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Thursday, March 18, 2010
SXSW review: Star & Micey
Memphis trio Star & Micey are proteges of Big Star drummer Jody Stephens and record for Big Star’s old label, Ardent, where Stephens now serves as studio manager. Their 9 p.m. Thursday showcase at Barbarella was billed as “featuring Jody Stephens,” and Stephens came out before them to offer a tribute to his bandmate Alex Chilton, who passed away Wednesday, saying “he’s been part of my creative soul” and thanking everyone for the outpouring of support. The scheduled Big Star show Friday and discussion panel Saturday would go on in tribute to Chilton, he announced.
Big Star is not actually an obvious influence on Star & Micey, although Stephens was one of the guests on their 2009 self-titled debut. Singer-guitarist Joshua Cosby, guitarist-vocalist Nick Redmond and bassist-vocalist Geoff Smith, all in their mid-20s, have more of an indie-pop/Southern rock sound, with a little bit of folk and soul thrown into the mix. Vocal harmonies are their strong suit.
Cosby has a strong tenor, and he and Redmond have a tight blend that makes them often sound like the “two brothers without the same last name” they claim to be in their bio, while Smith frequently adds the third part for an element of the unexpected.
The bluesy “So Much Pain” was the obvious crowd favorite, drawing loud applause when the band announced it. Redmond’s nifty electric solo rode nicely atop Cosby’s acoustic rhythm guitar. The poppy “Carly” could have been a lost ‘70s soft-rock hit, with its catchy, broken-hearted chorus, although Smith’s toy xylophone part, which cleverly shaded into “Frere Jacques” and back, might have been a little much for FM programmers of the day.
Having no regular drummer, the band played most of its set with a drum kit divided between the three of them, working the kick drum, tambourine and cymbals with pedals. That seemed to work fine with the trio’s easy-going sound, but when Stephens joined them on drums for the last song, “Nelson,” the energy level increased exponentially.
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SXSW scene report: German and French parties
Gridlocked traffic and general sensory overload often bring nostalgia for the more laidback SXSWs of yore, but then, in the golden years when you could actually get from the Hole in the Wall to the Austin Opera House, on the other side of the river, in under ten minutes, there was also no free arugula.
The German Musik Initiative hosted a lunch with DJ sets at Parkside on Thursday afternoon, and although I arrived too late for the full spread laid out by Berliner chefs Phillip Patzig and Hayk Seirig, a serving bowl of artfully mixed spring lettuces had not yet been swept away, so I got a big plate of salad, probably the first time ever at SXSW that I have been served a vegetable that is not chopped up in salsa.
While a few people were conducting interviews, consulting smart phones or consuming the remains of the repast downstairs, most of the crowd was upstairs, and out on the deck smoking up a storm and quaffing either St. Pauli Girl beer or some very nice wine, including a lovely 2006 Huber Zeigelt that was another reason to love the growing international presence at SXSW.
DJ Heidi from BBC Radio 1/Get Physical Records spun a cheeky, creative mix of underground house that had hipsters bopping even as they concentrated on their conversations. She is also the first person in history, to my knowledge, who has managed to look cool and edgy with blond braids pinned up around her head. (If only Yulia Tymoshenko had her fashion savvy, she might have won the Ukrainian presidential election.) I was dying to ask one woman why she was wearing a frog mask on the back of her head, but the music was too loud, and I was afraid the answer would not be as exotic as the image.
At the France Rocks Austin party further down Sixth Street, at Klub Krucial, champagne was free but water was $2 a bottle. The electro-punk glam band Dead Sexy Inc. drove plenty of patrons to the patio in back, but although I wouldn’t run out and buy their records, they were super tight and there was a gleeful conviction to their over-the-top posturing and flamboyant mannerisms, as well as their beyond-risque lyrics.
The band’s two frontmen traded off on guitar and vocals (no bassist, but plenty of bass), and there was ample humor in the contrast between the two — panther-like Emmanuel H, bald head gleaming with sweat, traced balletic patterns with his arms while maintaining punk intensity, and Stephane H struck metal-god poses, tossing his Kajagoogoo-esque black hair until it finally started to lose its vertical volume and droop down onto his shoulders. Drummer Alexy G wailed along to the electronics while wearing headphones and an expression that made him look more like he was an engineer off in a sound booth by himself.
The room filled up more for the Bewitched Hands on Top of Our Heads, but their power pop seemed anemic by comparison, and I followed a friend down to BD Riley’s to see Roman Candle, a more focused and driving power-pop band from Nashville via Chapel Hill. Their “Modern Rock Radio is A-OK” is one catchy, clever anti-anthem. Their producer, Chris Stamey of dBs fame, was basking in a spot of sunlight at a table by the window.
Back out on Sixth Street, a Brighton quartet called Doll and the Kicks had drawn a considerable crowd. While the boys in the band sang sweet harmonies, Doll belted out songs in a strong alto. Doll sported a porkpie hat atop a Liza Minnelli-ish haircut, and a yellow polka-dot, puffed sleeved minidress that showed off her long legs, which probably didn’t hurt attendance any.
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SXSW tribute planned for Alex Chilton
Before Smokey Robinson’s keynote address this morning at the Convention Center, SXSW Creative Director Brent Grulke dedicated the festival to the memory Alex Chilton, whose death of a heart attack Wednesday night stunned attendees and musicians. Chilton’s legendary band Big Star was scheduled to play the prime 12:30 a.m. slot at Antone’s on Saturday, as well as appear on a Big Star panel earlier that day.
Big Star’s Jody Stephens told Billboard.com today that he and current members Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer will be the “house band” for a tribute at Antone’s during the Big Star slot. Likely guests include Andy Hummel — the original bassist who’s part of the panel — M. Ward, John Doe, Chris Stamey and R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, Stephens said.
All across the festival Wednesday night and Thursday, acts such as Dawes and Tim Easton dedicated or covered Big Star songs, and fans raised glasses/bottles in Chilton’s memory.
Here is the reaction from musicians at SXSW:
‘We’re gonna get breakfast going with some volume today. Too bad there was no sleep last night, but that’s what happens when you listen to a bunch of Big Star records until dawn. That’s just what you do.” — Tim Easton opening Twangfest at Jovita’s at noon Thursday.
‘Now they’ll finally be what their name proclaimed. That’s one of rock’s biggest ironies. They should have been big stars.’ — Patterson Hood of the Drive By Truckers on Thursday at the Waterloo Records signing table.
‘I didn’t know or work with Alex, but I did work with Jim Dickinson. And when Jim died last year, he had a wonderful thing put on his tombstone; it said, ‘I’m not gone, I’m just dead.’ And I think that would fit Alex as well. It’s tough when another great one passes, but that’s the great thing about music — it lives on.’ — John Hiatt
‘….I do remember the first time I heard ‘The Letter.’ It was 1966, I think, and I must have been 13. I remember thinking, where’d THAT voice come from? It sure sounded older than anyone that might be listening to the song. It was a different era, a different time. It sounded like it came from under the world.’ — Buddy Miller
‘We found out right before we hit the stage last night. I used to cover “Thirteen” back in my solo acoustic days. They never got their due. They’re kind of like the Velvet Underground. They never sold any records, but everybody that listened to them decided to be in a band.” — Luke Temple, lead singer/guitarist for Here We Go Magic
‘Alex Chilton is gone. And it hurts. After I read the news about Chilton’s passing, I went onto Facebook to check in with friends I can’t be with here at SXSW in Austin. Many of them are musicians and artists, and never had I seen an entire news feed filled with variations on the same despair.’— Carrie Brownstein, former Sleater-Kinney guitarist, on her blog, Monitor Mix, at NPR.org.
