This is it for the Texas-titled posts, I swear. And I know Austin isn’t in West Texas, bear with me. So here’s the final, formal SxSW post-mortem. I’ll recap the stuff I’ve already covered in brief and get into the other stuff a little more, and then some general thoughts on the festival experience. Some new discoveries I will cover more in-depth at a later date. These are just the capsule reviews, but I warn you – this post will be long. We will return you to regularly scheduled gossip, half-truths and outright lies tomorrow.

Thursday, March 17 (click for photos):

Wrens @ Emo’s Outside – First show of the fest for me, though I only caught maybe four songs. Absurdly high energy, they seemed beyond thrilled to be playing. Excellent way to start things off.

Stars @ Emo’s Outside – Their first of three shows on the weekend, and the start of something big. More on that later, but a typically excellent and fun performance from the band.

Shout Out Louds @ Cedar Street Courtyard – These Swedes were filling in for the no-show Rob Dickinson at the Filter party, and their retro-60s pop was alright, though the singer’s voice was getting to me. I left after four songs.

Midnight Movies @ Emo’s – I like it when they put the drummer up front. I like it more when it’s a hot chick. The music was a little difficult to absorb on first listen, I suspect it translates better on record. In a dark room. Worth further investigation, though.

American Analog Set @ Emo’s Outside – A nice hometown show for the band who were playing all over SxSW. Low-key and laid back with just enough groove the get you bobbing in time. Always a treat. It’s sad that they’re currently label-less, but I’m sure someone will have the wisdom to release their new album this Fall. Bonus marks to Andrew Kenney for giving a shout-out to his mom.

Aaron Booth @ Sake On Sixth – Hooray for the hometown boy making his first SxSW appearance. Some pleasant solo singer-songwriter pop to whet the appetite before setting out to indulge in the rock.

Ulrich Schnauss @ Blender Bar at The Ritz – I dunno, pudgy balding dude sitting at a laptop in really harsh, bright lighting making deafeningly loud noise just wasn’t doing it for me. Maybe I’ll be more in the mood when he comes through town next month, but I somehow doubt it. Perhaps his recorded output is more compelling?

Dirty On Purpose @ Co-Op Bar – The first great new discovery of the festival (for me). A great mish-mash of indie, synth and space rock with just the right proportions of sweetness and grit, they impressed even with a horribly unfavourable mix (though the soundguy made up for it somewhat by changing a broken string for the band). They thankfully had CDs of their debut EP for sale and while it’s good, their live stuff was even better. I’m expecting great things from these New Yorkers.

EPO-555 @ The Drink – Danes with a weird name, EPO-555 brought some pretty rocking yet still undeniably pop tunage that was enjoyable but didn’t floor me. Probably worth investigating at a later date, though. Frontman Mr. Baron von Max Hansen (presumably a stage name) really has some rock star moves down, though.

The Salteens @ Sake On Sixth – Cheers to Vancouver’s finest power-pop band to wrap up my first day at SxSW. Even though I was quite utterly wrecked by this point, I still greatly enjoyed their high-energy set which had people coming in off the street to see where the great tuneage was coming from.

Random Thursday notes – Also saw bits of Pedro The Lion, Bloom, Halley and Run Chico Run. I was up for over 24 hours straight. Combined with cross-continental travel, it makes for one wacky-ass day.
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A pox on whoever stole The Decemberists’ gear. There’s a special place in Hell reserved for people who steal band’s gear. It’s downwind from the excessively flatulant. Colin Meloy talks about the theft to Oregon Live (via LHB) while Magnet has an interview with Meloy conducted in happier times, back when the band still had equipment.

But onwards and forward! The band has made a high-res version of the new video for “16 Military Wives” available via bit torrent. Very nice, I hope other bands take their cue. The song is the first single from Picaresque, which is out today. The band also play’s Lee’s Palace (with new gear!) on May 21. Largehearted Boy also points us at mp3s of their radio session with KEXP last week.

