SXSW, Day 2
Back to Stubb's again for Day 2. I actually ran into a classmate of mine from law school, who was opining about how he wanted to try some of the smaller venues but yet was compelled to keep coming back to Stubb's to see the bigger acts. I tend to agree - during the 2 previous occasions I spent much more time at the smaller venues and did some more musical exploration. On the other hand, the acts I actually wanted to see those years (like Kevn Kinney or 1001 Nights Orchestra) were actually playing in the smaller places.
The night started with the Meat Puppets. I didn't know their music, aside from the one single that was big back in the mid-90's ("Backwater") and a couple of them being part of the Nirvana Unplugged live album. They were ok - much like Heartless Bastards the night before, I wouldn't change the radio if they were on, but I wouldn't go looking for them.
Up next was Gomez. I was a fan of theirs back in the late 90's, and burned a couple discs worth of their stuff back then, but I hadn't really followed them or heard any of their newer stuff. While I didn't recognize any of the tunes (probably because they were from their new album coming out at the end of the month), the set did have the same feel as their earlier stuff did. I've found their music kind of dichotomous - either it's get a gentle acoustic feel to it, or it's hard-driving guitar work. Definitely fun, but not anything that's going to make me go grab the new album.
Finally, Andrew Bird, with band. He played in Austin a few weeks ago in a totally solo gig, which was sold out. I didn't get to go, but a friend of mine did, and said it was great. After watching the set with the band, I think I would've preferred the solo gig. His gig was great (especially because apparently the monitors went missing during the set-up after Gomez), but I think the bigger band ended up overwhelming his lyrics and his melodies, which is what I really like about his music. Definitely cool, though, and I'm slowly acquiring his stuff via eMusic, and have liked it so far.
What's on tap for tonight? It depends on how exhausted we are. We're looking at the Scottish group show that includes Camera Obscura and the Proclaimers, and we may venture out from there to go see a new local Austin band in their inaugural gig, My Jerusalem. Tomorrow night is Indigo Girls (and back to Stubb's) and whatever we manage to catch there before them (PJ Harvey is immediately before).
The night started with the Meat Puppets. I didn't know their music, aside from the one single that was big back in the mid-90's ("Backwater") and a couple of them being part of the Nirvana Unplugged live album. They were ok - much like Heartless Bastards the night before, I wouldn't change the radio if they were on, but I wouldn't go looking for them.
Up next was Gomez. I was a fan of theirs back in the late 90's, and burned a couple discs worth of their stuff back then, but I hadn't really followed them or heard any of their newer stuff. While I didn't recognize any of the tunes (probably because they were from their new album coming out at the end of the month), the set did have the same feel as their earlier stuff did. I've found their music kind of dichotomous - either it's get a gentle acoustic feel to it, or it's hard-driving guitar work. Definitely fun, but not anything that's going to make me go grab the new album.
Finally, Andrew Bird, with band. He played in Austin a few weeks ago in a totally solo gig, which was sold out. I didn't get to go, but a friend of mine did, and said it was great. After watching the set with the band, I think I would've preferred the solo gig. His gig was great (especially because apparently the monitors went missing during the set-up after Gomez), but I think the bigger band ended up overwhelming his lyrics and his melodies, which is what I really like about his music. Definitely cool, though, and I'm slowly acquiring his stuff via eMusic, and have liked it so far.
What's on tap for tonight? It depends on how exhausted we are. We're looking at the Scottish group show that includes Camera Obscura and the Proclaimers, and we may venture out from there to go see a new local Austin band in their inaugural gig, My Jerusalem. Tomorrow night is Indigo Girls (and back to Stubb's) and whatever we manage to catch there before them (PJ Harvey is immediately before).