Photo by: Jan Janner
When I first briefly glanced at the lineup for Austin’s South by Southwest Music Festival my immediate thought was, “Shit, I only know about five bands from this list. Does this make me a poser? Pitchfork is totally going to reject me from their party now.” But upon closer inspection, I realized that there were loads and loads of artists and bands that I feature on Music:Backstage who were coming to Austin, that little live music oasis in the middle of the big red sea of conservative Texas. And for a week, all the weirdos of the world flooded sixth street to experience the mayhem. At the end of my stay at the “live music capital of the world,” I was looking a bit like a cracked out Amy Winehouse- sleep deprived, malnourished, and bloated with beer. But as my taxi neared the airport to go back to reality, I couldn’t help but grin with BBQ-stained teeth as I thought, “Damn, that was a hell of a ride.”
Without further ado, here are some of my most interesting concerts, experiences and takeaways from the music portion of SXSW:
Folk
To be fair, I only heard a few songs of Finnish folk artist Mirel Wagner’s set before I rushed off to catch another show, but her haunting music is the type that will stay with you long after her show ends. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be emo with my last statement considering modern folk music really annoys me these days. I usually hate that bearded, romantic, whiny folk rock like Fleet Foxes, but Wagner’s melodies are entirely different. It’s macabre, dark, sad and tragic without being cheesy or manufactured. This is the type of folk that Sub Pop should promote instead of boring shit like Beach House. Wagner’s music comes across as real honest and pure, which makes me wonder what exactly happened to her in her past to achieve that effect.
Psychedelic
Austin has a rich history of psychedelic music, birthing Rocky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators. So it comes as no surprise that there was an array of psych-influenced bands to check out this year. My favorite were Austin natives, The Black Angels, who have this spacy, hypnotic sound that seems like it’s been floating aimlessly in the air for a few decades from somebody’s garage. They don’t sound like an imitation of the 1960s, because their music has a very modern feel to it. It’s like they painted that colorful LSD sixties sound a shade of black. It’s dark and angsty, thanks to lots of reverb and a tremolo pedal used in almost every song at their show.
Another reverb-heavy psych band was The Black Ryder (Black seems to be popular in band names these days. Oh, those emo kids). The reason I like this band is because everybody in it looks like a sexy, gothic Elvira (even the guys, no joke!). The band is made up of ex-members of the Morning After Girls, which is good that they ditched that band because I saw a Morning After Girls T-shirt at a Mexican 99 cent store the other day. The Black Ryder’s cool, apathetic expressions reminded me of many of the early grunge bands who had this “I don’t want to be here. My life sucks” ethos. It was great! Think of what Black Metal Motorcycle Club would sound like if they had a sensual, Australian female singer who’s reminiscent of Morticia.
If Spacemen 3 had a baby with the Brian Jonestown Massacre then it would probably end up sounding like psychedelic and dreamy Psychic Ills. You know that these guys took some kind of illegal substance to create these weird, tribal sounds that would make a perfect soundtrack for a 1970s horror flick about aliens. There’s only one word to describe their show- “Trippy, Man.” I guess that’s two. But, Psychic Ills didn’t impress me as much as Cosmonauts who are self-described as“psych-punks,” because their show had that raw energy of garage rock mixed with that heavy and powerful Velvety Underground feel.
Garage Rock
I’m a huge fan of garage rock so I was excited to see Bass Drum of Death, coming all the way from the depths of the Mississippi, at Vice’s Noisey party. Surprisingly, for a Vice party, the place was half-empty. But because there was so much concerts and events going on at one time, most of the smaller shows had a very small audience compared to famous headliners who had four-hour lines. At that point, exhaustion had taken over my body. But Bass Drum of Death’s energetic performance made me sway my body ever-so-slightly. They totally reminded me of Ty Segall with their raw, garage sound that had a hint of nineties rock. Plus, the guys in the band had really pretty hair. Did I mention they had nice hair?
Every time I go see Thee Oh Sees gigs in San Francisco, their shows almost always erupt into a giant mosh pit. When you go to their show, it’s inevitable that somebody will spill whiskey on your face or step on you. But, their show in Austin was relatively calm in comparison to their San Francisco shows. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen the chaos from their Frisco shows, but I thought the mosh pits were half-assed attempts. In any case, they still put on a wild and rowdy show even if half of their audience were exhausted and talking with their friends.
Electronic
My only gripe about SXSW was that they did not represent the emerging electronic scene as well as they featured indie rock and alternative hip hop. Don’t get me wrong, my first love has and will always be indie rock. I just have a thing for guitars. But, there is a lot going on in electronic music right now, especially in Berlin. It would have been cool to see some more Berlin minimal DJs or Detroit-influenced techno DJs performing a set at a post 2am party. Though, I’m very thankful Dubstep wasn’t big (besides Skrillex, but you got to appease the masses somehow).
I did get to see Berlin based Apparat whose electronic music is pretty innovative. Interestingly enough, I spoke with Apparat briefly after his show, and he was a total arrogant asshole. He “dissed” me by mimicking my American accent and basically had no interest in talking to me as I thought, “Dude, screw that interview!” Though, I don’t care if he’s a prick because his music is just so awesome.
On the reverse side, American electronic producer Matthew Dear is a pretty humble and down-to-earth guy. I met him years ago, but I didn’t get a chance to see him live until SXSW. He was dressed like one of those eighties new wave artists and had the backing of a full band, which contributed to the very experimental feel of his music. I totally understand why people continually compare him to David Bowie or Brian Eno. Dear never looked at the audience once. He wasn’t performing for a crowd nor putting on a show. He was simply immersed in his craft and concentrating on his sound, which I guess makes him one of those serious musicians.
