Monday, 2 May 2011
Grupo Fantasmo, Habana Bar Backyard, Austin Tx, Saturday 19 March 2011 (SXSW)
Grupo Fantasmo played latin rhythms and created a great, happy atmosphere. A great end to SXSW.
Charlie Mars, 18th Floor at Hilton Garden Inn, Austin Tx, Saturday 19 March 2011 (SXSW)
Charlie sang really softly, gently beating his guitar and reminded us of Jack Johnson, or even a bit Flight of the Conchords. He was really funny chatting between songs and closed with 'Dark Side of the Moon' which got everyone sining along and was quite lovely.
Blue King Brown, Habana Bar Backyard, Austin Tx, Saturday 19 March 2011 (SXSW)
Blue King Brown brought to mind Amparanoia, with lots of funky drums and guitars and soulful female singer and backing singers. The atmosphere felt very reminiscent of the Jazz World stage at Glastonbury.
The Sway Machinery, Habana Bar Backyard, Austin Tx, Saturday 19 March 2011 (SXSW)
World-tinged old-school R'n'B from the Yeah Yeah Yeah drummer's side project and a trumpeter looked like the movie portrayal of Mesrine.
Bobby Rush, 18th Floor at Hilton Garden Inn, Austin Tx, Saturday 19 March 2011 (SXSW)
Bobby Rush played with just him, a guitar and some bluesy harmonica. As well as old School R'n'B with Bo Diddley-ish guitar, we got lots of old stories.
Amanda Shires, Creekside at Hilton Garden Inn, Austin Tx, Saturday 19 March 2011 (SXSW)
Amanda sang in a husky voice accompanied by her violin, as well as pedal steel and guitar. The guitarist gave a good rhythm which drove the tunes on and the band made a good noise for the three of them.
At one point, as she tuned her violin, the guitarist told a story about how Amanda, being from Texas, thinks Texas is the best place in the world. He said about how they were driving into Texas and Amanda was saying how everyone says please and thank you and is polite. Then, as they pulled away from a gas station soon after coming into Texas, they drove past two guys beating each other up.
Amanda played the last few songs were just her and the ukele. The songs seemed to have more depth and impact as the set went on, the effect of their seeming simplicity seemed to build and was quite affecting at the end when she played a song that sounded very autobiographical and close to her heart.
At one point, as she tuned her violin, the guitarist told a story about how Amanda, being from Texas, thinks Texas is the best place in the world. He said about how they were driving into Texas and Amanda was saying how everyone says please and thank you and is polite. Then, as they pulled away from a gas station soon after coming into Texas, they drove past two guys beating each other up.
Amanda played the last few songs were just her and the ukele. The songs seemed to have more depth and impact as the set went on, the effect of their seeming simplicity seemed to build and was quite affecting at the end when she played a song that sounded very autobiographical and close to her heart.
Jeremy Messersmith, The Ale House, Austin Tx, Saturday 19 March 2011 (SXSW)
With the fervour of the newly converted, we had spent the week telling everyone to come and see this set. we managed to convince one friend to accompany us and luckily she enjoyed it as much as us. As new fans it was great to see that we weren't the only ones either.
The set thoroughly lived up to expectations. We hadn't been familiar with Jeremy's work before SXSW, besides the YouTube hit Tatooine Song. A lovely song, it doesn't quite provide the listener with the full breadth of his beautiful songs.
For a short set, there was a mix of tempos and styles, from some pretty heartfelt, simple sounding songs reminiscent of Belle and Sebastian at their best, to some subtly baroque numbers, via summery 60s pop.
Credit must also go to the band and strings accompanying the set which were a quality touch.
Hopefully Jeremy will make it over to Europe this summer. It would be perfect if there was budget to bring the full band.
The set thoroughly lived up to expectations. We hadn't been familiar with Jeremy's work before SXSW, besides the YouTube hit Tatooine Song. A lovely song, it doesn't quite provide the listener with the full breadth of his beautiful songs.
