South by Southwest Music Festival (SXSW)
Austin, Texas
March 18–21, 2009
South by Southwest (SXSW) is a well known interactive, film,
and music festival that takes place in March in Austin, Texas. The festival typically brings some 10,000+ extra
faces to our beautiful city and loads of good music. While I didn’t take part in the
interactive/film portions of SXSW, I can guarantee you the entirety of the
festival is like nothing you’ve seen before. With hundreds of bands playing at all hours of
the day, it’s impossible to see it all.
But I did my best to catch a decent amount of fabulous rock and
roll.
Wednesday 9pm – Lady Hawke @
Stubb’s When I headed downtown on Wednesday I decided to throw my
schedule out the window and simply go wherever my feet would take me. So my first stop was the ever-popular,
Stubb’s BBQ. Stubb’s is one of the
larger downtown venues and is known to house some really great artists. I’d heard of Lady Hawke but I wasn’t very familiar with her music.
I arrived a little late but managed
to catch her hit, Paris is Burning and
a few other fan-favorites. This blond bombshell’s electric style of pop rock
was entertaining to say the least. Missed a lot of her show, but what I saw was
good enough for me to want to catch her show next time she’s in town.
10pm – Heartless
Bastards @ Stubb’s
Austin-regulars, the Heartless Bastards were up right after
Lady Hawke and I have to say this: I’ve heard of the Heartless Bastards a billion, maybe two billion times. And every time I’ve said to myself,
“Heartless Bastards? That sounds like another crappy country band.” But awkward
name choices aside, this bluesy rock band is actually really good! Raspy front
woman, Erika Wennerstrom, has soul shooting out of her fingertips and flying
from the lips allowing this band’s music to really stick with you. The combination of Wennerstrom’s crisp,
seductive lyrics and her band member’s meditative blues-grass style makes for
music that feels old and has the ability to really tell a story.
The Heartless Bastards create the type of
music that you just don’t hear everyday. Their SXSW performance was amazing and
they’ve got at least one new fan for sure – yours truly.
11pm - St. Vincent
@ Central Presbyterian Church
St. Vincent, another band new to me opened SXSW in
a Church! Literally sitting in pews,
myself and the hundred or so other South By-goers were able to hear rock music
in place of the usual religious sermon. St. Vincent’s angelic
voice came streaming from Annie Clark’s teeny tiny frame and instantly put me
in a trance.
St. Vincent opened with The Strangers a track from their
upcoming album, Actor. The haunting music of this light heartedly-sung dark
song was perfect for the religious scenery and this song was the type to grab a
new fan, hook line and sinker. Another memorable song was Marry Me, the title song
from their first full-length album. This tongue and cheek song included the
lyrics, “Oh, John c'mon let’s do what Mary and Joseph did without the kid” lending
to a laugh while still maintaining the seriousness that good music like this
does.
As a newcomer to St. Vincent, I was very impressed and I’d
recommend them to anyone who likes poignant music with a twist of humor and
fun.
12am – Camera Obscura @ Central
Presbyterian Church
Still at church, I stuck around for
the next band Camera Obscura. This band defines themselves as “Melodramatic”
pop alternative and actually that’s not a bad description. Their performance of Let’s Get Out of this Country certainly proved to fit in that
category of melodrama. In this song about getting away, lead vocalist Tracyanne
Campbell beautifully sang catchy lyrics in her white linen dress.
But it was
their performance of U2’s Sweetest Thing
that really did it for me. I love when a
band can bring something new to such a well-known song and it’s especially nice
for the new listeners. Of course I did
hear one concert-goer complain that with such a limited amount of time the band
maybe should have played more of their own
music. I don’t know, I think it was a good addition to their set list and Camera Obscura was able to portray
their interesting indie style and really, I have no complaints.
1am – Zee Avi @ Buffalo Billiards
My final stop on Wednesday was at
Buffalo Billiards, a small bar on 6th
street. I’d
headed to the venue under the impression that I’d be hearing Ida Maria, but due to some travel
delays (or so I heard) I was pleasantly surprised with a new artist, Zee Avi. So out comes this cute tiny girl in purple
with sassy zippered spandex pants.
Immediately I thought this was going to be some punk-style indie rock or
something. But I was dead wrong. Avi actually turned out to be a
WONDERFUL jazzy songstress with a powerful voice that you just didn’t see
coming.
