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THURSDAY 03/15/07
It's only the second day and Austin is getting blurry. Bands and faces, beers and booze, all run together in the hot sun and beautiful evening air.
3:30 P.M.
Midnight Movies :: 03.15.07 :: SXSW |
Day 2 got underway at the Filter Party where Midnight Movies played a solid set under the heavy sun. Featuring a great drummer and female singer the band worked a nice electro rock mix that concluded with a cool flute solo from the drummer, who got up from behind her kit and was relieved on the skins by the singer. The band broke me out of my haze and proved to be the shot in the arm I needed to get the day going.
4:10 P.M.
Up next was The Besnard Lakes who stole the day. From the opening notes, spaced out guitars and a sprawling Pink Floyd-meets-the-Beach Boys vibe it was on from the moment these cats plugged in. So many rock bands these days have no patience, Besnard Lakes knows how to let a song develop and then they bring the walls down. Creating that hard-soft dynamic is what often allows a band to drive a point home, and Besnard Lakes understand how to control tempos and deliveries. Toss in a wicked bassist and some of the best male-female vocal harmonies of the weekend and this is perhaps the band from SXSW that I'll go home talking about.
5:30 P.M.
The Besnard Lakes :: 03.15.07 :: SXSW |
There's been an awful lot of hype around Peter Bjorn and John and after checking their stripped-down pop-heavy set I can see why folks dig them, but it's just not all that engaging to a fella like myself. With the sun taking its toll and the band doing little to keep me there, it was time to re-fuel for the night time.
9:00 P.M.
JamBase favorite, Apollo Sunshine, straight killed it! Although their set was rife with technical and sound issues, they went balls-to-the-wall and didn't let up. With a second guitarist on tour, Quentin Stoltzfus from Mazarin, the Apollo boys destroyed the stage with full-on double-neck guitar meltdowns, country-flavored punk twang, and even some cowbell and mandolin. With time running out the band pulled a huge rock exit, trashing their guitars, tossing them in the air, and walking off stage to adoring fans.
10:30 P.M.
Apollo Sunshine :: 03.15.07 :: SXSW |
The plan was to check Rodrigo Y Gabriela over at Stubb's, but they had to cancel because of visa issues. Luckily, Apostle of Hustle played a nice fill-in slot. Stubb's can be hard to really engage with the music if you aren't up front, so we stood to the back, sucking down Tecates and listening to a bunch of Canadians take some loose (but accurate) jabs at Bush while pushing their pleasant blend of world-influenced indie rock.
11:00 P.M.
Loudest band of SXSW honors may go to Portland, Oregon's Danava. These guys bring the walls down and shake fillings from your teeth. This three-piece '70s throwback went after the Black Sabbath vibe hard. From the vocals to the massive, brain-beating guitars, Danava clearly know what they are doing. As is often the case, when the music focused on the instrumental segments it was particularly impressive.
12:30 A.M.
Apostle of Hustle :: 03.15.07 :: SXSW |
A little after midnight it was time for a highly anticipated set by Brooklyn's VietNam. Having stirred up quite a buzz with their self-titled full-length debut earlier this year, and the fact that I was interviewing the band the next day, this was one set I made a point to catch. While it took a little while to get all the gears greased up, once they hit the guitars were crashing and the rhythm section kept it pumping forward. However, on record you can hear the nuances, catch the lyrics, get involved with the storyline, but in the bar it's just heavy, loud blues-soaked rock. That said, it was a solid showing, and more than enough to make one want to see the band again.
1:30 A.M.
We caught a quick glimpse of Do Make Say Think and while we weren't there long enough to really get our heads around it, their Broken Social Scene vibe - strings and horns and tons of people packing the stage - was definitely enough to inspire a closer listen.
2:30 A.M.
Ghostland Observatory :: 03.15.07 :: SXSW |
At this point in the night, after you've been drinking all day in the sun, things start to get a little fuzzy. We finally got a cab and made our way to the Playboy Rocks Austin/Charles Attal Party. There was top shelf booze (free of course), a few Playboy Bunnies, and lots of people there for Austin's own Ghostland Observatory. This duo features frontman Aaron Behrens and producer/drummer Thomas Turner, who create a huge dance party of electro-break rock freak outs. Their defining feature is Behrens' stage presence. As he bounced around, swinging the microphone overhead you can see a bit of Freddie Mercury in him. The relentless energy of what they do drives the crowd wild, and Ghostland proved a perfect late night ending to Day 2.
Continue reading for Day 1 of SXSW...
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