SXSW Music 2010

Hilton and Paste

Photo Gallery Wednesday

KUT radio is having a morning showcase this year at the Hilton to rival KGSR's at the Four Seasons. At KGSR's you need to get down there about 5am to even come close to getting a good seat (unless you don't mind squeezing yourself into 4 sq ft on the carpet next to the couch where you are dodging shoes, cameras and tripods), and the performers only play 2 songs, but they offer a great (unlimited) breakfast for only $5. This year we didn't go to KGSR, and went to the Hilton's KUT instead, where there is no breakfast (except what you want to buy at the Starbucks) but some of the performers played as many as 6 songs, it's free, and if you get there by 7am you can get a comfy chair with a table that is right in front of the stage. Choice made!! We saw Carrie Rodriguez (a local artist who left for awhile and just moved back) and Brazos, another Austin artist. Hayes Carll was supposed to play and had to cancel. These things happen.

After the Hilton we got in line for the first Paste magazine party. The guy behind us in line said that Givers (Lafayette LA) were good, so we checked them out. They were very high-energy. {Paste Mag has posted video of the Givers (and we are in the video)!}

Freelance Whales (Queens NY) were a treat, and then we watched Suckers (Brooklyn NY) while we waited for stage turf for Okkervil River with Roky Erickson. Okkervil is one of the hottest bands from Austin, and Roky is a legendary local musician who was one of the first to play psychedelic music with the 13th Floor Elevators. There was an amazing documentary made about him called "You're Gonna Miss Me." The amazing part is that Roky is still with us and able to perform. I loved watching Will Sheff's face while Roky was playing... joy and delight.

After Rokkervil we walked down 6th to the bus stop, and went down to Jo's Coffee on S. Congress. They had a full lineup of music going too, but we just had a sandwich and headed home.The cardboard sign in the pic at the top says "Irish I was drunk." This was St. Patrick's Day, but the only difference between this day and the rest of the week is that we saw a lot more green shirts. There were a couple of St. Paddy's parties, of course, but hardly noticed among the hundreds of other parties.

Hilton and Paste again

Photo Gallery Thursday

Thursday, we were back at the Hilton nice and early, and again got a great table with comfy chairs right in front of the stage. We saw 3 up-and-coming bands that we didn’t know much about but probably should have. We saw Dawes, Frightened Rabbit, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Now, sometimes at radio gigs you might be seeing a stripped-down version of the full band, but it still sounds good.

Dawes (CA) had really impressive vocal harmonies and songwriting. I might describe what I heard as Fleet Foxes gone Americana, singing a Jackson Browne song with Avett Brothers flair. Jeez, that didn't make sense. No wonder I don't write critiques for a living. Anyway, I intend to buy a CD. I felt sorry for them on Saturday, because their official SXSW showcase was on the big free outdoor stage at Auditorium Shores, a great opportunity for exposure, and the weather was foul and windy and cold, plus the grounds were very muddy from the previous night's rainstorm.

Frightened Rabbit (Scotland) was just a couple of guys with guitars (on this morning). I learned that the radio feed was not really live but a bit on delay when the lead singer uttered "this is fucked" because of a mis-managed capo, then played a song with the same word in it, and the radio folks didn't freak out at all. Great drinking music, I don't care what time of day it is, and coffee will suffice. Carolina Chocolate Drops (NC) had come recommended beforehand, and they didn't disappoint. Their sound is old-timey, gypsy, hillbilly, folk, gospel, very, very rootsy -- then they mix it up good, all in the same pot. We really do hope they come back here (look at previous posting for video from this event).

After the Hilton, we went to 2nd Paste party. The first band on was Damion Suomi (FL), (yes, that's the name of the band leader). They've got a hard Irish folkie sound, strong percussion. I liked them.

They had one of our favorites on next, Shearwater. They are an Austin band, but we don't get to see them very often here as they mostly tour, and mostly in Europe. They've got a beautiful, eclectic sound. A couple of pics of Shearwater:

Even though there were some interesting buzz bands coming up, we decided to see what was out there on 6th.

Who could resist this kitten?

yup, pretty much everywhere...

We were planning on seeing Or, The Whale at the Beauty Bar, but that place was a sardine tent with maximum volume (was in no mood for that) so we opted for lunch at Koriente next door, and caught the bus to a far south coffee shop (The Stompin' Grounds) and saw Rocky Votolato (Seattle, WA) and Ben Sollee (Louisville, KY)/Daniel Martin Moore. I wasn't familiar with Rocky, but he was excellent. We were there to see Ben (cellist, pop/folk singer/songwriter).

It was 5:30 and we'd hit the streets at 7am so we headed home. A great day with great weather (just like Wednesday).

Austin rules, plus Courtyard, Hyatt, and Hilton

Photo Gallery Friday

Started the day again at the Hilton for Elliot Brood (Toronto, Canada), followed by the legendary John Hiatt:

...and 2/3 of the Dixie Chicks (Martie & Emily), with their side project, Courtyard Hounds:

Now I have seen all of the Dixie Chicks perform, just not at the same time. After the Hilton morning, the day continued down the road with Bobby Bare Jr. and more local female musical goodness with Sarah Jarosz highlighting yet another Paste party, co-sponsored by Vanguard (Sugar Hill). We are acquainted with Sarah and her parents, they are all wonderful folks and it's great to see Sarah blossoming into a rising star. She has the talent.

We sat with a nice Canadian couple (about our age) who had driven down from Ottawa -- we were getting pretty comfy on an upper deck with free intense coffee drinks and hard ciders, with a view of the band, and working on a good old sunburn for awhile. Hit the pavement again to go down to Momo's for their party, and got to see a couple of local bands we hadn't seen (although the band members are ones we are pretty familiar with). There was Drew Smith/TED (I don't know what TED means), The Coveters (shown below) featuring Suzanna Choffel, Ed Jurdi and Warren Hood. After them there was a nice long set from St. Cloud. Momo's had great music (as it always does) and we saw lots of people we knew there, but decided to hit one more spot for the day. The Sin City Social Club party at Maria's Taco Xpress had Jesse Dayton on stage when we got there, followed by the band we went to see, The Trishas. I'll tell you what - just check them out, it's 4, sometimes 5 young Texas women with a lot of soul, great vocals, songwriting, fiddle, guitar, mandolin. Love them. They need to be famous.

Cactus Café

After 3 gorgeous weather days, the rain and cold, cold wind moved in on Saturday - and we were pretty much wound down by then anyway. The Cactus Cafe was having free music (acoustic singer-songwriters) from 4-midnight, best listening room in town. We saw Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore, Matt The Electrician, Dana Falconberry, Mike Schoenfeld, and Graham Weber. They were all amazing. Only ended up with one pic from Saturday: Dana Falconberry

This is the last year for the Cactus Cafe as it was. Bureaucracy wants it closed, and even if the forces of "Save The Cactus Cafe" manage to keep it open, it will be run in a completely different way. Either way, it's killed. If you've never been there, hit it before the end of August.

Festival regrets: managed to miss faves Or The Whale and Band of Heathens, and the never-seen-before Watson Twins and Black Prairie despite opportunities. This is merely from lack of super-powers and super-human strength. Later.

That's it for 2010's SXSW day crawler coverage from the Blueberry pit.