Kleeman's Last Word

Wednesday--Day 1 of SXSW

When all you have is a measly wristband it's easy to grow accustomed to missing many shows due to absurd, insurmountable lines, and (cough), those damn people who paid a few hundred dollars more than you to get a badge.
To my delight, I had relatively few problems in getting into to all of my venues of choice-nine to be exact. I admit I got more than I bargained for, a lot more. Maybe this concept of mine that I need to pay for the steep cost of my wristband isn't so prepostrous after all.
Each day, I will list all the bands/artists I saw and the venues where they performed. I'll then highlight the finest and the ghastliest in a few short paragraphs. It's easy reading for the short attention span. And let's be honest, who wants to read verbose chunks of text about great music they probably weren't fortunate enough to see in the first place?

WEDNESDAY NIGHT 8 P.M. - 2 A.M.

I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House (Room 710)

The Drugstore Cowboy (Exodous)

Ian McLagan & Bump Band w/ special guest Pete Townshend (Austin Music Hall Ballroom-Austin Music Awards)

The Tex Mex Experience w/Texas Tornados and Sam the Sham ( " " )

Lily Allen (Stubbs BBQ)

Anberlin (Spiro's Amphitheater)

Callisto (Uncle Flirty's Loft)

Vic Thrill (Maggie Mae's)

Iamx (Elysium)

The Bravery (Stubbs BBQ)

BIGGEST SURPRISE: I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House
--It's my belief that sometimes you just have to go out on a limb and see an unkown band with a bizarre or ludicrous name. I knew nothing about this Portland band before they plugged in, only that you couldn't script a sillier or more perplexing name if you were drunk off your ass. I came expecting a group of teenage punk rock kids who smirfed excitedly when they crafted their whacko name. Instead, I found 30 and 40 somethings with real musical talent, who seemed genuinely invested in their product. If you threw Blind Melon and Lynyrd Skynyrd into a haywire blender, this band's music would probably be the outcome. The blues-driven rock the gentlemen cranked certainly didn't reinvent the musical wheel, but at least it kept it rolling. The drummer exhibited some terrific traditional grip and his playing reflected that of a studied jazz musician. His tasteful, yet technically comprehensive playing singlehandedly kept me from leaving the venue. Listening to singer Mike Damron dedicate an acoustical song to "butt-fucking Pat Robertson and Fred Phelps" was a humorous touch.

WORST DRECK OF THE EVENING: The Drugstore Cowboy

I've heard fantastic things about this band from a few folks. I'll probably never trust their musical opinion, ever again. Ever. The group certainly has some talent lying around, but it was hard to pick at through all the off key singing and hyperspeed noise. To put it simply, this band failed my two basic requirements for good music. The instruments mostly didn't sound like musical instruments and a palable groove was difficult to find. And they scheduled this right before Cody ChesnuTT and Saul Williams? I wasn't laughing at this sick joke.

TOP OF THE POPS: Texas Tornados at the Austin Music Awards

While seeing Pete Townshend perform with an Austin group that was mildly famous in the mid-60's was wonderful on the cuff, the actual performance was underwhelming. You could hardly decipher the wail of Pete's guitar over the muted band.
However, seeing Flaco Jimenez rifle his fingers on an accordian brought things to an entirely new level. Augie Meyers, Ernie and everybody else, except Freddy Fender who was there in spirit, drew a mostly tepid capacity crowd to its feet. To make matters better, the reunited group played its three most recognizable songs--"Que Paso?," "Who Were You Thinkin' Of" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights"--and announced an album full of new material recorded with Fender and a possible tour are in the works. It will be almost impossible to top seeing this bit of musical history bring the house down.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

It's a tie, folks.

Lily Allen "I'm tired of playing Smile (the song that is the reason anybody in the United States knows who she is)."

Mike Damron of ICLASOBITR "Fuck Fred Phelps and the Westboro Church."
...how does he fit such a foul line into a quiet acoustic tune?

That's all, folks (until Thursday rears its head).

posted by Robert Kleeman @ 12:33 AM