SXSW Home > South by Southwest Scene Reports > Archives > 2006 > March
March 2006
Can you hear me now?
Best outdoor club stage sound? Gotta go with Redrum Annex (at Fourth and Sabine streets) whose wall of amps sent the metal and stoner rock that was mostly played there well into Interstate 35 territory. It helped that the most they were competing with was traffic and the inside of Redrum. …
Psychic Ills seemed to gain more and more fans whereever they played. A fairly new and underknown act played exactly the sort of space rock that native Austinites adore, everyone’s reaction to them at their showcase and various parties was the same “Who are these people and where can I find their album?” …
Perhaps smarting from poor buzz about her live performance skills, 20-year old London grime MC Lady Sovereign kept her set at the Fader day party Saturday to a mere three (or was it four?) songs, a number that more than one person was heard to remark was just perfect: enough to give you the flava, not enough to remind you that she’s still really nervous up there. Also, she’s 5-foot-1, so most of the crowd could only see her Sporty Spice-esque pony tail bobbing up and down. …
Tough to nail down exactly who was coolest, most obscure band at the festival, but I have to cast my vote for Crom, the 12-year-old Los Angeles metal/punk/doofus band who never tour and rarely play L.A. anymore. They rocked the Vice Kills Texas day party, which was the skeezy toast of East Austin for the entire festival. Me: “I can’t believe I actually just saw you guys?” Them: “I can’t believe you’ve heard of us.” …
Best impression of Tim Kerr’s hairline circa Bad Mutha Goose? Human Eye singer (some of us in the back of Beerland thought it WAS Tim).
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Well, it’s official
With 10,000 registrants and 1,400-plus bands and who knows how many wristbanded exhibitors and sponsors, South By Southwest has finally jumped the shark. Many of this year’s attendees spent a lot of time grumbling in frustration at just how ridiculous the situation has become in terms of lines and simple logistics. Even “exclusive” parties were nearly impossible to get into at times, invites be damned, and badges were no guarantee of admission to anything, not even the speakers at the convention center.
When they have to have overflow rooms with video screens for conference attendees to hear the main attractions at the conference, that’s out of hand. When you can’t drive from point A to point B — not because of the traffic and the 45 minutes it could take to traverse a 2-mile distance … in the afternoon … but because you can’t risk giving up the parking space you have and not finding another — that’s out of hand. It’s time to put a cap on registrations, folks. Last year was bad enough, and supposedly, the badges-sold figure was only around 8,000 then. We get that SXSW is a cool event everyone wants to attend … that’s why some of us are on our 11th Southby, or 13th or 19th or 20th. But when registrants can’t achieve what they came here for — enlightenment and entertainment — without major hassles all around, something needs to be fixed.
It doesn’t matter what beat goes on at South by Southwest. What does matter is authenticity, the one pervasive aspect of the entire event. Watching the Ponderosa Stomp legends of swamp pop at an Opal Divine’s gathering Saturday, and every other act caught during the past several days, the realization came that one thing we’ll never see at South by Southwest is manufactured pop. No Britney Spears. No American Idols. And that, above all, is what keeps it cool.
There’s room for old vets living on past glories, still respected as long as they can still groove (and most of ’em still can, whether their heyday was in the ’80s or the ’60s or the ’50s). There’s room for 6-year-old drum prodigies, à la Classie Ballou’s great grandson, who played during Ballou’s Stomp set Saturday and signed his first autographs afterward. There’s definitely room for brash future rock gods, either wannabes or the real deal, coming to lap up as much attention as they can while the getting’s good, as well as architects of entire genres, such as Neil Young and Ray Davies, who come to impart their wisdom for generations who knew them when, and those who wish they did. At SXSW, there’s always someone who wants to hear what you have to say or sing or spin, as long as the music you’re offering doesn’t have the scent of product handlers all over it. As long as it comes from — clichéd as it might sound — your heart and soul.
Saturday is free show heaven
Saturday is when the day shows reach a heady peak. Here are a few highlights:
End of an Ear Records hosts such acts as the Double and Calla around 1 p.m.
