popwreckoning

Wednesday morning dawns overcast and humid in downtown Austin. After 36 hours of stressing and running errands like a madwoman, I am finally here. I head to the convention center and pick up my wristband (priority passes that basically allow you into venues before the general public) and get my camera tagged for the press sanctioned areas at venues. Its official- I am official. SXSW Music 2011 had begun.

After looking for decent coffee (a necessity in the coming days), I get into one of the first of many queues for the week. I want a wristband for a specific venue and without it I won’t be able to get in, even with my general wristband. I am blocks away from the venue and a security guard confirms my suspicions – there is absolutely NO way I am getting a venue wristband, as I showed up too late. I try again with another venue and am denied again. So far, SXSW has already shunned me twice, but I tried not to let it spoil my day.

I wander downtown Austin a bit and get an idea of the general venue layout. With over 90+ venues spread out across multiple square miles, I know that I need to make a plan for the next few days. Heading back to the apartment that I am sharing with other industry people for the week, I start looking at the schedule and fleshing things out a bit. I leave early to head back across the river and back into the mayhem.

At 6 pm, the streets are packed. The fourteen venues along the Red River corridor are sporting queues for both badge/wristband holders and the general public, who are more than willing to shell out some significant cash at each separate venue to see a glimpse of the action. I grab some barbeque and stand in line at Mohawk, the furthest venue up Red River, and home to two stages, one indoor and one outdoor. At 7:45, the doors were opened and security was out in full force. After getting my camera gear inspected, I was let into the small, intimate venue that would be home for the night to some of the best electronica that I have ever heard. It would be the first of many venues I visit tonight, but a great place to start out. The indoor stage is small, low to the ground, and there was a small crowd of people milling about as the first act queues up his laptop and starts mixing his beats, kicking off the night in style.

Up first was Sodapop, the playful moniker of Anticon Records’ label manager Shaun Koplow’s DJ persona. Mixing everything from San Francisco underground rap to electropop of today, Sodapop basically curated a live, mixed version of Anticon’s general catalogue, including throwing in some new musical visions of his own. It’s clear that the label isn’t just his livelihood- it’s his passion and he knows it inside and out. With this bit of transparency, it was incredibly interesting to watch him shift from genre to genre, different styles with a fluidity of someone who knows the general electronic scene and wants to push those boundaries a little further that what we might expect.  Throughout the night, Koplow would be spinning between the sets, a veritable palate cleanser with his general genre-bending sound. I plan on keeping my eyes peeled for this guy in the future, because the electonica genre is due for an overhaul and a revolution, and chances are that Koplow will be somewhere near the forefront.

Up next is a guy with a saxophone. Everyone looks confused, as this is an electronica showcase, but we go with it. Once he records and loops a few phrases, it all starts to make sense. It’s the genius of Asura and Anenon, a collaborative work of Ryan York and Brian Allen Simon. Brian Allen Simon, Anenon, is the founder and CEO of Non Projects and another visionary in the genre of experimental electronic composures, who is also multi-instrumental musician. The intricate loop of saxophone notes is then blended with piano and synth to create a hauntingly beautiful intro before drums and melodic vocals kick in to fill out the track and creates such a potent blend of ethereal tonations that it is sure to give you goosebumps. He continues along this vein, making the crowd sway and bop along with his beats, continuing to fill the room with sound. It’s like being dumped into a tank of noise- so many layers, so much complexity that it’s hard to keep track of it all. The resulting cohesive pieces are nothing short of vibrant musical imagery, passion in music form. It’s brilliant and bold and sets the standard for the night and gives me an idea of where he will take his fledgling label in the upcoming years.

Mixing the second half of this set is Asura, the creative alias of Ryan York. York has a background chock full of classical jazz, electronic, and modern classical education and experience and brings that to the table in his tracks. With an organic approach to his pieces, the simple sounds mixed in obscenely complex patterns take on a life of their own. Standing there, I felt like I was drowning amongst living, breathing beats, pops, and thumps. Live, he is dynamic, mixing completely improbable sounds. It’s mind-numbing and liberating all at once, a veritable experience of noise in its truest form. A favorite of mine was “Timber” featuring Ana Caravelle, another Non Projects composer, whose ghostly voice lends even more embodiment to the static, staccato base track being mixed by York.

The overall experience of these two was completely and utterly thought provoking and a little intense to be honest. I decided I needed a change of pace and wandered over to the Red Eyed Fly in attempt at catching Marques Toliver. I had heard through the grapevine that he was exceptional, and I wasn’t disappointed. Walking into the back of the packed venue, I could hear him crystal clear and all I could compare him to is Jason Mraz, but with a little more soul thrown in. Not only can this man belt it out with the best of them, he is incredibly vocally talented. He combines his amazing voice with lyrics that hit home with such a passion it makes your chest hurt. Playing songs off his upcoming debut EP, Butterflies Are Not Free, he captivated the crowd and myself with an intensity that was almost scary. If he keeps following the same path, guaranteed his songs will start showing up on wedding playlists and on popular television series here shortly. I only happened to catch a few songs towards the end of his set, but I am bound and determined to get my hands on the EP when it comes out to see what other soulful tunes lay in store for the masses.

