SXSW Review: Spiral Stairs, March 14, Cheer Up Charlie’s

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Noting that this was the first show he’d played in 8 years, Scott Kannberg (aka Spiral Stairs) joked that his fingers didn’t know what they were doing, but if he was screwing things up in any way, it wasn’t noticeable at all. The new stuff sounded great, as did the older numbers from Preston School of Industry and Pavement that they played.

Kannberg and his band began their set at Cheer Up Charlie’s with “Vultures” off of the upcoming album Doris and The Daggers. “If you’re from Australia, you understand what that song is about” he said afterwards and it hit me then that the song had a hint of Nick Cave in it’s sound. I wonder if there’s a connection there? I didn’t have to wonder about the influence on “Dance,” also from the new album, as Kannberg made it explicit. “You ready to dance? Roxy Music style? Gotta dance to Roxy Music.”

Overall, Spiral Stairs put on an entertaining set that had me looking forward to hearing the new album in full.

Posted on by Paul in South By Southwest