News from SXSW

[twangirl]

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.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

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.

[grotty]

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
 
 #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

[brennser]

thats an awesome poster - any idea where I could get it? its not on emeks site at the moment...

[grotty]

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