SXSW Saturday: Cool As Ice

Walking home from seeing Liars at Antone’s Friday night, it occurred to me that the full body exhaustion caused by SXSW is really only comparable to that experienced after skiing. The caveat being that it’s usually not that cold during South By. Well, until Saturday. With high winds and temperatures in the 40s, outdoor day parties suddenly seemed far less appealing.

While a huge line of people were trying to get into the Black Keys/Broken Bells/Demolished Thoughts (some purported Thurston Moore and Andrew W.K. collaboration – what?) show at Mohawk, I slipped into the cozy confines of Red Eyed Fly for the Coffee No Pants party. While there wasn’t any coffee and plenty of people were wearing pants, I wasn’t the only one curious about the name – the lead singer of Free Energy commented on it, saying, “I’m not sure why it’s called Coffee No Pants, but I will take my pants off.” When someone whistled, he added, “Apparently you’ve seen this show before.” Their upbeat pop-y songs got plenty of people moving, most especially the singer himself, who excitedly jumped about. Inside, Avi Buffalo was much more subdued, playing Ra Ra Riot-ist sort of lo-fi indie pop, punctuating tunes with tambourine and kickdrum.

Later in the afternoon, still trying to avoid the wretched cold, I snuck into the basement of Max’s Wine Bar for the Black Iris party. With the stage set on the ground, it wasn’t possible to see the seated Best Coast, but the lead vocalist sounded similar to Emily Haines, so I imagined that’s what she looked like too. With super-catchy drums, the LA band brought out their best lazy surf tunes. But the party didn’t really start until another LA outfit, Fool’s Gold, got the entire room dancing to “Surprise Hotel.” It only escalated from there, with folks breaking out their best moves, and the band conga-ing through the audience playing the sax and banging the cowbell. If it was freezing outside, it was a sweaty indie dance party inside – which is the best kind.

With little time left for Saturday night shows, and only a few more years where I’m allowed to publicly enjoy dance music, I headed to Beauty Bar to polish off the evening with Oakland’s Wallpaper. Ricky Reed – nee Eric Frederick – was doing his best Justin Timberlake by way of Prince impression, rocking a trendy hat, hipster glasses, and gloves adorned with working lights (great for night biking). Opening with “T-Rex,” Frederick let his quirky lyrics loose, and busted out a cover of “That Girl Is Poison” that was surely enjoyed by everyone.

So, that’s it, SXSW 2010. Eugene Mirman count: 3. Most irritating drunk vagrant: that one outside Mohawk. Best t-shirt: the dude at the Tanlines show who’d written “I came to get down” on his white shirt in marker. Amount of second-hand smoke inhaled: I don’t want to think about it.

Bang Pop - Free Energy

When I'm With You - Best Coast

Surprise Hotel - Fool's Gold

T Rex - Wallpaper

SXSW Friday: Best In Show

In a quest to spend the most time possible at the Mohawk, at 1pm I went to see Scotland’s We Were Promised Jetpacks at the Onion AV Club’s party. While their song composition and lyrical style seemed to resemble Tokyo Police Club, their brand of uptempo music was most adequately summarized toward the end of the set by the lead singer who said, “We have a couple more Scottish teenage post-punk emo tunes for you.” Take that music critics. Next door at Club DeVille Nicole Atkins Featuring Future Clouds and Radar played the Brooklyn Vegan party, Atkins’s powerful voice besting her petite frame.

On the other side of I-35, folks sprawled out in the park at the French Legation. In the back tent Mayer Hawthorne brought their 60s throwback tunes replete with button-down sweaters, collared shirts, and ties. With a little bit of funk and a dash of Jamie Lidell, they rounded out their set with a bit of reggae and the chorus of Biz Markie’s “Just A Friend.” A sure way to get the crowd singing and dancing along.

At 4pm, back at the Mohawk, Everybody Was In The French Resistance was attempting to explain that they were a “concept band.” As soon as the explanation took at detour into deconstructing Kayne West’s “Gold Digger,” it was pretty unclear what the concept was. The band’s musical elements had merit, but the singer’s style and reliance on “humor” in his lyrics seemed an odd match. “In Switzerland we sang, ‘Everybody was in the French resistance – except for you,’ ” he explained. An hour later another Scotch band, the great Frightened Rabbit took the stage, introduced by Eugene Mirman. Their passionate rock was definitely worth sticking around for.

Knowing that Band Of Horses was playing the intimate Central Presbyterian Church, a night after playing a packed house at Stubb’s, I rushed up early to get a spot in a pew. This would be the ultimate SXSW coup – seeing a big band in a smaller venue with great acoustics and getting to sit for two hours. Tyler Ramsey, one of BOH’s guitarists was doing a solo set, crooning beautifully in the quiet church. As his heartfelt tunes faded, South Carolina’s Company moved to center stage. “I hear there’s another band playing after us,” the lead singer said. He winked toward the audience and the band played a great warm-up.

