SXSW '09
(cross-posted from ecto, forgive me...)
I'm back from SXSW, and finally out of bed (in retrospect, going to Austin on the heels of a 2.5-week Southern tour wasn't the smartest thing we've ever done :}). Perhaps my impression was clouded by the stark contrast to last year, where there was exactly *one* thing on the schedule I was interested in seeing ... but hot damn, SXSW was awesome this year.
Things got started first thing Wednesday morning with registration (I'll spare y'all the details but really, there's *got* to be a better, less chaotic way to do that), and then shortly thereafter was the "Artist As Entrepreneur" panel, which featured Rachael Sage alongside the founders of Sonicbids, eMusic and CD Baby, as well as a CNET music blogger and the manager of a very successful band from South Africa. I'm not entirely sure why Rachael was the only actual artist on the panel (though Derek Sivers was an active musician when he started CD Baby), but it was an extremely well-moderated and informative discussion, and Rachael did all DIY artists proud. (The coolest thing about the panel was that it was interactive via Twitter: anyone interested can check it out here.)
That night I kicked off the music by going to see Mieka Pauley's official showcase. She was at the aptly-named Volume with her full band, bathed in a sickly green light. She peeled the paint off the walls, and it was great. Her wonderful album, Elijah Drop Your Gun is available for free at Amazon until the end of this month, and I highly recommend it to all. And if she comes to your town, go -- whether she's with her band or solo, she rocks and is well worthy of support.
From there I ended up at the Signature Sounds showcase, where Chris Smither was playing to the only sit-down listening crowd in all of Austin. I've seen him plenty of times, so I only stuck around for a couple songs. He was, as ever, his funny, brilliant bluesy self.
After that I decided to try my luck getting in to see The Decemberists. They were at Stubb's BBQ, which is generally a venue you count on having to wait in line to get into ... but maybe because registrations were down 10-15% (depending on who you talk to) for SXSW Music this year, things were much more manageable in general and I only had to wait 5 minutes. I was kind of in the back, though, which was a problem since -- and I *never* thought I would say this at a SXSW event -- it wasn't loud enough. The only thing I could hear was a distant bass. Eventually I managed to worm my way up to a spot in front of one of the stacks, and that was much better -- I could hear everything in the mix, and even that close I didn't need earplugs. From that point on, the show became a religious experience. It was like a modern-day reinvention of Sandy Denny-era Fairport Convention, and it was incredible.
I hadn't been paying attention to any press leading up to SXSW at all, so I had no idea until the next morning that what they did was premiere their new album Hazard of Love in its entirety. It's based upon the work of an obscure trad British folksinger from the '60s, which explained the Fairport Convention-ness of it all. And the reason the woman who alternated between playing guitar and various percussion in the back and coming up to the front of the stage to sing duets with Colin Meloy sounded a *lot* like Shara Worden was because it was indeed Shara Worden. *g* All in all it was an amazing show, and I can't wait to get the album tomorrow.
I didn't feel the need to see anything more after that, so I floated back to my hotel and that ended SXSW day 1 for me.
On Thursday afternoon Rachael and her band performed as part of the RedGorilla Music Fest, a parallel festival that takes over the non-SXSW venues in Austin and provides a free alternative for folks who don't have SXSW badges. She played in a really vibey space called the Vintage Lounge, and it was a great dress rehearsal for her MPressFest show coming up a couple days later. It was fun.
That evening was my #1 must-see for the entire week: Tori Amos was to launch her new album, Abnormally Attracted To Sin at La Zona Rosa, one of the more outlying venues in town. Her set was at 10 and for various reasons I couldn't head over there until 9, so I was worried I wouldn't be able to get in -- but there wasn't a line, and in fact they were selling tickets to the general public at the door. (Which I must admit made me laugh evilly, as several of the looniest die-hard Tori fans had actually bought SXSW badges and waited outside the club all day for what turned out to be no reason at all.)
Tori came onstage precisely on the dot of 10, and then proceeded to utterly and completely fail to make good use of her time. She was at SXSW to launch a new album and only played 3 songs from it (which I must say don't have me too excited for the record, either :/), and instead wasted the rest of the set on mostly tired old songs that nobody really needs to hear again ("Crucify"? "Silent All These Years"? Really???). And there was *way* too much reverb on everything. I will say that her voice sounded amazing, though -- she's really been taking care of herself on that front.
