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← back to archive	SXSW 2018: The Final Review A few eagle eyed folk informed me that I did not send out the final review of SXSW. So here it is a goodnight weeks later. :) The week has, as usual, flown by. It is Friday and my last full day as I decided to avoid the Saturday madness which over the years has been more of an endurance test than an enjoyable experience. So knowing that I had to the airport early afternoon Saturday, I am determined to have a great last 24 hours. To Beerland where I get off to a slightly surreal start. I see a band called Eureka, California who actually come from Athens, Georgia, another Female Drummer/Male Guitarist twosome, of whom there seems to be many, and next at the Side Bar backyard I watch Frontier Folk Nebraska who come from Cincinnati, Ohio. Don’t ask, no idea. Frontier Folk Nebraska were a real find. No stage presence, no fancy stuff, no talking to the crowd and in a really bad venue’s back garden under a scorching sun, they played an equally scorching show. Great driving Southern Rock. I must have really liked it as they were the only band whose vinyl I bought at a show all week. I started out watching them in the only place I could find with shade at the back but I was drawn closer and closer. This video shows both my animal like sneaking up and also how good the band sounded. Look out for a very young George Bush on bass guitar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoF1zMsiKUg&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg&index=10 Frontier Folk Nebraska I was heading to see the Third Thunderpussy show but needed to eat lunch. Lucky to pass the British Embassy, or rather Latitude 30 club , which had been once more taken over as the base for all British bands. It was just opening for the day and offered free food and drink for the first few hundred to enter. So one plate of chicken something and two glasses of Chardonnay later I had a relaxing moment watching The RPMs. They all looked like they were still at high school and wanted to sound and dance like Wham. Fun half hour. The RPMs Next to St Elmo’s Brewery where Whitney, Leah, Molly and Ruby were playing. Good crowd and the band were once more in top form despite the heat and one or two recovering from not being so well the day before. Thunderpussy Show Three I would say hardly anyone in the crowd had seen them before - fanbase growing daily. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyaGpin2BjI&index=9&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg And that was the afternoon over, it was a bit of a drive to the brewery and my new maturity was ensuring I ate a meal every early evening. To the last night and in my search for different, even, odd, stuff I head to The Hideout which always host more avant garde artists. I had also heard about a couple who had built a giant robot drum machine. Had to see that, at least for two songs. They are Ponytrap. A violin, a cello and a bloody huge drum machine. Entertaining for ten minutes but hard to keep your attention much after that. Try them for a minute. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMrJ6zMrVIQ&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg&index=8 Ponytrap SXSW loves Swedish bands and they often draw a good crowd and get quite a buzz. This year’s much talked bout group were Hater with BBC Radio 1 swooning at their ‘crystalline scandi pop’, according to their own Bio. They looked good but sounded average. One of only two acts that I did not even bother to photograph. Back to BD Riley’s for another first, the top band of all Mongolia, from Ulaanbaatar, The Fortunes. The place was virtually empty but there were five or six obviously huge fans and probably fellow Mongolians who were going berserk watching their heroes. They sing in their native language. I investigated them and found that their second album had the wonderful title: "Near Young Lenin on the Third Floor”. I was keen to see how they would top that with their latest and third album. They called that one, “Three”. Ah well. Check the link to hear what they sound like. https://schedule.sxsw.com/2018/artists/22519 The Lemons The next hour delivered the two most intense shows of the week one after the other. First, I finally got to see my best Scottish Act Of SXSW, a Glasgow bunch called Tijuana Bibles. I met them before they played and invited them to stay at our place if they pass through Portland. Then I saw them live and I am now wondering obut how to withdraw my invitation. They were great but a little bit unhinged. See what I mean in this little clip. They played the worst dive bar of SXSW, Club 720 which is basically a small room with a bunch of weird blue lights and a stage that no band can fit on. They still put on a show!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvb8asEEz3Y Tijuana Bibles Then I hobbled out to Hotel Vegas to see my Nike friend from our European HQ’s son’s band, Canshaker Pi. I knew they were good as I had heard some of their stuff I did not know they would be this visceral, this spectacular. One reviewer aptly called it - " a Canshaker Pi show can be described as one big kamikaze run. The Amsterdam-based quartet's inflammable brand of indie rock is a gleeful but high-stakes affair.” They have already made quite a splash in the music world having had their debut album produced by none other than Stephen Malkmus. An excerpt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po5Y0iEwRRA Canshaker Pi It is now 11pm and to the Scoot Inn. Great outdoor stage with fairy lights and lanterns all over. Venue three quarters full and great atmosphere to see Hiss Golden Messenger