Okay, found an internet cafe, so let’s do this.

I am amazed at my resiliancy when it’s absolutely necessary. Yesterday was something else – up at 3AM EST, got into Austin around noon local time. In the interim, I took a taxi, a bus, a shuttle bus, a plane, another plane, a taxi, a bus and yet another bus and was at Emo’s in time to catch the end of the Wrens’ set. Right on schedule! Quite a trip, in every sense of the word. But to fast-forward a bit, I was basically up for twenty-four hours straight, with very little napping on the plane. It was like if Jack Bauer had an incredibly non-violent, music-filled day.

Rewind. So yeah, caught the Wrens, met Juan from Achtung Baby!, met up with Joyce and Fred who were so kind as to get me a wristband for the fest, then saw Stars perform. They had some techincal problems to start – I have yet to see them perform “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” without some sort of tech issue – but they were still quite good and the crowd ate them up. Canadians rule – I actually caught a lot of CanCon yesterday, as you’ll see. I dashed out of there early to make it to the Filter party on the other side of downtown where I was hoping to flaunt my guest list-ness, but they didn’t check. Alas. Double disappointing was the fact that Rob Dickinson wasn’t playing as scheduled. In fact, he wasn’t even at the festival. Instead, they had Sweden’s Shout Out Louds play and I stuck around for a few songs. They were alright, but I was getting restless and dashed out.

Back to Emo’s. I caught the end of Pedro The Lion’s set, and listened to some of Clem Snide across the street outdoors. Next full set was LA’s Midnight Movies, again at Emo’s (though the inside stage). Hot girl drummer/singers = thumbs up. Then back to the Emo’s outdoor stage to see Austin’s own American Analog Set perform a nice set including some new songs from a newly-recorded album, hopefully out this year sometime. That was it for day shows and I figured to dash back to the hotel to unload some baggage and regroup for the night.

However, while Austin transit had done me pretty well thus far, it let me down now. My hotel was considerably further out of downtown than I’d really expected so getting back and forth was a bit of a problem. Mainly, I wanted to drop off my camera as the sternly worded signs at all the SxSW venues seemed pretty firm about the no cameras policy. Of course, as I saw that night, it wasn’t enforced at all so there’ll be no more going back to the hotel to be a good boy. I’m a-smuggling tonight and tomorrow. But back to the hotel, I finally got back and into downtown just in time for the evening shows to start, but there wasn’t any time for resting. Or eating, as you may have noticed. I hadn’t eaten hardly anything yet.

So night shows I started off by seeing Toronto’s own Aaron Booth play at Sake On Sixth at the all-Canuck Endearing/Boompa showcase. He played a nice solo acoustic set to a small but appreciative audience. I got to talk to him for a little bit before heading back out into the night. Downtown was chaos by this point, streets closed off, etc. I elected to hit the Blender Bar to see Ulrich Schnauss, though I will be seeing him in a month with M83, I was curious as to what it’d be like. In a nutshell, dude sitting at a laptop, pointing and clicking. Not very engaging at all, to be honest. I stuck around for a couple songs and ditched to grab a slice of pizza. Next was the Co-Op Bar to see Brooklyn’s Dirty On Purpose. I arrived early and saw a bit of Bloom, who were fairly unremarkable rawk, but DOP impressed enough to get me to buy a CD although the sound was kinda dodgy. I guess it’s unavoidable when you’ve got 15 minutes to set up and tear down, never mind a soundcheck.

Next was across the street to The Drink to see Denmark’s EPO-555, who reminded me a bit of The Radio Dept’s older jockier brother. Still unmistakably Scandanavian pop, but with more cajones (as the locals say). Pretty good stuff. I then tried to get in to see Kathleen Edwards at Carribean Lights, but the lineup was pretty long and daunting, and after a few minutes I decided it wasn’t going to happen and ditched to go see Austin’s Experimental Aircraft over at the Hideout. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the times right and they were playing at 1AM, not midnight. So I got there and another local act, Halley. Thankfully, the venue was a theatre set up with padded seats so I grabbed one and rested up for a bit. The band was alright, if unremarkable. Most notable were a couple of identical twins in the band who were really creeping me out once I realized that they did indeed look identical. Mind you, I was probably mildly hallucinatory by this point, so don’t hold that against the band.