As we were filing out (I really felt for the poor band that followed her), I heard a guy say "well, that didn't inspire me to go out and buy any of her cds", and that's about the size of it. From a music biz perspective, she really dropped the ball. SXSW isn't about the fans in the front row, it's about kicking ass and making writers, buyers and promoters take notice. Tori did not do that.
On the other hand, what I saw next was the total opposite. I motored back across town to Central Presbyterian Church, where Amanda "AFP" Palmer was scheduled for 11pm (and a huge bitchslap to the SXSW scheduling geniuses who worked that one out, btw :P). Fortunately they were running a wee bit late over there, so I arrived just in time. To kick things off Amanda stepped onto the altar of the church and sang "The Wind That Shakes The Barley" in its entirety completely off mic and a capella, which mesmerized everyone there: you could hear a pin drop, and her voice had never sounded better. Then she moved over to her keyboard and launched into "Astronaut", and it was off to the races. Afterwards she said she had thrown out her set list when she realized she was playing in a church, not a bar full of loud obnoxious drunk people, so she took requests for quieter songs instead. :) And then Margaret Cho showed up with a guitar, of all things, and they sang a song together. (Margaret Cho is putting out a music album later this year, who knew??) AFP told funny stories in between songs and was real and engaging and played and sang her heart out, and made some new fans out of the biz types who were there. *That*, my friends, is how you use your time at SXSW.
After that there wasn't anything I felt compelled to check out, plus I'm getting old, so I packed it in. So much for SXSW Day 2.
On Friday I had a bunch of running around to do, but by late afternoon Rachael and I were free to head over to the party co-hosted by Paste Magazine, Vanguard/Sugar Hill Records, and Russell Carter Artist Management. Ostensibly we wanted to check out Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles and say hello since they would be headlining our MPressFest the next day, but really Rachael wanted an excuse to get there in plenty of time to stake out a good spot to see the Indigo Girls. ;) Mission accomplished on both fronts -- we were basically in the front row for both. It was a gorgeous day and the stage was in an outdoor courtyard next to a restaurant, so it wasn't a bad spot to spend a couple hours at all. Sarah Borges was fun -- she's like a more rockabilly Joan Jett, and she has a great band. And what can I say about the Indigo Girls, they were awesome. Believe it or not that was my first time ever seeing them perform live (!) ... their new album is out tomorrow, and I really liked the new songs they did so I look forward to picking it up. Of course they did some greatest hits too, starting off with "Galileo" and ending with "Closer To Fine", both of which were rousing sing-alongs on the part of the crowd, with Amy Ray egging everybody on. Despite being jet-lagged from just getting back from playing in Singapore, they sounded great and clearly were having a great time.
The only showcasey thing I got to on Friday night was The Rescues at the Hotel Cafe shindig. The Rescues are a Los Angeles singer/songwriter supergroup of sorts, featuring Kyler England, Adrienne, Rob Giles, and Gabriel Byrne. Their 4-part harmony is *sick* -- in fact, they kicked off their 3-song (!) set with an a cappella tune that shut everyone in the bar up but good. All of the group's members are worth seeing in their own right, but the four of them together is just magical. They really should've been able to play longer, but apparently 20-minute sets is just how the Hotel Cafe rolls, because it can.
After that the previous 2.5 weeks caught up with me, and I crashed hard. I was back in my hotel room watching basketball like an old person at 10:30, and was out asleep by 11:30. But there was a big, long day coming up, so that all worked out fine. (Except for the part where I woke up the next morning and realized I'd missed DEVO, d'oh!! Oh well.)
Saturday was our 3rd annual MPressFest at SXSW, and I daresay it was the most successful one yet. We took over the Soho Lounge on 6th Street for the afternoon, and presented a whole bunch of great music, starting with Katie Costello. She is only 18, but she's already kick-starting a very promising career. Do check her out, especially if you like the Regina Spektor and Fiona Apple end of the spectrum. She's a wonderful live performer, too.
