Features | Festivals
SXSW 2007 -- Day Four: Tour Diary
By Andre Perry | 4 February 2008
We woke up feeling like a nest of broken eggs. Our feet begged us to never stand or walk again. Nonetheless, we pushed forward into Day 4 of our SXSW experience: using our CMG credentials to maximum effect we talked our way into the FADER party (although, to be honest, they seemed happy to let anybody in, a good thing). The main attraction was The Good, The Bad, and The Queen. The band took their sweet time before coming on stage, but luckily the FADER folks were serving tasty Southern Comfort cocktails for free.
Dressed in a fine suit and a blue dress shirt, Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) took the stage and owned the audience for about forty-five minutes. Seriously, who makes wearing a top hat look cool? The rest of the band was also dressed to a tee. With a cigarette, a cup of whiskey, and his name scrawled like a back-alley tattoo into his bass guitar, Paul Simonon (The Clash), looked like a hardened rock 'n' roll veteran. He grinned at the audience for the entire show -- he knew something we didn't know -- and held his bass, Peter-Tosh-style, like a machine gun as he ripped out reggae-inflected bass lines. Despite such captivating sidemen as Simonon, it was certainly Albarn's show. He carried the groove-based songs on the back of his impressive voice. He wasn't showy, just a showman throughout, moving from the microphone to the piano and cueing his band mates through the various passages of the music.
GBQ's songs aren't exceptional -- especially coming from a group of musicians who have played parts in making some of the 20th Century's essential music -- but the execution of those songs is something to witness. Sore feet aside, I'm glad we were there to see it, man-crush on Albarn notwithstanding.
While we were indulging in Southern Comfort at the FADER show, other day parties were filling up. We returned downtown to find ourselves greeted by long, long lines. After throwing back a couple of green beers (it was St. Patrick's Day) at a bar, we split up. Craig checked out the Polyphonic Spree at Mohawks while I got in line for the Mess With Texas Party. I had already missed the bands I wanted to see most -- Ladyhawk, the Ponys, and Deerhunter -- but I waited anyway because the Walkmen were headlining: it seemed like it would be funny to see them again (four times in one week), making me the most informed Walkmen audience member ever.
Regrouping, we grabbed some Mexican food and kicked back a pitcher of frozen margaritas before mentally pumping ourselves up for the last night of music. Because of an attempt to see Dios Malos and a tardy show schedule, our efforts presented us with the melodramatic indie-rock of Born In The Flood. Some songs were just okay, sure, but when they hit it these guys were really on (see my track review of "Anthem"). We weren't able to get into the Team Love/Saddle Creek showcase so we watched Field Music from outside of the Beauty Bar, which oddly seemed a lot more comfortable than actually being inside the cramped tent. I wasn't so impressed with Field Music; they were competent but none of their songs really grabbed me. It made me wonder: what would it take for a band I wasn't familiar with to turn me on at that point in the weekend? I had been totally music'd out, hung-over to the nth degree, and damn, my feet felt like a boxer's fists after the prize-fight. My question was answered at the Habanna club where we saw the Capitol Years, Frog Eyes, and The Teeth at the Park The Van/Absolutely Kosher showcase.
With their Strokes-esque vocals and straight-ahead rock 'n' roll swagger, the Capitol Years' energy was off the charts. But I still think they can use some variation in their sound: three electric guitars coming at you all of the time can get repetitive. The Teeth were even more energetic than the Capitol Years. They had some great songs in their set as well as some run-of-the-mill rockers, but their explosive onstage demeanor kept me awake and dancing. It seemed that in the eleventh hour the only thing a new band could do to keep me there was to play so intensely that I caught their infection. Anything mellow would have sent me away with the sandman.
We took off after Frog Eyes and returned to our hotel where I fell on top of the bed and passed out. A fitting conclusion.
Dressed in a fine suit and a blue dress shirt, Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) took the stage and owned the audience for about forty-five minutes. Seriously, who makes wearing a top hat look cool? The rest of the band was also dressed to a tee. With a cigarette, a cup of whiskey, and his name scrawled like a back-alley tattoo into his bass guitar, Paul Simonon (The Clash), looked like a hardened rock 'n' roll veteran. He grinned at the audience for the entire show -- he knew something we didn't know -- and held his bass, Peter-Tosh-style, like a machine gun as he ripped out reggae-inflected bass lines. Despite such captivating sidemen as Simonon, it was certainly Albarn's show. He carried the groove-based songs on the back of his impressive voice. He wasn't showy, just a showman throughout, moving from the microphone to the piano and cueing his band mates through the various passages of the music.
GBQ's songs aren't exceptional -- especially coming from a group of musicians who have played parts in making some of the 20th Century's essential music -- but the execution of those songs is something to witness. Sore feet aside, I'm glad we were there to see it, man-crush on Albarn notwithstanding.
While we were indulging in Southern Comfort at the FADER show, other day parties were filling up. We returned downtown to find ourselves greeted by long, long lines. After throwing back a couple of green beers (it was St. Patrick's Day) at a bar, we split up. Craig checked out the Polyphonic Spree at Mohawks while I got in line for the Mess With Texas Party. I had already missed the bands I wanted to see most -- Ladyhawk, the Ponys, and Deerhunter -- but I waited anyway because the Walkmen were headlining: it seemed like it would be funny to see them again (four times in one week), making me the most informed Walkmen audience member ever.
Regrouping, we grabbed some Mexican food and kicked back a pitcher of frozen margaritas before mentally pumping ourselves up for the last night of music. Because of an attempt to see Dios Malos and a tardy show schedule, our efforts presented us with the melodramatic indie-rock of Born In The Flood. Some songs were just okay, sure, but when they hit it these guys were really on (see my track review of "Anthem"). We weren't able to get into the Team Love/Saddle Creek showcase so we watched Field Music from outside of the Beauty Bar, which oddly seemed a lot more comfortable than actually being inside the cramped tent. I wasn't so impressed with Field Music; they were competent but none of their songs really grabbed me. It made me wonder: what would it take for a band I wasn't familiar with to turn me on at that point in the weekend? I had been totally music'd out, hung-over to the nth degree, and damn, my feet felt like a boxer's fists after the prize-fight. My question was answered at the Habanna club where we saw the Capitol Years, Frog Eyes, and The Teeth at the Park The Van/Absolutely Kosher showcase.
With their Strokes-esque vocals and straight-ahead rock 'n' roll swagger, the Capitol Years' energy was off the charts. But I still think they can use some variation in their sound: three electric guitars coming at you all of the time can get repetitive. The Teeth were even more energetic than the Capitol Years. They had some great songs in their set as well as some run-of-the-mill rockers, but their explosive onstage demeanor kept me awake and dancing. It seemed that in the eleventh hour the only thing a new band could do to keep me there was to play so intensely that I caught their infection. Anything mellow would have sent me away with the sandman.
We took off after Frog Eyes and returned to our hotel where I fell on top of the bed and passed out. A fitting conclusion.