SXSW 2011: the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas (March 15-20)

Might as well go ahead and start this year's thread. Three rounds of bands announced (http://sxsw.com/music/shows/bands), though I'm not sure there's anything of an OMG-worthy overwhelming and/or compelling nature.

I'm holding down the fort w/ a family this year, so will probably not get a wristband or go to many (any?) of the night showcases. I do look forward to hitting a few select day shows, as they've pretty much overtaken the night showcases, anyway, as far as enjoyment level. Speaking for myself, of course.

I've seen all these guys before (except the last), but wouldn't mind catching them again if they happen to be playing in right place and time, etc.

A Place To Bury Strangers (Brooklyn, NY)
Asobi Seksu (Brooklyn, NY)
Erykah Badu (Dallas, TX)
J Mascis (Amherst MA)
Thee Oh Sees (San Francisco CA)

Word is that there's a metal showcase with Agalloch, Kylesa, YOB... might have to sneak out if that ends up being a night show, or any of their only appearances. Can't really see those guys playing in the sunlight, can you?

Anyway -- which of you ILXors will be there?

Last chance for 2011 wristbands (obviously you all care): http://wristbands.sxsw.com

taking the free route on friday and saturday and trying to see:

grass widow
el-g
thee oh sees
ty segall
...and whatever else i run into

I'll be around all week. On a panel on Saturday.

Pfork announces it showcases (official + day shows) here.

Artists appearing at the events include: James Blake, Toro Y Moi, Owen Pallett, Smith Westerns, J Mascis, Mount Kimbie, Cass McCombs, tUnE-yArDs, Glasser, Cults, Twin Shadow, Dum Dum Girls, OFF!, Baths, Gold Panda, Edwyn Collins, Julianna Barwick, and many, many more.

Gold Panda / Mount Kimbie / Pictureplane / Jamie Woon / No Joy = very very tempting...

O_O !!!!!!

With three weeks to go and counting, we figured we might as well make it official: please join us in welcoming the 2011 Village Voice SXSW party, presented in concert with Frank 151, and starring the Wu-Tang Clan, Fishbone, Yelawolf, Trae Tha Truth, Marz Lovejoy, Rocky Business, Trouble Andrew, Wild Flag, Ume, and a DJ set from Erykah Badu. How about that?

I went to SXSW in '07... one of the best times I ever had.. Especially be it that I went and played-we played 4 shows in three days.. what a great town. If I were ever to leave the bay area, I would strongly consider Austin, eventhougg its in Texas. lol

just went through the "official" listings: here's what i'd go see if i had a wristband (and will look for at day shows)

didn't see a lot on Wednesday - I'd go see Low/Vetiver at St. David's Church, or maybe Psychic TV

METAL/psych rock..
Thurs. - Agalloch, YOB, Worm Ouroboros, others
Fri. - Saint Vitus, Kylesa, Helmet, few others - Metalliance show
Fri. (bit earlier) - Liturgy, White Hills, Cloudland Canyon
Sat. - Bruce Lamont, Slough Feg.... several others that i forget

Hip Hop:
Wu-Tang + Yelawolf @ music hall (this is wed or thurs, forget which... wed?)
EPMD
Sat. - Odd Future, Curren$y, Big KRIT, Black Milk
Curren$y and KRIT playing a ton of shows
also saw Kweli, Strong arm steady... lots of hip hop

lots of electronic/dance/etc. & related scattered about, pretty common-
Glasser
Mount Kimbie
Jamie Woon
Shit Robot
Trentemoller
etc.

"legends" worth noting:
Yoko Ono
OMD

also thought everyone should know there is a band called Tiger! Shit! Tiger! Tiger! that i found

couple day shows ft. some of the above guys & other notables~~~

- Liturgy, Moon Duo, Zola Jesus @ Beerland
- Sun Araw, White Hills, Cloudland Canyon @ someplace i've never heard of
- Odd Future, Das Racist @ Scoot Inn
- Wu-Tang, Badu, Yelawolf, Fishbone @ Music Hall is free before 8pm

lots of others, too many to type

unfortunately it looks like most of the metal stuff is nighttime only :(

- Liturgy, Moon Duo, Zola Jesus @ Beerland

O_O dude plz go to this and enjoy on my behalf

i love free day shows, and beerland, and all of those bands, so.... YES

this is pretty cool for those on Last.fm (though it didn't hip me to anything i wasnt already aware of) - recommends artists to not miss based on yr # of scrobbles i guess. did they do this last year? i forget...

