organized artists, no small feat in itself. They put on a night of spectacular music. They celebrated the magic that is Austin music and raised money to keep KUT an Austin original, shining bright on the horizon.

Among the many highlights at the Saxon was Papa Mali’s set, featuring Bill Kruetzmann of the Grateful Dead on drums. “They did about four Dead songs, with Papa Mali singing just like Jerry (Garcia) and the place just went nuts,” said former Steamboat owner Danny Crooks, who booked most of Twang Dang Doodle. “It was packed and everyone in the place was jumping up and down.”

Thanks guys. For protecting what we in Austin have foolishly come to take for granted.