The third official day of SXSW music was jam packed full of parties. In between interviews and meetings I tried to pop into as many as I could. I checked out the Sounds from Spain party though couldn’t tell you what I saw, meanwhile at the Taiwan Party I enjoyed a “Woo Hoo” sort of band, who were energetic, playing with Nirvana riffs and the sort of vibes that bands like The 5, 6, 7, 8s are well known for. But I have no idea who they were. Such is the fun of the festival – you never know what you’re going to see – and sometimes no one will tell you who you saw because they don’t speak much English. They’re pictured below.
One band who for many need no introduction (I’m not included in this) are Graffiti6, a London based band who were playing songs of their debut album Colours at the Speakeasy. Launching with the track “Lay Me Down”, they played with a good dose of harmonies and some great guitar laden melodies. In general it was pretty safe music for the pop rock (borderline folk) genre, but it was well articulated all the same. I’m not quite sure what separates this band from the pack, but I assume it was a couple of singles that I wasn’t familiar with.
Across town was one of the more anticipated events of the year – the MTVu Woodies, which this year expanded from a one night, exclusive event, to an all day and night party open to the public, with some delicious ribs served complimentary by Salt Lick (a mainstay of the Austin culture… om nom nom indeed) and, unexpectedly, some Saki courtesy of Ty-Ku. This got us in the mood as a band from Las Vegas, Imagine Dragons, took to the stage. Publicised as “friends of The Killers”, the band weren’t far removed from the sound of the fellow Las Vegans, though there was a bit of that “let’s hit big drums” vibe from Coldplay’s Viva La Vida. Throw in a bit of electronic element – some heavy synth bass (such as during the fantastic track “Radioactive”), and a good dose of heavy production, and you have yourself some catchy-as-fuck music. Absolutely no reason why this band shouldn’t be huge. I have a feeling someone is putting a lot of money behind them hoping for the same.
One band who has definitely already made the jump to the big time (they were introduced by Pauly D so they must be… is there any better sign of success or intelligence than one of the Jersey Shore fuckwits?) were Fun, the latest project from The Format’s Nate Ruess. With a decent mix of tracks, the band features Nate on lead vocals, Andrew Dost on Drums… and the beautiful Emily Moore on guitar and backing vocals. Oh and there was a track with trumpets courtesy of Jack Antonoff. Nice. The album’s gonna be huge, no doubt, and the songs were terribly impressive live (especially given Nate’s vocal range), but I do hesitate to think there mightn’t be another hit single on the record. Though with “We Are Young” all over the place at the moment, I doubt they need it. Naturally they closed with this number, and the singalong was definitely something special.
For anyone who was lucky enough to be in the room, the highlight of the whole festival came next across town at ACL Live. Alejandro Escovedo and his band The Sensitive Boys were finishing their set as I entered the venue. The well regarded Texan singer/songwriter put on a stellar, professional set, sounding superb in the new venue. But it was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that we were all there to see.
Though I think he was talking about SXSW in general, early in the some three hour set, Bruce Springsteen called the experience a “teenage music fan’s wet dreams”, and perhaps there was little better way to describe the night here, as and the E Street Band performed tracks off of the incredible new record Wrecking Ball, along with a few old favourites (such as “Badlands” and “Thunder Road”) in front of a relatively intimate crowd af 2,500 (and some special guests) in the beautiful venue.
The sound was impeccable, the vibe was electric but was really made this show extra special were the guests. Tom Morello (whose inclusion in “The Ghost of Tom Joad” was a highlight of the night), Eric Burdon, Jimmy Cliff, Arcade Fire, The Low Anthem and Joe Ely… to name but a few. In addition to everyone joining for a rendition of “This Land Is Your Land” (in celebration of what would be Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday), Jimmy Cliff performed three of his own tracks, and Eric ran through The Animals‘ “We’ve Gotta Get Out of This Place”. You don’t really get much better a backing band than the E Street, huh? This epic three hour show was a night I will not soon forget, one of those once-in-a-lifetime “magic” moments that could only be created by the collaborative spirit that is SXSW.
Particular mention should also be placed on the inclusion of the “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out”, which I imagine is now a permanent part of the E Street set, thanks to its reference to Clarence Clemons aka “The Big Man”, who passed away last year. His name brought the house lights up and the crowded cheered for more than a minute. Bruce also paused when he would normally have introduced The Big Man… “If YOU are here, and WE are here than THEY are here” – also referencing Danny Federici, who passed in 2008. You can check out the full setlist and learn more about what went down in the news article I posted on the night.
On an average day, a three hour set from The Boss would be more than enough excitement to call it a success and head to bed, but the musical high was too much to call it just yet. So, with a few hours of music left on the 6th street strip and surrounds, I wandered to check out what I could find. First, I cause the phenomenal Crystal Antlers (pictured below) as they jammed on a stage situated in a window at Bat Bar on 6th Street, helping bring the indoor vibes onto the streets (not that you needed any help with that).
I moved my way to the British Music Embassy at Latitude 30 next, where so many of my nights have ended over the years, and was lucky enough to catch the eccentric Foxy Shazam, who as I entered the room provided the crowd with a saying perfectly applicable to SXSW: “The best way not to get lost is to change where you are going”. I’m sure plenty had stumbled across this gem this evening, and all will have been glad they did. ‘Fun’ doesn’t quite sum up the enjoyment of seeing this Cincinnati based six piece live. With heaps of energy, beards, headbands, songs about “getting between a band a woman”, and quotes like “roses are red, violets are blue, Foxy Shazam baby, fuck you”… and even moments where the keyboard was placed on top of the crowd as the player also went onto the crowd and played it (impressive if nothing else), if you didn’t leave the room a sweaty mess, you didn’t try hard enough. See this band live. Don’t question it. Just do it.
I hung around for the closing act of the venue, Crystal Fighters, who brought the flava to the 1am slot. Their electronic beats, complete with guitars, drums, and some great vibes courtesy of vocalists Sebastian Pringle Laure Stockley and Mimi Borelli, this London based five piece certainly know how to bring it. “Follow” was a highlight of the set… and when they drop the bass in tracks like “Swallow” they definitely know how to do it well, and hard. “I Love London” was another highlight, featuring unique percussion, blocks of wood for beats and, as with the whole set, a lot of inspiration from international music. Carribbean vibes (ukulele!), Indian vibes, South London vibes… they were all here, and as “At Home” ended things up, I finished up what was a stupidly good day of music. Ridiculously stupid. This is why we all go to SXSW, and boy it is fine.
The debut Crystal Fighters record Star of Love is in stores now. Photos in this article by the author.
