Category Archives: Concerts

SXSW Day 02: Montezuma

So Day 02 of my SXSW Music experience was an around the world roller coaster, so to say.  The first night rocked my socks of and I was ready to get my velcro shoes back on the dirt to check out what the day had for me.  It was also St. Patrick’s Day so I decked out in my luck green shirt, my lucky green beads, and my lucky green tie.  I could’ve used a little more luck as my night ended on such a terrible brown note.  But, minor explosions aside, I had a great time.  Let’s run down the list:

  1. Pollack is the name of the first band I saw and I can’t recall anything that stuck out in my head about this band.  Maybe when I go over the videos I gathered, I can remember but right now nothing seems to pop.
  2. Next up was Marianne Dissard.   She was part of the French Rocks party tent and she had her French hanging all the way out.  The sultry lady sung in deep French language and had a morose, romantic tone about her.  Whatever it was she was singing about it sounded like it was sad love.
  3. Emmylou Harris took the Radio Day Stage and I had a chance to hear two songs from her touring set.  She’s a country legend and the way she picked on the guitar left no question as to why.  The sound was apt for the afternoon Austin sun.
  4. I doubled back to the French Rocks tent and checked out Revolver.  They were the best of the three acts I saw at the French Rocks tent as I seem to remember they were a little more rock and hardcore than the rest of my listened to set.
  5. After that it was back to Latitude 30 for some more British Embassy music.  Matrimony and was playing and I want to say that his looks were way better than his sound.  The dread locks hanging over the eyes blocked the Boy George eyes he was hiding.  The music was more like piano with just a small hint of accompaniment.  Nothing really special here.
  6. The Lost Brothers took the stage next and pepped up the crowd a bit.  I like this band but I wasn’t sure if it was because of the previous dude or just their good natured playing.
  7. Flatstock, the poster convention, takes place at the same time as SXSW to help attract musicians to concert artists.  This year they put on acts in front of the place to help attract others there.  I dropped by there to check out the Sea of Bees.  My Indie quota should be filled by this group.  The harmony of the lead singer lady and her violin player shone through best for me.
  8. The shuttle saved some foot time for the Auditorium Shores to check out The Strokes.  They were top on my list to see this year and the ginormous venue didn’t shake any of the excitement off for me.  They all played a very tight set and convinced me double wise to check out their new album.
  9. This is where things turn weird.  I had a couple of tacos from Damn Good Tacos and after walking back to the hotel and heading out, I realized that they were doing a damn good number on my intestines.  Montezuma’s revenge hit and hit hard.  But not after I checked out Unicorn Kid at the Phoenix.  The small Scottish boy plays what I call video game techno music.  I could see myself saving a princess in some red and pink level while listening to Unicorn Kid’s crunchy music.  Or maybe I was hallucinating.

That was it for the night for me.  I ducked into a karaoke bar of all places to clean myself out before deciding that I needed to head to the hotel and call it a night.  I missed a couple of more acts but more importantly I didn’t die.  That said, the line up for Day 02 was respectable and I’m glad I got to rock out to The Strokes.

SXSW Day 01: Back From The Dead

I know, I know. The SXSW 2011 Music trip was dead here last week. Due to some very unfortunate happenings, I wasn’t able to record exactly what I did. So I’m back now and all caught up, but still fighting a cold. This years music portion of SXSW was a total blast, even though rumors overhyped the whole event. Day 1 was no slouch so let me run down real quick who I saw:

  1. First up was Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers. I caught the last song of this set at the Austin Convention Center and was able to check out the weird, accordion like instrument Shlipa played. For the short time I saw them, the killed.
  2. I tooled over to Latitude 30 after that to see some British Embassy music. First up was The Last Republic and they were alright. I don’t recall anything that stuck out in my head about them so that’s either good or bad. I don’t know
  3. Next up was Gallops and I have to say that the drummer was the man. He made the guitarist tune his guitar by hearing and ordered the roadie to use the left stage monitor as his drum monitor because of the electric fire smelling failure of some equipment. Things went wrong left and right and this guy kept it together and helped the band put on a good show.
  4. I was at some tent next for the Canadian BBQ and witness the clean-cut rap that is More or Les. He rapped alot about old school stuff and food. Good thing the BBQ was tasty because he made me mega hungry. His back up beats guy also did a nice beat set using Tenacious D samples.
  5. I don’t really remember who played at the New Zealand music tent but it obviously wasn’t good enough for me to remember.
  6. For the start of the evening sessions, Hundreds put on a great electronic chill pop set. It was a guy and girl from Berlin and they wove together voice, electronic, and piano arrangements. The cool thing was we saw Rusty Hodge’s wife there. Rusty is the man behind my favorite online radio site Somafm.com.
  7. Next up was Austin’s own Eagle Claw. I needed metal and I got my daily requirement. These guys banged and grinded enough to keep me satisfied. It was a very tight set.
  8. Over at the Speakeasy, I witnessed the blues duo of Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Benois King. Smokin’ Joe was a big fat guy with a billy goat white goatee. He needed a fan to blow his long hair and cool off his hot guitar licks. Meanwhile, Benois was you cool, laid black blues guy shuffling in some dark sunglasses. They are the peanut butter and jelly sandwich of blues.
  9. I cut through 6th street and made a quick pit stop to see The Vandelles. Surf pop or shoegaze came to mind when this 4 piece band went on stage. Yet again, however, I was mesmerized by the drummer. She was about as intense as the Gallops guy.
  10. The Gemini Club was next and these Chicago boys mixed rock and techno very well. There was load of equipment on stage and in a theme the prevailed the whole conference, they switch instruments on fly. You should check these guys out.
  11. To close out the night, it was none other than Duran Duran. I’m not much of an 80s guy but Duran Duran put on a great show, aside from a pretty long band intro at the end of the show. Every year I get to see some big legend and Duran Duran is no excuse.