After all of this electronica and soul, I wanted something a little different. Heading to Emo’s Annex, I caught the American Scarecrows set. I’m not much into folk rock at all, but they could probably change my mind on that. “Wild Hearts” is their first “single” off the still untitled upcoming debut album, and is downright brilliant. Along the same vein of Counting Crows with a tiny bit of folk and country thrown in, and you have this incredibly addictive band out of Burnsville, Minnesota. They were incredibly fun and brought out a healthy dose of talent- something I really wasn’t expecting from a band that is practically nonexistent on the internet. I am stoked to see what they bring out with on the debut, especially if the live sound was anything like their recorded sound. I could definitely see them playing Austin City Limits or Bumbershoot, possibly even Coachella in the next few years, and hope to see them next year at SXSW with a bigger fanbase.

Back at Red Eyed Fly, I managed to squeeze my way into the Summer Camp set. When it comes to lo-fi pop, they are probably one of my new favorite bands in the genre. Despite the technical difficulties, this adorably entertaining duo had the crowd singing and dancing along. Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey make up Summer Camp, with both of them doing a mix of vocals, and Jeremy playing the guitar, making the tracks simple and sweet. Vaguely reminiscent of Tennis and Spectral, if you’re into that vein. They were a perfect complement to the now slightly breezy, warm, almost summer night and I could tell that the festival was really finding its pace for the year. With their debut out this spring, their tracks “Ghost Train” and “I Want You” are both catchy and perfect for the upcoming summer season.

I decided to go a little more mainstream at this point and head down to ACL Live at the Moody Theater. I run and catch a pedicab across town (a godsend after wandering with 32 lbs of gear up and down Red River) to make it in time to catch DeVotchKa. Turns out the pedicab driver is a bass player in a band playing here at SXSW on Sunday night and invites me to come see them play (my flight leaves at 6 pm that evening).  He gets me there just in time for me to make it into the photo pit before they come on.

If you’re like me, I never really got the hype around DeVotchKa. I could never really get into their tunes, could never really understand exactly WHY everyone claimed they were so great. I’m a connoisseur of gypsy styled music (I’ve seen Gogol Bordello a countless number of times), but just couldn’t seem to get into their sound. Seeing them live, I’m totally regretting not listening to them sooner. Celebrating the release of their fifth album, 100 Lovers, they rocked the Moody Theater. The Denver based band has been around for more than a decade and yet still hasn’t lost their touch- instead, it seems like they are gathering a bigger and better fanbase over the years and are still willing to adapt and change to meet the demands of the industry and their fans. With their success of the Little Miss Sunshine Soundtrack, for which they were nominated for a Grammy, they have finally found the time and funding to perfect their sound.

This was clearly apparent with their performance. They sounded polished, perfected, a little tighter than the last time I had listened to them (probably six years or so ago, when I first got into the gypsy scene), and seeing them live was damn near enlightening. They have put a lot of time and effort into making themselves who they are at this point. Live, they are a gypsy wedding band full of fun and contagious tunes and they not only bring forth a great sound, but some interesting elements to their live set. From acoustic bass to sousaphone, trumpet to accordion, viola to violin, Theremin to guitar- it’s all there. They are the proverbial gypsy band, through and through, especially with their extensive 2011 tour schedule booked. With a blend of Romani, Slavic, Greek, and Spanish influences, their folk cabaret style show is musically sound and visually appealing. They were the perfect opener for the night’s final act.

At 11:45 pm, the sound of bagpipes fills the Moody Theater. Flogging Molly comes out to a visibly excited crowd and plays one of the best live shows I have ever seen. If you’ve never seen Flogging Molly, you are sorely missing out. If you haven’t even heard of them, go Google them. I promise, I’ll wait.

With some of the best Celtic rock around these days, they kicked off St. Patrick’s day the right way. The crowd (drunkenly) sang along, the band really got into the show, and many of the photographers were dancing or singing along in the photo pit. The energy in the room was better than any other show I have ever seen, hands down. I have to say, the ACL Live stage was one of the better venues I got the privilege of shooting over the course of the week, and coupled with this amazing band, it was the proverbial perfect show. The lighting was amazing, the sound and acoustics were more than decent, and I had a blast. For an Irish girl to kick of St. Patrick’s Day with a Celtic rock band, I couldn’t have had a better first day. I had finally hit my festival stride and wasn’t quite ready to call it quits for the night.

Grabbing our gear, two other Seattle based rocktographers and myself trekked from the ACL theater all the back up to the Red River venue of Stubb’s in hopes of catching Duran Duran. However, the line was long and security told us that there was no way we were going to be able to get in to shoot. We stood around and listened for a bit (they actually were pretty amazing live) before heading back to our respective lodgings for the night.

Along the journey back you could hear the surrounding venues, clubs, and bars starting to celebrate the holiday. SXSW Music had just started and was nowhere near over.

(Look for the rest of my SXSW coverage coming soon!)

Find the artists here:

Anticon Records
Asura and Anenon
Ana Caravelle
Non Projects
Marques Toliver
American Scarecrows
Summer Camp
DeVotchKa
Flogging Molly
Duran Duran

SXSW

Check out more Day 1 photos here!