After Katie came Gregory Douglass, all the way from Burlington, VT with his full band. They totally kicked ass. His new album is called Battler and is worth checking out, as well -- in particular his duet with Grace Potter.
Next we had Seth Glier, who is 20 years old and when I say he could be the next Billy Joel, I mean that with no irony or cheese whatsoever. He writes well beyond his years, is an amazing piano player, and has an incredible voice. He borrowed Rachael's band for his set, too, which was fun. I'd consider him ecto, even though he's a boy -- particularly for fans of smart piano pop in general, and Ben Folds in particular.
Amy Speace took the stage next with her band The Tearjerks. Her new album, The Killer In Me is coming out by summer, and it's really, really, really good. She's more on the Americana/Country side, and she rocks (overheard in the bathroom during her set: "Wow, she's like Martina McBride. isn't she?" :).
The only solo acoustic artist in Austin who could hold her own following up a powerhouse band like that was Melissa Ferrick. She wasn't feeling 100%, but she definitely didn't let it show once she started playing. She was her usual kickass, engaging self, and I know she made a bunch of new fans.
Then it was finally time for Rachael Sage & The Sequins (Quinn on percussion, Dave Eggar on cello). I'm hardly objective I know, but I thought it was a great set, and based on feedback from the audience I'm pretty sure my impression was correct. :) No new songs, but a solid set of rockin' oldies with a really, really cool improv of "Hit Song" in the middle.
Sarah Borges & The Broken Singles closed out our day in fine, rocking fashion. It's straight-up old-school roadhouse rock-n-roll, which I know might not be everybody's cuppa all the time, but it was perfect to end our party. Her music is good for putting the top down and driving on a gorgeous day. :)
After some well-deserved wind-down time enjoying some BBQ and beer, I wandered back over to Stubb's (with Rachael and drummer in tow) to see if we could get in to see PJ Harvey and John Parish. Once again the line was surprisingly non-existent, and we ended up in a great observational spot. The sound was *much* better than for The Decemberists, and the set was mind-blowing. The reviewer at The Toronto Star summed it up thusly:
We love P.J. Harvey. The diminutive Polly Jean was radiant in white, huge of voice and in tip-top, typically schizophrenic form for a one-off U.S. show at the Stubb's amphitheatre to preview songs from her forthcoming collaboration with John Parish, A Woman a Man Walked By. The new songs were as twisted and eclectic as those on the pair's previous record together, 1996's Dance Hall at Louse Point, taking in moments of whispered longing, avant-garde noise spasms and mercurial rockers. After staying relatively demure for much of the hour-long set, Harvey turned on the tigress for "Pig Will Not," prowling the stage with a manic look on her face whilst growling "I want his f---ing ass! I want his f---ing ass!" and blowing minds all the way to the back fence. Please grant us a tour, Ms. Harvey.
(Actually there are shows in L.A. (tonight!!) and NYC this week ... which I'm sure are sold out, sigh.)
One of the most enduring images of SXSW in my mind remains the sight of Polly Jean in her white ballgown shimmying around the stage with a pair of maracas. Absolutely gorgeous.
In another "huh?!" scheduling move, the Indigo Girls had to follow that up. (I'd rather enjoyed looking around during PJ's set watching the IG fans have their "WTF *is* this?!" moments ... :) When the place pretty much emptied out between sets, I followed Rachael up to the front, where we enjoyed an almost-front-row spot for the second time in two days. They did a slightly different set, including "Kid Fears", which made me very happy since that remains my favorite song of theirs to this day. So now I've seen Indigo Girls twice, go me. :)
After that we were done, stick a fork in us. I did swing by The Velveeta Room to see if I could possibly see Janeane Garofalo, but there was no getting in so I took that as my cue from the Universe to go to bed.
I know I missed a whole bunch of stuff over the course of the week, people kept telling me about amazing shows they'd seen by bands I'd never heard of but feel like I should ... but I'm quite pleased with what I saw this year. I have a bunch of CDs in my queue to buy, and I know I'll be trying to see The Decemberists again as soon as possible.
And now to go *thud* ... it's gonna take me the better part of this week to recover. (Did I mention I'm old??)