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SXSW scene report: Westside baby! Roaming the Warehouse District day party scene
Yes, the major SXSW day party action goes down on Sixth Street, Red River, South Congress and pretty much the entire east side of the city, but what’s happening in the Warehouse District? That was the question I was pondering on my way to the Nacional Records/Pachanga party at La Condesa this afternoon. Nacional was hosting an invite-only gathering celebrating its excellent roster of artists playing the festival. With beverages flowing freely, they managed to pack the bar area and the small outdoor deck with a lively crowd. I bumped into Pachanga Fest organizer Rich Garza, complimented him on last year’s fantastic event at Fiesta Gardens and wrangled a sneak peak at the flier for this year’s festival. But there was no music at the party, so after sipping down half a Mexican Coke I decided to check out the scene upstairs at Malverde.
There was no wait to get into the df Loft party at Malverde. The outdoor deck was a carefully guarded VIP area, but with the windows open, sun streaming in and a cool breeze rustling the leaves of impressively over-sized potted plants, the main room of the club was light and airy. Dos Equis appeared to be the (free?) beverage of choice and skinny jeans and immaculately highlighted hair was the look du jour for the trendy 20-something crowd. Chicago-based electropop trio Hey Champ took the stage around 3:30 and their set actually seemed pretty upbeat and promising, but unable to shake the overwhelming sense of my own un-hipness I decided to head on down the road.
A few blocks to the north, a blast of sweeping epic rock darkened by more than a hint of violin-induced melancholy lured me out of the sun and into the dark cavernous interior of Republic Live where the Consequence of Sound Day Party was going down. Once again, there was no line and this time a significantly grimier skinny jean clad crowd of twenty-somethings. The band on stage was New Jersey’s Titus Andronicus and after catching the end of their texturally dense set of emotional rock I understand why they’ve been building a fair amount of buzz. The band is playing a mess of parties over the rest of the weekend, and they’re definitely worth a listen. Next on the bill was Of Montreal’s James Husband, but the dark, oddly smoky (fake foggy?) atmosphere was putting a damper on the beautiful afternoon so I decided to head on.
Trekking west on Fourth Street, I wandered past a sleepy Ghost Room and a reasonably bustling Halcyon patio then stumbled directly into the crowd that spilled into the street from Cedar Street Courtyard. I’ve never personally experienced Filter Magazine’s Showdown at Cedar Street, but I’ve heard it’s a perennial fave for SXSW-ers, and the overflow of patrons craning necks and climbing on the iron sculpture outside the club to catch a glimpse of the Norwegian rock showcase certainly seemed to prove the point.
Even with a separate line for badges, getting into that mess was clearly going to be a tedious process. So it was off down the road. Heading toward Congress I caught wind of a clash of hip-hop deck parties with bumpin’ grooves wafting from the upstairs patios of Speakeasy and the Light Bar. A quick check of my Twitter account confirmed that the latter was hosting Urb Magazine’s SXSNext party and I decided to check it out. Again there was no wait and I easily breezed into the narrow wedge of a club. Downstairs the scene was low key. The plush couch by the water wall was practically empty and a group of backpackers clustered around a corner where L.A. rapper Tiron, who oddly enough was rocking a sweatshirt and a red knit hat on a 70 degree day, spit a respectable lyrical flow.
Upstairs the party was on. A crowd crammed the rooftop deck and when Yelawolf, a white rapper from rural Alabama with a steady building buzz, took the stage he rocked them hard. Seriously. Shunning the stage he climbed the walls and leaped over the clubs faded pleather couches to balance precariously on tables in the midst of the crowd while spewing an aggressive flurry of down and dirty Southern rhymes. The audience, an notably urban mix of true hip-hop heads was clearly with him. His set was brief, but long enough to establish why the dude’s prominently positioned on the lineup of a lot of this week’s hottest parties.
After Yelawolf did his thing the sun was starting to go down and the dinner hour was approaching so I decided to head back across the river to my office.
On the way I passed the second longest line I had seen all night, a crowd at least 40 deep, oddly enough outside the Elephant Room which wasn’t hosting any sort of event. I asked one of the girls at the front of the line what she was waiting for. “Kyoto,” she replied
“Really, you’re just waiting to eat?” I asked a little incredulously. I never knew the little sushi joint over the Elephant was so hopping.
“Yeah, and working up an appetite,” she sighed.
Weird.
Turns out the club hosts a regular happy hour that actually only runs for 45 minutes from 6 to 6:45 p.m. With good sushi specials and deals on Japanese drafts it draws a lot of regulars. I never knew.
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Not quite SXSW around town
If you live far east of I-35, you would be excused for thinking it was just a regular Thursday in March. There were few signs that South By Southwest was even going on north of 12th Street and east of Chicon Street.
But various smaller venues east of I-35, the sorts of places that have regular live music when SXSW isn’t going on, are hosting unofficial day and night parties.
A small group gathered at the Parlor on East North Loop for a day show featuring such cult acts as the noise rock band Todd and locals When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth.
Spot Long, owner of Trailer Space Records is hosting day and night parties organized by Austin band the Strange Boys. “We had several hundred people here (Wednesday night),” Long said while the band TV Ghost wailed away in front of a good-sized crowd Thursday afternoon. “The crowd carted off all the Vitamin Water I got as a give-away.”
But the closer you got to downtown Austin Thursday evening, the more intense and exhausting the traffic became, with band vans towing trailers navigating tight east side streets and fans looking for parking competing with city buses for space on the road. Downtown streets that feed into I-35 such as 15th and 11th streets came to a virtual standstill during rush hour Thursday.
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SXSW scene report: The Court Yard Hounds at Sony Music party
Except for a couple of songs on KGSR’s live morning broadcast today, the Court Yard Hounds — the new collaboration between the Dixie Chicks’ Martie Maguire and Emily Robison — made their public performance debut at the Sony Music day party at the Clive Bar Thursday afternoon. Though the Dixie Chicks are not disbanded — they will tour with the Eagles and Keith Urban this summer — the two sisters are proceeding with the new, more intimate CYH configuration as a way to stretch their creative muscles and get back in front of folks after a nearly four-year layoff.
The industry party was a laid-back affair on a gorgeous afternoon, and the Hounds’ bluegrass-inspired new original songs proved an ideal soundtrack for a literal back porch gig.
Though Maguire and Robison co-founded the Chicks, they have never made the move to center stage before now. Notwithstanding, they are charismatic and agile performers and blessed with the sort of organic harmonies that nothing but shared DNA can inspire.
Robison took the lion’s share of the vocals and traded between guitar, Dobro and banjo as the duo (abetted by a backing trio) worked their way through “Then Again,” “The Coast,” “Fear of Wasted Time” (the most emotionally-fraught song on the album, according to Robison) and “It Didn’t Make A Sound.”
“This is a song I wrote that Martie made me re-write,” said Robison of the latter tune, proving once again that a sister is the music critic of last resort.
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SXSW scene report: Twangfest party at Jovita’s
Tim Easton toasted Alex Chilton straightaway. “We’re gonna get breakfast going with some volume today,” the Joshua Tree resident said at high noon, opening Twangfest’s party at Jovita’s with “Burgundy Red.”
“Too bad there was no sleep last night, but that’s what happens when you listen to a bunch of Big Star records until dawn.” Easton moved forward swiftly, but last night’s news that the Big Star singer died in New Orleans clearly stayed close to heart. His every yowl echoed like a Spencer carbine tribute shot.