It’s probably pretty boring to hear about everything I did while in Austin, since it’s a lot of walking and hangs with friends. So here’s a recap of Wednesday and Thursday with the occasional picture:

Best part about Texas: DUBLIN DR. PEPPER. It’s everywhere and it’s so delicious.

We arrived Tuesday night, dropped off our bags and headed to the Scoot Inn. Thee Oh Sees were playing on the outside stage and were awesome. After a 12-hour drive, it was nice to dance to their catchy tunes. A great way to start off the week.

Wednesday: I spent most of my day at the Topshelf/Count Your Lucky Stars Showcase. There are some places in your city that you can walk into any day and see all your friends, like a normal hangout spot.

Then there are times when you’re in a completely different city in another state and run into all of your favorite friends and people from across the country at once. The Count Your Lucky Stars and Topshelf Records Showcase at SXSW was exactly like that.

Not only did they have a killer lineup, but it was also an awesome environment. In between sets, friends were hugging, telling stories and catching up with each other throughout the entire day. As soon as I walked in the door, it was a familiar feeling. One that makes you feel at home. A home that happens to have 13 bands and tons of free stuff!

Gotta Groove Records gave out free limited 7-inches with bands playing the showcase including an unreleased Empire! Empire! track. There was free rum from 1-2 and then again late in the day from Treaty Oak Platinum Rum. Not to mention 150 free 9×25″ silk-screened posters courtesy of Soundtrack Printing.

This was the only showcase that I had the chance to stick around for the entire day. It set the bar high for the rest of my week.

Here’s a list of bands and I suggest you check out each and each one of them:

The Clippers  | theclippers.bandcamp.com
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die | theworldisa.tumblr.com | theworldis.bandcamp.com
Annabel  |  annabelband.tumblr.com |  annabel.bandcamp.com
Joie De Vivre  |  myspace.com/joiedevivreband
Reptilian  |  thereptilian.blogspot.com |  thereptilianband.bandcamp.com
Pswingset  |  pswingset.com |  pswingset.bandcamp.com
Into It. Over It.  |  intoitoverit.com
Football, Etc  |  footballetc.wordpress.com
Grown Ups  |  myspace.com/ihategrownups
Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate)  |  myspace.com/empireempireiwasalonelyestate
Caravels  |  myspace.com/caravels
Moving Mountains  |  movmou.com
Defeater  |  notourstuff.blogspot.com

Thursday: Headed to Plush in time to catch Such Gold and Native.

Left to see Evaline, but sadly missed them. Had a not-so-good  free margarita, then dinner at Hut’s and got a really large and delicious veggie burger. I suggest stopping there for burgers.

After that, I walked around sixth street to see what all was going on there.

There was a large crowd in a circle so I wandered over to see what was going on. A guy was in the middle of hammering a nail into the tip of his nose. It was a two-person act, where the finale was having the audience staple dollar bills to their chest. For $10 – you could staple it to his forehead.

Went out to the Mellow Mushroom by UT to see Sleep Bellum Sonno‘s set.

Got a ride back downtown and headed over to Lambert’s. Arrived just as Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band was setting up. The last time I saw KD was in Kansas City at a large theater, but seeing him at this smaller venue was definitely a better experience. Granted, at the larger venue he had the chance to move around more but as with most smaller places, it was a more personal performance.

I love everything about Kevin. His energy, his voice, plus he is always good about interacting with the crowd and introducing the Goddamn Band. Best part about his set? Songs from his project with Manchester Orchestra, Bad Books.

After seeing about 23 bands in one day, I fancied myself some sort of concert attending superhero. Powers: stamina (able to stand for an entire day), superhearing (can stand in front of speakers and not turn immediately deaf) and the ability to see the future (able to pick out the next big thing). You know what would have been a good superpower? The ability to fly…or maybe something like Nightcrawler’s power where I can just pop myself wherever I want to go. Thursday, we faced the fierce supervillain known as  ”traffic” and his extra evil sidekick, “the good-luck-trying-to-park monster.” After a ferocious battle, we finally made it downtown and found a place to park.

I was already frustrated – in the time it took us to park, I missed a handful of bands I wanted to see. Feeling defeated with yet to see a single band for the day, my friend insisted we’d feel better with coffee in our systems. The hits just kept coming – the coffee/breakfast taco place we walked to had just finished serving breakfast. NO BREAKFAST TACOS? How to go on? It was like some cosmic SXSW-being had found my Kryptonite and took away my breakfast tacos. Perhaps if I had gotten more sleep, I would have realized that in Texas almost every other building or food trailer has tacos and all was not lost, but at that point in time, it really felt like the end of the world.

We ordered our coffee, sat down and I half-heartedly ate my sandwich off the lunch menu. Midway through our meal, my friend perked up. “Bethany, do you know who is sitting next to us?” I cast a casual glance at a table of what looked to me to be your everyday SXSW goers – sunglasses, toms shoes, suits and really skinny guys. A few of the guys had their backs to me and my previously mentioned superpowers didn’t involve x-ray vision to see who those guys were.

“That’s Michael Cera.”

I listened to the voice. Sure enough, that was moviestar Michael Cera was sitting next to us with his band Mister Heavenly, while I just sat around looking like a depressed hobo because I didn’t get to eat my daily tacos.

But you don’t care about my ridiculous obsession with breakfast tacos, so let’s get to the music.

