Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings stopped at WOXY during SXSW and recorded a video of “She Ain’t A Child No More,” one of the band’s new songs.
Efterklang’s Casper Clausen
Using the wise words of one Robert Duffy (along with perhaps a couple others), “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” I made a conscious effort to pace myself a bit more on Thursday. I spent the afternoon relaxing with Dan Francis of Six Gallery and friends Aficionado at a DIY house showcasing music before jumping back into the midst of the chaos.
I caught Columbus natives The Main Street Gospel at the TeePee Records party where they rocked out probably as hard as I’ve ever heard them. I then made my way to Stubb’s BBQ to catch The Soft Pack, who left me scratching my head a little bit. However, the last tune I heard before splitting did make me realize that seeing them outside was the problem, not a lack of talent. I dove in to see Jail Weddings (which includes ex-Sun member Brad Caulkin) who I’m rather sure would have played until the sun came up given the chance. Rounding out the Thursday session of supporting Columbus music, I peeked into BD Riley’s with enough time to witness Lydia Loveless entertaining Austin like an old pro.
Mark my words (I’m calling it now), Denmark’s Efterklang played a set at Buffalo Billiards that was and will be the best set of this year’s festival. All of the stars aligned to produce an amazing show that hop-scotched back and forth from gentle and keen to big and dramatic movements of music. (I think they couldn’t stop smiling because they knew they were killing it.)
As if that didn’t put me on enough of a high, I left there to enjoy Man Man playing the Billboard party. I can’t help but be wowed by the bells and whistles of their quirkiness each time I see them. To round out my evening, I was able to see Sondre Lerche (a long-time favorite) play a nostalgically wonderful hour at Central Presbyterian Church. Mr. Lerche officially wins the award for most consistently enjoyable live act since the first time I caught him six years ago.
After day two: ambition level still high, exhaustion level manageable, so let’s bring on Friday!
Vocals are kinda buried, but you get the idea. Plus you get “The Great Gravitron Massacre” as a bonus after the new tune.
Also, the solo release from Micah Schnabel (that bespectacled guy singing up there), When the Stage Lights Go Dim, is out now, and you can stream the whole thing over at Spinner. SXSW info for Micah and Two Cow’s Saturday shows, along with Schnabel’s solo acoustic take on “Bastards & Bridesmaids,” after the jump. (more…)
So being a SXSW first-timer, my ambitions were high as I strolled into downtown Austin yesterday morning. (And when I say high, I mean I decided to ignore the fact that it was St. Patty’s day and wander into as many free shows as possible.) I actually caught two of the four acts I had planned for the day and ended up seeing way more than I anticipated.
I started the day at Emo’s, where I caught Summer Cats (who were a throwback to some angsty teen days) and Tobacco (who are not meant to be seen in the middle of a day in a tent.) I next checked out Joe Pug at the Paste showcase, where he charmed the pants off the crowd with his endearing personality and honest music. At the Creekside Lounge patio, I luckily caught Casiokids who gave the most upbeat and energetic show of the day, complete with odd hand gestures in sync with their beats. Inside, Ezra Furman and the Harpoons (pictured above) were my surprise new favorite of the day with a sound comprised of equal parts Tom Petty and serious indie rock.
Everyone Was In The French Resistance… Now was a bit of a let down so I took off in search of food. After a bit of a break, I saw The Howlies and it was then and there that I caved and bought a wristband for easier access to showcases. Good thing, too, because after catching a lively set by Skybox, I waited for 35 minutes and was able to see Fanfarlo at the outdoor Paste party. Though at this point it was 11pm, I didn’t give into exhaustion and kept wandering in time to come across Banda de Touristas, who did some serious rocking out. My night ended quite perfectly with an amazing set by The Morning Benders, despite a delay in sound issues and a broken guitar string on the first song. All in all, I’m pleased with day one and just hope I can keep this energy up for the next three days!
What was the best and worst of SXSW Day one? Post in the comments.
DETAILS: REFLECTION ETERNAL (TALIB KWELI & HI-TEK)
http://www.myspace.com/reflectioneternal
1am **HEADLINER**
Blacksmith/Decon and “Noisemakers” present
Ace’s Lounge
222 E. 6th Street
Austin, TX 78701
FRI 3/19
**HEADLINER**
THE BLAST LIVE @ SXSW 2010
Digiwaxx/Monster Cables/Myspace Showcase
Tierra Del Fuego Wine Bar
313 E. 2nd Street
Austin, TX. 78701
MP3: Modern Drift
Efterklang, a band we’ve written about before, has a bunch of SXSW shows coming up this week. To celebrate their festival appearance, we’ve got a sweet giveaway that honestly I’d rather keep myself… but we love you readers so we’re gonna do it anyway!
