SXSW Recap: Saturday, March 15

I started out the final day of SXSW at the SX Seattle Party, over at the Palm Door, a cool room I’d never seen before. THROW ME THE STATUE played a strong set of tunes from its debut album Moonbeams, which recently came out on Secretly Canadian. I interviewed the band’s singer-songwriter, Scott Reitherman, for the February issue of Paste magazine. It’s a really good record, but the one thing I was wondering about was how it would translate in concert. Throw Me the Statue started out as a one-man home-recording project, with Reitherman playing almost everything, but now he’s formed an actual band. It was an unqualified success at this show, with a loose, hard-rocking sound that didn’t obscure the lively, smart nature of Reitherman’s songs. PHOTOS / Download "About to Walk."


I spent the rest of the afternoon at the French Legation Museum, where the Press Here publicity firm was hosting a “garden party” with a stellar lineup. The first act I caught was NOAH AND THE WHALE, whom I had seen a little bit the other night. Seeing them a second time confirmed my sense that this is a band to watch, with some nice folk influences outside of the usual kind of folk you hear in rock. Lead singer Charlie Fink recounted running into Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. He was amused by the fact that Gibbons carries around a stack of photographs of himself, to hand out to autograph seekers. English singer-songwriter LAURA MARLING sang harmony vocals with Noah and the Whale, and then she played a set of her own. Marling performs with an oddly blank expression and little obvious emotion, but her songs were pretty. PHOTOS

I’m not sure what to make of LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION, aka Dev Hynes, who played next. I do like his debut album better than the music of his old band, Test Icicles (which his press material accurately describes as “aggro-punk/electro-noise thrashings”), but so far, the songs aren’t really sticking with me. In concert, Hynes played his songs with an acoustic guitar, giving them a bit of a folk-pop flavor, but with a meandering quality that sounded more like Stephen Malkmus. It wasn’t bad, but I felt ready for the set to end by the time it did. PHOTOS

Next up was another great set by SONS AND DAUGHTERS (PHOTOS), followed by J MASCIS bending strings and shaking his acoustic guitar with impressive force. (I had the unusual vantage point of watching Mascis over the top of his amplifier, which was facing toward him, with the tubes on the back facing out toward me and the audience.) PHOTOS

The next set was a rare opportunity to hear THURSTON MOORE AND THE NEW WAVE BANDITS play songs from Moore’s excellent 2007 solo album, Trees Outside the Academy. Like the album, this performance showed how strong Moore’s songwriting and guitar playing are even when you turn down the feedback and put it in more of an acoustic format. His band included Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley, guitarist Chris Brokaw, violinist Samara Lubelski and bassist Matt Heyner, and Moore showed a good-natured sense of humor as the band set up and he dealt with a drooping microphone stand. He jokingly did an impression of Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmeister, singing up into the mike – “We’re doing this one Lemmy-style.” And he introduced the band as “Bromance,” defining the term as two dudes who really like each other. PHOTOS

I’m a huge fan of M. Ward, so I was looking forward to seeing and hearing his collaboration with actress Zooey Deschanel in the band SHE & HIM, who were next on the Garden Party bill. Deschanel’s good looks and movie-starlet status drew a lot of attention at SXSW. I hadn’t yet heard their album when I saw the show on Saturday, and I came away with the impression that the ballads were a little too simple or sleepy while the more retro-rock numbers featuring more prominent guitar licks from Ward were cool. Deschanel has a good voice, with a crystal-clear tone, not much in the way of vibrato. Now that I’ve listened to She & Him’s Vol. 1 a grand total of one time, I like what I’ve heard. Deschanel’s understated music with Ward reminded me of Dusty Springfield’s classics. It remains to be seen whether this album will merely be a pleasant diversion or something that grows on me with repeated listens, but I’m sure I will be listening. PHOTOS

A singer about as far away from Zooey Deschanel as you can imagine is the legendary JANDEK, who released dozens of homemade recordings in obscurity and built a cult reputation as one of rock’s most reclusive eccentrics. He has played a few concerts in the last few years, but my first time seeing him was this SXSW gig at Central Presbyterian Church, part of a showcase for Signal to Noise, a magazine where I’m a contributor. Standing at an angle from the audience, Jandek took his position in front of a music stand, a tall, thin figure dressed in a dark suit and hat. A group of several musicians (who were apparently given only vague instructions about what to play) built an amorphous and improvised swell of banjo, pedal steel, violin, guitar, drums, upright bass and female backup vocals to accompany Jandek’s singing, which drifted along in quasi-country dirges. I did not realize until after the concert was over that the drummer, who was wearing a straw hat and occasionally using fly swatters for drumsticks, was none other than Will Johnson, the lead singer of Centro-matic. At the end, when the audience gave Jandek a resounding round of applause, he continued facing away from the crowd and after pausing for a moment, disappeared. I walked outside, thinking I might try to see an M. Ward show down the street, only to see that the line was long, and walked back to Central Presbyterian for the next show. While I was out on the street, I overheard a guy talking about the Jandek show he had just witnessed. “That was amazing,” he told his friends. “There were parts where it was like I was on mushrooms.” PHOTOS

The next set at Central Presbyterian was by CHRISTINA CARTER & SHAWN DAVID McMILLEN. Earlier in the day, Thurston Moore had dedicated a song to Carter, an old friend of his who is best known as the singer for Charalambides, and sure enough, Moore and some of his bandmates were in a balcony at the church now, watching Carter play with McMillen. I find Carter’s music mesmerizing, though I can imagine that many listeners would be impatient with its slowly drifting melodies. There’s a stillness at the heart of her music, which I could feel very strongly at this performance, probably the best one I saw Saturday night. But while I normally associate stillness with peace, I also feel something unsettling in Carter’s quiet musical meditations. PHOTOS

I spent the next hour wandering in search of something. I ended up for a time at the Soho Lounge, where the Get Hip showcase featured a lineup of garage bands. I liked the energy of the two bands I saw, MONDO TOPLESS and THE UGLYBEATS, and under other circumstances, I might have stuck around to hear more. PHOTOS Back on the quest, I stopped into the Dirty Dog Bar to see NEVA DINOVA, a band on the Saddle Creek label. Unfortunately, the two or three songs I heard seemed pretty generic (not a quality I normally associate with Saddle Creek) and possibly even boring.

So I ended up in the final part of the hour over at the Park the Van/Daytrotter showcase at Emo’s Annex. I stayed put for the rest of the night, noticing how the last three bands, THE TEETH, THE SPINTO BAND and DR. DOG, all shared a similar sense of joy and energy. All three bands had a tendency to cartwheel around on the stage during their shows. I’m not so familiar with the music of The Teeth, but their performance was pretty impressive. The Spinto Band’s album never really clicked with me, but they have a few outstanding songs, and their set was very lively. PHOTOS OF THE THE TEETH AND THE SPINTO BAND.

Dr. Dog have been one of my favorite live bands since I saw them open for M. Ward a few years ago at Schubas, and they were my top band of SXSW 2006. I still don’t think they’ve released a studio recording that reaches their full potential, but their records are filled with some wonderful songs featuring sophisticated harmonies and chord changes that remind me of late-period Beatles as well as the Faces and Beach Boys. In concert, the band raves it up by cavorting across the stage, but it never loses sight of the little melodic subtleties that make its songs so attractive. Bassist Toby Leaman seemed distracted or even angry at some problems with hearing his monitor, but he never let that get in the way of putting on a smashing performance. The members of Delta Spirit joined them onstage for the clarion call of the final song, “Wake Up.” Singing a song with that title at the end of the night (and end of the festival) may sound paradoxical, but I couldn’t think of a more apt way to end the week. PHOTOS

OK, that wraps up my SXSW recaps – though I'll probably have some other random thoughts trickling out of my brain. And I do plan to follow up on some of the bands I saw or heard about.

