Critics picks: What we think you should hear at SXSW this year

MICHAEL CORCORAN

WEDNESDAY

8 p.m. Sean Rowe at Lamberts. Lofty comparisons to Leonard Cohen and Rowe's Anti labelmate Tom Waits are almost justified.

9 p.m. Colourmusic at Friends. Wayne Coyne's side project should get lips moving. He's Mr. Southby.

10 p.m. Vaccines at Club DeVille. Hot, hyped British band that sounds like they grew up on the beach, then moved to the Bowery.

10:40 p.m. Bad Brains at Emo's Main. Punk legends play their first SXSW show; tough ticket alert.

11 p.m. Braids at Beauty Bar/Palm Door. Four best friends from Calgary, Alberta, make great, wide pop with arty touches.

Midnight The Naked and the Famous at the Phoenix. Deliciously epic electro-pop from Auckland, New Zealand, that should make the Phoenix seem three times as big.

12:50 a.m. Okkervil River at Red 7. The new songs, the old songs, the ones they don't play anymore - what an incredible songwriting well Will Sheff can draw from.

THURSDAY

8:20 p.m. Jackie Chain at Venue 222. Who da mane? This Kid Cudi-endorsed ("Rollin'" remix) rapper from Alabama purports to be one and the same.

9 p.m. Abigail Washburn at Antone's. Keep yo eye on the Sparrow. Mrs. Bela Fleck is always exploring new avenues for the clawhammer banjo.

10 p.m. Amy LaVere at Swan Dive. This great rockin' bass player is getting ready to release her career-cementing CD "Stranger Me."

11 p.m. The Kills at Emo's Main Room. This might be the wrong room for this couple's moody art throb, but then again the strip-mined look could fit.

Midnight MNDR at Buffalo Billiards. The Mark Ronson protege in the saucer-sized glasses takes us back to early house and newer stuff. Amanda Warner: Say her name.

1 a.m. Oh Land at Buffalo Billiards. Danish chanteuse has dreams you can dance to. On tour with OMD.

FRIDAY

8 p.m. Blue October at Auditorium Shores. The Austin area's most underrated platinum artists have a slew of new songs to unfurl.

9 p.m. Skrillex at Emo's Main. Commissioned by Gaga, La Roux and more for remixes, my boy Skrilly is one of the hottest beatsmiths in the biz.

10:15 p.m. Hunx and His Punx at Red Eyed Fly. Free Phil Spector! The Dictators half off.

11 p.m. Lance Herbstrong at the Beauty Bar Backyard. The surprise hit of ACL keeps the party jams going without a drop of pretense.

11:50 p.m. The Bellrays at Rusty Spurs. The garage-soul destroyers said last year was their final SXSW. They lied (thank goodness).

1 a.m. Beats Antique at Beauty Bar Backyard. Been hearing great things about a live show that mixes organic with orgasmic.

SATURDAY

8 p.m. Eliza Doolittle at Tap Room at Six. Infectious pop from the 22-year-old singing model from the U.K. who just might have a big career.

9 p.m. Creep at Barcelona. A couple of Brooklyn lasses named Lauren get their Portishead on.

10 p.m. Bobby Rush at 18th Floor at Hilton Garden Inn. A bonafide Mississippi blues/soul legend. Gotta have it on the Sat.

11:10 p.m. Big K.R.I.T. at Buffalo Billiards. Produced by OutKast's Organized Noize posse, this Mississippi rapper could be Kanye South.

Midnight. Syd Straw at Creekside at the Hilton Garden Inn. Very funny and warm singer; she had me at "Madrid."

1 a.m. Deer Tick at Lustre Pearl. The last slot of SXSW is for rocking out, and these guys from Little Rhody can take you there.

PETER MONGILLO

WEDNESDAY

8 p.m. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper at Swan Dive. Singer-songwriter Aly Spaltro combines her appealing voice with edgy folk songs.

9:15 p.m. James Blake at Stubb's. British dub-step artist travels across the Atlantic hauling a Titanic-sized load of buzz.

10 p.m. The Vaccines at Club de Ville. British garage-rockers should infuse some energy into an evening that skews toward the mellow.

11 p.m. The Black Angels at La Zona Rosa. Homegrown psych-rockers represent some of the best music Austin has to offer.

Midnight Tennis at Club de Ville. Indie rock couple wrote songs while out at sea for a year.

1 a.m. Surfer Blood at Beauty Bar/Palm Door. 2010's super-young, super-buzzy garage rockers have had a year to polish their act.