The deep-browed folksinger left his acoustic guitar cased throughout his 40-minute set. Today’s Easton was the noisy electric bluesman: Haunted. Restless. Brilliant. He vitally energized recent material (“Stormy,” “Broke My Heart,” “Northbound,” from 2009’s “Porcupine”), but best news was the still unreleased tracks (tentative titles: “What Do You Live For,” “Maid of the Mist,” “Daily Life,” “Did Your Mother Teach You That”). Perhaps Easton’s finest yet.
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SXSW scene report: Muse is badges only
- For the first year, SXSW has implemented the SXXpress program, which allows badgeholders to pick up passes that allow them to cut in front of the line at showcases. Limit is one per day per registrant. The cut-off is at 10% of the venue’s capacity. “We love it,” said Jeff Cripps of Australia, who’s here with his band Mississippi Shakedown. He and his friends had heard they need to see Jim Lauderdale at Antone’s, so they’ll bypass the line that should be a little crazy to see Court Yard Hounds, 2/3 of the Dixie Chicks.
Volunteers manning the SXXpress stations are expecting a long line tomorrow, as the hot ticket is Muse, which is limited to badgeholders only (sorry, wristbands). Thursday’s quickest sellouts were Cedar Street Courtyard (hosting She + Him), Mohawk Patio (the xx) and Latitude 30 (VV Brown). Ms. Brown will also play a pop-up show at Gaspipe (5th and Sabine Streets) at 1 p.m. Friday.
Kendall Clark of Balmorhea was appreciative of SXSW allowing musicians with wristbands to attend all four days of panels. Usually only badges are allowed. “I also have a music production business, so it’s been great,” he said Thursday at the Convention Center. “Many of the panels are geared towards musicians, but most of the badgewearers are not musicians, so it makes sense this way.”
Big Star drummer Jody Stephens, although heartbroken over the death of Alex Chilton, will play tonight’s Memphis Music showcase at Barbarella (615 Red River St.) with his other band Star & Micey.
Beerland is the bar with ‘tude, which is not only snubbing SXSW for the third straight year, but has a sign out front that says “This isn’t a SXSW venue, so spare me the badge and get in line with everyone else.”
A lot of acts are using creative ways to promote their showcases. A Band Called Catch was throwing mini-Frisbees with their logos and showtimes.
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SXSW video: South by San Jose
For the past 11 years, the Hotel San Jose has hosted free music during SXSW.
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SXSW video: Free Energy interview
Buzz band Free Energy kicked off SXSW yesterday with sets at the Galaxy Room for the Paste Magazine party and the Levi’s Fader Fort. Tonight they’ll be playing an official showcase at the Beauty Bar hosted by Rolling Stone, but you’ll also be able to catch them tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. at Emo’s for the Pitchfork day party. Below, we caught up with three members of the band at the convention center.
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Man accused of stealing jeans at gunpoint at SXSW event
A man is facing aggravated robbery charges after police say he stole two pairs of jeans at gunpoint from a South by Southwest festival event, according to an arrest affidavit issued Thursday.
Police say Leandre Darryl Campbell, 24, went into the Levi’s/Fader Fort on Monday asking for clothing and food, then pointed a black, semi-automatic handgun at several people, the affidavit said.
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SXSW scene report: Drive-By Truckers at Waterloo Records
One of the best bands in America playing in the parking lot of one of the best record stores in America on a beautiful day in a city that never tires of congratulating itself on being unquestionably the best, most enlightened and hippest town from sea to shining sea. Yeah, sometimes it’s good to live in Austin.
That was the scene Thursday afternoon at Waterloo Records (which has a solar-powered stage for SXSW, with which to shore up its hip/enviro bona fides even more), where the Drive-By Truckers stopped by to showcase new tunes off their two-day-old record, “The Big To-Do.” People die a lot in DBT songs, so it was appropriate that they opened with singer-songwriter-guitarist Patterson Hood singing “Drag the Lake Charlie.” Best lines: “Our best-case scenario is Lester turns up dead/I’m almost out of Valium, courage and self-respect.”
I love this band.
Thirty-five minutes, seven songs and they were done, heading inside to do a signing. The line of fans stretched around the corner and down the block.
DBT plays again tonight at 10:30 at Stubb’s.
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SXSW video: Street performer Emery Carl
Seattle-based street performer Emery Carl rakes in the bucks from Sixth Street passersby.
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MGMT at SXSW?
This oughta squash the persistent rumor that MGMT, who have a new album out in a few weeks, is playing the Levi’s Fader Fort.
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SXSW short shots: Nneka and J. Boogie
Limping onto the stage with a bum leg, Nigerian/German singer-songwriter Nneka enthralled a surprisingly robust audience at a KUT Austin taping on the SXSW Day Stage Cafe at 5 p.m. yesterday. With enormous passion exuding from her tiny frame, she wove tales of love, loss and political corruption that kept the audience rapt, and hungry for more.
Nneka performs tonight at the Parish at 9:30 p.m. and tomorrow at the Beauty Bar at 1 a.m. I highly recommend catching one of these sets.
On the other side of Austin, San Francisco DJ J. Boogie dropped a tasty blend of hip-hop, afrobeat and (a man after my own heart) Indian grooves at the SXSouth Lamar Crawfish Boil at Bird’s Barbershop last night. He’ll be mixing it up in between sets at tonight’s Scoot Inn showcase which is long on the world funk and boasts a solid lineup of artists who will no doubt be dropping hot and heavy grooves to make you move.
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SXSW panel: ‘How to Make Money From Vinyl’
12:30 p.m. Thursday
Panelists: Jay Millar, United Record Pressing; Ben Blackwell, Third Man Records; Virgil Dickerson, Suburban Home Records and Vinyl Collective; Billy Fields, WEA; Andy Kotowicz, Sub Pop Records
The gist: The market for vinyl is growing and real, but the CD is probably not going away where for awhile for most major releases. However, boutique labels can absolutely stick to download and vinyl only.
Third Man’s physical sales are 100 percent vinyl. Sub Pop is at about 15 percent vinyl, 45 percent CD, 40 percent digital, with vinyl and digital growing rapidly and CD shrinking slowly, but it’s not viable to not do CDs. For bigger labels, if you’re already sinking $7 or $8 into manufacturing costs, you might as well make the package nice to be able to charge $15 to $25 for an LP.
New plants are starting up, but new presses are not being built, much fo the equipment is 40 years old. (Austin could probably use a local record pressing plant, frankly.) A face to face relationship with a manufacturer is always better than a phone and email relationship.
Sub Pop does not pay mechanical royalties on download coupons with vinyl. Since most majors have to, this is why many majors are unable to offer download coupons with LPs.
The takeaway: You won’t go broke underestimating a pressing amount. If you think you can sell 300, print 300, not 500 unless it costs you nothing to store the extras (Blackwell: “You can never take records back.”). Be creative about packaging. For example, handmade can save you money and be eye-catching. Part of making money on vinyl is knowing when not to do it.
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SXSW scene report: No waiting in line on Wednesday night
9:40 PM — I pop into Maggie Mae’s and catch the last two songs of Infantree from Calabasa, California. Fortunately, I do not realize the precious spelling of the band name, or I would have to double fist Miller Lite, official sponsor of SXSW* (said in either commercial-voiceover-guy voice or that of the bubbly blonde who offered me one, you pick). The young quartet seems grateful to be there, but they sound like the Avett Brothers on quaaludes. The walls lined with casualties of St. Patrick’s Day, the place smells like aftershave wafting off of alcoholics at a public golf course grill.
10:20 PM — The festival’s tent has expanded each year to include more and more comedy, and on Wednesday night, Comedy Central is ensconced at Esther’s Follies for a showcase. At first, I am told that the approximately 300 are all taken (105 of those tickets sold and the other 200 a mix of badges, wristbands and Comedy Central VIPs), so I turn to leave. Then someone decides to swoop me in. I hear something about “he’s with the press,” so I am feeling like this may be breaking my rules. Reluctantly, I follow the manager to an aisle seat in the third row and hear Maria Bamford, her voice alone can make you laugh. But the guy next to me says “my” seat is being saved. So, it seems fated. I leave. Comedy at SXSW seems do be doing just fine.