http://www.last.fm/group/SXSW+Music

my recommended list, btw:

Low
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Wu-Tang Clan
Black Milk
Erykah Badu
Talib Kweli
Psychic TV
The Black Angels
J Mascis
Indian Jewelry
Curren$y
A Place to Bury Strangers
Meat Puppets
Helmet
Cee Lo Green
Lupe Fiasco
Cass McCombs (??? can't recall scrobbing any of her stuff, oh well.)
Cloudland Canyon
Asobi Seksu
Bun B

fwiw, who I'm thinking of seeing (if I can convince myself to leave the house):

Rolling Past Expiry Hard Rock 2011

NICE! would totally hit Christian Mistress, Saint Vitus, Agalloch if i had a wristband/badge for night shows :(

will def be hitting the Saint Vitus show

fat possum's free day show is solid:

http://fatpossum.com/news/141

whoa NSFW ^^

my bad... apologies to anyone who got fired for looking at the fat possum flyer.

is there a site that tells you what all these baby bands sound like because there's a looooot of em this year

sxsw/cmj savin money by not publishing the one-sentence description is such a shitfest for ppl who want to actually discover new music instead of just jacking off all over the 30 bands everyone "has to see"

austinist.com

man i so wish i could go, i was depressed for a month when i got back home when i went two years ago

i am going this year (flights booked, about to book badge) but my accommodation just fell through. stoked for the madness.

haven't looked @ this yet (and obviously it's indie-biased and will miss some good stuff) but anyway ---

http://pitchfork.com/news/41806-the-pitchfork-guide-to-sxsw-2011

I'll be in Austin during sxsw, maybe I'll catch a few shows. Psychic TV would be fun!

clearly not the original line-up of PTV but agree!

in other news: Peter Murphy is doing a solo show Thursday i think? not affiliated w/ sxsw, and costs $23 or something. not sure who's gonna show up when the whole city's out at free day shows

free day shows i'll probably venture out to see Wednesday afternoon-

12:15 Mount Kimbie @ mohawk
1:00 Jamie Woon @ mohawk
1:30 A Place to Bury Strangers @ emo's outside
2:15 Girl Unit @ ND (someplace on 5th st.?)
???? DJ set from Anika @ club deville (seems to be ongoing all afternoon?)

--- (break)

then if i'm not feeling lazy, i'll venture out again for-

5:10 Kylesa @ emo's inside
5:30 Gold Panda @ emo's annex

7:30 Yelawolf @ fader fort (really trying to stay away from this place, but if it's my only chance to see Yelawolf @ sxsw... hmmmm)

^^ these are all kinda contingent on there not being more convenient times to see these folks Thurs, Fri, Sat, which i'll investigate soon enough

unperson/HOOS/xhuxk/Whiney/caek/anyone else- if we have overlapping shows let me know, happy to say hi. i'd like to think i'm less annoying off-ilx but who knows... only one way to find out

I'm not coming in until Wednesday evening, so most of my show-going will be Thurs/Fri/Sat. I'm currently planning on trying to catch Off!, Bad Brains, Christian Mistress, Kill the Client, KEN Mode, Buffalo Killers and some other bands I'm gonna be interviewing, filming, etc. No, I will not be going to see Kanye West.

kanye west?????????????????? OMFGFGLFJGKLJFNMG

(kidding!)

7:30 Yelawolf @ fader fort (really trying to stay away from this place, but if it's my only chance to see Yelawolf @ sxsw... hmmmm)

― thank you ilxor for starting this much needed thread (ilxor), Monday, March 14, 2011 1:00 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

why staying away from the Fader fort? i rsvped for the first time this yera and was getting all revved up about the lineup :(

it's packed every year! Long lines, you can get in but expect to wait a while if it's at capacity

Thursday daytime/free shows i might try to catch-

12:00 Josh T. Pearson @ the swan dive
12:30 Colin Stetson @ the parish
2:30 O.M.D. @ mellow johnny's bike shop (!!!!!!!)
3:00 Ford & Lopatin @ east side drive-in
3:45 Liturgy @ beerland
4:00 Owen Pallett @ club deville
5:00 Low @ french legation museum

would love to see this as well, but prob. won't be out late-

1:00 Zola Jesus @ beerland

2:15 Girl Unit @ ND (someplace on 5th st.?)

