Live from SXSW – (Wednesday, daytime)
Posted by Val in Concert Reviews, Highlights, RandomA decent amount of time on my first full day at Austin was spent hanging posters, handing out fliers and otherwise promoting DC Does TX so I only saw a few bands during daylight hours but it was a good day.
I got to the Gothamist/Austinist party later than intended (people got lost, other people needed favors) so I missed A Place to Bury Strangers but got to Mohawk in time to catch Philly duo Pattern Is Movement. Pattern Is Movement is a band that we got to come to the alma mater back in 2006 (and again in 2007.) Suddenly this year they’re a Stereogum favorite and garnered a decent sized crowd. My hats off to them!
They played a lot of newer songs…or otherwise skipped over the Stowaway tracks that I’ve come to know well, but they provide some of the same treats I’ve come to expect to them. Singer Andrew Thiboldeaux’s melodic – almost showtune-like “dee dee dees” might seem at odds with his dissonant keyboard or the utterly intense drumming of the very sweaty Chris Ward. Also – there is always – always – a sing-a-long. There were two this time – and one was Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place.” These guys just have fun doing what they do. No disappointments here.
Jukebox the Ghost was playing in the outdoor venue so I went to catch a couple of their songs and found that apparently some fan from Seattle knows their stuff REALLY well…so well that she requested a song that they no longer know how to play. Ben Thornewill joked that they’d give her a private show on the sidewalk afterwards and thereby butcher it less. I feel like Jukebox the Ghost won over a lot of people who were otherwise unfamiliar with the band. As a D.C. resident – I can say that I’ve seen them more dynamic.
I took a break from the action for the next few bands, eating a delicious baked bean sandwich (on account of the meat at this party was already gone), getting sunburned (joy) and trying to convince people to see Jukebox the Ghost again the next day (which actually, in retrospect, seemed to have worked.)
Before I left the Austinist shindig I went back inside to catch the Phosphorescents and was very glad that I did. It was so beautiful…and sometimes beautiful music doesn’t necessarily translate well into a live setting but they were mesmerizing. If Low decided to make an alt-country inspired record – it’d probably sound like The Phosphorescents. It was the band I was particularly happy to have seen before I left.
Now…to figure out whether I should keep posting, walk to that Denny’s across the highway…or just pass out since I still have a full day left to experience…and two full days to write about. Stay tuned. Simian Mobile Disco and Yeasayer are up next. And now I’m sounding like some sort of Clear Channel radio DJ so it’ll probably be option number three.
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