“Woke up hungover to sun (finally) in Baton Rogue after a four-hour bloodbath at the Spanish Moon featuring The Subjects, Titus Andronicus (Titties Androgynous) and Marnie Stern.”
“…Was feeling pretty down on the Woodstock v2.9 vibe. Clusterfuck doesn’t really even graze the tip of the shitty iceberg. Prolly just 2 much coffee, tho.”
“[I] just want to wail on my big muff and get mumblecore.”
“Finally took some mushrooms and snuck into ‘posh’ (the british r cumming) hotel downtown and drank their iced lemon water and ran on their treadmills.”
“The sun is not the friend of acoustic guitars.”
“Austin is lines.”
“Playing three shows in a day is stupid. I’m stupid. Started the day off with a transgressive showcase outside. Lovely people, free beer, dick sound guy.”
“Wish I had more twitter followers so I would ‘never b alone again.’”
“Indie kids r dicks.”
“Kinda hilarious how many bands are doing photo shoots along the street, maybe in 2k10 they’ll start posing with little kids like at Disneyland.”
“So I wasn’t surprised when Mr Liquid Swordz got up with them for the first couple songs of the Black Lips set.”
“Think I got black lung from a motel comforter in Hattiesburg.”
“I think King Khan and the Shrines is maybe the worst band ever. If 311 and Third Eye Blind formed a trip-ska band, the end result would probably bum me out less than that bullshit.”
“Kinda jealous of all the couples walking around, bet they’re having great hotel sex. ”
“[T]hink i’ll move to portland (OR, ME, ?) start a soul party nite and live the decade over again.”
Ra Ra Riot really came into its own with last year’s The Rhumb Line and has harnessed an impressive live show (the group plays Webster Hall April 4) that it took down to Austin for SXSW. Here’s a cut from the recent record “Can You Tell”:
What we can tell from bassist Mathieu Santos’s correspondence is that he had quite a time down at SXSW, complete with an emergency-room visit, collaborations and Devo:
“To me, SXSW is like some great cosmic event during which time and space temporarily cease to exist; an event that, before recorded time began, would come as surely as the changing of the seasons, thereby giving structure and rhythm to the greater passing of time…
The excellently pedigreed School of Seven Bells is a New York band through and through, as you can see from the city-streets-centric video below. But like every other indie-rock band in Christendom, the trio—descended from Secret Machines and On!Air!Library!—made the trip to Austin this past weekend. Proceed past the jump for a nicely reflective SXSW account courtesy of band member Benjamin Curtis.
“SXSW is over. Yeah, I’ve been before; maybe five times in the last ten years. To be perfectly honest, after every one, I’ve always asked myself, Why?…
Here at TONY, we like to play the “sounds like a cross between” card only when absolutely necessary. Cue up “It Gets Your Body Movin’” at the Suckers’ MySpace page and we think you’ll agree that there’s no better way to describe the local quartet than as a beatific blend of Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective. Read on for SXSW recaps courtesy of oddly named Suckers fellows Pan and Quinn.
Biscuits and brisket: Suckers experiences at SXSW
“Our first show took place at Club 1808, supposedly dead center in the most questionable district of Austin according to everyone we talked to. A friend of ours was told by her cab driver that she had better have brought a gun. The most memorable occurrence that night was being approached by a jolly local named Mike, who quickly befriended all of us and plotted a scheme to pretend he knew one of our songs well and come to the stage to request we perform it. Everyone from the neighborhood went wild and after the show we invited him to participate in a Johnny Knoxville–funded documentary being shot by three crazy babes. I also asked a lovely lady by the name of Cassandra Brooks if she knew how to do the latest dance craze, ‘The Stanky Leg,’ and sure enough she did. Now I do too.”—Quinn
“Our third show was at Red 7. We finished the show and rushed off to get our equipment that we had lent to another band from the IAMSOUND/’Sup magazine Party we played earlier in the day. Strangely enough, as we were caught in SXSW traffic, we were asked to play another set at Red 7 and fill in for a missing band. Awesome! An even bigger and more excited crowd; of course we will play! We jumped at the opportunity and did our best to make it in time. Finally, after sweating it out through crosstown congestion, we arrive to the venue only to see our drummer Brian accompanying his little brother Scott on stage as Etta Place—a full, anxious crowd hijacked by our crazy drummer and his little brother. They managed to sneak in the open slot and play their acoustic songs to a mass audience.”—Pan
Kris King, the drummer from Violens, writes in about his SXSW experience and notably quotes a man who accuses drunk reporters of giving bad reviews to bands. Outrageous! We weren’t drunk when we gave them this stellar show preview, and were only mildly buzzed when we caught them down in Austin and dug their stuff. What say you now, mysterious man from the elevator?
