What Jim McGuinn Loved At SXSW
My SXSW, by Jim McGuinn...
First, the stats: 4 Days - an even 50 Bands seen, possibly even more Shiner Bocks consumed, and lots of great highlights... here's a few of them below - and much thanks to WXPN's Roger Lamay, Bruce Warren, David Dye, and my roomate for the week, our chief engineer / bass player / Yrock DJ Jared Styles.
Thrill: For me professionally, it was being chosen to MC the entire Tribute to Lou Reed that took place at the Fader Fort. With acts including Thurston Moore, My Morning Jacket, Yo La Tengo, Joseph Arthur, Moby, and our own Dr. Dog, it was indeed an honor to try to set the tone and help pull off and hastily arranged but wonderfully executed tribute to the godfather of all things indie / punk / dark / cool. As Lou said when exiting the stage, "I love Punk Rock. And I was the first." Indeed.
Promise Fulfilled: My Morning Jacket - all the kudos and "our generation's Led Zeppelin" post-gig praise is well-deserved and couldn't have happened to nicer guys. The new album tracks sounded incredible live, and the old now classics were punchier and thrown down with more gusto than ever before. 2008 could be the year that this band goes from 'Big Important (but Cult) Band' to just 'Big Band.' I said at the Lou Reed thing that they were the best live band in America but I could've said best live band in the world or maybe even best band in the world, and after the new album and this year's tours, maybe we will.
Imported faves, UK version: The Wombats were everything I'd hoped for - short, sharp, snappy songs, cheeky wit, and punchy tunes from a band that looked impossibly young. There is finally a US EP on the way, although the album that contains the Yrock hit song "Let's Dance to Joy Division" won't be out here till fall! The Heavy were also a blast - imagine Curtis Mayfield fronting a rocking R&B band (that's R&B the way the Yardbirds played it, not R. Kelly style), with killer falsetto vocals and a potential star in frontman Swabi (great name too!). Another good one from the other side of the pond was the Ting Tings - think a reverse White Stripes - a two-piece with a blond frontwoman and a rockin' dude drumming. Fanfarlo - this poor band was cursed with a malfunctioning keyboard and craptastic sound, but still managed to shine through on the strength of their charming pop songs and stage presence. Without an album in the UK, and no record deal in the US yet, it may be a while before they hit our shores again, but their 4 indie UK singles are definitely worth seeking out, and I became a fan despite the sonic issues off their SXSW performance.
Imnported faves, Spainish version: Two of my absolute favorites this year were two dancable rock bands from Spain, of all places - Delorean and We Are Standard. I had been turned onto Delorean by Yrock's Rock Internationale host Ramon Martinez, but seeing them live far surpassed what I'd heard on their debut album. They managed to be both highly danceable, and dark and melodic at the same time - with edgy beats augmented by spacey keyboards, tightly chorused basslines, and staccato guitar stabs, all wrapping around post-punk vocals. Probably my favorite band / discovery of the entire weekend. The next night while waiting for another band to start (the charming Jonathan Richman-like Ezra Furman), I wound up seeing We Are Standard, another band from Spain (technically, Basque country) that mixed edgy dance and post-punk. And if anyone is wondering, both bands sing in English, and both bands are worth seeking out.
Things I was hoping would be good, and were:
Thrill: For me professionally, it was being chosen to MC the entire Tribute to Lou Reed that took place at the Fader Fort. With acts including Thurston Moore, My Morning Jacket, Yo La Tengo, Joseph Arthur, Moby, and our own Dr. Dog, it was indeed an honor to try to set the tone and help pull off and hastily arranged but wonderfully executed tribute to the godfather of all things indie / punk / dark / cool. As Lou said when exiting the stage, "I love Punk Rock. And I was the first." Indeed.
Promise Fulfilled: My Morning Jacket - all the kudos and "our generation's Led Zeppelin" post-gig praise is well-deserved and couldn't have happened to nicer guys. The new album tracks sounded incredible live, and the old now classics were punchier and thrown down with more gusto than ever before. 2008 could be the year that this band goes from 'Big Important (but Cult) Band' to just 'Big Band.' I said at the Lou Reed thing that they were the best live band in America but I could've said best live band in the world or maybe even best band in the world, and after the new album and this year's tours, maybe we will.