Girl Unit seems to have been cancelled btw. no longer on #OFFLINE (lol) website/poster

3:45 Liturgy @ beerland

if my wife's out w/ me we'll prob skip this & hit Jamie Woon or something tbh

Thursday

3:30 Jamie Woon @ phoenix (4th st. someplace?)

nice little psych/drone/noise night show going on, free it looks like? might have to go out for this

SECRET GUEST HEADLINER (1:00am)
Prince Rama (12:25am)
Parts & Labor (11:30pm)
Moon Duo (10:45pm)
Sun Araw (10:00pm)
+ others

^^ Thursday, Longbranch Inn on 11th St.

Friday daytime/free shows, there's a bunch of other stuff too, but nothing that's really exclusive to Friday. this may end up being a rest day/go out to wine country day/naptime/laziness etc., we'll see-

2:00 Glasser @ club deville - would love to see her, but looks like i'm too late to RSVP lol
4:30 EPMD @ venue 222 (wtf is this place?)
5:15 Low @ mohawk
7:00 The Lord Weird Slough Feg @ trophy's

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_Drh6W6XgKJI/TXZaUZgPeGI/AAAAAAAACsk/4jWaH_ShEFs/s512/liver5.JPG

report from the Fader Fort wristband pick-up line:

The line for the wristband pick-up formed before 11 a.m., more than an hour before the scheduled noon handout time. When I left the Fader Fort scene around 1:30 p.m., I would estimate the line at being over 500 people.

http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/music/entries/2011/03/15/scene_report_the_line_for_fade.html

also, apparently let's call it a week, the Foo Fighters are the best thing at SXSW

Can I go home to Smithville now? I won’t see a better performance all week than Foo Fighters at Stubb’s Tuesday night.

http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/austinmovies/entries/2011/03/16/foo_fighters_destroy_stubbs.html

Jamie Woon thoughts x-posted from his devoted thread-

so jamie's show was pretty good. he's got KILLER pipes when he lets them show but his touring band's not doing him many favors. the songs that worked best stripped back all rock/pop arrangements for a dubby sound w/ lots of bass and room for his voice to float around in. played "night air" and maybe 6 other tunes from the album.

― ilxor you've listened to one odd future album once (ilxor), Wednesday, March 16, 2011 4:10 PM (26 seconds ago)

A Place to Bury Strangers: walked in 10 minutes or so into their set to find 'em whipping up ungodly squalls of feedback, loud enough to be felt thru yr body & bones. and then they increased the loud quotient 2-3 times throughout, kept pushing it. loudest thing i've seen since MBV couple years back. 20 minute show, one song (the one that closes the debut s/t album i think? "it's love that controls you / you can never let it go"...) buried in between a set that was otherwise a big fun feedback/noise fest.

kept my eyes peeled for WGW, unperson etc. but no sign of anyone from ilx. think i might head out in a bit for Kylesa, then Gold Panda (are they good? havent heard the music, just a bunch of four tet comparisons which is frankly enough to entice me...) and call it a day

geting back in town tomorrow, Hope to make a few day shows. So venue 222 is a block east of The Driskell? 500 people in line for a fader fort wristband, LOL! Where is DJ set from Erykah Badu happening?

the one i know about is tomorrow - Erykah DJs at the Village Voice showcase w/ Wu-Tang and Fishbone playing - free if you arrive before 8pm!

haha ilxor i would have been up for hanging out but this was basically my reaction on arrival in austin

http://i56.tinypic.com/14ukkrd.gif

i am now in san antonio.

lol caek i can identify, i ended up seeing like 3 day shows wednesday, 6 or 7 thursday for like 3 hours, then skipping friday (went to wineries in TX hill country!) and saturday (ran a trail marathon!) for other things

I hadn't done this thing in six years; it has become total anarchy. It was more fun to be a performer than a punter, I think; the crowds and traffic and bullshit presented a series of challenges. I can definitely identify with

My highlights:

Grimes, a SP303 solo female who sounds like Donna Lewis but kind of motorik, with entrancing songs
Edwyn Collins, who is seriously slowed down from his stroke, so instead put together a kicking band
Weekend
Curren$y
Toro Y Moi
John Maus
Lots of friends' bands; Doldrums, Colin Stetson and Austra were really good.
The big guy in Das Racist fell off the stage and I helped him, he was shirtless and had done MDMA I think and I felt like a champ getting that sweaty dude up so he could continue to do the thing he does.
Texan gyms, which are filled with exceptionally muscle Latino American men, who perform feats of strength while their girlfriends lounge about.
Being mistake for James Blake, twice. Though the status of his testes may, by some, be in dispute, there is no denying that he is cute in the face.