SXSW Recap: Friday, March 14

For me, Friday started with a noontime show by MAGIC BULLETS, which I just happened to walk into at the Red Eyed Fly while killing time before the Spin party down the street. The band, from San Francisco, was pretty entertaining, with the gangly lead singer jumping around the stage with unabashedly geeky moves. PHOTOS

The Spin party at Stubb’s had a strong lineup – except for those first two bands. I won’t dwell long on how much I hated SWITCHES and BEN JELEN, other than saying both acts seemed like complete musical dreck as far as I could hear. The free food and beer alleviated my pain somewhat. The rest of the afternoon was excellent, starting with THE WHIGS, whom I’ve written about here before. The Whigs whipped through their songs with all of their usual vigor and closed with “Half a World Away,” a quieter, keyboard-based song that reveals their ’60s influences clearer than the loud rock numbers. Good show. PHOTOS

THE RAVEONETTES followed, playing their trademark feedback-drenched chilly pop. I like the Raveonettes pretty well, but they aren’t the most dynamic band onstage. They do a decent job of duplicating the records, but they don’t elevate the music to a higher level. At least, that’s my experience after seeing them twice. It was nice to actually see them in bright light this time, aiding my photographic efforts, though they are really a band meant for the darkness. PHOTOS

VAMPIRE WEEKEND are one of the buzz bands of the moment. I guess I should have seen them back when they were playing a small venue like Schubas in December, before they landed on the cover of Spin magazine with the headline “THE YEAR’S BEST NEW BAND...ALREADY!?” The answer to that question is clearly no, in my opinion. It’s not that I don’t like Vampire Weekend, but they’re merely a good band getting hype more fitting for a great band. I enjoyed their set at the Spin party, but it just confirmed my feelings from the record. Vampire Weekend is doing some interesting things, taking African-style guitar figures and incorporating them into pop music. That’s not a completely original idea, of course, but it’s refreshing to hear these influences emerging in a new indie-rock band – expanding the palette, so to speak. But Vampire Weekend does not exactly make exciting music. It comes out pleasant, but a little bland. Young musicians often deliver the most impassioned and creative performances, but in this case, these guys seem a little too young and inexperienced to make everything that they could out of this music. There’s just not enough roughness or passion in it. Give them time, and they may eventually become a great band, if the hype doesn’t kill them first. PHOTOS

The Spin party closed with a searing set by L.A. punk-rockers X, who played their classic tunes at full blast and never let up. These oldsters showed the youngsters how it should be done. PHOTOS


PAUL METZGER started the evening at Spiro’s with a mesmerizing set of his experimental banjo music, bowing and plucking a banjo with 12 strings plus who knows how many drone strings. It was unusual and enticing music, and there was something surreal about watching Metzger play while bathed in green light, with sunlight and sidewalk noise coming in from the door just a few feet away. Download "Bright Red Stone."

KELLEY STOLTZ took the stage after Metzger, playing a terrific set of songs from his superb new Sub Pop album, Circular Sounds, plus at least one older track. Stoltz draws on a lot of influences (Syd Barrett, Kinks, Beach Boys, Thunderclap Newman, to name a few) but puts them together in a style that’s distinctly his own. The songs rocked live, and Stolz demonstrated a sharp sense of humor in his between-song comments. The set (which could have gone on much longer with any protest from me) closed with a Velvet Underground/Feelies-style rave-up. This was another one of my favorite SXSW shows. PHOTOS

The Creekside EMC, a room at the Hilton Garden Inn, was the location for one of the strangest shows I saw at last year’s SXSW (Brute Force and Daughter of Force), and I got a weird feeling as I entered the room again. There were no chairs set up this time, just high tables decorated with candles. It felt more like some corporate meet-and-greet than a SXSW show. Despite the odd atmosphere, the room hosted a good show by the Brooklyn folk-rock duo KAISERCARTEL. Courtney Kaiser and Benjamin Cartel switched instruments a few times, with Kaiser handling most of the guitar and Cartel spending most of the set behind drums. Their music felt honest and direct, a little bit like Ida at times. I was thinking that the show was merely pretty good until they got to "Season Song", the lovely song I’d heard on sxsw.com. And then the two of them closed their set with one of the entire festival’s most remarkable moments. They walked out into the crowd and serenaded us with their last song, unamplified, approaching individual audience members (including me) and looking straight into our eyes as they sang. Other musicians have done this sort of thing before, but there was something so intimate about the way KaiserCartel pulled it off that I felt myself on the verge of crying. PHOTOS

Back at Spiro’s, EVANGELISTA was taking the stage. I admit that I really didn’t do my homework in investigating what I was about to witness. I had merely heard the song "Evangelista I" on sxsw.com and liked it, thinking it reminded me of God Speed You, Black Emperor or Silver Mt. Zion. As it happens, musicians from those bands have played with Evangelista, though I’m not sure who all of the players were at the Spiro’s show. All that really mattered was the woman in the middle of the stage, Carla Bozulich, former member of The Geraldine Fibbers. (Nels Cline used to be her guitarist before he joined Wilco.) The show by Evangelista was more of performance art piece than a rock concert, including Bozulich singing into some sort of toy microphone, Bozulich jumping up and down a lot, and the cellist using his instrument as a drum. There were some good songs, too, but I feel like I did not get the full picture of what Evangelista is capable of. The way Bozulich introduced the last piece was telling: “This is out last thing that is like a song.” PHOTOS

Like the Ruby Suns on Thursday, England’s FANFARLO suffered through difficult conditions Friday night at the Wave Rooftop, earning another medal for performing well in a bad situation. I was drawn to this show by the song "Fire Escape", and there was a lot of positive buzz in the crowd when I showed up. Some people who had seen Fanfarlo playing at a party earlier in the day said they were one of the festival’s best bands. But at this moment, the band could not get its keyboard to work. It may have been their own equipment failing, or maybe the venue’s, but in any case, the show got started 15 minutes late in a short time slot, and then the band gamely decided to play whatever it could despite the lack of a crucial instrument. It did not help that one of the sound guys continued fiddling with the keyboard throughout most of the set. The lead singer wryly remarked, “We’re getting your keyboard fixed while we’re playing, which is a little like getting your car fixed while you’re driving.” And so the set was a little rough, but thankfully, Fanfarlo’s keyboardist also plays violin. I liked what I heard, and the band was nice enough to hand out free copies of a CD featuring their recordings to date – EPs available only in Britain, I believe. I’ve had a chance to listen to the CD several times since, and it’s growing on me. I don’t know that Fanfarlo is doing anything especially groundbreaking with its music, but it’s great stuff, very melodic and upbeat. And I get the impression that the songs would really take off in concert – if the equipment is working. PHOTOS


A little while later, FLEET FOXES played over at the Sub Pop showcase at Bourbon Rocks. The group’s most distinguishing feature is the four-part harmony vocals. I wouldn’t confuse Fleet Foxes with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, but they have a similar theory at work behind the way their songs are arranged. It was nice, and I suspect this is a group that I’m going to like. PHOTOS


I ended the night at the Light Bar, a peculiar venue that seems more like part of the Austin singles scene than a SXSW showcase. Anyway, a cool band from Athens, Georgia, KING OF PRUSSIA, was playing at the back of the room, with violin and female harmonies giving the songs a bright sound that reminded me a bit of Headlights. The band’s own description compares King of Prussia to The Who, Magnetic Fields, Belle & Sebastian and The Lilys. I’ll have to reserve judgment on how valid those comparisons are, but I look forward to hearing more. PHOTOS / Download "Misadventures of the Campaign Kids."

