Friday, 20 March 2009

8:30PM Dananananaykroyd (La Zona Rosa)

I knew what to expect this time, and this show was the top pick of the evening, with all other conflicts washing to the side. JT, Rob, and Vinh all came, too, which somewhat placed my judgment at risk. But I wasn't worried; I knew they would at least deliver a solid show, even if they did not knock everyone's socks off like they did at the Dirty Dog show on Thursday.

The show was part of a Scottish showcase featuring Scottish bands at La Zona Rosa all night long. The Scottish guy from the BBC (apparently an influential BBC DJ) making the introductions told the audience, "You are in for the best live performance you will see this entire festival." He knew, too.

They played basically the same 25-minute set, with the same "wall of cuddle" trick of splitting the crowd in two, pretending its was a "wall of death" (where the two sides collide and kill each other, like in Braveheart), but then making it a "wall of cuddle" where you run together and hug whomever you collide with. Even though the trick seemed more canned the second time I saw it, and even though splitting the crowd and convincing them it was a fun idea was more risky in a larger venue, the trick worked even better than at the smaller Dirty Dog venue. As soon as they told the crowd to rush together, the band broke into a wild drum introduction that incited the crowd to swarm around into a sea of frenetic movement, just like the song.

Just like at the Arctic Monkeys show three years ago, the lead singer (and other band members) openly mocked the photographers who lined the front of the stage and left after the third song after they had gotten their allotment of shots. ("Who here is from Austin? Who here is from Scotland? Who here is NOT a photographer?"). Their main beef, as with the Arctic Monkeys, is that--even if photographers are necessary to help market the band and create visual buzz--photographers are not there to Rock; they just get in the way, so it is better if they just get out of their as soon as they can.

The bass player, who somewhat stood around smiling at the other show, joined in the energy this time, and seemed to enjoy performing at this show more than the other. Perhaps she felt more constrained on a smaller stage, but her energy helped add to the spectacle of this show instead of just not getting in the way or interfering with it at the previous show.

After the show, the overall reaction of the crowd was not as jaw-dropped as at the Dirty Dog show, which somewhat reflects the different demographics of a typical La Zona Rosa crowd. But the crowd loved the show, nonetheless. Dananananakroyd did take over a bigger venue, and I do think they have the most potential of any band to really make a huge splash, so long as their manager and agents take care of the business end of things properly. They were clearly THE "it" band of the festival for me, and that was no slight on the other bands we saw.

9:00PM The Moog (Club 115)

The Moog promised to be a good show from their sample, which was somewhat upbeat alternative dance rock music. Unfortunately, when I arrived, they were in the middle of an uninspired ballad: uninspired, that is, to everyone except the lead singer, who seemed to think it was the most inspirational, artistic musical statement of the festival. Although he was pretty, he did not have the "it" factor and came off as just another pretty, self-important rock-star wanna-be . As the front man, it did not bode well. Their next song was equally uninspiring, so I left to join the guys at The Dollyrots.

9:20PM The Dollyrots (Red 7 Patio)

The Dollyrots also had a great sample song, with a sort of upbeat, fun punky-pop, mock-cheerleader-like sound. Their live performance tried to be a lot more hard core than that, and they didn't pull it off. After two or three songs, I left to get to Scissors for Lefty on time. Not bad, but not worth sticking around. Things were degrading.

10:00PM Scissors for Lefty (Wave Rooftop)

Last year, JT and I saw Scissors for Lefty at a Bay Area day party. I really looked forward to that show because their sample was one of my three favorite songs from last year's samples. The day party show last year, however, was not that good. The band took too long goofing around between songs, as if they were in their garage on a Sunday afternoon and not onstage.

However, this year, their new sample (Ornamental) once again sounded amazing, so I figured they just might not have taken the day show seriously enough. I liked it enough to make this show one of my top picks for the festival. (JT did not feel so gracious and very purposefully avoided this show).

Unfortunately, the band got shafted by the choice of venue: the Wave Rooftop, which was small, narrow, and poorly staffed. The lights went out during the first song and nobody did anything to fix them. (I met the guitarist later, and he actually said that they turned the lights off o they could feature their own lighting set-up, which was rather small and set up behind the band, so the band essentially played without lights.

Also, I was reminded of the other primary reason why I did not enjoy last year's show: the lead singer.