While
sultrily singing Darlin’ it Ain’t Easy,
much of the audience talked over her and wandered around the bar in their
drunken stupors. Fortunately I was so into this surprisingly awesome music I
was able to tune out the rude kids. As
it was her first SXSW performance as well as her first time in Austin, I asked for a super-fast interview
post-performance. Reining from Malaysia, the dark haired beauty informed me
that she’d be playing a lot this summer in California and that her debut self-titled
album would be hitting stores May 19, 2009.
When asked what music influenced her most she expectedly said, “the jazz
singers of the 1920s,” a group of singers that she could easily fit into.
Thursday
8:20pm - Gabriella Cilmi @ La Zona
Rosa
Another new face to me was Gabriella Cilmi, a blues rock singer that is best described as an
Amy Winehouse minus the crack and terrible hair. Geared up grunge with a shirt reading “LOVE
SELLS,” Cilmi really brought the
house down. But not only was her
appearance dirty-sexy, her vocals were too.
The British brunette had an air of importance and her raspy vocals were
good enough to rival the Adeles of the world.
9:10pm - Erin McCarley @ La Zona Rosa
Next up was Erin McCarley, a breathtaking beauty from Texas. A far cry from the performance that
preceded her, McCarley sang
angelically in a girly dress. While a few of her songs may have been mildly
forgettable, when it came time to play her current radio hit Love, Save the Empty the crowd got into
it.
Again, being the sucker for
interesting covers that I am, I absolutely loved McCarley & her keyboardist’s awesome rendition of Tom’s Diner.
While her keyboardist busted out beat-box, McCarley
gave Suzanne Vega a run for her money.
It was highly entertaining. As for her original songs, they were super
catchy and radio-friendly, and combined with her good looks and cheery demeanor
I’d say she’s destined to make it big.
10pm - Tori Amos @ La Zona Rosa
Finally at 10 it was time for Tori! I’m a relatively big fan of Tori Amos but believe you me, there
were some super fans in the crowd that night. And I don’t even have to say it
but, of course, she did not disappoint. After an enthusiastic introduction from
the well-known blogger, Perez Hilton Amos
went to town with both a keyboard and baby grand piano.
Sitting pretty with her striking
red locks, Amos opened her set with Lady in Blue from her soon to be
released album, Abnormally Attracted
to Sin. In true Tori fashion, the song was slow
and contemplated and from what I can tell, her next album should be a winner.
Amos went on to play several fan favorites including Crucify, and Silent All These
Years and Take to the Sky. But one of the more interesting, or at very
least comical, performances was that of Mary
Jane, a new (and highly suggestive) song from Amos’ upcoming
album. The track showcased a less
serious side of Amos as she sang coyly about marijuana. I suggest
everyone go Youtube this one immediately.
Tori Amos wrapped her set up with Barons of Suburbia
from her 2005 album The Beekeeper. Anytime
you have a chance to catch Tori Amos,
I highly recommend it and guarantee it will be worth your wild – and her SXSW
performance at La Zona Rosa illustrated that sentiment perfectly.
11pm – Amanda Palmer
(w/Margaret Cho) @ Central Presbyterian Church
As a small fan of the Dresden
Dolls, I expected the Amanda Palmer
show to be OK but I have to say – I was pretty blown away. Palmer came onto the stage dressed in an oversized cream coat and
began singing sans-microphone. Palmer
opened her set with Wind That Shakes the
Barley, an Irish ballad from the 19th century before moving on
to more controversial Palmer-originals.
For the entirety of Palmer’s set, her energy was sky high
and at moments I thought she might literally jump out of her skin. Going to
town on the keyboard, Palmer belted
out beautifully awkward songs that were simultaneously lyrically disturbing and
vocally amazing.
After playing a few tracks from her
album Who Killed Amanda Palmer, Palmer
told us that she’d have a friend come out to sing with her. And who was her friend? Margaret Cho, who else!? Already in town for the comedy portion of
SXSW, Cho came out and played and
original of hers, Hey Big Dog. While Cho
was a little pitchy, the song was still funny and it was a nice duet that
none of us were expecting.
All in all, Palmer’s performance was insanely good. Her stage presence could best be described as
cute and cool, and as a crowd member you felt like she was your best friend…
your best friend who has some amazing pipes!
I’m 100% glad I caught this show and I hope she continues on this solo
path.