SXSW Recap: Thursday, March 13

In between the Lou Reed and Steve Reich interviews at SXSW, I stopped by the day stage, hoping to catch a set by the Barcelona band Les Aus, whose mp3 file on sxsw.com attracted my attention. As it happened, Les Aus was running late because of travel delays, so MAZONI, another one of Spain’s Catalan-language musicians, substituted for the group. He gave a decent solo performance, including a Catalan translation of Bob Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm,” playing electric guitar in a style that was more reminiscent of indie rock than Spanish guitar. PHOTOS

Later in the afternoon, I arrived at the Rhapsody party at the Mohawk Patio in time to hear a few songs by CUT COPY through the fence while I was waiting to get in. Not my cup of tea. The reason I was there was to see SONS AND DAUGHTERS for the first time. I love this Scottish band’s records, and they did not disappoint as a live act. There’s so much tension in every song, with an almost perfect combination of guitar, bass and drums with female and male vocals playing off each other rather than trying to blend together. Vivacious singer Adele Bethel is clearly the star of the show, but all four of these Sons and Daughters make vital contributions to the band’s raw sound. There’s just a smidgen of rockabilly and country (an influence reflected in guitarist Scott Paterson’s pompadour haircut) and a bit of X. In the middle of their song, “Johnny Cash,” the band dropped in a bit of the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” Sons and Daughters were not a discovery for me at SXSW this year, since I was already familiar with their recordings, but they were probably my favorite band. I caught them again on Saturday at the Press Here Garden Party. PHOTOS

Latitude 30 hosted UK-themed parties all week long, including a show Thursday afternoon featuring New Music From Wales. CATE LE BON sang some nice acoustic songs, including a couple in the Welsh language. And then came THE VICTORIAN ENGLISH GENTLEMENS CLUB, who really kicked out some striking post-punk rock tunes. And, from my viewpoint at least, the female two-thirds of this co-ed trio were pretty hot, which didn’t hurt. The drummer was in a fancy pink dress, hiking the skirt up as she straddled her legs around her bass drum. The bassist had a stunned look on her face much of the time, as if her own pounding bass notes were knocking her out. And, oh yeah, there’s a guy in the band, too, singing and playing guitar. I hadn’t heard anything other than a myspace track from this band before seeing the show, but I’m definitely interested now. PHOTOS

From Wales to New Zealand... The New Zealand Music Commission was hosting a barbecue at Brush Square Park. PIG OUT played some intriguing electronic dance music – intriguing, for me, because of the actual drumming – but I didn’t hear enough to decide what I thought. And then came one of the most disappointing moments of the week, the show by THE RUBY SUNS. The disappointment had nothing to do with this band, which has a wonderful new album, Sea Lion, out on the Sub Pop label. The music from the Japan tent next door was blaring so loud that it was hard to hear the Ruby Suns, even standing right next to the stage. The party was running late, the Ruby Suns didn’t get much time to play, and the delicate layers of their sunny pop were buried under all of the din. I did hear enough to know that I like this band, and I’m looking forward to seeing them give a proper show March 28 at Schubas in Chicago. If nothing else, the Ruby Suns deserve a medal for putting on a serviceable concert under very trying circumstances. PHOTOS

HORSE + DONKEY kicked off Thursday evening at B.D. Riley’s with some cool, drony garage rock anchored by melodic, repeating bass lines. It reminded me of their fellow Austonians, the Black Angels. PHOTOS / Download "dot dot."

Walking down Sixth Street, I stopped at Friends long enough to hear a few songs by NOAH AND THE WHALE, a folkie band led by London’s Charlie Fink. I later caught a full set by the band, at Saturday’s Press Here party, and I found their music to be pretty charming. PHOTOS / Download "2 Bodies, 1 Heart."


The Wave Rooftop was crammed for a show by Kansas City rockers THE LIFE AND TIMES, who seemed to be giving it their all, despite the fact that they openly wished they had cooler lighting. PHOTOS

I purposely avoided seeing Chicago bands at SXSW this time, thinking I have plenty of opportunities to see them in Chicago, so why see them in Austin? But I happened upon a show by EZRA FURMAN AND THE HARPOONS at Spiro's and caught most of their set. Furman was wearing a yellow T-shirt with the slogan “I DID IT FOR THE MONEY” and singing his impassioned folk-rock with full-on fervor. I chatted a bit with Furman’s manager, Mitch Marlow, who told me that Furman had played “Heroin” and “New Age” that afternoon at the Fader Fort’s Lou Reed tribute. Reed himself was at the event, and he snapped some photos of Furman as Furman was performing. PHOTOS That Spanish band, Les Aus, was scheduled to play down the street at the Red Eyed Fly, so I stopped in there but discovered that the schedule had changed. VERACRUZ was playing, and I have to say the band didn’t do much for me. The post-punk guitar sound wasn’t bad, but the vocals were mediocre.

One of the musicians I hoped to see at SXSW was Bon Iver, aka singer-songwriter Justin Vernon, whose new album, For Emma, Forever Ago, is top-notch folk rock (think acoustic Big Star rather than Nick Drake), but I kept missing him. (Oh, well, at least I can see him April 10 at Lakeshore Theatre in Chicago.) While I missed Bon Iver, I did see MEGAFAUN, which includes Vernon’s former bandmates in DeYarmond Edison. I’d heard these guys described as a sort of avant-garde jazz versions of bluegrass. Now, what’s that going to be like? The description turned out to be more accurate than I’d expected. Sure enough, Megafaun plays songs with a strong vein of old-time folk running through them, but they also break out into some bizarre, atonal instrumental breaks. That doesn’t sound like it would work, but it did. They reminded me a bit of Califone, Akron/Family and the more experimental moments of Wilco. But what really won me over were Megafaun’s sing-along choruses, which sounded so old-fashioned that I’m thinking Stephen Foster and Civil War-era music might be the big influence here. The guys in Megafaun stormed up into the crowd from the darkened stage at the Hideout and roused the crowd to join in song – one of my highlights from all week. PHOTOS


NORTHAMPTON WOOLS, an experimental duo consisting of Thurston Moore and Bill Nace, followed Megafaun at the Hideout. This is the sort of music that involves a lot of scraping and tweaking of guitar strings, building from tinkly noise to a wall of feedback. The droning was almost too much to take after a while, but it was certainly intriguing to see these two guitarists experimenting with their instruments without any constraints. PHOTOS

I ended the night back where I began, B.D. Riley’s, with another drony garage-rock band, DARKER MY LOVE. I didn’t realize until later that some of the players in this San Francisco group had played in the past with The Fall. They put on a strong show, a perfect bookend to the earlier set by Horse + Donkey. PHOTOS / Download "Summer Is Here."

Lou Reed at SXSW

The bleary-eyed SXSW masses (or least the badge holders) dragged themselves from their hotel rooms bright and early Thursday morning to receive words of wisdom from none other than LOU REED, this year’s keynote speaker. Before he took the stage, we heard some interesting music, including a piece by Steve Reich, who would be speaking later in the day, performed by the SOLI CHAMBER ENSEMBLE. It was good morning music, though I wonder how many of the SXSW regulars would like this kind of stuff?

Anyway... Reed came out and spent about ninety minutes taking questions from producer Hal Willner. Like most SXSW keynote speakers, Reed had an ulterior commercial motive for appearing – in his case, the need to promote his new film of the album Berlin being performed in concert. True to his reputation, Reed was somewhat surly. A cell phone in the audience rings. Reed: “What is that? Jesus.”

Asked about the influence that Andy Warhol and other visual artists had on his songwriting, Reed says Warhol’s style inspired its musical equivalent in the Velvet Underground – “repeating a line over and over.”

Can music change the world? “It could change an individual and make them feel not alone in their belief.”

On the subject matter that the Velvet Underground covered with its lyrics: “It was an empty continent.”

On how to write songs: “I never understood how they get written ... I don’t even know why it works.”

