Wednesday, March 12, 2008


- SXSW - Day One - Austin, TX -

 
AM Syndicate (Left) - {{{ Sunset }}} (Right)

To be honest, this review of last night's Art Disaster only covers about half of who actually played at the event.  I wanted to ease into SXSW this year, so despite the fact that I saw brief, but enjoyable moments from the Strange Boys, Brothers And Sisters, the Murdocks and more I'll only be mentioning the few acts that I intentionally pulled myself away from socializing for.

The first band that kicked off the evening for me was AM Syndicate.  I've never been a huge fan of their material, but I was interested to see how their sound worked in a live setting.  And the verdict?  Not bad.  Though, I'm fairly certain that it would have been a lot better in a smaller venue that wasn't sporting a very chatty crowd.

Following up AM Syndicate was one of my favorite local acts, {{{ Sunset }}}.  It's always best to see them under the perfect conditions where they can jam away with their massively lush and engaging ways, but thirty minutes was better than nothing.  You have to check these guys out if you've never had the pleasure of hearing them.

- Scorpion Child -

As always, there was one big surprise last night, and it was Scorpion Child.  I thought they came out and really caught everyone's attention with their Led Zeppelin drenched with Southern Rock attitude, and I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up becoming one of my favorite local acts to see live.  They truly are a blast, so make an effort to see them as soon as possible.

- The Black And White Years -

I had only ever heard the Black And White Years, so I had no expectations for them live.  With that being said, a good friend of mine felt that last night was far from one of their best shows.  Not because of the band, but the fact that they were competing with acts playing directly on the other side of the wall behind them, and it was muddling their normally precise sound.  Too bad, really.  Maybe the next time I see them things won't be so overly chaotic.

- Belair -

Fortunately, at this point the total metal rock-out on the other side of the wall had seemed to quiet down.  My guess is that they were probably over at the Beauty Bar watching Belair.  And why would they do that?  Because the beloved local pop group rarely ever breaks out their fancy instruments and puts on shows!  In fact, this was their first show in Austin in quite a few months, which is crazy.

In any case, I thought they were amazing.  It was my first time getting to actually see them perform, and they did just about everything they could to avoid disappointing me.  Well, not really.  They only played 30 minutes.  If you ever get the chance to see them play I highly recommend that you don't pass it up, as the opportunity may never come again.

- John Laird -

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