At 9pm the church was full and by two songs into their set, Band Of Horses’ Ben Bridwell was “sweating like a ...” well, he didn’t finish that sentence. We were in church, after all. Starting off with the title track to their forthcoming album “Infinite Arms,” the more rock-influenced sound of their new stuff turned into fan favorites, with “Ode to LRC,” “Funeral,” and the delicate “No One’s Gonna Love You.” While the crowd was happy to stay seated and very hushed throughout the performance, they were equally glad when Bridwell prodded them to stand for the closing tune, “General Specific.” With a standing audience clapping and a wonderfully jazzy piano elevating the song, it felt like being at a revival. A-men.

Quiet Little Voices - We Were ...

Maybe So, Maybe No - Mayer Haw...

Coal Digger - Everybody Was In...

The General Specific - Band of...

SXSW Thursday: The In-Crowd

If SXSW feels different this year, it may be because of the unadulterated amount of free stuff. Exclusive badge-only events have all but been pushed inside in favor of free-for-all events that are often just that. The Fader Fort, the Pure Volume House, even Rachael Ray and Perez Hilton’s parties are all free, open, and in larger venues to accommodate the masses.

That’s why Thursday night I went in search of the most exclusive party I could find – the badge-only showcase at Lustre Pearle. Outside an old house near the freeway, kids stood behind the gates trying to get a look at what was going on inside – which was mainly people participating in random hipster activities like ping pong and talking about whether their band could be as good as the Temper Trap.

Inside the back tent, London’s The Boxer Rebellion played a brand of “Hot Fuss”-era-Killers rock, their lead singer looking like Zachary Quinto from afar. The alternately flashing red and blue lights created a hallucinatory effect, like wearing old-school 3-D glasses, while the tambourine kept time to “Watermelon.” If their energy was high and their sound was good, Australia’s The Temper Trap did them one better.

Taking the stage with heartily blaring guitars, I had to check the schedule to make sure I was in the right place. While The Temper Trap’s album has an element of softness to it, their performance replaced that softness with fire, evidenced from the very first song, “Rest.” Working trough “Fader” and the brilliant “Love Lost,” by the time TTT got to their biggest hit, “Sweet Disposition,” the lead singer was really into it, and so was everyone else. The set only escalated from there, working up to a total guitar rockout before wrapping with “Science of Fear.” Could your band be as good as The Temper Trap? Probably not.

By 12:30 I’d finagled my way into the less-exclusive patio of the Mohawk and stood wondering why my intestines were shaking. With a packed house and GZA and half the Wu-Tang Clan (okay, there are a lot of people in that, so maybe a fourth of the Wu-Tang Clan), one would think that all of this bass would get absorbed before it got to where I stood in the back. I was there to see London’s The XX, the ethereal indie kid faves. The boy/girl duo, both with close-cropped dark hair and all black outfits looked nothing like I’d imagined them. Their beautifully low-key tunes dispersed into the ether, and, escaping the crowded house, I did too.

Flashing Red Light Means Go - ...

Rest - The Temper Trap

Crystalised - The xx

SXSW Wednesday: The Wackness

Walking into the dark front room of Red 7 Wednesday afternoon, the odd harmonies, curious mixing, and occasional bhangra beats of Toro y Moi filled the space. While esoteric sounds wove themselves together, they were complicated by the addition of a guitar, which Toro y Moi tried to play while still mixing, and which ultimately just created noise.

Hours later at Club DeVille, Brooklyn’s Here We Go Magic played a subdued set of dreamily forgettable rock with a sound comparable to San Francisco’s Film School. If their set left something to be desired, Australia’s The Middle East made up for it. A seven-piece band with more instruments than a pawn shop, The Middle East worked banjo, flute, guitars, drums, harmonica, accordion, and mandolin into their mellow sound. At one point the seven members were playing 10 instruments, with one guitarist also playing harmonica, the keyboardist picking up a flute in places, and the accordion player wielding a trumpet and a rain stick. The addition of whistling on the closing song, “Blood,” added in another layer to their already nuanced sound.

If I wandered into Beauty Bar under false pretenses (Sufjan Stevens was not there, it turns out), I stayed only because the eclectic combination of a dude dressed as an MC (hipster glasses, backwards cap, trendy t-shirt, ever-present microphone) and a woman in a Renaissance fair-style dress seemed to have potential. Indianapolis’s Jookabox was happy to rock out in their outfits – the Renaissance fair woman merrily banging the keyboard and a drummer pounding away in the background. While I have no idea what songs like “Glyphin’ Out” are about, they seemed to be having a good time.