12am - Blind
Pilot @ Club de Ville
After
reviewing their latest album, 3 Rounds and a Sound, I have to say that I was super duper
excited to see Blind Pilot. As expected, the crowd at Club de Ville was a
mix of trendy hipsters, you know the kids that are always one-upping you in
new-band-knowledge. And geared up with a
xylophone, cello, and trumpet this folky band put on a great show.
In addition
to playing tracks from 3 Rounds and a Sound, Blind Pilot also played a new song
titled White Apple that they were
debuting on this tour. And like the rest
of their album, this new song was another goodie.
For most
performances at SXSW, the suckiest aspect is that of time. With so much music to fit into just a few
days, bands are given limited and strict time constraints. Of course, in Blind Pilot’s situations (only having one album released thus far)
this time constraint didn’t really seem to affect them. All in all these guys seemed really chill and down
to earth, the type that you want to have a cup of coffee with after the
show. Very nice.
1am – Shaky Hands @
Red Eyed Fly
My final Thursday show was Shaky Hands, an indie-rock group from Portland. The crowd turn out was a bit sparse but the
show itself was decent. While much of
their music is in the indie genre, their SXSW show featured a lot of head
banging and indefinable lyrics. Still,
it was good stuff.
In true SXSW fashion, most people
there were new to the music and after some good indie tunes (and
shoe-taking-off on the part of the bassist) you could see that the crowd was
getting into it. Definitely a band worth
checking out in your free time.
Friday
9:45pm - Bedouin Sound Clash @ Cedar Street
Courtyard
Bedouin
Sound Clash is one of those bands that I’ve always loved but never had the
opportunity to see live. But on Friday
my chance had finally arrived! The sexy
song group came out all dressed in black and ready to rock our faces off.
One of the
first songs the band played was Walls
Fall Down from their 2007 album, Street
Gospels. Immediately their reggae rock moved the crowd and you could feel the
energy that’s best described as “mellow.” And of course, front man Jay Malinowski began running in place with his guitar, feeding
into the frenzy that was the crowd that night.
Their
next song, Shelter, was more reggae
and included even more swaying of hips and heads. At this point I found myself stand right up
against a speaker and it’s likely that I lost a good three years worth of
hearing… but it may have been well worth it considering the type of show that Bedouin Soundclash put on that night.
Finally,
after playing more of their fan-favorites it was time for the big finale. Opening up with Stand by Me by
the legendary Ben E. King, Bedouin
Soundclash sang the song its justice until finally remixing it into their
hit, When the Night Feels My Song. An
appropriate mix, the song sounded amazing and the fans found themselves
intoxicated by Malinowski’s sultry cracking vocals. It was a perfect ending to a flawless
performance.
10:45pm - Peter, Bjorn, and John @ Cedar
Street Courtyard
After a
short break, it was then time for Peter,
Bjorn, and John a band that popularized themselves in 2006 with their hit, Young Folks. Unfortunately, their live
performance proved to be a bit, well, boring.
They opened
with Just the Past a track from their
newly released album, Living Thing. The song was good but it just didn’t have that
element of exciting newness that many of the other bands had at SXSW. They also went on to play Lay it Down, another track from their 2009 album. The song was
decent but again it was nothing to really write home about.
After a few
more tracks from their new album, Peter,
Bjorn, and John rapped up their show with a cover song that I missed the
title of and a ton of reverb. Overall I
was unimpressed and a little disturbed that this somewhat obscure band didn’t
even bother to play their hit song, Young
Folks. I’m assuming it’s because
they’d already played it at so many of their other SXSW performances. But I
have news for ya, Peter, Bjorn, and
John¸ it’s typically gonna be new people at every show… duh. I’d say they were lacking in terms of giving
the fans what they wanted.
12am - Laura Marling
@ Central Presbyterian Church
My last
Friday show was definitely my favorite of the night – Laura Marling! I’m a huge
fan of Marling so I had a high hopes
and walking in I was crossing my fingers in hopes that I wouldn’t be let
down. Luckily Marling’s show was amazing. 
Arriving on
stage with her blonde hair pulled back, the 19 year old Laura Marling came out looking cute in a simple denim shirt and
jeans. After the greeting, “Hello Church,”
she busted into her hit Ghosts from
her 2008 album, Alas I Cannot Swim. Opening with her number one song made sense in
this case because as she is a relatively new artist, it was wise for her to
bring out the big guns right at the start.
Her next song was another favorite of mine (and everyone else!) My Manic and I. As she followed up with
seven more tracks from Alas I Cannot Swim, she perpetually
sang while looking up to the… heavens?
