South By Southwest

SXSW Review: Cairn String Quartet, March 14, The Hideout

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Paul in South By Southwest | Leave a comment

Increasingly over the last few years, the question arises of how likely it is for a band to break out big at SXSW. With more and more acts crowding the landscape at the festival, one wonders how viable it is to make the trek to Austin. If you’re not already a heavily buzzed indie act, mega-popstar, or gimmicky joke band featuring a former child star, the chances of being noticed above all the other noise are iffy. That said, if you’ve got something special going for you and a bit of luck, there’s still a chance you’ll stand out and just may fare better than that guy who’s handing out CDs and flyers to promote his showcase slot at 11 am in the backyard of a chiropodist’s office. It’s quite possible that Scotland’s Cairn String Quartet might have that something special to help them stand out.

A quartet known for playing arrangements of songs by popular acts such as Daft Punk, CHVRCHES, and Franz Ferdinand, these four ladies from Glasgow appeared onstage wearing matching t-shirts emblazoned with the time and date of their showcase (a cute bit of self-promotion) and proceeded to wow the crowd with their setlist, which included a medley of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and Pharrell’s “Happy” as well as a song from some film they had seen on the plane ride over to Austin. They were not only very talented players, but kind of charming onstage. Sure, string quartets have been known to cover pop tunes before, but to see it performed live by skilled players is something else and besides, they’re definitely a sight better than some schmaltzy string quartet tribute to James Blunt or some horribleness. Definitely something a bit different and a nice respite from the craziness that is SXSW on a Friday.

SXSW Concert Review: Big Freedia

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Ricky in South By Southwest | Leave a comment

Possibly the top highlight of SXSW was Big Freedia. A rapper? from New Orleans, Big Freedia specialized in something called “bounce music” which is something I have never heard of or experienced.

Until Wednesday.

Taking the stage at Fader, Big Freedia and her dancers engaged the crowd in an epic party that really just blew our collective minds. If you ever wonder about how twerking became popular, you need not look further then Big Freedia.

I don’t even know what to say, the whole set consisted of Big Freedia rapping instructions over an extremely fast beat to her dancers, who depending on male or female, would either twerk their asses off or do some crazy pop and locks. The lyrics for Big Freedia pretty much go like this

“Get your ass up! Get Your ass up!”
“Ass everywhere Ass everywhere!”
“Go! Go! Go!”
“Hands on the floor! Hands on the floor!”
“Grab your ankles! Grab your ankles!”

To the casual observer, it might seem demeaning, but everyone was having a blast. At one point, Big Freedia invited people on stage to twerk, and there literally was a mass rush to go on stage to twerk. Not to be outdone, Big Freedia would twerk along with everyone as well. It was just so different..and so awesome. The fun factor for this show was through the roof, and the enthusiasm and energy from the on stage performers easily permeated through the crowd. There wasn’t a single soul who didn’t have their hands up whenever Big Freedia demanded it. Everyone was on board.

Just an epically good time.

Can’t miss show if Big Freedia strolls through your town.

SXSW Review: Mark Kozelek, March 14, Central Presbyterian Church

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Paul in South By Southwest | 2 Comments

“I don’t get the 9.2 thing. Why don’t you just give a guy a 10?”

So said Mark Kozelek, gently poking fun at the folks from Pitchfork, who were presenting this evening’s showcase at Austin’s Central Presbyterian Church, which is always one of the best venues in town during SXSW. Kozelek thanked Pitchfork for having him there and also for having someone other than Stephen Deusner write the review.

All things considered, Kozelek seemed to be in quite good spirits, which, based on past reports, seems surprising.  Kozelek’s shows are famously antagonistic, with him berating audience members for talking while he’s playing or other such transgressions.  In a review of a previous Toronto show, the Panic Manual’s Allison likened him to Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi so it certainly seemed like of all places, Kozelek would hate SXSW.  After all, a short walk from the church would bring one to Sixth Street, which on a Friday night works as a display for some of the worst aspects of humanity.  Kozelek must hate being here, right?

“I’m having a good time. My backstages are usually like jail cells. This time there’s all these young people and cute looking girls. I should have opening acts more often” said Kozelek, after noting that there are two categories of people at SXSW: those who are excited about it and those who can’t believe they got talked into it.  While Kozelek was having a good time, his selection of songs off his latest, Benji, had more of a mournful tone to them.  Full of stories and refelctions from Kozelek’s life, everything from his parents to the death of his cousin to watching The Song Remains The Same, Kozelek had the audience’s rapt attention throughout.

While I went into this almost looking forward to seeing a cranky Mark Kozelek rip into an inattentive SXSW crowd like some sort of Howard Beale with a guitar, what I got was even better – a solid set by a talented songwriter.  Seriously though, Pitchfork, why not just give the guy a 10?

SXSW Review: The Launderettes, March 13, BD Riley’s

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Paul in South By Southwest | Leave a comment

launderettes

After having just seen Blondie’s performance at Brazos Hall, I wondered whether they might be a hard act to follow and if I should just call it a night, but this is SXSW, and what’s the sense of going home when there’s still so much to see? Go big or go home, they say, and I chose to go big. After all, don’t they also say that everything’s bigger in Texas?

One thing that may not be bigger in Texas (or North America in general) is Norway’s The Launderettes.  The band’s been going since the ’90s but don’t necessarily have a huge profile, though they did make a point of hawking their album,  which is out on Steven Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records, from onstage.  Van Zandt has also done his part to promote the band through his Underground Garage radio show, though before seeing their appearance on the SXSW lineup, I haven’t noticed them playing too many shows in the US or Canada.  Here’s hoping a little further exposure might mean a bit more touring on this side of the pond

They put on a fun show full of energetic, catchy, organ-driven garage rock tunes that also featured a little theremin from time to time courtesy of Mona Varpe Helleland.  Any band that features theremin has my heart immediately.  Definitely a fun way to end out my Thursday at SXSW.

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