On his strengths: “I have a B.A. in dope but a Ph.D. in soul ... The thing I’ve got is instinct. Thinking won’t get me where I want to go. It’ll get me to the store where it’s sold.”

On deteriorating audio standards, due to the popularity of mp3s: “People have got to demand a high standard ... Or the other thing is to say, ‘You’re being elitist. Only people with money can afford the good sound, so fuck you.’”

Reed’s favorite movie of late: The Bourne Ultimatum.

Reed’s favorite new bands: Melt Banana, Holy Fuck (“Or is it Holy Shit?” he says), Dr. Dog, Joan As Policewoman. “One of the things you look for in a young group is that energy, and I just love it.”

On record labels asking musicians to sign over their publishing rights: “They are always going to say they want the publishing, and you are always going to say no.”

PHOTOS

SXSW Photos

OK, so I'm a little behind on writing about SXSW 2008. That was, like, last week, wasn't it? I'm finally caught up on editing my photos. As I file this, pictures are uploading.

You can see a complete directory to all of the various galleries of photos I shot at SXSW 2008, at: www.undergroundbee.com/photos.htm#sxsw2008

Or just follow the links below to the band or musician you're looking for.

The Hard Lessons
The Hands
Portugal The Man
Explorers Club
Curumin
Frightened Rabbit
A.A. Bondy
Akron/Family
Van Morrison
Birds of Wales
Beasts and Superbeasts
Afenginn
Scary Mansion
Okkervil River with Roky Erickson
Monareta
Southeast Engine
Centro-matic
Lou Reed
Mazoni
Steve Reich
Sons and Daughters
Cate Le Bon
The Victorian English Gentlemen’s Club
Pig Out
Ruby Suns
Horse + Donkey
Noah and the Whale
The Life and Times
Ezra Furman and the Harpoons
Megafaun
Northampton Wools
Darker My Love
Magic Bullets
The Whigs
The Raveonettes
Vampire Weekend
X
Paul Metzger
Kelley Stoltz
KaiserCartel
Evangelista
Fanfarlo
Fleet Foxes
King of Prussia
Throw Me The Statue
Laura Marling
Lightspeed Champion
J. Mascis
Thurston Moore and the New Wave Bandits
She & Him
Jandek
Christina Carter & Shawn David McMillen
Mondo Topless
The Uglybeats
The Teeth
The Spinto Band
Dr. Dog

SXSW recap: Wednesday, March 12

I started out the day around noon at the Red Eyed Fly for THE EXPLORERS CLUB from Charleston, S.C. Now, there are bands that try to sound a little bit like the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson or Pet Sounds, but these guys go all out. I've heard their new record, coming out in May on Dead Oceans, the new label affiliated with Secretly Canadian, and it sounds exactly like the Beach Boys back in their mid-1960s hey day. And sure enough, that's what Explorers Club sounded like in concert, too. The group leans a little more towards the early Beach Boys period than the later orchestral-pop stuff. I wonder whether the world really needs a group that mimics the Beach Boys so closely, but I can't deny that it was a lot of fun seeing these guys, and I am enjoying the CD, too. They closed with a cover of "Johnny B. Goode." Download "Do You Love Me?"

The mp3 of "Esperanca" on the sxsw.com site from Brazilian singer CURUMIN was one of my favorite discoveries. Just judging from this one track, this singer (aka Luciano Nakata Albuquerque) has the potential to become the next big thing out of Brazil. His afternoon set in the Emo's Annex tent was a little disappointing, however. Accompanied by an electronics/keyboard player and a bass/keyboard player, Curumin stayed behind him drum kit and sang from there (a miniature four-string guitar was sitting at the front of the stage, and I assume he planned to come up and play that later, but the set was truncated and he never got the chance). I think he tried to hard to get the audience to participate by signing a Portuguese phrase when he should have just concentrated on delivering the goods. The audience was mildly interested but still in that early-afternoon phase where people aren't ready yet to dance or clap and sing along to a foreign musician they've never heard before. Anyway, this short set didn't amount to much, but I'm really looking forward to hearing more from Curumin.

I didn't really have anywhere to go after Curumin, so I just stayed in the tent and watched the next band, FRIGHTENED RABBIT, about whom I knew nothing. This Scottish band turned out to be really good, with some very strong and impassioned rock. (Interesting, they had a three guitars and drums lineup, with one of the guitarists doubling on keyboards, but no bass. I think.) The one studio song I've heard by Frightened Rabbit isn't as good as the live show, but this is another one to watch for sure.

Next, I saw A.A. BONDY, who was playing a solo acoustic set on the porch behind Creekside Lounge. Very Dylanesque, Bondy played some excellent folk songs that really drew me in with their strong melodies and lyrics. His song at sxsw.com, "American Hearts," was one of the tracks that grabbed my attention. Bondy also dealt with a loud and drunken (but good-natured) audience member fairly well, responding with subdued humor. At one point, the boisterous guy yelled out, "If there's a vote in South By Southwest, vote for this guy. He seems true!" That's pretty perceptive for a drunk guy.

I rushed over to the Convention Center to see AKRON/FAMILY on the Day Stage, showing up in time to catch the last several gloomy, doomy minutes of the previous band, A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS. Man, those guys were LOUD, especially for a show on the Day Stage, which is a very corporate-looking room with a lunch counter. The band ended its set with a shredding guitar solo and I spotted a few disgruntled people in the room walking away with their hands over their ears. I liked it. I also liked Akron/Family, whom I've never seen previously, despite the fact they've been around for a while. Despite being way off on the fringes of what's considered mainstream music, they had a very winning sense of humor on stage, and I think they made some new fans. It was a great mix of meditative bird-call soundscapes, a goofy song supposedly directed at children about a silly bear, experimental noise, and freak folk, with a focus on audience participation. "Sing this note," they told the crowd, trying to get a drone note going. "You can sing it ironically if you want. ... This is a lot more women than we're using to having at our shows. It's usually a lot of men with beards." (Download "Phenomena.")

See my photos from March 12 day parties including the Explorers Club, Curumin, Frightened Rabbit, A.A. Bondy and Akron/Family.

I hesitated before going to the VAN MORRISON show at 7 p.m. at La Zona Rosa, mostly because I knew it would be jam-packed. And I do try to avoid spending too much of my SXSW watching musical acts I've already seen. But hey, it is Van Morrison, after all, and nothing else of note was happening at 7, so why not? There was a long line to get in, but as the Mendoza Line once said in a song title, the line moved quickly. I was at the outside edge of a huge photographers' pit, struggling to get close enough for a shot during the first three songs (when picture taking was allowed). Luckily, it was bright enough that I was able to see Morrison fairly well through my telephoto lens, and I got a few decent shots. I stayed for the first half hour of this show and liked what I saw and heard. It was nice seeing Morrison at fairly close range after the disappointment of watching him a couple of years ago at the United Center. His voice sounded great, amazingly close to the way it sounded on his old records. He occasionally rears back a little and opens his mouth wide at the side (sort of like Dick Cheney, I hate to say, but I can't think of another comparison to make for that look). And despite his reputation for being a little sullen, Morrison seemed to be in good spirits, smiling and chuckling at a few points. He played sax at times, and then he even took out a ukulele and played that wee instrument to great effect on a couple of songs. He seemed to be focusing on material from his recent recordings, but I assume he probably played some of the crowd-pleasing classics later in the night.

