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← back to archive	SXSW 2018: Part Three Decent sleep and big breakfast. A strange day ahead - no Thunderpussy shows- they get a day off whilst I don’t. I go out to see if there is any live music on anywhere. It is 12 midday, and it has started already. To The Blackheart where The Current radio station are showcasing a bunch of much touted LA bands. I see one of the most hyped bands of the week, Starcrawler. They are full of two minute sharp catchy punk songs. They obviously love the theatre of Alice Cooper and the rawk of folk like The Runaways and PJ Harvey. Arrow De Wilde the lead singer is a star not waiting to happen, just happening all by herself. A self confessed LA brat with a famous rock photographer mum and fairly famous drummer dad, she has old school punk DNA. You will hear a lot about this crowd. At the end of the week, SXSW gave them the "Best Developing US act at SXSW" award. Previous winners have been Future Islands, Leon Bridges, Anderson Paak and The Lemon Twigs. Would not have been my choice but they were definitely worth catching. As an LA band of course their lead song is “I Love LA”. Over six foot tall and very thin, Arrow is an intimidating stage presence, but I hope she stays healthy. Starcrawler. Off out into the back garden of The Blackheart to see the debonair Vista Kicks who danced as well as they looked. Stepped out of a time warp with late seventies California verse/ chorus rock and all the good for it. Excellent. Vista Kicks From perhaps the best dressed crowd to the scruffiest band of the week. Also from the most polished stage presence to the most shambolic. To Cheer Up Charlies’ tiny indoor stage to see IDLES, a punk band from Bristol in the UK. I think their own bio says it best: "At a point of uncertainty, IDLES bring you concise carnage. At a time of lies, IDLES bring you honesty. At a time of body shaming and Photoshop, IDLES bring you a visceral barrage of joyous bile.” They were scary and exciting. A real SXSW moment. Brilliant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPaGxRP2lHs&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg&index=16 I met them after, nice folk. IDLES The day was one highlight after another now. In to the Side Bar as I heard an interesting noise. Inside there was a band who obviously thought one day, what would be better than a Ferrari and answered, Double Ferrari, and their band name was born. Another instrumental wall of noise. I thought the lead guitarist looked awfully similar to the wacky guitarist who rocked out with Reptar, a great Georgia band we saw here at SXSW a few years back. On doing my Factchecking! I found out it was the very same bloke. Double Ferrari!! It is only about 2 in the afternoon and time to step into the Convention Centre to see a few favorites and just rest. On the Radio Day stage was first Frank Skinner. Fourth time seeing Frank. Once at the very same Blackheart garden a few years ago, once in a concert at Portland Zoo and also in a big Portland Concert Hall supporting and blowing off the stage, Jason Isbell. Here he was solo and acoustic, laid back and enjoyable. I stayed put and saw the best new Portland band of the last two years next, Kyle Craft. He really went for it, only had half the crowd that Frank pulled but got twice the noise. If you do not know Kyle Craft, you should. Sort of a glam Dylan. Check out his song Heartbreak Junky https://schedule.sxsw.com/2018/artists/22872 Next to Rainey St to catch a few shows, first at Clive Bar to see the act that Bob Boilen of NPR/All Things Considered said was his find of the week. A Cincinnati multi instrumentalist who was inspired by the violin style of the Sudan musicians she studied. Now she is a one woman violin/mini guitar/electro/loops and hip hop beats show. Sudan Archives is her stage name. Also easily won best hair of the week. Sudan Archives One more band to see before I needed to go eat and prepare for a hectic evening schedule. At SXSW every year there are one or two bands you see who you think could make the really big cross over and become like The Killers or Coldplay, if they wanted to. Those bands usually have a big stage sound, a charismatic lead singer and great, memorable songs. I think I found this years. At the Aussie BBQ which has moved away from the big marquee tent of previous years to the backyard of Lucille’s on Rainey. Gang Of Youths is their name. It is one of those days where everywhere I turn there is sheer magic. Once more I will share their own bio; "The holiness of love, the chaos and rapture of surviving against all odds, these are what drive Gang of Youths. A five piece from Sydney founded in the confines of their religious youth, enchanted by the spectacle of worship and deliverance, it’s no wonder their music burns with the desperation of apocalypse. With singer