So I had the opportunity to go to the Austin Music People (AMP) launch at the Moody Theater, this past Thursday. A fun event, I'm hoping that AMP has more legs than Save Austin Music did ;).
The GA tickets were relatively cheap, and the lineup was fairly impressive. It included:
The Bright Light Social Hour
The Coveters
Bavu Blakes
Brownout!
Alejandro Escovedo
Court Yard Hounds
Blue October
Ghostland Observatory
I arrived late, and went on to the floor even though I had the more expensive balcony seats. I heard Bavu Blakes, Brownout, Alejandro, CYH, and the 1st song of Blue October's set.
The sets were short, not really long enough to let the sound guy tweak the PA properly.
My only complaint was that the theater was totally sold-out, and they would not let me reenter the floor area, after taking a leak. A fun night regardless!
Brownout! (Groupo Fantasma's alter ego)
Alejandro Escovedo
The Dixie Chicks minus one (aka. Court Yard Hounds)
Right as I entered high school in 1976, the music world was being set on its ear. Album Oriented Rock (AOR) had dominated popular music for the first half of the decade. Once considered the music of rebellion however, Rock was becoming very commercialized and was now viewed as Main Stream.
Around 1975, something strange started bubbling to the surface. Popular music was bifurcating into two distinct poles. Two parallel rebellions were underway, against the status quo:
Disco represented a resurgence of dance music with heavy Latin, Funk, and Afro-cuban influences. It originated in the urban, black, latin, and gay dance clubs of New York City. The Disco scene was opulent and hedonistic.
Punk stood on the opposite end of the spectrum. It represented a return to Rock's garage roots. Simultaneously emerging from New York City and London, Punk held an anarchistic and nihilistic attitude; it evangelized a strong DIY ethos.
Of course, when this started happening, it was very important to pick a side.
I felt more kinship with the Punkers.
Unfortunately, broadcast radio was not the best vehicle to listen to or discover new Punk bands. There were other venues, however. One of these was the then, still relatively young TV show, Saturday Night Live (SNL).
SNL had a musical guest every week, emphasized new artists, and had assumed the role of taste maker. Acts like Elvis Costello, and the Talking Heads, received a big boost after appearing on the show.
Most people my age, watched SNL religiously. However, even with all of this new music, nothing prepared me for the show that aired on October 14, 1978. On that night, Devo appeared on national television.
For the first segment of the show, Devo opened with their brilliant cover of Satisfaction. Ironically, the Rolling Stones were the musical guests, the prior week.
For the second segment they showed a clip from their video, the Truth about De-evolution, then played Jocko Homo.
Of course, this was an amazing spectacle, clearly there was something subversive going on with this band. The following Monday at school, there were two reactions:
WTF was that? - held by most of my classmates.
I think we found our boys - held by me and my friends who were bummed about the Pistols falling apart.
It was only a short time later that all of us had a copy of Are We Not Men, We Are Devo and were wearing out the vinyl. As luck would have it, a few weeks later, tickets went on sale were for a show in Baltimore. I can honestly say that I will remember that first Devo show, as long as I live.
All in all, I saw the band on every tour, for their next 3 albums:
10/31/81 - Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY - a truly bizarre show on Halloween in NYC. The perfect counterweight to the Zappa show over at the Palladium, the same night. They wore plastic JFK hairdos, played all synthesizers, and performed most of the show on treadmills. (Ok Go - just a bunch of ripoffs. Devo's choreography was much better in 1981!)
The members of Devo by the way were Art Students who met at Kent State. And yes, they were there during the National Guard Incident. Their intent with Devo was to make video art.
It should be no surprise then, that they were perfect for MTV.
They finally have their hit Whip It, when things start unraveling. Two more albums later, they changed drummers, and eventually broke up. Things stayed stagnant for 25 years. Post-breakup, lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh, had the only success, writing and producing music for TV and movies.
Fast forward to 2009. Rumors of Devo reforming were swirling around, when I discovered that they would be interviewed and perform at SxSW that year. During the interview, I discovered that Austin was swimming with Devo fans, and that there were two tribute bands in town. Attending their show at the Austin Music Hall restoked my interest in all of the Punk bands, that I used to listen to in my past.
I was supposed to have also seen the Spudboys from Akron, at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010. But, guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh had nearly severed his thumb tendon the day before the show, and they cancelled.
Which eventually led to the present day, and this show, at ACL Live.