For a short set, there was a mix of tempos and styles, from some pretty heartfelt, simple sounding songs reminiscent of Belle and Sebastian at their best, to some subtly baroque numbers, via summery 60s pop.
Credit must also go to the band and strings accompanying the set which were a quality touch.
Hopefully Jeremy will make it over to Europe this summer. It would be perfect if there was budget to bring the full band.
The Naked and Famous, Cedar St Courtyard, Austin Tx, Saturday 19 March 2011 (SXSW)
We already knew'Young Blood' and the buzz surrounding this Kiwi act. Young Blood itself was as enjoyably poppy as we had hoped, as were some other keyboard led more dancey tunes. It was refreshing to see a hyped band that was neither more nu-folk nor Strokes-esque indie rock.
Edwyn Collins, Convention Center, Austin Tx, Saturday 19 March 2011 (SXSW)
Edwyn opened with 'I'm Loving Sleep', which had a fun sax, then played a pretty song, with driving arpeggios, then Make Me Feel Again, It Dawns On Me and a really fun and lively version of Rip It Up. 'What is My Role?' was powerful and emotive and seemed very personal.
His son William joined him for In Your Eyes, which was quite spectacular and really touching - created quite a moment on the Dot Com stage. Then he played Don't Shilly Shally (an old Orange Juice song), with great dual guitar work from the backing band.
He finished with a really nice bluesy, summery version of A Girl Like You, which really built at the end and rocked out. Edwyn's singing was great and the audience gave him a standing ovation after the set.
His son William joined him for In Your Eyes, which was quite spectacular and really touching - created quite a moment on the Dot Com stage. Then he played Don't Shilly Shally (an old Orange Juice song), with great dual guitar work from the backing band.
He finished with a really nice bluesy, summery version of A Girl Like You, which really built at the end and rocked out. Edwyn's singing was great and the audience gave him a standing ovation after the set.
Sunday, 17 April 2011
Shabazz Palaces, The Moondoggies, Papercuts, Dum Dum Girls, J Mascis and The Head and The Heart, Friday Red 7 and Red 7 Patio, Friday 18th March, Austin, TX (SXSW)
Shabazz Palaces, played Old school rap backed by world-music beats and ghostly samples, which felt slightly nightmare-ish.
The Moondoggies, despite their terrible name, played enjoyable country-tinged bluesy rock with a bit of a Beta Band sound mixed in. There was a fair bit of fiddling around between songs and the singer seemed a bit breathless, so wonder if they played stronger sets elsewhere at SXSW, though this one was pretty good.
They had a really good warm sound, though, and created a good soundscape to colour the songs. The sound got pretty reavy at points, heading for Rage Against the Machine territory, but it never went over-the-top. They were a really tight band and good musicians and the swirling keyboards made it sound pretty psychedelic at some points. Jim Bob joined them for one song (presumably not the Carter USM singer - there was certainly no mention of his co-conspirator Fruit Bat)
Hunx and his Punx were a 60s-style girl group in the mould of [Leader of the Pack band] heading twoards indie punk pop like Kenickie, but fronted by a very camp band leader. The band were better than the singer or the songs.
Papercuts played psychadelia-tinged west coast pop. They didn't have any songs that stood out massively, but there was lots of appreciative nodding from the crowd. They made a welcoming and calming change of poace after Hunx.
Dum Dum Girls were a fun pop-punk band, with more than a hint of the Ramones and Go-Gos.
J Mascis was approached for a handshake and quick chat before the show by a man in the crowd. That would have been fairly normal if he hadn't done so just as J was leaving a toilet cubicle and if he wasn't at the front of the queue, leaving him wondering whether to cut off his conversation to go to the toilet and leaving other people wondering if they could jump in. After that, J did his own soundcheck as seems to be standard for him at SXSW these days.
J's set featured much more conventional guitar sounds than the earlier one. His guitar was much less distorted and his playing more delicate. It was really quite pretty for the first few songs. There was very little pedal use and a clean guitar sound with just a touch of delay on it, 'tastefully' deployed, some might say. Fantastic, soaring soloing and he won over some new converts as well as enthralling the dedicated hardcore fans at the front.
