Hacienda

Pop-y rock which at its worst (still great) is head-bob inducing and at its best is Beatles-esque. The band played enthusiastically and with heart, which surely must have been difficult considering they had just played a 45 minute set only an hour before.

Tony Joe White

Phenomenal show from a singer-songwriter bluesman who's only, oh I don't know, in his MID-SEVENTIES!!! As I watched Tony Joe White slowly drag himself to the well-lit chair set center stage, I thought, "This could go poorly." Total con. The man sat down, put on his guitar and harmonica, and began to play a fine sounding but low-key country blues number. About three minutes into this he stops, puts on his solid black shades, and says, "Let's funk it up y'all." And that's exactly what he did. The lights went dark and a keyboardist and drummer enter stage. I'd heard As A Crow Flies before but this version was extended, slowed down, sexed up, and mind-blowing. His uber deep vocals (think Nick Cave or any other bass vocalist for that matter) suit this style of psyched-up swamp blues perfectly.

Dan Auerbach

Dan Auerbach, one of the two members of The Black Keys, has gone solo. Only he's not exactly solo. He plays with a backing band, Hacienda, and a drummer who's name I'm unsure of. The live show is full of stage stomping, hard playing - guitars, drums, etc., fun with lights, and overall merriment.

Holly Golightly

Two points for the name!

Holly Golightly is another one of those instances of live and recorded sound being markedly different. The latter is rather *lo-fi and I only sort of like it. Live is clearly where it's at - the sound is much more powerful and clear. And it definitely sets the mood for some good ol' fashion country couple dancing.



*I appreciate lo-fi but it just doesn't work here . . . for me.

Ben Sollee

Such a lovely show! The performance was in a small venue that had been temporarily turned into a mini art gallery. I arrived about 40 minutes before the scheduled start time because I assumed the place would fill up quickly. This was not the case . . . which kinda blows my mind. Ben Sollee makes beautiful music. It's just him and his cello on stage, and believe me, that's all that it takes. Whether he's running his bow accross the strings or plucking away, the sound is at once deep and up-lifting. His vocals are sweet and soulful and his songs are thoughtful and often thought-provoking. Please, make him more popular.

This is the picture I took while sitting cross-legged just a few feet in front of him. (Yes, that was me bragging.)

Shout Out Out Out . . . Out?

So I swear that every time I saw or heard this band's name there were only three outs attached to it. Their myspace page however most definitely lists four. Either way, Shout Out Out Out Out is a worthy show to see. There are two drummers, lots of electronics, and a fair amount dancing - both on stage and in the crowd. One caveat though, I get the feeling that their show/music would be best suited for the night time scene, and more importantly, some sort of rad light show.

Easy Star All-Stars

My first introduction to the Easy Star All-Stars was several years ago now. I remember riding around town with a few friends when they popped in an Easy Star All-Stars album and I was blown away. The album was a remake of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, appropriately and perhaps more acurately titled Dub Side of the Moon. Pure genius in my book!

The same can certainly be said for their live show. Vocalist Menny More bounced his way on stage with such enthusiasm and gusto that you couldn't help but bounce right along with him. Even when he left the stage (he hopped on and off dependent on whether the song featured his vocals) the party was still going. Synched dance moves, fat grooves, and the infectious smile of Ras I Ray made sure of that.




Does the guy on the sax look familiar to anyone else? I'll figure it out sooner or later.

Deer Tick

I quickly learned that being front and center, while it does wonders for the energy and soul of a show, is not the ideal way to get your photographs. It was near impossible to get a whole ensemble in the frame.

Definitely found this to be true with the Deer Tick show. No complaints though, the set was classic American rock goodness. Listening to their recorded music (which I'm doing right now) is quite a different experience. They are significantly more raucous-y live . . . which come to think of it is a fairly common occurance.




I'd also like to make note that I'm trying really hard to limit the number of photos per post BUT I have a hunch I'll end up putting them all up one way or another. Also, for time's sake, I will not be editing any of the photos - no crop, no color correction, no nothing.

Elvis Perkins in Dearland

My preferred modus operandi when watching live music is front and center stage. I mean literally touching the stage if at all possible. Being able to watch musicians up close, catch their side conversations, actually see their sweat . . . it's just a different and better world. Plus, I'm short and I won't see much otherwise.

That said, I only watched a couple songs of the Elvis Perkins in Dearland show. They seemed to be quite entertaining, but I was a good hundred feet away and a whole story above them.

Vetiver

My first photos taken at SXSW 2009 music conference were of Vetiver - mellow indie rock with gorgeous harmonies that nicely compliment the sweet sounding and gently rocking instrumentation.

First, a few words on SXSW 2009

This year's SXSW, even more so than what I experienced in '07 or '08, offered an unbelievable amount of the following:

Impassioned, energetic performances -- most notably but certainly not exclusively, Easy Star All-Stars, Dan Auerbach playing with Hacienda, Hymns, The Wrens, The Avett Brothers, Arkells, The Black Lips, and King Khan and the Shrines.

