SXSW Days 1 & 2, Quicky Ricky Reviews

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

Mohawk Rooftop

Austin – It has come to my realization that I will not be able to write long ass reviews for every band I see. So here are some quicky Ricky reviews.

Chris Shiflett – The man best known as the lead guitarist for the Foo Fighters also played Monday night’s British Embassy night. Why? I don’t know, maybe he likes soccer or something. Nothing about his set really impressed me, although with his laid back demeanor, beard, flannel shirt and the panty removing acoustic guitar, I am sure soccer moms everywhere are already taking their minivans to Walmart in order to buy his upcoming release.


We Are Scientists
– This band was older then I thought, although I am older then I thought as well. Either way, they played the interactive closing party. There set consisted of guitar driven power pop songs. I thought they could have benefitted from a synth players at times. They played a couple of their hit songs during their set, as well as showing off some new material. The crowd was quite into the band, especially one girl, who was clearly super drunk and semi passed out at the front of the stage.

Matias Aguayo – This guy was a one man wrecking crew. Using a variety of instruments including flutes, snares, tamborines and electric gadgets, the French/Spanish dj put down some tribal beats and was extremely impressive. I was equally impressed at myself for taking the advice from some dude wearing an Old Milwaukee hat, tilted sideways.

Toro Y Moi – One of the biggest chillwave artists to break out in 2010, the feedback heavy sounds coming from Toro Y Moi wasn’t really impressing me, as much as the bunch of hipsters doing interpretive dancing to his semi smooth sound does. A bit of a downer, to be honest.

The Law – Playing in front of about 8 people, this Scottish band made the best of the situation by delivering an energy filled set of guitar driven indie rock. They had a light playfullness to their sound that reminded me of something like the Fratellis or latter day Supergrass, I think.

She & Him – I only got into the last 4 songs of their set at Cedar Courtyard, although I did manage here my favorite S&H song – In the Sun. Zooey Deschanel’s voice delivered as promised and the rest of the band played nicely in the background. There was no photographs allowed and Zooey had on a large hat that she may or may not stole from the Lord of the Rings movie set.

Cate Le Bon – Stopped by to see this Welsh folkish/psychedelic singer songwriter. I don’t know much about her except she was the guest vocalist on Neon Neon’s I Lust You. Her laid back set was just what I needed to calm me down after an exciting Thursday afternoon.

SXSW review: Gary’s unplanned day

Posted on by Gary in Concerts, Everything, South By Southwest | 3 Comments

Austin, TX – I guess not everything at SXSW should be the rosy picture that we paint for you: 4 people going to shows non-stop with a hyperactive critical attitude, analyzing everything from set decor, lighting, to the band’s performance and antics, and of course, whether we got into the shows without delay or with viscous resistance. In this case, the afternoon and evening of March 18 was completely molasses for me.

Shearwater has been on the iphone since day one with Rooks, a moody ballade that immediately caught my attention (although because of how sad it is, I rarely need it to remind me how sad my life is…). They also have a new album out, The Golden Archipelago, I believe. Coupled with the fact that Fanfarlo was next, of course I went to see them. The vocal is perhaps even more booming and mind-boggling in person.

After listening to more bands, I decided to head out of Galaxy room. Bad decision. I wondered the 20C Austin for the next hour in hopes of finding something interesting without success. I then headed to Fader Fort (courtesy of Levi’s). Just because they don’t make jeans in Canada anymore doesn’t mean they have no presence – in fact the security at their fort had a bit too much presence, and took the word FORT literally – wouldn’t let me into the line while my colleagued waved lackadaisically. Sigh. And this was after walking 20 min out to the highway. And then as I looked dejectedly at my plan, I found that I had missed Lou Barlow, at the Galaxy room no less…

So I headed back. And listened to The Low Anthem, American folk/rock’ers from Rhode Island. I did find them enjoyable. Their also resonated well with the audience – you might be surprised to find that it doesn’t always happen that way – a lot of people end up seeing shows that they never planned to. Keep reading and you’ll see…

And then the Middle East, from Australia. They were quite energetic. I’ll save my breath because I think Cheryl has already written much about them.

And now for the grande finale of this day. Since Broken Social Scene and Band of Horses were going to play at Stubb’s, I took to lining up. About 20 min after, the 100 people line was told that the show was now only open to badge holders. OK. It happens. Along with another fellow poor sucker, I joined another lineup for the XX. 1 hour and some later, we were again told the same thing… OK. Now what? We decided to hit The Toxic Avengers. But then this fellow Southby’er got the venue completely mixed up. So we ended up listening to teeny rock. She then bolted for Toxic Avengers, and I stayed for Deer Ticks. And to add insult to injury: Ricky had to tell me that he got into Stubb’s while Broken Social Scene was playing. Sigh. I miss toronto?

SXSW Review: We Were Promised Jetpacks, The Parish, March 17

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

wwpj

The final band (that I saw, anyway) from Wednesday’s Showcasing Scotland gig just so happens be one of my favorite bands of last year. Their album “These Four Walls” was in my top five and I didn’t get to see them last year so I was pretty excited.

The first thing you realize upon seeing this band live is that the reach of singer Adam Thompson’s voice knows no bounds. He’d step a few feet back from his microphone and singing at the top of his lungs, you couldn’t even tell he wasn’t mic’d. Actually, I walked past a patio they were playing at on the way to our hotel to write this just now and I could hear him from over a block away, over everything else happening on Red River Street. I was thinking that people he goes drinking with are probably deaf, I can imagine him standing on a table in a pub singing his heart out after a few beers.

Highlights that got the crowd bouncing and dancing were “Quiet Little Voices” and “Short Bursts”, but every song was basically a singalong. Good times, hope they get working on a new album before too long because I think they can only get better.

SXSW Review: Codeine Velvet Club, The Parish, March 17

Posted on by Alli in South By Southwest | 1 Comment

codeine velvet club

Continuing the evening of Scottish music at the Parish was Codeine Velvet Club, a group formed by singer Jon Lawler aka Jon Fratelli of .. wait for it.. The Fratellis. Their self-titled album came out in December 2008 in the UK and is slated for release next month on Dangerbird here in the states.

This band is pretty well put together; all male members in classy suits, and the group contains a horn section. Their sound would easily fit in at a swanky club scene from a 1940’s movie. Very smooth but still rockin’ at the same time. Female singer and co-writer Lou Hickey reminded me of Dita Von Teese and had a strong stage presence whenever she sang solo. Lawler said work has begun on a second album and it should be interesting to hear more of this band.

codeine velvet club