Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2008 > March > 14 > Entry
SXSW Review: The Hard Lessons
Vampire who? While that might be overstating the case — though as one Spin party VIP attendee said in reference to turbo-hyped band Vampire Weekend, “It isn’t exactly Beatlemania down there” — the New York combo had a lot to contend in Stubb’s basement Friday afternoon. That was where Detroit indie/soul/rock trio The Hard Lessons were brought in for two blistering sets by Spin honchos apparently looking to add some muscle to the B-team lineup inside.
They made the right choice. Tables overlooking the concert pit became de facto front-row balcony seats as soner guitarist Augie Visocchi, keyboardist/singer Korin Cox and drummer Christophe Jajac-Denek plowed through everything from indie-pop (“Milk and Sugar,” “See and Be Scene”), to Cox’s soul-fueled shouts like “Carey Says” and “Don’t Shake My Tree.”
There weren’t many occupied forks in the place by the end of either set, proof that a trip to the stage outside in years to come wouldn’t be a stretch for these folks.
Follow Austin Music Source on Facebook and Twitter.
Permalink | | Categories: SXSW