The Opening Act - Octopus Project
For openers, Devo selected Austin Electronic Act, Octopus Project. I have seen them several times before, I can't say they're my cup of tea. I think that lack of vocals is a deal killer for me, with this band.
None the less, they are generally entertaining, and one of the band members is fairly accomplished on the Theremin.
DEVO
When Devo finally hit the stage, it was like a flashback to 33 years ago. You can see the
setlist here. There was a good amount of material from Are We Not Men, and Duty Now for the Future.
The big surprises for me, were that they dared to play Mongoloid in this PC era, and Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA. I would have loved to have heard Gut Feeling, Come Back Johnny, and Space Junk, but it was not to be.
Here are some pictures I took with the phone. It doesn't do to well in this lighting.
Last but not least, no Devo show would be complete with the Spuds in the pit sporting their Blue and Red Energy Domes.
Needless to say, I've had the earbuds full of Devo for the past week.
Legendary blues pianist, Pinetop Perkins, passed away today at age 97. I was fortunate enough to have seen him play multiple times at Antones. He had been living in Austin for several years.
This moment is particularly surreal for me, however. This past Saturday night, I was at a SxSW showcase, for another legendary blues player, Bobby Rush. As a surprise, some people quietly moved Pinetop in his wheelchair, through the crowd, and parked him in the front row.
Bobby Rush's face lit up, he was delighted to see Pinetop, acknowledging him, and leading the crowd in a very loud round of applause. I distinctly remember thinking to myself that I should go see Pinetop a few more times, before the inevitable happened. He seemed to be in very good spirits as they wheeled him out of the 18th floor, at the conclusion of the show. Unfortunately, the inevitable did happen less than 48 hours later.
My friend Frank says that the good thing about the Sunday BBQ and Softball Tourney, is that it gives you closure. It let's you wind down a bit, and let's you get mentally prepped, because you know it's going to suck going back to work on Monday. Of course, I also figure that I already paid for the food, so I might as well go eat it.
So, for the second year in a row, I attended the BBQ. I also flirted with the idea to go see the handful of shows at Emos later that night, but then sanity (and the need to catch up on sleep) prevailed.
KUT Morning Show on the Hilton Stage - The Monahans
Ok, I broke my self imposed rule about trying not to see Austin based acts. In my defense, it's hard to walk by the day stage at the Hilton and not stop for a listen, on your way in, in the morning.
Vinyl Records 3.0 Challenges and Rewards
Another vinyl panel. Vinyl is surprisingly big, and records are selling. It's an amazing story, and it will interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years.
And On Piano... Nicky Hopkins
This panel arranged by biographer, Julian Dawson, talked about the life and music of the late, Nicky Hopkins. Nicky's volume of work was staggering. He was a legendary touring and session player, and a formidable composer/arranger.
The panel also included other friends that had known him, and two other pianists that had shared the same sideman chair, with the Rolling Stones, Ian McLagan, and Chuck Leavell.
It was delightful to here all of the stories about Nicky, and I promptly ordered a copy of Dawson's biography from Amazon. The icing on the cake however, was having Julian Dawson and Chuck Leavell play No Expectations, a song written by Nicky Hopkins, but credited to Jagger and Richards at the end. It's always great to have someone perform at a panel.
SxSW Interview: John Popper
This was another fantastic interview. While not a huge Blues Traveler fan, John and the other panelists encouraged the crowd to all move up front, and get close, so they could make eye contact.
What resulted, was a very intimate setting. I left with a newfound respect for Popper as an artist, and really enjoyed this session, as well.
SxSW Interview: Bobby Rush
My last panel of SxSW, and it was a great one, legendary bluesman, Bobby Rush.
The time went by very quickly, and I was fully engaged in this session. It was fascinating to hear Bobby's life stories, since they span an era of great change in the US. Bobby played with Muddy Waters and was known as the King of the Chitterling circuit. Looking at him today, you would never guess how old he was.
This was a great session, with added benefit that I would be getting to see him play, later in the night.
Parties
Unfortunately, in addition to cash bars, they no longer hand out party invitation envelopes in the swag bags. As a result, you have to send an RSVP in some cases, or you don't get in. Even with a badge.
Doh!
Music
Galaxy Express
I saw this band playing on the patio of what used to be the Habana, but is now called the Easy Tiger(?). They were a somewhat interesting garage rock band. Unfortunately, I came in during the last song of their set.