Talamak - Toro Y Moi

Fangela - Here We Go Magic

Glyphin' Out - Jookabox

SXSW 2010

It is very much that time of year again -- when South by Southwest Interactive shuts down and Music starts up -- everyone's pants get a whole lot tighter and nerdy glasses make the move from essential to ironic.

Walking down 6th Street Tuesday night however, Interactive and Music blended together. Did I see a grown man in khaki slacks riding a mechanical bull? Yes, I did. Was I asked what "hip-hop" was? Yes, I was.

At 10:45 Austin's The Black and White Years played an up-tempo set at the Parish, clapping and sounding like a pop-y Yeasayer mixed with a heavy dose of Of Montreal.

Across the street at Maggie May's around midnight, DJ Mike Relm played the YouTube party -- doing real-time mixing to the integrated video projected behind him. While he mixed "Purple Haze," video clips of the Air Guitar World Championships played in synch. Relm also did a back-to-back mix of the "O face" segment of "Office Space" followed by the diner scene in "When Harry Met Sally." A high-concept climax to the set.

By 1am at the Mohawk, folks were ready to dance, even just to the random assortment of sounds DJs like to play with late at night. Sometimes, it just sounds right.

To Modern Science - The Black ...

Everytime (feat. Del The Funky...

In review -- best songs of 2009

Contrary to popular belief, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift weren't the only ones making music in 2009. Here, in my humble opinion, are some of the year's best songs:

"No You Girls" - Franz Ferdinand

"Kiss With A Fist" - Florence & The Machine

"Heads Will Roll" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

"No Mercy, Only Violence" - The Library

"Too Fake" - Hockey

"People Got A Lotta Nerve" - Neko Case

"Sweet Disposition" - The Temper Trap

"Dominos" - The Big Pink

"Lisztomania" - Phoenix

"Moth's Wings" - Passion Pit

"Lust For Life" - Girls

"Sunlight" - Harlem Shakes

"My Mirror Speaks" - Death Cab For Cutie

"The Calculation" - Regina Spektor

"1901" - Phoenix

"Death" - White Lies

"Meddle" - Little Boots

"Help, I'm Alive" - Metric

"Day 'N' Nite" - Kid Cudi

Getting Graphic: Crumb & Spiegelman

More than mid-way through last Friday evening in Bass Concert Hall, Francoise Mouly, the New Yorker’s deft art editor, flashed a cartoon panel onto the screen behind her which bore the sentence, “And remember: it’s only lines on paper, folks!!” For Robert Crumb and Art Spiegelman, the comic artists sitting to either side of Mouly, it would seem this line couldn’t be further from the truth. Certainly for these icons of icon-making, who touched on censorship, alienation, and the illustrating of religious texts during the course of the evening, comics were much more than just “lines on paper.”

Opening the presentation, which felt more like an intimate after-dinner conversation among friends, Mouly noted that the posters advertising the event had promised a “helluva time.” Looking to Crumb, dressed in a suit and tan sandals with black socks, and Spiegelman, who gently chain-smoked through the evening, she said, “I hope you two can live up to that.” If the bar was set high, Crumb and Spiegelman rose to meet it with genuine candor and humor, looking back over their careers and, briefly, into the future.

Crumb, who may be better known for his overall style rather than any particular work, and who was chronicled in the 1994 documentary Crumb, guided parts of the conversation, explaining his early work as that of an “alienated youth.” Looking up to Harvey Kurtzman and MAD Magazine, Crumb went to work creating comics for Topps Bubblegum. While his life and career would eventually find him living in France collaborating with his wife, Aline, and their daughter, Crumb has often drawn images considered to be controversial. When this is mentioned, Crumb looks down with mock-bashfulness, smiles slightly and says, “I was bad. I apologize.”

Like Crumb, Spiegelman was also an admirer of MAD and got his start at Topps. While Mouly showed images of Spiegelman’s early drawings, including a parody magazine called “Blasé,” which he’d drawn in high school, Crumb laughed delightedly. If the artists have distinctively different styles (Spiegelman is most recognized for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel-length comic MAUS), it was evident they were kindred spirits. Spiegelman recounted their interactions in San Francisco in the early 1970s, though Crumb claimed to have no memory of them and Spiegelman admitted he’d been doing a lot of LSD.

Decades later, Crumb and Spiegelman have continued to be inspired by the stuff of MAD – irony and social satire, followed by the occasional controversy, and devoted to working on projects with a religious focus. Mouly showed slides of the images featured in Spiegelman’s 2006 10-page feature in Harper’s, “Drawing Blood,” about controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. Crumb’s latest work, “The Book Of Genesis Illustrated,” takes a literal look at the first book of the Bible. He spent four years combing through every word and referencing stills from films like The Ten Commandments to create the images. When asked what he’d like to see Crumb do next, Spiegelman says, “The Koran maybe.” Probably not controversy-free territory.

