Sam Roberts Band, Thurs 13 March, Swan Dive, Austin, SXSW 2014

The band opened with a bouncey rock'n'roll song. They then went into a lighter number with a Nile Rodgers style guitar lick and a disco-like beat.

The band played an up-tempo good spirited set that got the audience dancing. They had a full rock'n'roll sound with keyboards and sax and a driving rhythm section.

The instrumentation made some songs sound like they may have taken some lessons from E-Street band good time tunes. This mixed well with the touch of pop punk layered with rock'n'roll to the vocals. This led into a song with a funk sound mixed with a bit of British Invasion or soul. A fun set, which whetted our appetite to hear more from Sam and the band.