South by Southwest is a complicated beast. Changing set times, $4 Lone Stars, hype that could crush an elephant and living on a diet of street vendor food are all part of the fest: It is not for the faint of heart. The following is my account of trying to tackle the behemoth that is SXSW.
Wednesday
Lake, which kicked off the Terrorbird/Forcefield party at Red 7, was the first band of my SXSW experience. One of Lake’s singers sported a beard and played the keyboard, but if he thought he was as badass as Michael McDonald, he was quite mistaken. After an unremarkable set from Swiss electronic duo Larytta, Wavves came on. Essentially, the band was No Age with less noise and the guitarist singing instead of the drummer. One of its songs, titled “So Bored,” describes my feelings toward it perfectly.
Having had enough of hipster shenanigans, I headed down to the Brooklyn Vegan/Solid Pr party at Emo’s Jr. Brazil’s Garotas Suecas performed an uninspired set of garage rock — definitely not the next Os Mutantes. After them, Psychdelic Horseshit used out-of-tune guitars and effects pedals to stir up chaotic noise with traces of melody.
Then came Trash Talk. Good God, this band killed it. They played furious street punk from the bowels of Sacramento, alternating between lightspeed riffs and slow, painful breaks.
Vocalist Don O’Reilly didn’t mess around, mutilating his forehead with his microphone and jumping into the crowd to preach to the moshers.
Metal-tinged punkers Annihilation Time couldn’t quite match that intensity but put on a solid set nevertheless. Most notably, vocalist Jimmy Rose ranted against the corporate nature of SXSW and tossed the SXSW banner into the crowd.
London ambient artist Ulrich Snauss was the first performer I saw as part of the official showcase series. Having decided I wasn’t in the mood for a dude messing around with his laptop, I sprinted over to Emo’s to catch Gallows. The band combined punk with modern hardcore elements, and while it wasn’t my thing, they got a good reaction from the audience.
I next trekked to the Central Presbyterian Church for St. Vincent, and managed to get there early enough to see Department of Eagles. Vocalist Daniel Rossen, also of Grizzly Bear, began the set with a solo banjo performance, which led well into the band’s folksy indie pop. Originally from Dallas, St. Vincent performed pop songs ranging from the ethereal to the knotty, with the occasional whammy bar abuse. The Texans in the crowd reacted well to her Whataburger shout-out. The church was a great venue for both, providing a peaceful sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of 6th St.
Thursday
Having been unable to get into the Full Metal Texas party (RSVPs=not metal), I decided to chill at the NPR party at the Parish. Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down were the first group of the day. An Asian girl playing country songs and occasionally beatboxing?
Yes please!
I didn’t care much for BLK JKS and Blind Pilot, but rapper K’Naan put on an impressive show. His combination of modern hip-hop and traditional Ethiopian and Somalian music was fresh, and his Somailian upbringing gave his songs a sense of authenticity.
The Dirty Projectors came on next with their interlocking guitar lines, badass backing vocals and good looks. They easily got the best reaction of the whole party.
Boulder, Colorado’s 3oh!3 kicked off the evening at Stubb’s, and they were horrible. Imagine half-assed versions of The Lonely Island’s “On a Boat” for nearly every song , and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what 3oh!3 sound like. I can see them appealing to the frat crowd.
Luckily, Arizonan rockers Meat Puppets saved the day. Their mix of country, blues and rock is especially potent live.
DJ duo NASA were among one of the hokiest groups I experienced, and this is coming from someone who jams to MANOWAR. The group performs in orange space suits, and two women in green full-body paint, silver bikini tops and extremely short skirts masqueraded as martians throughout their performance. NASA also managed to butcher Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2.” Trust me: I thought NASA were going to be awesome because Pitchfork gave their album a 1.6, but I was misled.
Friday
When I arrived at Emo’s for the Pitchfork/Windish party, indie-pop quartet Girls were doing their thing. A friend who had seen them the night before said they were “stuck in the 90s alternative scene” and I couldn’t agree more.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart were one of the major buzz bands of this year’s SXSW. Their sound is a mix of early 90s shoegaze and power pop. Not the best, but given their hype, they were far from the worst.
I’ll probably kick myself for not seeing King Khan and the Shrines, but A-Trak and Diplo were worth it. The duo made the tiny interior of Emo’s go nuts, bringing not only big beats but also smart samples. They reworked Kid Cudi’s “Day N Night” which presented a stark contrast to the original’s laid-back approach.
Over at Spiro’s, the WFMU/Aquarius Records showcase hosted Plano metallers Absu, my most anticipated band of the whole festival. Absu put all of their blackened heart and soul into their set, but whoever did the sound should never be allowed near the boards again.
NOTHING was loud enough, and at a metal show, that’s as offensive as praising Jesus.
Oh, Metallica played? My high school self would have been freaking out, but I’m getting older and probably not wiser.
The members of Devo exceeded my expectations in their highly publicized set at the Austin Music Hall. First, their new costumes raised some eyebrows. For the first half of their set, they wore grey suits with orange construction jackets, and were missing the “flower pot” hats. However, the hats – known as “Energy Domes” – came on for the performance of the smash hit “Whip It.” It was hilarious to see old badge-holders get up and boogie. Much better than watching hipsters gloat over the Vivian Girls.
Saturday
A warning: I was not at the Kanye show at Fader Fort. If there is a time you need to catch up on Plato, it’s now.
I made the mistake of attending the High Times Party to see Wino, who I had missed to get into the line for Devo. From what I had heard, he freaked out during sound check and bailed on the show. While most of the bands there were boring stoner rock, one band did catch my attention: Earthless. They were on a major psychedelic trip, jamming on and on … and on and on. Totally engrossing, totally awesome. I also managed to catch Zoroaster at Room 710. They were the darker version of Earthless – their wall of sound was quite menacing. My ears will hate me forever.
My night began at Club de Ville, where I saw Iran. They played indie rock with poetic lyrics and occasional slabs of noise. Considering that I had just been destroyed by Zoroaster, it was a nice change of mood.
Efterklang played their spacey, popish post-rock at Emo’s Jr. The Danish unit didn’t come off as interesting or novel, so I headed back to Club de Ville to catch Violens. The band mixed indie pop with ambient rock and noise freak-outs. Competent stuff, but not mind-blowing.
Voxtrot also played at Emo’s — how they have a fan base is beyond me.
Finally, I got onto the patio of the Radio Room to watch Steve Aoki do a DJ set. He got the crowd even more worked up than Diplo, flailing around stage, headbanging like a true rocker.
Was the whole experience worth sore feet and overpriced beer? I must say it was.
