SXSW Recap

From my good friend and fellow FNL super fan, BC, the man who introduced me to The National and Cloud Cult many years ago:

It exceeded even my lofty expectations. 3 days straight of non-stop music. I'm talking 12pm to 2am every day, with a short power nap in the early evening to re-charge for the evening. An incredible party scene, and literally music coming at you from all sides of the street. Here is a quick run-down of the week....

Wed. Night - land at 10pm, in time to catch School of Seven Bells at midnight (they kinda sucked)

Thursday:
12noon-5pm: Wavves, Lucero (I like these guys a lot), The Hard Lessons (very cool husband/wife duo from Detroit - they fuckin' rocked) and a sick show from The Hold Steady.

Wavves

7pm-2am: More bands than I can't remember, but highlights were The Thermals and 1 am set from The Wrens. Those guys are still great.

The Thermals

Friday:
12 noon-6pm: A weird Swedish music showcase that was surprisingly good, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (these guys are good, but like 18 years old), The Thermals (again) and The Hold Steady (again). Can't get enough of them.

The Hold Steady

Friday night: Silversun Pickups followed by a "surprise show" by Metallica at Stubb's, a 2,000 person venue. Wow. They thrashed. Hard to follow that up, but we tried with a midnight set from Grizzly Bear followed by a 1am set from Dinosaur Jr.

Unknown

Saturday:
2pm-6pm - Viva Voce, Peelander-Z (possibly the most fun show of the weekend - crazy Japanese band), Camera Obscura, Chairlift.

Peelander-Z

9pm-2am: The Duke Spirit and closed things out with an absolute rockin' show from Silversun. Their new stuff is GOOD.

Silversun Pickups

Also forgot that we caught Dirty Projectors as well right after Metallica - they are weird, but interesting. Also saw this New Zealand band called Cut Off Your Hands - not that cool.

The badge is M O N E Y. We had to wait at the most, about 5 minutes, but we never got shut out of a show, including Metallica. If you don't buy the badge however (and it ain't cheap), then its much harder to see stuff. Start planning on next year - we've already booked a hotel room.

JK: I really need to stop making excuses and go next year.
NF: Roger, that.

8 Track: Something New

A new year brings new music, new bands, and new opportunities. Here are some of the bands that I've recently discovered and enjoyed.


The album is a mixed bag but this song is catchy as hell. Really, I can listen to this one over and over again.
MP4: These New Puritans - "Elvis"


I wasn't much of a fan of DFA1979 but I have yet to hear a Sebastien Grainger song that I don't love. I can't wait for his album.
MP3: Sebastien Grainger and Les Montagnes - "American Names"


Appears to be the next great hype in the U.K. Dev Hynes is ex-Test Icicles but this music couldn't be further removed from his former band. I'm on board.
MP4: Lightspeed Champion - "I Could Have Done This Myself"


Perhaps an up-and-coming band in the U.K. I don't know much about them but I like every song I've heard thus far.
MP4: Fanfarlo - "Fire Escape"


First single from their upcoming album, What Doesn't Kill Us.
MP4: What Made Milwaukee Famous - "Resistance St."


An unsigned band out of Edinburgh. Similar to Fanfarlo in that I've liked all of the songs they've released thus far.
MP4: Broken Records - "If You News Makes You Sad Don't Watch It"


One of my favorite female-fronted rock bands. Their new release, Neptune, far exceeds their debut.
MP3: The Duke Spirit - "The Step and The Walk"


They're from Mississippi and they share a label with Dinosaur Jr. Enough said.
MP3: Colour Revolt - "Naked and Red"