Noise rock? We have your noise rock. Racebannon, Gospel, Ghengis Tron and more, 2 p.m. at Snake Eyes Vinyl (1211 E. Seventh St.)
Austin label Misra Records presents Centro-matic, Dr. Dog, the Mendoza Line, Shearwater and more starting at 12:30 p.m. at the Red Eyed Fly.
Waterloo’s in-store performances include Rosanne Cash at 2 p.m., Rogue Wave at 4 and dangerously hyped guitarist Jose Gonzalez at 6 p.m. (Gonzalez also plays at Club de Ville at 2 p.m.)
Emo’s is all emo all the time today: Straylight Run, Say Anything and more inside; Poison The Well, Paint it Black, and more across the street at the Annex; and Thursday, Ted Leo and more on the main stage.
The Sixth Annual Porchlight Pop Fest (Fivehead, a Prescott Curlywolf(!) reunion, Head of Femur, Air Traffic Controllers, Oxford Collapse and more starting at noon at Mother Egan’s Pub.
Speaking of dangerously hip, the Levi’s/Fader party is headlined by Ghostface Killah, which is amazing for anyone who doesn’t live here (Ghostface is coming to Emo’s on March 31). Those who RSVP’ed will see Lupe Fiasco, Devin the Dude, Lady Sovereign and more at the Levi’s/Fader Lounge (708 E. Sixth St.).
Arthur magazine, hipster America’s favorite free monthly, gives us Gris Gris, Tralala, Giant Drag, Colossal Yes and more from noon to 8 p.m. at the French Legation. Big Daddy Kane rocks the Beauty Bar sometime between noon and 6 p.m.
Austin’s own doomers Cardinale, so brilliant at their Wednesday night showcase, headline Redrum at 6 p.m.
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Show problems, a comfortable Morrissey
There were some bitter moments at Thursday’s Auditorium Shores show, at least from folks who were there to see Spoon. The sound was reportedly wildly inadequate for the number of people there, while the giant monitor just displayed the SXSW logo instead of Britt Daniel’s skinny, hunched-over frame… As of 3 a.m. Friday, no sign of the Beastie Boys at the Capital Sports & Entertainment party at the former Hire.com building. Beastie DJ Mixmaster Mike spun the ones and twos, followed by a set from the Diamond Smugglers, but no sign of Michael “Mike D” Diamond himself…
Oh, Manchester, so much to answer for. Following “Upload Download,” a brilliant panel hosted by Factory Records founder/Manchester export Tony Wilson that featured industry-types improvising on various music biz situations, Stephen Patrick Morrissey, 46, the bard of Manchester, Los Angeles and now Rome, took the stage for a civilized Q&A with Rolling Stone’s David Fricke. It was a sedate affair, the foppish outrage of Smiths-era Mozzer replaced with a calm, centered professionalism. Rarely has any artist seemed so pleased to be back from career dead (‘99-‘04 were not good years) and yet so comfortable in his own skin. Is Morrissey, um, happy?
Sure seems like it, speaking of enjoying “the joyful things in life where I didn’t in the past.” Mozzer gently evaded questions about his lyrically public sexuality, saying, “It was always there,” which it was. Things he hates include “American Idol” (“I don’t enjoy seeing people humiliated”), the lowest common denominator (“Why not just assume people are intelligent?”), the early ’70s except for glam (“people forget how drab it was”) and, well, lots of music (“Too many people making music,” which is a funny thing to say at SXSW).
Things he loves include the New York Dolls (“They were everything that music should be”) and good song titles (“More people will see the title than hear the song”)….
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Fresh, from a former produce warehouse
Finally, a hip, after-hours party that’s not overcrowded, has foil-wrapped breakfast tacos that you can grab without any waiting and is in a fresh setting that hasn’t been SXSW-ed to death. Wednesday night/Thursday morning’s Blender magazine party, celebrating the 20th anniversary of SXSW, drew just enough people to a former produce warehouse on the East Side that has a nifty view of the downtown skyline.
