Girlpool – Girlpool always put on a fun show and one of the most memorable elements of a Girlpool show is their funny and endearing stage banter, which on this occasion included musings on “the wave,” the band’s drummer then initiating the crowd into doing the wave, sunburns, the Lana Del Rey show the night before (“i’m gonna look at the picture I took with her every day for like, a year.”) and even some food recommendations. For those who might have been hungry during their show at Cheer Up Charlie’s, Cleo Tucker recommended grabbing something from Taco Baby. After her bandmate Harmony Tividad wondered where the food truck got it’s name from (“Is it like a little baby taco?”), Cleo added that “taco baby” sounded like it could be a Lana Del Rey lyric. Stage banter aside, hearing the band’s old tunes with a full band for the first time really fleshed them out quite a bit. And of course the new stuff sounds quite good too.
Dream Wife – One of the most exciting discoveries of SXSW almost passed me by, but luckily I was able to catch an early afternoon set by Dream Wife on the last day of the festival and was blown away by the fiery, energetic punk sounds emanating from these three badass ladies and their drummer (who I’m sure is also pretty badass, even though he did look a bit like My So Called Life’s Brian Krakow).
Idles – By the end of SXSW, I’m usually a little tired of your standard guitar rock, which is why I generally try to seek out anything but that. Luckily, Idles are not quite your standard guitar rock – with a violent, confrontational air to their performance, the band ended the festival off for me on a definite high note.
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra – With perhaps the most fun and energetic show of the entire week, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra definitely brought the party and often seemed to be having as much fun as the audience themselves. The band’s been around since the ’80s and in that time, they’ve clearly become masters of working a crowd. “You want more? WE want more!”