South By Southwest

SXSW Review: Pulled Apart By Horses, March 15, Latitude 30

Posted on by Paul in South By Southwest | Leave a comment

Austin – After an excellent yet comparatively subdued set by Jonquil, Leeds based noisemakers Pulled Apart By Horses took to the stage at Latitude 30 and basically tore things up.  Their music had a noisy, punky, chaotic demeanor, full of hardcore style screaming (ie. screamo), abrupt changes, and several riffs that seemed to be almost lifted directly from Rage Against The Machine.  Their stage presence added a lot to the chaotic nature of their set.  They basically threw in all of the stock rock n’ roll/punk moves that are kind of cliche but also work perfectly to get the crowd going – crowd surfing, jumping off their amps, going out into the crowd to sing and climbing up onto the bar, and of course spitting up into the air and watching it land on stage.  They were obviously having fun onstage and it showed.  There was a minor delay after the first song when the power to the mics went out where they got a fan onstage to tell a joke (but if the mic wasn’t working, how would everyone hear the joke?). Later in their set, singer Tom Hudson inexplicably sang a snippet of “Cotton Eyed Joe” as he ran through the crowd.

It was a fun, high energy set that was appreciated by many in attendance.  In fact, it was fun and high energy largely because of the crowd’s reaction.  There was a guy who looked like Stone Cold Steve Austin, but with glasses, who was singing along with many of the lyrics. There was also the aforementioned fan who almost told a joke clearly the most excited to be there, dancing wildly throughout their set.  During the song, “High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive,” there were in fact many high fives given out by the band to the crowd, including one unlucky guy who took a high five to the head because he wasn’t paying attention.  Strangely, he didn’t seem to mind that the band had basically smacked him in the head.  I spoke to Ricky, who had been standing much further back from the stage during their set.  His assessment?  “It was like being hit by a freight train.”  Yeah, it was noisy and chaotic, but in a good way.

High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive by cooperativemusicuk

SXSW Preview: The Antlers

Posted on by Ricky in South By Southwest | Leave a comment

The Antlers, Phoenix, Toronto, ON

Toronto – I saw The Antlers three times last year – opening up for the Editors, at SXSW and opening up for the National at Massey Hall. Needless to say, I am a large fan of their depressing wall of sound music. I didn’t have them slated for my initial SXSW schedule because I thought they were doing that relentless touring thing and that they were still touring for their excellent major label debut album, Hospice.

Luckily, I was wrong (seems to happen all the time) and the Brooklyn trio are back with a new record, entitled Burst Apart. The record is due to drop May 10th off Frenchkiss Records. I, for one, am extremely excited about it and hope for lead singer Peter Silberman’s sake that it’s not as much of a downer as the previous one was. The Antlers will be premiering their record as part of NPR’s showcase at The Parish in Austin on March 17th at 4:00pm. They’ll also be playing many other sets. Here are all the set information

Wed, March 16 @ 12:00am: Frenchkiss Showcase
The Parish – 214 East 6th St
w/ The Dodos, Young Man

Thurs, March 17 @ 4pm: NPR Party
The Parish – 214 East 6th St
w/ Tune-Yards, The Joy Formidable, Colin Stetson

Friday, March 18 @ 7pm: Sennheiser Party (<- any chance of free headphones?) The Stage on Sixth - 508 E. 6th St w/ The Luyas If you are in Austin, check these guys out. The Antlers – Two (Buffetlibre remix) by Buffetlibre

Celebrating International Women’s Day AND SXSW, a cheap playlist

Posted on by Ricky in Everything, South By Southwest | 1 Comment

Toronto – Never one to give up a cheap opportunity to get quick hits and at the same time, cover two of the most popular topics, the team at the Panic Manual has quickly racked their brains and come up with a playlist that comprises of women playing at SXSW. Now of course, today is International Women’s Day a day celebrating our(my) favorite type of people. Now as Ali G famously once said “One out of every two people is a woman” so it is going to be quite a celebration. I’m sure they’ll be celebrating from Malawi to Mumbai.

So without further delay, here is a play list of women playing at SXSW.

