SXSW (Friday): Parenthetical Girls, Future of the Left, Trail of Dead, Third Eye Blind
Various; Austin, TX
At SXSW, you shall never want for geeks or snobs, but I doubt you will find them in more abundance than at The Onion/A.V. Club/Decider Par-Tay. Held in the afternoon at the Radio Room, I only managed to catch a couple bands, the first being {Parenthetical Girls}. Another hapless victim crushed by the gears of the SXSW hype machine, Parenthetical Girls were dull, dull, dull. Comprised of a violinist, vocalist, drummist, and synthesizist, Parenthetical Girls sulked their way through a room-clearing set of forlorn tunes. As obvious enthusiasts of Morrissey’s and The Arcade Fire’s worst qualities, most of the crowd chose to emigrate to Ra Ra Riot on the decidedly more upbeat outside stage than stick around for this mopefest. Perhaps if Parenthetical Girls played closer to the evening, or better yet closer to a Noam Chomsky lecture or a television stuck on C-SPAN 2, the mood would have been more appropriate -- but come on, this is The Onion, dammit! Bring on the fun!
The powers that be tried exactly that by trotting out some hapless comedian after Parenthetical Girls. I can’t recall the comedian’s name, but god bless whoever he was for trying his best to follow the most dour opening act in history. Rather than catch the ass end of Ra Ra Riot after the comedian, I stuck around inside to see {Future of the Left} again. They were just as intensely affable as they were last time, when perhaps I was a bit too unfair to compare them so much with mclusky. I reckon that’s just residual bitterness on account of major mclusky withdrawal, but one of these days when I grow up and get over the fact that mclusky are no more, I’ll be able to enjoy Future of the Left for what they are. That day is not today, though.
I sauntered outside for a trip into my past with {And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead…} I’ve basically ignored every Trail of Dead release since 2002’s Source Tags & Codes, so I wanted to see if I was missing out on any mind-blowing new material. It turns out I am not. Gone were the ripples of melody and tidal waves of confrontational sonic blasts I had so enjoyed so much in high school, replaced by what appeared to be just a normal hardcore band. Conrad Keely can still belt out a raw one with his often holstered but still sharp falsetto, but other than that, the songs didn’t hold much water. Victims of the hype system before it was even fashionable, it’s hard not to watch Trail of Dead without expecting the life-altering experience promised by so many others. But once Trail of Dead is stripped of all the excess pretensions heaped upon the band through no fault of their own, what’s left is just a pretty okay punk band, and that’s the way it should be.
So, I saw {Third Eye fucking Blind}. Two British gentlemen, who obviously knew long before I did that this was to be the funniest decision either of them would ever make in their entire lives, dragged me to the convention center for what was to be the funniest decision I would ever made in my entire life. The queue for the show was enormous, which only fueled the fire of perhaps Third Eye Blind’s most pathetic characteristic – they still think they’re famous. Most people at the back of the crowd were there for the same ironic reasons as me, but a loyal contingent of Third Eye diehards encouraged the fantasy by sincerely dancing and singing along with every stupid song. Actually, probably Third Eye Blind’s most pathetic hallmark is that lead singer Stephan Jenkins is somehow under the impression that he’s incredibly witty. And why shouldn’t he think that? He croons in one song, “Are you real to me, or are you just non-dairy creamer?” A positively cutting remark with smacks of Wilde. In another song, he laments about how his ex-girlfriend loved her shower massager more than she loved him. Ah yes, an eternal subject that flourishes with the romantic grace of a John Donne or perchance a Bret Michaels. Still, for all their clueless attempts at poignancy, I heartily admit to singing every fucking word of “Jumper,” taking me back to those salad days of Catholic grade school when my only worries were choking down my Lunchable and getting called “faggot” a lot. I do not miss the past.
SXSW (Friday): Hungarian Indie Rock/Islamic Metal and Rap
Club 115; Austin TX
If you really work it at SXSW, you can walk five square blocks and see the same handful artists about 10 times a day. Despite the fact that I had declared Friday night as the most consistently good night of this festival week, I figured I would go see something that I will never see again in my life: a showcase featuring two popular Hungarian "indie" bands, an Iranian speed metal act, and a Palestinian rap crew.