While Mouly’s slide explaining comics as “only lines on paper” was meant to encourage viewers to enjoy comics without offense, the influence of the lines created by Crumb and Spiegelman cannot be downplayed. Comics have been and continue to be their livelihood, their passion, their lives. One hopes for many more years they’ll show readers a helluva time.

From Fun Fun Fun to Wet Wet Wet

Entering the gates to Waterloo Park for Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest on Saturday, concert-goers paraded in wearing shorts, tank tops, and every pattern of spandex tights. By Sunday, outfits were topped with ponchos and all the emo hairstyles had been hijacked by the “wet look.” That’s what happens when music festivals and monsoon seasons collide.

SATURDAY

If there is a manual for how to create a generic auto-tuned hipster dance band, Austin electro group LAX has probably committed it to memory. In the way that faux-Rastafarian dudes are both instantly identifiable and mockable, LAX has co-opted the hipster-dancer persona with bravado, churning tunes with lyrics like, “I want to hunt you / like a cheetah.” Introducing a new track, the band dropped a backbeat that sounded like it’d been lifted from Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer,” upended with a groove borrowed from Bob Marley and featuring lyrics genuinely stolen from Grandmaster Flash (“Don’t push me / cause I’m close to the edge…”). Then they sang a song about smoking pot. Well, we all knew that was coming. It was rather amazing, in a musically offensive sort of way. It wasn’t the content that was offensive; it was the construction.

On the orange stage, Knoxville’s Royal Bangs pounded away. Sonically they resemble a more dance-focused Broken Social Scene – though in the flesh they appear as three dudes on guitar, a drummer, and a lead singer who rocks on keys, thrashes the guitar, then goes crazy on drums. With a couple of hard-driving guitar tracks, Royal Bangs move from BSS to The Who territory, striking satisfying chords in both musical realms.

If LAX had delighted in lifting hip hop lyrics, James Husband, merrily strumming his guitar on the yellow stage, introduced lines taken from “The Sound of Music” as he opened his set (“somewhere in my youth or childhood / I must have done something good”). But his mellow strains were heartily outweighed by Austin’s The Sword blaring their guitars on the black stage. If music can be so loud it makes your jaw hurt, one hopes The Sword fans have health insurance. That said, when it comes to axe-swinging, these guys are not messing around. (Proof: They have a track featured in Guitar Hero II.)

Back on the orange stage, the crowd watching Red Sparrowes – old guys experiencing the music in a full-body sort of way, and a dude wearing 3-D glasses – gave way to folks waiting for No Age. Having just released their “Losing Feeling” EP, the LA duo played a noisy new track that was met with equal noise from fans. After a short and hearty set from Death, Yeasayer gave an extended soundcheck. With each band member playing multiple instruments that needed checking, the crowd grew restless, until that moment when the lead singer unwittingly said that he couldn’t quite hear the cowbell on the monitor. Then everyone had to chime in and shout, “more cowbell!” Yeasayer: making hipster dreams come true.

SUNDAY

For a brief period Sunday afternoon the rain slowed to a drizzle and it seemed safe to hide out beneath a tree in front of the blue stage where New Mexico’s seeming one-man show Alaska In Winter crooned auto-tuned songs and played the melodica while wearing a white fur hat. It was so wet out though, I saw a hipster who wasn’t able to light his joint.

The rain subsided a bit more and a mash-up dance party started when Car Stereo (Wars) took the stage. If I had to guess, it would be that one of those car stereos is playing Girl Talk, while the other blasts a local Top 40/hip hop station. While CS(W) dropped some newer riffs than Greg Gillis, sampling “Kiss Me Thru The Phone” and “Birthday Sex,” their mixes played more to the idea of giving the mainstream what they want, rather than something they’d never expect. The MC worked the crowd by asking rhetorical questions like, “Are we in Austin, Texas?” “Is that your bag?” “Is this your hat?” Before CS(W) dropped a mash of MGMT’s “Kids” versus Ciara’s “One, Two Step,” a girl dressed as a California raisin went up to a young boy who was standing next to his mother and tried to get him to dance. He looked up at his mom with a bewildered look. He will probably steer clear of raisins for the rest of his life.

On the other side of the park, the stage was being readied for comedy. While it’s become trendy for outdoor festivals to serve up hipster comedians alongside indie bands, it has always seemed an unnatural pairing. For a brand of comedy that thrives on awkward pauses, clever word play, and an esoteric nonchalance, emerging in broad daylight to compete with the roar of metal-soaked rock seems an impossible feat. Case in point, while Nick Thune can prove amusingly aloof signing about refusing to observe Daylight Savings Time on nighttime TV, his low-key Stephen Wright-with-attitude one-liners are nearly impossible to enjoy in mid-afternoon backed by the din of metalcore band Coalesce. Hipster comedy belongs in night clubs. At night.

