Saturday was quite a good day, as I had a chance to chat for a few minutes with Emil Svanängen before Loney Dear’s set at Red Eyed Fly. Admittedly, it wasn’t anything too substantial, or I would have recounted it in full for you as its own post, but it was quite a pleasant experience to look up from my bite of veggie burger to find a nice Swedish songwriter preparing his own veggie burger right next to me. When he looked up, our eyes met briefly and I took the opportunity to tell him that I have really been digging Dear John and that I’m looking forward to his band’s show that day. He responded with, “Thank you,” and asked me how my SXSW had been so far. I told him that it had been great and asked him the same question, to which he replied that it has been good, but the band has been busy playing shows all over the festival. I replied with something akin to, “I can’t imagine how busy bands must be during SXSW, but I hope they have fun while they’re here in Austin. So, I wish you well with your show.” He said thank you again and we both went our separate ways. Hopefully, our little exchange wasn’t too awkward for him.
Takka Takka (12:45pm)
I arrived at Red Eyed Fly in hopes of catching Eli “Paperboy” Reed’s fantastic soul revue, but it turns out that he cancelled due to a scheduling conflict, leaving attendees to watch a quite blasé indie rock act featuring a caterwauling lead singer. The songs were fairly well constructed, but the band’s lack of energy caused each track to fall flat before reaching its apex (and leaving my ears somewhat unfulfilled). Maybe I’ll look them up later, as there were enough occasional strains of mathy tendencies to make me at least slightly interested.
Wheat (1:30pm)
My face was stretched wide with a smile at the endearing, heartfelt energy that seeped out of this band. This trio was decked in all-white attire as it blazed through a set filled with upbeat pop, Brit rock, and post-Springsteen Midwestern rock. The big hooks were ever-present, but they felt too generic at times, though it was hard to fault this band’s sincere (though often quite awkward) attempts to interact with a still-sleepy/hung-over crowd.
Harlem Shakes (2:15pm)
Much like Bishop Allen on Thursday, the floor was filled with people yearning for a chance to hear this buzz band play. Personally, I was more than a bit underwhelmed at this sextet’s version of hipster-approved indie rock, as it was somewhat derivative and reminiscent of a group trying to catch onto Vampire Weekend’s coattails. There was a smack of fashion over function here, complete with the guitar player’s red pants, bassist’s blue/teal jeans, the keyboard player’s Ducky look-alike costume, and lead singer’s smug/prissy facial expressions. This is the height of decently crafted and catchy, yet wholly average, contemporary pop music from Brooklyn. The most unnerving portion of the show was the lead singer’s weak bleat of an attempt to mimic Jeff Mangum’s vocal style, but failing miserably.
Princeton (3:00pm)
In contrast to Harlem Shakes’ set, I totally dug Princeton. Maybe it’s the fuzzy ‘80s pop vibes, or how this band seemed to dabble with a wider sonic palette, but I greatly prefer this band’s take on Vampire Weekend-inspired preppy East Coast pop music. The group was altogether more chill and less full of themselves, choosing not to go completely over the top with its style, which pared nicely with vocals modeled after those of The National to create a dusky sensation next to the spring-into-summer music.
Loney Dear (3:45pm)
As mentioned earlier, I’m a fan of Loney Dear’s 2009 release Dear John, and my affection was repaid in kind as the set focused most of its energy on those songs. The band made the curious choice to play on top of the backing string/programming sections from the record (through a Zune!), often serving as a distraction in the sound mix and on stage. On the whole, the band played a much more rocking set that I would have expected, and Emil’s voice was absolutely huge, but it all worked (most of the time). I greatly would have preferred hearing the band make the songs work without the backing tracks, but the quartet generally ignored any of the technical kinks that emerged and focused on playing a solid show for everyone in attendance. It was the kind of set you’d expect from a friendly, affable bunch of Swedish musicians.
Titus Andronicus (4:30pm)
Simply put, I want to hear more music from this band and more music like this from the indie rock scene. There was a tremendous energy that swept through the place when this quintet hit the stage with its own special blend of Jersey-punk-and-hardcore inspired rock music, a kind of energy you don’t see at most tepid, nod-your-head-to-the-beat indie shows. There was a loud, brash aggression that dominated this band’s set and there were times I almost saw a mild pit about to form. Any band that can get 60-80 indie kids and industry people rocking at 4:30pm on a Saturday afternoon has won my support.
Chairlift (5:15pm)
Speaking of bands riding a wave of buzz, Chairlift rivaled only Vivian Girls and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart in terms of amount of shows played at SXSW 2009. I happened to catch this, the trio’s last set of the festival and it proved to be a keen representation of what I deemed to be a hit-or-miss debut record. Lush synth melodies met with plunking bass lines and shimmering guitars chords to create a weird amalgam of both gloomy/tribal textures and bouncy/happy pop straight out of the 1980s. In the end, the ‘80s retro pastiche proved to be a bit too much for my tastes, though you can tell the band was either quite tired or trying quite too hard (both of which could be entirely true at the same time).
Crystal Antlers (6:15pm)
I wasn’t too impressed with this band’s set, though they did appear to be having a great deal of fun playing music together. It could have been the cheese-tastic Doors-y organ, but I wasn’t really feeling the kinetic pace set to psych-pop rock, as performed by a bunch of guys who looked like dirty SoCal skate punks.
Soft Pack (6:55pm)
This band, on the other hand, was quite pleasing to my ears. Performing a breezy, slightly muscular blend of surf pop and punk, this quartet played firmly to its strengths by maximizing the simplicity of its loud, yet still accessible punk tunes. It wasn’t too special, but I enjoyed it.
Akron Family (7:30pm)
Calling to mind the hippie side of My Morning Jacket before Z came along, this bearded trio played a fanciful brand of jam band rock to a rather excitable and sizable crowd. Where as Houston’s own Sideshow Tramps prefer to emphasize the tent-revival aspects of its live set, Akron Family tends to encourage any/all allusions to weed throughout the course of its “Grateful Dead In Appalachia” stage show.
The Circle Jerks (8:15pm)
I was completely taken aback by the amount of spit, piss, and vinegar this classic, old-school hardcore punk band still possesses. This paragon of dirty, ribald punk irreverence taunted the overly unruly crowd members, security personnel, fey hipsters, national policy, and whom/whatever Keith Morris decided to lambaste over the course of the evening. The crowd was severely into it, what with all of the moshing, crowd surfing, and stage diving that was going on throughout the night. With a cry of, “You’ve gotta back your shit up!” Morris proclaimed a sentiment that bands of every size and stripe should adhere to as they make music.
The Black Lips (9:00pm)
Not every band could have followed up The Circle Jerks, but the balls-to-the-wall fury of The Black Lips proved to be up to the task. Combining proto-punk with noise pop and ‘50s rock elements, this four-piece might not be doing anything new, but these guys have created a spectacular version of garage rock that made for a great end to a great weekend of music.
March 9th, 2010 07:04