March 20, 2008 – 1:14 am | Written by Chip Midnight
Apparently the people booking shows at The Underworld Concert Club (4625 Maize Rd.) want to keep their club a secret. Searching as I might, I have yet to find any web presence for the club and only by dumb luck have I discovered a few upcoming shows. For those familiar with the Northland Mall area, this club is apparently very close to the corner of Maize and Morse, in the old Tony’s Bar and Grill spot.
Since they aren’t advertising these shows, I thought I might as well give them some publicity.
The last day started with a great breakfast at Progress Coffee with some friends. If I would have discovered this place earlier, I probably would have went every morning. So good, Austin, so good.
As mentioned on the Wumme, we started Saturday off at The Fader Fort with Dri, not D.R.I. as we thought it was gonna be. Oopst. Rookie mistake! Ah well. They were okay I guess but not memorable.
It was time to see Lykke Li. It was my first time seeing them, but for some it was their fifth time in 3 days. And I could understand why - her music and stage presence is infectious. I’m thinking that her career is going to get a big boost thanks to SXSW.
Left Fader for Filter where I caught the second half of Devotchka’s set. It seems every time I go to SXSW I never can see their entire performance. Ah well, what I saw was great as always. Up next was Grand Archives, a band that I didn’t know anything about but totally blew me away. They sort of reminded me a Wilco meets Beulah combination, and I hope to see them live again soon. I need to start looking into their recorded output…
After Grand Archives it was time for Seawolf, another band I really like, but I was starting to get a little loopy. It was time to head to the hotel and relax a little before the evening shows.
The evening began with my UK cousin Duffy at Stubb’s. I had been listening to her album for awhile now and was hoping that she would be able to pull it off live. And.. she did! I know people are going to want to peg her as the new Amy Winehouse, but I think there’s a lot more going on than just that.
It was time to go to the Barsuk showcase. Caught Jim Noir’s excellent set. I’d previously not paid much attention to Jim but I need to change that. Then it was time for Nada Surf, but unfortunately the sound at the rooftop of Maggie Mae’s was so terrible (not the band’s fault) that I left early.
My entire SXSW journey ended with Matt and Kim (mp3). Like I’ve siad when I’ve written about them in the past, it’s hard not to smile during the band’s entire set. A perfect way to end another great year at SXSW. Thanks, Austin, see you soon.
Columbus graffiti writer and national treasure, Hery, has a piece up in the new issue of Catch Me If You Can. It’s a production he painted with I.O. cats in the Nati on the back of Club Clau. It looks like molten lava and alien ovulation.There is also a good interview with Rhymesayer Entertainment C.E.O Siddiq about how they built such a nationally prominant label in a Midwestern town not known for Hip Hop like Minneapolis.
March 19, 2008 – 8:30 am | Written by Robert Duffy
Clint Reno did a poster for the Gutter Twins show in Cleveland, and after it was posted on Summer’s Kiss yesterday, the run is almost sold out. So if you want to buy it, you better do it pronto. Only $20.
This is coming in late, and if you check more than one music website on the internet, you’re probably sick of this SXSW talk. But we’ve promised to end our coverage in 24 hours, so be patient and be understanding, and maybe download an mp3 or two.
Friday for me started out at the Filter party to see Shout Out Louds. This was the third time I’ve seen them, and probably the best performance of them all. Band is just amazing live, and the textures of their album really carry out during their performances. This is a band that I can never get sick of.
Then it was time for Los Campesinos!, a band that I was really looking forward to seeing at the festival. To be honest, until I saw this post on Brooklyn Vegan, I thought the band was some Mexican alt-rock band. Couldn’t be farther from the truth. Imagine the “Legal Man” side of Belle and Sebastian with a whole lot more pop and you’re almost in the ballpark. Two of the dudes played with their shirts off and I am pretty sure they had sun poisoning by the time their set was over. All for the love of rock… hope they come to Ohio..
Those were the only bands I saw in the afternoon. After that I was on the radio with Andyman for CD 101 in Columbus OH talking about SXSW. Slaybaugh came along, and I grabbed Adam Smith from CDR to join in on the adventure, too.
Evening started at the Big Shout Touring evening showcase with Ravens and Chimes (mp3). I described them as Arcade Fire meets Polyvinyl Records, if that means anything to anyone. I enjoyed their set, wish they sold their record at the show.
After them was The Builders and the Butchers (mp3). This was a band that I easily fell in love with, sounding like the music Devotchka might make if they lived in the Americana genre. I’ve been told that Chris Funk from the Decemberists has produced their new album, so I’m expecting big things from these guys.
From there I went to the WFMU show to see Carla Bozulich’s new band, Evangelista (mp3). Some sound problems early on seemed to upset Carla, but once the band got into a good groove it was a great blend of noise and melody. I need to pick up the album to hear what the band sounds like recorded.
I ended the night with two legends: J Mascis and Thurston Moore. A nice ending to another great day at SXSW.
March 18, 2008 – 4:32 pm | Written by Stephen Slaybaugh
Saturday
By the week’s end, my alcohol consumption was beginning to catch up with me. The day started out well enough with another freebie, but a PBR-sponsored show at the French Legation Museum ended up meaning only dollar beers. While that wasn’t entirely bad news, the beer line there soon grew too long to bother. And after scorching in the sun for a few hours, there was no choice but to seek refuge in the hotel instead of continuing the quest. When I did venture out again, as was generally the case the rest of the week, once the sun set so too did the free beer dry up.
Free beers: 1; Bought beers: 6 (2 of which were only $1)
Final total
Free beers: 16.5; Bought beers: 29
If I learned anything this week, it was that if you put music before beer at SXSW, you will most likely be buying most of your alcohol. I also learned that, judging by the response to this blog, that there are not as many people googling “free beer” as I thought.
“Album” meaning: full length vinyl, CD and digital formats; and “everywhere” meaning: local mom and pop Indie retailers, corporate superstores, supermarkets, iTunes, Amazon, the band’s own website and any other location that could get the record up and going this quickly (some places couldn’t move this fast, so they will join in as soon as they can).
It contains 14 new recordings and is being released globally on Third Man Records in conjunction with our marketing/distribution partners, XL Recordings and Warner Brothers Records.
The album was mastered and completed in the first week of March. It was then taken immediately to a vinyl pressing plant. Then to a CD pressing plant. Then preparations to sell it digitally began. March 25th became the soonest date to have it available in EVERY FORMAT AT ONCE. The band have done no interviews or advertisements for this record before this announcement.
The purpose: to get the album to the fans as soon as possible and as we promised. We wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the EXACT SAME TIME so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding it’s availability, reception or perception.
With this release, The Raconteurs are forgoing the usual months of lead time for press and radio set up, as well as forgoing the all important “first week sales”. We wanted to explore the idea of releasing an album everywhere at once and THEN marketing and promoting it thereafter. The Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by it’s first weeks sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it.
March 16, 2008 – 8:00 pm | Written by Robert Duffy
I’m still a little out of it from the flight and the week, so the second part of my SXSW wrap up will come tomorrow. In the meantime, why don’t you people post up your reviews of SXSW. Things that were amazing, things that sucked, anything you want. Let’s hear it.
(and for those of you who are sick of the SXSW coverage, don’t worry! the light is at the end of the tunnel…)