As the rain began to pour harder and the grass swiftly turned to mud, it was time to make a gracious exit.

Songs I Can't Get Out Of My Head: Vol. 15

The Temper Trap - "Sweet Disposition"

If this single from the Temper Trap's debut Conditions is any indication, the Australian outfit is set to be just as big in the rest of the world as they are in Melbourne. This song's ethereal vibe fits well into the scene where the likes of Passion Pit and M83 already reside.

The Big Pink - "Dominos"

The soothing repetition of the phrase "these girls fall like dominos" somehow overrides any narcissism the line might contain. It's a haunting chant from the UK duo, who are currently touring with Muse.

Miike Snow - "Song For No One"

The collaboration between remix-masters Bloodyshy & Avant and singer Andrew Wyatt, Miike Snow pair breathy vocals with a plucky little guitar phrase on this laid-back track. While the jury may be out on the self-titled album, this song has just the right texture.

Cold Cave - "Life Magazine"

The infectious electro beat of Cold Cave's "Life Magazine" make it hard to shake out of your mind. While the track doesn't appear on the Philadelphia group's Cremations album, it has been released as a single.

Songs I Can't Get Out Of My Head: Vol. 14

Hockey - "Too Fake"

This Portland, Oregon band has been gaining steady praise since the end of last year, mostly on the back of their incredibly infectious "Too Fake." Currently touring with Portugal. The Man, and gearing up for an appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, their album Mind Chaos drops today.

Matt And Kim - "Daylight"

If there were any doubts that commercials are bringing you the best in indie rock, chances are you've already had "Daylight" running through your head thanks to Bacardi. The Brooklyn duo's synth-y piano driven track pairs an upbeat repetitive melody with chanted lyrics.

Florence And The Machine - "Kiss With A Fist"

Despite the violence depicted by this song's lyrics, it's rollicking guitar is almost enough to incite its own dance riot, if the raspy twang of singer Florence Welch's voice doesn't do it first.

And, just when you thought you were hip for liking SF's Girls, Pitchfork and ABC's Charlie Gibson have teamed up to tell you they're already mainstream. Great, now you have to find another cool little band started by the son of cult-members to like...

Volume 14

Songs I Can't Get Out Of My Head: Vol. 13

Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - "Young Adult Friction"

Pains Of Being Pure At Heart create little pop gems full of zippy keyboards and jangly guitars.  This track offers a little mantra in its steadily repeated phrase, "don't check me out." 

Death Cab For Cutie - "My Mirror Speaks"

The standout track from Death Cab's The Open Door EP, this song's tempo and charm make it feel like it could belong on any of their albums, though it's a B-side from Narrow Stairs.  

Blind Pilot - "Oviedo" 

Blind Pilot are quickly gaining speed -- touring with the Hold Steady and the Decembrists and getting ready for dates at Lollapolooza and Outside Lands.  Singer Israel Nebeker lets his voice drift into Ben Gibbard territory occasionally on this track.  The beautiful melody and simple instrumentation showcase poetic lyrics like, "I didn't know the weight of my tongue / I didn't know what I've done."

Little Boots - "New In Town"

If you could put an electro pop touch on a slow jam and then throw in a touch of disco, it might sound something like this track from Little Boots.  

Into the 21st Century: Green Day at the Fox

When Green Day played the first strains of “American Idiot” on Tuesday night at the Fox Theater in Oakland, the crowd was beside themselves.  The band had already been at it – jumping and wailing and making like Chuck Berry with their guitars – for over an hour, playing forthcoming May release 21^st Century Breakdown start to finish.

After two “secret” San Francisco shows, Green Day had put the polish on their new stuff, and standing between a lit-up digital cityscape backdrop and a massive crowd, it sounded good.  Conjuring Van Morrison with “Viva La Gloria” and something in the realm Tom Petty (or maybe even Bon Jovi) with “Last Of The American Girls” – the band’s new songs mixed a true rock ‘n’ roll sound with their characteristic borderline punk bravado. 

Green Day has always managed to feel rebellious yet approachable, and the new material solidified this.  The new set included a few slower numbers, in the vein of “Give Me Novacaine” or “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)” – that were not only delivered as energetically as the other songs, but seemed to further prove the band’s musicianship.  Billie Joe Armstrong has honed his voice over the years to be able to slip between rock anthems and sincere ballads with ease.

Taking hardly a breath after the new album’s last song “See The Light,” Green Day jumped straight into tracks from American Idiot – including all five movements of “Jesus Of Suburbia” and then reached back to Dookie with “She,” “Longview,” and “Welcome To Paradise.” While there was a fair amount of spitting and crotch-grabbing (and a little prancing with an audience member’s purse) on the part of Armstrong, the band’s antics felt authentic.  If ultra-successful contemporary bands are often prone to posturing (The Killers, Panic At The Disco, Coldplay, on occasion), Green Day didn’t fall into that trap.  With the addition of their backing band – Jason White, Jason Freese, and Jeff Matika – their old stuff didn’t feel old.  In the second set, songs were punctuated with saxophone, harmonica, and accordion. 