We finally moved on from breakfast. I wanted to check out Foster the People at the MTV Garage, but the line was huge to get in and I don’t really do lines…at least not that early in the day, so we walked a few more blocks and ended up at the IFC house where we were under the impression that Wye Oak was about to play. Well, there were quite a few people at the IFC house enjoying the free drinks and a lot of other people looked busy in the glass studio, but it didn’t look like Wye Oak was playing anytime soon. Now I came to Texas to see an absurd amount of bands and so far this day we had been striking out. We bustled back outside and walked another block to perhaps my favorite venue at SXSW: The Central Presbyterian Church. Why do I love this venue? 1. Air-conditioning, 2. Chairs and 3. Best acoustics out of all the venues. I guess iTunes got the awesome acoustics memo because they recorded all the bands playing there and you can download those live sessions from SXSW on iTunes now.

We had gotten a text about an unofficial lineup happening at the church, but we didn’t really know set times. So we were pleasantly surprised when our first performance of the day came from synth rockers Neon Trees. Some people are anti-top 40 radio/mainstream, which Neon Trees have broken into, but if you disregard this band for their popularity, then you’re being an idiot because they are phenomenal live. They sound a bit like the Killers and were even discovered by that band in a way. I’ve seen them almost ten times in the past year alone because of their relentless tour schedule and I’ve never been bored by them. Each performance is unique and this performance was especially so. As mentioned earlier, this band was performing in a church and their frontman Tyler fully embraced the setting, taking off his shoes for climbing over pews and up on podiums, swinging his microphone around and more. In the middle of one song he leaned against the podium and said, “We’re gathered here in the church of rock,” before busting into the next round of the chorus. The people loved it, but I could only imagine some pastor in the back of the church cringing.

Kansas City’s the Republic Tigers followed, playing several of their new songs. “Kingsly,” “Merrymake It with Me,” “Somethin’ Fierce” and “Manny Feathers” filled out most of the set. Though the official recordings of these songs won’t be released until mid-April, but iTunes did record the entire live session at the church. If you want to check out this performance, visit here.

From the church we ventured into a very different sort of venue: Headhunters. Instead of pews and crucifixes we had tikkis and bamboo. The room looked like it only should hold 15 people, but closer to 100 people had squeezed in to the back patio, pressed up against the walls and spilling over the stairs. A band called Hot Panda was just finishing up and though we didn’t get to hear too much from them, I loved the big ballad rock thing they had going on that was turned into party music with the brass accompaniment. But the real reason why we had wedged our way into Headhunters was to see the party king himself: Andrew WK. Andrew WK was singing and playing keys, while a member of Beach Fossils tore it up on the guitar, which was awesome within itself, but really made this show complete was the hosting/singing of Nardwuar the Human Serviette. With this unique trio, we learned about Canadian government, learned about Nardwuar’s back hair and we got down. Though there wasn’t much room to move, Nardwuar demanded that everyone get down and jump up in unison. If you didn’t – he’d call you out and yell at you until you did as asked. Forget the free booze parties with the sunglasses handouts, this is how you party at SXSW.

From Andrew WK and Nardwuar, we swung by the Paste Party on 6th Street. We were eager to check out Saddle Creek trio Rural Alberta Advantage, but a duo of ladies drew us into the sideroom to see what their folksy songs were like. The act performing was Exene Cervenka. The Rural Alberta Advantage performed true to their name, singing heartfelt indie rock songs that transported listeners to what life is like in rural Alberta.

Then we went to see another trio: Grand Child. Grand Child wasn’t really on my radar until I learned that the kind guy, Andy Lane, loaning us floorspace to crash on in Austin was performing at the festival in this band. When I was last at SXSW two years ago, I saw his other band, Driver F, perform a bombastically fun set at the Tiniest Bar. Driver F is pop indie rock with trumpets blazing and huge drumbeats. Grand Child is complete turnaround from that sound. Grand Child is a folk trio with violin, guitar and occasional accordion. Their were some technical problems during this set, but the band kept a positive attitude and still performed a solid set.

The Strokes were the big buzz band Thursday and unlike most bands playing at tiny bars, the Strokes were given a big stage in the middle of a fenced in park. They weren’t scheduled until 8, but the Auditorium Shores Stage at Lady Bird Lake was a bit of a walk, so we joined the masses already walking over there. The park was packed. Food tents and port-a-potties lined the fences and blankets with fans covered nearly every square inch of ground. The photography pit ended up as complete chaos – which was just another testament to the band’s popularity. Despite their break, the Strokes  haven’t changed much since the last time I saw them. Sure, the guys all have slightly different haircuts, but the set contained all the hits you could want – “Hard to Explain,” “New York City Cops,” “Reptilia” – and the expected new ones. The songs fit in just as well with the old songs thanks to killer guitar riffs and Julian Casablancas‘ almost-bored-sounding-yet-still-suave singing style with the surprise yowls here and there. Fans got a little too zealous about this show though and the night ended with a bunch of people knocking over a fence, trying to push their way in when it hit capacity.

Hot and tired from the walk to the Strokes, my next stop was a return the air-conditioned Central Presbyterian Church. I had just missed Cults, but by luck I got in just in time for the almost religious experience that was Glasser. Haunting, ethereal vocals and entrancing stomping dance moves to tribal beats: it was like the venue was made specifically for Glasser. Beautiful and breathtaking.