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- {Supersonic}
I strolled into Club 115 and first checked out Supersonic's gig. If the name weren't enough to give it away, Supersonic were a tad trad-rock in their approach. At least the Budapest quartet think big: Oasis and U2 can be heard in their stadium-sounding rock. And it is done well, in spite of its somewhat derivative nature. After a long and confusing soundcheck, the band revved into gear and singer Balazs worked the front of the stage and his tambourine with the sass of a less ambivalent Liam Gallagher (he was noticeably happy to be playing here), and despite hitting the stage early, they made a few fast friends who could barely contain their excitement with meeting the band.
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- {The Moog}
Budapest may be close to 6,000 miles from Austin, but to think it is a cultural wasteland would be a mistake. While The Moog went to great lengths in making themselves presentable in an English dandy sort of way, their music plays around the same park as popular "alternative" U.S. acts like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and Green Day, but more melodic and less pretend-dark-and-disturbed (I won't include Green Day in that last statement; they know a good melody when they steal one). With Buzzcocks-sounding intros and fuzzy pop bodies, the band displayed confidence with each song they performed, and although they write a decent but generic brand of pop-rock, it would sell millions if marketed properly. More important than anything important like their music, they have a Fucking star with a capital F in lead singer Tonyo, who struts, preens, and confronts with the best of them. If The Moog were based in L.A., Tonyo would be sharing face time on mag covers with Mssrs. Wentz and Jonas. That's not speculation; that's fact.
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- {TarantisT}
While the Hungarian bands did not exactly break my realm of expectation, neither did TarantisT, but that is only because I saw precisely what I expected to see: a loud, fast, great thrash trio. You think you've had travel hiccups? TarantisT's story is one of struggle and ultimate triumph, with the bonding power of music. The Tehranian speed metal godz were booked to play Austin two years ago but were denied travel visas. Last year, they got their travel visas but were told they had to apply for a special travel permits from Dubai. They did, and they arrived, one day AFTER their scheduled show at SXSW. So, they did what any desperate band would do: they came over anyway and stayed in the U.S. playing some shows until the Iranian army threatened imprisonment if they did not return to their homeland. Throw in a few more visa problems along the way and, long story longer, TarantisT made it back to Austin to finally play a show at SXSW. Having only enough time to rehearse a small handful of songs with a quickly-assembled lineup (again, army, visa, and availability problems), the band nonetheless snapped the eardrums of every patron in the small club with rapid shots of thrash. The crowd treated the band like heroes, and bassist and singer Arash Rahbary had a grin on his face most of the night, except when he was screaming out evil in a deathly serious fashion. The smile returned often though, even when brokenly belting out the universal call-to-arms, "Is the pit ready?"
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- {Palestinian Rapperz}
There is no real sense of mystery to a band called Palestinian Rapperz, is there? Well, yes and no. For starters, there wasn't the plural Rapperz on stage tonight, only the quick-tongued frontman Mohammed Al-Farra. Rapping in front of a makeshift band of local musicians who provided suitable funk backing, Al-Farra delivered socially relevant and intensely personal rhymes. Punching a keffiyeh-covered fist in the air for a good chunk of the set, the Rapperz' leader held court on political hotpoints and goaded the audience into joining in the celebration. A keffiyeh-clad female guest jumped up on stage to trade off with Al-Farra during a track that the two of them, plus band, wrote and rehearsed in a few hours earlier in the day. Musically, the band played up catchy backdrops for Al-Farra's lines using a standard setup of guitar, bass, drums, and organ -- and while effective, it was rather run-of-the-mill. Lyrically, though, very few true gangsters can compare their thug lives to writing abut Israeli occupation, war-torn home neighborhoods, daily survival, questions concerning the state of human rights and racial stereotyping. Judging by the crowd of Americans completely losing their shit and chanting back pro-Palestine slogans, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few more people wearing the keffiyeh. If they do choose to take a side on this slippery social and political statement fence, hopefully it will be after lengthy conscious deliberation instead of wearing something as a meaningless, empty-headed fashion accessory.
On Friday, there wasn't a lot of things I haven't heard before, but that is the case with most bands from anyplace you could name. At least tonight, the song may have remained the same, but the story was always different.
SXSW (Friday): Touch & Go/Quarterstick Showcase
Flamingo Cantina; Austin, TX
I was so excited to see Crystal Antlers. First, I went to Emo's and noticed the very young crowd around me. I decided to look at the opener list and thought, “Loney Dear? That doesn't go so well with dark noise rock.” THEN I realized I'd read my pocket guide too quickly and ended up at the wrong Crystals show. I wanted Crystal Antlers, not Crystal Stilts. Luckily, this is not CMJ, so I didn't have to take a half-hour subway ride and simply walked up the street to Flamingo Cantina. Oops.