Crowd surfing had begun during the night’s very first song, and it seemed that every few minutes someone new was being plucked from atop the throng of front rowers by security and escorted out.  When the band moved into a rocking version of “Shout” that found all the guitarists laying on their backs writhing on the stage, the crowd was going wild – we all wanted to throw our hands up and shout – and that’s just what we did. 

Songs I Can't Get Out Of My Head: Vol. 12

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Heads Will Roll"

A dark and danceable track from the Yeah Yeah Yeah's new "It's Blitz" disc, "Heads Will Roll" has a polished grittiness that outshines the album's first single "Zero."

The Library - "No Mercy, Only Violence"

LA dance rockers The Library offer up an undeniably catchy tune that instantly conjures Maroon 5 with a hint of an emo vibe.  

Coldplay - "Life In Technicolor II"

"Life In Technicolor," the lovely instrumental first track from Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" finally gets its due -- it's reinvented as a full song with soaring vocals and raucous piano chorus on the band's "Prospekt's March" EP.

Great Lake Swimmers - "Pulling On A Line"

Indie darlings Great Lake Swimmers create soft and melodious harmonies on "Pulling On A Line."  The slow-paced refrain makes a nice contrast to the song's quick verses -- imagine Midlake by way of the Shout Out Louds.  

SXSW 2009 - Saturday (Pt. 2): Going Wild And Turning A Blind Eye

Preparing for the last full night of SXSW is always a little overwhelming, and with this year’s reinstated after-parties and after-after-parties, it sounded like it was going to be a night only 30 Rock’s Tracy Jordan could fully enjoy.  I settled in at Stubb’s for the full line-up, starting with White Lies.  Churning out their dark sound magnified by dramatic stage lighting, White Lies played most of their debut album, including “Farewell to the fairground” and “To lose my life,” and unleashed an extraordinary guitar finish on “Fifty on our foreheads.”  When they finally got to their closing anthem, “Death,” it was impossible not to be completely overtaken by the blaring guitars.  This was the moment of the festival that I rocked out the hardest.

Razorlight came out next, offering up a handful of songs told through inflated story-telling; Johnny Borrell shouting “are you really going to do it this time?” over and over on “In the morning.”  When they finished, dropping the Doors’ “Break on through” bass line, they were met with much applause. 

The crowd thickened and awaited the arrival of PJ Harvey, who took the stage in a white tube dress decked out with multiple wide white belts and a three-pronged white piece sticking out of her hair.  Joined by John Parish and a backing band, Harvey spent all her time at the mic or strolling around in a very limited space, crooning or shouting.  There seemed to be a very definite division between old songs and new – the old being full of fiery vocals and the new being more ethereal and whimsical.  While she’s an artist who has continually drawn much praise, let’s just say that I didn’t rush back to my hotel to download her albums. 

Moving underneath Stubb’s porch, I leaned against a staircase and was quickly surrounded by some middle-aged ladies whooping for the arrival of the Indigo Girls.  This was probably the point in the evening where I could have run off to see Janelle Monae or some other brand new act, but it felt nice to relax and listen to “Closer to Fine” and “Love of our lives.”  They played a couple new tracks, bemoaned being on a big label, and generally pleased the crowd with their simple sincere guitar songs.  Not quite Indigo Girls Gone Wild, but nice and gentle. 

When it was close to 1am, the act we’d all been waiting for arrived:  Third Eye Blind.  I’d be lying if I claimed I wasn’t a little excited to be seeing them.  After all, I had once forced my friends to listen to their albums back-to-back-to-back on a long car trip.  Like many people I had nostalgic feelings about their first album, but I also genuinely felt that their follow up albums were full of well-written, shoot-from-the-hip pop gems.  I had been talking with some folks about how 3EB often gets unfairly grouped with lesser ‘90s acts, like Gin Blossoms, Eve 6 and Sugar Ray – though I’d always connected them more with Weezer and Sublime. 

Stephan Jenkins and co. started the set with “Non Dairy Creamer” and filled most of the next hour with new material.  Playing to a crowd that was dying to hear “How’s It Going To Be” and “Deep Inside of You,” it wasn’t quite satisfying to get only a few glimpses of the past – “Never Let You Go,” “Jumper,” and their closer “Crystal Baller.”  The crowd was aching to sing along (and did so to the songs they knew), but it was tough to sell us on new songs like “Why Can’t You Be” (where the female character in the song complains that the narrator is not as good as her shower massager).  For all 3EB’s polish and sheen, the new songs seemed to employ more complicated metaphors that the old stuff, and maybe it was the catchy familiarity that we were longing for.

