sxsw :: the (almost) full report

there were highs and lows, but the common denominator was…music. i have definitely been indied, hipstered and eardrum blown-out, although some great bands were seen in the process.

and now for the highlights…

sxsw :: day 2

the mountain goats…thursday nite @ the ritz



i love john darnielle. He is one of the best lyricists of the decade.

...and again at the hideout on Friday

as half of the extra glenns, john darnielle played another set of great hits, including an eerie cover of one fine day. i never heard the creepily obsessive side of this song growing up, but i suppose a guy who can write an entire concept album about a couple getting divorced can make anything sound creepily obsessive.

pretty girls make graves…thursday @ emo’s



this seattle “post-punk” squad totally rocked! ted leo and the pharmacists followed up, but it was way past my bedtime, details will not be forthcoming.

sxsw :: day 3

death cab, spoon, and quasi…friday afternoon @ emo’s



britt daniel is a badass. check out the sunglasses.

uk nite pretty much sucked, but the irish succeeded in charming our pants off (almost)

while the brits didn’t live up to the fame of the beatles, joy division, and kylie minogue, we did see seymour stein checking out british sea power. good: twin peaks theme including a stuffed owl and onstage forest. bad: too much over-glazedness on the part of the band.

we follow up with a trip to club deville to check out the frames. their live performance was superb, including a cover of willie wonka and the chocolate factory’s imagination.

sxsw :: Armageddon

americana everywhere…even in scandinavia?

in our attempt to see “things we have never seen before”, we started out trying to request speedracer, our favorite vic chesnutt atheist anthem, but had to dash before we got to hear it. after an abortive attempt to see Calexico, we headed over to scandinavia nite to catch the mo (shown below)



and a swedish band that could have hailed from a moderately hip part of alabama. enjoyed watching a tall gangly swede sing along to all of the mo songs.

finally, songs : ohia played at buffalo billards. wow, the new album totally channels neil young. apparently, jason molina is facing this dark time with the rest of us and getting some incredible songs out of it. and he didn’t take any shit from the obnoxious guy with the laser pointer, either.

we rounded out the night with some all-american stuffed french freedom toast and potato pancakes at the IHOP.