10:30 PM — Across the street, a long line has formed to get into Emo’s. But … there is no line for badges. I walk to the front and am told by a friendly volunteer that I would be the next badge in. To me, that’s a wait, so I walk over to the sidewalk where a small group is congregating, trying to figure out what to do. Turns out the group of people is actually a group, as I learn from Clova (David Williams), rapper for Huntsville, Alabama hip-hop group G-Side. Clova asks if Nas is playing Emo’s, and when I confirm his suspicions, he seems somewhat curious about attempting to get in. His crew, however, seems tired from the long drive, and they convince Clova that it’s time to crash for the night. G-Side plays NPR’s day show at The Parish at 2:45 PM on Thursday, so the guys need their rest. After talking to the guys, I learned that, according to the Huntsville Times, “At today’s SXSW gig, ST said he and Clova plan to dedicate the show to the families of Discovery Middle School shooting victim Todd Brown and those shot and killed at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.” Very solid. These guys definitely seem worthy of checking out.
10:35 PM — Although getting into Nas was just a minute wait away, I decide to head back down the street, true to my mission. Before decamping from the general Emo’s vicinity, I talk to one of the folks standing in line in hopes of buying a ticket. Despite waiting by himself, and with his arm in a cast, Austinite Logan Anderson maintains a positive attitude. It’s his first foray into the SXSW madness, and he realizes that waiting is just the price you pay (in addition to the $20), especially for what he calls “the show of the day.” He says he will wait till about midnight, and I like his chances of getting in, in part due to his good attitude. When I return an hour later, he has creeped closer but is still 40 people or so shy of the entrance. I learn he had been in the club earlier and has the stamp to prove it, but when I go ask the aforementioned volunteer about the rules regarding re-entry for those who don’t have badges, she tells me the stamped and credential-less must return to the back of the ticket line. So, Logan continues to wait. I hope he gets in.
10:39 PM — I deviate from Sixth Street by about 15 feet, as I am lured into Emo’s Annex by a promise to Michael Corcoran and a woman’s voice singing Marvin Gaye’s classic “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler).” The keyboard player wears a big watch-style Beck hat, the simple bass line and horn section evoke Morphine and the sexy blonde female lead bounces and writhes on stage. Obviously these folks (The Asteroids Galaxy Tour) are from … Denmark. Sweet. I leave as people are filing in at $5 a head.
10:55 PM — I enter Wave (formerly the Daiquiri Factory) for the first time in my life. The place is starting to fill up, and bar owner Jay Vail tells me that 800 people have confirmed online their intent to attend the night’s showcase. While Vail says his bar (which is in its third year as a SXSW venue) usually draws about 80 percent badges, tonight, the numbers are more like 60 percent badge/wristband and 40 percent covers. The reason for the shift? Headliner Surfer Blood. Vail says the bar made more money when it wasn’t an official venue, but admits that this night is expected to be packed, likely third to only Halloween and New Year’s Eve. He says that the strong headliner seems to be a result of the balance that needs to be struck between the needs of the bar and the festival. The bar’s agenda is to get as many people to stay in their establishment all night, while the fest wants to move people around from venue to venue. The presence of a buzzy band like Surfer Blood seems like it will benefit Wave on this night. Property owner Randy Allen admits that this Wednesday night is much more crowded than previous first nights of the fest, and attributes it in part to the rebounding economy.
11:00 PM — Wave features two stages, one upstairs and one down. I head upstairs and catch some of the slightly whiny alt-country rock of the quartet We Are Country Mice. What the band lacks in harmonizing ability, they attempt to make up for with attitude and they have the crowd modestly engaged, but it seems like most of the 27 year-old due bro demographic is packed in tight in early anticipation of headliner Surfer Blood, who take the stage in two hours.
11:23 PM — Back downstairs, Brooklyn band La Strada (who knew they had bands in Brooklyn?) is finally ready to play after a prolonged period of tuning. The symphonic pop sounds of the international-tinged
band featuring violin, cello and accordion feel like Arcade Fire starter kit. Unfortunately, Arcade Fire has made a few too many bands think they can pull of a yelling sort of singing. Or maybe I am just slightly disoriented by a bands that looks like its from the Catskills being fronted by a Charlie Kaufman lookalike.
11:40 — Exiting to the masses, I find Sixth Street overflowing its banks, a river of dangerously drunk (and mostly happy) people. I check to verify that getting into Nas is still a fool’s errand, and head home.
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SXSW preview: Carolina Chocolate Drops
“In lots of ways, I don’t have any idea what to make of that,” fiddler Justin Robinson said immediately following the band’s Wednesday afternoon gig at the Paste magazine party. “One, we don’t play bluegrass. It’s amazing. I’m sort of flabbergasted.”
(Official showcase: 9 p.m. Friday at the Victorian Room at the Driskill, 604 Brazos St.)
American-Statesman: What’s your impression of SXSW so far?
Justin Robinson: Well, we’ve been here about a total of two hours (laughs). So, not much to go on, other than there’s a (ton) of people here. We just paid for parking. It was about 4,000 degrees onstage, but it turned out pretty good.
Will you be checking out anyone else this week?
You know, we were just trying to figure that out. It’s pretty overwhelming right now. There are like 300 bands here - probably more like 3,000. I don’t think we’re doing anything tonight, maybe chilling in the hotel.
You just released a songbook. Why take time for sheet music in this download age?
We just one day said, “You know, we should have a songbook.” Lots of people have been asking us where they can find our music and how we play it. We wanted to have something to sell, for one, and also to give people who aren’t ear learners access into the music that they wanted.
‘Cornbread and Butterbeans’ is hard to escape. What drew you to that song?
Probably the same thing that draws you to it - it just sounded good (laughs). It’s a cool pop song from the 1940s.
Why do you think there’s been such a resurgence in string band music with younger musicians?
Well, I think “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” had a lot to do with it. That movie exposed this music to a lot of people who otherwise might not have heard it. The other portion of that is just changing tastes. In general, there’s more of a market for acoustic music, whether it’s contemporary folk or traditional string band stuff.
There seems to be a unique sense of fellowship within the acoustic music community. Would you agree?
Yeah, there’s an aspect of that that plays into the fact that essentially anybody can do it. The only restriction is that you have to be able to play. It’s sort of egalitarian in that way - anybody can join in and be a part of that fellowship.
You’ve talked a lot about (fiddler) Joe Thompson’s impact on the band.
We started playing with him and sitting in his living room and playing his tunes, the same tunes that he’d been playing for 60-odd years, maybe more. Playing with him definitely got our sound solidified as a band. Of course, then you can do anything you want with that, play all kinds of stuff and still sound like us.
Many folks don’t seem to know that the banjo’s origins go back to Africa.
Oh, absolutely. The biggest thing to remedy that would be for a band like us, a band that plays the banjo, to go mainstream. That’s how it’d get into the consciousness. Lots of academic people have known that fact for a long time, but academics has nothing to do with popular perception.
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SXSW keynote: Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson wants to be Beethoven. Or perhaps Mozart. Either way, it’s good.
Coming from almost anyone else, such a statement would rank as wildly presumptuous hubris. But when its uttered by the Motown titan whom Bob Dylan once called America’s greatest living poet, one tends to pay heed.
Citing the classical giants as he addressed a crowd at the Austin Convention Center during his SXSW keynote address Thursday morning, Robinson said that his goal was to make music for the ages. Making chart-topping pop music hits was the least of it.
