Austin – In what was purely coincidental, our first show of SXSW was seeing a Canadian band from Edmonton who just arrived from Toronto (CMW). Our initial interest was to see Project Jenny Project Jan, but we arrived earlier and unexpected saw this band. The band is called Hot Panda Wade had pimped them up for CMW, I am not sure whether he saw them or not.

Having arrived just 20 minutes prior to their show, Hot Panda quickly setup and started their blend of honest eclectic Canadian dance rock (seems like all Edmonton bands are that way, a bit weird, but still Canadian..must be the winters). Unfortunately, there was only about 15 people in the audience and the bar wasn’t an open bar yet. Talking to the band afterwards, they seemed to be quite nice people and were genuinely excited to be at SXSW. They also seemed to be quite happy about the open bar as well.

This is a short review, but it was a short show…and I have a short memory.

Austin – Heading into SXSW, one of the bands that were really high on the list in terms of ‘must see’ was Scottish band ‘Glasvegas’. I had missed them when they toured Toronto previously, and the tickets for their show on April 1st had sold out quickly. In order to ensure that I was going to be able to see Glasvegas, the Panic Manual team decided to get to the Vice Lounge quickly. This meant seeing both Von Blondies and PBJ before they came on.

First, a little bit about Von Blondies – They are a garage rock outfit from Detroit best known for their association with Jack White. By association, I mean lead singer Jason Stollsteimer’s face made love to Jack White’s fist over and over again. I am sure you have seen the pictures on TMZ or Smoking Gun by now so no need to post it. It was a pretty brutal beating, not like Mankind – Undertaker Hell in the Cell beating, but pretty close. The Von Blondies have been pretty silent since the Motown Music Mayhem, but in 2009, they finally released their follow up LP to their hit album Pawn Shoppe Hearts, It’s called Love, Hate and then There’s You. With a new album in tow, the Detroit band naturally hit up SXSW.

The Vice Lounge was packed when we arrived for the show. I mean fire alarm hazard packed. I don’t want to blow any whistles but I am pretty sure violated many fire regulation codes during the time I was there. However, this is the Wild Wild West and I guess anything goes. There was very little room to spare when we got in about 10 minutes into the set. To be entirely honest, I was very busy finding a seat to really pay attention to the concert I do know this – they were pretty good. Their honest blend of guitar rock layered with Jason’s solid yelling type vocal delivery was a perfect fit for this crowd, which was peppered with people wearing many, many combinations of plaid shirts. I had no idea that there were so many kinds of plaid shirts, but now…I know. I guess this wasn’t much of a review, the new material sounded similar to the old material and the crowd went pretty nuts when the opening riff of ‘C’mon C’mon’ went on. I was instantly transported back to a time when I was five years younger and remembered ‘hmm that song was pretty good’.

I haven’t heard much of their new album, but my fond memories of pushing through the crowd and finding a sitting spot besides two really old people will definitely inspire me to check out how the new album is.

Austin – New Zealanders are starting to rule the world. First of all, you had Xena, Warrior Princess. Then you had Lord of the Rings. Now, there is the Flight of the Conchords. Enter Ladyhawke. Exploding into the scene last summer with the sensational summer dance floor romper ‘Paris is Burning’, Ladyhawke has been all over the internets in the past eight months, including endorsements from famous blogs such as Perez Hilton and of course, Indie Kid vs Dance Kid. I was quite excited to discover that Ladyhawke would be playing SXSW and had marked this down as one of the shows I needed to see here in Austin.

Having an early slot at the SXSW can be a curse or a blessing. On one hand, it’s early, and a lot of people are still getting their wristbands, hotels and just generally, getting their shit together. It runs a risk of being a semi empty show. On the other hand, it’s early in the festival, and you have the crowd’s undivided attention . It’s the first show and people haven’t ingested the liters and liters of alcohol that they will have over the next four days.

Having seen another blond girl with dancey electro music (Lykke Li) put on a rather crap show just about a month ago, I was a bit skeptical of what kind of show Ladyhawke would put on. All my skepticisms were put aside when the band arrived on stage and lead singer Pip Brown walked on with a guitar and looked like a musician instead of a pagan Swedish version of Mary Kate Olson. The modest New Zealander (aren’t they all?) said a quick hello and launched us into a world of bright lights and disco beats. The band was a lot more funkier then I expected, the band’s drummer and bassist provided semi packed crowd at Stubb’s BBQ more then enough reasons to get dancing. Playing material from her full length debut album, Ladyhawke quickly ripped thru each song, whipping the enthusiastic fan base into a dancing frenzy (the ones at the front anyway). With a full band, a pulsating drumbeat and hair raising bass lines, the album’s material definitely translates better live. Ending off the set with an extended version of Paris is Burning and My Delerium, Ladyhawke left the stage with crowd cheering for more, a sign of a job well done.

Good show.