Eschewing the after and after-after parties, I went to my hotel and did what any Third Eye Blind fan would do – listened to “I Want You” and “Blinded” on repeat a few times and went to bed.  

SXSW 2009 Saturday - Pt. 2

SXSW 2009 - Saturday: Making waves and lifting chairs

During SXSW Austin becomes a hipster mecca, or at the very least a faux hipster mecca – a place where it’s okay to wear short-shorts and cowboy boots or leopard print lycra leggings and denim skirts.  As I stood outside Emo’s, two chicks in vintage dresses and oversized sunglasses chatted about how funny that hipster Olympics video was – and I wondered if they only liked it ironically.  While the music is always at the forefront of the festival, the fashion is certainly worth noting – and with that, the honor of “most ironic t-shirt” must go to the girl wearing a blue tee stating “F*** The Metric System.”  Really?  That’s what you’re worked up about?  All this time I’ve been wondering what hipsters were so ticked off about, now I know.

Trying to get an earlier start on the day, I swung by Cedar Street at 1:30 to see Chairlift at the Filter party.  While the band had obviously created quite a buzz at CMJ, and scored big with “Bruises” thanks to a ubiquitous iPod commercial, their super-short set felt a little lacking. Seeing as most bands are indoor creatures of the night and it was very early and very out-of-doors, I’m willing to cut them a little slack.  Clad in a blue silk nightshirt and spiderweb tights, the Sofia Coppola-looking Caroline Polchek rolled out genuinely beautiful vocals while massaging her keyboard on “Planet Health.”  Playing “Bruises” and one other track, the Brooklyn band left the crowd feeling all too mellow.

In need of a good jolt, I dashed off to the Canvas thinking I was going to see Oakland act Wallpaper.  My schedule had gotten a little confused, and I walked in on Big Stereo DJs throwing down beats to a ragged crowd of about 20.  The place was nearly empty – but that just meant there was more space to dance.  A row of photographers, clearly thinking they would be shooting in a large crowd, decided to take the opportunity to rock out.  With two songs left in the set, the photographers jumped on stage, dancing around, equipment and all.  Eventually, the rhythm is going to get you.

By 2:15 I was at the Fader Fort getting ready for San Diego dude Wavves (Nathan Williams).  Wearing retro Ray-Bans (that he would eventually knock off with his crazy rotary head-spinning), Williams looked the part of a surfer Buddy Holly gone electric.  While the fest was abuzz with news of Rachael Ray and Kanye West, I slid into the Red Eyed Fly to watch LA act Princeton pound out snap-happy tunes like “Calypso Gold.”  Looking like they could be Tokyo Police Club’s younger brothers, the boys played delightful rock with Vampire Weekend-style appeal. 

At 3:30 there was already a line outside Latitude 30 for the British Music party.  Wave Machines warmed things up with their falsetto-tinged upbeat rock, the band members hiding their faces behind odd masks of human faces.  Waiting for the Whip, a seven foot tall dude from Manchester asked if I liked to dance.  I didn’t ask if that was a rhetorical question (mainly because I couldn’t understand his quick and thick English accent), but I was more than happy to move to the Whip’s awesome electro rock.

SXSW 2009 Saturday - Pt. 1

SXSW 2009 - Friday: Get your fingernails done and your windows tinted

At 2pm Emo’s JR was crowded with folks invading the Pitchfork party to see the band with all the buzz, Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. The New York four-piece turned out snappy rock that didn’t disappoint – sounding like Blonde Redhead given the Uma Thurman in “Pulp Fiction” shot-of-adrenaline-to-the-heart treatment. While the guitarlines sounded much the same from song to song, chances are they may have thought they’d already played that song – as they’ve been slated to play some 10 showcases during the weekend.

Pains was followed up by another band inciting a Blonde Redhead reference – School Of Seven Bells, the New York act composed of twin sisters and Benjamin Curtis (from Secret Machines) – the gender reverse of Blonde Redhead. Opening up for M83 last year, SVIIB share that act’s ethereal dreaminess, which, live, you can feel all over. Literally – I can still feel the bass.

At 3:30, I stopped off at the Onion party, where Parenthetical Girls’ Zac Pennington owned the stage (and most of the floor in front of the stage), conducting a symphony in his head and prancing in a brown and green sweater vest. With a sound that’s part Colin Meloy part Jens Lekman, and mostly xylophone, Pennington led the set with Kevin Barnes-like swagger (if you can call it that).

I ducked out hoping to catch White Lies at Cedar Street, but showed up just in time to catch the end of Late Of The Pier, who, during their last song, got involved in a fist fight with security. While punches were being thrown and one of the band members was escorted up the exit stairs, the band continued on, determined to finish. The crowd was baffled, and after some terse words, the band was allowed to finish it off, much to the crowd’s delight.