Spoon celebrated its five Austin Music Awards with a set that need a little more vocals in the mix, yet showed that Britt Daniel is relishing his time as a sex symbol for folks who bookmark Pitchfork. Echo and the Bunnymen came on at around 2:30 am and they sounded great — the original new wave is usually not as good as the current one. But it was gettin’ late and they were playing the next day, so it was off to find a cab. On the East Side? Another cool thing about this party — it was just an eight block walk to Sixth and Red River streets, where the cabs were plentiful.
Neil Young + Roland Swenson
Neil Young’s appearance as SXSW’s 20th-anniversary keynote speaker was particularly special for SXSW co-founder Roland Swenson, who introduced his musical idol with an explanation of how Young rallied a generation and helped change history.
“This one song by a Canadian artist arguably had more impact than any before it,” he said of Young’s “Ohio,” written after four Kent State University students were killed by National Guardsmen in 1970 during an anti-war protest. His song helped galvanize a nation that was tired of losing lives to the Vietnam War.
Without specifically mentioning our current involvement in Iraq, Swenson earned a huge ovation when he said, “Mr. Young, if you can hear me back there, we need another song.”
After Young appeared onstage, interviewer Jaan Uhelszki asked whether he’s still as passionate about making music as he once was. Noting that he does what he can to capture songs as they come to him, he said, “The gentleman was trying to give me some input a few minutes ago. I hope it takes hold.”
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Flaming Lips in sunlight
When Oklahoma City’s orchestral noise-pop band the Flaming Lips — featuring Wayne Coyne, Michael Ivins, Steven Drozd and newest addition former Austinite Kliph Scurlock — arrived at Cedar Street Courtyard with armfuls of four-track recorders, cassette tapes and multiple Apple laptops, the handful of people in attendance knew that they were in for more than just the typical Q&A/album listening session.
The Lips are atypically creative. The Grammy winners proved once again that their wellspring of ideas is as deep as Coyne’s sardonically introspective lyrics. They used that endless creativity to turn the 11:30 a.m. album listening session sponsored by Filter Magazine on its head.
The band set up its gadgets onstage and proceeded to deconstruct its newest album (set for an April 4 release), “At War With The Mystics,” in stages. Coyne initially played a sample of one of his raw, unrehearsed four-track demos. Then he would contrast that germ of an idea with a more fleshed-out studio demo. Additionally he would contrast that stage with the final, high-fidelity album track.
Coyne’s charisma is contagious. Still carrying speckles of confetti in his hair from their 11 p.m. Wednesday night “special guest” surprise SXSW showcase at Fox and Hound, he quickly had the sleepy SXSW revelers standing up and rocking out just like it was a full-on Flaming Lips concert with live instruments.
Coyne, Ivins and Drozd played “Free Radicals,” “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song,” “Fifth Track,” an unnamed song and a frantic answering machine message from a friend receiving a home invasion from the police, just because Coyne couldn’t resist its twisted humor.
The Lips have crossed over from underground darlings into an even more beloved cult legend status whereupon they can do no wrong by continuing to reinvent their space-rock, noise-pop sound over the years. Coyne described their most creative songs as “lucky accidents.” It was that same drive and determination to uniquely fashion their own creative luck — while not losing sight of musicality, melody and theatricality — that made the Flaming Lips’ listening party one of the best surprise events of the festival.
An open letter to the Arctic Monkeys
I know what you guys are up to, opting to perform at La Zona Rosa on Friday night instead of the twice-the-capacity Austin Music Hall. You want the cameras to show lines around the block, girls in tears because they can’t get in, people storming the doors. Monkeymania! A riot would be nice.
But there are ways to get massive amounts of attention at SXSW without leaving so many fans hanging. Have you ever thought of ending your shows with a conga line?
Got your new record, the one NME called one of the five best British albums of all time. Makes me wonder what’s No. 6: Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Neither Fish Nor Flesh?”
No act, not even sweet Norah Jones, has ever come to SXSW with so much momentum. But I’ve listened to “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” a couple times and what I hear is a guy singing a bit like Jack White with a Sheffield accent and the band playing like a sober Happy Mondays. Solid players, yes, with some creative flourishes, but where are the songs, mates? The melodies sound like they were made up on a cigarette run. At this point you’re Guns ‘N Roses without “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” (In other words, Scotland’s Faster Pussycat.)