Maybe I was foolish to rush out of the Van Morrison show and walk quickly across town in search of new music, but I felt that urge to discover something. My next stop was the Wave Rooftop, where BIRDS OF WALES was playing. (Like so many bands these days, this one is from a place other than the one in its name - Toronto.) I loved the Birds of Wales song, "Cinderella (Has Nothing On You)," but unfortunately, the whole band did not make it to SXSW. The drummer's wife just had a baby and the band is getting ready for a European tour, so Birds of Wales singer-guitarist Morgan Ross (who is apparently of Welsh descent) did the gig as a solo acoustic show. Without the band playing behind him, the songs were a little on the dull side. I still have hopes that Birds of Wales is better as a full band, and I'll be listening to the CD to find out... I stayed at the Wave for the next band, BEASTS AND SUPERBEASTS from Victoria, British Columbia. This was their first performance outside of Canada, and you'll get some idea of this band's standing from their opening remarks: "So, we're looking for a label and a distributor and a manager ... and a band." The set up was a female singer on keyboards and Melodica, a guy on vocals and guitar, and another guy on keyboards. The sound is naïve, a little amateurish and somewhat precious folk or chamber pop. I thought the show, which was sparsely attended, was pretty good, though some other people left midway through the set, clearly uninterested. As the crowd got even smaller, Beasts and Superbeasts played the nice tune I'd heard on sxsw.com, "If I Was A House," and the set closed with another strong song.

Now, what is a band from Copenhagen doing playing klezmer music? (Or something resembling klezmer or Gypsy music, at least.) That's what I was wondering as I stopped into the Mexican restaurant Rio and caught most of the show by AFENGINN, which featured a tall Nordic dude with long dreadlocks on mandolin leaping around a lot as he played and sang, but clarinet, violin, bass and drums. After one song, the singer remarked, "This is how it is in Denmark. You should come." Several people were dancing to Afenginn's catchy, bouncy music, and it seemed that even some of the people who were at Rio for a Mexican meal instead of SXSW were getting into it. "This is our first time in Texas," the singer said at one point. "So I figured we would do this introduction in the beautiful key of A." (Huh?) Afenginn should be a big hit on the world-music scene. And as much as I had liked Beasts and Superbeasts in the previous time slot, Afenginn reminded me: THIS is how excited you should feel when you're playing or hearing music.

See my photos of Van Morrison, Birds of Wales, Beasts and Superbeasts and Afenginn.

One of the more intriguing songs posted at sxsw.com was "Sorry We Took All Yr Money" by SCARY MANSION from Brooklyn. This gig at the Hideout turned out to be one of my favorite shows of SXSW. The lead singer, Leah Hayes, plays one of those tiny little strumsticks - which I've always thought of as a toy version of the guitar - but cranked up the feedback and volume during solos. And while she reminded me a little bit of Marissa Nadler or a goth folkie, she had a kick-ass rhythm section playing behind her (and a sister who joined her on harmony vocals for a few songs). Definitely a group to watch.

During all my years of going to SXSW, I've never attended the Austin Music Awards. Somehow, I pictured a sit-down awards ceremony, which sounds rather dull compared to all of the other things going on. But this year, one of the honorees was ROKY ERICKSON, and he was playing with OKKERVIL RIVER as his backup band. I couldn't miss that. I showed up as GARY CLARK JR. was playing, then caught about 15 or 20 minutes of awards being doled out, including Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top handing a plaque to Erickson. Then came Okkervil playing three of their own songs with all of their trademark intensity, followed by Erickson playing three of his classic tunes backed by Okkervil. Erickson looked and sounded great, and the combination with Okkervil was perfect.

I stopped for just a few minutes at Copa, where a techno band from Bogota, Columbia, called MONARETA was playing - two guys with bicycle wheels on their heads. It seemed potentially interesting, and what I heard was pretty good, but I wasn't in the mood for dance music just then, so I scooted over to Friends and caught the last several songs by roots-rockers SOUTHEAST ENGINE. Their music seemed OK, but didn't leave much of an impression on me amid everything else. I'll give them another chance, though.

The main reason I was at Friends was to see the last act of the night, CENTRO-MATIC, one of my old favorites. They hammered through some of their best songs (not playing much from their forthcoming album), and closed with a great cover of "Save It For Later." Well, I missed out on seeing the English Beat, who were playing at SXSW this year, but at least I heard someone do this song.

See my photos of Scary Mansion, Okkervil River with Roky Erickson, Monareta, Southeast Engine and Centro-Matic.

SXSW recap: Tuesday, March 11

South By Southwest was a fabulous experience for me once again. As always, I missed some of the bands I wanted to see, I heard about other noteworthy bands too late, and I went through the usual hectic insanity of running around all over downtown Austin trying to see as much stuff as possible. I think I saved myself from some of the typical sleep deprivation by putting off most of my writing and photo editing until the whole thing was over. I know, in the world of instant blogging, there is a premium on posting reviews and pictures as quickly as possible, but every minute I spent working on the blog would have been a minute I could have spent watching another concert (or getting just a little bit of sleep). Anyway, after listening to 700-some mp3s plus numerous myspace sites in preparation for SXSW, and after four and a half days of live-music immersion, I'm finally ready to look back at it all... (PHOTOS are coming soon, too, but first I'm going to do some writing.)

TUESDAY, MARCH 11
The music portion of SXSW did not officially begin until Wednesday, but I was in town on Tuesday night and caught a few live bands. Playing at Emo's, THE HARD LESSONS did not impress me too much. A little too classic-rock radio for my tastes. In the smaller room next door, THE HANDS were putting on a pretty decent show. They sounded good when they were rocking out to twin guitar lines during the epic solos, perhaps going for a bit of My Morning Jacket kind of vibe. The songs themselves didn't strike me as all that original, but I think The Hands are worth a listen. Down the street, Beerland was hosting the THIS IS AMERICAN MUSIC tour, and I stopped in to see solid (but too short) sets by GLOSSARY and GRAND CHAMPEEN. And then I was back down the street at Emo's one last time for PORTUGAL. THE MAN. As much I'd like to support a band from my home state of Alaska (how many bands are there from Alaska, anyway?), I can't say I enjoyed Portugal. The Man very much. Too jam-band for me.

Quick SXSW update

Yes, in case anyone is wondering, I am at SXSW... but things are simply too hectic for me to spend time writing blog posts or editing photos right now. A full report will be coming in a couple of days.

In the meantime, look for my first installment of reporting at the Pioneer Press Web site.

And I quickly went through the 4,000-some photos I've shot and picked out a few, posting them at flickr.

Briefly, some of the best bands I've seen so far are Sons and Daughters, Frightened Rabbit, Megafaun, Scary Mansion, Horse + Donkey, A.A. Bondy, Darker My Love, the Victorian English Gentlemen's Club, Okkervil River with Roky Erikson... I'm sure I'm forgetting something. OK, that's all for now...

SXSW 2007, DAY FOUR

SATURDAY, MARCH 17

THE TRUCKS at Snocap day party – One of the hyped bands of the moment, The Trucks came off as a gimmicky novelty, but they were fairly fun to watch. What’s with the deliberately ugly look for that one chick with the missing tooth? That’s part of the shtick, I guess. www.thetrucks.net – PHOTOS OF THE TRUCKS

CALLA at Snocap day party – I sort of like Calla’s records, but they never seem to rise above the level of pretty good. I keep waiting for a big breakout chorus or guitar solo, but it never comes. I felt the same way about the live show. www.callamusic.com – PHOTOS OF CALLA

BERMUDA TRIANGLE at Platform day party – I plead another case of SXSW amnesia. They’re from Norway. There’s a girl who sings. There’s a guy who sings, too. I think I liked it. www.myspace.com/norwegianbermuda – PHOTOS OF BERMUDA TRIANGLE

THE SILENT YEARS at Habana Calle 6 Annex day party – I didn’t know anything about this group, but I was blown away by the energy. Will definitely seek them out. www.thesilentyears.com – PHOTOS OF THE SILENT YEARS

BANG GANG at Habana Calle 6 Annex day party – The mp3 by this group from Iceland caught my attention. In concert, they were odd, in a “Sprockets” sort of way. The lead singer, Bardi Johansson, delivered SXSW’s most stilted and strange stage banter, urging audience members to take part in an Icelandic party game of spitting on one another’s shoulders. At one point, he remarked (seemingly as a sort of complaint about SXSW): “Too much notes. Everybody’s jumping on the stage and playing too much notes. I think I’ve never seen anybody running around and jumping in my life.” Another comment: “The music sucks, but you have to be on drugs to know it.” And before playing “Stop in the Name of Love” and “Locomotion,” he announced: “We’re going to play an old American standard which you probably don’t like.” The songs featured a peculiar stop-and-start energy, and Bang Gang came off as a highly promising band, but their set was pretty darn short – just four songs or so. And then they were off.