Gracious and sometimes even humble artists -- again, not exclusively but especially, Vetiver, Hymns, The Wrens, The Avett Brothers, Frances, and Loney Dear.

Full-on rock stars -- Tony Joe White, The Wrens, The Black Lips, Beach House, King Khan and the Shrines, and PJ Harvey.

Expertly grouped showcases -- Thursday's nighttime, Cedar Street Courtyard Blackberry Showcase and Friday's daytime, Flamingo Cantina Under The Radar Showcase. In both "cases" (ha!) the musical stylings of all bands involved were similar without being redundant making the build up to the headliner that much more exciting and rewarding.

The stories and photos behind this madness will follow shortly.

I suppose I should tell you that I did not take photos of every band I saw even though I promised I would. Usually this happened when I came in mid-way through the set and couldn't get close enough to see the stage show. This was the case with Here We Go Magic, J. Tillman, Grande, New Villager, Jennifer Leigh Mayfield, Jill Barber, and a couple of other bands who played while I chowed on free food but whose name was unknown to all I asked. Still, all of these were highly enjoyable shows thanks wholly to the strong impact of their music (since I couldn't see their performance). And sometimes I didn't take a photo because it just wasn't my kind of music. No names need be mentioned here but suffice it to say that this only happened three times.

Also, I forgot to charge my camera battery Thursday night, and so spent all of Friday staring down a blinking red battery warning me not to get photo happy. One pic a piece is all I afforded myself.


P.S. Mad props to The Wrens for being impassioned, energetic, gracious, humble, ROCK STARS!!

The Black

Here we have, The Black - fun Texas country rock best served with dancing shoes plus a frontman with great energy and even better rhythm equals surefire good times.

The pic is from an in-store performance (GOD I love in-store performances) at Antone's Records, just a few days before SXSW music kicks off. There's only one pic because I forgot I had a camera . . . which is also what happened when I saw Lykke Li at Antone's, Peel and Neilyo at Beauty Bar, and Automusik at Club DeVille (all fun shows). Never again.

Moving on

The fact that I forgot about the Frank Smith show had absolutely nothing to do with the experience itself. Once reminded of my attendance I was able to recall a pleasant time had by all. The music was delicate, soothing, and toe-tap worthy. The performance was clean and simple.

Next on stage was Brazos - in a nutshell, a very big favorite. Strong song writing, varied and unique arrangements, and, sigh, vocals that hint at some deep yearning, at least within yourself if not within the singer, while simultaneously comforting, rocking, and hypnotizing you.

B.C. (before conference)

I squeezed in just a few shows between January and mid-March, so in the interest of chronology I'll get those guys up first.

Also, I thought I should tell you that I plan to keep many of these posts, and therefore show and band descriptions, short and sweet . . . because it'll just be easier on all of us that way.

Live music love

Two things:
I don't attend live shows as often as I'd like due to time and (mainly) financial constraints. Fortunately, the city I live in makes it easy to get a healthy dose of in-the-flesh performances with minimal effort/dough.

I've recently discovered that I am capable of completely forgetting otherwise unforgettable concerts. Whether this can be explained by the sheer multitude of concerts I've been fortunate enough to attend or my own crapped out memory is beside the point. It should NOT happen.

Fret not:
Thanks to a a very kind Christmas gift, I now posses a Canon PowerShot. To be more exact, and in case you get off on this kind of information, the camera is an SD790 IS Digital Elph. With said camera, I will take a least one photo of every live music concert I attend from this day forward and forever save these photos on this brand new baby blog. . . and by "this day forward" I of course mean retroactively starting on March 18th - the first day of the SXSW music conference.

And now a quick story:
A little over a year ago I briefly met a couple members of a local band, Frank Smith, at my neighbor's courtyard party. Naturally I looked up their tunes as soon as I was able and stumbled across a gem of a song called Throwin Rocks. From that point forward, it became a goal to see this group live.

Fast forward to February 2009. Still no live Frank Smith. I'm at friend's house party, tucked away in his room, enjoying the company of two awesome gal pals, and awaiting live music that is set to take place any minute now. Friend pops into his room, tells us to come quick because the music is about to start, and that this guy is really good. As we're making our way to the living room a familiar and beautiful melody begins - holy shit, it's Throwin Rocks. Sitting not even two feet from lead vocalist, Aaron Sinclair, during a short but wonderful solo set, I thought, "How crazy lucky am I that this is my first Frank Smith concert experience??" After the show I of course approached Aaron to thank/praise him and to share the back story which you just read.

The next day I'm excitedly blabbing about all this with a friend when she stops me to say, "But you've already seen Frank Smith." Ummm, qua? Not only had I seen Frank Smith in concert, I saw Frank Smith in concert in JANUARY. January! We were in February folks. Sad. Just plain sad. Oh, and I took photos.