|
Well my friends we are half way
through SXSW and things are going well. Sarah and I experienced
another great stretch of music yesterday and are expecting the same
throughout today. Enjoy Thursday's rundown.
The band that helped us kick off our day was none other than Dark Meat.
I hadn't heard of them before this but they ended up being the best way
possible to start an afternoon in which we missed out getting free shoes at
the Team Clermont party. My unofficial count had 14 people in the band
and even know their movements were far from synchronized they sure were
pumping out some fine big band indie rock.
Dark Meat
Since we were starving we
bailed on the Team Clermont party after Dark Meat and headed off for lunch
before the Little Radio party got to the good stuff. We arrived at the
Red Eyed Fly with plenty of time to get settled before Apostle Of Hustle
came on and made us want to shake our hips. Those guys really know how
to put on a show.
After AOH left the stage an onslaught of vintage rock overtook us for three
hours. First up was the Mooney Suzuki who came out with one of the
most energetic performances that anyone could hope to see. They played
a nice mix from their back catalog and from the new album which should be
out on June 5. I thought the new songs sounded pretty great so I hope
that their V2 mess doesn't shelve it for too long. After they wrapped
up, Dead Meadow strolled out on stage and put on a very nice set. Like
the Mooney Suzuki the band played some old songs along with some new songs
as they jammed away. I love these guys and it was great to see them
sandwiched between two bands with similar sounds. Last but not least
the Black Angels came out and amazed me once again. They have become
better performers since we saw them at SXSW last year and I think that they
are now one of those bands that I recommend everyone see live.
Top Left (Apostle Of Hustle), Top Right (Mooney Suzuki), Bottom Left (Dead
Meadow), Bottom Right (Black Angels)
Once the day parties ended Sarah and I found a place to eat so that we could
rest our legs. Surprisingly the break flew by too quick and before I
knew it we were at Emo's for Sage Francis. This was my first time
being able to catch Sage live so even though it was a quick set it was
really great to finally see him perform. He was incredibly funny
between songs and I thought it was interesting how he could just flip a
switch and become this growling man with a mic and a message.
After Sage finished up we walked over to Emo's Jr to see the New Violators
and Cloud Cult. The New Violators were an energetic bunch with a big
new wave sound and even though I was mostly there waiting to see Cloud Cult
I found them entertaining. As for Cloud Cult, they blew my mind until
I realized that they were not going to play Take Your Medicine, which
is arguably one of the songs that I wanted to hear most at SXSW. I was
so disappointed that I asked the band why they didn't play it and they told
me that I would have to wait until they toured later this year in support of
The Meaning Of 8. I believe this makes them cockteases.
From Emo's Jr. we hopped over to Spiro's to catch Buck 65 and DJ
Scratchmaster. Buck put on a good set that featuring some older
material and some stuff so new that it didn't even have a title yet.
He actually let loose that later this summer he will be opening for Sage
Francis in support of a new album titled Situation that he and DJ
Scratchmaster recently completed. Sage actually showed up in the
middle Buck's set and did a small part of a song with him. I can't
wait to see these guys together this summer.
On a side note, Buck also mentioned that he was half way through an album
that he is doing with someone from Europe. He wouldn't say who but the
two songs that he did from it were pretty fantastic.
Top Left (Sage Francis), Top Right (New Violators), Bottom Left (Cloud Cult),
Bottom Right (Buck 65)
To end our night we left Spiro's and headed over to Emo's IV so that we
could see My Brightest Diamond perform an acoustic set. She only
played about 30-35 minutes and most of it was cover songs, but it was
beautiful and a perfect way to close out day two of SXSW.
My Brightest Diamond |