ETA: For the crappy camera-phone pix I took while there, see here.
I'm back from SXSW, and finally out of bed (in retrospect, going to Austin on the heels of a 2.5-week Southern tour wasn't the smartest thing we've ever done :}). Perhaps my impression was clouded by the stark contrast to last year, where there was exactly *one* thing on the schedule I was interested in seeing ... but hot damn, SXSW was awesome this year.
Things got started first thing Wednesday morning with registration (I'll spare y'all the details but really, there's *got* to be a better, less chaotic way to do that), and then shortly thereafter was the "Artist As Entrepreneur" panel, which featured Rachael Sage alongside the founders of Sonicbids, eMusic and CD Baby, as well as a CNET music blogger and the manager of a very successful band from South Africa. I'm not entirely sure why Rachael was the only actual artist on the panel (though Derek Sivers was an active musician when he started CD Baby), but it was an extremely well-moderated and informative discussion, and Rachael did all DIY artists proud. (The coolest thing about the panel was that it was interactive via Twitter: anyone interested can check it out here.)
That night I kicked off the music by going to see Mieka Pauley's official showcase. She was at the aptly-named Volume with her full band, bathed in a sickly green light. She peeled the paint off the walls, and it was great. Her wonderful album, Elijah Drop Your Gun is available for free at Amazon until the end of this month, and I highly recommend it to all. And if she comes to your town, go -- whether she's with her band or solo, she rocks and is well worthy of support.
From there I ended up at the Signature Sounds showcase, where Chris Smither was playing to the only sit-down listening crowd in all of Austin. I've seen him plenty of times, so I only stuck around for a couple songs. He was, as ever, his funny, brilliant bluesy self.
After that I decided to try my luck getting in to see The Decemberists. They were at Stubb's BBQ, which is generally a venue you count on having to wait in line to get into ... but maybe because registrations were down 10-15% (depending on who you talk to) for SXSW Music this year, things were much more manageable in general and I only had to wait 5 minutes. I was kind of in the back, though, which was a problem since -- and I *never* thought I would say this at a SXSW event -- it wasn't loud enough. The only thing I could hear was a distant bass. Eventually I managed to worm my way up to a spot in front of one of the stacks, and that was much better -- I could hear everything in the mix, and even that close I didn't need earplugs. From that point on, the show became a religious experience. It was like a modern-day reinvention of Sandy Denny-era Fairport Convention, and it was incredible.
I hadn't been paying attention to any press leading up to SXSW at all, so I had no idea until the next morning that what they did was premiere their new album Hazard of Love in its entirety. It's based upon the work of an obscure trad British folksinger from the '60s, which explained the Fairport Convention-ness of it all. And the reason the woman who alternated between playing guitar and various percussion in the back and coming up to the front of the stage to sing duets with Colin Meloy sounded a *lot* like Shara Worden was because it was indeed Shara Worden. *g* All in all it was an amazing show, and I can't wait to get the album tomorrow.
I didn't feel the need to see anything more after that, so I floated back to my hotel and that ended SXSW day 1 for me.
On Thursday afternoon Rachael and her band performed as part of the RedGorilla Music Fest, a parallel festival that takes over the non-SXSW venues in Austin and provides a free alternative for folks who don't have SXSW badges. She played in a really vibey space called the Vintage Lounge, and it was a great dress rehearsal for her MPressFest show coming up a couple days later. It was fun.
That evening was my #1 must-see for the entire week: Tori Amos was to launch her new album, Abnormally Attracted To Sin at La Zona Rosa, one of the more outlying venues in town. Her set was at 10 and for various reasons I couldn't head over there until 9, so I was worried I wouldn't be able to get in -- but there wasn't a line, and in fact they were selling tickets to the general public at the door. (Which I must admit made me laugh evilly, as several of the looniest die-hard Tori fans had actually bought SXSW badges and waited outside the club all day for what turned out to be no reason at all.)
Tori came onstage precisely on the dot of 10, and then proceeded to utterly and completely fail to make good use of her time. She was at SXSW to launch a new album and only played 3 songs from it (which I must say don't have me too excited for the record, either :/), and instead wasted the rest of the set on mostly tired old songs that nobody really needs to hear again ("Crucify"? "Silent All These Years"? Really???). And there was *way* too much reverb on everything. I will say that her voice sounded amazing, though -- she's really been taking care of herself on that front.
