Wednesday afternoon @ SXSW

I know – I’m way behind the curve on getting this stuff up and I apologize for that. But seriously – you try seeing nine bands a day over a 14-15 hour period for four days and try writing about it immediately afterwards.  Oh…you did that already? Well, shit.  Here goes then.

I’ll admit, I spent the vast majority of my day with DC bands. DC Does TX took up all of my afternoon and then the first band I saw once I left? Edie Sedgwick…from DC.  Actually, I posted a quick look at all the DC bands I saw during the week here already, so I’ll try not to repeat myself on the off chance that you read both sites. Nonetheless, amidst spending drink tickets and worrying whether the 90 posters I’d plastered amidst the St. Patrick’s Day revelry had done the least bit of good, I actually got to see some good music.

Jamieson Clem

Jamieson Clem was the artist we got to play the bill at the last minute when Laura Burhenn cancelled. The cancellation initially led to rounds one and two of DC Does TX organizational hell, but at the end of the day we got another solo artist who used to live in DC and has some singing and songwriting chops that aren’t going to blow our eardrums out first thing after waking up. Thank you, Jamieson.

Deleted Scenes

If you needed proof that the economic shitstorm had affected SXSW, look no further than Deleted Scenes. These poor dudes had not one, but two different day parties completely disband, leaving them only a few times to play behind one hell of a Pitchfork review. And as someone that pays as much attention to bylines as to scores, I can say that it was one hell of a review. I already know that they can work a crowd full of their friends from other bands, but the nervous energy helped them out mightily in this performance as they drew people in from the streets with their professional looking video equipment and sweet SLR cameras. And people walked up to the front of the stage. No shyness. There is no question that they deserve the praise that they’ve been getting and I have no qualms about adding to it.

Deleted Scenes :: “Mortal Sin”

Carol Bui

Carol and her bandmates had the unenviable task of playing twice in a three hour period (and their third in a 24 hour period) as they’d just finished up their set at B.D. Riley’s two doors down when they came in to play at Friends Bar. I actually got to listen to them on my way in. They didn’t seem any worse for wear on their final performance in Austin and the new tune “Mira, You’re Free With Me” is currently battling “Modern Dance” and “Quan Am” for my favorite song of hers. And winning. I love the hand claps, the body percussion and the fact that she lets loose a little bit.

Middle Distance Runner

This is where the party really started to pick up. People started to show up into town and Friends Bar is one of the first places to get to find on the western end of E. 6th St. Last year, Middle Distance Runner acted the consummate professionals, but had one sick guitarist, one drunk bassist, one nervous and annoyed show organizer and one set that visibly struggled. They’ve since written new songs, drawn from more far-flung influences and just seem to be enjoying themselves more.

Middle Distance Runner :: “Naturally”

U.S. Royalty

At the end of the week, I ran into someone that had never heard of U.S. Royalty until they’d walked into Friends Bar upon hearing them outside and ended up telling me on Sunday that it was one of her favorite discoveries of the festival. Hell the fuck yeah. U.S. Royalty has some good roots-rock songs but their live show is really what drew me toward the band in the first place and is really where they’re in their milieu. Paul and John Thornley have great harmonies, especially during songs like “Raincoats” and John’s wild movement is nothing if not inspired.

U.S. Royalty :: “Raincoats”

These United States

PJ actually showed up in time for their set, but I doubt he remembers much of it as much of their output stays at midtempo and midtempo alt-country isn’t terribly memorable when one has had little to no sleep in 24 hours. So this review is for you, PJ. These United States had a deadline on time which they definitely played over and I didn’t hear anyone complain, since their midtempo alt-country works just fine for people who have spent the past five hours drinking and listening to music (or doing anything else besides staying awake for 24 hours on end.)  That, and these guys get better every time I see them. This is the first time I’ve seen Jesse Elliott move out into the audience to finish a guitar solo (even though I think that may have been an accident) and their current five person lineup definitely has a more fleshed out sound than the three person lineup as it allows for that extra guitar on the songs where Tom Hnatow moves to the steel pedal. It was definitely the right band to end the day party.

These United States :: “Honor Amongst Thieves”

More about the five bands I saw on Wednesday night very very soon.

Wednesday night @ SXSW

DC Does TX: Sloppy Seconds

Live from SXSW – (Wednesday, nighttime)

Live from SXSW – (Wednesday, daytime)

SXSW roll call

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 26th, 2009 at 1:36 am and is filed under Concert Reviews, The Yellow Stereo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.