Bang Gang also had one of the most absurd press releases this year on the SXSW Web site, including this description of Johansson: “He outfits as a producer, a fashion designer, director, musician, singer and composer. In Milan he has a full size statue, in Iceland he is the dark prince who walks the nights alone and in France he is hailed as the next Phil Spector. He depicts the musical side of fashion house Emporio Armani, cosmetics brand Yves Rocher and car make Citroën in there television ads. A renaissance man in the most true form he is obsessive, narcissistic, hung-over, mad and romantic. Oceanic and limitless, his songs sound much too real and much too beautiful. Bardi Johannson is an anomaly that blends together Rock’n’Roll and sadness to create a sound that bellows through your body like a misremembered dream and for that he makes us stop in the name of love.” www.banggang.net (Incidentally, there was another band at SXSW this year called Bang Bang Gang.) – PHOTOS OF BANG GANG

IRINA BJORKLUNDE was playing in the Habana Calle 6 Annex as part of a tribute to Nick Drake as I walked out of the Bang Gang gig. She was playing the saw, an instrument you don’t hear often enough, and she did a lovely Drake song. (Sorry, I’m terrible with his song titles, so I don’t recall which one.) www.irinabjorklund.com – PHOTOS OF IRINA BJORKLUNDE

THOM HELL at Platform day party – I caught a couple of songs by this Americana singer from Norway – well, I guess it isn’t correct to call it Americana if you’re from Norway, but that’s what it sounded like to me. Pretty good stuff, enough to make me want to hear more, but I was in a hurry. Marit Larsen, who was next on the Platform party schedule, was playing in Hell’s backup band, and a couple of Larsen fans in the crowd held up a sign declaring that she’s an addictive drug. – PHOTOS OF THOM HELL

BUZZCOCKS at Snocap day party – During my foray over to see Bang Gang, I missed Apollo Sunshine at the Snocap party, which was reportedly one of the highlights. The Buzzcocks were an excellent way to end the party, though. The Buzzcocks are the Buzzcocks; what more can you say? Those short, punchy songs still stand up amazingly well, and the band was as fun and energetic as ever. I was standing near Steve Diggles when he spat on the speakers, where the glob of saliva remained for the rest of the concert. www.buzzcocks.com – PHOTOS OF BUZZCOCKS

LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY on the SXSW Live stage – This was a rare chance to see one of the legends of reggae and dub music. I’m far from an expert on his music, but I enjoyed it, especially his jabs at the current political situation. A short, wizened guy, he was dressed in an outfit that was glittering with all of the shiny objects that had been pasted and sewed onto it. – PHOTOS OF LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY

WAX FANG at Mohawk Patio – Another band with an mp3 that attracted my attention. And they were playing at the showcase for KEXP, one of my favorite stations to hear on the Web. Wax Fang opened its set with a delicate little piece of guitar playing and singing by the vocalist, with the bassist and drummer patiently watching. And then, in the middle of that song, the rhythm section erupted into a dramatic blast of noise. The pattern repeated with other Wax Fang songs – tunes with an indie-pop sensibility melded with arena rock bombast. The band is from Louisville, Ky., so of course, I thought of My Morning Jacket. The guitarist even played a couple of wailing Theremin solos. www.waxfang.com – PHOTOS OF WAX FANG

BRUTE FORCE AND DAUGHTER OF FORCE at Creekside EMC – I was hoping to see Field Music in this time slot, but the line was long and didn’t seem to be moving, so I bailed on that show. I’d heard a quirky piano song called “Space Mission” by Brute Force and Daughter of Force, which sounded sort of like a demo for the Only Ones, but didn’t know what to expect. This was the strangest thing I saw all week. It felt like I’d stepped out of SXSW into some alternate universe. The act turned out to be an older guy with bushy eyebrows calling himself Brute Force playing piano and singing, with his twenty-something daughter on vocals. They did odd novelty tunes about sandwiches and space travel. It was hard not to get the impression that this was just some guy who played weird songs for his family and somehow persuaded his slightly embarrassed daughter to get up on the stage with him for a lounge act. As I learned later from reading about Brute Force on the SXSW Web site, he used to be a member of the Tokens and he originally recorded some of these songs for Apple Records in the late 1960s (the Beatles were among his fans). It was a refreshing change from everything else. Peculiar but charming. brutesforce.com – PHOTOS OF BRUTE FORCE AND DAUGHTER OF FORCE

ASTEROID #4 at Latitude 30 – Now here’s a band that lives reverb and darkness. The lights were barely on at all as Asteroid #4 played (it was hell to photograph, though I did dig the atmosphere it created) and they never turned off those echoing effects. It was a terrific space-rock jam, complete with a Rain Parade cover. As Asteroid #4 finished, the band announced, “Thanks. We’re the Black Angels.” www.asteroid4.com – PHOTOS OF ASTEROID #4

THE BLACK HOLLIES (with guest appearance by THE DANSETTES) at Uncle Flirty’s Loft – A good ‘60s-style rock band... Other than that, I don’t remember much. www.theblackhollies.com – PHOTOS OF THE BLACK HOLLIES /PHOTOS OF THE DANSETTES

OX at the Ale House – This alt-country band from British Columbia does a great cover of Cheap Trick’s “Surrender,” and that’s what was playing as I walked in the door. Most of their other songs seem to be about cars, including one about the El Camino. It was all pretty good, though it’s fairly typical stuff as far as alt-country bands go, nothing earth-shattering. www.oxmusic.ws – PHOTOS OF OX

THE WHIGS at Blender Bar at the Ritz – I showed up early at this venue to see the Saints in the last time slot. As I walked in, DANIEL JOHNSTON AND THE NIGHTMARES were finishing their set. The last half of the last song (all that I heard) seemed more confident and Modern Lovers-ish than the shaky solo concert I saw by Johnston a couple of years ago. I didn’t know much about the Whigs other than the mp3 I’d heard, but the group had a lot of young female fans in attendance, who sang along with many of the words. They put on a very good show, and something about them reminded me of other bands from their hometown, Athens, Ga. www.thewhigs.com – PHOTOS OF THE WHIGS

THE SAINTS at Blender Bar at the Ritz – These Australian punks were back for a reunion show, which I saw at the same time I could have been watching the Stooges over at Stubbs (but that would have required a long wait in line and no guarantee of getting in). The Saints song I know best, “Stranded,” sounded great. The rest of the set was good, too, but I was starting to lose it by this point; I could feel myself falling asleep even as I stood there. It was a fine concert, though the Saints did not seem to have the same level of excitement as some other bands from that era. www.saintsmusic.com – PHOTOS OF THE SAINTS

CLICK HERE FOR A GUIDE TO ALL OF MY SXSW 2007 PHOTOS.

