While the forecast for Friday called for plenty of rain, luckily, other than some early morning showers, the weather held off and it ended up being a relatively nice day. With the fear of getting soaked out of the way, we were free to do a little exploring, musically speaking. Here are a few of the highlights.
Thus Love, March 15, The 13th Floor
SXSW at its best is all about discovering something new and so in that spirit, we walked into The 13th Floor on Friday night to check out Thus Love knowing very little about them. Delivering a bracing set of moody post-punk tunes, the Brattleboro, Vermont-based band put on an impressive and impassioned performance that left me wanting to dig a little deeper into their discography.
cumgirl8, March 15, Parish
While cumgirl8 looked to be one of the buzzier acts going into the festival, they were also one of many who opted to bow out of doing any official shows in response to SXSW having the U.S. Army as a major sponsor. Luckily for those of us looking forward to seeing them, the band still came to Austin to play a few shows around town.
Taking to the stage at Parish wearing (fairly revealing) outfits emblazoned with the words “SXSW IS OVER,” the New York City quartet certainly didn’t shy away from making a statement and made it clear how they felt about the festival and its ties to the military and to defense contractors. The band commented that when they decided to drop out of their official shows, they had to ask themselves, “What would Cicciolina do?” Unsurprisingly, they followed that by launching into “Cicciolina,” their tribute to the pornstar/politician/musician of the same name taken off of their phanteasea pharm EP.
Shannon and the Clams, March 15, Radio Day Stage
A ballroom in a convention center is no one’s ideal spot to take in a concert, but Oakland’s Shannon and the Clams made the most of their late afternoon set at the Austin Convention Center’s Radio Day Stage regardless. Shannon Shaw and her mustachioed bandmates played a solid set of 1950s-inspired garage rock, with the absolute highlight being brand new single “Real or Magic,” taken from their upcoming album The Moon Is In The Wrong Place.