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=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: Bags on March 22, 2004, 02:05:00 pm
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Woo hoo -- the Post article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13870-2004Mar21.html) ggw posted in the FF thread noted some highlights, which include, "Los Angeles' Haden Triplets -- Rachel, Tanya and Petra -- delivering magnificent harmonies and a chilling rendition of the Carter Family's 'Single Girl, Married Girl.'"
Rachel and Petra were in that dog., one of my most favoritest bands ever...hope they're coming out with something.
From sxsw.com:
The Haden Triplets find the vocal talents of Petra, Rachel, and Tanya Haden combined to create gorgeous, lush three-part harmonies that range from angelic to spooky and back again. The sisters are seasoned and versatile musicians (previous bands include that dog) from a musical family: their father is jazz bassist Charlie Haden and their brother is also a professional musician (Spain, Josh Haden). In The Haden Triplets, the sisters are accompanied by guitarist/songwriter Zac Holtzman (Dieselhed, Dengue Fever) and guitarist Josh Grange (Eleni Mandell, Mike Stinson) and also feature Tanya on cello and Petra on violin. The Haden Triplets have been singing together since early childhood - as kids the three girls would spend nights before bedtime singing in three part harmonies. Today, the sisters have combined their past musical experiences and influences to create a new sound that is absolutely unique. Don't miss them live!
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And since you can't access the NYTimes without signing up, here's their coverage:
March 22, 2004
Bands From the World Over Come to Sing and Schmooze
By JON PARELES
USTIN, Tex., March 20 â?? "Everybody wants to be in the rock scene," the British pop-rock band Athlete sang wistfully sometime after midnight on Thursday. No one would have dreamed of denying it here at the 18th annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference. From Wednesday through Saturday about 7,200 musicians and associates swarmed the convention center in Austin and this city's club-lined streets. They were trading business cards and visiting showcases where musicians played audition-length sets from morning to just before dawn.
At a time when sales are dropping and jobs are disappearing at the major recording companies, South by Southwest testified to the vitality of the other music business: the nonblockbuster realm of live shows and independent labels, where careers don't hinge on Top 10 hits.
"There are major companies who are trying to keep their businesses afloat," said Jay Boberg, president of MCA Records, in one of the conference's panel discussions. "And there's everybody else. Everybody else is doing great."
It was possible to spend the entire conference listening to nothing but country or hip-hop or Latin rock or solo songwriters or punk or Texas bands. There were also reunions of bands whose reputations had grown after they broke up, like the 1980's Boston post-punk band Mission of Burma and the 1970's Memphis pop-rock band Big Star, both now on the verge of releasing new albums. And there were hardy, nonstop-touring musicians like the honky-tonk singer Delbert McClinton and the reggae band Toots and the Maytals.
The conference's keynote was a conversation with Little Richard, the rock 'n' roll pioneer who is now 70 and still has his falsetto holler. He said that he was no longer interested in recording albums. "I'm alive tonight!" he proclaimed.
While few of the 1,261 acts booked to perform during the conference's four nights of showcases would object to selling a million albums, the festival's tone was one of modesty and realism as participants shared advice on how to sustain a career with CD sales in the thousands, not the millions, and with a full calendar of performances rather then video shoots. Most bands were more concerned with having gas money to get to the next show than they were with the major labels' bugaboo, Internet downloading. Many of them placed free downloadable songs on the conference's Web site, www.sxsw.com. (http://www.sxsw.com.)
The performers included a handful of nationally known bands, among them N.E.R.D., the rock band led by the hitmaking hip-hop producers the Neptunes. But most bands performed their unpaid showcases at South by Southwest simply to reach the next career rung. Fledgling bands were trying to move from local shows to regional ones or to find a company to distribute a homemade album; familiar names were reminding club bookers that they were still ready to work.
Contingents of bands from Australia, Britain, Denmark and Sweden, and even a traditional-music group from Uzbekistan, Uzbegim Taronasi, hoped to gain a foothold in the United States. Nearly a third of the acts at South by Southwest had no recording contracts; more than 60 percent were on independent labels or had released albums on their own. "It's not even a fringe," said Celia Hirschman, managing director for North America of the British independent label One Little Indian. "The mainstream is do-it-yourself."
In Australia this week's No. 1 album was a do-it-yourself effort: "Sunrise Over Sea" by the John Butler Trio, which released it independently on Mr. Butler's label, Jarrah. Mr. Butler, a guitarist and singer, took his genial love songs and virtuosic blend of Celtic, jazz and funk vamps to the conference in search of an American deal.