READ MY OTHER SXSW 2007 BLOG ENTRIES:
PRE-SXSW SHOWS
DAY ONE
DAY TWO
DAY THREE

SXSW 2007, DAY THREE

FRIDAY, MARCH 16

ANDREW WINTON at Australian Barbecue day party – I heard just a couple of songs by Winton as I took advantage of the free food. It sounded a little too much like mellow pop for my tastes, though the guitar-playing was good. www.andrewwinton.com

THE BUZZCOCKS on the SXSW Live stage – I know it’s considered cool for punk rockers to play short sets, but this concert was ridiculously short. I walked in a few minutes after it started (on a new stage at the Austin Convention Center, where concerts were broadcast for Direct TV) and caught only two and a half songs. Sounded good, though. (See March 17 for my second Buzzcocks experience of SXSW.) www.buzzcocks.com

WINTERKIDS at the Day Stage Cafe – Another case of SXSW amnesia. What I heard sounded pretty good, but don’t ask me to describe it now. www.winterkidsmusic.com – PHOTOS OF WINTERKIDS

SOMEONE STILL LOVES YOU, BORIS YELTSIN at the Day Stage Cafe – I liked the record by this band last year, and they came off well in this short acoustic concert, playing strummy guitar songs that were more than a little catchy. And one of them executed a perfect stage dive, which was amusing and ridiculous given the room they were playing it. No damage to the guy’s guitar. www.morawk.com/sslyby – PHOTOS OF SOMEONE STILL LOVES YOU BORIS YELTSIN

BLACK LIPS at Club DeVille day party – Energetic garage rock. Even when they count off the beat at the beginning of a song, the “1, 2, 3” sounds a little punk. One of the guitarists threw up a little food in the middle of one song and kept playing. www.myspace.com/theblacklips – PHOTOS OF BLACK LIPS

WALTER MEEGO at Club DeVille day party – This Chicago band played electronic pop music overlaid with loud and sometimes atonal guitar lines. The group arrived in Austin for a gig early Thursday afternoon, after playing the night before at Chicago’s Metro nightclub. “It’s a wild ride,” lead singer Justin Sconza told me later. “I got up at 5 in the morning, flew here, and played right away. It just doesn’t stop.” www.waltermeego.com – PHOTOS OF WALTER MEEGO

IGGY POP AND THE STOOGES interview at Austin Convention Center – I walked in a little late (too late to get any photos), but heard most of this fascinating and funny interview. It was just weird to hear Iggy talking with Ron and Scott Asheton about the days when they all lived in a house together (the “fun house” that inspired the album title), a bunch of utopian outcasts. At one point, when they were discussing the food they used to make at the house, Pop noted, “Waffles are good.”

Asked how the Stooges got publicity, Pop recounted: “There was something called 16 magazine, and it was run by a very horny lady. They sent me to her apartment to see if we hit it off.” After a pause, he added, “And I was on the cover.” (Audience laughter.) “It was professionalism only.”

Pop said the song “No Fun” was inspired by a combination of the “no, no, no” in the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” and the “fun, fun, fun” attitude of the Beach Boys, with the structure of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line.”

He said his stage antics were inspired by the dancing he saw in Chicago clubs when he was gigging as a blues drummer. “I had never seen such raw sexuality than I saw in the blues dancing,” he said, adding that he was also inspired by Big Bird.

YOU AM I at Habana Calle 6 Annex day party – I keep hearing raves about this Australian band, which recently got a U.S. deal with Yep Roc. When I’ve heard their recordings, I though they were pretty good punk garage-rock, but it didn’t blow me away. I walked into the middle of this show and saw a few songs by You Am I. The energy and antics of the live concert was pretty amazing. I’ll definitely have to dig deeper into You Am I. youami.com.au – PHOTOS OF YOU AM I

NELLIE McKAY at Exodus – This show got started late, and it was uncomfortably crowded in front of the stage. (It was also way too dark for proper photography.) When McKay came out at last, she brought some books of sheet music with her, and sat down at the piano, with all of the informality of someone trying out jazz standards at a friend’s house. It was a charming performance, though a little erratic at times. She closed with a medley of several songs she has recorded about cats and dogs, drawing the biggest audience response of the night. www.nelliemckay.com – PHOTOS OF NELLIE McKAY

DANNY SAUL at the Hideout – This English singer-songwriter played some excellent acoustic guitar, including instrumental passages of epic length. His singing was OK, though nothing remarkable, but his dark songs were intriguing. He seems like a talent worth watching. dannysaul.com – PHOTOS OF DANNY SAUL

AMY WINEHOUSE at La Zona Rosa – Perhaps the one emerging musician at this year’s SXSW who who seems destined for actual commercial stardom. This English soul singer who wouldn’t look out of place alongside Christine Aguilera or Lady Sovereign, but she sounds more like a throwback to the Motown and Stax records of the 1960s. Backed by the talented Dap-Kings, Winehouse showed off a powerful voice Thursday night, as she danced teasingly, reaching down to pull up her low-slung blue jeans. She drank from a rum and coke even as she sang about going into rehab, and closed with a cover of a Zutons song. www.amywinehouse.co.uk – PHOTOS OF AMY WINEHOUSE

BEDROOM WALLS at Club One 15 – One of the main instruments in this band’s lineup is the glockenspiel, so you knew it was going to be a little twee, but the lead singer/guitarist was pretty energetic as he leapt out the stage. I liked this, though I have a partial case of SXSW amnesia about the details. www.bedroomwalls.com – PHOTOS OF BEDROOM WALLS

INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE SONIDO at The Rio – This was a group that intrigued me even though I had only one snippet of an mp3, some 27 seconds, to go on. It was enough to clue me in on the fact that the “Mexican Institute of Sound” (as they’re known in English) samples interesting old records. The duo was also lively on stage, wearing furry tails. I approach techno music and hip-hop with a little skepticism – it takes something special to win me over. And this band was special. www.myspace.com/institutomexicanodelsonido – PHOTOS OF INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE SONIDO

THE WOGGLES at Habana Calle 6 – Wearing uniforms of the sort once worn by Paul Revere and the Raiders and similar 1960s bands, the Woggles played one of the liveliest shows this year at SXSW. The blend of ‘60s garage rock and ‘70s punk was nothing groundbreaking, but man, it was fun. www.thewoggles.com – PHOTOS OF THE WOGGLES

CLICK HERE FOR A GUIDE TO ALL OF MY SXSW 2007 PHOTOS.
READ MY OTHER SXSW 2007 BLOG ENTRIES:
PRE-SXSW SHOWS
DAY ONE
DAY TWO
DAY FOUR

SXSW 2007, DAY TWO

THURSDAY, MARCH 15

MARIT LARSEN at the Day Stage Cafe – This cute, little folkie from Norway was my first concert of the day. Her music seemed charming on first listen, though I’ll have to hear it more to see if it has staying power. She has some potential to attract alt-country and bluegrass fans in the U.S. – PHOTOS OF MARIT LARSEN

THE STORYS at the Day Stage Cafe – This band from Wales performed some rather bland acoustic pop music that was too adult contemporary for my tastes. Inoffensive but instantly forgettable. www.thestorys.co.uk – PHOTOS OF THE STORYS

FIONN REGAN at the Day Stage Cafe - Fionn Regan put out a good record last year, one of the import CDs I purchased in my year-end shopping frenzy. He impressed me even more in person than he does on record. His delicate finger-style guitar playing was lovely, and so was his voice, and his pensive, sensitive songs seemed ready for a bigger audience. – PHOTOS OF FIONN REGAN

HEADLIGHTS at Flamingo Cantina day party – I talked with the members of Headlights a couple of years ago for a short article, but to be honest, I don’t remember much about their music from that time. It seemed like good but somewhat typical indie pop. The Champaign band sounded damn good this year at SXSW, perhaps a sign of growth (or maybe I just overlooked how good they were before). Like many bands at SXSW 2007, Headlights had a bit of a Broken Social Scene or Arcade Fire vibe, playing multilayered tunes that take on a frenzied emotional intensity during live performances. I liked Headlights a lot. www.headlightsmusic.com – PHOTOS OF HEADLIGHTS