And speaking of Magnet, they finally respond to complaints that their cover artists for the last few years have been rather exclusively a sausage-fest by putting Sleater-Kinney on the cover. It’s sort of a valid complaint – the last time someone without a y-chromosone was on the cover was issue 34, with Sonic Youth (they’re on issue 67 now). That’s over five years. Anyway, the interview with the band was conducted by Pearl Jam’s Ed Vedder (you’re too old to still be called Eddie). SK’s new album The Woods is out May 24. Update: Correction – SK were Magnet’s cover models for issue 39, a mere four years ago. Regardless, that’s a lot of sausage in the interim. Thanks to satellite for doing the leg work.

I am thrilled that Belle & Sebastian have decided to collect all the tracks from their EPs onto a single-volume, double-disc collection. Really, I am. Because I didn’t really need to feel special for having gone to the trouble and expense of collecting all the individual EPs over the years… Ah well, I suppose it makes sense. Some of the bands very best songs – “Lazy Line Painter Jane”, I’m looking in your direction – appear on these EPs. Push Barman To Open Old Wounds will be out on May 24. From Donewaiting.

Some new show announcements of note: Clem Snide are at the Horseshoe on April 27, Ryan Adams is at the Phoenix May 3 and Spoon are at Lee’s Palace June 5 with The Clientele as support. See? I didn’t go see them in Austin – I’m making them come to ME.

NME has a typically Brit-boosting and rumour-mongering take on SxSW. And one of the bands who apparently conquered Austin last week, Kasabian, will return to Toronto on May 20 at the Phoenix with Mad Action as support. Tix $20, on sale Thursday.

More SxSW pics. These ones are from Friday, day and night shows. In order – Asobi Seksu at Emo’s Outside, Experimental Aircraft at Trophy’s, The Frames at Emo’s Outside, Calexico at Emo’s Outside, Kaiser Chiefs at Cedar Street Courtyard, Giant Drag at Blender Bar at the Ritz, Zykos at Blender Bar at the Ritz, Decibully at Friends, Saturday Looks Good To Me at Friends, Centro-Matic at Maggie Mae’s. Yes, there’s a lot of SLGTM pics of Ms Betty Marie Barnes. Duh.

While they haven’t announced WHO the villain in Spider-Man 3 will be, they have announced who will be playing the part… Lowell. Assuming that Venom is all CGI, he could be a passable Eddie Brock…? From Comic Book Resources

I am mildly ashamed that I didn’t pick up on the fact that the evil defence contractors in 24 – McLennan-Forster – were named for the two principals in The Go-Betweens. Stereogum, however, was on the ball. Or more accurately, Stereogum read Entertainment Weekly, who were on the ball. And shock! That’s all the 24 for today… I forgot to tape it last night and am still downloading the ep. I told you this week would be all discombobulated! Come back Thursday.

np – Ivy / In The Clear

Nothing like coming home to 150+ pieces of comment spam. Nosirreebob. No, I did not update the last couple of posts to be more informative or useful. Nor will I, sorry. If you want my SxSW recap, come back in a few days, I will try to coalesce my thoughts into something coherent. I had honestly thought it was going to be easier to update from the road, but not so. I was only gone four days but I have much to do to get my life back in order. My place is a mess. I have no food. I’m an episode behind on Arrested Development. Chaos reigns.

I do have my photos from Thursday up here – there’s not that many of them, I didn’t get shutter-happy until Friday, but there’s shots from most of the day showcases I attended. In order – Wrens at Emo’s Outside, Stars at Emo’s Outisde, Shout Out Louds at Cedar Street Courtyard, Midnight Movies at Emo’s and American Analog Set at Emo’s Outside. Yes, I was at Emo’s a helluva lot.

In the meantime, if you want SxSW scuttlebutt, check out Billboard (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3), Splendid, PopMatters (Day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4), or for a Canadian perspective, Chart (Day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4) or Pop (All Love). Or for pics, check out Flickr (via BrooklynVegan. Largehearted Boy, who made a special one-day limited engagement appearance at SxSW, has also been collecting a variety of Sx-related links over the last few days. Check out the Shorties from Wednesday or so through today.

More SxSW residuals – Billboard recaps Elvis Costello’s career-reflecting interview at this year’s conference.

I noticed in all the SxSW editions of The Austin Chronicle full page ads inviting the reader to go to Lollapalooza.com on April 1. I’m sorry, how stupid do they think we are? Hey, maybe they’ll get The Who to headline and they can play, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. Dumbasses.