NEema
I then sauntered over to the Hilton, to check at the Day Stage. Neema was playing, I'm not sure if this was the female lead singer's name, or the name of the band.
In either case, she had a great voice, and the musicianship was first rate.
Erin McLaughlin
Back to St. David's to hear a very enchanting singer/songwriter named Erin McLaughlin.
Agnes Obel
Continuing my stay at St. David's, the next artist Agnes Obel was singer/pianist from the Netherlands, accompanied by a Cellist. Another fantastic set. No photos, because the venue people were cracking down.
Silje Nes
Staying at St. David's, I walked down the hallway to Bethel Hall, to catch experimental Norwegian artist, Silje Nes. Silje played a strat, and was accompanied by a bassist and percussionist.
While the music was very avant-garde and experimental, it was very enjoyable.
Amanda Shires
Since I had arrived early to the Hilton Garden to see Bobby Rush, I decided to quickly check out the Hilton Creek venue, downstairs. Amanda Shires was an alt-country act, that was listenable enough. I caught the last two songs of her set.
Bobby Rush
This was another amazing set. Bobby Rush held a packed house on the 18th Floor of the Hilton Garden, in the palm of his hand, singing and playing solo. No backing band. It was a very special night of blues.
The Soundtrack of Our Lives
After Bobby Rush's set, I quickly turned around and returned to St. David's to join my friends Ron and Alissa, for Swedish, psychedelic band, the Soundtrack of Our Lives. Several people were surprised however, that the band had decided to play acoustic.
I enjoyed this set, and have made a note to check out more of their music in the near future.
The Rods
From St. David's, my friends and I walked down 7th street to see the Rods. They were the closet thing to Spinal Tap, that I have seen at any SxSW. They were entertaining, but I'm not sure I would want to pay to see them headlining, to be honest. The novelty wears off after one listen.
Back to the 18th Floor
For the last showcase of SxSWm, I returned to the 18th floor. When up there during SxSW, I always try to get some pictures of Austin at night from the elevated viewpoint.
Homemade Jamz Blues Band
The last band I saw of the festival was the Homemade Jamz Blues Band. The band consists of a father, his 2 sons, and daughter, all from the Hill Country in Mississippi. Dad sings and plays harp, the eldest son plays guitar, the younger son plays bass, and the daughter plays drums. In addition, the guitar, a double neck, and bass, are custom made by the father, out of racing muffler.
Let me just say, these guys were smoking. The guitar playing son sounds like a cross between Stevie Ray Vaughan and Buddy Guy, and his daughter plays drums like Cindy Blackman. What a way to finish the festival.
Couldn't miss this interview. It was unusual in that the session began with a 15 minute video about Yoko's life. It wasn't clear whether it was self-produced or not.
Yoko spent a lot of time talking about her life, latest causes, and the situation in Japan. It seemed to go by very quickly, I will probably take the chance to rewatch the video when it is posted by SxSW.
Mastering Vinyl, Hear All About It
This was undoubtedly one of the best technical music panels that I have ever attended. The panel consisted of aficionado Michael Fremer, who produced a fantastic documentary about vinyl records are mastered and produced, and two legends, Doug Sax and Bob Ludwig. If you own any vinyl, it is more than likely that several albums have been mastered by one of these two gentlemen.
Lot's of good information from this talk, and I am relatively sure that I will want to obtain a copy of Fremer's DVD, after seeing excerpts. Furthermore, I will be getting a new cartridge and bring my turntable and vinyl out of storage. Back to the future!
Get Band Business Doing Smart
This panel featured the always entertaining Martin Atkins, and Hillel Frankel (who I believe may be Martin's agent). The premise was a mock debate, in order to discuss Atkin's guerilla marketing strategies for music.
Martin never disappoints, and I really appreciate what he is giving back to the world of Music.
Bobby Long
I'm having a difficult time remembering the next 3 day stage acts. I do remember that I enjoyed listening.
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper
Caitlin Rose
Random Shot of ACC during SxSWm
Parties
Dutch Impact
Another party, another cash bar (handled by the same caterer). Oh well, the good ole days of free food and booze are over I guess.
I stayed for one set, a band named Black Atlantic. They were good, not great, and not as interesting as the Canadian band from yesterday.
Hilton Stage - Brooke Fraser
A very nice, mellow singer/songwriter type with a backing band. Incredible voice.