TALLY HALL at Bourbon Rocks day party – I went to this party, hosted by Found Magazine, in the hope of seeing Okkervil River, but the schedule had changed and I arrived just after Okkervil finished playing. The beer was free, so I stuck around for most of the show by Tally Hall, a bunch of nerdy-looking guys in white shirts and ties who played songs reminiscent of Queen, Oingo Boingo and, um, Gentle Giant? I heard some interesting harmonies and musical patterns, fairly sophisticated stuff, though it was all a bit too 1970s kitschy for my tastes. www.tallyhall.com – PHOTOS OF TALLY HALL

THE PIPETTES at Flamingo Cantina day party – One of the most hyped acts at SXSW. Do they deserve the hype? Well, at least they look great. And I thought they sounded pretty good, too. There’s nothing wrong with reviving the 1960s girl group sound and adding some saucy contemporary UK attitude to the lyrics. I haven’t heard their record yet, and I wonder if it has much staying power, but would I see them again in concert? Heck, yeah. ) www.thepipettes.co.uk – PHOTOS OF THE PIPETTES

(One of them mentioned seeing THE DANSETTES the night before, another girl-group revival band. The Dansettes sound great, and I wish I’d seen them beyond the one song they performed with the Black Hollies on Saturday. I wonder how the Dansettes will stack up against the Pipettes? www.thedansettes.com)

ATTIC JAM at La Zona Rosa – I kept wavering on whether to attend this show. Hosted by RACHEL FULLER, who happens to be Pete Townshend’s girlfriend, it was sure to feature an appearance by Townshend, plus some “special guests.” How long would the line be? How much would Townshend actually play? I decided I had to see at least some of it, and I was able to get in fairly easily (it’s a big venue), though I got kicked out of the photo pit. Townshend opened the show with a solo acoustic performance of the Quadrophenia song “Drowned,” which made it more than worthwhile. He was followed by WILLY MASON, who played a few songs, with Townshend playing along on at least one. MIKA, who is big in Britain right now, played a couple of piano ballads, including a cover of “Everybody’s Talkin’” with Townshend joining in a little. Fuller played some of her own piano music, which was pleasant enough but unremarkable. Then came JOE PURDY, doing more soft acoustic music. None of this was bad, exactly, but given the fact that it was a showcase featuring the guitarist for one of the most explosive bands in rock history, it was all a little bit on the boring side. Martha Wainwright was scheduled to come up soon, and I don’t care much for her music, so I decided to head out, even though there was a promise of more Townshend music at the end of the three-hour time slot. (I later read that he came back for a couple of songs.) The concept of these “Attic Jams” is OK, but I’d rather see a full Townshend concert or maybe a Townshend jam with some of the more interesting musicians at SXSW. Imagine if he’d played with Iggy Pop – or Daniel Johnston? Now, that would have been memorable. – PHOTOS OF THE ATTIC JAM with PETE TOWNSHEND, RACHEL FULLER, WILLY MASON and JOE PURDY

I ended up spending the rest of the night at Mohawk and Mohawk Patio, which were hosting the showcase for the Secretly Canadian label. Somehow, because of scheduling changes and confusion, I missed one of the Secretly Canadian bands that I wanted to see the most, the Besnard Lakes, but at least they’re coming to Chicago soon.

DIRTY PROJECTORS at Mohawk – This was a weird one, avant-garde rock with a little math rock thrown into the mix? There were some complex guitar melodies and vocal harmonies, all played with a fair amount of emotional intensity. It’s not the sort of music you can fully absorb right away, so I’m not sure how much I liked it. Challenging, and potentially very good. myspace.com/dirtyprojectors – PHOTOS OF DIRTY PROJECTORS

I LOVE YOU BUT I’VE CHOSEN DARKNESS at Mohawk Patio – I’ve never really gotten into this band, but their music (sounding a lot like the Smiths, as my brother remarked) sounded pretty good this time. I left midway through their show to run indoors and catch... www.chosendarkness.com – PHOTOS OF I LOVE YOU BUT I’VE CHOSEN DARKNESS

FRIDA HYVÖNEN is one of the most interesting new talents to emerge out of Sweden, and I had the pleasure to interview her for the March/April issue of Punk Planet magazine, but I’d missed her two concerts in Chicago. Her piano playing is a little simple, but it suits her songs well enough. The lyrics are starkly personal at times, strange at others. She even played a quirky little song about Shanghai. She exudes her singular personality in concert, and was pretty animated for a piano player, leaning back in odd ways. “I think I love you,” she told the audience, and after a pause: “I know, that’s a cheap shot.” She’s beautiful, too, with the looks of a Swedish movie star. www.fridahyvonen.com – PHOTOS OF FRIDA HYVÖNEN

BISHOP ALLEN – Alas, I have to say that Bishop Allen is one of several bands I saw at SXSW that made only a fleeting impression and then disappeared from my brain. I liked them. I can’t remember what they sound like. I promise to listen again. bishopallen.com – PHOTOS OF BISHOP ALLEN

RICHARD SWIFT is a talented singer-songwriter who switches between piano and guitar. He strikes me as the indie-rock kin of Rufus Wainwright and Edward Harcourt. He makes some of the funniest faces while he plays. His closing song was the catchy “Atlantic Ocean,” featuring backup singing through a Vocoder, giving it an ELO feeling. www.richardswift.us – PHOTOS OF RICHARD SWIFT

While all of that was going on outside, I caught snatches of Catfish Haven and the excellent Chicago rocker DAVID VANDERVELDE in Mohawk’s crowded indoor venue. www.davidvandervelde.com LADYHAWK, who played next in the same room, is an excellent band, but I’ve seen them a few times, so I wasn’t going out of my way to see them again at SXSW. Watching them through the opening in the bar, it was hard not to get excited. (Britt Daniel of Spoon was standing next to me, watching, too.) As the band completed it set, I worked my way into the room. This was one of the most enthusiastic crowd responses I saw at SXSW. After the Ladyhawk guys finished flailing around on the stage, the crowd chanted, “One more song! One more song!” Ladyhawk came back for another tune, though it’s unusual for SXSW acts to do encores unless they’re the last band of the night. Ladyhawk’s record is good, but the music really comes alive in concert, as the band pounds away at those riffs with an abandon that resembles My Morning Jacket’s live shows. A couple of people who had wandered into the bar, unsure of which band was playing, said, “Who are these guys?” www.ladyhawkladyhawk.com – PHOTOS OF LADYHAWK

I caught a few songs as OKKERVIL RIVER began playing outside, then went back inside for EVANGELICALS, a group from Norman, Okla. (Okkervil is great, one of the best live bands around, but I was motivated by the desire to hear something new.) I’ve had trouble figuring out exactly what kind of music Evangelicals plays; their record is diverse, strong and hard to categorize. Evangelicals decorated Mohawk’s small stage with the silvery leaves of fake plants and some green tubes containing electric lights. Lead singer/guitarist Josh Jones was wearing just one shoe, and he had nylon stocking on underneath his torn jeans. The searing set climaxed with the trashing of the drum kit and the smashing of a guitar. Jones held the broken remains of his guitar aloft, and someone yelled, “Encore! Play that thing!” myspace.com/evangelicals It was too late for an encore, but I caught another two songs by Okkervil River out on the patio before heading back to the hotel. – PHOTOS OF OKKERVIL RIVER /PHOTOS OF EVANGELICALS

CLICK HERE FOR A GUIDE TO ALL OF MY SXSW 2007 PHOTOS.
READ MY OTHER SXSW 2007 BLOG ENTRIES:
PRE-SXSW SHOWS
DAY ONE
DAY THREE
DAY FOUR