Dave Le’aupepe’s lyrics drawn from some of the most miserable life experiences available to humanity, and the band’s music taking cues from rock history’s most ambitious and theatrical preachers, Gang of Youths drag the beauty out of everything from hell to high heaven." Spectacular. See for yourself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjE-6yJOXCE&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg&index=15 Gang Of Youths Could the evening match the afternoon? Of course. It is 8pm. What we need is MEUTE a Techno Marching Band from Germany - a dozen drummers and horn players from Hamburg/Germany who fulfil the job of a techno DJ with their acoustic instruments. They were insane. The crowd were wild. Another moment in a day of SXSW special moments!! Another video captured from where I stood with my wee phone. Felt like I was part of the band on this one. If this does not move you, well, there is no hope. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI0XbfGsR0Q&index=12&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg MEUTE at Friends I popped in to Sidewinders to see someone called Sam Himself, who lied, as he had three of his pals playing his Cars' influenced eighties pop with him. Nice. Then the wave of toppest new acts continued. To the Palm Door on Sabine, one of my favorite venues, to see the only other band I saw during the week to challenge Gang Of Youths for the title of most likely to be played all over the airwaves of the world within two years, Warbly Jets, another LA band. British band lovers, they sounded like a Californian Primal Scream, and that cannot be bad. Great show. Warbly Jets SXSW is all about trying different stuff. First of all, the numerous boutique texan ciders but also the different musical genres. So I go to see the industrial sound of Egrets on Ergot, in the company of Thunderpussy who are out on the town once more. Now, if there is a better band at hitting a leg of a metal desk with an iron pole this week I will be surprised. Add in a floor squatting sitar player, a more evil looking Frank’N’Furter singer and other assorted band mates and I give you Egrets on Ergot. Must be something in the SoCal water. An experience. Worth having. As for the name - no idea. Egrets on Ergot (Leg of metal desk on the floor extreme left, resting) One of my favorite poppier indie bands of the late nineties were Supergrass, so I had to go see Gaz Coombes, the main guy from that band, who was playing a solo show in the Central Presbyterian Church. He packed them in and the crowd, mostly English, hung on his every word. He played many of his new songs but wrapped up the night with a smashing version of one of Supergrass’ best, Moving. Here it is. (I don’t think I have ever been to the church as much in my life as I had in the last few days) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5i7uhbykHk&index=14&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg Gaz Coombes Some of the most popular shows at SXSW are always the Japanese Nights. Every year about ten of the hottest indie or cult Japanese acts come over and play SXSW. I have seen many shows and I have always been impressed. My research of all the Japanese bands who were going to be in Austin this week threw up one in particular who I most wanted to see. CHAI. Part Heavy Rock, part J-Pop, part Rap, part Para Para (synchronized dancing) and part indie rock n roll. Despite it being a long thin venue (Maggie Maes downstairs) and being packed to the rafters and back, and arriving just as they were taking the stage, I somehow found myself at the front for a mesmerizing show. The video does not do CHAI justice as I think I had my hand over the mic but it gives you a flavor. Quite spectacular on a day of fantastic shows. The song is Boyz Seco Man if you want to explore further. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWqLYvDBDUg&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg&index=13 CHAI When you have seen fourteen bands starting from 12 midday and everyone one of them were are least very good and about eight of them were out of this world, and it is 1am in the morning now, what would you do? That’s right go and see another band and see if you can keep this outrageously great run going. Just to make it interesting make sure it is a style of music that you have not yet seen so, take a risk. Off to the Russian House (vodka bar - no gin) to see Espana Circo Este from, wrong, Italy. They like to say they are a Latin Pop, Punk, Cambia, Reggae band or to be more specific a Tango-Punk outfit. They are. The crowd sambaed and tangoed. Just the right amount of party madness to end what has been one of the great SXSW days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3lxxgH0fYs&index=11&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg Espana Circo Este I am glad I went to SXSW this year.