Showcases
Boy & Bear
This was a great Pop/Rock band from Australia. Another Handicapping panel suggestion, and another winner. The crowd at Buffalo Billiards agreed.
Dirty Beaches
So this was the first stinker. I stayed for exactly half of the first song, and left wondering how this person was able to get a showcase.
Keepaway
I decided to head over to Cedar Street. As I got there, the crowd seemed unusually sparse. After hearing Keepaway, I understood why. Strike two.
Birds & Batteries
I then walked over to the Tap Room, and finally found a band that was tolerable. I wasn't blown away by this act, but found them listenable (and avoided a strike out).
Leslie Stevens and the Badgers
I decided to stay put, just in case. The next act Leslie Stevens, was a female Country/Americana singer from Southern California. She had a pedal steel player, and some members of the band, Paperclip, joined her on stage for a few songs.
Oberhofer
I then returned to Kiss & Fly for Oberhofer, another Handicapping panel recommendation.
I found them listenable, but not engaging.
Lanterns on the Lake
This was a very interesting Cinematic, post-pop band from NE England. They played a mix of acoustic and electric instruments, and sounded very good in the Central Presbyterian Church. This was only showcase I saw at this venue, BTW.
Amy Speace
Not being able to get enough of St. David's, I returned there and checked out this country singer, Amy Speace. She was an accomplished singer, but this music seemed very pedestrian to me.
Mother Mother
I had picked out this band from an iTunes or Amazon sampler for SxSW. The band executed just fine, but the venue, Swan Dive, sucked.
If there is one complaint I have about SxSWm, it's the temporary use of these Dance Clubs as live music venues. What was particularly annoying about this place, was their insistance on playing House Music at loud volumes, while the band was trying to do a sound check. The results when the band started playing were as expected. I really wanted to go throttle the DJ.
In all reality, I can't imagine setting foot in this club at any other time. I'm hoping there will be a pendulum swing back towards live music, in the next decade, putting these dance clubs and the choke-and-puke bars out of business. (I can hope, at least!)
Ron Sexsmith
This was another SxSWm highlight for me. I got see an entire set of Ron Sexsmith with his backing band. Outstanding!
This was an interesting opening act, right before the Keynote. A quartet of cellists played a variety of material, including an interpretation of the Led Zeppelin's Kashmir. Comparisons with Kronos quartet, are to be expected.
From what I understand, Haimovitz (on the left) is a Music professor, and the rest of the ensemble is composed of his students. I wish that I would have had time to catch one of their showcases, but that just didn't seem possible.
SxSW Keynote: Bob Geldof
Sir Bob Geldof opened his keynote lamenting the fact that an impressive list of people had given keynotes in previous years. Feeling somewhat inadequate, he wondered if he was up to the task.
Putting modesty aside however, he then went on to talk about why Rock could have only emerged from America, and why it was important to the rest of the world. He got more specific, talking about how Howling Wolf and Elvis changed his entire world, when he first heard them. Rock music was a catalyst for things that would have never emerged otherwise in Ireland.
Bob then went on to say that during his most recent trips to the US, that we as a nation, seemed tired and exhausted. His challenge was that the US needed new voices to emerge, arising to challenge the status quo. He also indicated that perhaps another nation would need to step up, although he wondered who that could possibly be. He was sure however, that somebody needed to.
Golden Ears
This was a State of the Union address for the A&R world. I'm going to have to go back and listen to the audio again, because although I didn't take good notes, there was some very good information and demographics provided during the panel.
Emmylou Harris
Although I fully intended to see Emmylou later in the evening at Antones, I decided to check out this set on the Day Stage, as a precaution. This ended up being a wise decision, as you will read later.
So, Emmylou played a short set of 4 songs, with a little bit of monologue in between songs. She was as fantastic as I would have expected. My only regret was not getting a better picture, but the iPhone doesn't really do too well in dimly lit scenarios.
Still Corners
This was Pop act, who were fortunately still playing after Emmylou. I was able to catch one or two songs. Very listenable, I wish I had had time to hear more.
Josh Ritter
Josh was another recommendation from the Handicapping panel. A solo, singer/songwriter type who was a little more on the Country end of the spectrum. I stayed for the entire set, and found it enjoyable, even if it wasn't my favorite genre of music.
