Chvrches

This band from Scotland was a big hit at SXSW.  They're coming to Mohawk June 5th.  Tickets on sale this morning.  Their new EP is streaming on Pitchfork.  It is excellent.  The last song, a remix of "Recover", is great.  For fans of Metric/Phoenix.

Recover-EP

Band list

Still processing everything.  The rundown: 43 bands in 4 days, with one band seen twice, so 44 shows. Here's the list:


Wednesday

@Lamberts
Roadkill Ghost Choir
@Molotov
Shoes
@J Blacks
Jesca Hoop
@Molotov
The Trishas
@Dogwood
Mike Scott and Steve Wickham of The Waterboys
@Empire Control Room
MØ
@White Swan
Besnard Lakes (briefly)
@Mellow Johnnys
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
@Tap Room
Jamie N Commons
Rush Midnight
Poolside
Selebrities

Thursday
@Heartbreaker Banquet in Luck, TX
Lonesome Heroes (Chapel)
The Happen-Ins
The Tumbleweeds (Chapel)
Houndmouth
Diamond Rugs
Elle King
Phosphorescent
Shovels and Rope
Michael Kiwanuka
Jim James

Friday
@Mellow Johnnys
Suuns
@Cedar Street
Brodka
Haerts
@Mellow Johnnys
Telekinesis
@Waterloo
Richard Thompson
@Lucys
Lonesome Heroes
@Brew Exchange
Slow Magic
Humans
@Waterloo
The Mavericks
@Javelina
Rosco Bandana
Hollis Brown
The Giving Tree Band

Saturday
@Whole Foods
OK Sweetheart
@Auditorium Shores
Nikki Bluhm and the Gramblers
@Yard Dog
Ian Moore and the Lossy Coils
Ken Stringfellow
Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis
@St. Vincent dePaul
Whiskey Sisters
@Zax
Ruth Moody
Eliza Gilkyson
@Jo's/San Jose
Heartless Bastards
Dawes

Big Acts

As you know, I have a love it/hate it opinion about big acts showing up at SXSW.  On the one hand, it takes away buzz and conversation from the bands trying to make a name for themselves.  SXSW is supposed to be about discovering new acts.  On the other hand, I like that all the big acts suck most of the publicity away from smaller acts so I have a chance to get into showcases.  The more people standing in line for 2 hours to see Diddy the less are trying to get into the showcase I want to see.

This year has your typical big acts once again.  Here is a rundown of some of them:

Depeche Mode

Natalie Maines

Dave Grohl along with Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, Rick Springfield, Lee Ving of Fear, Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick), Brad Wilk of Rage Against The Machine, Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour, Chris Goss of Masters of Reality and Alain Johannes are slated to take the stage for the show at Stubbs, with The Meat Puppets as their opening act.  Whew.

Green Day

Justin Timberlake?

Diddy, of course.

Smashing Pumpkins?

Iggy and the Stooges.  Again.

Nice Cave and the Bad Seeds

Meat Puppets

The Specials

Vampire Weekend

...and probably a few surprises.

Jake Bugg

Another option for Saturday is the Rolling Stone party at La Zona Rosa.  Bands include Free Energy, Gus and Scout (at the Rolling Stones party? who would have guessed.), Surfer Blood, and Jake Bugg.

The next British star to hit the states, this is a young kid (19 yo) that just blew up in England.  His debut album came out in England in October and went straight to number one.  It's easy to see why.  This song reminds me of Johnny Goudie.  Beatles/pop sound.

Two Fingers

Indians

Another option for Saturday is Waterloo Records, which has a strong lineup once again.  It has Ra Ra Riot, Dawes, Civil Twilight, The Zombies, and Indians among others.

Indians is the moniker of Dane Søren Løkke Juul.  Mellow stuff.  He's also playing the Pitchfork party and the Paste Party so he's got a high profile this year.

Carelakers

Great Peacock

Also playing Saturday at the Stage on 6th is this duo from Nashville.  Kind of an Avett Brothers sound.  They're also playing the Friday day party at Whip-In and Thursday at Lucy's Retired Surfer bar party, both of which include the District Attorneys.

Take Me To The Mountain

Kelly Hogan

Now the Saturday day parties.  A good option is the Paste party at the Stage on 6th.  It has Field Report, Eric Burdon, Ozomatli, and Kelly Hogan, among others.