“Lately, I’ve been loving classical music, Mozart and Beethoven,” said the still-devilishly handsome 70-year old hitmaker. “And I think how wonderful that this music is 300 or 400 years old, and we’re still listening to it. I want to be Beethoven, I want to be Mozart—I want people to be listening to those songs (of mine) 300 years form now. That’s my goal.”
As a songwriter, he faces a formidable task: “There are no new ideas, there are no chords, words or notes. Within the framework of what’s already there, I’ve got to try to say it differently. I’ve got to say ‘I love you’ differently than anybody has ever said it.”
In a wonderfully illustrative series of vignettes (skillfully guided by veteran journalist Dave Marsh), Robinson recounted how, as a teenager with his pre-Miracles group, the Matadors, he encountered a young Berry Gordy at a Detroit talent scout cattle call. Gordy, who had written Jackie Wilson’s biggest hits, saw something in the hungry young man with a loose leaf notebook crammed with 100 self-penned songs.
“I probably sang about 20 songs for Barry that day,” he recalled. “But the only two songs he liked were the only two that made sense. I could rhyme stuff, but my second verse had nothing to do with the first verse, and the bridge had nothing to do with either one. It was like five songs in one! And he pointed that out to me. He was very patient. He said, ‘I liked the fact that I could not discourage you.’
“He was very instrumental in teaching me to write songs professionally. He said, ‘I want you got go home and listen to songs, and they hang together.’ That’s how I learned to write songs.”
Even a seasoned half-century veteran like Robinson is flabbergasted by how much the music industry has changed in the last few years. “Is there a circle that’s more than 360 degrees?” he marveled. As an artist who is putting out his own new release (“Time Flies When You’re Having Fun”) on his own label, he’s having to confront his own learning curve.
“There’s a lot more to putting out a record now; it’s so much more complicated. It’s a tough fight out there…I thought you just record it, you put it online and get it in a few stores and that’s it. That’s not it!”
Still, he had timeless advice for the striving young artists who haunt the halls of the Convention Center during SXSW.
“I would tell you first of all to thicken your skin. Show business is a life of hard knocks. You see the glitter and the gleam of it (but) there’s always a lot of doors being closed in your face, a lot of ups and downs. I’ve been doing this for 50 years and still today I go through my ups and downs because that’s part of this life.”
Stressing that his life has been blessed, Robinson said, “My life has been a bunch of peaks and valleys, but when I’m in a valley I’m striving to get to the next peak, and I use the valley as a lesson.”
Secondly, he added, with a gleam of amusement in his eye, “I would tell you not to take yourself too seriously. If you think you can sing, I’m gonna take you to my church on Sunday. There will be people there who can blow you out of the water … If you think, man, the world knows me now, and they can’t possibly do without me — don’t kid yourself. You didn’t start this and you are not going to finish it.
“If you reach your goal in any form or fashion, be thankful … if you get a break, use it and count your blessings.”
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SXSW preview: J. Roddy Walston and the Business
Here are 10 things J. Roddy Walston and the Business say they want to do, see or experience during SXSW.
1. See a Maryland terp win on Friday.
2. An encounter with Billy Murray who was seen at Four Seasons today.
3. Levis laser fitting for jeans at Fader Fort
4. Teach Austin about the Wizard Staff game - a entertaining game taught to us by our friends in the band Murder by Death.
5. Experience late night Austin BBQ at Salt Lick.
6. Party harder than Andrew W.K.
7. Win a “who got the bigger nuts contest.”
8. Go to Torchys trailer park tacos.
9. See a Maryland Terp win on Sunday.
10. Intentionally miss flight due to traffic. Repeat 1-9 on Monday.
J. Roddy’s SXSW shows:
6 p.m. Thursday: Little Radio Austin at Red Eyed Fly (with Jason Collet of Broken Social Scene)
8 p.m. Friday: Vagrant Records Showcase at La Zona Rosa (with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Murder by Death)
11:30 a.m. Saturday: Mr & Mrs. T and Rachael Ray’s feedback festival Party at Stubb’s
3 p.m. Saturday: 40 Watt Party at The Side Bar (with The Whigs, Dead Confederate and Camper van Beethoven)
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Border problems, band break-ups and more …
Nothing ever goes off exactly as planned at SXSW. But the whole “lineup subject to change” idea was reinforced yesterday,as BrooklynVegan reported on a host of cancellations. In short:
- GZA failed to show at BV’s day party at Emo’s due to travel problems at the Newark airport.
- Human Eye pulled the plug on all Austin shows, including the BrooklynVegan Anso Presents show at Spider House Cafe on Thursday afternoon.
- Canadian band Beast didn’t make it across the border.
- No more shows for Nebula, SXSW or otherwise, as the band has broken up.
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SXSW COVERage
Nothing draws a crowd in like a great cover song. If you hear any interesting versions of old familiar songs song, let us know.
Bernard Vasek of Musicmania sent in the following:
Wanda Jackson performing Amy Winehouse’s ‘You Know I’m No Good’ at her Beauty Bar/Palm Door showcase.
Motorhead did Twisted Sister’s ‘Shoot ‘Em Down’ at the Austin Music Hall.
Carolina Chocolate Drops covered Blu Cantrell’s 2001 single ‘Hit ‘Em Up Style’ at the Paste Party in the Galaxy Room indoor stage.
And thanks to Ihor Gowda for letting us know that Carrie Rodriguez played John Hiatt’s “Big Love” at the Ghost Room Friday.
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SXSW preview: Margaret Cho
“I think Courtney Love is such a tremendous icon,” says Cho, 41. “There’s so much about her legend that people don’t talk about her music. It’s really influential and incredible. I’m thrilled just to get to see them.”
(Official showcase: 10:10 p.m. Saturday at Esther’s Follies, 525 E. 6th St.)
American-Statesman: You recently blogged about John Mayer’s controversial Playboy interview.
Margaret Cho: When you make statements about not being attracted to (certain) women, about how you have a David Duke (expletive), it’s so insulting to women of color. I think I’m lucky because I don’t really know his music at all, and can’t say I’m a fan. I don’t think anyone I’m a fan of would do or say something like that.
Who are you a fan of?
I loved Duran Duran when I was growing up. They helped me understand sexuality, that I like guys. They included women of color as objects of desire in all their videos. In “Hungry Like the Wolf,” I think there’s a black girl that they’re chasing and an Asian girl in other videos. That made me want to be a groupie. A true sign of a really great rock star is that you have an Asian girlfriend (laughs).
What inspired your new video, ‘My Lil’ Wayne’?
I love Lil’ Wayne! When I was working with (Australian singer-songwriter) Ben Lee on my record, we’d always end up talking about Lil’ Wayne. He was like an angel always present in the recording studio (laughs). So, we were talking about him going to prison, and I wanted to write a song with the spirit of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” like, “Let’s break Lil’ Wayne out of prison!” I think it’d be a really good idea for him to do a remix and add some beats to it.
It’s very Weird Al (Yankovic).
What people don’t tend to notice is that Weird Al is an incredible musician. It’s quite difficult to do song parodies because you have to be as good if not better than the original musician, and also write great parody lyrics. Weird Al does it with such style and finesse.
But his songs are so topical. Do they stand the test of time?
He has a really lasting legacy. I think the song “Eat It” is just as well known as the song “Beat It.” “Amish Paradise”! His newer song “Craigslist” might be my favorite. It’s a Doors parody, and he actually has (Doors keyboardist) Ray Manzarek playing on it. It’s so tight. For me as a fan of music and comedy, it’s a perfect marriage.
Other than Hole, will you have time to check out anyone else at SXSW?