As we were filing out (I really felt for the poor band that followed her), I heard a guy say "well, that didn't inspire me to go out and buy any of her cds", and that's about the size of it. From a music biz perspective, she really dropped the ball. SXSW isn't about the fans in the front row, it's about kicking ass and making writers, buyers and promoters take notice. Tori did not do that.
On the other hand, what I saw next was the total opposite. I motored back across town to Central Presbyterian Church, where Amanda "AFP" Palmer was scheduled for 11pm (and a huge bitchslap to the SXSW scheduling geniuses who worked that one out, btw :P). Fortunately they were running a wee bit late over there, so I arrived just in time. To kick things off Amanda stepped onto the altar of the church and sang "The Wind That Shakes The Barley" in its entirety completely off mic and a capella, which mesmerized everyone there: you could hear a pin drop, and her voice had never sounded better. Then she moved over to her keyboard and launched into "Astronaut", and it was off to the races. Afterwards she said she had thrown out her set list when she realized she was playing in a church, not a bar full of loud obnoxious drunk people, so she took requests for quieter songs instead. :) And then Margaret Cho showed up with a guitar, of all things, and they sang a song together. (Margaret Cho is putting out a music album later this year, who knew??) AFP told funny stories in between songs and was real and engaging and played and sang her heart out, and made some new fans out of the biz types who were there. *That*, my friends, is how you use your time at SXSW.
After that there wasn't anything I felt compelled to check out, plus I'm getting old, so I packed it in. So much for SXSW Day 2.
On Friday I had a bunch of running around to do, but by late afternoon Rachael and I were free to head over to the party co-hosted by Paste Magazine, Vanguard/Sugar Hill Records, and Russell Carter Artist Management. Ostensibly we wanted to check out Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles and say hello since they would be headlining our MPressFest the next day, but really Rachael wanted an excuse to get there in plenty of time to stake out a good spot to see the Indigo Girls. ;) Mission accomplished on both fronts -- we were basically in the front row for both. It was a gorgeous day and the stage was in an outdoor courtyard next to a restaurant, so it wasn't a bad spot to spend a couple hours at all. Sarah Borges was fun -- she's like a more rockabilly Joan Jett, and she has a great band. And what can I say about the Indigo Girls, they were awesome. Believe it or not that was my first time ever seeing them perform live (!) ... their new album is out tomorrow, and I really liked the new songs they did so I look forward to picking it up. Of course they did some greatest hits too, starting off with "Galileo" and ending with "Closer To Fine", both of which were rousing sing-alongs on the part of the crowd, with Amy Ray egging everybody on. Despite being jet-lagged from just getting back from playing in Singapore, they sounded great and clearly were having a great time.
The only showcasey thing I got to on Friday night was The Rescues at the Hotel Cafe shindig. The Rescues are a Los Angeles singer/songwriter supergroup of sorts, featuring Kyler England, Adrienne, Rob Giles, and Gabriel Byrne. Their 4-part harmony is *sick* -- in fact, they kicked off their 3-song (!) set with an a cappella tune that shut everyone in the bar up but good. All of the group's members are worth seeing in their own right, but the four of them together is just magical. They really should've been able to play longer, but apparently 20-minute sets is just how the Hotel Cafe rolls, because it can.
After that the previous 2.5 weeks caught up with me, and I crashed hard. I was back in my hotel room watching basketball like an old person at 10:30, and was out asleep by 11:30. But there was a big, long day coming up, so that all worked out fine. (Except for the part where I woke up the next morning and realized I'd missed DEVO, d'oh!! Oh well.)
Saturday was our 3rd annual MPressFest at SXSW, and I daresay it was the most successful one yet. We took over the Soho Lounge on 6th Street for the afternoon, and presented a whole bunch of great music, starting with Katie Costello. She is only 18, but she's already kick-starting a very promising career. Do check her out, especially if you like the Regina Spektor and Fiona Apple end of the spectrum. She's a wonderful live performer, too.