The Head and The Heart played to a packed crowd who were really up for it and into them. They went all out for their last set of SXSW and gave a really joyful performance which felt like a big hug and was really celebratory and uplifting. The set was quite different from the one we saw at the convention centre. It seemed much more easy and relaxed, like a homecoming show, possibly because it was their last show of SXSW.
Winter Song was, again, really good. The band seemed really proficient and just to be enjoying it and ripping through the songs rather than playing them for the sake of it. Though there is nothing incredibly original about the instrumentation they use, they really make it work well without seeming too hokey or tired.
At the end there was a mini stage invasion. It started with one man, who didn't look like he was part of the band's scene, and people in the crowd looked at each other, not quite sure what to do. But he knew all the words and was soon joined by others and the band seemed to enjoy having him on the stage, so maybe they knew him.
On the way out of the back of Red 7, a mariachi-ish New Orleans funeral band ripped through as at the beginning of Live and Let Die, or Black Parade-era MCR, which was weird by exciting and seemed to fit the moment perfectly.
The Moondoggies, despite their terrible name, played enjoyable country-tinged bluesy rock with a bit of a Beta Band sound mixed in. There was a fair bit of fiddling around between songs and the singer seemed a bit breathless, so wonder if they played stronger sets elsewhere at SXSW, though this one was pretty good.
They had a really good warm sound, though, and created a good soundscape to colour the songs. The sound got pretty reavy at points, heading for Rage Against the Machine territory, but it never went over-the-top. They were a really tight band and good musicians and the swirling keyboards made it sound pretty psychedelic at some points. Jim Bob joined them for one song (presumably not the Carter USM singer - there was certainly no mention of his co-conspirator Fruit Bat)
Hunx and his Punx were a 60s-style girl group in the mould of [Leader of the Pack band] heading twoards indie punk pop like Kenickie, but fronted by a very camp band leader. The band were better than the singer or the songs.
Papercuts played psychadelia-tinged west coast pop. They didn't have any songs that stood out massively, but there was lots of appreciative nodding from the crowd. They made a welcoming and calming change of poace after Hunx.
Dum Dum Girls were a fun pop-punk band, with more than a hint of the Ramones and Go-Gos.
J Mascis was approached for a handshake and quick chat before the show by a man in the crowd. That would have been fairly normal if he hadn't done so just as J was leaving a toilet cubicle and if he wasn't at the front of the queue, leaving him wondering whether to cut off his conversation to go to the toilet and leaving other people wondering if they could jump in. After that, J did his own soundcheck as seems to be standard for him at SXSW these days.
J's set featured much more conventional guitar sounds than the earlier one. His guitar was much less distorted and his playing more delicate. It was really quite pretty for the first few songs. There was very little pedal use and a clean guitar sound with just a touch of delay on it, 'tastefully' deployed, some might say. Fantastic, soaring soloing and he won over some new converts as well as enthralling the dedicated hardcore fans at the front.
The Head and The Heart played to a packed crowd who were really up for it and into them. They went all out for their last set of SXSW and gave a really joyful performance which felt like a big hug and was really celebratory and uplifting. The set was quite different from the one we saw at the convention centre. It seemed much more easy and relaxed, like a homecoming show, possibly because it was their last show of SXSW.
Winter Song was, again, really good. The band seemed really proficient and just to be enjoying it and ripping through the songs rather than playing them for the sake of it. Though there is nothing incredibly original about the instrumentation they use, they really make it work well without seeming too hokey or tired.
At the end there was a mini stage invasion. It started with one man, who didn't look like he was part of the band's scene, and people in the crowd looked at each other, not quite sure what to do. But he knew all the words and was soon joined by others and the band seemed to enjoy having him on the stage, so maybe they knew him.
On the way out of the back of Red 7, a mariachi-ish New Orleans funeral band ripped through as at the beginning of Live and Let Die, or Black Parade-era MCR, which was weird by exciting and seemed to fit the moment perfectly.
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