Entertainment
MUSIC REVIEW: 2008 SXSW Music Festival
Tue, Mar 25, 2008 9:54 pm
By Mitch Myers
So I’m walking down Lavaca Street in Austin, Texas and just as I’m about to turn the corner onto 5th Street, I see a mother and her young son – obviously locals – staring at a smattering of black-garbed people talking on their cell phones in front of Antone’s nightclub. “It’s just the music people, dear,” the woman said to her son, “they’ll only be here for a few more days.”
The SXSW Music & Media Conference has been growing steadily over the last two decades, and seems to have reached critical mass. To say that the number of bands, attendees, showcases, venues, panels, and parties has swelled would be both obvious and an understatement. Naturally, with the increased popularity the festival has its growing pains, that is, getting around Austin and seeing music during SXSW nowadays can be a pain in the ass.
Texas singer-songwriters and country-rockers once reigned in Austin, and while some local musicians still have a presence at the festival, it is now completely dominated by indie-rock. Besides that, you’re just as likely to be confronted by the evidence of mega-corporate sponsorship, pseudo-celebrity sightings, photo ops and gift bags. I mean it’s a long, long way from Willie Nelson’s picnic to the Perez Hilton afterparty, isn’t it?
Strolling down the infamous 6th Street on Saturday night was akin to a trial by fire, with music blaring from every watering hole, drunks with badges hanging from their necks, long lines at nearly every show and general chaos, all in the name of having a smashing good time.
This is not to say that there wasn’t loads of great, innovative music and fun for all, you just had to be ready to walk the gauntlet if there was a band that you wanted to see playing anywhere near downtown. And while big time rock dinosaurs like REM need no introduction, their showcases (as well as their taping of Austin City Limits) made plenty of fans, new and old, very, very happy. Of course, Lemmy Kilmister and Motorhead made a bit more of a lasting impression, putting on a blistering set at Stubbs that had the crowd banging their heads like there was no tomorrow. And what about ZZ Top guitar-slinger Billy Gibbons jamming with local legend/psycho-survivor Roky Erickson? Only at SXSW.
Certainly, for every good show going on from Wednesday night through Sunday, there were at least five other events that you probably wished you were attending. I personally loved the Mike Farris show at Antone’s, and the former Screaming Cheetah Wheelies frontman has a rock-gospel-soul revue that should be opening for The Black Crowes if Chris Robinson knew what was good for him. Americana guitarist/singer Buddy Miller had two different showcases, and his hotshot fret-bending was as sound as ever.
It’s important to note that in years past, the SXSW rule was one showcase per artist, (plus as many parties the artist wanted to play). This year, that rule seemed to be suspended, with several artists playing multiple showcases. That’s great for the performers with clout (like Mick Jones of Carbon/Silicon), but what about all of the young bands that didn’t get into SXSW who could have filled those slots? I think guitarist Chuck Prophet (who produced the forthcoming album by Alejandro Escovedo) said they did about 15 gigs in four days.
I missed oldie acts like The English Beat, Buzzcocks and Was (Not Was), but got very good reports on all three, as well as North Mississippi Allstars and the badass Black Keys. Old blues belter Bonnie Bramlett played No Depression Magazine’s farewell showcase and had an all-star band of Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section musicians backing her up as she sang songs by Robert Johnson, Steve Stills and Eddie Hinton. Also at the No Dep gig was Daniel Lanois (another multiple-showcase winner). His duet performance with drummer Brian Blade was atmospheric but meandering. Luckily, Lanois redeemed himself by playing several songs off of his first (and best) album, Acadie.
Evan Dando and The Lemonheads treated their fans to a re-creation of It’s A Shame About Ray, performing songs from the classic album in its entirety. One of the things about SXSW is the diversity of the acts, and some people actually got to see Sonic Youth’s guitarist Thurston Moore play acoustic guitar, sitting down! Thurston also did his best to plug left-end-of-the-dial-music by doing an informative Q&A (at the convention center) with minimalist/classical composer Steve Reich. Rapper Ice Cube and DJ Pooh indulged writer/activist Dave Marsh in their own Q&A and followed it up with a slamming gig at the huge outdoor venue, Town Lake.
Central Presbyterian Church might have been the place to be for sanctuary, peace and quiet, as well as music from the likes of oddball rocker/mystery man Jandek, followed by Bill Callahan (aka Smog). Vashti Bunyan also played an ethereal set at Central Presby, and all the freak-folk fans got to sleep sitting up in the pews. Polyphonic Spree played a rousing, less religious set at Club de Ville and rapper/blunt advocate Redman did a quickie at the Levi’s/Fader Fort.
As usual, the Sunday night festival closer was Alejandro Escovedo at the Continental Club. Festival insiders have long known that only losers fly home on Sunday, and that the Alejandro gig will bring out the best in everyone, no matter how tired or wiped out they might be. Musicians in attendance (besides Chuck Prophet) included Austin local Charlie Sexton and former-Austin local Lucinda Williams.
I lost my voice before going down to SXSW and didn’t get to see and do as much as I usually do. But even with the insane crowds, the industry crap, the frat-boy mentality and too much fun, Austin is still the place to be.