Finally, I head back across downtown to where it all began, Sake On Sixth, to see the end of Run Chico Run’s set and then enjoy Vancouver’s Salteens power pop the night away. They’re always fun, and I think they made quite a good impression, drawing in passers-by off the street. They wrapped up just before 2 and though it took me a little while to catch a cab, I was back at the hotel and asleep by 2:30. GAWD what a day.

But I’m feeling much better now (to go back to the resliency thing). Seven hours of sleep and some coffee can do wonders for a body. Having taken a day to get a feel for the town, the transit, the festival, etc, I think I’m in much better shape to take on today. I know how long it takes to get around, where I’m going, and I’ll even make time to eat! Yessir, good times.

As for now, day shows don’t start up for another hour or so so I’m going to just wander a bit. I had a Denny’s breakfast to start things off and I really need to walk that off. Holy shit, the portion sizes in this country. Madness.

I *think* that’s it for now. Will try and check in tomorrow. Finding internet cafes in this town isn’t easy! At least not from where I’ve been looking.

np – There is a guy playing a jazzy acoustic version of Hall & Oates’ “Maneater” in the cafe as I type this. What a town.

Okay, it’s waaaay too goddamn early in the morning. I am guesstimating that I will be up for… 22-23 hours today if I don’t get some sleep on the plane. Which I most certainly will.

I am all packed, travelling light. Gone over my SxSW schedule but am totally prepared to toss most of it out the window if someone convinces me there’s something worth seeing that I haven’t heard about. There’s really no point in travelling 1300 km to see acts that I can and will see at home. This is all about the new, baby. Not necessarily the hyped, but the new. And to that end, I spent last night doing some last-minute mp3 previews, checking out stuff that’s playing at soft spots in the schedule. Indecision, baby.

I will be trying to do some token blogging from Austin while I’m down there, but seeing as how I’m probably the only dude down there without a laptop or wi-fi or any other such hi-tech gubbinry, we’ll have to see about that. Filter is blogging the festival though, so go there for your fix.

If anyone reading this is going to be at the festival and spot me, say hello. And direct me to free food. I don’t have a cellphone or anything with which you could contact me, but if you spot an Asian guy with a Canadjun accent being hauled off by the Austin police, I’d appreciate you posting bail for me. I’m good for it.

…But in the meantime…

Remember how the other day I was wondering who the hell Matthew Vaughn, director of X-Men 3 was? Well The Beat was wondering the same thing. Short answer? He’s Mr Claudia Schiffer. That’s a load off my mind, since he’s obviously someone who can relate to his comic book geekboy audience. Since we’re all married to supermodels as well.

Brooklynvegan proves up to the task of raiding the KVRX vaults and offers up what he considers to be the best of the booty. Booty, in the old pirate sense of the word, not in the Beyonce sense.

Openers for the three-night Arcade Fire stand at the Danforth Music Hall at the end of April will be Wolf Parade and Final Fantasy. Aaah, the buzz! It’s deafening!

…And we’re off.

Longwave’s third album, There’s A Fire, will be seeing release on May 24. The band has undergone some lineup shifts over the last couple years and now features a new rhythm section, including Jeff Sheinkopf of the late, lamented Sea Ray on drums keys (though I believe the photo here has the old lineup, sorry guys). The bio on their website (which will hopefully get a do-over for the new record) has been updated as well.

When they first started gaining notice in mid-2002, Longwave were supposed to be the next Strokes but never quite managed to catch on with the general populace. RCA, who signed the band on the strength of their independtly-released Endsongs, was probably hoping to shoehorn them in with the great Garage Rock revival from a couple years ago, but their atmospheric style drew far more from shoegaze and space rock than their contemporaries at the time, and the sophomore album The Strangest Things didn’t manage to grab that elusive hipster cachet.