Imported faves, UK version: The Wombats were everything I'd hoped for - short, sharp, snappy songs, cheeky wit, and punchy tunes from a band that looked impossibly young. There is finally a US EP on the way, although the album that contains the Yrock hit song "Let's Dance to Joy Division" won't be out here till fall! The Heavy were also a blast - imagine Curtis Mayfield fronting a rocking R&B band (that's R&B the way the Yardbirds played it, not R. Kelly style), with killer falsetto vocals and a potential star in frontman Swabi (great name too!). Another good one from the other side of the pond was the Ting Tings - think a reverse White Stripes - a two-piece with a blond frontwoman and a rockin' dude drumming. Fanfarlo - this poor band was cursed with a malfunctioning keyboard and craptastic sound, but still managed to shine through on the strength of their charming pop songs and stage presence. Without an album in the UK, and no record deal in the US yet, it may be a while before they hit our shores again, but their 4 indie UK singles are definitely worth seeking out, and I became a fan despite the sonic issues off their SXSW performance.
Imnported faves, Spainish version: Two of my absolute favorites this year were two dancable rock bands from Spain, of all places - Delorean and We Are Standard. I had been turned onto Delorean by Yrock's Rock Internationale host Ramon Martinez, but seeing them live far surpassed what I'd heard on their debut album. They managed to be both highly danceable, and dark and melodic at the same time - with edgy beats augmented by spacey keyboards, tightly chorused basslines, and staccato guitar stabs, all wrapping around post-punk vocals. Probably my favorite band / discovery of the entire weekend. The next night while waiting for another band to start (the charming Jonathan Richman-like Ezra Furman), I wound up seeing We Are Standard, another band from Spain (technically, Basque country) that mixed edgy dance and post-punk. And if anyone is wondering, both bands sing in English, and both bands are worth seeking out.
Things I was hoping would be good, and were:
Be Your Own Pet - We've been playing these Nashville teen punks since they were in high school, but this was the first time I got to see them, and they ripped it up! Loud, short songs on the verge of collapse, with an energy and passion that could only come from some disaffected youth from what one would not expect to be a punk outpost like Nashville.
The Weakerthans - I've long been a fan of John Samson and these Canadians, but never seen them either. Literate, smart, yet high energy rock and roll - they will never be the next big anything, but you could do far worse than spending some time listening to this band.
Santogold - she's our Philly homegirl Santi White, moved up to Brooklyn and shedding her punk / R&B roots to immerse herself into a new form of post-electronica, courtesy of beats provided by Diplo and others, and like her often compared to friend M.I.A., she mixes a sassy girl power aesthetic with a kitchen sink of musical singposts - from dancehall to hiphop to punk and back, she manages to inspire and excite - I can't wait for her album to drop in April - the buzz on her is growing daily and her performaces at SXSW will only encourage the deserved attention. At one of the Santogold shows we saw, she was opening for Spank Rock (whom she also guested with), and this may have been the best live hip-hop set I've ever seen. Funny, no - hilarious, full of super high energy boasts and clever musical theivery and beats, and a crew of MCs including Philly's Amanda Blank, these Baltimorians are also poised to blow up as the party hip hop act of the year. What had only marginally made sense to me on record suddenly was visceral and hysterical and brilliant in front of me, and while one of the most overtly sexually oriented acts you will ever hear or see, compared to the 2 Live Crew set that followed, Spank Rock has the subtlety, wit, and lyrical brilliance that their spiritual forefathers of smut-rap could have never possessed.
Blissed out highlight, off campus version: The Allen Oldies Band. The majority of music at SXSW happens around the 6th Street area - in case you've ever wondered what it would be like for Philadelphia's South Street to have 60 clubs between the Whole Foods and the River... that's Austin - but sometimes it is nice to escape the veritable orgy of sound that is 6th Street for those 4 days. And for our escape we wandered down to South Congress, one of Austin's quirkiest, friendliest, and still artsiest neighborhoods. Packed with cool boutiques and eateries, SXSW bleeds into South Congress as another place for some free daytime shows, and stumbling upon one such show, we encountered Houston's The Allen Oldies Band. Think 40-something post-hipsters with sideburns wearing matching green tuxes and playing rauccous versions of '60s garage rock jams. Fronted by Allen Hill, a smarmy lounge lizard who made up in stage presence what he lacked in singing talent, and also boasting one of the greatest and most obnoxiously funny bongo playing annoucer / hypemeister to ever grace the stage, . Between the Las Manitas tacos for breakfast, the escape to the relative spaciousness and cool vibes of South Congress, the postcard perfect sunny 78 degree skies, or the hilarity of the Allen Oldies Band (we're an oldies band - so we only play OLDIES!), it felt like I reached my SXSW rock and roll nirvana during their take of "Bend Me Shape Me."