Are you really the next sensation or just Idlewild with new haircuts? Bands usually come to SXSW to show that they can pull it off without Pro Tools. There’s no way to really know for sure if you’ve got the goods until we see you live.
I challenge you to let me be the judge. Put me on the back door list tonight and I promise to be fair. If you’re so good you tear my head off, I’ll relay the information to all of Austin and beyond (sometimes my stuff gets picked up in Waco and College Station). If you’re all hype, I’ll give it to you real good.
What do you say, lads? Whisk me in? I’ll be at the back entrance at 10:45 pm. I’m the one wearing an Oasis T-shirt.
Day 1 blasts
The weather for the opening of SXSW was amazing, the best in recent memory. Then it rained Wednesday night. Ah, well.
But any day in Austin that feels like the Bay Area is a good one. Nothing is better than the confusion of not knowing when to wear a jacket. No, my out-of-town friends, it’s not like this all that often.
Central Austin was clogged with hipsters who all looked pretty much the same: large, dark glasses, lots of tight denim jackets, tight stretch jeans, hoodies: pretty much your basic Pitchfork-reader-circa-‘05 look.
Wednesday night, one was reminded of this very particular compulsion that possesses everyone during SXSW: There’s so much going on, so many bands playing so many places at once, that the urge to relax and enjoy even a 25-40 minute set iis replaced with an urge to, well, leave after only a few songs, sometimes only two or three. I’ve seen it happen over and over again, especially with industry types. (In fact, it might very well be the default SXSW experience, the rule rather than the exception.)
It goes something like this: Someone arrives, possibly after standing in line for a good long time. About 15 minutes in, you can see their expressions change. They absorb the band, take out the pocket guide, see which incredibly hip thing they’re missing by being in this place that is marginally less hip than what might be going on elsewhere. The aesthetic experience of the music is replaced by the experience of hype and happening. It is, frankly, not a particularly pleasurable sensation, but it is the anxiety-based fuel that drives the SXSW experience: Am I as cool as I could be right this second? …
Finally, a hip, after-hours party that’s not overcrowded, has foil-wrapped breakfast tacos that you can grab without any waiting and is in a fresh setting that hasn’t been SXSW-ed to death. Wednesday night/ Thursday morning’s Blender magazine party, celebrating the 20th anniversary of SXSW, drew just enough people to a former produce warehouse on the East Side that has a nifty view of the downtown skyline. Spoon celebrated its five Austin Music Awards with a set that needed a little more vocals in the mix, yet showed that Britt Daniel is relishing his time as a sex symbol for folks who bookmark Pitchfork. Echo and the Bunnymen came on around 2:30 a.m. and they sounded great — the original new wave is usually not as good as the current one. But it was gettin’ late and they were playing the next day, so it was off to find a cab. On the East Side? Another cool thing about this party — it was just an eight-block walk to Sixth and Red River streets, where the cabs were plentiful… .
First official South By Moment: Tuesday night, approximately 7:30, BMI “Howdy Texas” party at Levi’s Dry Goods Trading Post, 708 E. Sixth St. Good-looking, very stylish and rowdy blond woman turning around to a party full of badge-wearers and shouting, “Industry people (e-x-p-l-e-t-i-v-e)!” OK. And you’re here because?
“I’m not talking to you, because you people love him,” she said to the ones clustered by the stage. Was she the performer’s boyfriend, an inquiring mind wanted to know.
Nope. Turns out she was there because of her brother Chris Stills, son of Dallas-born Stephen, who was onstage hoping to draw the crowd’s attention — which he eventually managed to do quite well on his own. But hey, it’s nice to have a cheering section — even if she is going to dis the very crowd who could help rejuvenate his career eight years after his promising debut.
Another thought: It’s fascinating to see the division, almost a disconnect, between the official showcase lineups and the parties. The showcases are, for obvious reasons, still shaped by the forces of the record industry: the label, the booking agency, the publicity firm.