Not highlights:

Not enough veg food.
No place to nap from 6-7pm.
Didn't see any panels.
Racist and homophobic epithets everywhere, which don't bother me so much as make me go, "really?"
Missing Thee Oh Sees, John Grant

I can identify with the people who cut out, there were definite "this is hell" moments

John Maus

Going to be reviewing his album for the AMG here soon -- any more details about the live show?

He started the show with some technical difficulties, his sound card wasn't sending signal the way it should. He got frustrated and started kind of screaming in a way that put the crowd off balance; I thought it might be part of the show? He played backing tracks off his laptop, which was on the floor. He screamed a lot, off mic. He kept clutching his chest and smacking himself while singing "WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE" and I thought about where there might be a defibrillator. There were 200 attentive people there at Emo's and everyone loved it. He did not play "Rights For Gays", but he played a lot of new songs which I liked a lot.

Amazing -- if fraught!

the general impression i have gotten following sxsw via the internet is 'man this kinda sucks now'

ilxor as a local what were your feelings

As a local, I think it kinda sucked.

What I wrote about the Kanye West thing last night

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/festivals/kanye-west-jay-z-justin-vernon-and-more-overwhelm-in-sxsws-crowning-blowout-20110320

And, uh, Bright Eyes

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/festivals/bright-eyes-presents-long-wordy-set-and-anti-war-sentiment-at-sxsw-20110320

I'll do anything for money, apparently.

Any suggestions for R&R today would be welcome
I did the LBJ museum last time

xp Looks like they edited out some of my more sarcastic lines; oh well.

And fwiw, I think there was plenty of stuff at SXSW that didn't suck -- some of which I saw, some of which I didn't. But as a whole big thing, especially on Thursday when all the St. Patrick's Day drunks were filling up 6th Street too, it was pretty unbearable.

And now I'm going back to bed.

the general impression i have gotten following sxsw via the internet is 'man this kinda sucks now'

ilxor as a local what were your feelings

yeah i kinda agree. i mean i've had years where i've gone overboard (volunteered for 50-60 hours, gotten a "free" badge, attended 12 hrs of music for 4 days straight, burned out) and i've had years where i've skipped EVERYTHING, and now i'm in a comfortable place where i like going out for 1-2 afternoons for free shows, hitting a few things i'm really psyched for, seeing a few random things that i am curious about, and skipping a day or two altogether. this year was nice—saw some stuff i really wanted to see and loved (kylesa, low, among several others), was surprised to really enjoy a certain cute violin-player in a live setting that i had put on our schedule more 'cause i thought my wife would enjoy him, and overall just enjoyed walking around and taking in the atmosphere for a couple afternoons. i'm bummed to have missed a few things (colin stetson, foremost, who's released the best album of 2011 to date) but hey, i'd rather see too little music than too much. it's easy to burn out at sxsw, and i live here, so i'll be here for next year too.

as for "this kinda sucks now"—you know, it actually may have gotten better from a local perspective. i can head out and see as much or as little cool shows as i want to see, for FREE, without staying out late, and enjoy myself. just gotta find yr tolerance level for how much you wanna take in, right?

Any suggestions for R&R today would be welcome
I did the LBJ museum last time

go down to lady bird lake, rent a kayak or canoe, and paddle around the lake for a couple hours up and down the coastline. stop halfway, have a picnic. (i did this on thursday morning, it was amazing)

when do you leave town?

I had the weird experience of driving downtown to attend a show and immediately finding street parking within a block of the venue I was going to, TWICE. So I was able to get in, see the band, and get out.

I can identify with the people who cut out, there were definite "this is hell" moments

― Odult Ariented Rock (Ówen P.), Sunday, March 20, 2011 4:32 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yah, my accommodation fell through. i could have figured out couches, etc., but the idea of couches at night + 6th street in the day was too much. one day was plenty.