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SXSW 2018: Part Three

Decent sleep and big breakfast. A strange day ahead - no Thunderpussy shows- they get a day off whilst I don’t. I go out to see if there is any live music on anywhere.

It is 12 midday, and it has started already.

To The Blackheart where The Current radio station are showcasing a bunch of much touted LA bands. I see one of the most hyped bands of the week, Starcrawler. They are full of two minute sharp catchy punk songs. They obviously love the theatre of Alice Cooper and the rawk of folk like The Runaways and PJ Harvey. Arrow De Wilde the lead singer is a star not waiting to happen, just happening all by herself. A self confessed LA brat with a famous rock photographer mum and fairly famous drummer dad, she has old school punk DNA. You will hear a lot about this crowd. At the end of the week, SXSW gave them the "Best Developing US act at SXSW" award. Previous winners have been Future Islands, Leon Bridges, Anderson Paak and The Lemon Twigs. Would not have been my choice but they were definitely worth catching.

As an LA band of course their lead song is “I Love LA”. Over six foot tall and very thin, Arrow is an intimidating stage presence, but I hope she stays healthy.

Starcrawler.

Off out into the back garden of The Blackheart to see the debonair Vista Kicks who danced as well as they looked. Stepped out of a time warp with late seventies California verse/ chorus rock and all the good for it. Excellent.

Vista Kicks

From perhaps the best dressed crowd to the scruffiest band of the week. Also from the most polished stage presence to the most shambolic. To Cheer Up Charlies’ tiny indoor stage to see IDLES, a punk band from Bristol in the UK.

I think their own bio says it best:

"At a point of uncertainty, IDLES bring you concise carnage. At a time of lies, IDLES bring you honesty. At a time of body shaming and Photoshop, IDLES bring you a visceral barrage of joyous bile.”

They were scary and exciting. A real SXSW moment. Brilliant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPaGxRP2lHs&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg&index=16

I met them after, nice folk.

IDLES

The day was one highlight after another now. In to the Side Bar as I heard an interesting noise. Inside there was a band who obviously thought one day, what would be better than a Ferrari and answered, Double Ferrari, and their band name was born. Another instrumental wall of noise. I thought the lead guitarist looked awfully similar to the wacky guitarist who rocked out with Reptar, a great Georgia band we saw here at SXSW a few years back. On doing my Factchecking! I found out it was the very same bloke. Double Ferrari!!

It is only about 2 in the afternoon and time to step into the Convention Centre to see a few favorites and just rest. On the Radio Day stage was first Frank Skinner. Fourth time seeing Frank. Once at the very same Blackheart garden a few years ago, once in a concert at Portland Zoo and also in a big Portland Concert Hall supporting and blowing off the stage, Jason Isbell. Here he was solo and acoustic, laid back and enjoyable. I stayed put and saw the best new Portland band of the last two years next, Kyle Craft. He really went for it, only had half the crowd that Frank pulled but got twice the noise. If you do not know Kyle Craft, you should. Sort of a glam Dylan.

Check out his song Heartbreak Junky https://schedule.sxsw.com/2018/artists/22872

Next to Rainey St to catch a few shows, first at Clive Bar to see the act that Bob Boilen of NPR/All Things Considered said was his find of the week. A Cincinnati multi instrumentalist who was inspired by the violin style of the Sudan musicians she studied. Now she is a one woman violin/mini guitar/electro/loops and hip hop beats show. Sudan Archives is her stage name. Also easily won best hair of the week.

Sudan Archives

One more band to see before I needed to go eat and prepare for a hectic evening schedule. At SXSW every year there are one or two bands you see who you think could make the really big cross over and become like The Killers or Coldplay, if they wanted to. Those bands usually have a big stage sound, a charismatic lead singer and great, memorable songs. I think I found this years. At the Aussie BBQ which has moved away from the big marquee tent of previous years to the backyard of Lucille’s on Rainey. Gang Of Youths is their name. It is one of those days where everywhere I turn there is sheer magic.