Today's World of Songwriter and Artist Music Licensing Deals
As a proud member of the Austin Music Foundation, I have gotten to know the Brabec brothers (Todd and Jeff) personally. Not only have they spoken at every one of the 7 SxSWm conferences that I've attended, but they have also been brought to town by AMF several times.
Once again, they were top of the licensing game, and their information is invaluable to anyone who holds a publishing copyright. The new information that they discussed this time, was about the mobile App market.
The respect they garner was evidenced by the presence of several big-time, Entertainment lawyers in the audience.
The Head and the Heart
Another recommendation from the Handicapping panel, that was spot on. They were similar in some ways to James Vincent McMorrow. Very enjoyable set, I will most likely buy some music from this band.
Songwriters Explain Everything
This was another fantastic panel featuring songwriters Hayes Carll, Ron Sexsmith, and Hazel Dickens. Of course, all three artists played during the session, making for a very special experience.
This ended up being my last screening of SxSW 2011. I chose this film because I had heard very good things about it, while waiting in line at the Ritz for Beginners.
The basic story was about several aging West Coast Punk Rock musicians, and how their lives had changed, now that they were in their 40's and had kids. The F word was obviously fatherhood.
The subjects of the film included Jim Linberg of Pennywise, Flea of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Mark Hoppus of Blink 182, Tony Hawk, Art Alexakis of Everclear, and Ron Reyes (aka Chavo) of Black Flag. The best line of the movie came from Jim Linberg, who said to paraphrase as best I can, "When I perform for audiences that are predominantly 20 years younger than I am, I feel like the clown at kids's birthday party. Maybe I should be up here on stage making balloon animals"
While waiting to enter the Moody Theater for Bob Geldof, there was Street Marching Band down below the balcony performing arrangements of Rock songs. Of course, here in Austin, this is treated as nothing unusual.
Bob Geldof
The first show of the night was Bob Geldof. He is about to go on tour, and this was one of his first shows with the band. Besides Bob, there was one other member of the Boomtown Rats in this band, bassist, Pete Briquette. Bob mentioned that it had been quite a long time since he last played in Austin, because the venue was Armadillo World Headquarters.
The set went by way too quickly and featured a good mix of his new material and a healthy selection of Rats' songs. On my end, I spent most of the time on the floor in front of the stage, but snuck up to the balcony for the last 10 minutes, just to see things from above.
Francis Mbappe
This was a fantastic afro-jazz trio, led by a bassist from Cameron, named Francis Mbappe, along with Cuban guitarist Richard Padron, and Will Calhoun, best known as the drummer for Living Colour. The show was at the Elephant Room, and all of the usual suspects (various Jazz fans living here in Austin) were present.
Without a question, I will be on the lookout for more music from Francis in the near future.
Abigail Washburn
Abigail is another favorite, and I have seen her a number of times, but always with Bela Fleck and the Sparrow Quartet. This time she was appearing at Antones, with a new band.
This great show went by way too fast. The only bummer being the crowd, because Antones was filled to capacity. I abandoned any plans of returning to Antones a few hours later for Emmylou Harris, since I had already seen her at the Day Stage.
Takashi Kamide
This was my first showcase at St. David's this year. (St. David's is my favorite venue because the acoustics are so fucking great in both the Sanctuary and Bethel Hall. I caught the last song of Takashi Kamide's set, a Japanese accordion player with an avant-garde bent.
G. Love
G. Love is a Blues act from Philadelphia. The Sanctuary was the perfect venue for this group, which features primarily acoustic instruments, particularly the Dobro. Great set, great sound.
Lia Ices
This was an Avant/Experimental act that I also found enjoyable. I need to listen to more from this band, as well.
City and Colour
I'm not sure that this band was on my radar, but the quality of the other acts at St. David's convinced me to just stay put. I'm glad I did, because this was the best band of SxSWm, as far as I'm concerned.
Dallas Green is a Canadian vocalist and guitarist from the band, Alexis on Fire. As a side project, he created City and Colour, sometimes performing solo, other times bringing along 3 other musicians to back him up. On this evening, he started the set with the band, and then finished the last 4 songs by himself.
All I can say is wow. This band knocked me on my ass. I loved the musicianship, the vocals, and the songwriting. Apparently, I was one of the uninformed, because it seemed at times that about 75% of the audience was singing along to their music. They have a following, and it's well deserved if I must say so myself.
I will catch these guys on tour next time they come around. I've already purchased a shitload of their music.
