Sam Roberts Band

TheSam Roberts Band, is a long time fave. They create music made for the open road -- it's equal parts freedom, rock, and wanderlust. . . and their live show fully supports this.

Arkells

I will forever more sing this band's praises and all it took was a drum stick toss out to the audience . . . which literally landed in my purse.
The Arkells can be succinctly described as quality Canadian indie rock.

The Avett Brothers

The Avett Brothers really are all they're cracked up to be. Their melodies are wistful, happy, and maybe even innocent. Their harmonies are gorgeous. And then there's the banjo, the icing on the cake.

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The Wrens

I LOVE The Wrens.
And that's saying something considering I hadn't even heard of them (somehow) until they were introduced on stage. These men have been in the business for two decades now but they still manage to play with some serious heart and soul. And if that's not saying enough, they're hilarious! In fact, The Wrens are so amazing that I will be dedicating two posts to them because I simply must post all of the fun pics. See you in the next post!

Hymns and Daniel Johnston

The Hymns opened up for, and then played a couple of numbers with, Daniel Johnston. Their show was mentioned earlier in this blog for being one of the more impassioned performances I had the pleasure of watching. The heat was borderline smothering but it didn't stop these guys from tearing up the stage and dripping buckets of sweat in the process.
Their youth and vitality was a sad contrast to Daniel Johnston's performance. This isn't to say that he did not put in a tremendous effort but it was clear that he struggled even to make his way on stage. His tremors effected his vocals and guitar playing. Still, the show was enjoyable if for no other reason than the fact the man is a legend, particularly here in Austin, home to "Hi, How Are You?"

Bishop Allen

Bishop Allen is another band who's music could be categorized as charming - it's a combination of pop, clever song writing, and some quirk added to the arrangements. Good stuff, good show.

Zee Avi

A cross between Norah Jones and Feist, Zee Avi is cute as a button . . . maybe even cuter. The music is charming and the live show is chillaxin'.


Also, I'm aware that it's been two months since that last post AND that I'm just now blogging about day two of SXSW. It's a bit embarrasing, but then again, so is this dialog I'm having with myself. :D