One lucky person will get a vinyl test pressing of the band’s new album Magic Chairs
SXSW Shows
Thursday 3/18 — 11pm — Buffalo Billiards (201 E. 6th St.) OFFICIAL SXSW
Friday 3/19 — 2pm — Danish Day Party/The Music Gym (815 E. 6th St.)
Friday 3/19 — 5pm — End of an Ear in-store (2209 S. 1st St.)
Saturday 3/20 — 6pm — SUP Party/Doc’s Motorworks (1123 S. Congress Ave.)
Columbus Rapper Blueprint sent out this press release about his group Greenhouse’s SXSW and National touring plans.Above is a video Greenhouse made to get people up to speed about the group. Below are the dates:
Greenhouse Tour Dates
It’s official, the Greenhouse crew (Blueprint, Illogic, & DJ Rare Groove) will be touring this spring in support of their EP Electric Purgatory Part One. This tour begins at the SXSW Music Conference and heads westward from there. They will be opening up for Killah Priest of the Wu-Tang Clan on this tour, so please come out and support them on their travels. It has been over 5 years since Blueprint & Illogic toured together and they will be playing all the Weightless classics. The first have of the tour dates have been published and are as follows:
Saturday March 20th @ Ruta Maya
3601 S. Congress – Austin, TX 78701
12am-4am / All Ages
Sunday March 21 @ Highland Lake’s Marina (End of SXSW Boat Party)
16120 Wharf Cove – Volente, TX 78641
2pm-8pm / Ages 21+non sxsw dates after the jump (more…)
MP3: Filthy & Free
To continue today’s New Jersey theme, here’s another band with Garden State roots. Shipla Ray and Her Happy Hookers have a bunch of shows coming up, including stops at SXSW and Columbus. Download the mp3 above and find out where you can see the band. (more…)
Now that my wife has completed her 52 Weeks of Baking project, she’s just launched a brand new blog: The Brooklyn Baker. Featuring reviews of New York bakeries, adventures in her own baking, and getting to know Brooklyn. Check it out and maybe even become a fan of Facebook.
Thanks.
Regularly scheduled programming to resume.
Full schedule here. In partnership with WOXY.
Y’all remember David Cobb, don’t ya? David’s Houston Calling column was a staple of the Donewaiting site for a few years before it outgrew this site and spun off to it’s own domain (houstoncalling.net). David’s got the advantage of living in the same state as SXSW and while it’s not exactly a short bike ride from Houston to Austin, he’s still a lot closer to the mayhem than the rest of the DW staff. David has spent the last month interviewing bands appearing at SXSW that he likes (for houstoncalling.net) and bands that he was assigned to cover (for spinner.com). In case you missed out on any of these great interviews, here they are:
Here are some things you should know about This Moment in Black History:
They are playing Carabar tonight.
They just released a new record called “Public Square” on Smog Veil Records.
Said record rips.
They played the Donewaiting.com 5-year anniversary show.
Bim Thomas is from Columbus, used to work at Used Kids Records and plays with Gibson Brother, MarkDon Howland in The Bassholes, whose latest record is out on CDR.
This Moment in Black History is playing SXSW.
Sun God(Cleveland), New Creases(Columbus) and Beast in the Field (Loud) open the show.
Did I mention “Public Square” rips?
Video from the anniversary show and SXSW info after the jump.
Come out and buy me a shot! (more…)
You may know Sally Seltmann as New Buffalo. Or maybe you’ve heard this little song she cowrote and Feist sang, “1234.” Now she’s releasing her first album under her own name on Arts & Crafts.
Sally’s got three shows during SXSW. Be sure to make it out to one of her shows if you can. (more…)
Who isn’t a fan of some old-school Sci-Fi footage, chicken suits, Humpty-Dumpty and a giant drag queen? Enjoy this quirky video from Chicago-based Skybox. (You may recognize the song from a 2009 iPod commercial.) They’ll be playing a handful of times in Austin including an official showcase on 3/18 at the Wave Rooftop. More info after the jump. (more…)
