Austin360 blogs > Michael Corcoran's SXSW Journal > Archives > 2008 > March > 14 > Entry
Vampires, Duffy and the Truth
What a fabulous Friday afternoon. Let’s start at the Spin party, which didn’t have a line even though imperial buzz band Vampire Weekend and old standbys X were playing. Raveonettes were third on the bill and not impressive at all in the ACLian heat. This is a band that should only play indoors at night.
At most day parties the bands try to get people to move up front so they can rock out without looking needy. At the Spin party that wasn’t necessary. The front of the stage was shaded, while way in the back felt like Death Valley.
The precious pups of Vampire Weekend were much better than expected, with their Soweto show tunes making for a cool vibe. What I liked best about the three songs I saw (deadline for Duffy) was that each musician was doing their own unique thing and there was separation in the sound. Ninety-five per cent of the bands playing SX just come out in one big (mostly boring) sound, but Vampire Weekend sounded like the late, great Tom Dowd was at the board. Liked their (non) attitude, also.
So I raced over to the Mercury, just in time to catch the U.S. debut of Duffy, who has the number one album in the U.K. Well, she was everything I’d hoped for and more- so confident, so effortless, so hypnotic, with a really good band. I’m going to throw a name out there I don’t do lightly: Billie Holiday. Duffy doesn’t sing jazz or blues, but she’s got that same smoky vulnerabilty to her voice. The obvious comparisons are Amy Winehouse and Joss Stone, but Duffy’s got a better voice (but not better songs) than Winehouse and more bite than La Joss. I’m going to see her tomorrow at Stubb’s (8 p.m.) and I suggest you do the same. Duffy’s something special.
To top it all off, I got to stand ten feet from Billy Bragg at the 115 Club as he did his best to rally the Music Managers Forum, while playing chilling new songs like “Sing Those Souls Back Home” and “I Keep the Faith.” After that latter song, Bragg launched into a right-on diatribe about how the changes in the music industry have made it harder for newer artists to make a living at their craft. Song rippers, he said, “are not bandits, they’re music fans.” He went on to say that in his 25 years in the music biz, one thing has never changed. “There are people who want to make music and people who want to hear music.” The big question he said, is how to get fans to support the musicians. The current business model is a mess. Then Bragg ended with a version of “There’s Power In the Union” that had fists pumping in the air.
God bless Billy Bragg, a man of eloquence and soul.
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