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2008-04-07

by Don Simpson

SXSW Music Festival 2008

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AUSTIN, Texas -- Like so many residents of Austin, I enjoy a love/hate relationship with the South by Southwest Music festival. Now in its 22nd year, SXSW Music has evolved into an unleashed two-headed beast thanks to an ever-growing never-ending plethora of SXSW-sanctioned and unsanctioned events. What was once a professional outlet to showcase various musical artists (ranging from unsigned to those signed to independent and major record labels), is now an unstoppable 24-hour party. And according to the festivalgoers I conversed with (and my own experience), the parties (both SXSW-sanctioned and unsanctioned) have become their primary focus and the evening showcases (where alcohol is not free) have become an outlet to provide laminate-bearers and wristband-wearers a second chance to see some of the talent that they missed at any high profile, over-crowded parties. Unsanctioned parties even allow those without a precious badge or wristband an opportunity to find free music and most importantly free beer (and margaritas, bloody mary’s…the list goes on) for four (or five or six, depending on who’s counting) days straight – though the SXSW-sanctioned parties generally offer the better booze and grub.

Admittedly, by the time Wednesday (the official start of SXSW Music) came around I had already endured five very intense days of parties and films at SXSW Film. Wednesday meant that I still had four more days of the film festival overlapped with four days of the music festival. The mere thought of my schedule exhausted me! (Then again - what a life! Exhausted by an inexhaustible amount of music and cinema! SXSW is essentially my wildest dream come true!) I wasn’t quite up for the 24-hour mayhem and I needed an occasional shut-eye in peace and quiet - which I never got because my neighborhood was engulfed by non-stop SXSW Music parties. And without sleep, every day got more and more difficult.

So I wound up only seeing a handful of music shows (from my original agenda of hundreds) from which here are some of my notes:

During an early daytime performance, the barely awake British Sea Power rocketed through a set-list of material from their newest LP, Do You Like Rock Music?, with none of the charismatic chaos I remembered from their previous live performances. From what I’ve heard, their evening showcase performance was a much more raucous affair.

Portastatic and Yo La Tengo’s sets were underwhelming compared to their setting (the beautiful grounds of the French Legation Museum); however, the Grand Archives’ music blended so perfectly with the very same surroundings, that it elevated their sound to a higher level. I was just starting to tire of the Grand Archives’ eponymous debut - and now I love it all over again.

Bruno Wizard, founding member and lead singer from The Homosexuals, brought a phoenix-like incarnation of his seminal post-punk band to the WFMU showcase. Seeing a much younger band of 20 or 30-somethings standing behind the 56-year old raised a grocery-list of doubts (which were all tossed away the minute the show began). Wizard, still the epitome of late 1970s British punk, was equally glamorous and enraging. I left the show utterly embarrassed that I had never heard The Homosexuals before (a friend dragged me to this show). Now that my Homosexuals cherry has been popped, I can’t wait to purchase the 2004 CD re-issue of their only official full-length – The Homosexuals Record.

And I’ve saved the two best of the fest for last: The Dodos (who have revived my faith in the magic of music) and J-Roddy Walston and the Business (who have rekindled my love for that old time rock and roll).

I don’t even know where to start with the Dodos. Of the bands that I saw, they were the only ones that I actively sought out – primarily because their new album (Visiter) is destined to be my favorite album of 2008. They are a two-piece (with an occasionally third), but the sheer deluge of drums (man, their drummer - Logan Kroeber - is outstanding! He is an unstoppable machine!) makes them sound like an entire marching band on speed and crack. When paired with Meric Long’s unique guitar-stylings - well, I can’t say that I’ve ever heard anything like them before. Visiter is an amazing listen in its own right, but witnessing the songs live is an otherworldly experience.

And if you like good old 70s barroom rock n' roll and you don't know of J-Roddy Walston and the Business, well…They are amazing! A good friend of mine has been talking incessantly about J-Roddy Walston and the Business for the past six months. It was enough to make me sick. I didn't think J-Roddy Walston and the Business could ever live up to all of his hype, but J-Roddy Walston and the Business surpassed it! Really! I saw J-Roddy Walston and the Business at 2 p.m. in the afternoon at the Chuggin’ Monkey (a Frat-boy bar on 6th Street) with a horrible soundman, crappy speakers and a lame speckling of a crowd (it is also worth noting that I was totally exhausted from a bad night’s sleep and definitely not in the mood to rock ‘n’ roll)…and J-Roddy Walston and the Business still blew me away! It was a spectacle and I have been transformed! I can't even imagine what J-Roddy Walston and the Business would sound like if the vocals and harmonies were actually audible.