I parked for free just off Chicon, East of 35, three times (on 6th the first day, 8th the second and third days); yesterday though, I paid for all-night parking in a lot at Guadalupe and 3rd, since I knew I'd be out til 4 just a couple blocks from there, and I can get Rolling Stone to reimburse me.

Anyway, finally, a few smaller shows that I actually kind of liked:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/festivals/the-bands-you-didnt-see-but-maybe-should-have-at-sxsw-20110320

i live within walking distance of downtown, so i didnt really have any excuse to miss the few shows that interested me (Moon Duo, Sun Araw, Eyehategod, all of whom were great)--but this was my first experience of it and yes is it very crazy.

dont understand thee oh sees hype they fucking blow

also lol @ this fader fort band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSaoYGrohK0&feature=player_embedded#at=28

haha -- VERY punk show

i'm pretty sure trash talk were on their cover at one point last year

hey xhuxk, did you interview tyler, the creator for RS

i saw trash talk at sxsw 2 years ago at the big outdoors thing w/ black lips & circle jerks & a million other bands. huge lols were had

talking about how sxsw sucks now seems dumb to me, hard to imagine it's possible to fuck this up. maybe ppl are just going to shitty shows? when i read internet accounts of shows internet ppl went to it always seems p dire

i've never been myself but it doesn't seem implausible to me that it's become "too big for its own good" now

too big as in too corporate/hi profile or too crowded or too many shows?

innovative dn btw

both

all three, i guess i should say

not that i know anything about hits/page view counts, but the funny thing about journalists going to SXSW & then complaining about how un-fun it is is that i can't imagine that anyone cares about dispatches from SXSW

i mean which ones are ppl identifying as the problem?

too many shows is not even a bad thing anyways, unless ur really indecisive. too corporate/hi profile is understandable but ime fader fort was lame as fuck & at night house parties were way more fun than showcases & weren't that hard to find out about. if it's really too crowded though & like u have to wait in a long line to eat pizza i understand though & that sucks

yep. p much any "coverage" from sxsw is essentially worthless. mags/blogs/etc just do it to validate the existence of the fest and let other mags/blogs/etc know they have a "presence." Like the idea that someone in Missoula, Montana is biting their nails to read someone's take on a smith-westerns show is just lol

Thanks ilxor, my German friend went and had a great time. She luv u Whiney, btw.

she went to sxsw, or rented a boat & hit the lake?? if the latter: \m/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnxNYRUIQr8&feature=player_embedded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRmLoIsGq2A&feature=player_embedded

http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/riot_at_sxsw_death_from_above_1979_show/

oh for fuck's sake

I know that DFA 1979 is a fairly reprehensible and annoying band, but are they really so bad that a riot is necessary to convince them not to reform?

just wait til coachella!

Bubble Puppy! fucking awesome.

This was my first year to be able to attend sxsw in about 5 years. The last time, east 6th street didn't really exist. Sure there were lines and crowds, but I found much more to enjoy than to complain about. Saturday night was the best night, I saw Tearist. My only let was that the record show wasn't this weekend like it sometimes is.

http://vimeo.com/21087821#SXSW

^ cool video from CNN

100,000 disgusting savages

and to think several of them are on ilx!

http://1000timesyes.tumblr.com/post/4046701852/the-33-shows-i-saw-at-sxsw-2011-ranked

lol @ making fun of me for long, pointlessly ranked lists & then posting this

i love these things

28. Kylesa

explain immediately. i thought they were excellent (emo's small room 5pm wednesday i think is what i saw?)

5. Low
8. Liturgy
9. Yob
28. Kylesa

^^ i saw these bands & would rank Low @ the bottom tbh (love those guys but i really don't need to see them play "Silver Rider" and "Breaker" for like the fifth time. switch it up already guys!

Kylesa were not bad, just sort of lacked energy. Honestly the only shows I actively DISLIKED were the last three

did you see Low @ the pfork church-thingy? imagine that was better there than @ the other music party

i saw them at a church but if it was pitchfork related, I certainly didn't know about it

ahhh dang nevermind, i confused st. david's sanctuary (where Low played) and the Pfork showcase at First Unitarian Church

was thinking you prolly just reflexively add the word "pitchfork" into your sentences these days anyway

ha ha ha very funny, pitchfork, stfu

fuck