Darrell Stephenson

I got back from SXSW not too long ago and it was quite the trip.  During the extravaganza, Austin is transformed into a bizarre hipster wonderland where that rock and roll outfit some people worked so hard to cultivate is blasted into monotony in comparison to the 9,000 other people with the exact same get-up.  Free beer, free food, and free shows abound and the city makes traveling around extremely easy.  I rode the city bus several times and at only 50 cents a pop it was a delight compared to Atlanta’s sparse and infrequent SHARTA.

I didn’t buy a wristband or badge or anything else as looking at the schedule ahead of time I realized  I would hardly have time to see the free shows.  I was right - I missed a lot of bands I wanted to see but ended up being surprised by some bands I wasn’t expecting to see.

Seeing Clip’d Beaks at some Childrens center at 2 in the morning was awesome.  Clip’d Beaks have a great frontman and they lay the noise think on some really infectious basslines.  Indian Jewelery followed in another room and were a little overzealous in their equipment set up ( a lot of the gear didn’t even get utilized aside from a tap here and there) which took away from the mystique they are trying hard to create.  Regardless, it was a decent show - mostly made by the venue.

Tyvek at Beerland was also a really great show.  As a friend aptly put “they have all the best elements of the kind of punk music I like.”  Great stuff, even though the show ended badly with a scuffle between a guitarist and an audience member because of a flung tambourine that harmed noone.  It was nice to see the guitarist bring a tuning knob down on the guy sending an alarming amount of blood pouring over the side of his face (he was fine, saw him at another show the same night).

The Siltbreeze showcase was a treat.  Psychedelic Horseshit put on a furious show and sounded really great.  Way better than on record and the venomous gaze of the lead singer was eased in between songs by some drunken half-lisp/slur.  The Times New Viking set was pretty damn good, and just as blown out as their recordings.  It was weird seeing John Norris of MTV News at this show.  Has media pickup of new sounds moved that fast?

Digital Leather sounded great playing the Jackalope at 2:00pm on Friday even though I think I was the only person there to see them play.  The live act manages to recreate the records in a new but familiar way that works really well.  The satin cape over the keyboard stand is a nice touch.  I actually taped a lot of this show but have yet to format it.  I heard the later show at Beerland was even better, but I was at the Super Deluxe comedy event that night and didn’t go.

As I type this I realize there are a ton of bands that impressed me that I don’t have the muster to write about.  Black Mountain, Atlas Sound (dig the live act more than the record), Jay Reatard, Greg Ashley (though I walked like 6 miles to see the show and only got one song), and on and on.  Hopefully I’ll be going back to Austin in a band next year, but a large group would do as well.  Who wants in?