Maybe with the new album they’ll have more luck connecting with the teeming masses. Surely they’ve got as much appeal as fellow Noo-Yawkers Ambulance Ltd, who seem to be doing alright? I certainly hope so, these guys are good and I’d like to see them do well. I sort of lost track of them for a little while (and haven’t picked up last year’s Life Of The Party EP yet) but the new album comes along at just the right time for me, it’s just what I’m in the mood for. I posted this track from the new record a couple weeks ago, but I like it quite a bit, so I’ll post it again.

MP3: Longwave – “The River (Depot Song)”

See Longwave at Lee’s Palace tonight for me (tickets $10.50) – I’m sorry I have to miss this one, but I’ve got to be up for like 3:00AM tomorrow morning to catch a plane. Gads.

And speaking of bands MIA, something is afoot at Sparklehorse.com. It’s still under construction, but at least someone is tending to it. They’re supposed to have a new album this Spring.

Shearwater will be supporting The Mountain Goats on their upcoming tour, including the May 11 show at Lee’s Palace.

JAM! gets Kathleen Edwards to ruminate a bit on the current state of her career.

Chart talks to Emm Gryner about Songs Of Love And Death and her penchant for making covers albums. Emm plays a solo acoustic show at Hugh’s Room on March 29 with Matthew Barber.

The National Post wonders just why it is so many Canadian bands these days have rosters that look more like hockey teams (including the injured reserves) instead of good old-fashioned power trios like Rush.

np – Doves / Lost Souls

After leaking tour dates one show at a time, the complete itinerary for the Doves’ North American tour is set and brings them to the Kool Haus on May 16. And in keeping with their habit of touring with great – or at least greatly hyped – support acts (The Strokes, Shitsailor, My Morning Jacket, Elbow), they’re coming to town with Upstate New York’s finest psych rockers, Mercury Rev, who will release their latest The Secret Migration the day after the show.

Capitol Records has links to a video interview with the band conducted by NME about the new album, Some Cities. I’ve been living with Some Cities for over a week now, and it’s still growing on me. There are some amazing tracks and some decent ones, nothing I’d call filler, but it hasn’t come together as a cohesive album for me yet the way the first two records did. I saw them live twice for Lost Souls and not at all for The Last Broadcast, so I’ll be looking forward to this one. I hope they’ll have decided to splurge and bring along a touring bassist/guitarist so as to not have to rely on pre-recorded tapes this time, but I’m not holding my breath.

Another reason I’m glad they announced the Toronto date is that it means I can skip out on their SxSW showcase without worrying about missing them. Going to their evening show would have basically meant I was stuck in one place for the whole of Thursday night, and that would have sucked – I’d much rather be mobile and right on the main drag. I will still be catching their instore at Waterloo Records on Saturday, though.

And it’s official – Doves have the dullest promo photos in the world. Come on, boys! Strike a pose!

Thanks to the wonder of browsable directories, you can grab a Broken Social Scene session with Austin radio station KVRX circa March 2003. Link via My Old Kentucky Blog. There’s craploads of other stuff available there, if you feel like digging around. Lemme know if you find anything especially good.

On the occasion of the re-release of all their Warner albums, Pitchfork takes a look at the major-label output of REM. Hey, nice idea guys – or it was when I did it LAST YEAR. Feh.

I couldn’t help but notice several used copies of The Radio Dept’s Lesser Matters in the used shops over the weekend, as well as some new copies in the new release section… does this mean that someone’s been sending out promos of this record recently? Maybe trying to generate some buzz in advance of, oh, a North American tour? That would make me a very happy camper indeed, Lesser Matters is maybe one of my favourite new albums of the past few years. Sooo good. So, it’s either that, or several people around town went simultaneously insane in deciding to sell the record. There’s no other explanation.

And speaking of Swedes, here are the photos from Sunday’s Jens Lekman show at Wavelength. I don’t remember holding the camera at a funny angle, but there you go. And if you want more Jens, La Blogotheque continues to be my new best friend, pointing me to an mp3 of “No Time For Breaking Up”, which Lekman recorded exclusively for them last Winter, as well as an interview from December. Thanks!