Decide for yourself (even if you’ve been drinking beer all day) before you read on:
And now for Kris’s wrap-up:
Semi Precious Weapons frontman Justin Tranter (left) offers a pictorially enhanced recap of his Austin experience.
“This was our third year at SX. I’m gonna be real honest, SXSW is a lot more fun when people have actually heard of your band. WooHoo! We got to open for Juliette Lewis, play the Rachael Ray party with the New York Dolls, and headline the Roxy Theater/Viper Room show where Perez Hilton introduced us just because he was there! Ooo, we also got gifted fancy things. This was new to us.… You walk into a room and people shoot pics of you taking free shit. Fabulous. Most importantly I saw my new favorite band, the Emeralds, from Japan.”
More photos after the jump.
Our first—and unfortunately only—SXSW recap from a hip-hop artist comes to us courtesy of brainy Bronx rapper Mickey Factz.
“Wow!!!! Where do I start? Do I talk about my bags getting mixed up at the airport? (United sucks) Or should I speak about how my friends were no-shows to stay at their place? How about talking about catching a cold after my first two shows? Or being overly exhausted after four exciting shows on Friday? Wow what a weekend!!! I wouldn’t trade this weekend for the world, it was amazin’. I vibed with artists, my fans, video games, great food and great music. Sixth Street is chaos. Kinda reminds me of Mardi Gras. Haha. It was great to be a part of SXSW. I’m keeping a tradition going on. In 2007, Flosstradamus brought out the Cool Kids. In 2008, the Cool Kids brought Mickey Factz. I upped it all. I brought rising hip-hop star CurT@!n$ from Brooklyn out. The dynamic duo known as FKi from Atlanta and the Rockstar antics of Curtis Santiago and Mikey Mike from Canada. I did a variety of shows. Some purely hip-hop. Others purely dance/electro. I love dancing on stage and bringing girls up with me. That’s the highlight of my set. I like to see how far I can take it ahaha. I pick ‘em up, dance with em, rub hair, smack booty and go absolutely crazy. The fans love it. For the hip-hop shows, pure lyricism at its finest, and they love that too. I’m multitalented so me being able to reach each genre means a lot to me. Today is my last day and I have one show, a photo shoot, two video game events, and I finally wanna check out some acts, like Janelle Monae and Theophilus London. Wish me luck with that! Signing out for SXSW ‘09, Itz Mickey!!!!!!!!”
Here’s a BlackBerry-style—read: fragmented yet charming!—SXSW recap courtesy of Lissy Trullie, the ultrastylish songstress we profiled back in February, and her bandmates. Up first, our favorite track from Trullie’s debut EP, Self-Taught Learner.
“Regrets:
*not seeing metalica play *eben- what I did friday night (??he won’t spill it)
*we haven’t eaten any BBQ*eben, josh, and ian - eating iHop 4x (I don’t eat that shiiit)”
“Story:
Ian Fangle (our bassist) fell deathly ill, in a desperate attempt to get better quick ian downed a bunch of theraflu AND Robitussin while Lissy, eben, and josh ventured out to go see amazing baby, black lips w/ the GZA!!! And the new york dolls. fast forward a couple hours ian wondered out for an over the counter drug induced shopping spree, here is what he woke up with this morning:12 pairs of underwear + undershirtsSeveral pairs of long johns (it’s 80 degrees here)2 bags of oranges The twilight book series2 stainless steal mixing bowls11 reeses peanut butter cups… Ian is feeling much better today and is half way through twilight.”
Our next SXSW recap comes from Brooklyn art-punk trio These Are Powers. Check out our recent TAP show preview here, stream a track below and read on for some thoughts from guitarist-vocalist Anna Barie (on the right).
