The Spirit Of Discovery Still Thrives In Austin: SXSW Music 2018 – Review

Words by: David Schultz

SXSW Music :: 03.12 – 18.18 :: Austin, Texas

On the opening night of South By Southwest, the line outside The Gatsby, just east of the intersection of Sixth and Red River, ominously snaked to daunting proportions. Inside, the Pandora showcase, featuring Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, was hitting high gear with Nikki Lane entertaining the filled-to-capacity venue, replete with industry VIPs and intrepid early-arriving festival-goers. Notwithstanding the one-in-one-out admittance policy that essentially negated any chance of access (seriously, who was leaving?), the outdoor environs and fortuitous acoustics prompted people to remain in line infinitely longer than good sense would dictate.

At most festivals, (literally) being on the outside looking in would be ruinous. However, SXSW isn’t like most festivals. Rather than sulk, just one block away, in a conference room on the 18th floor of the Hilton Garden Inn, Billy Strings led an acoustic quartet through an extraordinary set that moved seamlessly from bluegrass to jamgrass before the few dozen in attendance. Unlikely environs; intimate crowds; unexpected brilliance – these are but a few of the reasons that Austin’s annual music industry boondoggle remains intriguing and vibrant after more than three decades.

In recent years, SXSW’s size and scope has shrunk, somewhat in response to a changing music industry but also due to valid concerns over the considerable issues that come with assembling the vast number of people that descend on downtown Austin. Taking up less real estate than prior years, there were many conspicuous absences from this year’s event. Noticeably missing were the perennially well-booked Spotify House and Hype Hotel and the presence of NPR, YouTube, Pitchfork, Stereogum and Rolling Stone was negligible to non-existent.

Where past years have seen highly anticipated sets in relatively intimate locales by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake and Prince that drew legions to venues ill-equipped to handle the onslaught, the biggest name to take a SXSW stage this year may have been Keith Urban, who played a Friday night set at the Stubb’s Amphitheater. In fact, the biggest showcases last week took place well outside of downtown Austin: Willie Nelson hosted his now-annual Luck Reunion at his ranch in Luck, Texas while White Denim, one of Austin’s finest, hosted a party at Radio Milk, their new recording studio. Unfortunately, The Roots Saturday night party that unofficially serves as SXSW’s closing ceremonies and usually draws a surprise name or two, had to be cancelled due to a bomb scare in the midst of a rash of disconcerting serial bombings throughout the city.

Unlike past years, SXSW 2018 did not feature a classic rock star emeritus, well, depending on how you view Todd Rundgren, who headlined the Cleopatra Records showcase at Elysium. Similarly missing, a random act from the ’80s looking to make a splash by generating buzz for a new project but, again, that depends on what you think of Todd Rundgren. Rather, the festival’s veterans predominantly hailed from the mp3 era with Cold War Kids, Japandroids and A Place To Bury Strangers, bands that truly benefitted from the anarchic blogging days, all playing official showcases. Okkervil River, another band that can trace their popularity to the early popularity of indie music sites, was one of the busiest acts in Austin, busily previewing In The Rainbow Rain, their upcoming new album. Will Sheff, who has gone full-on Chris Robinson may be one of the few people that can carry off a song about famous tracheotomies without turning it into a novelty. At the NPR showcase at Stubb’s, Sheff previewed the new album, touched upon The Silver Gymnasium and closed with “Our Life Is Not A Movie, Or Maybe” in a manner that may indicate he is at the stage where he’s just going to pay lip service to The Stage Names, Okkervil River’s breakthrough album.

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The true allure of SXSW can be found in its spirit of discovery as the large majority of the nearly 2,000 artists that play approximately 6,000 sets of music over the weeklong stretch are on the rise, building their audience and solidifying their brand. Acts of renown rarely come to South By to run through their greatest hits. If they trek to Austin, they do so to preview new material and/or build excitement for an upcoming release. The bygone days when a phenomenal SXSW set could make a band are predominantly a thing of the past but that hardly means that singers like Courtney Marie Andrews or Deva Mahal or bands like Bodega or Los Coast aren’t looking to impress.

With sets taking place all over downtown Austin from noon until 2:00 a.m. and artists playing up to a dozen or more times during the week, there’s usually many opportunities to see anyone you would like to see. Oftentimes, savvy listeners will be able to navigate the myriad of day parties and official showcases to amass their own particular daily lineup. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any reliably curated events that organize great talent under one roof (or tent). For the last few years, Side Bar on East Seventh Street has hosted the Midgetmen’s Texas Jumpstart, where the local Texas band showcases acts that have struck their fancy, as well as the Athens In Austin showcase, that books a lineup of bands with ties, some loose, to the Georgia home of R.E.M. Despite the ostensible hipster battle that could be contested between Austin and Williamsburg, there is a considerable New York presence during SXSW. Brooklyn Vegan typically hosts a slew of day parties – this year there were three at Cheer Up Charlies – Pianos NYC booked a wonderful Saturday showcase at Sidewinder and Brooklyn Bowl made its inaugural splash at SXSW with three full days and nights at the Scoot Inn.

