SXSW

SxSW Review: Pillow Queens, March 15, Cedar Street Courtyard

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Gary in South By Southwest | Leave a comment

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It’s an undertatement that Cedar Street Courtyard is the lifeblood that has anchored PM at SxSW for many years. With the unfortunate shuttering of Latitude 30 early in the pandemic, the long-running British Music Embassy had to find a new home and it’s no surprise that they picked Cedar. I think it’s simple musical, if not cosmic, alignment. For me, it is also among the few spaces from which I dare to venture into an (almost) endemic world.

Following a high-energy set from London’s Los Bitchos is no easy task. However, in this red-eye showcase, Dublin’s Pillow Queens successfully infiltrated the ranks of Redcoats and frankly, stole the show.

They pulled few strings or tricks, and gave a resonant performance through their compelling songwriting and well-tempered play. The setlist consisted of memorable numbers like “Holy Show”, “HowDoILook”, and “Liffey” from 2020’s In Waiting, and “Be By Your Side” and “No Good Woman” from their new album.

In person, their style closely resembles that of the studio. Belting out direct lyrics about their turbulent upbringing and their clashes with contemporary social change, the singing duty was shared by co-vocalists Corcoran and Connolly. With a sparse yet enthusiastic crowd, Pillow Queens were the perfect re-initiation I needed, and the brilliant discovery that only SxSW can muster.

Pillow Queens’ new album Leave the Light On will be released on April 1st 2022.

SxSW Review: Calva Louise, March 16, Cedar Street Courtyard

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Gary in South By Southwest | Leave a comment

20220316 Calva Louise
Calva Louise specializes in what should be termed pop-guitarism. The band name may have been inspired by a bald lady after people watching in Manchester. Or a beloved childhood cartoon character. Or a game of charades one random night. Or Google Translate as read by a drunk reviewer fumbling for context at 12 in the morning at Cedar Street Courtyard.

As with previous singles and EPs, Calva Louise’s music centers on passages of meaty guitar riffs dressed up with with pinches of vocal utterance. Songs such as “Hunting” and “Belicoso” have little internal progression, and make for a square wave set that goes from quiet banter to 120% volume for the next 3 minutes, then repeats. However, they did sound much better live when the music is less wrapped up in electronic embellishments.

There are lots of bands that strive to bring together far-flung musical influences from the “corners” of the world – a mix of British, American and Latin music doesn’t sound like a particularly ingenious potpourri, if you will pardon the pun on their EP by the self-conscious name POP(urri). What sets Calva Louise apart is an additional emphasis on the animation projected behind the drummer. Designed by the lead guitar Jess, they don’t so much create a new mood as present a more interesting photo-op as opposed to the brand/sponsor logos. Despite what may sound like misgivings, the energy from their live set is undeniably attractive.

Calva Louise are currently on an American tour behind their new album Euphoric.

SxSW Review: Strawberry Guy, March 16, Cedar Street Courtyard

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Gary in South By Southwest | Leave a comment

20220316 Strawberry Guy

Dream Pop has always sounded more like a violent catastrophe than the label for softly enveloping music. Fortunately, Liverpool-based Alex Stephens (aka Strawberry Guy) subscribes to the latter definition. In an early afternoon set at Cedar Street Courtyard, Strawberry Guy sat serenading from his keyboard, in what I gather was BME‘s attempt to pacify the crowd after Walt Disco’s boisterous play.

If we were still mired in the drugged-up, intoxicated ways of the ’60s, Strawberry Guy would be a fair and perhaps obligatory performer. In the current climate, it is more difficult to gauge whether we should put our cynicism or naivete first. With a singing voice bordering on anemic and a habit of capping each number with “~cooool~”, the live set felt decidedly less serene than the recording. It’s the difference and subjective taste between a warm breeze and a cozy blanket – neither is a salve if you came in frozen from a Walrus Club meet.

Amongst the set of 5-6 songs, “Take My Time To Be” off the eponymous EP as well as “Sun Outside My Window” from the new album, released back in October 2021, stood out. But each shared the same DNA of unhurried calm, where much of the lyrics center on everyday observation and introspection. It is probably by design that little of a profound or otherworldly nature was said. But then again, perhaps Strawberry Guy, a self-proclaimed One-Man-Impressionist (as if Manet and Monet painted in tag-team), believes we are all Universes onto ourselves.

SXSW Review: Teenage Halloween, Surfbort, March 17, Cheer Up Charlie’s

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Paul in South By Southwest | Leave a comment

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Teenage Halloween is an evocative band name, one that brings to mind images of kids chucking eggs and toilet paper at houses, getting drunk and/or partaking in other illicit substances, or if you want to take a more wholesome perspective, going out for your last chance to trick or treat before you get too old or maybe staying in for an all night horror movie marathon.

For me personally, it evokes the memory of a kid in my neighbourhood named Larry, who came to my door trick or treating when I was in Grade 10 or so. Larry was the same age as me and probably about 6 feet tall, wearing just his street clothes and some shitty werewolf mask that he probably got at the drugstore. I was like, WTF Larry, but I gave him some candy anyways. What does this have to do with the band Teenage Halloween? Oh, nothing, really. Sorry, I got a little distracted there.

With a name like Teenage Halloween, I didn’t know exactly what to expect when I headed out to see them on the first day of Brooklyn Vegan’s day parties at Cheer Up Charlie’s, though I had a pretty good idea. I knew they were a punk band and I figured Brooklyn Vegan has a pretty good track record of booking bands for their day shows, so odds were good they’d be worth watching. I was correct.

What Teenage Halloween offered up was a fun set of gruff sounding pop punk with impressive guitar parts and clever lyrics dealing with themes of queerness and mental health. There was also a sax player, though I couldn’t really hear them in the mix. Still, kudos on having a saxophone – must be the band’s New Jersey roots coming through. I enjoyed their set so much I bought a cassette from their merch guy, which is pretty rare at SXSW – rare for me to want to buy a band’s merch on the spot, yes, but also even more rare to see a band even set up a merch table.

Following them later that afternoon on the same stage was Surfbort, whose singer Dani Miller is a delightful and engaging frontwoman, full of punk rock energy. Starting out their Thursday afternoon set with “Silly D”, a song featuring the refrain of “We should be wasted by now” (later morphing into “wasted on love”), the band came on strong and had the attention of the crowd throughout their brief set. Normally I’d question whether someone really should be “wasted by now” before 2:00pm on a weekday but hey, this is SouthBy, and St. Patrick’s Day to boot, so yeah, not really unheard of to be wasted by then. For the record, I was stone cold sober at this point, but I still raise my glass to Surfbort and Teenage Halloween. Cheers!

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