March 22, 2008

SXSW 2008
The Week That Was
by Rachy P in NYC

Unlike most bloggers, we don't live blog at SXSW. We're too burnt out--literally and figuratively, thank you 95 degree, record breaking heat!--when we return to our hotel/couch/floor at 4am to stay up until 8 am blogging about the previous day's happenings, sleeping until noon and then doing it all over again. But kudos to those who do! Plus, we think it's fun to go back in our minds, one week later, and relive the awesomeness that is SXSW. By now we're well rested, refreshed, recovered, and ready to reminisce.

I'm going to try something different this year. I will attempt to connect each band I write about to the following one. Think of it as Six Degrees of ~~Kevin Bacon~~ SXSW.

I think it's only right to start with the first band I saw, a great band that also just happens to be from Austin, Future Clouds and Radar. They play really lovely, mellow pop, accented by Robert Harrison's beautiful vocals. Their bassist, Joshua Zarbo (one of the coolest people on Earth), used to be in Spoon. On our way to another gig, we bumped into Spoon's sound/tech guy, Jeff Byrd (another cool dude), and he recommended we see a band he's currently working with, Corto Maltese, also from Austin. I'm so glad I did because these guys are like a more awesome Arcade Fire. It's kind of ridiculous how awesome they are.

Speaking of Spoon, their drummer, Jim Eno, (another cool dude!) was at New York band Longwave's showcase. They're one of the best bands from NYC, and any fan of shoegazey, Brit-inspired rock should check them out. Their live show is always great.

Longwave played a day party with Look See Proof, from England. I love these guys. They play crazy energetic dance-rock, and their live show is great. They've got choppy beats that keep you tapping your toes throughout their set. At that same day show, LSP played alongside their friends, Glaswegian band The Dykeenies. They're a little too emo, My Chemical Romance-ish for me, but their live show is anthemic and strong; very powerful stuff.

Sons and Daughters, who are also from Glasgow, played 11 shows, and I went to three of them, all of which were great. I love their sexy, dark, gothy dance-rock, and vocalist Adele Bethel sounded stronger than ever when showcasing the band's new songs live. While speaking to guitarist and vocalist Scott Paterson about their insane schedule, he said theirs was nothing compared to Lightspeed Champion, who was doing over 30 shows! I managed to see just one of those performances, and I'm sure glad I did. Lightspeed is the new band of Dev Hynes, formerly of Test-Icicles, which this new band sounds nothing like. Dev has a really great voice, and the slowed down, stripped down music in his new band really allows him to show it off.

Another band that arose from a disbanded group is The Rascals, who were my favorite band of SXSW '08. I saw them three times and all three sets were killer. Like I said before, they sound like a mix of The Coral and Arctic Monkeys, and if that doesn't sound good to you then you need your head examined. I actually think they're better live than on record, so go see them live as soon as you can!

I saw The Whip just before The Rascals. Rave party 2008!! They went on at 4 in the afternoon, but vocalist Bruce Carter told us to pretend like it was 4 in the morning, which is the appropriate time to see a band like theirs. Madchester is alive and well in 2008, as long as bands like The Whip keep it going! A must see for anyone who likes to dance their ass off.

Speaking of Manchester, I was so pleased to be able to see Manchester-native Jim Noir at SXSW, as it had been years since I'd seen him last. He's still making wonderful pop music, and his set consisted almost entirely of new songs, all of which sounded great. He is a pop genius who can do no wrong.

I also had the pleasure of seeing Ed Harcourt, another singer-songwriter from England. I'm not sure how to describe Ed's music. Words like deep, epic, and angelic come to mind, but that sounds too cheesy! Oh well, it's true. His show was amazing and wasn't lacking in humor, something Ed is known for.

I saw California's The Morning Benders at the same venue as Ed. I was excited to see how their perfect West Coast pop songs would sound live, and they sounded great. They've really mastered the beachy, sunny pop sound.

Scissors For Lefty are also from California, but their music is more dance-pop oriented. Their live show was really fun. It was nice to see a band really enjoy themselves on stage and their humbleness was refreshing.

Fellow Californians Two Gallants played a handful of shows and I knew to catch at least one. They play passionate, intense blues-country-rock and the passion and intensity is always magnified at their live shows, which are incredible.

Johnny Flynn also plays bluesy country rock, but he's from England, which is kind of strange but also really awesome, because he has NAILED the sound. He was great live and it was quite fitting, considering we were in Texas.

I saw The Voom Blooms at the same venue on the same day. Unfortunately, they were forgettable, which confuses me because their recorded music is AMAZING. I'm going to chalk it up to being really tired and hot (me and them) and give them another shot.

Speaking of forgettable, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong did nothing for me. It seemed like they were trying too hard and I'm sorry, but you shouldn't be wearing a cape when it's 95 degrees out.

One band that you couldn't forget if you tried is The Pigeon Detectives, also from England. Lead singer Matt Bowman jumps around on stage as if he forgot to take his Ritalin. He swings his mic in the air (and almost always catches it; it's quite impressive), brings audience members onstage, climbs things, and jumps from things. Their music is also great, with clever, funny lyrics and dancey rock beats that get you moving. If their music doesn't get you pumped up then I'm pretty sure you're dead. One of the best shows of the entire festival.

Finally, the band that stood out most for me was Fanfarlo, also from England. I had never heard them before and I was surprised and completely blown away by them. They sound like Beirut mixed with Belle and Sebastian--a great combination if you ask me. They've got lots of fun instruments and they sound really great on record and live, so go listen to them and see them as soon as possible!

Well, there's SXSW 2008 in a nutshell, or a shell that's slightly bigger than a nut...It was great fun and I'm already counting down the days until next year. Can't wait!

For pictures and links, click here.

Pics:

Future Clouds and Radar