Words by: Kayceman | Images by: Scott Dudelson & Kayceman
SXSW :: 03.19.10 :: Friday :: Austin, TX
Kayceman’s Top 3
#3 - Miike Snow
 Dr. Dog :: 03.19.10 :: SXSW by Kayceman |
Sweden’s Miike Snow (no one named Mike, Miike, or Snow in the band) took the stage in black jackets and white masks around 12:30 a.m. From the first subsonic bass rattle it was near impossible to stand still and it wasn’t hard to imagine talents like this working with Madonna and Britney Spears, with whom band members Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnbergwon won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording on “Toxic.” These were dance tracks made by a live band that’s not afraid to rock. Heavy on hooks and dusted with slightly strange vocals, if things break right for Miike Snow they could find success like Phoenix or Justice.
#2 - Dr. Dog
Dr. Dog slayed a very packed crowd at the Filter Party with their workmanlike charm. Mixing touring staples “The Old Days,” “Worst Trip” and “Fate” with a few new numbers, including a cool one that read “Mirrors” on the setlist that chased its own tail with an increasing tempo, everything about this band screams future classic. Bassist/vocalist Toby Leaman was a monster, powerfully belting out vocals and digging his heel deep into the stage to drive the machine. Watching the joy this band finds in their music is contagious and I saw more uninhibited dancing in the crowd at this set than at any other all weekend. It all wound down with a psychedelic gospel rave up that started with a Prince tease and wound up sounding like a relative of My Morning Jacket.
#1 - Big Light Private Hotel Suite Party
 Big Light :: Hilton Suite Party :: 03.19.10 :: SXSW by Kayceman |
In all my years of attending SXSW I’ve seen a lot of bands in a lot of very interesting locations. During the fest Austin turns every possible location into a venue and no one thinks twice of raging an abandoned supermarket, rocking in a taco shack, or taking over an airplane hanger. But never have I seen a full-on rock show in a hotel room. Starting at around 1:15 a.m. in a giant suite at the Hilton (the hub of SXSW) Big Light broke new ground at SXSW. Having just covered Big Light in yesterday’s review it was not my intention to cover them again; but this party was the stuff of legends. In addition to all the managers, press, booking agents and big wig industry types, the suite (and adjoining rooms) were stuffed with about 100 people including the Talking Heads‘ Jerry Harrison, Blues Traveler’s John Popper, DJ Logic, Papa Mali and the Barr Brothers. We had given the over-under on how many songs they’d actually get to play before security shut us down at around three, but the stars were aligned and Big Light played an entire hour-plus rock show at full volume. The set even included a nice sit-in by The Slip’s Brad Barr on guitar. Big Light blew it up and laid claim as a serious buzz band of SXSW. This was easily one of the best parties I’ve seen at SXSW.
Continue reading for Sarah Hagerman’s SXSW Day 3 highlights…
Words by: Sarah Hagerman
 Jakob Dylan and Three Legs (Featuring Neko Case)03.19.10 :: SXSW by Dudelson |
Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights
“Baby it’s been too long/ Since rock and roll turned you on,” Jonathan Tyler cried. ‘Nuff said. Fervent believers in the power of music to get our juices flowing, Tyler and his band The Northern Lights had the crowd getting down at The Relix day party at Antone’s. Channeling The Black Crowes with touches of Zeppelin, The Lights had a magnetic stage presence, stomping with their instruments and exuding rock star confidence. They are damn good, and they know it, but they’re ultimately here to have fun and make your ass move. They were tight as hell too. When the lovely back up singer stepped to the mic for a song, throwing some R&B and hip-hop into the mix that was very Erykah Badu-inspired, the band didn’t miss a beat behind her, tying the whole thing together with some Roots-like grooves. I would have liked to see more of her, but hot damn, this was a flat out great show. When they left the stage, Relix Editor-in-Chief Josh Baron wiped his brow as he took the mic, declaring, “I don’t know about you, but I just got run over!”