But the day and night parties often mix genres as taste allows. Take the Friday lineup for Vice magazine’s “Vice Kills Texas” day party, a massive affair taking two stages at the Victory Grill and the Longbranch Inn. It includes everything from independent gubernatorial hopeful Kinky Friedman at 7 p.m. to Roky Erickson right before to the harsh electronics of Kid 606 to the metal of Crom, both of whom play at 5:30. It’s the sound of the hipster separatist’s iPod rather than the industry showcase. Which doesn’t make it better or worse, just different…
Word has it Sleater-Kinney blew minds on Tuesday night at the IFC party. Ninety minutes, Springsteen covers, the works … Funniest piece of film criticism? Emo’s booker Graham Williams noting to one of Austin’s bicycling finest that Jonathan Demme was spotted at Emo’s Wednesday night: “I think he directed ‘Gremlins.’ ” This is not to mock Williams, especially since he said, “Oh, yeah, that’s right, (that was) Joe Dante,” after some jerk from the Statesman corrected him. There are moments when Dante and Demme’s careers do feel the same. “Silence of the Lambs,” for example. Me? I used to think Demme and David Lynch were the same guy…
Note to Hook or Crook Records folks: Letting a really, really drunk person sell the merch is not such a hot idea. When asked how much Cheater Slicks shirts cost, said person replied, “Five dollars” then “Just take one.” Also, the Rebel played too long, but what can you do?… Best spot for catching a packed Stubb’s showcase without actually having a badge, wristband or money? The parking deck on Ninth Street, Red River’s own Inspiration Point.
The lineup for Lollapalooza 2006 — which is produced by Austin’s own Capital Sports & Entertainment and Charles Attal Presents — was announced Thursday. Among the 120-plus artists are Lolla veterans Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sonic Youth, Chi-town natives Kanye West, Wilco and Common, Manu Chao, Matisyahu, Sound Team and um, What Made Milwaukee Famous.
The Beastie Boys tried to be serious, they really did. But they couldn’t help it — they just had to wisecrack away during their Wednesday Q&A session at the Austin Convention Center, especially when faced with some particularly inane inquiries.
Whoever said there are no stupid questions never sat through one of these events, as the Brooklyn-born trio and several hundred SXSW attendees did Wednesday afternoon.
At least it wasn’t the journalists asking for once.
Sample interchange: To Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, “What kind of gum do you chew?”
“I don’t really chew a lot of gum,” he answered, chewing rapidly.
Another question: “Do you guys smoke a lot of pot?”
Answered Adam “MCA” Yauch, “I personally don’t smoke … but I’d be interested to see your stash.” …
On Wednesday, the Emo’s IV stage looked as if it had been there all along, despite the three-day move-in for the latest in Frank Hendrix’s Red River empire. But for some of us, the coolest thing was outside: a giant banner for Morrissey’s excellent new album, “Ringleader of the Tormentors.” Could it mean Mozz would play at Austin’s newest club?
“I got a call this morning asking me if Morrissey was playing Emo’s IV,” Hendrix said as Austin’s SoundTeam played to a crowded Emo’s outdoor stage. “I had to say, ‘No, it’s just an ad.’ ” Sometimes a banner is just a banner…. Rumor mill: Gang of Four at a Beauty Bar private party? Maybe Jon King needs his nails done. I know I sure do… .
Friedman pledged his devotion to musicians Wednesday in South Austin after unveiling a new radio ad featuring Willie Nelson. On the first day of SXSW, Friedman spoke over the sounds of Tampa rockers Life of Pi, who were playing within earshot of the campaign event at Ecowise, a store on West Elizabeth Street. “Musicians can better run this state than politicians,” Friedman said. He proposed putting Nelson in charge of energy for the State of Texas, and renaming four highways after Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Buddy Holly and Bob Wells.
Bad timing watch: At the check-in tent for the Austin Music Awards at the Austin Music Hall on Wednesday, volunteers announced that Jesse Taylor needed to check in.” Taylor, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame during the ceremony, died March 7.
Michael Corcoran, Kathy Blackwell, Lynne Margolis and Corrie MacLaggan contributed to this story.
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