I’m coming Friday morning. I’m in a bunch of shows, but that won’t prevent me from going to a bunch of shows, too. The most important one for me is the Broken Social Scene, which is so exciting. (The band’s songwriter) Kevin Drew and I have been talking about collaborating for years. I also want to see B-Real from Cypress Hill and Tom Brosseau. There are so many I’m dying to see!
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SXSW review: Here We Go Magic
Here We Go Magic drew me to their Wednesday night Brooklyn Vegan-sponsored showcase at Club de Ville based on the strength of one track, “Fangela.”
The leap of faith turned out to be absolutely worth navigating the sweaty hoard packed into the hipster environs. Here We Go Magic — artist-turned-full-time-musician Luke Temple and band — meshed five-part vocal harmonies with a drums-heavy, cascading groove that proved inescapable to audience members close enough to be entranced.
Sometimes bands that build a following based on lo-fi, acoustic four-track recordings aren’t able to transition to a full-on rock band. Here We Go Magic absolutely made the transition, muscling up their intimate lo-fi recordings with a high-fidelity, electric live show complete with pop-craft perfectionism reminiscent of the Elephant 6 Recording Co. bands from the previous decade.
I had a little trouble concentrating during the Here We Go Magic set as I was entirely distracted by an email on my phone that confirmed Alex Chilton’s death (vocalist of Big Star, one of my all-time Top 5 favorite bands). But, Here We Go Magic’s rhythm-centric music seemingly hypnotized the entire audience and pulled me out of my melancholic state.
Although the touring line-up of Here We Go Magic formed recently, drummer Peter Hale and bassist Jennifer Turner played with the natural chemistry of old soulmates. Their musical prowess allowed songs to extend past the five minute mark - without feeling too long - while the beat drew the listeners in, allowing Temple’s subtle, poetic lyrics to soar to the forefront.
Grooves started in one lane of traffic and never merged to another. By the time the band played the stand-out new track “Collector,” the music’s transcendental pulse had pushed my heart beyond the sadness of Chilton’s death toward hope. Hope that Chilton might receive the accolades in death that he never received in life.
Look for Here We Go Magic’s sophomore album “Pigeons” to drop on June 8. If their packed-house show and propulsive new lineup are any indication, Here We Go Magic will continue to bubble up from the underground indie rock scene into the consciousness of music fans everywhere.
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SXSW review: Raul Malo
There isn’t a whole lot of dancing at SXSW showcases, and it may well be that there’s some kind of ordinance against it. Raul Malo, however, definitely didn’t get that memo, and his 12:30 a.m. Wednesday (aka Thursday morning) set at the Continental Club had people two-stepping, swing dancing, shimmying, polkaing and indulging in all sorts of similarly outrageous behavior, including smiling ear-to-ear, another thing that’s fairly rare at shows where the wearers of badges congregate. Actually, the badge contingent at the Continental seemed greatly outnumbered by civilians, including a lot of the same folks you’d see there on any Saturday night with a great act on the bill.
Malo’s supple, radiant voice has brought him frequent comparisons to Roy Orbison, but while Orbison is best known for ballads, Malo is equally comfortable with uptempo material. His band Wednesday featured two trumpets as well as accordion, but no matter how rambunctious the group got, Malo’s bright voice rang out effortlessly, and his strong sense of rhythm gave tunes a natural propulsive quality.
Early in the set, it was hard for fans in the crowded front rows to move, but those off to the side were already gyrating during “Lucky One,” the title track from Malo’s last album, and some near-collisions occurred during “Dance the Night Away,” from his old band, the Mavericks. The traditional Mexican number “La Mucura,” with an effervescent accordion solo, had an even more noticeable effect; Malo slowed down the pace to croon the traditional “Sombras Nada Mas” and a lovely Rodney Crowell ballad, which he said will be on his next album, coming out in August. But the giddy “Moonlight Kiss,” a recent original that sounds like a jazz number from a speakeasy in the Casbah, set everyone in motion, and the last number, an extended “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down,” with two clever false endings, had the place going nuts.
Although he’d already played more than an hour, Malo came back for two more songs, prefaced by his shout-out to owner Steve Wertheimer for having “the coolest club in the world.” A long, stirring “Volver, Volver” and ebullient, even longer “La Bamba” kept the crowd rapt until almost closing time.
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SXSW review: The Coal Porters
“Has anyone taken any strong drink today?” inquired Coal Porters’ Neil Robert Herd near the outset of the band’s set at Opal Divine’s Freehouse at 11 p.m. Wednesday (aka St. Patrick’s Day). “Is there some sort of Irish celebration going on? It’s almost subliminal!”
He continued, “Any song I sing tends to concern itself with drink and regret — not necessarily in that order…” Whereupon the band launched into a spirited (get it?) rendition of “One Is Way Too Many” from their new album, “Durango.”
Yours truly would probably have gone to see the Coal Porters just on the basis of their name (yours truly’s wife wants to have him committed to a punnery).
But their long and winding evolution from an electric ensemble that was the brainchild of ex-Long Ryder frontman Sid Griffin to their current incarnation as an acoustic alt-bluegrass conglomeration of English and Canadian bluegrass fanatics is enough to pique any acoustic music fan’s curiosity.
On record, the group’s repertoire is broad enough to embrace both the English folk standard “Pretty Polly” and Neil Young’s “Like A Hurricane” on the same disc. Onstage, with their dark suits and earnest, coiffed — Griffin excepted — look, they appeared as if they stepped out of the director’s cut of “A Mighty Wind.” In both case, they alternate between sweetly melancholy laments like Peter Rowan’s “Moonlight Midnight” (courtesy of will-o’-the-wisp fiddler and vocalist Carly Frey), tongue-in-cheek paeans to public house excess (“Closing Time Genius”) and blistering banjo and fiddle breakdowns (“Sail Away, Ladies!” “No More Chains”).
All in all, the band’s show is a great romp, which fact does nothing to disguise their excellent musicianship. That only a relative handful of folks were on hand to enjoy the show is a pity, because it was, as their semi-namesake might have said, de-lovely.
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SXSW review: The Strange Boys
Austin’s retro-rockers The Strange Boys played a tight, rag-tag set of songs that pleased the full-to-capacity audience at Emo’s inside room (aka Emo’s Jr.) during the opening volley of SXSW’s opening night.
The national and international media and word-of-mouth buzz surrounding the Strange Boys had fans and curiosity seekers gathered in a line that stretched out the front door and across Red River Street before the band even came close to taking the stage.
Led by the Bob Dylan-influenced, frog-voiced guitar-poet Ryan Sambol, the Strange Boys were at their best when they steadied the shambolic looseness of their garage rock influences, brushing them right off their sleeves. Jenna Thornhill-DeWitt (saxophone, backing vocals) really lent the band a unique, classic feel with her jazzy saxophone middle-eight bridges. The band wasted no time before coalescing into a set energized by the homecoming confidence that only months of touring yield.
About midway through their set, the Strange Boys raised the crowd’s collective energy with the title track from their recent album, “Be Brave.” The song possessed a timeless, prosaic feel that most twenty-something musicians can’t come close to touching. Likewise the 1969-ish ballad-meets-railroad steam engine “A Walk On the Beach” appeared to recall such deep emotions in listeners that most would’ve been willing to bet money that it’s a favorite cover song, even though it’s not.
The Strange Boys might not be the most original band, and Sambol’s croaky vocals can be an acquired taste, but they’re one young psychedelic rock band that you will not forget anytime soon.