The lead singer did not violate the primary rule of enjoying the opportunity of performing at SXSW. In fact, he somewhat took that principle too far. The guy had a friendly, boyish charm; but he looked and acted far too pleased with himself, which came off as goofy, distracting, self-absorbed, and (as time wore on) rather annoying. He sometimes tried to strike some of Bono's onstage poses, making him look pretty ridiculous. He simply tried too hard to look like a rock star, instead of just simply being one.

The music, though, was solid, and the other band members were more in the moment and more focused on the music than the lead singer. So I give them props and they get their close-up pictures put up on this widely-influential blog. I bought their CD because their studio work seemed much better than their live sound. But the lead singer's contrived antics made it difficult to enjoy the show.

10:00PM My Dear Disco (Soho Lounge)

Lawrence has handed me (John) the keyboard to do a quick bit on My Dear Disco. Feeling honored to be able to contribute to one of the most influential and widely read independent music blogs has left me with a bit of performance anxiety. But I'll do my best to capture the spirit of the phenomenon that is My Dear Disco. Here it goes. Above all, My Dear Disco is a disco band. We walked into the club a bit late after enjoying street food from the one vendor with no line at all ("Wow, the was a great four dollar meal if we're not spending the next four hours on the can"). My Dear Disco was playing their very catchy sample song, and nailing it. The female vocalist has a classic seventies, the band was tight. A fun show. I'll probably forget about them within the week, and scratch my head this time next year trying to remember who the heck was "My Dear Disco".

10:45PM The Cute Lepers (Red 7 Patio)

After three straight disappointing shows, the night was not shaping up well. The Cute Lepers sounded decent enough on their sampler, but the song sounded too much like a remake of 1970s New York street pseudo-punk. I did not expect much, but JT wanted to see them, too, so I re-joined him and Rob and Vinh at the Red 7 Patio.

I am glad I did, because these guys delivered. They were fun but also clearly professional about their show. The leader seemed like an older rock and roller (perhaps a bit too old for rock and roll), but it clearly affected the professionalism, not the energy or enthusiasm of the show. They stuck with their sort of fun, punky sound, but added back-up singers who were on the ball and knew the show well. It was great to see a band not only play great, fun music, but also take their craft seriously while making sure that their professionalism enhanced the show, as opposed to taking away from it or sapping the energy and life from the music.

Were this an ordinary night, they would have been the best band of the night. And given that I had seen three disappointing shows just before them, they were a rather welcome sound for sore ears. But the night had started with Dananananakroyd (the "it" band of the entire festival) and was just beginning to get even better.

11:30 The Pink Spiders (Red 7 Patio)

JT saw this show while I went over to watch The Cocktail Slippers with Rob. He enjoyed it, but described it as "unremarkable."

10:50PM The Cocktail Slippers (Red Eyed Fly)

I went to the Red Eye Fly to see The Woggles, which had a decent sampler song that sounded more interesting than The Pink Spiders back at The Red 7 Patio. Unfortunately, the venue was running a full time slot behind schedule. The previous band had not even started. I started to walk back, but then noticed that The Cocktail slippers were on my list, they just were conflicted out by the Cute Lepers. I listened to their sample again on the curb outside the Red Eye Fly, and decided to go back inside to catch the show. Rob eventually joined me.

This show was one time when tardiness actually worked in my favor, because I got to see a really good, fun band that otherwise would have been conflicted out of my schedule. From Norway, this band sounded and looked very much like the Go-Gos, except that instead of having only one somewhat-talented musician (and a drummer who literally counted while drumming on their music videos), ALL the musicians in this band had talent and mastery of their instruments. The Go-Go Dancers who came on the stage in the middle of the show were interesting, but they did not make the show. The music did.

Although some might scoff at the Go-Gos reference, the Go-Gos actually served a significant role in rock history (yes, I said "rock history" in the same phrase as "The Go-Gos"), and I do admit that I actually like The Go-Gos. At a time when the recession of the early-80s hit us hard and lots of music was dour and hard and serious, they became popular on a cultural need to just have some silly, musical fun. And if you listen to the music again, it actually wasn't all that bad. O.K., the later songs like "Vacation" were pretty bad (which is why they faded), but "We Got The Beat" and "Our Lips Are Sealed" actually are catchy tunes that caught our attention and ran up the charts for a reason. If you can't have at least some fun listening to the Go-Gos every one in a while, then I pity your miserable soul and hope you find similar light-hearted happiness somewhere in the world.