Kelly Hogan has been around for years, singing on her own as well as backing up such luminaries as Drive By Truckers, Neko Case, and Mavis Staples.  This year may be her "breakout" year.  Lots of buzz for her latest album.  Good Americana sound.  She's also playing the Bloody Mary Morning party at ACL, which could be cool, and Twangfest at the Broken Spoke on Thursday.

Dusty Groove

Kodaline

Friday has lots of choices for day parties.  The biggest names are at Waterloo all day: Billy Bragg, Emmylou Harris, Richard Thompson, Alt-J, The Mavericks.  Wow.

The Filter party at Cedar Street also has some good stuff:  HAIM, The Neighbourhood, Wild Belle, St. Lucia, and Haerts.  Of course, that is always packed so would have to get there early.

This year I may try to hit some of the radio shows in the mornings, either KUT at the Four Seasons or KGSR at the W.  This band is playing on Friday on KGSR, but at 6am.  Doubt I'll be up there then.  They're from Dublin and seem to have buzz.  For the Coldplay fans.

Perfect World

Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside

If we stick on South Congress Thursday Jo's/San Jose has some good acts all day.  This band has lots of buzz going into 2013.  She's from NC but the band now resides in Portland.  Nice rockabilly sound.

They play at noon.  Also playing are Nikki Bluhm and the Gramblers and Billy Jo Shaver.

Party Kids

Gliss

On to the Thursday day shows.  My first choice is the Heartbreaker Banquet if we can make it work.  Another option is the Home Slice party.  It has Roadkill Ghost Choir, On an On, High Highs, Telekinesis, Young Galaxy, and Gliss among others.  I like their 2-stage setup which allows for continuous music.

Gliss is from Denmark but now resides in L.A.  They're a KCRW favorite.  Sound a lot like their Danish brethren Raveonettes.

Weight of Love

The Wild Feathers

This is one of the other bands playing the Filter party on Wednesday.  I think they're poised for breakout status.  They've got an Austin connection but are now in Nashville.  It includes Taylor Burns and Preston Wimberley who used to be in local band Noble Dog.  Not much out there but they're signed to Warner Bros., have CAA as their agent and have already toured with Paul Simon.  Album comes out in April so get ready.  Here's an interview with one of the members on their founding.

I like this song.  Good country rock sound.

The Ceiling 

Guards

The Paste party at the Stage on 6th is one we've attended in the past.  This band is playing there at 1pm. It's the moniker of Richie Follin, the brother of Madeline Follin of Cults.  He also plays at Clive Bar at 4pm.  There are lots of good bands playing the Clive/Lustre Pearl Filter shows so that's an option instead of the West 6th cluster.

This song has some similarity to Cults.  A little Psychedelic Furs in there, too.

Ready to Go

Jesca Hoop

Also on Wednesday is the annual Guitartown kickoff party at Mother Egan's Dogwood.  This year it has expanded to Molotov, too.  Lots of bands.  I'll highlight someone playing across the street at J Blacks, though.  Jesca Hoop is from Northern California and has toured with the likes of Andrew Bird and Elbow.  She's gotten airplay on KCRW and has been around awhile.  This is the first I've heard of her and I like it.  Reminds me of Neko Case.  She plays at 2:00 on Wednesday.

Born To

Pickwick

Time to look for the day parties.  Wednesday at Frank is the C3 party so of course they've got some good bands.  At noon is Roadkill Ghost Choir which is my must-see.  At 12:50 is Pickwick out of Seattle.  I previewed them last year pre-SXSW.  They're getting some buzz this year.  They put out an EP of covers and that's the only thing on Spotify so here's a cover of a Richard Swift song with Sharon Van Etten on vocals.

Lady Luck

Baauer

This is NYC DJ Harry Rodrigues.  He's arriving at SXSW on the heels of his massively successful song/meme.  He's playing a Friday showcase at Scoot Inn.  I doubt we'll catch him but it gave me a reason to post this.

Make sure your sound is on. Enjoy.

Tumbleweed Wanderers

Another fallback option for the group on Friday is our regular spot at the Tap Room.  It's hosted by Jambase and they seem to curate good showcases.  The first act is Tumbleweed Wanderers out of Oakland.  They play bluegrass/folk/indie stuff.  I like this song.  What would happen if Michael Franti joined the Allman Brothers.

Take It Back