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Wednesday, March 25, 2009
SXSW global: Video clips of 3 standout international acts
While the buzz of big name acts like Kanye West, Jane’s Addiction and metal gods Metallica dominated the festival, hundreds of international bands made epic cross-continental treks to take the stage in Austin during SXSW 2009. International music had a huge presence at this year’s fest, with organizers claiming that 40 percent of showcasing acts were from outside the U.S. I spent the final two days of the fest pounding the pavement, getting my global groove on. Here are three great acts I checked out.
The band: The Pepper Pots
Hometown: Girona, Spain
The showcase: 11 p.m. Saturday at Opal Divine’s Freehouse
Three utterly adorable female vocalists oozed enthusiasm as they gave their take on a sixties Motown girl group. With tight harmonies, choreographed dance moves and retro hair and dresses they had the audience eating out of their outstretched hands. Backed by a robust ensemble with a solid horn section the sound was full, the energy was great and the overall effect was a whole lot of fun. This was the Pepper Pots first trip to the U.S., but with a new album produced by Binky Griptite of the Dap Kings in the works and a sock hop revival steadily spreading across the country, I expect they’ll be back again soon.
The band: Cafe Funque
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The showcase: 10 p.m. Saturday at Opal Divine’s Freehouse
Lead singer Cacao (Lady Acid) is a rock star. She straight up ruled the stage. Clad in a skeleton costume with a painted face, she shimmied, scowled and even threw up devil horns. She also belted out songs from the bottom of her heart and threw herself writhing onto the floor. Killer.
The band: Choc Quib Town
Hometown:Bogota, Colombia
The showcase: 1 a.m. Saturday at Copa
With tight harmonies, irresistible rhythmic interplay and a rhymestyle as ebullient as it was fearless this Columbian hip-hop fusion act tore the roof off at Copa on Friday night (Saturday morning). It wasn’t a full house, but the sizable and strikingly diverse group that crowded the stage rippled with excitement. And when the rappers cried out “Jump!” almost everyone in the house complied.
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Review: Eli Young Band at the rodeo
If you didn’t know that the Eli Young Band came from the humble beginnings of a fraternity house at the University of North Texas in Denton, you certainly couldn’t tell during their sold-out show Saturday at the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo.
Lead vocalist and frontman Mike Eli never missed a beat and commanded the stage as well as any of his superstar predecessors. More than a few times he descended the stage into the dirt of the arena to greet and clap hands with screaming fans.
It took the band a few songs to really get comfortable on the Travis County Expo Center’s rotating stage, but once they found their footing, Eli and the boys delivered a rousing and energetic 13-song set.
The band played a variety of hits off their latest album, “Jet Black & Jealous,” along with fan favorites “So Close Now,” “Everything is You” and “Highways and Broken Hearts” from their first two albums that never made radio play.
They melted hearts with “Always the Love Songs,” currently at number 19 on Billboard’s Hot Country chart, and “When It Rains,” a holdover from their second album, “Level.” The highlight of the show was during “Guinevere,” surely to be the band’s next big hit, when several couples spilled into the aisles of the arena to slow-dance.
During most of the show, something was amiss with the band’s audio. Their instrumentals, the drums in particular, significantly overpowered the vocal audio, so it was difficult to hear the words of the songs. I expected the problem to be corrected after the first two or three songs, but this was not the case.
Despite the audio problems, the Eli Young Band will surely continue to perform at a high level.
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Unplugged at the Grove kicks off April 16
James McMurtry opens the popular “KGSR Unplugged at the Grove” series this year April 16 at the Shady Grove restaurant on Barton Springs Road. Next up will be Rhett Miller of Old 97s on April 23, followed by Ryan Bingham April 30, Brave Combo May 7, Ray Wylie Hubbard May 14 and Carolyn Wonderland May 21.
All shows are free and so they tend to get very crowded. Shows start around 7 p.m.
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Review: Kellie Pickler at the rodeo
I had misconceptions about Kellie Pickler going into her Friday show at the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo.