It looked as though the church atmosphere was getting to her to as she
appeared to be singing to God and not to the crowd. Though it’s probably more likely that she was
just nervous. 
In any
case, Marling made a huge impression
on me and judging by the demeanor of the crowd, I think they were impressed
too. If anyone has the means to see Laura Marling live, I highly recommend
it and if you don’t already have her album, purchase it immediately. Her meditative indie music is sure to please
even the finickiest of music listeners.
Saturday
8pm - The
Cannabinoids feat. Erykah Badu @ Auditorium Shores
Along with the paid-shows at SXSW,
there were also a number of free shows to be seen. On Saturday I headed to the free shows at Auditorium Shores which is basically a big empty
park that was turned into a music venue for the event. When I arrived The Cannabinoids were on stage killing time until Erykah Badu arrived.
From my
understanding Badu was supposed to
be on stage by 7pm but didn’t actually arrive until 8pm allowing her time to
play only two songs. Two very confusing
“rap” style songs that I have no words to describe. Basically she discussed government, sex,
drugs, rasta life, and religion all in a sing-song manner that totally lost me. In her white top hat she spun lyrical circles
around me leaving me no choice but to just soak it up.
Overall, Erykah Badu? Interesting and perhaps not at all like the Erykah Badu that we all remember from
1997. But again, that’s not necessarily
a bad thing.
8:30pm – Explosions in the Sky @ Auditorium Shores
The last show of the night for Auditorium Shores was Explosions in the Sky, a purely instrumental band that is best
known for their mesmerizing guitar work and overall mind-blowing instrumental
“story-telling.”
There’s not much to be said about
this band, you really have to be there to experience the music and I’m
definitely glad that I had the opportunity to do so. As it was my first experience with Explosions in the Sky, I was amazed at
the ability for instrumental music to hold my attention so well and really have
the ability to make you... well… think.
For their final track (that seemed
to last for an eternity) there were hundreds of fireworks set off that fit in
perfectly with their drum sequences and guitar riffs. It was a perfect way to begin the ending to
SXSW – explosions in the sky to the tune of Explosions in the Sky. How’s
that for word play?
11pm - The Republic Tigers @ Maggie
Mae's
After my explosive experience at Auditorium Shores,
I headed back up to the 6th street to catch The Republic Tigers, a relatively new band from Kansas City, Missouri.
Because the band played in such a small
venue, I was close enough to get the full experience from this slow- rock band.
The band opened their set with Made Concrete, a song from their 2008
album, Keep Color. It was clear
that the band was really into their performance as every song they played was
100% and when it came time to play their hit song Buildings & Mountains, the energy level was so high that the band
members’ faces appeared to be almost literally melting off.
Despite the heat in that venue,
this show was pretty amazing. Even if
you weren’t familiar with the band it was easy to get into their highly
likeable music and when it comes down to it, it was really just an enjoyable
rock show. No complaints here.
12am - Youth Group @ Maggie Mae's
Next up was
the Australian band, Youth Group. The band opened up with Good Time, a slow song about feeling
good taken from their recently re-released album, The Night is Ours. Immediately you could see the band’s
effortless style and lead vocalist, Toby Martin’s captivating persona.
In the
tradition of promoting their newest album, Youth
Group played a lot of new music including a personal favorite of mine, A Sign, a catchy song that felt like a
throw-back to that iconic Beatles style. But of course, the most memorable track of the
night was the band’s cover of Forever Young. Everyone knew the lyrics and suddenly we were
all in love, if not with the person standing next to us then at least with the
band.
Youth Group wrapped their show up with Shadowland from their 2005 album, Skeleton Jar. I have to say, I was actually sad when this
set came to a close. I was so into the
music I felt like I could stand there swaying to their tunes for hours. But unfortunately, all good things must come
to an end and Youth Group’s amazing
SXSW performance was no exception. And
hey, Youth Group… I think I love
you.
1am – Shiny Toy Guns @ Vice
Finally it
was time for the very last show of my SXSW 2009 experience. I decided to wrap the magical week up with a
band that I’d recently started listening to, Shiny Toy Guns. I don’t have
much to say about this performance because by this point in the game I was so
ready for rest.
Overall the
Shiny Toy Guns performance was
excellent. They played most of the fan
favorites form Season of Poison and
rocked the venue in their true alternative-dance-rock style. A+ performance.
By and large SXSW 2009 was amazing and I can only hope that
I get the chance to come back in 2010 for more incredible musical experiences.
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