So I’m walking down Lavaca Street in Austin, Texas and just as I’m about to turn the corner onto 5th Street, I see a mother and her young son – obviously locals – staring at a smattering of black-garbed people talking on their cell phones in front of Antone’s nightclub. “It’s just the music people, dear,” the woman said to her son, “they’ll only be here for a few more days.”
The SXSW Music & Media Conference has been growing steadily over the last two decades, and seems to have reached critical mass. To say that the number of bands, attendees, showcases, venues, panels, and parties has swelled would be both obvious and an understatement. Naturally, with the increased popularity the festival has its growing pains, that is, getting around Austin and seeing music during SXSW nowadays can be a pain in the ass.
Texas singer-songwriters and country-rockers once reigned in Austin, and while some local musicians still have a presence at the festival, it is now completely dominated by indie-rock. Besides that, you’re just as likely to be confronted by the evidence of mega-corporate sponsorship, pseudo-celebrity sightings, photo ops and gift bags. I mean it’s a long, long way from Willie Nelson’s picnic to the Perez Hilton afterparty, isn’t it?
Strolling down the infamous 6th Street on Saturday night was akin to a trial by fire, with music blaring from every watering hole, drunks with badges hanging from their necks, long lines at nearly every show and general chaos, all in the name of having a smashing good time.
This is not to say that there wasn’t loads of great, innovative music and fun for all, you just had to be ready to walk the gauntlet if there was a band that you wanted to see playing anywhere near downtown. And while big time rock dinosaurs like REM need no introduction, their showcases (as well as their taping of Austin City Limits) made plenty of fans, new and old, very, very happy. Of course, Lemmy Kilmister and Motorhead made a bit more of a lasting impression, putting on a blistering set at Stubbs that had the crowd banging their heads like there was no tomorrow. And what about ZZ Top guitar-slinger Billy Gibbons jamming with local legend/psycho-survivor Roky Erickson? Only at SXSW.
Certainly, for every good show going on from Wednesday night through Sunday, there were at least five other events that you probably wished you were attending. I personally loved the Mike Farris show at Antone’s, and the former Screaming Cheetah Wheelies frontman has a rock-gospel-soul revue that should be opening for The Black Crowes if Chris Robinson knew what was good for him. Americana guitarist/singer Buddy Miller had two different showcases, and his hotshot fret-bending was as sound as ever.
It’s important to note that in years past, the SXSW rule was one showcase per artist, (plus as many parties the artist wanted to play). This year, that rule seemed to be suspended, with several artists playing multiple showcases. That’s great for the performers with clout (like Mick Jones of Carbon/Silicon), but what about all of the young bands that didn’t get into SXSW who could have filled those slots? I think guitarist Chuck Prophet (who produced the forthcoming album by Alejandro Escovedo) said they did about 15 gigs in four days.
I missed oldie acts like The English Beat, Buzzcocks and Was (Not Was), but got very good reports on all three, as well as North Mississippi Allstars and the badass Black Keys. Old blues belter Bonnie Bramlett played No Depression Magazine’s farewell showcase and had an all-star band of Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section musicians backing her up as she sang songs by Robert Johnson, Steve Stills and Eddie Hinton. Also at the No Dep gig was Daniel Lanois (another multiple-showcase winner). His duet performance with drummer Brian Blade was atmospheric but meandering. Luckily, Lanois redeemed himself by playing several songs off of his first (and best) album, Acadie.
Evan Dando and The Lemonheads treated their fans to a re-creation of It’s A Shame About Ray, performing songs from the classic album in its entirety. One of the things about SXSW is the diversity of the acts, and some people actually got to see Sonic Youth’s guitarist Thurston Moore play acoustic guitar, sitting down! Thurston also did his best to plug left-end-of-the-dial-music by doing an informative Q&A (at the convention center) with minimalist/classical composer Steve Reich. Rapper Ice Cube and DJ Pooh indulged writer/activist Dave Marsh in their own Q&A and followed it up with a slamming gig at the huge outdoor venue, Town Lake.
Central Presbyterian Church might have been the place to be for sanctuary, peace and quiet, as well as music from the likes of oddball rocker/mystery man Jandek, followed by Bill Callahan (aka Smog). Vashti Bunyan also played an ethereal set at Central Presby, and all the freak-folk fans got to sleep sitting up in the pews. Polyphonic Spree played a rousing, less religious set at Club de Ville and rapper/blunt advocate Redman did a quickie at the Levi’s/Fader Fort.
As usual, the Sunday night festival closer was Alejandro Escovedo at the Continental Club. Festival insiders have long known that only losers fly home on Sunday, and that the Alejandro gig will bring out the best in everyone, no matter how tired or wiped out they might be. Musicians in attendance (besides Chuck Prophet) included Austin local Charlie Sexton and former-Austin local Lucinda Williams.
I lost my voice before going down to SXSW and didn’t get to see and do as much as I usually do. But even with the insane crowds, the industry crap, the frat-boy mentality and too much fun, Austin is still the place to be.
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