The conference, like current college-radio playlists, was full of revivalists: garage-rock from the Von Bondies and the Greenhornes, elaborate 1960's pop from the Silent League and All Night Radio, folk-rock from the Thrills and Preston School of Industry, perky new wave from Los Abandoned, dissonant and danceable post-punk from Franz Ferdinand.
In an unscientific sampling of bands at South by Southwest, strategically surging guitars were everywhere. The Sleepy Jackson, from Perth, Australia, brought eruptions of noise and feedback to songs steeped in 60's rock. Broken Social Scene, from Toronto, had a four-guitar front line that brought a triumphant optimism to Kevin Drew's high, yearning vocals. South San Gabriel, from St. Louis, played pensive, country-tinged songs that unfurled gorgeously majestic crescendos.
Clearlake, from Brighton, England, let its guitars lend an ominous power to terse, troubled love songs. Frank Jordan, a band from Sacramento, worked its songs into a molten tremolo frenzy. The Reputation charged through Elizabeth Elmore's feisty power-pop songs. Experimental Aircraft, from Austin, expanded romantic plaints into echoing, pealing instrumentals that grew all-encompassing. And the Wrens, from Secaucus, N.J., carried songs from quiet picked patterns to scrabbling punk intensity.
Dynamics and textures like those, which had the South by Southwest crowds cheering, can't be prefabricated. They are clear indicators that a band has spent time honing its music in rehearsal and testing it onstage in club after club, a painstaking process that South by Southwest nurtures.
There were gentler sounds, too: from Aqualung, a British duo whose plaintive vocals and rippling arpeggios mesmerized the usually talkative South by Southwest crowd; from Sufjan Stevens, picking a banjo and singing with wide-eyed mock innocence; and from Carmen Consoli, an Italian singer and acoustic guitarist whose volatile songs signaled passion across the language barrier.
And there were raucous groups that didn't need guitars, like the Dresden Dolls, a piano-and-drums duo that unleashed Amanda Palmer's gutsy voice and gallows humor; and Atmosphere, a rapper who seesawed articulately between self-doubt and righteousness.
Ozomatli, a Latin rock band that often leads its audience dancing into the street, had two members and their manager arrested early Thursday when it did so this time.
The Mekons, a British band that started 26 years ago in the punk era, were living proof that an independent rock spirit can keep rowdy iconoclasm intact for a generation. At a 1 a.m. set Jon Langford of the Mekons said his group was the greatest punk band because it was the only punk band. "All the rest have jobs," he declared, and charged into the next song.
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Here's a link to the run down of daily events and overall summary from the Austin360: http://www.austin360.com/xl/content/xl/index.html. (http://www.austin360.com/xl/content/xl/index.html.)
(main: http://www.austin360.com/) (http://www.austin360.com/))
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My personal unsoliticed feedback is I'm damn fuckin tired.
And it was a lot warmer in Austin than it is back here in DC.
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Originally posted by El Tee:
Here's a link to the run down of daily events and overall summary from the Austin360: http://www.austin360.com/xl/content/xl/index.html. (http://www.austin360.com/xl/content/xl/index.html.)
(main: http://www.austin360.com/) (http://www.austin360.com/))
thanks. what would we do without you! ;)
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<img src="http://www.austin360.com/movies/content/events/special/sxswphotos/sxsw_music_sat/sxsw_sat_14.jpg" alt=" - " />
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Originally posted by El Tee:
Here's a link to the run down of daily events and overall summary from the Austin360: http://www.austin360.com/xl/content/xl/index.html. (http://www.austin360.com/xl/content/xl/index.html.)
(main: http://www.austin360.com/) (http://www.austin360.com/))
thanks. what would we do without you! ;) [/b]
With me you have a link that no longer works by clicking on it. Here's an updated link for those of you who want to read allll about it (or until saco rests up to provide summaries;)). http://www.austin360.com/music/content/music/sxsw/2004/ (http://www.austin360.com/music/content/music/sxsw/2004/)
I'm "so there" next year. You betcha.
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I'll have more to say; as I'm sure Twangirl and Grotty (and perhaps others) will as well.
Tv on the Radio was certainly getting a good buzz, Grotty said that was a personal highlight; I didnt want to enjoy the Hives but I did; and whoever does PR for Ozomatli is a genius.
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Originally posted by saco:
I'm damn fuckin tired.
'Right on' to that.
I may be as tired as I've ever been.
Saw approx 40 bands. Went hard every day from about noon until well past quitting time. I think there's still an obscene amount of Shiner & Tequila coursing through my system.