Notable Exception Alert!!! – Anna Calvi

Sadly, Anna Calvi had to withdraw from all her shows at SXSW this year due to an arm injury. This doesn’t mean we don’t love you, it just means we love you less. Still, you should check out her self titled debut album, which was released earlier this year off Domino Records

Desire by Anna Calvi

On to the real list

Kyla La Grange – Courage

I was absolutely in love with her first single – Walk Through Walls and this song from the English singer is no less impressive. I’m pretty sure she is headed for big things based on these two epic, intense songs. Mark it down.

Kyla La Grange – Courage (free download) by Stayloose

Kyla La Grange plays at 10pm Thursday March 17th at Communion night at Klub Krucial

Sharon Van Etten – Much More Than That

One of the most charming performer I have seen recently, Sharon Van Etten has been on a roll ever since her sophomore record Epic to much delight and fan fare. Check her out if like earnest folk rock music powered by a great voice. She’ll be playing a lot of shows including

Wednesday March 16th, Midnight, Swan Dive
Thursday March 17th, 4:00 pm, French Legation Museum
Friday March 18th, 4:00Pm, Mohawk

Also

Tue 04/12/11 Toronto, ON – Drake Hotel
Wed 04/13/11 Montreal, QC – Casa Del Popolo

Much More Than That by sharonvanetten

The Dollyrots – Om Nom Nom

The Dollyrots are a pop punk band out of California (where else, really) that is fronted by one Kelly Ogden. I loved their debut album Eat My Heart Out its catchy and fun. Their showcase is going to be one hell of a show I suspect. No idea why this band isn’t huge, they are made for young girls to party to.

Friday March 18th, Black & Tan, 11:30pm

Om Nom Nom by The Dollyrots

Lenka – Heart Skips a Beat

Lenka is an Australia singer songwriter who is releasing her second album, cleverly/lazily titled Two. Maybe she named it after the Antlers song, I dunno. I’m a sucker for catchy pop music and this track is the epitome of that. Light and bouncy with a hook filled chorus, I imagine her showcase will be entirely fun and charming based on this video and song. Apparently, she has had her music played on a lot of television shows, so she might also be popular in the real world, I am unsure.

3/17 – The Roxy Theatre Presents…Austinrox at Rusty Spurs 9pm
3/18 – Texas Tornado at Red Eye Fly 4:15pm
3/19 – Maggie Maes 3:30 pm
3/19 – The Tap Room-Hotel Café Showcase 9:00 pm

Class Actress – Careful What You Say

Class Actress is the brain child of one Elizabeth Harper. The synth pop group has been making the touring rounds lately with in support of their EP Journal of Ardency. This track has a nice beat and shows a lot of promise. I await their debut album, which I am sure they’ll be preview at these shows:

Mar 16 SXSW @ Lipstick 24 (Flavorpill Party) – 3:30pm
Mar 17 SXSW @ Club 1808 (Piano’s Party w/Das Racist, Still Corners, etc.)
Mar 18 SXSW @ East Side Drive In (Pitchfork Party) – 12:45pm
Mar 18 SXSW @ Friends (Warp Magazine Showcase) – 11pm
Mar 19 SXSW @ Space 12 (Parafora Party) – 7pm

Class Actress – Careful What You Say by The Recommender

Have a good rest of the day!

SXSW Preview: Matt & Kim

Posted on by Ricky in Everything, South By Southwest | Leave a comment

Toronto – Matt & Kim is simply put, one of the most entertaining shows you will see. Their energy is immaculate and their enthusiasm is more contagious then H1N1. No matter how crappy your mood is when you are entering a Matt & Kim show, you will feel a hell of a lot better after the drum and synth duo hit you with song after song of energetic punk-pop tunes. Once again, Matt & Kim are playing SXSW, this time in promotion of their new record Sidewalks. They seem to be only playing large shows in Austin, but if you can find the time, do check them out.

Here’s a video to get you prepped:

3/14 – Austin, TX @ The Belmont
3/16 – Austin, TX – mtvU Woodie Awards
3/18 – Austin, TX @ The FADER Fort, SXSW

Cameras by mattandkim