The next portion of my night was a tribute to goofy, geeky indie rock at Maggie Mae’s. I know ‘geek’ used to have a negative connotation, but I’m using it with a very positive tone and to describe bands with pop culture references and very smart lyrics. Washington’s The Lonely Forest performed new songs off their just released Arrows. This is the band that was good enough to attract Death Cab for Cutie‘s Chris Walla‘s attention to sign to as the first to his label, so they’re worth checking out. They’re so catchy, that you won’t regret giving them a listen.

Inside Maggie Mae’s was Aussie Darren Hanlon plucking away upbeat folk songs on guitar and banjo. He was joined by a female guitarist and vocalist that I didn’t recognize, but it was a nice addition to cover the many guest vocals he has on his album.

One of my favorite bands that I last discovered at Lollapalooza followed Hanlon. Jukebox the Ghost is a piano pop rock trio with tons of energy. Their songs are so bubbly that even when they’re singing about being crazy, you’re in a happy mood about it.

If Wednesday I was all about the ladies, it seems like Thursday had become my tribute to Canadians. My favorite Candian singer is Dallas Green and I went to watch him perform with City and Colour. City and Colour has some of the most beautiful and true lyrics I’ve heard. The folk songs are fairly simple instrumentally – mostly just acoustic guitar – but it just makes the poignant lyrics and singing stand out all that more. Just take a look at some of the lyrics in the opening song of the set, “Sleeping Sickness.” “With all the worries that occupy the back of my mind, could it be this misery will suffice?” sings Green in the chorus. For anyone who has lied awake at night with troubling thoughts, this song describes the “sickness” exquisitely.

From one singer-songwriter with killer lyrics to the next, I rounded out Thursday with a familiar favorite: Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band. Every time I see him perform, he is equally, if not more, passionate. He can mislead by starting off with the typical slow, folk sound, but then he hits a chorus and veins are throbbing and he’s yowling out with such energy and vigor that you can’t help, but be swept away. As a special treat, the set also included songs from Devine’s project with Manchester Orchestra, Bad Books.

So despite my earlier frustrations with the day, Thursday ended up being pretty fantastic.

—
Check back for more to come from PopWreckoning’s Bethany and her experience at SXSW. You can see more photos from Day 2, Thursday, March 17 below and read her Day 1 blog here.

Oh, SXSW. Sure it sounds glamorous with all the free tacos and beers, but honestly, this is one of the most tolling festivals you can attend.

This festival lasts a week to two weeks depending whereas most festivals are a mere weekend. Hot Austin days swiftly followed by breezy Austin nights makes it incredibly hard to choose how to dress. Then you have the tiring volume of walking and standing you have to do. With something like Bonnaroo you stay on a central farm and you have the option of grass to sit on. With SXSW you might start in the 6th Street area, but end up forty blocks away at the UT campus. Ohh, the foot blisters! Want somewhere to sit? Good luck unless you’re ok with getting your skinny jeans covered in the red dusty dirt. Finally, there’s the biggest challenge of SXSW: getting your phone charge to last the entire day. Other festivals can get away with a small booklet of the set times and a single map of the location. No phone necessary. But the vastness of SXSW not just with location, but also with where to find information on who is playing where with all the surprise performances, unofficial parties and whatnot, your phone is lucky not to be drained within the first three hours. Heck, something like Lollapalooza is walk in the park by comparison (literally, Lolla is a walk in the [Grant] Park).

So why go to SXSW if it is that brutal? Because the payoff of discovering new and fresh bands surrounded by people as genuinely excited about music as you are is 100 percent worth it.

This was my second time at the festival after first attending during Spring break back in ’09. It’s a huge advantage to already know how things work and to have a rough idea where things are located, but that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t in for a few surprises.

Our caravan arrived Tuesday night and too late to pick up our wristbands. Fortunately, for those like us wanting to get a jump on the shows, unofficial parties were already happening and they didn’t care about our credentials. We wholed up at the Scoot Inn and eased into the festival with some great psychedelic rockers such as Pujol, Bare Wires and Thee Oh Sees. Pujol was love at first sight with their intense energy and Thee Oh Sees were just as much fun to watch with their crazy expressions as they were to hear. Our group retired early from this Panache Party though so we could get an early start with the first official day of SXSW Music.

Wristband check-in was a smoother process than we anticipated, so we had plenty of time to grab breakfast tacos before checking out our first band day of the day. Breakfast tacos are a must if you’re in Austin. Not only are they tasty, but they give you plenty of energy — something you need to hop from one venue to the next.

From breakfast, my comrade and I set forth for Johnny Mellow’s: a bike shop. Bands will and do play everywhere they can in Texas: actual venues, pizza shops, streets and bike shops. It’s just another part of the SXSW experience. We were planning on checking out Seattle six-piece The Head and the Heart, but along our journey, we got distracted. Though it was only 11 a.m., a large crowd had gathered in a parking lot and our curiosity got the better of us. We edged our way through the crowd until we were just feet from the source of all the attention: Jack White. If for some reason you live under a rock and have no idea why Jack White is so such a big deal, it’s because he is the founder of Third Man Records and he’s the singer and guitarist in bands such as The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs and the former White Stripes. Pretty impressive resume. He was at SXSW for his mobile record store and when we arrived he was just beginning a rendition of “Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground” from his former band, the White Stripes.

