SXSW wrapup, part I

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The actual music portion of our SXSW experience started relatively late in the afternoon. Our first taste of the festival was getting stuck in traffic around the convention center for 45 minutes looking for parking. We eventually found a garage (8th and Lavaca; although the signs posted everywhere informed us we'd need $5 exact change to leave after 8 p.m. - and $18 if we left earlier in the day – by the time we got back to the car at 1 a.m. the gates were open. There's your SXSW free parking tip.) and walked to the convention center to pick up wristbands. We didn't realize it until a couple hours later, but we ended up with artist bands due to somebody's confusion. A friend had access to free food and drink across the street at CNN's venue for the interactive portion, so socialization came before music.

Going into SXSW we'd made a loose schedule with several options for most time slots. Our first music decision was to head out to Homeslice Pizza to catch Trampled by Turtles, which turned out to be an excellent decision.

1. Apex Manor, Homeslice Pizza, 4 p.m.
We turned up during Apex Manor's set, which was fully acoustic and unamplified. Maybe 100 people were hanging out, which meant the sound didn't quite carry all the way to the back of the throng. Up front by the stage was fine, which was were we managed to situate ourselves. I remember almost nothing about this band. I know the vocals were hard to make out, and the playing (four guitars) was good. After this set, discovered Homeslice apparently didn't have a permit for noise, so they were forced to go unamplified for most of the afternoon. Or mostly unamplified.

2. Typhoon, Homeslice Pizza
I knew I was going to like this band before the first note. During the switchover, band members just kept appearing, a dozen all told, toting string cases, horn cases – even toy hand bells unpacked and set out by the keyboard player, who had to sit crouched at the edge of the crowded stage. The set didn't disappoint. Expansive sound, large-scale harmonies, moving from spare guitar+singer to full-on joyous; the band knew how to use its numbers to full effect, but was also smart enough to scale it down for moments of intimacy that made the full-throated sound all the richer. A couple microphones were set up for the vocals and guitars to balance the sound, the start of Homeslice's move back toward full amplification, but the band was forced to contend with the limitation of setup which only seemed to fit the revival aspects. This band was the first unknown discovery of our festival, and the only band we saw twice during our time in Austin. This movie captures the exact moment when I knew this week was going to be something to remember.

3. Ivan & Alyosha, Homeslice Pizza
Before going to SXSW, Kirsten and I put together loose schedules. We found bands we wanted to see or might want to see and checked what time they'd be playing around town. We went into the trip expecting these schedules would be loose guidelines to figure out where to go next, but knowing things would change on the fly and we were unlikely to see most of the bands we'd listed. This was, I think, exactly the right thing to do. I can't imagine wandering through the saturation of music that is SXSW without some sort of guide, and if we go back I would absolutely do this again. However, this did mean most of the bands we saw were bands we already knew. If I thought stumbling into random shows would always turn out as well as Homeslice, I would take a different approach. Perhaps going blindfolded. The back-to-back lineup of Typhoon and Ivan & Alyosha was one of the best one-two punches we saw, and it was all the better for being two bands previously completely unknown to us.
Ivan & Alyosha are five guys from Seattle whose indie-folk harmonies display a clear Fleet Foxes influence (I imagine you can't be a Seattle band without a Fleet Foxes influence one way or another right now). The emotion in the music was outstanding. I bought their EP as soon as we got home.

4. Great Lake Swimmers, Homeslice Pizza
I knew this band by reputation only. While I liked this show, my recollections have faded into the background of the week. All I can tell you is they mix guitar and strings (I didn't realize how prevalent violins have become in the indie rock scene – everybody has at least one string player). Sorry, Great Lake Swimmers. You were good, but not good enough to stand out in my music-saturated memory.

5. Trampled by Turtles, Homeslice Pizza, 7 p.m.
And really, the reason I can't remember anything about GLS is because Trampled by Turtles blasted the previous show right out of my brain. This band was the reason we were at the show to being with. I'd really only heard their single Wait So Long, which as a recording showcases the band's flaws: the tempo is too fast for the band, especially the vocalist, to handle. But it is also rollicking fun, and live all the weaknesses are buried by the sheer energy of it all. The band plays so hard at least three of the five members broke strings during the short set, replaced the string mid-song and jumped right back into the fray. The audience fed energy back to the band and this speed-grass set pumped out waves of ebullience. As it finished everyone wandered joyfully out into the sunset..

6. DeVotchKa, Lustre Pearl, 10 p.m.

We had no obvious destination for the evening, settling on the Lustre Pearl showcase mostly because we'd seen a write-up previewing the bands that morning which was fresh in our mind, and it seemed as good a destination as any. The decision paid off with the “gypsy-punk” of DeVotchKa. Their sound takes Latin dance music and blends it with roots and pop sensibilities to come up with something unique, along with the most eclectic instrumentation I've ever encountered. An upright bass was swapped for a sousaphone (decked with strings of lights); melodica featured in most songs; two different members played an accordion during the set; the drummer stepped out from the back to deliver an impressive trumpet solo. Add in a charismatic front man and rhythms that demand to be danced to, and you have perhaps the most original band I've seen in a long time.

7. Phantogram, Lustre Pearl, 11 p.m.
One of the few disappointments of the fest. The minimalist electronica reminded me of The XX, another group which underwhelmed live. At about this point I realized standing to watch shows all day left me with aching feet and a sore back.

8. Cold War Kids, Lustre Pearl, midnight
And about the time Cold War Kids came on, we decided it was time to call it a night. We stayed for the first couple songs and headed home, our fatigue getting the better of us.