Hip Hop
WTF was Jay-Z doing performing at SXSW? He used to be a legend in the 90s before he turned into a money-hungry, superficial celebrity who attempted to make money off Occupy Wall Street by selling OWS shirts without donating any money to the cause. It’s surprising that pioneers like Public Enemy, who are equally as famous, didn’t take his place since they kind of fit more with the SXSW crowd. Not that I care for famous musicians at SXSW, since it’s suppose to be about this dive-bar spirit, but if there are going to be famous headliners then they should at least be more concerned with music than money.
Another “WTF” moment was Snoop Dogg performing in front of a giant faux Doritos vending machine. Snoop Dogg just seems to be one giant, walking contradiction. Perhaps that’s why he is so fascinating. This is the guy who was an actual pimp at the same time he was chilling with Martha Stewart. If he is suppose to be “real” then why is he whoring himself out to Doritos? Though, I met with one of Snoop’s close acquaintances who shall remain nameless, and he told me that Snoop is quite real and spiritual- always giving back to his community. In fact, Snoop’s spirituality and generosity actually changed ‘anonymous media head honcho’s’ life at a time when he was struggling with serious depression. Snoop taught him to look at the brighter side of the things. So, I guess Snoop “the counselor” is cool in my book. Plus, you can’t hate a guy who has a giant blunt in his mouth 24/7.
Spoek Mathambo
South African Spoek Mathambo was a pleasant surprise. I ran into infamous music interviewer Nardwuar at his show, and Nardwuar proceeded to ask me who was next saying, “He wanted to check out some of the artists signed to Sub Pop.” I panicked, considering I couldn’t pronounce Mathambo’s name for shit. I ended up saying, “Uh, SPOCK Mathambo.” Cool, now Nardwuar probably think I’m a Star Trek freak. When “Spock’s” show began, he was probably the furthest thing from mainstream hip hop that you could think of by combining elements of hip hop, rock, electronic and African beats. Can you even call this hip hop? I wasn’t sure. On top of my confusion, he ended up doing a cover of “She’s Lost Control,” by one of my favorite bands: Joy Division. I usually hate covers, but I thought it was a proper homage since Spoek kept that same dark originality of the song but added a new twist, very unlike Disney’s disgusting “homage” to Joy Division via a Mickey Mouse shaped T-shirt.
Not Seeing The Jesus and Mary Chain
I really wanted to see one of my favorite bands The Jesus and Mary Chain, but the line was around 90 minutes long and the venue was already full to capacity. I tried to get “cut in line” press passes earlier that day, but they were gone before I could even ask. It’s interesting that Jesus and Mary Chain were a hot item, considering they are not even a household name. But, I guess the SXSW crowd knows their music since they are all in the industry themselves. I was waiting in the line for around 35 minutes, when the “bouncer” lady told me that that they are only letting one in and one out. I thought it wasn’t worth my time, and I said, “screw it,” and left to see mediocre DJs Flight Facilities perform. Interestingly enough, I randomly got invited to a private after-party because I looked like some chick in a band, and guess who shows up? The Jesus and Mary Chain. I guess waiting in line is for suckas.
Street Performers
My favorite random street performer was the “Violin Monster.” He was an accomplished violinist who drew a large crowd because of his impressive skills. It was clear that the violin monster could play very well. He was nicknamed “monster” because he sported a Halloween type wolf mask on his head, hiding his face from the audience. Now, I have a thing for musicians, especially those who are very accomplished at playing their instruments. Does it make me a weirdo for getting turned on by this “Violin Monster” because of his excellent musical ability? Shit, does that make me a “Furry?”
Food
Austin has some cool restaurants, including places like “Heavy Metal Pizza” that would make someone like Vegan Black Metal Chef proud. I decided to check out Casino El Camino for dinner, since they were known for their hamburgers. As soon as I entered the pub-like atmosphere, I ordered an “LA-style hamburger” from a kitchen which looked like it used to be a back-room abortion clinic. All of the cooks were these big burly guys with tattoos, long-hair and piercings, and as soon as I saw them, I knew that I picked the right place to eat. The music was punk (just my style) and there was a very drunk leather-clad British guy who sung me a nice rendition of “Anarchy in the UK.”
I went to the bar to get some water, and a 40 something year old blonde woman, who looked like she belonged in a 1992 dentist’s office, told me in a very heavy Southern accent that she came to the festival to try to snag a rock star but that she hadn’t had any luck so far. I said “good luck,” and ordered some tap water from the bar.
The bartender, who had this pissed off expression on his face, told me that I had to pay $1 for tap water not including tip, which is weird because Austin doesn’t charge for tap water. He said, “Since you have a SXSW badge, it will be a dollar.” I laughed, but he wasn’t joking. The local Austin couple next to me said “We’ve got it,” and gave him the dollar. I preceded to have a conversation with them, and they told me that the bartender used to be an ex-member of Alice in Chains. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it makes for a cool story, and they don’t seem like the type of people to ‘troll.’ Considering half of Alice in Chains is dead, I wonder who he could be? Oh yeah, the hamburger was delicious and makes In-N-Out look like McDonalds.
Check out the Music:Backstage channel on Redux to see some more of my favorite bands and concerts including Fiona Apple, Chairlift, Tashaki Miyaki, Dinosaur Jr. and Tom Morello at Occupy SXSW.
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