SXSW was already off to a strong start, but we were determined to make it to the Head and the Heart’s set and we had several blocks to go. So from Jack White we continued West and finally found ourselves at Johnny Mellow’s. The Head and the Heart was quite possibly one of the (if not the) best bands of the entire week. They played upbeat indie pop rock enhanced with tambourines, piano and violin. The band was all smiles during their performance, so it was hard not to fall in love with their talent and enthusiasm.

Reinvigorated by the Head and the Heart’s set, we returned to the main drag of SXSW. From the Head and the Heart, it was dance time with the cheeky tunes of Auckland’s Kids of 88 and from there to synth-heavy Xylos. We cooled down with some distorted garage rock with Weekend (not to be confused with the extremely different The Weeknd) and later some unknown rock trio that was a bit of a letdown when I was expecting electronic act Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs.

I didn’t stay disappointed too long because my musical A.D.D. quickly led us to move on and go up the street to the Mohawk patio where we caught the explosive set of Givers. I had been blasting “Up, Up, Up” in my car for the last year, but never really made it on to checking out more of their songs. Well, I can now affirm that all their songs are just as catchy and fun complete with the guy-girl harmonies, dual percussion and happiness. Moments of the set were clean cut pop, but then other moments bordered on tribal, yet all of it came together to be yet another of the more memorable SXSW sets.

So how do you follow up a band like Givers? You have to pick someone equally awesome, but in a completely different genre. So from their pop tunes at an outdoor patio, we checked out the very crowded bar Peckerheads to see Portland’s Starfucker. Now this band is catchy like Givers and they also have explosive drum parts, but the sound is vastly different. They’re loop-laden electronic rock. Starfucker is one of those bands that most people have probably heard without realizing that this is the band you were listening to all that time. Their music sneaks up on you because it sounds like you’ve been listening to it for ages even though they’ve only been around a few years.

We kept the piano-dance music going by next watching the much buzzed Oh Land at Lipstick 24. Oh Land is the type of female pop music I wish would catch on – not the crap on the radio that is Ke$ha. It’s smart, authentic and entertaining. She had just dropped her album the day before this performance, so there was a song that she hesitated on due its unfamiliarity, but otherwise, this was a flawless performance. Maybe this type of music will takeover yet…

Braids literally drew us in from the street as we were walking out of Oh Land. I didn’t even have this particular performance listed on my schedule, but the music was so warm and the harmonies so simple, yet so beautiful, that we had to stop and listen to a song or two.

Paste had a sweet party going on at the Stage at Sixth Street, so we stopped in for some indie rock from Ezra Furman and his Harpoon, Sondre Lerche and Eisley. We only caught the tale end of Furman, but it was a pretty smooth transition from that set into Sondre Lerche’s, so if you’re a fan of one, you’d probably enjoy the other. Eisley changed things up a bit, but introducing female vocals, but they proved just as entertaining to the Lerche crowd. Also, being Texas-natives, there was a lot of strong local support for Eisley, making the set feel extra intimate and helped it standout just that much more.

At this point, you might be noticing a trend. 1. Pianos/synths and 2. Female vocalists. I always knew I was a piano girl, but usually I’m all about the guy vocals. Is it just that the females were just doing an impressive job representing at the festival this year? Whatever was going on with the girl power, I kept my trend going by watching Gold Motel next. That’s right, girl vocals and piano! The Gold Motel was on my list of bands to check out, but I never got around to it. Back in the day, the Hush Sound awed me with their well-crafted lyrics and piano lines that drove me to the piano to see if I could replicate them. They were the exception to the usual cookie cutter acts that Fueled By Ramen, their label, usually produced in an effort to find the next Fall Out Boy. And as the exception, they were refreshing. But then the Hush Sound broke up. From its ashes, Greta formed the Gold Motel. The Gold Motel even drew members from another Chicago band I loved, This Is Me Smiling, so it’s extra surprising that it took me so long to catch them. The Gold Motel still contains elements of both The Hush Sound and even This Is Me Smiling, but its dialed back a bit and falls more into a jazz and bluesy groove. This genre seems to be a better fit for Greta’s voice, which while it was always lovely in the Hush Sound, it could easily be overpowered by the bigger guitar riffs or her fellow vocalist’s voice in that band.

I was excited for the band immediately taking the the stage after the Gold Motel. The Boxer Rebellion is a band whose album Union really caught my attention when it first came out. Compared to many of the indie pop bands I had been watching for most of the day, the Boxer Rebellion was considerably darker musically. The band has emotional lyrics and lush guitar lines. The music has an epic sort of quality, which is probably what led them to be such a good fit perform in the Drew Barrymore film, “Going the Distance.” This is the band that writes songs for the soundtrack of your life.