After Katie came Gregory Douglass, all the way from Burlington, VT with his full band. They totally kicked ass. His new album is called Battler and is worth checking out, as well -- in particular his duet with Grace Potter.
Next we had Seth Glier, who is 20 years old and when I say he could be the next Billy Joel, I mean that with no irony or cheese whatsoever. He writes well beyond his years, is an amazing piano player, and has an incredible voice. He borrowed Rachael's band for his set, too, which was fun. I'd consider him ecto, even though he's a boy -- particularly for fans of smart piano pop in general, and Ben Folds in particular.
Amy Speace took the stage next with her band The Tearjerks. Her new album, The Killer In Me is coming out by summer, and it's really, really, really good. She's more on the Americana/Country side, and she rocks (overheard in the bathroom during her set: "Wow, she's like Martina McBride. isn't she?" :).
The only solo acoustic artist in Austin who could hold her own following up a powerhouse band like that was Melissa Ferrick. She wasn't feeling 100%, but she definitely didn't let it show once she started playing. She was her usual kickass, engaging self, and I know she made a bunch of new fans.
Then it was finally time for Rachael Sage & The Sequins (Quinn on percussion, Dave Eggar on cello). I'm hardly objective I know, but I thought it was a great set, and based on feedback from the audience I'm pretty sure my impression was correct. :) No new songs, but a solid set of rockin' oldies with a really, really cool improv of "Hit Song" in the middle.
Sarah Borges & The Broken Singles closed out our day in fine, rocking fashion. It's straight-up old-school roadhouse rock-n-roll, which I know might not be everybody's cuppa all the time, but it was perfect to end our party. Her music is good for putting the top down and driving on a gorgeous day. :)
After some well-deserved wind-down time enjoying some BBQ and beer, I wandered back over to Stubb's (with Rachael and drummer in tow) to see if we could get in to see PJ Harvey and John Parish. Once again the line was surprisingly non-existent, and we ended up in a great observational spot. The sound was *much* better than for The Decemberists, and the set was mind-blowing. The reviewer at The Toronto Star summed it up thusly:
We love P.J. Harvey. The diminutive Polly Jean was radiant in white, huge of voice and in tip-top, typically schizophrenic form for a one-off U.S. show at the Stubb's amphitheatre to preview songs from her forthcoming collaboration with John Parish, A Woman a Man Walked By. The new songs were as twisted and eclectic as those on the pair's previous record together, 1996's Dance Hall at Louse Point, taking in moments of whispered longing, avant-garde noise spasms and mercurial rockers. After staying relatively demure for much of the hour-long set, Harvey turned on the tigress for "Pig Will Not," prowling the stage with a manic look on her face whilst growling "I want his f---ing ass! I want his f---ing ass!" and blowing minds all the way to the back fence. Please grant us a tour, Ms. Harvey.
(Actually there are shows in L.A. (tonight!!) and NYC this week ... which I'm sure are sold out, sigh.)
One of the most enduring images of SXSW in my mind remains the sight of Polly Jean in her white ballgown shimmying around the stage with a pair of maracas. Absolutely gorgeous.
In another "huh?!" scheduling move, the Indigo Girls had to follow that up. (I'd rather enjoyed looking around during PJ's set watching the IG fans have their "WTF *is* this?!" moments ... :) When the place pretty much emptied out between sets, I followed Rachael up to the front, where we enjoyed an almost-front-row spot for the second time in two days. They did a slightly different set, including "Kid Fears", which made me very happy since that remains my favorite song of theirs to this day. So now I've seen Indigo Girls twice, go me. :)
After that we were done, stick a fork in us. I did swing by The Velveeta Room to see if I could possibly see Janeane Garofalo, but there was no getting in so I took that as my cue from the Universe to go to bed.
I know I missed a whole bunch of stuff over the course of the week, people kept telling me about amazing shows they'd seen by bands I'd never heard of but feel like I should ... but I'm quite pleased with what I saw this year. I have a bunch of CDs in my queue to buy, and I know I'll be trying to see The Decemberists again as soon as possible.
And now to go *thud* ... it's gonna take me the better part of this week to recover. (Did I mention I'm old??)
ETA: For the crappy camera-phone pix I took while there, see here.