Trampled by Turtles
Some bands just have an uncanny sense of how to write songs that stick with you. Although they get well-deserved props for their cathartic and energetic live shows - you’ve never seen so much sweat pour from five guys sitting down - it’s the songwriting that sets Trampled by Turtles apart. They’ve got positively addictive hooks, and on quieter numbers, like the beautiful sigh of “Trouble,” they let them unwind with a natural ease. This set at Red-Eyed Fly flew by at a breakneck pace. I got a couple personal favorites - “Empire” and a vicious “Burn for Free,” plus some killer new material from the upcoming Palomino. Ryan Young (fiddle) and Erik Berry (mando) practically folded into their chairs as they attacked their instruments, red-faced intensity that had the crowd whooping and shrieking. “I like your beards!” I heard someone shout. At this point during SXSW, I’ve seen enough ironic facial hair to last the rest of my life. But TbT are genuine scruff. You get the sense that no matter how far they climb, they won’t ever forget where they came from. It’s that grounding that keeps them so real and keeps their music so warm, in the midst of the fury they can unleash when they take that stage.
Quasi
Janet Weiss (of now defunct Sleater-Kinney) is one of the fiercest, most versatile drummers in indie rock royalty. She was flexing serious muscle during Quasi’s set at Antone’s, pin-sharp machine gun rat-a-tats and crescendos that built to brain-pulping levels. Quasi are pure stripped-down garage adrenalin. They don’t fuck around or have a lot of pretension - they keep it lean, but draw it out in decidedly rough lines. Joanna Bolme’s bass was chewy, and Sam Coomes‘ guitar work could break down in anarchy at any moment. Closing out their set with “Bye Bye Blackbird,” they destroyed some ear drums as they let it all hang loose, feedback buzzes, squeals, and washes of thick noise.
 Trampled by Turtles :: 03.19.10 :: SXSW |
There comes a moment at South by. Your feet hurt. You can’t bear to over hear one more name-dropping conversation, or see one more person glued to their iPhone while a band is killing it a few feet away. You are tired of wading through the mess on 6th Street. You are just plain tired, as you’re averaging about four hours of sleep a night. That’s when you need something to remind you why you’re here, and I couldn’t have asked for better medicine than Velvet Truckstop. Crammed into a sweaty Nuno’s, VT laid down rock and roll salvation of the highest order. With their lofty electric blues, driving southern rock jams, and influences from The Band to Wilco, they gave me, and several others, the will to dance down those last hours until closing time, all fire and sweat. Readers, you need to get acquainted. These cats are cut from some genuine cloth, the kind of band that pulls you through the rough times and sends you out into the night with a romping ‘Hallelujah!’ Guitarist Dorsey Parker was especially tapped into something huge while he played, making it look so damn easy but one glance at his fingers moving across his axe would leave your head spinning. They got songwriting skills that bow towards the classic, such as the asphalt-scarred “Carolina Way,” where Jamie Dose sings about those “Broken dreams and guitar strings” that litter the highway while you’re chasing a dream. But you keep pushing on regardless, because you believe in what you’re doing. If that’s not what SXSW is ultimately all about, then I don’t know what is.
Continue reading for more pics of SXSW Day 3…
Images by: Scott Dudelson
 Billy Bragg and Wayne Kramer at Ghost Bar
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 Mike Mills (R.E.M.) at Ghost Bar
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 Wayne Kramer at Ghost Bar
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 Audible Mainframe at Spin Party
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 Billy Bragg at Don’t Mess With Texas Party
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 Frightened Rabbit at Don’t Mess With Texas Party
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 Citizen Cope at SXSW Day Stage
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 Diane Birch at SXSW Day Stage
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 Dead Confederate at Little Radio Party
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 Foxy Shazam at Spin Party
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 Fucked Up at Spin Party
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 Rogue Wave at Spin Party
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 Miike Snow at Spin Party
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 Wooden Birds at Mohawk
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 Metric at Stubb’s
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 Emily Haines - Metric at Stubb’s
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 Steel Train at Encore
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Click here for coverage of SXSW Day 1. Click here for coverage of Day 2.
Check back tomorrow for more coverage of SXSW 2010…
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