Being as that we were in Texas and had driven past the Texas Motor Speedway where racer Dale Earnhardt Jr won his first Nascar Cup, it was only fitting that at some point we listen to the guy’s namesake band: Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr. The band definitely got into the spirit of their name. A big “JR” cutout flashed bright lights in the back of their set up and the guys were dressed like racecar drivers just like their namesake. There’s a wee bit of a stereotype that goes along with the Nascar crowd, so it’s a little shocking to see  these guys in their racer suits open their mouths and belt out harmonies that would make the guys in the hipster-friendly Fleet Foxes envious. If we’re going off stereotypes, the way this band sounds makes it seem like they’d be the type of guys who should be embracing the plaid, not the leather. As if the shock value of the racing theme weren’t enough, the band continued the outfit surprise by breaking out a light up suit jacket. They’re serious when it comes to the music, but they know not to take themselves too seriously.

So up until now, I had been dictating what bands my friend and I should see. What a trooper! She humored my whims and never complained, so I went with her to check out the one band she wanted to see: Idiotape. This Korean trio had one–just one–performance scheduled for the entire festival. Since they were from abroad, Austin was pretty much our only hope of ever seeing them. The guys were pretty expressionless, so it was hard to get a read on them. They looked like they meant business. Then a pre-recorded robotic sounding voice, said, “first you have the drums,” and then it continued out a beat, “1,2,3,4.” As commanded, the drummer started in on a drum pattern. Then it got more complicated. It was tongue-in-cheek and had me eagerly anticipating what the next pattern and command would yield. But then…nothing. The guys just rocked so much that they blew the power in the tiny room. Not sure if they’d be able to get things back and running, my friend and I reluctantly bailed. Hopefully, Idiotape will decide to do an extensive tour so we can complete a set with them. Alas.

With our heads bowed in sadness, we trudged up Sixth Street to our next destination. OK Sweetheart, a band previously featured in a PopWreckoning interview, was about to take the stage and they had some surprises in store, which quickly cheered me up from the Idiotape incident. As frontwoman Erin Austin hinted during our interview, some string players joined for several of the songs. They were a beautiful addition to the smooth vocals of Austin; the instrumentation for these songs were so lush and graceful sounding. The album comes out this April and is worth checking out.

From OK Sweetheart we crossed the street to Buffalo Billiards for Young the Giant. This was a band I was eagerly awaiting SXSW for, but they were perhaps the most disappointing band of my day. They sounded fine, but after all the standout performances I had already seen, they came across as too generic. I thought they’d get us moving more with their radio single sounding like a big anthem, but that big engagement moment just never came.

As I walked out of Young the Giant into the neon-lit streets, I noticed that activity had significantly picked up. Austinites who had gotten off work had now joined the fray of wristbanded and badged out-of-towners. Based on experience, I knew that this was the time of night when venues hit capacity. So it was time to plan ahead to be sure I would see the act I really wanted to see: Alexander. Alexander wasn’t scheduled for another hour and a half, but I decided to trek over to the Phoenix to be sure I got in. I’m glad I got there early – the venue was near capacity and I got there just in time to see another act that would be a top contender for my favorite of the festival: Naked and Famous.

Their radio single, “Young Blood,” had a bit of a Passion Pit sound to me, but their set was a lot more diverse than just that one similar reference. It was hard not to jump up and down or dance to all of their songs, especially “Punching in a Dream.” Though I thought my body was going to die right before their set from sheer exhaustion, they got me re-amped on SXSW. Naked and Famous are poised to be the next big thing, so do yourself a favor and get their new album now.

Alexander was my final act of the night before I could retire to the comforts of my sleeping bag. If I hadn’t been anticipating this performance so much, I probably would have bailed. But for those of you who don’t already know, Alexander, is the new solo project of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros frontman. If you got on the Edward Sharpe bandwagon this past year, you’ll probably enjoy Alexander. Giant tambourines, soulful singing and good vibes continue to abound. Even some of the backing members were the same between the projects. Yet there are some differences. Edward Sharpe songs are more happy family, romance songs. Alexander, as the solo project, features less harmonies and more introspective lyrics.  There was something almost religious about the experience. Maybe it was the way Alex Ebert swayed every time he sang or the revered way the audience looked at him, but it was a very spiritual and uplifting set. Alex Ebert continues to remain one of the nicest people in music and when all was done – they honestly had no more songs left even though the audience was clamoring for an encore – Ebert did his best to appease fans with hugs, high fives and pictures. It was such a happy way to end the night and the first official day of the music festival.

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Check back for more to come from PopWreckoning’s Bethany and her experience at SXSW. You can see more photos from Day 1, Wednesday, March 16 below:

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark‘s triumphant return to the spotlight at this year’s SXSW was slightly shadowed by an unfortunate incident during one of their set’s during the festival.

With the hectic nature of the festival, a lot of speculation and misinformation surrounds what happened during the March 18 incident at Stubbs. So here’s the facts: just before starting an evening set, a camera boom fell into the crowd at OMD’s concert. Four people were injured, but the injuries were minor. Fans and staff assisted in lifting the boom and helping make sure everyone was safe.

SXSW organizers have said they were unaware of the film crew and boom, which was brought in by the unofficial party’s sponsors, Steve Madden.

The band did not take the stage or begin their performance until all was resolved with the accident. Due to venue ordinances, the band only played a brief 7-song set before the club had to close at 2 a.m.