Once more I will share their own bio;

"The holiness of love, the chaos and rapture of surviving against all odds, these are what drive Gang of Youths. A five piece from Sydney founded in the confines of their religious youth, enchanted by the spectacle of worship and deliverance, it’s no wonder their music burns with the desperation of apocalypse. With singer Dave Le’aupepe’s lyrics drawn from some of the most miserable life experiences available to humanity, and the band’s music taking cues from rock history’s most ambitious and theatrical preachers, Gang of Youths drag the beauty out of everything from hell to high heaven."

Spectacular. See for yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjE-6yJOXCE&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg&index=15

Gang Of Youths

Could the evening match the afternoon?

Of course.

It is 8pm. What we need is MEUTE a Techno Marching Band from Germany - a dozen drummers and horn players from Hamburg/Germany who fulfil the job of a techno DJ with their acoustic instruments. They were insane. The crowd were wild. Another moment in a day of SXSW special moments!!

Another video captured from where I stood with my wee phone. Felt like I was part of the band on this one. If this does not move you, well, there is no hope.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI0XbfGsR0Q&index=12&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg

MEUTE at Friends

I popped in to Sidewinders to see someone called Sam Himself, who lied, as he had three of his pals playing his Cars' influenced eighties pop with him. Nice.

Then the wave of toppest new acts continued. To the Palm Door on Sabine, one of my favorite venues, to see the only other band I saw during the week to challenge Gang Of Youths for the title of most likely to be played all over the airwaves of the world within two years, Warbly Jets, another LA band. British band lovers, they sounded like a Californian Primal Scream, and that cannot be bad. Great show.

Warbly Jets

SXSW is all about trying different stuff. First of all, the numerous boutique texan ciders but also the different musical genres. So I go to see the industrial sound of Egrets on Ergot, in the company of Thunderpussy who are out on the town once more. Now, if there is a better band at hitting a leg of a metal desk with an iron pole this week I will be surprised. Add in a floor squatting sitar player, a more evil looking Frank’N’Furter singer and other assorted band mates and I give you Egrets on Ergot. Must be something in the SoCal water. An experience. Worth having. As for the name - no idea.

Egrets on Ergot (Leg of metal desk on the floor extreme left, resting)

One of my favorite poppier indie bands of the late nineties were Supergrass, so I had to go see Gaz Coombes, the main guy from that band, who was playing a solo show in the Central Presbyterian Church. He packed them in and the crowd, mostly English, hung on his every word. He played many of his new songs but wrapped up the night with a smashing version of one of Supergrass’ best, Moving.

Here it is. (I don’t think I have ever been to the church as much in my life as I had in the last few days)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5i7uhbykHk&index=14&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg

Gaz Coombes

Some of the most popular shows at SXSW are always the Japanese Nights. Every year about ten of the hottest indie or cult Japanese acts come over and play SXSW. I have seen many shows and I have always been impressed. My research of all the Japanese bands who were going to be in Austin this week threw up one in particular who I most wanted to see. CHAI. Part Heavy Rock, part J-Pop, part Rap, part Para Para (synchronized dancing) and part indie rock n roll. Despite it being a long thin venue (Maggie Maes downstairs) and being packed to the rafters and back, and arriving just as they were taking the stage, I somehow found myself at the front for a mesmerizing show. The video does not do CHAI justice as I think I had my hand over the mic but it gives you a flavor. Quite spectacular on a day of fantastic shows.

The song is Boyz Seco Man if you want to explore further.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWqLYvDBDUg&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg&index=13

CHAI

When you have seen fourteen bands starting from 12 midday and everyone one of them were are least very good and about eight of them were out of this world, and it is 1am in the morning now, what would you do? That’s right go and see another band and see if you can keep this outrageously great run going. Just to make it interesting make sure it is a style of music that you have not yet seen so, take a risk.

Off to the Russian House (vodka bar - no gin) to see Espana Circo Este from, wrong, Italy. They like to say they are a Latin Pop, Punk, Cambia, Reggae band or to be more specific a Tango-Punk outfit. They are. The crowd sambaed and tangoed. Just the right amount of party madness to end what has been one of the great SXSW days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3lxxgH0fYs&index=11&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg

Espana Circo Este

I am glad I went to SXSW this year.