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SXSW review: The Bowerbirds
In recent years there has been no shortage of indie singer/songwriters and folk bands, many who fade after a successful release or two. Musicians that choose to go down that road need to make sure they don’t sound like every other college kid with an acoustic guitar. Beth Tacular and Phil Moore, the two central players in North Carolina-based group Bowerbirds (on the album, etc., it’s just Bowerbirds, but various members of the band were calling themselves “The Bowerbirds”), distinguish themselves with well-crafted songs, warm vocals and the occasional accordion solo.
There is a fireside feel to the music, and despite a string of unfortunate sound problems Wednesday night at Club de Ville that led to their 11 p.m. set starting about 45 minutes late, the band still managed to convey that during their live set. Moore began by showing off his vocals on “Silver Clouds;” there is an operatic yet laid back quality to his voice, a combination that gives him the air of a seasoned storyteller. His voice also allows him to get away with lyrics like “you can move like a silver cloud through the sky,” something that might sound ridiculous coming from anywhere else.
On House of Diamonds” and “Teeth” and “In Our Talons,” the band jammed a bit, playing with tempo changes and instrumentals, which, again, could have come across as gratuitous had the band not been so good at what they do. Moore lamented the fact that they were having so many problems on stage, but it seemed like he was more aware of the difficulties than the audience. They closed with “Northern Lights,” a lyrical standout, and “Crooked Love,” where a mandolin added yet another layer to an already lovely sound.
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SXSW video: Music by the Slice
Home Slice Pizza serves up more than pizza during SXSW.
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SXSW video: No wristband? No problem!
So you didn’t get a SXSW wristband? No problem … there’s plenty of free music on Sixth Street.
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SXSW video: Free hugs!!!
Free hugs — and free music — on the first day of SXSW.
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SXSW video: Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley and Nas
Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley joined Nas as special guests at the Levi’s Fader Fort.
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SXSW review: Broken Bells
There’s something a little odd about how Broken Bells manages to work far better than you might expect and yet still manages to be a little disappointing.
It’s not hard to imagine the collaboration between mercurial artist-producer Danger Mouse — credited with Broken Bells under real name Brian Burton — and Shins front man James Mercer as a disjointed Frankenstein, a peculiar hybird of the hip-hop, indie folk and electronica worlds. The potential’s there for a fascinating train wreck.
Broken Bells, unsurprisingly given Burton and Mercer’s talent, is decidedly not a train wreck. But nor is it the fascinating hip-hop/indie hybrid you may have hoped for. Instead, it’s an intermittently catchy project, indie rock with just a dash of electronica, imminently accessible and pleasant but largely forgettable. That’s the case live, too.
As Mercer took to the stage at Stubb’s Wednesday night, with Danger Mouse sitting in on drums, backed by appropriately monochromatic visual projections he launched into lead single and self-titled debut album highlight “The High Road.” That’s one of the strongest singles so far this year, a chill four minutes of pop perfection with an easygoing appeal. The band remained tight as they took on the remainder of the songs off “Broken Bells,” from the groove of “Vaporize” to the closer of “The Mail and Misery.” But the performance felt just a bit too studied, a bit too clinical. It was when Mercer stepped furthest outside his comfort zone — from the guitar freakout of “Mongrel Heart” to the sexy, mellow charm of “The Ghost Inside” or the vaguely sinister sound and bone-rattling bass of “Sailing to Nowhere” — that Broken Bells most intrigued.
But too often — as on the ballad-esque “Citizen” or the sunny pop of “October” — Mercer was just a bit too close to Shins mode, lacking that extra Danger Mouse verve and sounding disengaged if musically astute. Although rife with nice moments — dig the trumpet on “Mongrel Heart” — Broken Bells, if they’re to punch up the live show, might have to drag Mercer just a bit more forcefully into a more challenging sound. Mercer’s described their sound as “experimental” in Rolling Stone in January, and perhaps that gets to the root of the problem. All told, Broken Bells could stand to be a bit more experimental.
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SXSW video: Ray Benson plays ABIA
Ray Benson plays at Austin Bergstrom International Airport as musicians make their way into town for SXSW.
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SXSW video: Sixth Street prepares for SXSW
The calm before the SXSW storm on Sixth Street …
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SXSW review: Frightened Rabbit
If you needed further proof that Scotland’s abnormally high number of trendy, fiendishly catchy indie pop bands for a country of five million had struck an abnormally strong chord with U.S. audiences, you needed only to visit the Parish Wednesday night. The Scottish Arts Council commandeered the space for a showcase of Scottish talent, and as headliner Frightened Rabbit followed equally gabbed-about quartet We Were Promised Jetpacks, the line to get in was one in, one out, and the air inside was hot and stuffy.
That turned out to be an appropriate touch for Frightened Rabbit, five dapper gentlemen from Selkirk that enthralled the packed-to-the-rafters audience at the Parish with nearly an hour’s worth of animated alternative rock. The set was heavy on material from this month’s critically praised “The Winter of Mixed Drinks,” with excursions into “Sing the Greys” and “The Midnight Organ Fight.”
The strength of Frightened Rabbit — and it becomes even more apparent live, where the band pushes their rock inclinations further than they do on record — is just how straightforward they are. The band is four guitarists and a drummer, with rare excursions into keyboards. That means songs like the explosive encore “Square 9” are free to be simple, swelling rock songs that build to a cathartic release in the way that all great rock anthems do. With driving energy, relatable lyricism and an unabashed love of the crescendo, songs like “Backwards Walk” go a long way towards establishing Frightened Rabbit as Scotland’s Springsteen — purveyors of heart-pounding, fist-throwing rock ‘n’ roll with an added layer of poignancy.
The band’s real ace in the hole, though, is lead singer Scott Hutchison, who elevates what could be a rote indie rock band into the stratosphere with his anguished, powerful vocals. When Hutchison laments on “Swim Until You Can’t See Land,” his voice breaks with emotion, as though he were singing the song — which he’s doubtless performed hundreds of times by this point — as if for the first time. Hutchison’s powerful vocals help raise Frightened Rabbit above the potential tag of pleasant-yet-forgettable, and he’s a consummate showman, involving the crowd at the Parish and leading them along in hand claps and sing-alongs. Frightened Rabbit may not have supplanted Camera Obscura as the indie Scottish band of choice just yet, but they may well be on their way.
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SXSW review: Everybody Was In The French Resistance … Now!
Eddie Argos of Everybody Was In The French Resistance … Now! performs Wednesday night at the Galaxy Room.
Eddie Argos is less a singer and more a particularly melodic stand up comedian.
The last time Argos swung through Austin — in October 2009 — he was fronting his regular band, energetic and consistently hilarious British punk rockers Art Brut. He turned 30 that night, and aside from wearing a snappy formal suit, thankfully showed no signs of growing up, leaping into the audience to extol the virtues of DC Comics and riffing on his own drunkenness.
Wednesday night at the Galaxy Room was no different, as Argos returned to Austin with side project Everybody Was In The French Resistance … Now! (hereafter referred to as EWITFRN, for your sanity and mine), featuring Argos’ girlfriend, Dyan Valdes from the Blood Arm. Where Art Brut slays killer punk rock anthems, EWITFRN slays sugary pop songs. But Argos’ delivery remains unchanged — he generally performs from the audience (“For dramatic effect,” quipped Argos between songs), spurning the stage, and doesn’t sing so much as he banters semi-musically.
Few front men could pull that off, but Argos is so consistently hilarious, charming and deadpan that his brand of cheek rock endears instead of grates. A coffee table book of “The Quotable Eddie Argos” would be a fantastic tome for the truly nerdy. Take, for instance, his thoughts on Bob Dylan: “Bob Dylan is much better than me. Although we both can’t sing and we kind of mumble.” Or how he changed the name of the band, a reference to the armed insurrection against Nazi occupiers during World War II, when touring through Sweden to “Everybody Was In The French Resistance … Now, Except For You.”
