SXSW 07 - Reviews and More
March 22, 2007
South by Southwest is the greatest music gathering on the planet. It has to be. I can't imagine anything of this scope with this much great music happening all in one place. It’s an industry festival & conference that takes place each March in Austin, TX. Since the first day of this 5-day event I've been asking myself the same question over and over again, "Why haven't I done this before?" It's now hard for me to imagine not going to SXSW. I should have been coming to this event for the past 21 years.
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There were hundreds of showcases and parties and probably close to a 1,600 performances. It’s impossible to see them all, but I was at quite a few. Below are my rankings of the best showcases and performances, followed by links to photos and free MP3’s.
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Best SXSW Showcases/Parties:
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Paste Magazine – Without a doubt the place to be at SXSW. It was a who’s-who of labels, industry and artists with a great line-up featuring Badly Drawn Boy, Cold War Kids and many others. The swag was great (a knap sack bag full of CD’s and DVD’s, buttons and more) and there’s the free food and drinks…good stuff.
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Yep Rock Records Day Party:
Musically this was one of the best line-ups of a label showcase. Los Straightjackets are a riot, not to mention Robyn Hitchcock, Sloan and Rock Plaza Central.
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The Canadian Back Bacon BBQ & Shindig:
The Small Sins, Nathan, and many others. Great music, fun people and amazing food and drinks.
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Tooth and Nail Showcase:
Showbread, MXPX, The Fold and more. It was packed and I really enjoyed The Fold!
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Merge Records Showcase:
Merge is one of the best indie labels going and this showcase proved that, featuring The Ladybug Transistor, The Rosebuds, Broken West and more.
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Best SXSW Performances:
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Mohair – This was the biggest surprise and the best show by far. I had never even heard of this band from England but they played right before Mew and there were about 500 people watching, all of them seemed to be as pleased and surprised by this group’s performance as I was. Typically you don’t see people buying CD’s at these industry shows, but there was a rush of people to get them when they were through. Sounding like a Brit version of Jellyfish, with heavy influences from Sweet, The Beatles and Queen, this bands performance was amazing.
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Thomas Dolby – I am a big fan of new wave and 80’s quirky keyboard music. I have always loved Thomas Dolby and was thrilled to see he was playing SXSW. I had never seen him live. He played a club that had a capacity of about 600 people, and they had to eventually turn people away because it was packed. He put on a fantastic live show, with horns, multimedia and his amazing keyboard multi-tracking abilities. It was like watching him multi-track live, with looping, samples, a headset with a camera, mixing what he was seeing with vintage clips on a huge video screen. But all that is nothing without the songs and his musical ability. His voice sounds as clear and as perfect as it ever has, and his songs have great melodies and hooks that really kept the crowd going and singing along. I had the opportunity to meet him and he’s a super guy. You can see it on my SXSW picture page (the link is toward the end of this post). He’s touring and I would strongly recommend seeing this show.
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Polyphonic Spree – Their albums don’t even begin to do this band justice. I use the term “band” but “choir and orchestra” is probably a better description for this 19-piece group that incorporates quirky orchestration, a choir of voices and 60’s influence music to create a show that is really more like a spiritual experience. This is one group that you just have to see live. If they come to your town, do not miss them.
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Mew – This is like Yes meets Sigur Ros meets Pink Floyd and Radiohead. A sound that is hard to describe but intensely beautiful. Mew is even better live than their albums, and the videos that play behind the band to go along with the songs are eerie and amazing. The show was like a build up to this long and beautiful finally and as they were finishing I looked over and noticed tears running down the faces of a few people in the crowd. Yes, it was that powerful. Not many bands can do that.
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The Small Sins – Oh those crazy Canadians! They continue to make some of the greatest music. This is a quirky, indie, alt-pop group with a heavy dose of new wave keyboards. Saw them play in the upstairs of this old mansion. They are great guys too, very personable and friendly. Their album is out on Astralwerks but they’re even better live.
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Colour Music – This one is going to be hard to describe…an accidental finding…I was walking along 6th Street with Doug Van Pelt (freak) and we heard these amazing vocal harmonies over the weirdest alt-pop, so we stopped to check it out. This group from Stillwater, OK combines Brian Wilson-esque vocals with quirky music that reminds me somewhat of Polyphonic Spree or Flaming Lips, only a bit more melodic and accessible with amazing vocals. They rocked and popped with a cool alternative vibe. Check them out on their MySpace page: www.myspace.com/colourmusic
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Young Galaxy – Another great Canadian band! Special thanks and cheese to Doug the Canuck and all at Arts & Crafts Records for turning me on to this incredibly fun band. A great blend of swirling guitars, keyboards and vocals that combine to form melodic and cosmic pop with a lot of energy. I loved this band. One of the best performances I saw, and on one of the smallest stages as well!
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Badly Drawn Boy – If you don’t already love Badly Drawn Boy, where have you been and what are you waiting for? Badly Drawn Boy is actually Damon Gough from Manchester, England. An alternative-indie singer and songwriter, he performs rowdy rock and quirky power-pop with his band, and they were great live. Get the CD’s. They’re all good.
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Other notable performances:
Robyn Hitchcock
MuteMath
Los Straight Jackets
The Fold
Rock PlazaCentral
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Best Seminar: Record Companies: Who Needs Them?
This seminar featured David Byrne of the Talking Heads as the main and only speaker. As it turns out, David Byrne needs record companies, as he pointed out, saying he is currently negotiating a deal with Nonsuch. However, not every artist needs a label these days. He cover the advantages and disadvantages, why you would and why perhaps you shouldn’t sign with a label. He was funny, kind and extremely intelligent. Very entertaining. It was great to be able to meet him as well. I was kind of surprised to find out he’s a big music fan and he buys a lot of CD’s. He said he’s a big fan of packaging and there’s something about holding a nicely designed package. I couldn’t agree more! There are photos of him and his seminar up on my SXSW photo page.
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For more info and free MP3’s from many of the SXSW bands: CLICK HERE
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Special Thanks and Cheese to Doug Van Pelt and Doug The Canuck for making sure my SXSW was the best it could possibly be!
(Hey Van Pelt: You owe me $7.50)
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