South By Southwest

SXSW Review: Chvrches, March 9, Antone’s

Posted on by Paul in South By Southwest | 1 Comment

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Poster art by Mez Data

One of the first things I did once I got into Austin for SXSW was attend a session on “The Women’s Evolution in WWE and Beyond” wherein the panelists (Charlotte Flair, Stephanie McMahon and Paul “Triple H” Levesque) discussed how women wrestlers were coming to the forefront within the WWE. And while it may seem like a stretch to equate the likes of Flair or Rhonda Rousey with diminutive Chvrches singer Lauren Mayberry, I got a similar sort of “this woman will take no prisoners” vibe from Mayberry’s performance at Antone’s as part of the Capitol One House later that night.

Aside from worrying about whether playing at a bank sponsored show meant she would have to do maths, Mayberry also commented on the size of the venue and how they can’t really play smaller venues like this anymore. “That sounds like a humblebrag,” she said, but it is also absolutely true – the band’s sound and their show seem much bigger than what the relatively small stage at Antone’s can hold. As Lauren Mayberry moved about that stage, making big dramatic gestures and occasionally twirling around, she proved that while she is by no means a pro wrestler, her personalty and energy while performing can fill much larger stages.

I’ve seen Chvrches a few times over the years, dating back to when they first played SXSW six years ago and in that time, they have only continued to get more and more impressive. They are always a delight to see live.

SXSW Film Review: Snatchers (Stephen Cedars, Benji Kleiman, 2019)

Posted on by Gary in Movies, South By Southwest | Leave a comment

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You can never have too much blood said Snatchers directors Stephen Cedars and Benji Kleiman with a glinting of the eyes and a rolling of the sleeves. While that is a solid slogan for the Red Cross, truth be told, having buckets of the red stuff plastering the walls doesn’t otherwise give you a good slasher film. What does is the concomitant ritual sacrifice and lampooning of a social trope that we have all agreed should die over and over again until the rewind button breaks. Enter horny teenagers who can’t wait to have sex. Where Snatchers diverges from other direct-to-VHS scripts is its excellent pacing, acting, and imaginative (to put it mildly) set up.

The story, which isn’t the star here, goes like: teenagers f$&@, girl gets pregnant, guy runs away, mom freaks out, cool kids fold and wilt while nerdy Magic-playing ex-BFF steps up. Also Mayan Aliens wreck everyone. This is basically Juno with heartfelt character growth ripped out and transplanted with headless corpses and dismembered limbs.

It is of course the aliens from Mexico (space aliens, that is) that are the cornerstone of every joke here. From vag-cannon to blender/mulcher, stop-signs to cat flights, the directors pay tribute to touchstones like Evil Dead and Shaun of the Dead but create fresh and hilarious scenes of the their own. They rightly chose to do everything with animatronics – not that the head chomping aliens were extremely well built, but as the actors testified, the physicality lends itself to more believable acting than green screen and tennis ball. The best part is that you barely get any breathers over the course of the film. One can clearly see what six years of script and screen-writing does to economize even a wild slasher run. Sure, it is not a slugfest a la Marx Brothers where the next joke hit just as hard as your brain was still reeling from the last comedic concussion. But aside from a momentary lull in the fridge, the film unfurls in a highly efficient but natural pace. Basically, go watch this if you are at all interested in a good late night slasher. Or a daylight slasher. Cuz aliens don’t wait until it’s dark.

SXSW Preview: Broken Social Scene

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

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It seems very odd to write a preview for what many would assume is a very popular band, but realistically, outside the lens of the Canadian media, who really knows?

Case in point – Kasabian literally headlined Glastonbury few years ago and I doubt many people can name three of their songs in Canada, which is a shame since Kasabian is awesome.

The easiest way to describe Broken Social Scene is that they are like the New World Order(nWo). About fifteen years ago, Broken Social Scene invaded the Canadian music scene, put the proverbial leg drop on the likes of Our Lady Peace and said this is our town.

I think in this scenario, Kevin Drew is definitely Hollywood Hogan and Brendan Canning is Scott Hall but I dunno who would be Kevin Nash (I’m leaning towards Feist – charismatic, has their own star power, likes to powerbomb people). Since that time, BSS has expanded to God knows how many members and much like with nWo Wolfpac and Latino World order (lWo), the band have also splintered off into several sub factions (such as Metric, Apostle of Hustle, etc). Also like the nWo, Broken Social Scene has gone on hiatus and come back several times. This metaphor definitely works.

What I’m trying to say is that much like how you can’t talk about pro wrestling history of the past twenty years without talking about the nWo and its influence, you can’t talk about Canadian rock music without taking about Broken Social Scene’s influence, brother.

Broken Social Scene are playing a bunch of tiny venues at SXSW which is like Canadian Hulk Hogan wrestling in a tiny bingo hall. It’s a rare and unique experience and you should check them out.

What does their music sound like? Listen below. They have a new EP.

Here is a link to the SXSW page for BSS and their official show schedule:

ELYSIUM – Mar 12 at 11:00pm — 11:40pm
CONTAINER BAR – Mar 14 at 6:00pm — 6:40pm
BUNGALOW – Mar 14 at 11:00pm — 12:30pm
RADIO DAY STAGE AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER – Mar 15 at 2:00pm — 2:40pm
SCOOT INN – Mar 16 at 5:00pm — 5:40pm

They are also playing at Floodfest, which is one of our favorite day parties.

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FLOODfest @ SXSW 2019 TUESDAY, MARCH 12:
12:00 p.m. MUNYA
1:00 p.m. Illuminati Hotties
2:00 p.m. Priests
3:00 p.m. HÆLOS
4:00 p.m. White Denim
5:10 p.m. Broken Social Scene

SXSW Song Of The Day: The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Fire

Posted on by Paul in Song of the Day, South By Southwest | Leave a comment

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Photo Credit: @PaulyRockPhoto

Every year at SXSW, there’s usually at least a handful of old school veteran performers in attendance alongside all of the newbies and this year one of the artists filling that role is The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown.

Yes, the God of Hellfire himself is still at it more than 50 years after he first started and he’ll be appearing at SXSW this year on a solid bill put together by LPR and Psycho Entertainment alongside ’60s occult rockers Coven and newer acts such as Bambara and The Comet Is Coming. It promises to be a hell of a show (corny pun absolutely intended).

The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown plays Empire Garage on March 14 at 10:45pm.