Kleeman's Last Word

Saturday--Day 4, SXW

To wrap up my fifth SXSW experience, I think the adjectives blessed and grateful are in order. I was certain I had paid $160 for nothing, that most of the shows I wanted to see would fill up before I could get there and I'd be stuck solely listening to bands I had no interest in. Yet, I got in to every show I had scripted on my schedule and I didn't have to miss any of those all-important first notes. The notes that begin an artist's set, that let fans know the music has arrived. I'm in denial that it's over. In my head, I'm still scurrying down 6th Street, hopping to a once-in-a-lifetime show. In reality, the music has been silenced and post-SXSW life must go on.
My final evening was one of sharo contrast. It would shift from the blood, sweat and volume of Hatebreed to the snug, quiet and cool atmosphere of the Elephant Room, where Eric Hofbauer lightly plucked his own unique take on pop and jazz standards on his electric guitar. From fists in the hot air to mixed drinks in a dark room, I rode the musical wave from one spectrum to the other.

Here's what I witnessed the final night of the festival:

Cute is What We Aim For (free show - Emo's)

Oblige (free show - Spiro's Amphitheater)
Hatebreed ( " " )

Pubcrawlers (BD Riley's Pub)

Eric Hofbauer (Elephant Room)
Second Movement ( " " )

Garland Jeffreys (Antone's)
Kenny Wayne Shepherd w/special guests Hubert Sumlin, Brian Lee and Pinetop Perkins ( " " )

Detroit Cobras (Red Eyed Fly)

The Stooges (Stubbs BBQ)

TOP OF THE POPS:
Again, another tie, folks.

Hatebreed - when I want to be screamed at for 48 minutes, I want to be screamed at. I couldn't think of a better remedy for an abrasive metal craving than this ferocious quintet. After seeing almost every style of music sans metal, I was ready for a sweaty pit and some mosh-eriffic riffs. The crowd went apeshit when Jamey Jasta and crew jumped on stage to begin the defiant anthem "Proven." For the next 45-50 minutes, I was pounded and nearly suffocated, and I cherised every minute of it. The group has shifted its message to one of progress and tolerance, a contrast to what it used to preach. The set ended apropriately with a slashing version of "I Will be Heard." Myself and the rest of the enthralled crowd chanted the song's refrain so loudly, you could have heard it two blocks away on I-35.

The Stooges - Seeing 93-year-old Pinetop Perkins lay his fingers on a keyboard with the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band was pretty special, but seeing the ridiculous stage antics of 59-year-old Iggy Pop was a brand in its own class. It isn't often that you get to see a legendary frontman squeal and scream like he's a wounded goat being electrocuted. Iggy hasn't lost any of his lack of good judgement. He fearlessly stage dove three times and eloped the stage like the drugged-circus act he was in the Stooges hey day. Although the band didn't navigate through much of its deep catalog, it did play "I Wanna' be a Dog."
Compared to the pocket playing of Galactic and the computer-sharp execution of most of the bands I observed this past week, the Stooges were pretty sloppy. They don't play that well as a unit, the tempo seemed to hang loosely, like it had downed a few tequila shots, but perhaps that's the charm of these punk legends. Spontaneity and excessive bull-dog-ish energy count for a lot. I also expected to hear more than 40 minutes of music.

TOP OF THE POPS FOR THE WHOLE WEEK:
Tom Morello at the Parish - This wasn't a tough choice. I mean really, how many times in your life will you see the Rage Against the Machine guitarist peforming "Kick out the Jamz" with Wayne Kramer (the guy who wrote the song), Slash, Nuno Bettencourt, Alexi Murdoch and others? How often do Perry Ferrell and Les Claypool just walk on stage and start jamming? How often does such a cast of characters end a set with a ten-minute version of Arlo Gunthrie's "This Land is Your Land?"

posted by Robert Kleeman @ 9:43 AM