These Are Powers SXSW highlights
By Anna Barie
Bird flu
The grackles of Austin are like a cross between Dickensian street urchins and swaggering pirates that boldly swipe food off occupied café tables or clot telephone wires. Unlike our New York City pigeons, grackles fascinate me, because their iridescent feathers make them look sleeker, and their yellow eyes seem more calculated than those of their East Coast counterparts. Plus they make sounds like guitar feedback.
Supper club
Immediately upon arriving in town, we pull our dirty van into the parking lot of the Lamar Street Whole Foods. Pat has to disconnect the battery because the air-conditioner blower keeps working even when the van is off. Sure, you can eat BBQ, pizza and truck tacos, and drink free festival beer in abysmal plastic bottles, but the salad bar at this 80,000-square-feet holistic theme park tends to be a good alternative. And it’s easy for hungry musicians to be creative in how they pay for pricier items—or so we’ve heard.
Mapei
One of the most inspiring performances we see all weekend is Mapei at our Biz3 Showcase at Club de Ville. Bill runs back to the merch table to tell us we have to get a closer look at this awesome Brooklyn via Stockholm via Providence female MC. She looks like Betty Davis decked out in sexy kneesocks and high-waisted shorts, but more importantly, she sounds like a tsunami. It feels great to get schooled by this talent.
Myopenbar Four Square Punk Show
It’s hard to pick favorites among the shows we play, but the biggest friend fest is our afternoon spent trading songs with Ponytail, Pterodactyl and DD/MM/YYYY in a dusty outdoor four-stage round robin. We try to make it a friendly battle, but our softball chants go unmatched. However, everyone does have a blast, the weather is gorgeous, and there is a skating rink to boot.
Our next SXSW guest recap comes courtesy of Marco Benevento. Click here for TONY’s recent review of Me Not Me, the latest from the jam-jazz-pop keyboard whiz, and check out Benevento’s loopy reading of Deerhoof’s “Twin Killers” below. Read on for the man’s reflections on SXSW ’09.
“I flew into Austin, Texas, the day of my gig at the Elephant Room, which not coincidentally is the only club in town with a piano. After BBQ at Stubb’s, we took a ride through Texas hill country for some inspiration and elevation. The gig was extremely high energy, and there was something about the crowd that made me feel like they were somewhat relieved to be listening to the music that we played in a different environment than most venues in town. Maybe it was the intimate space.
“This was my third time performing at SXSW in Austin and was definitely my favorite. One of the main reasons why it was so memorable was what happened after the gig. Me, Marc Friedman (bassist from the Slip), Jeremy Black (drummer from Apollo Sunshine), Bo Koster (keyboardist from My Morning Jacket) and a handful of fearless freaks went to this amazing house party outside of town hosted by this cat BT from Australia. There were red Christmas lights on the mailbox and that was the only thing to let you know you’d arrived. Dan Auerbach from the Black Keys was playing in the backyard. He was backed by Patrick Hallahan from My Morning on percussion and this young band Hacienda from San Antonio. The music they played was incredible! It was this visceral mixture of blues, soul and newer-sounding riff rock; like a cross between Booker T., Cream and the Black Keys. The party was perfect! There was a bonfire down the hill, a deck that squeezed in 200 or so grateful musicians and fans. There was food, beer, and lots of open ears and minds listening and absorbing this new but very familiar sound. I felt like I was in high school at a keg party! No one needed a SXSW badge to get in. It was so chill and one of the best places to take in some good music. There were trees all around and lots of space for people to wander.
“Speaking of all the goodness happening after the gig, the next morning, after about an hour of sleep, me and my band went to KUT, Austin’s great local radio station, to perform three songs and do an interview. Guess who came to listen for the whole thing? David Fricke from Rolling Stone and Raoul Hernandez from The Austin Chronicle. I’m thankful that their ears are swallowing up the songs I’ve been playing.
“So there’s what we managed to do in less than 24 hours in Austin. Go SXSW!! What an unforgettable year!!”
In addition to sending two of our own expert scribes to SXSW this year, TONY also enlisted the guest-blogging services of several of our favorite local artists. Our first dispatch comes from the compelling avant-folkie Sam Amidon. Check out his extremely graphic (literally) festival recap and a performance below.
The Volume Music news of note
Own This City Life in New York
The Feed Eating and drinking
Upstaged The world of theater
