A while back I confessed my envy of Danny Boyle, both as a director and of his musical tastes. It turns out I need to put Reggie Watts on that pedestal, at least in regards to his taste in music. Don’t believe me? Check out his dope set.
She Sees You – March 30th, 2013
Besides being a passionate, Latin lover of music I’m also a pretty big radio documentary nerd. I mean, Hell, I subscribe to 3 public radio stations across the country. Therefore, you’ll understand why I absolutely had to share this awesome radio story. It’s called “She Sees Your Every Move” and I took this from the Studio 360 website (although How Sound did a great highlighting of the story). To me, it’s as if David Lynch suddenly did a radio story (I am, first and foremost, a cinephile).
Enjoy.
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SXSW 2013 Day 5 – March 17th, 2013
And on the final day of full festival frolic, I finally caught one of my all time favor bands, Frightened Rabbit.
The boys sounded great, although being out in the sun doesn’t seem to suit them well. Also, I remember when it was just three of them. These days there are up to six members on stage at one time. Guess that’s what signing to WB get’s ya.
Next I caught the novelty band, The Beards.
Apparently these Aussies have three albums and every song is about beards. One of them even kept looking at me funny, like he wanted to touch my beard. Creepy… yet alluring. And did I mention that they were so much fun live? Well, they are and you really should go see them.
I then ran across 6th Street to check out Empress Of.
Not my cup of tea.
I then trudged south of the Convention Center to catch Kinky.
Holy guacamole, these guys still bring it. This is my third or fourth time seeing them and I’m still surprised that they haven’t lost their appeal live. That is something special. Please, go see them live if you haven’t.
Wandering up towards north Austin, I caught Jenny O at a tiny bar.
She was fine, I just wasn’t feeling it. I blame Kinky for being so good.
My final act of SXSW was Vampire Weekend.
Fucking awesome, but I’m curious about their new album. It sounds very different from their past stuff. I think I had the same sort of freak out about their previous album, but I feel like these feelings are warranted this time around (I seem to remember having that exact same feeling last time). Be on the look out for a new single early next week.
So my final pics of the fest. The first goes to The Beards.
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And we end with my Scottish boys, Frightened Rabbit.
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Time for some sleep before getting ready to face reality.
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SXSW 2013 Day 4 – March 16th, 2013
Day 4 brought me a big stroke of luck, but we’ll get to that in a second.
I tried to get the full Irish breakfast but arrived late so all I got was The Might Stef.
A good, straightforward rocking Irish band… but I was really hoping for some breakfast.
At the convention center, I entered a packed conference room to secure a seat. I also caught the end of Dawes.
Another damn fine rock band.
Finally, the act I was hoping to catch, Vampire Weekend.
They played 5 songs which went by all too fast. They did play one new track. It’s slower than their usual stuff. Not bad, but now I’m intrigued to hear the new album.
Now, for my surprise. I found out via email that I scored tickets to check these guys out in a tiny club.
Holy shit! I’m not a fan but I won’t pass up that opportunity. I did have to sit through 2 other bands (Fawn, what’s that term you told me about?). Anyway, after a couple of hours it was time for Depeche Mode.
[please note that from here on out my pictures will suck because the battery on my camera died so all I had was my iPhone. I did have a spare battery but did I check the charge? No. Was it charged? No. #SadFace]
For as old as they are, they sounded great. Yes, they only played 2 hits but they were pushing the new album, so I can’t blame them.
I then dashed into a small club to catch the one and only Japanese band I’d see at this SXSW, Chihiro Yamazaki + ROUTE 14 Band.
It’s like Herb Albert and His Tijuana Brass Band but with a Japanese lady heading the whole thing. They were awesome. I wish I could have seen their whole set but I was dead set to catch Cold War Kids.
These guys always sound great. I’m not too wild about their new stuff but if you haven’t seen them live, you must.
I capped the evening with yet another Canadian band, Hey Ocean.
So do I love them because they’re awesome or because the lead is a bond cutie that plays the flute and looks good doing so while rocking the chetaha print unitard? A little from column A, a little from column B.
Time for my pick of the day. The first is the Japanese act I caught. I wish I caught more. Maybe I’ll see them next week in LA (anyone want to join?).
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And the second pick is my new girlfriend’s band, Hey Ocean.
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Good night.
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SXSW 2013 Day 3 – March 14th, 2013
A dark cloud hung over me today, so this will be short and to the point. The first act I caught (only because they were running late) was Emicida.
It’s not my thing but I love looking at that pic and thinking “one of these is not like the others”.
Next was the band I was hoping to see, Delorentos.
These funny Irish lads kept joking about how hard it is to play an event at a convention center where everyone is sitting down and they’re damn right. But you know what? They rose to the occasion and went above and beyond. Well done, boys.
Next door was my blonde beauty, Lissie.
Her new stuff sounds great, her old stuff still sounds awesome and her voice can roar. No wonder she got a standing ovation.