I think I will sepia-tone every picture from now on. I like it.

np – The House Of Love / Days Run Away

okay, I’m writing this from Austin airport, but it’ll be short since it’s not cheap and it’s on dialup. I got to the airport muy early cause I figured everyone and their mother would be fleeing Austin today, but it’s actually quite empty here. I have a few hours to kill yet.

The adrenaline that had kept me going all weekend is now completely gone. I ache, I’m tired, my feet me with a fiery passion. But it was worth it, Saturday was fairly light, relatively speaking, but saw some really good stuff. Just a laundry list for now, I’ll expand later. Saw Laura Cantrell, Doves, the Flatstock concert poster show, The Meeting Places, The Winter Pageant, Stars, I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness and Ambulance Ltd. Good stuff all around, but honestly I’m glad it’s done. I need some serious rest.

Expect posting to be erratic for the next few days as I get my head together again. loads of pictures that will be coming in installments. I don’t expect to get it all together until the long weekend, probably. But you understand, you’re patient. I appreciate that.

Okay, the little clock in the corner continues to march away so I’m goign to log off. Maybe I’ll add to this later if I’m bored, but probably not till tomorrow. Or tonight. Or whenever.

Seeya.

np – boarding call for all passengers on American flight 3563 to La Guardia

So I’m writing this one Friday evening, just before the showcases get started. I’m not sure I’ll reach a computer tomorrow, so I’m going to write up today’s day shows and set it to publish sometime tomorrow, then update it with the evening shows when I get a chance.

So starters – hung around downtown Austin for a little while in the AM just enjoying the relaxed time while it lasts. Caught a bus out to Waterloo Music and did a little shopping. Impressive store, but a rather disappointingly small used section. Still, came away with a few things, then hoofed it back to Emo’s (yeah, there again) to catch some of the day shows. They were running behind schedule because I got there just in time to see New York’s Asobi Seksu but caught about 20 minutes of a set from Sutro, out of San Francisco. Not very interesting, but I felt bad for them – it’s hard to pull off the sexy diva/vamp thing when it’s high noon and there’s no one in the audience. Asobi Seksu then came on and played a pretty good set – not overwhelming, but I enjoyed it. I couldn’t stay to the very end as the Experimental Aircraft show was a ways outside of downtown and there were going to be buses involved. Good thing they were all running on time and I made it to Trophy’s in time to see most of their set. The tunes were alright but they were rather deficient in the stage presence department. Maybe playing on an outdoor stage with their backs to a major street bustling with traffic messes up the vibe?

And then back on the bus and back up to Emo’s. En route, I passed no other than Willie Nelson walking down 6th. Neato. I was planning on catching Calexico, but they were running a little behind so I caught the last couple songs of the Frames’ set. They were entertaining if a little hammy in the stage antics. I guess being used to playing stadiums in Ireland will do that to a band. Calexico took a good while setting up, not surprising for a seven-piece band, but when they finally got started, they were amazing as always. They’re always a treat to see perform. If they had been running on time, I had planned to head out early and try and catch Phoenix at the Filter party, but decided to not bother and stuck around for most of Calexico’s set. Turns out it was for the best since when I did get to the Cedar Street Courtyard, I found out that Phoenix cancelled their slot due to sickness. I still managed to get in and get a front-row seat for the Kaiser Chiefs, my one hype-band performance of the fest so far. I had been underwhelmed by the mp3s I’d heard, but their live show was pretty good. The singer was nursing a sprained ankle of some kind, but was still hopping around like a madman. The crowd was absolutely eating them up, too – I’d never seen that many cameras come out of the front row before. I got some good shots too, hooray for outdoor daylight shooting!

That did it for the day shows, and not a minute too soon as my feet hurt something awful and I was walking funny. I did drag my sorry ass over to Stubb’s and got some beef brisket for dinner. Mmm, good eatin’. And now I’m here. I’m not sure what the itinerary for the evening will be, there’s a few options but the only shows that are must-sees for me are Saturday Looks Good To Me at midnight and Centro-Matic at 1. What I do between now and then is anybody’s guess… but of course, by the time you read this, I will have already made up my mind.

Right. Off I go, I will post part 2 to this tomorrow or Sunday.