Loudest: A Place to Bury Strangers - If you are at all a fan of stuff like the Jesus and Mary Chain or My Bloody Valentine or Ride, look into these New Yorkers - they ripped my head off one night, and I was really glad I had remembered to bring my earplugs along - shards of noise emanated from the guitar, and the bass player looked hungover and onery, while the drummer ripped the crap out of his kit - all behind some melodically fuzzy jams.
Disappointment: MGMT - Maybe the venue was too large, but to me these guys just came off as meandering and unfocused and like some kind of obvious retread of psych-folk-electronic rock. I still like the album very much, but maybe this is another example where the attention and hype of the blog-o-verse creates a situation where bands are pushed into too large of venues than they are ready for with their live shows. These guys were probably great at a Johnny Brenda's, but in front of 2,500 at Stubbs, they couldn't fill and hold the stage for me.
Delight: Jens Lekkman - he's a clever and melodic Swede who has crafted a weird world in his music that is almost embarrassingly confessional episodes from his own life - outside of hiphop, he probably mentions his own name in his songs more than anyone I've ever heard. I was bummed he didn't do the Delightful "Postcard to Nina" in the set I saw though.
Surreal Moment(s): A tie... hard to compare these two, but here goes - was it a) standing next to Lou Reed for a few hours watching band after band get up onstage and pay tribute to him by covering his songs, or b) thrusting my fist in the air shouting out obscenities along with the rest of the crowd watching 2 Live Crew tear it up on stage - which is soooo wrong on so many levels, yet was sooo fun (First off, who even knew they still existed? Why were they playing SXSW? And why is it so fun to sing along with dated misogynist crap/rap?). There - I've just compared Lou Reed to 2 Live Crew. I think that covers the width and breadth that was SXSW, 2008!
Blissed out highlight, off campus version: The Allen Oldies Band. The majority of music at SXSW happens around the 6th Street area - in case you've ever wondered what it would be like for Philadelphia's South Street to have 60 clubs between the Whole Foods and the River... that's Austin - but sometimes it is nice to escape the veritable orgy of sound that is 6th Street for those 4 days. And for our escape we wandered down to South Congress, one of Austin's quirkiest, friendliest, and still artsiest neighborhoods. Packed with cool boutiques and eateries, SXSW bleeds into South Congress as another place for some free daytime shows, and stumbling upon one such show, we encountered Houston's The Allen Oldies Band. Think 40-something post-hipsters with sideburns wearing matching green tuxes and playing rauccous versions of '60s garage rock jams. Fronted by Allen Hill, a smarmy lounge lizard who made up in stage presence what he lacked in singing talent, and also boasting one of the greatest and most obnoxiously funny bongo playing annoucer / hypemeister to ever grace the stage, . Between the Las Manitas tacos for breakfast, the escape to the relative spaciousness and cool vibes of South Congress, the postcard perfect sunny 78 degree skies, or the hilarity of the Allen Oldies Band (we're an oldies band - so we only play OLDIES!), it felt like I reached my SXSW rock and roll nirvana during their take of "Bend Me Shape Me."
Loudest: A Place to Bury Strangers - If you are at all a fan of stuff like the Jesus and Mary Chain or My Bloody Valentine or Ride, look into these New Yorkers - they ripped my head off one night, and I was really glad I had remembered to bring my earplugs along - shards of noise emanated from the guitar, and the bass player looked hungover and onery, while the drummer ripped the crap out of his kit - all behind some melodically fuzzy jams.
Disappointment: MGMT - Maybe the venue was too large, but to me these guys just came off as meandering and unfocused and like some kind of obvious retread of psych-folk-electronic rock. I still like the album very much, but maybe this is another example where the attention and hype of the blog-o-verse creates a situation where bands are pushed into too large of venues than they are ready for with their live shows. These guys were probably great at a Johnny Brenda's, but in front of 2,500 at Stubbs, they couldn't fill and hold the stage for me.
Delight: Jens Lekkman - he's a clever and melodic Swede who has crafted a weird world in his music that is almost embarrassingly confessional episodes from his own life - outside of hiphop, he probably mentions his own name in his songs more than anyone I've ever heard. I was bummed he didn't do the Delightful "Postcard to Nina" in the set I saw though.
Surreal Moment(s): A tie... hard to compare these two, but here goes - was it a) standing next to Lou Reed for a few hours watching band after band get up onstage and pay tribute to him by covering his songs, or b) thrusting my fist in the air shouting out obscenities along with the rest of the crowd watching 2 Live Crew tear it up on stage - which is soooo wrong on so many levels, yet was sooo fun (First off, who even knew they still existed? Why were they playing SXSW? And why is it so fun to sing along with dated misogynist crap/rap?). There - I've just compared Lou Reed to 2 Live Crew. I think that covers the width and breadth that was SXSW, 2008!
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