I'll rank them all tomorrow but some highlights for me were:.
TVOTR
2 Cow Garage w/Brent Best
Lucero
Dwight Yoakam
Zykos
& a shockingly hard rocking set from Tim Easton.
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Originally posted by Bags:
:eek:
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What is Two Cow Garage?
Can we expect a new album/tour from Slobberbone this year?
Originally posted by grotty:
Originally posted by saco:
I'm damn fuckin tired.
'Right on' to that.
I may be as tired as I've ever been.
Saw approx 40 bands. Went hard every day from about noon until well past quitting time. I think there's still an obscene amount of Shiner & Tequila coursing through my system.
I'll rank them all tomorrow but some highlights for me were:.
TVOTR
2 Cow Garage w/Brent Best
Lucero
Dwight Yoakam
Zykos
& a shockingly hard rocking set from Tim Easton. [/b]
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Originally posted by chimbleyballs:
What is Two Cow Garage?
Can we expect a new album/tour from Slobberbone this year?
Here's a pretty good summary from AMG:
Cleverly described as Uncle Tupelo's nephews, Two Cow Garage takes strong cues from Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy's punkier sides. Not easily pigeonholed, the band also digs deep into the honest country-rock of Slobberbone and Drive-By Truckers, but somehow still manages to maintain their own soulful sound. Young vocalist Micah Schnabel gives the impression that he's smoked a pack a day since elementary school with his gritty rasp, aptly fitting their songs of heartache and leavin'. Bassist Shane Sweeny's gently shouted backup vocals add depth to the tearful "Girl of My Dreams," while Dustin Harigle's drumming is the only thing that holds the manic "River" together. Every song on Please Turn the Gas Back On burns with the amber light of the heartland â?? hungover and heart-wrenching, sweetly fumbling and furiously pounding, gritty as barn doors and sweaty as a backseat in August.
Accurate I think.
A highly enjoyable show, especially with Brent Best joining them. They started with the 'Bone ditty, the Pinball Song. Was a treat for me.
I talked with the band a lot during the week - at a lot of the same shows. They were denied entry into the official festival - which is shocking to me since they were arguably better than 1/2 of what I saw.
Brent Best is producing their new record. He was looking pretty rough all week - long greying beard. He has posted a note on their website saying basically: don't worry - the band's future is not in question - right now he's just more interested in sitting @ home, playing video games & drinking Mt Dew.
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Originally posted by chimbleyballs:
What is Two Cow Garage?
and you can hear some of their songs on their website:
2 cow garage (http://www.twocowgarage.com/website/index.php)
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Originally posted by grotty:
Originally posted by Bags:
:eek:
That is UNTHINKABLE!
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Originally posted by Bags:
Originally posted by grotty:
Originally posted by Bags:
:eek:
That is UNTHINKABLE! [/b]
It certainly is unthinkable, but I see where Grotty is coming from...only because at some point the need to actually EAT (and sleep) has to outweigh the need to see live music.
If you don't watch yourself down there you could spend at least 14 straight hours on your feet in front of a band/musician. And if you really try (and take good drugs) that could be pushed to 20 hours a day...for 4 straight days..and never see the same act twice...
And besides, you can find some REALLY good tacos in Austin...
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Robyn did an impromptu trio thing Saturday afternoon on the patio at El Sol y La Luna with John Wesley Harding and Ken Stringfellow, which was lots of fun as they were all just figuring out the songs as they went along. Robyn was calling out the chords in with the lyrics, the other guys picked up on 'em most of the time and it was a good laugh when they didn't.
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This from popmatters writeup of sxsw:
We had to wait in a marathon of a line to see The Old 97s. But damn, it was worth it. Rhett Miller is law breakin' sexy, especially the way he plays his guitar like he's got it bent over a chair doggie style. I forget what the band actually sounded like, but I can tell you that Miller looks great in a cable man uniform asking if he can take off his shirt while he works on my television. I'm kidding, of course, the Old 97's play kickass, twangy barstool rock and it was great feeling all the hometown love beaming from the audience, most of whom seemed to know the words to every song and had probably waited in line for an hour or more to hear it. Since we're sort of on the subject of people you want to eat with a shovel, it's hard not to notice how this festival drastically increases the hottie density in the city, particularly with all those bad boy and girl rockers wandering the streets in summer gear because it's been humid as hell's armpit for the past few days. If you need new cards for your masturbation rolodex, this is the place to be.
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Too Much Info Warning!
So...here's my list of bands from the festival.