- {Mi Ami}
As you know, many mourned the demise of Touch & Go's distribution arm, which served great indie labels like Kill Rock Stars, Merge, and Suicide Squeeze. However, the label itself is still alive and well, as evidenced by the rock-solid wall of brilliantly chaotic music I heard last night. I arrived in time for Mi Ami, a punk/noise trio from San Francisco made up of two-thirds of Dischord's Black Eyes (Daniel Martin-McCormick on vocals and guitar, and Jacob Long on bass). Their real secret, however, lies within drummer Damon Palermo, who, along with Long, brings structure to the psychedelic primal whirlwind created by Martin-McCormick's high-pitched, delightfully crazed wailing and gorgeously fractured guitar arias. Martin-McCormick positively sashayed across the stage in bare feet, and the overall result was deliciously hypnotic.
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- {Sholi}
Sholi continue the trend of ridiculously talented drummers, playing in towards each other rather than to the audience for the majority of their set. “I hope you guys still have some small amount of room left in your brains for music this week,” says singer/guitarist Payam Bavafa. Somehow, though, Sholi's pleasant harmonies and pretty guitar lines seem a little too easy and predictable after witnessing a steamroller like Mi Ami, though it seems like drummer Jonathon Bafus is trying to derail this train in the best way possible. Finishing up with a ’70s cover of a band whose name I can't make out, Bavafa's gentle croon fits the song's mood perfectly, punctuated by vibraphone. This set calmed me down too much, so I eagerly await the next.
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- {All The Saints}
Holy shit, I got what I asked for. All The Saints turn out the lights and turn on a fluorescent floor lamp, illuminating drummer Jim Crook's kit. Almost immediately, I'm lulled into a trance by a dark, repetitive bass line and ghostly, otherworldly vocals howling over impossibly complex guitars. I want to wrap myself in a blanket and listen to this band at a deafening volume. Singer/guitarist Matt Lambert quips, “We were manufactured by Touch & Go. We were once called King Khan & the Shrines, but I was too self-conscious to wear a _____.” I couldn't make out that last word, but you can probably guess what he was getting at, given Khan's getups. My head is absolutely swimming with sonic overload at the conclusion of their set, and I sit motionless as the room begins to fill up for the Crystal Antlers.
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- {Crystal Antlers}
Crystal Antlers drummer Kevin Stuart does calisthenics before their set, which proves to be completely necessary when the band launches into its ’60s-inspired whirling dervish of creepy, sweeping insanity. “Can we get some more Silly String in the monitors?” is a response to the crowd, who lose their shit and, yes, spray Silly String on the ceiling, the band, the monitors, themselves, etc. Somehow, though, this band is not doing it for me the way Mi Ami and All the Saints did. I'm in the mood for dark, brooding, and breathless -- and while the Crystal Antlers are certainly working hard, I can't muster the energy to get as excited as the pulsating room. Don't listen to me, though; I'm an old lady who can't handle 1 AM rock shows, and had I consumed a few Red Bulls, I'm sure I would have been right up front pretending to be in a 1960s spy movie with the rest of the kids.
SXSW (Friday): Insound Day Party
Club DeVille; Austin, TX
How to skip a huge line at a show: pretend you're a roadie and act like you know what the fuck you're doing. Thanks dude, you know who you are.
{The Thermals} are playing a million shows this week, and I made it my business to catch at least one of them. This band changes drummers more often than socks (unless you're bassist Kathy Foster, who went barefoot for this set), and Westin Glass has since replaced Lorin Coleman for the band's first album on Kill Rock Stars, Now We Can See. Club DeVille's outside stage area was completely packed with surprisingly respectful fans who nodded in agreement when Foster observed the crowd and stated, “Headbanging is better than drinking!” IMHO, standout moments were “Returning to the Fold” from 2006's The Body, The Blood, The Machine and brandy-dandy new track “Now We Can See” from the upcoming album, Now We Can See. That “whoa-oa” chorus works out quite nicely at a live show, wouldn't you know it? Really, though, the Thermals sound the same no matter what medium you've got them in: airtight and ass-kicking.
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As usual, {The Hold Steady} killed it, which we discussed yesterday, so I'll just say that today's set was one for older fans, and I appreciated it more than you know. I danced and did a lot of pointing. Here's a pic:
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Since every WIN must be accompanied by a FAIL, my lack of geographical knowledge caused me to completely miss the Bloodshot Records party, so I'll make it up to you tonight, y'all.
