For the third night of SXSW music, it was pretty much business as usual after the tragic events of the prior night, though for yours truly it was difficult to get excited to line up for hours to get into any of the night’s biggest shows.
Thankfully, one of my favourite bands of the moment – Portland’s Typhoon, who I first discovered at at Austin City Limits Festival last year – were playing a show in one of the festival’s most relaxing and beautiful venues, the Central Presbyterian Church (reflect now on Band of Horses at the venue back in 2010, or Iron and Wine last year). So it was hard to say no to this opportunity.
As is customary at SXSW, the assumed careful curation of a venue like the Church suggests that, if you like band A, you’ll probably like bands B and C. So, in a night curated by bookers Red Ryder, I arrived early to grab a prime seat in time for Curtis Harding from Atlanta, Georgia. Accompanied by three other musicians, the quartet opened with “Soul Power”, ahead of “Next Time”. The tracks laid the precedent for a set of smooth grooves; rock n’ roll with plenty of soul, a bit of the blues (perhaps lyrically, rather than musically, with songs about women, breakups and the like) and a solid sound. “Cry”, however, which came third, brought a higher energy with it and was a highlight of the set, with catchy riffs, a stand out chorus and the slight inclination from yours truly to head bang. It’s a track that could easily make waves. “Cast Away” and “Freedom” took us back to a slower pace, but maintained a high powered performance from Curtis.
“Love is All”, a newer track from an artist who is about to release his first full length album Soul Power, was preceded by Curtis’ reflection of growing up in the Church, with his mother a Gospel singer. Indeed, tracks like this showed off these origins, and the new single “Keep on Shining” closed out the set, which entered the tambourine into the set – an instrument that single handedly added an new energy to proceedings. A nice way to end an impressive set. Will definitely be checking our the record come April 22nd.
Next up were my main draw for the night, Portland, Oregon eleven piece Typhoon. The band’s 2013 record White Lighter made our top 40 albums of 2013 and their preceding LP and EP remain high on my personal rotation list, so the set came with much anticipation now that I knew their material. Starting off in the centre of the stage, the band circled around one and other, put their hands in the middle and had a pep up; something normally reserved for sports teams, but nonetheless seemed appropriate here.
The performance opened with lead vocalist Kyle Morton solo on the electric guitar for “The Sickness Unto Death” as instruments were gradually introduced, from the violin to percussion, backing vocals and finally the brass, exploding as the lyrics “…eternity will smile on me” echoed through the church. This moved right into the infallible “The Honest Truth” which brought an incredible energy, the band showing themselves off as a finely tuned unit, who in spite of their size sounded stunning in the church.
“Common Sentiments” was next, with its brass explosions as the violinists bopped and danced and screamed out the lyrics unison. “Young Fathers” then saw some of the members on the violin and brass instruments move onto the drums, adding intensity to the performance, while the incredible track “Summer Home”, from their EP A New Kind of House, was delivered to perfection.
As the clock in the Church struck midnight, we were asked to observe two minutes of silence in memory of the two who passed in the tragic accident the night before. This happened at venues all across Austin. A well considered moment by festival organisers, made all the more poignant by sitting in the Church.
The band returned for their track “Morton’s Fork”, which had lyrics like “we are alone in this together”… something that felt oddly fitting for the general mood of the evening, and then “Dreams of Cannibalism”, with “Hunger and Thirst” closing out the night.
With a unanimous, spontaneous standing ovation, the band bowed with a humbled grin and started packing up their equipment. It’s a show I’ll be talking about for years to come. Why this band aren’t the most talked about group in the world bewilders me. Fans of Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, Beirut and Neutral Milk Hotel should take notice.
Closing the night were Winnipeg six piece Royal Canoe, who bring a varied approach to their music. At times, they lean towards being jungle infused, not too dissimilar to Jinja Safari, though with a unique touch that’s quite hard to put my finger on. Other times, the electronic drums make a big impact, while the violin effects off the keyboards make the group sound even bigger than they already are. And like Typhoon before them, there was plenty of singalong moments from all members of the group.
To top it all off, their music has a tendency to build nicely. “Birthday” off their last record Today We’re Believers was a particularly interesting track, building with effects from the keyboards like a theremin, though it started off rather reserved. I loved “Bathtubs”; it was effortlessly catchy with some weird and wonderful lyrics and distorted vocals.
Thanks in part to the music itself, as well as an audience member promising that Jesus would have been the first to get up and dance, everyone started dancing at this point, giving the room an electrifying atmosphere. The band commented, unsurprisingly, that “this dancing is really working for us”. I loved the high energy instrumentals of the song that followed and then the night finished with “Night Crawling”, which was as atmospheric as it was energetic.
Though the crowd chanted for an encore, the lights came back on in the room and we were sent on our way. It was indeed a wonderful way to spend an evening at SXSW, especially under the circumstances. If ever in doubt at SXSW, or if your legs simply are hurting too much to stand (which is common here), the Church is always a great place to discover some amazing new talents. This showcase was no exception.