The highlight of the Brooklyn Bowl Family Reunion, which featured sets by Hiss Golden Messenger, Okkervil River, Sunflower Bean and The Bright Light Social Hour, was unquestionably the Friday afternoon celebration of the music of Jerry Garcia. Of the many things SXSW typically excels at, jamming is rarely one of them. Not so during the Garcia tribute, which focused primarily on the music of the Grateful Dead. With The Texas Gentlemen serving as the house band, Erika Wennerstrom of the Heartless Bastards opened the set with “Friend Of The Devil” with Billy Strings appearing mid set for a wonderful take on “To Lay Me Down.” Lengthy by SXSW standards, the showcase ended with Rayland Baxter fronting the group on “New Speedway Boogie” and “Fire On The Mountain,” with an assist from Nicole Atkins, and a finale of Garcia’s “Cats Under The Stars,” the only solo song to make the set.

Although generally apolitical, current events and the outside world do creep in to SXSW with the brouhaha over Trump’s travel ban being a focal point of some artist’s sets at SXSW 2017. In that vein, the presence of Pussy Riot, whose incarceration and prosecution for protesting the election of Vladimir Putin made them vanguards for free speech, had all the makings of a socio-political happening. However, the idea of seeing Pussy Riot is exponentially better than actually seeing them.

After delighting the crowd by placing black tape over the sponsors’ logos and then draping a flag emblazoned with the slogan “pussy is the new dick” across the back of the stage, the balaclava-clad duo informed the crowd that they were essentially a fake punk band. In a tone-deaf move, they gave Chelsea Manning a platform to offer her opinion on unjust incarceration before launching into a set of lackluster rap. With more subtlety, many of the artists that addressed the crowds over the course of the week obliquely referenced the predominant heartlessness that saturates the current political culture with the overarching message that everything will be all right as long as we all remember to look after each other.

One of the hardest working women in Austin this week was Lucy Dacus, who played nearly 20 sets, essentially taking a victory lap for The Historian, her recently released, critically adored album. Also prevalent, Sunflower Bean, who made a huge impression two years ago after the release of their psychedelically charged debut, seemed to be everywhere trying to build anticipation for Twentytwo In Blue, their imminent follow-up.

The true breakout stars of SXSW may have been Tank & The Bangas, who received an outpouring of love from NPR’s Bob Boilen and the adoring crowd that packed into Stubb’s for their set at the radio tastemaker’s Wednesday night showcase. Equal parts gospel revival, Mardi Gras celebration, ’70s soul fest and reggae party, the collective thrives on the charisma of Tarriona Ball, their captivating frontwoman. Infectiously bouncing and dancing at the front of the stage, her joy is contagious and she had the entire crowd moving and waving their hands in the air. It would be criminal to ignore Gang of Youths, whose set at the Brooklyn Vegan day party at Cheer Up Charlies made it clear why they could be extraordinarily huge. Lead singer Dave Le’aupepe possesses the same mix of earnestness, energy and engagement with the audience that makes Bono a compelling figure and U2-like heights may not be out of reach for the Australian natives.

Fun for the audience, SXSW doesn’t always seem like it’s a walk in the park for the artists and more than a few express their distaste for the disinterested crowds and subpar amenities. In the end, South By appearances are about career development. At the Ad Hoc day party, Sun Seeker’s Alex Benick jokingly pitched for a BMW commercial with Ought’s Tim Darcy deadpanning just an hour later that they were there to get discoveredand possible license some songs. Conversely, shortly afterwards, Australian songbird Stella Donnelly told the crowd that, a year ago, she released about 30 cassettes of her EP, jokingly titled Thrush Metal, figuring she would get this music thing out of her system and go on with her life. To her surprise, it turned into something quickly. She seemed genuinely happy and slightly awestruck to be at SXSW and her deeply personal songs resonate well in the current #timesup environment.

With so much going on in such a short period of time, it’s quite easy to lose the proverbial forest for the trees and trying to ascribe meaning or significance to any particular SXSW year can be akin to grabbing hold of the wind. What’s the takeaway then? Charlie Steen of Shame may have summed it up best. With a wry grin, he admonished the crowd at Cheer Up Charlies, “don’t be so serious, smile. It’s just entertainment.”