I met the singer after the band finished, and she was shorter than she appeared onstage, which I took as a sign that I thought she was larger than life. (It's a common tendency to think of musician or actors you admire to be taller than they actually are. When people find out Tom Cruise is rather short for a guy, they freak out. Same with Patrick Swaze or Jenny Aniston.) I also ran into the keyboard player (Mona) and guitar player (Stina) at the Red 7 after the Teenage Bottlerocket show. They were from Norway, jah. And they were nice, just as I expected them to be.

12:15AM Teenage Bottlerocket (Red 7 Patio)

Ah, the pure, unadulterated, physical, enthusiastic fun of a pure punk show! It never gets old.

Teenage Bottlerocket put on a great, pure, Punk Rock show, with a great crowd: friendly but aggressive and strong mosh pit slam dancing and all. Although I had never heard of Teenage Bottlerocket before this show (and John had only heard some buzz about it), it was obvious from the opening chord that many in the crowd knew the band, and knew it well, and knew exactly what to expect.

Of course, partly because I didn't know what to expect, I came rather ill-prepared. At John's suggestion, I wore flip-flops because they fit my outfit best. Bad idea to dress like a girl: in terms of "matching" and all, not dresses and high heels. Even without the slam-dancing, and most especially with slam-dancing and moshing, it was a mistake. Never, ever, EVER wear flip-flops to SXSW, even if you don't plan on slam dancing. There's too much walking and too many crowds to step on your feet, and you never know when a slam dance or mosh pit might just break out. Actually, you DO know, and it is often enough to NEVER wear flip-flops.

The musicians were consummate professional punk rock musicians. They knew how to set up, how to direct the sound guy, how to get onstage on time even though the venue was running late, and how to perform and put on a great show. They knew that the crowd knew them, and they knew how to deliver from the very start. They didn't let up through the entire show, and gave an amazing, Ramones-like performance, even down to the immediate "1-2-3-4" start of the next song almost immediately after the previous song finished. But they did not come off as or sound like Ramones-posers. They had their own take on a common pure punk formula.

The band featured two lead singers, which can split apart a band but can also actually can help split the vocal burden in a high-energy, fast-paced show. They knew how to kick it into gear, how to step it down a notch, and how to swell back up into a frenzy of chaotic fury. Two guitars, a bass, and a drummer. No messing around. They were not particularly innovative, but instead just tapped into a proven punk formula for pure, aggressive, physical, loud fun. And I appreciated it.

1:00AM Asobi Sekusu (Habana Calle 6 Patio)

In a bit of a daze after the Teenage Bottlerocket show, I bought their CD and then ran into and flirted with some of the members of The Cocktail Slippers near the back of the Red 7 Patio. Then I could not find John, who eventually texted me that they had moved on to Habana Calle 6 Patio for Asobi Sekusu. In a bit of a daze, I meandered (limped) over to that show. Frankly, they sounded much better from afar than up close, and they simply did not grab my attention. I also simply felt spent after the Teenage Bottlerocket show. So I wandered out to check out what was happening at the Hilton Creekside venue we mocked the night before, just because I needed something quieter and simpler. The show there also was not that great, so I just collapsed on an outdoor bench outside the Habana Calle 6 Patio, pulled out my iPod, and listened to some Squeeze until the guys were done at the Asobi Sekusu show.

They came out raving about the band. So maybe it was just my tired state of mind. We then flirted a bit with a young beat writer for the Houston Chronicle who had sat down next to me while waiting for the show to end, telling her that Rob was the source character for the George Clooney character from "E.R." because he worked as an ER doctor at Cook County Hospital, which is the setting for "E.R." She didn't believe us, to which we retorted, "That's surprising, because most of the time we are full of shit, but this time we happen to be telling the truth."

 

In hindsight, I really wish I would have gone to see MC Lars at 1:00, which had one of the best samples with "Hipster Girl:" an updated "Valley Girl" by Frank Zappa about annoying hipster girls who "cut and paste" their tastes, preferences, and politics from pre-fabricated media images, then cop a hip attitude about anything below them or anyone who happens to disagree. But I felt exhausted, so Squeeze sounded great, anyway.

Despite a disappointing lull in the middle of the evening, it was another great night of music.