Last post about strictly the bands. My next (and hopefully last) post about SXSW 2008 will talk about my general experiences there.

Saturday, March 15

Grand Ole Party - We'd seen them all weekend in passing and in print. Now was our time to see them perform! It was a running joke ever since we saw them get on stage with Phil and the Osophers and then later when we walked past them on the street the next day. I think they were even better than when I saw them open for Rilo Kiley at the 9:30 Club last year. It's funny, but without the outlandish golden glittery outfit she had on at the 9:30 Club, the singer looks completely normal and doesn't really stand out. I mean, she walks, talks, and looks like anybody else. But once they start playing, she'll wallop you with her amazing voice. It's really pretty neat.

A Place to Bury Strangers - They're touted as "the loudest band in New York" right now which amuses me greatly since they're from originally Fredericksburg, Virginia (about 45 minutes south of DC). I have to admit, they were pretty damn loud though. But it was a good kind of loud. I can't say I like all noise bands and I don't like all feedback, but there is a particular kind of feedback that you can achieve that wraps you up in a warm blanket and cocoons you in a happy wave of fuzziness and good-feeling. This band does that. I would recommend bringing earplugs if you do see them though. Especially when they put the mic right up against an amp. Also, the guitarist uses two belts as his guitar strap. That is simply badass.

The Indelicates - Another british band! Playing in a mexican restaurant! I hold nothing against these guys as musicians, but man, their lyrics sucked. At one point, they sang a ballad about how Pete Dougherty must die. I guess that was supposed to be funny, but no one laughed, except maybe the singer. Also, they had the most useless rhythm guitarist ever. Usually, the singer plays rhythm guitar because it's pretty hard to sing and play hard guitar parts at the same time (unless you're Billy Corgan in which case, you CAN sing and play guitar, but your voice sucks; a tragedy really). But the singer was also the lead guitarist, and from my estimation, a pretty decent guitarist as well. So why did they have a rhythm guy at all? The bassist was good enough that her bass lines were carrying the rhythm anyway. All the rhythm guitarist did was play power chords and pose and posture and stare at the audience hoping for any sign of validation for his presence (which he didn't get). At one point, the singer actually told him to get off the stage (ostensibly so he could sing his not-funny ballad with just the keyboardist as accompaniment; the drummer and bassist also left, but I think they were just feeling nice). But anyway, decent enough musicians, but I was not amused (or entertained really).

The Redwalls - The next band up was not a british band, but clearly inspired by the wave of british invasion bands of the 60s (hell, they even dress like them to an extent). They're pretty good at what they do, and look like they have fun doing it too, so more power to them. Also, the lead guitarist was sometimes playing a 12-string guitar. I was wondering why it sounded different until I noticed him tuning it and thought, "Hey, that guitar has way too many tuning knobs!" Duh. But yeah, a thoroughly enjoyable set. They had some pretty vocal fans too as, after their last song (and they played a decent 10-song set), people were shouting for an encore. Unfortunately, there were like 2 or 3 more bands to go, so they had to get off.

Kevin Shields - Contrary to my belief (and possibly popular belief, as I met a trio of shoegazing young women who were similarly surprised), this was not actually the musician Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine fame, but a band named Kevin Shields out of California (that explains why the person I thought was Kevin Shields looked so young and well-preserved!). The tipoff should have been that they were listed under K instead of S in the SXSW showcased band list, but I was too excited about the possibility I guess (this also explains why Abe Vigoda was also in the showcase list). Anyway, I was not a big fan of that particular kind of noise which looked like it used a lot of electronic, computer, and mechanical devices. Listening to it just leaves me feeling cold and empty inside (as opposed to listening to feedback sounds from bands like Yo La Tengo and A Place to Bury Strangers). Oh well.

The Emeralds - Although I was present in the club for them, I can't really say I paid them that much attention because I was talking to random people. Between sets, I did hear someone in the audience say, "Oh man, I don't know how the next band can top that last one!" Little did they know that they would soon be listening to...

The Pillows - It was 3 years since the last time they'd played at SXSW (which I think was also the beginning of their only North American tour) and I was deadset on seeing them (which is why I arrived early enough to see the Emeralds come on). I don't know if the crowd was just more eager to please because of the singer's exhortations in Engrish or if there were a lot of anime fans or what, but the crowd was really pumped up. Accordingly, the band played all of their songs from the FLCL soundtrack with maybe 2 or 3 new ones. I heard a lot of people singing along. But it was fun and I got into it too (well, not the singing part). Some examples of their Engrish:

Singer: I live. In Tokyo. And I am sad. That it is so PORRUTED. But Austin. Austin is. GOOD!
<crowd cheers wildly>

Singer: We flew in LA yesterday. And the crowd was so much LOUDER. Please. Show us your LOUDER.
<crowd cheers even more wildly>

Singer: I. I have. I have discovered. I have discovered that. Old music. Is just as good as. New music. So. Here is Ride On Shooting Star!
<crowd cheers insanely; some anime fans cream their jeans>

All in all, good times.