SXSW (Friday): Todd P. Presents Ground Control Party
Aunt Bea's; Austin, TX
The "unofficial" parties are as important to the fun at SXSW as the officially-sanctioned, bigger-name-sponsored shindigs. On 6th Street, but a-ways up from the main disco drag, NYC organizer Todd P., along with a bunch of promo all-stars, put on one of his dozens of festival parties in Ms. Bea's back patio and parking lot. These underground, free shows tend to bring out those true blue fans that cannot afford badges and wristbands or, as was the case today, those who are simply too young to attend clubs. They also tend to feature a who's who of what is being talked about within grassroots music scenes. If that means rubbing elbows with the hipster contingent sporting bizarre and cute tattoos of cans o' beenz, tea cups, and ghetto blasters, and donning mesh-back, Ghostbusters baseball hats, so be it. Between the steady flow of Olivia Newton John hits a bunch of renegade artists showed up, played hard, and exposed a side of SXSW that emphasizes music and community first. There was no chance this afternoon was going to be anything but a blast.
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- {Rafter}
I showed up just as San Franciscan class clown Rafter was playing. Backed by a brace-faced beauty and a drumming bumpkin (I say that only because of the straw hat!), Rafter (Roberts) drove through a fast set of electronically-assisted miniature pop opuses taken from and outside from his four albums. The only thing that rivaled his awesome energetic songs was his motormouth song interludes. Obviously taking the mic after consuming a breakfast of Red Bull and sugar packets, Rafter ranted, lied, and charmed the shorts off the small but receptive crowd. Anyone who can have a gaggle of dancing girls hitting the floor at such an early hour has to be doing something right.
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- {These Are Powers}
Next up were These Are Powers, who subbed in early for the delayed Deer Tick. The frenetic trio of Anna Barie on effects and kamikaze vocals, Pat Noecker on the rumbling low-slung bass, and Bill Salas on percussion and drum pads drove home the point that they had arrived with a raucous set of full-on sex and violence. Whether you call them electro-dub, junkyard beat, or as the band themselves describe themselves, "ghost punk," it is getting increasingly obvious that they no longer belong in any convenient no wave/noise classification (especially as Barie continues to play less guitar and more toys and pedals). When the band thrusts and jerks and seduces with a tune like "Life of Birds" and when Barie hikes up her skirt to show us her tambourine bruises and says, "See what we do for you?" it is clear that These Are Powers are a band well worth any expense or travel time to see. Travel time? Hell, they are worth the expense of time travel.
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- {Deer Tick}
Deer Tick hero John McCauley III arrived in due time and took a seat just to the side of the patio stage to give the devoted crowd a taste of his aching outsider country. Although he now plays majorily with a full Deer Tick band that fill out his musings more than effectively, this solo acoustic show brings McCauley back to his basics. His short set left everyone wanting more, but he held the devotees in awe, so much so that if he had played only "Spend the Night" the crowd still would have been as happy as happy be.
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- {Vivian Girls}
It was only a matter of time before I would run into Vivian Girls. If you're playing a couple of dozen shows over four days, everyone in Austin has the chance to see the mega hot trio (indeed, at the end of their numbers, bassist Katy announced that they would be playing an additional show, at midnight on the pedestrian bridge that runs along the river downtown). For this show, the ladies took the stage and played a set of unsophisticated and exciting pop songs. Yeah, you know 'em. Many, many people flock to Vivian Girls because of their current flavor-of-the-month popularity and now-ness, and others are drawn to their down-to-earth nature and amateurish charm. While this is undeniably "their time" and do certainly hearken back to a time when passion triumphed over technical musicianship and recording precision, great pop songwriting will always be the Girls' real strength, regardless of any fashionable trend of the day.
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- {Titus Andronicus }
After the interlude of punky tweeness, Titus Andronicus blew a little piece of everyone's brains off with their side-stage blast. Throwing caution and pretension to the wind, the Jersey band knocked back song after song full of swagger, lyrically acuteness, and everyday rebellion. The band was characteristically aggressive and went full-steam from the start of every single song with a barrage of bass, drums, and catchy, crunchy riffs. Singer Patrick Stickles was completely unhinged, as he thrashed his body and mic stand around like like a drunk savant throwing the discus. There are a lot of groups who dabble in the small punk-Pogues section of sound, but Titus' passion is undeniable and their shows are spectacularly rambunctious. I'm not a mathlete, but this all adds up to a band playing in a league of its own.