I jetted over to the industrial-sized Fader Fort, along with a throng of thousands – the fort had moved this year from next to the freeway downtown, to under and across from the freeway south of downtown. At 6pm I caught Hatcham Social, who’d played the SPIN party earlier in the day. The UK group offered some nice keyboard playing, and the lead singer alternated sliding a beer bottle and a drumstick along his guitar strings.

The band I had really come out to see though was Tinted Windows, the super-group composed of – are you ready for this? – James Iha (formerly of the Smashing Pumpkins), Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick), Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne bassist, and scribe of most of the “Colbert Christmas” songs), and fronted by one of the Hanson brothers (Taylor). Yeah. If there was an award for most unexpected musical collaboration, this might be the winner. Clad in tight red hipster Levi’s and sporting silver framed cat eye-style sunglasses, Taylor Hanson crooned and the girls swooned and sang along to “Kind of a Girl.” Song after song the crowd rocked along, and it dawned on me that as weird as this collaboration seemed – they were cranking out the catchiest songs ever.

After a couple of minor dalliances (including a hip hop party where Mickey Factz was playing), I finished off the night at Club DeVille, watching a bleary-eyed crowd chant along to Asher Roth’s ode to getting wasted on Miller Light, “I Love College.” One of the DJs from Flostradamus mixed up Kayne West’s “Love Lockdown” between sets, and Kid Sister polished off the evening. In a Yankee’s cap and black and white t-shirt she worked her attitude, despite impending laryngitis on “Pro Nails.” It was late and the set was short (three songs), but the fans were pleased – or at least really blitzed.

SXSW 2009 Friday

SXSW 2009 - Thursday: Datarockin' All Night Long

It’s 1am and I’m standing in front of four grown men wearing red tracksuits and huge tinted sunglasses playing mini-guitars singing about Molly Ringwald.  The four men in question are Datarock, and their set at Emo’s Annex was played with such soaring bravado it conjured a coupling of Daft Punk and Flight Of The Conchords.  Between playing a mean saxophone and shaking his tambourine, one of the band members waded through the crowd, encouraging a full-on dance party.  Datarock killed it on “Fa-Fa-Fa,” hoisting the microphone into the crowd so the front row could sing along.

Datarock was preceded by Little Boots – an English chick who looked like Lady Gaga crossed with Sienna Miller and sounded something like Gaga by way of Duffy.  In a tight black strapless dress with a silver sequined triangle appliqué, and five-inch heels, Little Boots shouted “I’m gonna take you out tonight” to a techno beat and had everybody shaking it.

Earlier in the evening I caught an Emo’s triple-feature – Wild Light, Cut Off Your Hands, and Passion Pit. 

The New Hampshire four-piece Wild Light said they were starting their set with a song called “Party,” but it wasn’t until mid-way through their set that the crowd was behind them enough to feel the party vibe.  Playing a collection of relatively upbeat rock songs, the boys found their groove playing their first single “California On My Mind,” jumping up and down and clapping with the crowd.

Wild Light’s energy couldn’t touch that of New Zealanders Cut Off Your Hands who came out swinging – the lead singer banging the tambourine and jumping onto the drum set.  It’s no wonder these boys are so skinny.  Just as the hipster kids in the front rows started dancing, the singer dived into the crowd singing “Happy As Can Be.” Though, when landed on, the hipster kids weren’t quite that happy.

Finally, Passion Pit was met with much anticipation – bringing five keyboards onto the stage and allowing the singer’s crazy vocal squealing to pair with tight elecro rhythms.  Careful not to smear the extra-thick purple hand stamp branded on my wrist by Emo’s, I snuck out the back artists’ exit (by accident) and out to search for more music.

SXSW 2009 Thursday

Songs I Can't Get Out Of My Head: Vol. 11

Lily Allen - "Everyone's At It" 

The first track off her just-released "It's Not Me, It's You" disc, here Allen muses on addiction (specifically in pill form).  

Metric - "Help I'm Alive" 

From the forthcoming album "Fantasies" due out in April, Metric creates a poppy tune that lies somewhere between "Combat Baby" and "Monster Hospital." 

Cut Off Your Hands - "Let's Get Out Of Here"

Already generating pre-SXSW buzz (probably because they're slated to play 10 shows over 4 days), New Zealand act Cut Off Your Hands has a lot on their plate and they're gearing up to tour with Ra Ra Riot and Passion Pit.  With a little tambourine tap, this track, off last year's "You & I" sounds like it was snatched from the Kooks' catalogue.  

MGMT - "Kids (Soulwax Remix)"

There are a ton of MGMT remixes floating around out there (25 of them chronicled by SPIN) -- Soulwax does this one right with some funky breaks usually only reserved for the likes of Hot Chip.  

Volume 11