I didn't get to see everything I wanted to (I had to cave-in occasionally to assuage group dynamics), but I feel pretty good about it. My one major regret is missing The National @ Antones. We wanted to ensure that we could get into the New West Records showcase so we headed there quite early. Turns out, there would have been no problem. [Sad resigned sigh.]
I've only included the bands that I thought we gave a fair shot to by 'actively experiencing.'
My ratings don't necessarily reflect my favorite bands or even the best bands, just what I thought was the highly subjective best show, considering many factors such as: the venue, the crowd, the band's energy, my receptiveness @ that moment, etc.
Great Shows
1 TV on the Radio
2 Tim Easton
3 Lucero
4 Marah
5 Two Cow Garage w/B Best
6 Zykos
7 Dwight Yoakam
Good Shows, in descending order of 'enjoyabilty'
8 Drive-by Truckers
9 Centro-matic
10 The Von Bondies
11 Split Lip Rayfield
12 the Walkmen
13 the Constantines
14 John Dee Graham
15 Trailer Bride
16 the Silos
17 Paul Burch
18 Sleepy Jackson
19 Meat Purveyors
20 Blanche
21 American Analog Set
22 the Thrills
23 Patty Hurst Shifter
24 Earlimart
Pleasant Enough
25 Radar Bros.
26 Coco Rosie
27 Graham Parker
28 Kevn Kinney
Should have gone for more tacos
29 Flatlanders
30 Mendoza Line
31 Division of Laura Lee
32 the Dears
Some comments:
#1 Here's a review of the TVOTR show that describes it perfectly:
TV on the Radio fuses soul and power pop the way stars fuse atoms. Live, they explode, a barely tamed Pixies fronted by Al Green.
The New York band couldn't help but rock its otherwise warm, mild, Thursday afternoon patio show at the Caucus. The band blasted pop hooks with screaming, soaring guitars and a tight, almost unconscious rhythm section. But it was lead singer Tunde Adebimpe's easy, soulful voice that distinguished the band.
Adebimpe's voice frequently blurred the boundaries of what was, at heart, a rock show. He gesticulated like a preacher, and when he coaxed the crowd into clapping it felt like a revival.
#2 Tim Easton played a hard rocking set with backup from a Cleveland band called Roosevelt. At 1 point, as Easton removed his coat, he commented that he was now in his full-on Drive-by Truckers chic: sporting a beard, a sweaty Alabama T, and a band with 3 guitars wailing. New West has just re-released his first record - Special 20, which I think was the cause for the RnR celebration.
#4 Marah was probably my pleasant surprise of the weekend. I had seen them years ago & thought they were a GREAT live act. Then I heard the debacle of a record and new direction that was Float Away With the Friday Night Gods.
The show was redeemingly special - powerful, emotional and sometimes even comical.
#6 Zykos is an acclaimed Austin band that we were strongly recommended to see. We were not disappointed. Live, they sounded and acted like a potent combo of Trail of Dead and Bright Eyes, with maybe a pinch of the Cure thrown in. The Austin Chronicle selected them to their top 10 list for 2003 and said:
Make room next to ZZ Top on the CD racks; Zykos has arrived. The young Austin fivepiece's sound is far-reaching on its debut, the driving piano and lush keyboard tableaus of Catherine Davis setting the mood for a series of tight grooves and gray-sky dynamics that emanate from a meridian halfway between Chicago and Manchester.
You can hear the entire debut record on their site: Comedy Horn (http://www.comedyhorn.com/)
#8 DBT are one of my favorite bands. I've seen them probably 15 times. This was not their finest hour. The show was plagued with technical problems - Cooley was pissed off the entire show - and they then let some jackass join them on stage for a few songs who danced around with a mic preening like he was on stage with Matchbox 20. It was distracting and annoying.
Still, even a bad DBT show is pretty damn good.
#11 Split Lip Rayfield's records often = painful to endure. Their live shows = treat. All the visual you need: The lead plays a converted gasoline tank as a 1 string bass.
And finally, I also picked up this badass poster @ Flatstock:
Pixies (http://www.gigposters.com/posters.php?poster=27626)
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thats an awesome poster - any idea where I could get it? its not on emeks site at the moment...
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Originally posted by brennser:
thats an awesome poster - any idea where I could get it? its not on emeks site at the moment...
Wait until you see it 'live' - the site doesn't do it justice:.
*The Pixies lettering is done in a way that looks almost felt-like.
*And the background is all artwork & lyrics from Doolittle.
*Hard to see, but there's also a little monkey in the eye-hole.
Here's his email: emek@emek.net