So that was Day 1. I took some pics and videotaped one song of just about all of the bands I saw. When I get done summarizing, I will put them up on YouTube and talk a little more in depth for the bands. Until then, look for Day 2, which should show up alot sooner than Day 1.

The Decemberists and Mountain Man: A Sea Salt Pine Cone Taste

Last night saw my triumphant return to the Uptown Theater in Kansas City as well as my return to actually attending concerts.  My lovely girlfriend wanted an experience for Christmas and instead of an overnight stay at a bed & breakfast, I opted for The Decemberists with Mountain Man.  My tired body watched the spectacle from up top and I have to say that the show went as expected, sans some annoying concert goers.

Continue reading The Decemberists and Mountain Man: A Sea Salt Pine Cone Taste

The Flaming Lips Kissed Off Sandstone

Last Friday, I had the chance to tool on down to Bonner Springs, Kansas and check out one of my favorite bands, the Flaming Lips.  Lo and behold, they brought along some other bands and tooled out of work just early enough to catch most of them.  Overall, the show was well worth about the 40 bucks I paid with 10 for parking.  It wasn’t all rainbow roses, though, so let’s go over who I saw.
Continue reading The Flaming Lips Kissed Off Sandstone

SXSW Day 4: Cold Weather Doesn’t Stop Hot Rock

The last day of SXSW proved to be much chillier than what I expected down here in Austin, Texas.  Winter wasn’t going out with  a band just yet and on the first day of Spring, a cold northern wind and storm brought things back to winter like conditions.  I speculated before the night time shows that the crowds would thin out.  I was only partially right, which is a testament to all of the  music fans who showed for SXSW.

During the day I hit up some of the SXSW sponsored and witnessed some free flowing music, along with some free flowing drinks.  I recharged at the IFC Crossroads house, hit a local pizza joint, and then headed out for the night shows.  By the time the winds calmed down, the night time air was more than manageable.  I didn’t stay out until 2 am, but we did get another full day of tunes under the belt.  Here’s the good stuff of what I saw:

  • The first stop for the day saw us hit the Soho Lounge for an Mpress Records Showcase.  The Meiko Canon played along and while they didn’t blow my lid off, the mix of folk and rock along with the female vocal marked a good start for concert going.
  • After a quick detour to the day stage at the conference center, we hung out at the Hauge party tent.  Nicad played and picked up the energy even more.  The lead singer push his voice toward Weird Al Yankovic territory while the punk rock rythms flowed through.
  • The Capital Records tent next door kicked off shorthly thereafter and I had a couple of drinks while watching Mackintosh Braun.  My interest didn’t pick up until they played their last song.  The synth and keyboard filled ambient noise washed over a baning drum set.  It’s worth checking them out.
  • I had a thirst for more food and drink so I went to the Aussie BBQ Showcase at Maggie Mae’s.  Andy Clockwise cursed like a sailor and rocked out like a soldier.   What better way to get your blood flowing to keep you warm than a nice hard rock set in the middle of the day?
  • The show off the night was at the Billboard.com Bungalow.  Street Sweeper Social Club brought down the tent with its funk infused rock and covers set.  Little known fact:  Tom Morrello of Rage Against the Machine just happens to be the guitarist.  Oh and it showed too.  That guy is an official guitar god in my eyes.
  • Hoofing it over to the Alehouse, I was expecting some Celtic music from the Mighty Steph.  What I got was a blues/country/irish mix of music that sat perfectly with the run down atmosphere of the joint.  If I ever need to just get drunk alone in a dank bar, I will be sure to play the Mighty Steph when I do so.
  • Finally, the last set of SXSW for me saw it being performed in the most fitting of places: the Driskell Hotel Cafe.  The Wave Machines are a British band from Liverpool and they sound like the evolution of another Liverpool band, the Beatles.  They had an impressive collection of drum machines, synths, and all things electric.  But they also had the standard rock setup of drums, guitar, and piano.  The didn’t go overboard on the instruments, however, picking and choosing the right piece for the right song.  All of it smooth, poppy, and dancy.  A great way to finish SXSW.