The actual songs are no more serious. Their debut self-titled album is a high-concept work with each track acting as a response to a famous pop song — a conceit Argos was kind of enough to explain before playing each new tune. Take, for instance, “Superglue” — the song is a response to Elastica’s “Vaseline,” because, as Argos reasons, what better way to pay tribute to Elastica than recording a song that’s the opposite of one of theirs? And what’s the opposite of vaseline? Naturally.
Or, say, “Bille’s Genes,” an entire song about the child abandoned by the protagonist of “Billie Jean.” The concept is a bit strained, but it does make for a fun exploration of the last 50 years of pop music, and the band does a great job channeling the spirit of the songs they parody on each track — “Superglue,” for instance, has a recognizable 90s-alternative grind.
Still, it’s hard to shake the feeling that EWITFRN coasts just a bit too much on Argos’ (substantial) charm. Wednesday night saw the band struggle to pick up energy in the early songs, and their use of a drum machine robs the songs of muscle they need to work in a live setting. The high concept writing sometimes veers dangerously close to shtick. To Argos’ credit, when the band drops the ball he seems to pick up on it pretty quickly.
“It’s not going to be like this forever,” said Argos early in the band’s set, addressing sound and tardiness problems. “Just until we get our (expletive) together.”
Hopefully they will. Because EWITFRN shows promise, and if Argos and Valdes can continue to invest time in the project — rather than simply returning to the safer confines of Art Brut — there’s some real promise there. When Argos tearfully sings “You gave yourself away” of an ex-girlfriend on “Think Twice (It’s Not Alright)” you get the sense he’s singing from a place of very genuine regret. And it feels real, and intriguing, and reminds you that all the best comedy has a tinge of tragedy to it.
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SXSW review: The Middle East
Some bands settle on a fairly narrow sound and stick with it, while other dabble in different genres, forging a chameleon-like identity. Queensland, Australia-based band The Middle East falls somewhere in between. While their sound might generally fall into the hopelessly broad category of roots rock, the band is all over the map within that field, pulling from bluegrass, folk, country and blues rock.
At times during their 10 p.m. performance Wednesday at Club de Ville, that flexibility worked in the band’s favor; at other points, not so much. The opener began with noisy distortion and exploded into uptempo, banjo-driven bluegrass, which had the crowd jumping. On “The Darkest Side,” the band put on their folk hat, but they seemed to struggle a bit.
At times it didn’t really seem like the band needed the six members that were contributing on stage, but it is fun to see such a diversity of instruments on stage, including a trumpet, banjo, mandolin, flute and a host of different percussion. Things picked up with a bluesy rock number sung by the band’s female vocalist. The closer, “Blood,” was a striking number which epitomized what works about the group—strong songwriting coupled with a layered, emotional sound.
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SXSW review: Here We Go Magic
The first impression that Here We Go Magic gave off tonight during their 9 p.m. Club de Ville set was one of confidence. The music was powerful and compelling, an early set on the first day of music that flew by before it even seemed to get started.
A year ago, lead vocalist/guitarist Luke Temple released the band’s self-titled debut, which he wrote and recorded himself. The album was innovative but had a purposefully lo-fi production value, something that some music fans enjoy but others vocally do not. Over the last year Temple has assembled a band to work out the material live. They’ve toured with Grizzly Bear and the Walkmen and made an appearance at the Austin City Limits festival last October.
Judging by tonight’s set, touring has been good for the group as they ready the release of their follow-up album, which was recorded with a full band. Unlike the album, the live versions of the songs are not washed over with a layer of fuzz. Opener “Only Pieces,” began with poly-rhythmic percussion that increased in intensity until the bass and drums crashed in until the song fades away with hand claps.
On the new song “Collector,” the band plays with a droning rock sound, which is punctuated by a sort of falsetto call-and-response. Someone unfamiliar with Temple’s music might label him as yet another disciple of David Byrne, and while his vocal styles on that song and another new number, “Casual,” might recall the Talking Heads frontman, he sings with a level of comfort that shows that he owns the material.
The band closed with two of their strongest songs “Fangella” and “Tunnelvision,” which, even if the new album is a hit, will probably remain crowd favorites.
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SXSW review: Motorhead, more metal at Austin Music Hall
Played bass like it was a guitar, did an acoustic blues (kinda!?!), did “I Got Mine” and saved “Ace of Spades” for right near the end…yeah, that was Motorhead at the Austin Music Hall Wednesday night. Strange to say, but it almost made you glad for Blitz during World War II. How else would Lemmy have come up with that sound? It sounds like more than bombs falling, more than the end of the world — more like both of those things, and dinner’s ready and you like it.
For all the talk about what a meathead the guy is (and I haven’t seen the film about him), bassist Lemmy really seems like a disciplined guy in his own way. And, if I may be comically reductive, he basically invented speed metal. (Hold your e-mails, folks, before you say, and yeah, jerk, Bob Marley invented reggae and Buddy Holly rock ‘n’ roll.)
The undercard included Melissa Auf der Maur, late of Hole, doing some pretty melodic crunchy stuff, Voivod, doing, uh, their best to demonstrate, simultaneously, the strengths and limitations of the metal genre and Michael Monroe, bleached, preening, acting like he was shot out of a cannon and making a strong case for the argument that the New York Dolls AND Hanoi Rocks were a couple of the best things that ever happened. If only we could have avoided Poison.
It was a weird place to find out Alex Chilton died. But life and rock go on.
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SXSW review: The Unthanks at Emo’s Jr.
9 p.m. Wednesday: Emo’s Jr. is not exactly the ideal venue for a chamber-folk group with a few minimalist tendencies and a love of nuance and restraint, but even with bass and drums pounding through the wall from next door, and a phalanx of chatterers growing ever louder by the bar, the Unthanks made exquisite and enthralling music at their Wednesday showcase. Rachel and Becky Unthank, natives of northeastern England, sing with a Sandy Denny/Linda Thompson clarity and lack of artifice, arresting even when the sisters each sang a few bars over the din during their soundcheck.
They opened with “20 Long Weeks,” a starkly gorgeous song by fellow Northeasterner Alex Glasgow that sounds like an ancient ballad. The sisters’ close harmonies have a lushness that contrasts with the general spareness and somberness of their material. Their arrangements emphasize the cello and violin over the rhythm section, and leave plenty of space for the vocals, Rachel’s voice slightly the rounder, softer and warmer. Becky’s ringing soprano was particularly arresting in a solo turn on a hushed and stunning cover of Nick Drake’s “River Man.” That song appeared on “Cruel Sister,” when the band was still known as Rachel Unthank and Winterset, but much of the setlist was drawn from the Unthanks’ last release, “Here’s the Tender Coming,” named 2009 Folk Album of the Year by the BBC and Mojo magazine.
The percusive, propulsive “Lucky Gilchrist,” by keyboardist-multi-instrumentalist Adrian McNally, particularly recalled Robert Wyatt, a source of inspiration who has in turn sung the Unthanks’ praises. The song was accented by a bit of traditional clogging from the sisters. Becky asked afterward “Do you do much of it in Texas?” while Rachel proclaimed “They’ll all be doin’ it next year.”
As mournful as “Sad February” was, the vocals had such a gentle, floating quality that smiling seemed more appropriate then “crying into your beer,” the response Rachel predicted in her introduction. They closed with the gorgeous and pensive “Here’s the Tender Coming,” a song that certainly deserves a more pristine sonic environment. The sisters didn’t seem bothered, but fans will no doubt be glad that they’re also playing elsewhere during SXSW, including a midnight set at St David’s Bethell Hall Friday.
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