To clear up some of the confusion about comments made from the band on the incident, singer Andy McCluskey has issued the following statement:

Once we realised what had actually happened, and that there were people who needed medical treatment it was obvious that we could not start playing. I guess that if there was any ‘luck’ involved.. it was the fact that the camera crane fell before we actually started.. it would have been much more confusing and slower to resolve if we were into the set. I expected the concert to be canceled. We just waited to see if the injured were going to be OK.. (I hear that they are OK). Once the police said it was fine to play we decided that we should at least do something for those who had paid money and waited until 1.30 a.m. Even though the 2 a.m. curfew would not be pushed back! It felt rather weird at the beginning, but slowly the band and audience started to re-connect.. it was actually a great 7 song set! And an even greater relief that no-one is permanently hurt!

It was very unfortunate that this accident had to occur during SXSW right as we walked out on stage. We are thankful that no one was hurt too badly and we hope for all that were injured to make a swift and full recovery. We plan to get in touch directly with the injured people.

Please note that we have been misquoted in some of the media, slandering Stubbs, which is not the case. We unfortunately had our set cut at another venue in a very unprofessional manner earlier in the week and that information was misconstrued with our statement about the accident at Stubbs.

You can find more from OMD at omd.uk.com.

Wednesday marks the first official day of SXSW: Music; however there are plenty of music events happening before this date. Early arrivals can get a jump start on the festivities even before picking up badges and wristbands.

After getting in late Tuesday night, hitting up an unofficial party with Thee Oh Sees, I stumbled out of bed to pick up wristbands at the Austin Convention Center (Wristbands and badges are like magic skip the longer line passes). Though it was around 10 a.m., the streets were already bustling and music could be heard trickling through the air from random places. Most day parties don’t start until around noon, so after wristband pick-up was the perfect time to grab some much needed caffeine and breakfast tacos. If in Austin or even just anywhere in Texas, it is a requirement that you eat breakfast tacos at some point. The delicious little things consist of tortillas with your favorite breakfast combination: scrambled eggs, potatoes, cheese, etc. The beauty about SXSW is that everyone is friendly and talkative. There’s no shyness about talking to strangers. During our breakfast we met four new people and even landed VIP passes to one of our new friends’ showcases. Number 1 SXSW tip: Don’t be shy.

Number 2 SXSW tip: Be curious. Don’t be afraid to just wander into a venue or stop to check out what a random group is watching. From breakfast we began a long walk to Mellow Johnny’s–a bike shop. Bands are playing literally everywhere in this city. During our walk, we saw a large group clustered in a parking lot, which was a curious event for 11 a.m. As we got closer we recognized the music being performed: The White Stripes. Turns out this group had discovered the first stop for Third Man Records Mobile Record Store. As part of the special record store’s debut, Jack White, label founder and member of a zillion projects including the former The White Stripes, was standing out in front of his trailer with a guitar playing “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” and more for a pop-up acoustic set. You couldn’t ask for a better way to start the day.

The Mobile Record Store continues rolling around to new stops daily with unannounced special guests, so there’s a chance that Jack White will repeat the treat.

My editor Bethany informed me that acquiring this press pass means I have to actually post some articles. Having thought about this for a few hours (minutes) I’ve determined my angle.

I had three main goals for attending this year’s SXSW: helping to put on the MidCoast Takeover, helping to promote the band I’m managing (The Grisly Hand), and to see a ton of shows.

I’ve chosen to blog my attempt at getting The Grisly Hand onto the national stage. I’ll warn you in advance: I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I’m pretty sure no one else does either.

My editor Bethany informed me that acquiring this press pass means I have to actually post some articles. Having thought about this for a few hours (minutes) I’ve determined my angle.

I had three main goals for attending this year’s SXSW: helping to put on the MidCoast Takeover, promoting the band I’m managing (The Grisly Hand), and to see a ton of bands.

Everyone’s covering the bands, so I’m going to cover my attempts at getting The Grisly Hand on the national stage.

One of our favorite showcase at SXSW just revealed its lineup. This year’s Chop Shop/Atlantic Records  Showcase is Saturday, March 19, and features our local Kansas City favorites The Republic Tigers.

The Tigers are joined by Portugal. The Man, The Joy Formidable, Scars of 45 and Kitten.

The tent has always been a hidden gem of talent poised to explode. Janelle Monae is just one of the many memorable acts from past year’s events. Also, if you’re a fan of the soundtracks to things like the “Twilight” films and “Gossip Girl,” this tent is a must not miss.

To get in to the Saturday party, simply RSVP to rsvp@chopshoprecords.com. Space is limited, so RSVPs don’t guarantee entry. Show up early!

Set times:

4:00 – Kitten
4:20 – Scars on 45
5:00 – The Republic Tigers
5:45 – The Joy Formidable
6:30 – Portugal. The Man

March 19th – Brush Square Park – 409 E. 5th St.

Joie De Vivre
Rockford, IL
www.myspace.com/joiedevivreband
Emo

I recently saw these guys at Summercamp in Chicago. Maybe it was the fact they weren’t far from their hometown, but it seemed like everyone in the crowd knew their songs.

Their Facebook says ‘like August in a Midwestern state’ and that is a completely true statement. If you live in the Midwest, then you know how great August feels.

Check them out at this year’s SXSW!