Day 2 and another sunny day in Austin
Get up for free breakfast and realise..I am getting old. The early morning flight..then a night full of rock n roll have combined to make my poor old legs feel like Crap!!!
But..show must go on and we have a plan
First show of the day is at Mellow Johnny's bike shop and some great story telling from Robyn Hitchcock. In between the wild and wacky stories he told, some of whom went on some weirdly wonderful tangents, there were great songs. He is an entertainer, sometimes a very odd one, but an entertainer nonetheless and when you can watch him in the comfort of the bike shop setting, it makes it even better.
Now, off to Waterloo records and their lineup this year was immense! Today, it was a quick trip over to check out Thurston Moore's new band Chelsea Light Moving. Band comes on to a full house...place is packed, and the band is loud!! Just like Sonic Youth, they play hard and they play well and it is all about rock n roll. Every song seems to be a protest song....and announced as such. Looks like Thurston is on a mission. People are enjoying the show and new album is really strong and it comes across in the live show.
Now we head back to Mellow Johnny's for Allah Las. Retro surf and sunny pop from Los angeles. These guys fit with the atmosphere..its sunny outside and sunny inside. They sound great and again, its a very comfortable place to see them. Missed them a few times here in Toronto so I am glad to get to see them here. Fantastic little band, well worth the trip back to Mellow Johnny's
Now we try to get to the convention centre to see "Boy" but it turns out the schedule is way behind so it is off to Canada Blast party to say hi to some friends. We are there long enough to see Daniel Romano. He considers himself New Country for people who don't like new country. its an odd mix but his sound is pretty strong. Its now when the beauty of SXSW comes into play. Having some spare time..all you have to do is look at your schedules and see what you can fit in and we decide to fit in aquick trip to the Brooklyn Vegan party to catch Caveman and Savages.
Knew what to expect from Caveman "dadrock" is a term used often but not sure what that even means!! They sound good...that's all I know! Love how they pull songs together and anyone that has heard the cd, and likes the most recent cd, would love their show.
Now...We stick around to check out Savages. Had read about them in NME so I was curious if they would live up to the hype. No fear of that...this group of lovely young ladies kick out sublime punk. Intense, and in your face punk done by some really talented musicians. Absolutely mesmerised by this band..would definitely go and see them again.
Now its back to Canada Blast to check out Paper Moons. Loved their cd's and was really hoping they would pull it off live. Shame there wasn't a big crowd to see them but they did not let me down. Kids are quite good live so it was a great 45 minutes hanging around Canada Blast and seeming Paper Moons churn out some brilliant pop melodies!
Another walk to go catch Lord Huron. Had to see them on this visit to Austin and really hoped to see them this afternoon. Sadly the schedule at Filter on Rainey street was messed up and we could not stick around very long. The band did come on and while they sounded fantastic..the venue was just far too packed, could not see the band and we had places to be!..so we drifted away with the hope to see them later in the week.
Now we are off to see Wild Belle's ..a brother sister tandem who are both in love with reggae. Their songs are sweet and singer reminds me a bit of Duffy..good sound and we have a comfortable perch so all is good! Now its time for Tom Odell. Probably don't have to tell anyone in the UK what Tom Odell sounds like but I certainly figured Sandra would enjoy it (she really did enjoy it) and the kid is a good singer and piano player. I can see why he is so popular.
Now its time for Sandra to head home and I am off for more rock n roll. Off to Maggie Mae's rooftop patio for Trouble with Templeton, Storybooks, and Jake Bugg. Trouble with Templeton are a 5 piece Americana folk band...lovely sound, wont overwhelm you but its a pretty easy listen. Storybooks are on next and describing them as alternative indie does not do them justice. They actually demanded attention and crowd was drawn into the stage area..maybe because there are 6 of them, but the sound is full and different tempo's and waves of clever guitar actually make the band stand out from the previous band. But really...I was there for the next artist...Jake Bugg
Now I know he is getting a lot of press but I do love his cd and his attitude and really hoped it would come across live. There is no doubt in my mind that this kid is going to be huge, but could he perform? Well...this kid oozes attitude, he brings 7 guitars to stage and plays everyone of them..well. The kid acts and sings like someone much older and his voice is fantastic. I grew up listening to old classic country and this could could easily pull off a night of country classics without breaking a sweat. The crowd was going crazy by the time he started playing "Two Fingers" Turns out I am in a pub full of huge fans, many of them Brits and the party was on. Really can't say how impressed I am with this guy, watching him play guitar and leading this group at the age of 19, really do hope he sticks around for awhile as he is really talented. So very happy he pulled it off live
Now its 2am, and time for this guy to get some rest!
jim