Later in the evening I was going to tackle a bunch of dance acts. The first was Nobody Beats The Drum.
These dutch boys did a damn good job.
Next was Popeska.
His stuff was a bit more cerebral, but it still has a beat.
I ran across the town to catch Icky Blossoms.
Although she looks like your kid sister, she has the voice of a woman. This is an act worth catching.
Down the road was Kidnap Kid.
Honestly, I was hoping for more. His track sounded much more… interesting than they were in person.
Further down the street was Big Black Delta.
I wasn’t feeling it.
After a few failed attempts to get into some shows (the fest keeps getting bigger and bigger), I caught Paws. Not a bad act. Would like to know more.
If it isn’t obvious, the Irish gents of Delorentos are my act of the day.
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Ciao.
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SXSW 2013 Day 2 – March 14th, 2013
Day two brings no rest for the wicked, even if he slept until the very late morning. Racing down Red River I caught the Latin band Bajofondo (because they hit the stage late).
The audience loved these guys. I thought they were good, with an all too flamboyant accordion player but maybe it’s just not for me.
Next was the act I was hoping to catch, BOY.
Boy howdy, these ladies were great, especially that super cute blonde swiss miss.
Next it was BBQ time @ the Canadian tent. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking but their chicken was some of best I’ve ever tasted. And wouldn’t you know it, I missed the band I hoped to catch but instead caught this red headed Canuck, Hannah Georgas.
Damn good pop from a northerner rockin’ the culottes.
After a bit of lunch I caught Danish princess Fallulah.
She’s not an actual princess, not that I’m aware of, but I’m givin’ all the ladies cute nicknames, so there. Princess was great. End of chauvinistic statement.
Next I caught Kodaline.
They come highly recommended by a friend and they are damn fine. I think they’re still figuring themselves out. Once they do, they’ll be a force to recon with.
I only caught a couple of songs by Churchill but that was enough.
Although Jenny Owens Young was just her and her guitar, she rocked the room, even if she was fighting a sinus infection.
Feel better and keep kicking ass.
At the end of the night I caught one of my all time favorites, The Airborne Toxic Event.
These guys didn’t disappoint. The only issue was that the venue cut the set off after a handful of songs. Boo!
I won’t make these guys my pick of the night because I want to highlight a new act. I would pick Kodaline but the track I have just doesn’t do them justice, so instead I’ll give you 3 foreign beauties. Here are…
BOY
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Hannah Georgas
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Fallulah
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Night.
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SXSW 2013 Day 1 – March 13th, 2013
Greetings my mischievous monkeys. Today is the soft open (Shudder–I hate that word) for the SXSW Music Conference, as well as the close of the Interactive and Film events (although screenings are still happening) so it’s a weird night for music. A lot of the events are meant serve two or three of these SXSW audiences, and some of these acts will go home after tonight, but enough. Let’s get to the music (so I can get some sleep).
The first act of the night was Shakey Graves.
It was him, alone with his guitar and he was damn good. I caught two songs then hit the road to try and catch the next act.
I tried to slip into the Macklemore x Lewis show but it was way over capacity. Fuck those guys. Instead I stumbled into the K-Pop night and caught Guckkasten. They were nerdy pop punk. Right after them was No Brain, a more straight forward power pop group, more up my alley.
(Sorry there are no pics but this one bouncer kept following me, reminding me that no one is allowed to take pics. Thanks guy.)
Keeping on the nationalistic tip, I checked into the British Embassy to catch The 1975.
I knew nothing about them, they looked like hooligans as they set up, but two chords in I was confused. These tough looking kids were playing power pop with perfect harmonies. Two songs in and I got into the groove. They’re completely not my taste but damn if they aren’t a tiptop band. Someone needs to put these guys in every CW show.
My night ended with a nerdcore lineup. I caught the end of Schaffer the Darklord and he was excellent. If you’re game for the genre, he’s worth catching.
And finally I saw the Final Boss of nerdcore, MC Frontalot.
He was damn good. I think I’d built it up a bit too much in my imagination but he’s a fun act. So fun that he’s my act of the day. Take a listen.
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Hasta tomorrow.
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SXSW 2013 Preflight – March 12th, 2013
Want to spot me @ SXSW today? Here are some clues. My Timbuk2 bags.
My Pumas.
And my Coverville shirt.
BTW, the new Long Beach Airport is fancy.
(Posted from my iPhone with the WordPress app)
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SXSW 2013 Prep: From 999 to 109 – March 4th, 2013
After skimming through 999 MP3s, 109 tracks caught enough of my attention to warrant a 2nd listen. I’ll easily cut this group by half, if not more, and that’ll form my list of “new music to check out” at SXSW 2013.
But I should also check in with the taste makers (Pitchfork, KCRW, Rachael Ray, Jenna, who else?)… and RSVP for some parties. Any suggestions?
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