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- {Ponytail}
The ubiquitous and affable Molly Siegel has been everywhere at SXSW, bumpin' around in her Ray Lewis Ravens shirt with a smile for everyone that wants to say "hi." She personifies all that is good about a festival that has more than its fair share of industry douche bags wandering around for their next free meal, drink, or line. Given her personality and Ponytail's infectious tunes, it is no wonder they drew a big, eager late-afternoon crowd. So big, in fact, that I decided to kick back and take in the sounds instead of battling for snap space. Plus, with both my and Siegel's short statures, there was no way to get any worthwhile photos short of climbing a tree to gain a vantage point. And I gave up tree-climbing, just last week. Starting very, very slow, Ponytail soon gave the kids what they wanted: an explosive, non-stop, high-NRG set with plenty of whinnying and cooing and shouting and yelping for all to enjoy.
SXSW (Thursday): Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar/Dead Oceans & YouTube
Mohawk; Austin, TX
- {Bishop Allen}
Continuing my trend of showing up just before shit gets crazy, I managed to snag a spot up front for Bishop Allen's set at Mohawk. The music project of Harvard alums Justin Rice and Christian Rudder was wildly popular among my friends in college, so I was glad to finally see them, but I honestly couldn't imagine listening to their records. They're incredibly cute, with clear, pretty vocal harmonies over guitar, vibraphone, and drums, and their set was much to the delight of the adorable teenage couple in the front row, who I overheard telling someone about how they'd been staking out their spot for an hour. Perfect for handholding young lovers, but my grumpy, prematurely crotchety old mind wants a little more substance. Bishop Allen released a new record this month, entitled Grrr...
- {Julie Doiron}
Got a text saying “bak room grl is awesome,” and so I decided to see if this was true. It was! Canadian singer/songwriter Julie Doiron is best known for her work in Eric's Trip (and, as of late, with Mount Eerie's Phil Elverum) and gained critical acclaim for her split 7-inch with Okkervil River, but she holds her own quite well with a nonchalant, vaguely foreign style. Squinting through messy hair, Doiron's style is autobiographical and honest, backed simply by her own acoustic guitar and a drum set. Her latest album, I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day, was recently released on Jagjaguwar.
I decided to conserve my energy for the next two acts and decided a fajita break was in order. En route to food, I was given a YouTube sweatband. For my wrist. In case I want to advertise YouTube while exercising. Okay.
- {Akron/Family}
Akron/Family, instead of looking vaguely annoyed at the house music playing over their soundcheck as most bands do, decided to air-guitar their way through most of it, which I think exhibits good sportsmanship. With a nod to rigidly short sets at SXSW, Seth Olinsky implored us: “We don't have a lot of time, so if you don't start moving, we're gonna have to stop!” It's impossible NOT to dance to Akron/Family's primal take on folk music, and more than one shout-a-long erupted spontaneously throughout the set. Also, Akron/Family may be the only band to actually get away with wearing sweatbands on their heads, which will continue to be true unless they get into short shorts. Olinsky's stage dive would have been a BIT more interesting that way.
- {Dinosaur Jr}
Although most people were probably in-the-know by the time they hit the stage, Dinosaur Jr were the “secret special guest” of the showcase, completing their massive setup by 1 AM. How J Mascis has any hearing left at all completely astounds me, as he plays surrounded by at least seven powerful amps. Dinosaur Jr are all business, delivering an aural assault with little ceremony, as only the fathers of lo-fi indie rock can. While I had my own intense fangirl moments with older tunes “Little Fury Things” and “Freak Scene,” new track “Been There All the Time” from 2007 comeback album Beyond is nothing but a fucking barn-burner, showing that Dinosaur Jr have still got it, even after becoming “old and weird” (as quoted from their Pitchfork.tv feature). Surprise guest Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene stepped in for “The Wagon,” as if seeing Dinosaur Jr wasn't fantastic enough. The crowd was stirred into a frenzy, prompting a burly security guard to... scowl at them. Effective. As the horde of photographers became steadily annoyed at being hit by the wave of revelers, they eventually turned around and shot the crowd in retaliation, which was interesting drama to observe from my balcony spot. Dinosaur Jr remained completely unfazed, with Lou Barlow heckling the crowd good-naturedly (I think). “Thanks for coming,” said J, and that was it. What you see is what you get with Dinosaur Jr, and since it's worked for this long, I don't see why they should ever change.