I was expecting a ditzy, talentless Carrie Underwood wannabe wearing her best pair of red high heels. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by Pickler’s respectable 14-song set, which was also enjoyed by more than 4,500 of Pickler’s biggest fans, mostly tweenage girls clad in sparkles and pink.
Her twangy voice, an octave too high for my liking, was solid, though she struggled with some lower notes. At times she was — as Randy Jackson would say — a bit pitchy, but Pickler’s overall performance was impressive.
“The American Idol” alum opened the show with “Best Days Of Your Life,” the latest single off her self-titled sophomore album, a song that she co-wrote with fellow country/pop artist Taylor Swift. Pickler continued with a mix of hits from her first and second albums, including “Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful” and “Things That Never Cross A Man’s Mind.”
After covering Dolly Parton’s “Nine To Five,” Pickler shifted gears with “I Wonder,” a heartbreaking song about her non-existent relationship with her mother. She closed the show on a high note, literally, with her biggest hit “Red High Heels.”
The North Carolina native used her sweet-as-molasses Southern charm to work the crowd, waving and acknowledging her fans — “Hey darlin’ I like your sparkly pants!” —in between every single song.
Surprisingly, Pickler herself was not donning any sparkling pants, rather an unassuming black cap-sleeve shirt paired with jeans, flat black leather boots (gasp!), and no jewelry (double gasp!).
Although her banter was genuine, some of her stories rambled on too long. If she can refine her on-stage persona, Pickler will be well on her way to headlining her own tour.
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Live Nation sells Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Austin concertgoers will no longer have to decide whether acts are worth driving all the way to the Verizon Wireless to see. The 20,000-capacity Selma amphitheater, about 60 miles south of Austin, has been sold by Live Nation to Stream Realty Partners of Dallas, which is looking to develop the property for retail, according to Selma city administrator Ken Roberts.
The Vans Warped Tour, which usually takes place in Selma every summer is now headed to San Antonio’s AT&T Center July 2. Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic last year was at the VWA. There are currently no plans for a Picnic in 2009.
The original asking price was $8 million, according bto the San Antonio Business Journal, but the property was on the market for two years and Roberts said the most recent listing was $6.1 million. The sale closed about four weeks ago.
Live Nation’s parent company Clear Channel opened the amphitheater in the summer of 2001, effectively shutting down plans by then-competitor House of Blues to renovate Southpark Meadows.
So now that the Verizon Wireless shed is no more, Austin is without a large outdoor amphitheater in general proximity. We did get another shopping center, however, just south of Slaughter Lane where Pearl Jam’s last concert in the area took place (in 1995).
If Abel (Southpark landowner Theriot, now deceased) sold us that land,” Live Nation’s Bob Roux told me a few weeks ago, “I have no doubt that today Southpark Meadows would be the finest amphiteather in the country. Every time I drive by where it used to be I have to divert my eyes.”
Indeed, Southpark Meadows was a rustic, 35,000-capacity jewel, where the likes of Radiohead (opening for REM), the Police, Dave Matthews Band and the Lollapalooza tour played before the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater cannibalized the market.
And now there’s nothing but more Walmarts and Petsmarts.
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Passion Pit to return to Austin in June
Passion Pit plays at Emo’s during South by Southwest last week. Photo by Benjamin Sklar/SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Boston-based psych-pop outfit Passion Pit, who rocked Emo’s and a few other places during SXSW, will return to Austin on June 3 in support of their full length debut, “Manners.” The band has released the first single from “Manners,” the more polished and disco-fied track “The Reeling,” on their MySpace page. Check it out here.
Purchase tickets online at www.ticketweb.com.
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The Offspring play Austin Music Hall May 19
Joining them will be fellow punk lifers Alkaline Trio and Street Dogs. Tickets for this show go on sale March 28 at 10 AM at all Gettix locations, online at www.austinmusichall.com or by phone at (866) 443-8849.