Bad news for those heading to Coachella this year to see Cocteau Twins… the reunion is OFF. Details on the news section of their website.

Ain’t It Cool announces Matthew Vaughn as the director of X-Men 3. Um, who?

USA Today compiles 24’s greatest hits, and by hits, I mean gratiutious acts of violence. And speaking of 24… It takes them twelve hours to address critics and point out that there are non-terrorist Muslims in America. They’re the ones who speak perfectly unaccented English and favour wholesome, American pastimes like firearms and gunplay. And it’s good to see that CTU’s definition of securing a location doesn’t include moving corpses (or almost corpses), nor collecting stray handguns lying around. I approach the Tony/Michelle soap opera with some trepidation. Granted, their history is well established so their friction is to be expected, but I hope they don’t get too into that plot thread – after all, they’re professionals… Okay, who wants to start a pool as to which hour they’ll get caught going at it in the broom closet?

Another year, another ugly bridesmaid’s dress. Congrats to Rannie Photojunkie on winning the Best Canadian Bloggie and to fellow Torontonian Sam Daily Dose on winning in Best Photoblog, both worthy recipients, as is Teaching The Indie Kids To Dance Again as Best-Kept Secret. And Largehearted Boy wuz robbed! Defamer Shmefamer. Just goes to show that hard work and daily posting will never get you as far as a picture of Tara Reid’s tit falling out of her dress. Me, I will at least take solace in the fact that I wasn’t beaten my Moby, and maybe I’ll get another shot next year. In the meantime, I will get my sense of self-worth and dignity from the same place I always have – the bottom of a bottle.

np – Mercury Rev / Deserter’s Songs

Swedish singer-songwriter Jens Lekman utterly beguiled Toronto yesterday, first at a half-hour in-store at Soundscapes and then again at Wavelength at Sneaky Dee’s.

At the in-store, he performed accompanying himself with a ukelele and backed by a double-bassist, singing wry and jaunty songs about life, love and other such trifles. For the evening show, he was backed by members of The Hidden Cameras since he had left his band behind in the US, coming to play in Canada on the sly (though he will return in the Summer to do a more thorough Canadian tour). It was a brief set, maybe barely 45 minutes, Lekman thoroughly entertained the packed house with his rich croon, impeccable melodies and penchant for clever wordplay.

He brings to mind a cross between Stephin Merritt (but without the deadpan gallows humour) and Stuart Murdoch (but without the lisp or wispinesS), with a touch of Morrissey (but without the archness). Who he reminds me the most of, though, is Jonathan Richman – particularly on the folkier ukelele-led stuff. When he picked up the electric guitar and brought the full band out to back him, it was a full-on pop explosion straight out of the Sixties. It was really quite superb.

After finishing his set, Lekman invited everyone out onto College St for an encore, but I couldn’t stick around for it, what with it being a work night and already running later than I’d expected. And for the same reason, pictures won’t be until tomorrow, sorry.

France’s La Blogotheque has a couple of live Arcade Fire mp4s (Winamp will play it as an audio file but Quicktime will play it as video) recorded at Le Nouveau Casino in Paris last Thursday. There’s “Crown Of Love” and “My Heart Is An Apple”, which is quite rare. Also, here are some pics of the band performing a White Session for French radio last week. Note – the pages are all in French, but don’t be afraid. They’re mostly harmless. Thanks to Chryde for the link.

This week’s Splendid interview features Toronto’s own Sadies.

Of The Record has finally gotten over last Fall’s election results and has returned to life. Go say hello, grab some music on your way out.

I finished Knights Of The Old Republic 2 yesterday, great game but man – was it easy. I only had trouble with one battle and it wasn’t any of the end guys. A little disappointed with that. I will probably re-play it on the Dark Side later, but for now it’ll be good to have the time I was spending playing it back to waste on other things.

np – The Wedding Present / Take Fountain