who had one of the albums of 2017 with Hallelujah Anyhow. Sublime alternative country music. Hiss Golden Messenger Then I have a decision to make. It is almost midnight. The next band to take the stage here at the Scoot Inn are one of my all time favorites, Okkervil River, but I have seen them many times ever since first seeing them here at SXSW ten years ago. I have a great spot leaning on the stage. It is a beautiful Austin outdoor evening. I should stay. But, at another of my favorite venues the best indie band from Hungary will play at midnight. I am here to discover new bands, new things. What do I do? To Palm Door on Sabine to see The Qualitons, all the way from Hungary. Great choice. They were super. A great psychedelic garage rock sound. Probably I will never see or hear of them again, Okkervil River - they will be through Portland in June. The Qualitons I head back to the hotel and drop into BDRiley’s again (it is right next to my hotel) and see the last evening show of SXSW 2018, Grace Vonderkhun , an old school punk rocker with a big TRex record collection from Delaware. Nice way to end the evening. Next day I popped into a few lunchtime shows after checking out of the hotel. Saw Casper Skulls another good Canadian indie geetar crowd at Sidewinders inside and then at Barracuda’s backyard one of the most hyped English acts, Goat Girl. They were playing at being more miserable than Morrissey when he is not happy. This all girl band were just deathly dull, more interested in letting the crowd see that they’re indifferent to them rather than carrying a good tune. You will read a lot about them. Avoid. Before I jumped in a lift to get to see the final show of the SXSW week I stopped at the outdoor stage and saw a great little late 70’s punk inspired set by Honduras from Brooklyn. They could do something. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg2cpxycJf0 Honduras Last show of SXSW 2018 and it had to be Thunderpussy. They had been invited to play a private party for a company on the 18th floor of an office building. It was a little different. A projector showed the company poster below!! Here they are taking the stage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USQB8maMRvk Did I say it was on the 18th floor? Did I mention it was in an office? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWE7dElGcw4 It is the final show for this year. It was a bit special following a band to all their gigs, let me see what it is really like to be a band and play multiple shows at SXSW. Thanks to Thunderpussy for having me tag along with them. They finished around 3 and I went to the airport and they got in their van to drive to Denver for a show the next night!! Rock n Roll. Here is their theme song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJMQFfB5wGg Thunderpussy Show Four And that was that. Around sixty shows over half of them from acts outside the US of A. For me , LA bands dominated my shows followed by NYC and Montreal. Italy was the surprise country as I saw three great acts from there. I also saw bands for the first time from Hungary, Mongolia, Estonia and a little place called England. Joking. I also explored Austin more than normal, being on my own meant no compromising - so I got to 36 different venues. I also managed to not go to many of the most well known places. I did not set foot in Stubbs, nor Mohawk,nor Cedar St Courtyard, nor Lustre Pearl. I saw no shows in Hotel foyers.No shows in Esther’s Follies. I did not go to Fader’s party, although I had access. And, crucially to my enjoying the week, I stayed off of Sixth Street as much as possible, spending more time on Rainey and navigating the back alleys rather than the throngs on the main parade. It added to the comfort. The best shows? Well Thunderpussy, quite obviously with their first show at 1am on a Tuesday night in a little irish bar, BD Riley’s being the best of four great shows. Other best shows were from CHAI, Calliope Musicals, MEUTE, Warbly Jets, Frontier Folk Nebraska, Hiss Golden Messenger and Gaz Coombes. Additional thrilling moments - shows where there was something extra special in the air- were IDLES, Canshaker Pi, French Vanilla and Gang Of Youths. My 12th SouthBy as we say. I prematurely retired from SXSW last year. I am going back. It is an addiction. I did of course not get to see everyone I wanted especially a band called KOLARS. So I saw them a few days after I returned to Portland. They were every bit as good as all of the best SXSW shows. So here is a bonus, the last minute of Kolars at Missisippi Studios Portland. I defy you to not enjoy this. Glam-a-Billy!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uqyVDjvKCI Lastly, a SXSW 2018 memory: One of the parties sponsored by Kenneth Cole. The music was good and I smell great - now.

← back to archive

SXSW 2018: The Final Review

A few eagle eyed folk informed me that I did not send out the final review of SXSW. So here it is a goodnight weeks later. :)

The week has, as usual, flown by. It is Friday and my last full day as I decided to avoid the Saturday madness which over the years has been more of an endurance test than an enjoyable experience. So knowing that I had to the airport early afternoon Saturday, I am determined to have a great last 24 hours.

To Beerland where I get off to a slightly surreal start. I see a band called Eureka, California who actually come from Athens, Georgia, another Female Drummer/Male Guitarist twosome, of whom there seems to be many, and next at the Side Bar backyard I watch Frontier Folk Nebraska who come from Cincinnati, Ohio. Don’t ask, no idea. Frontier Folk Nebraska were a real find. No stage presence, no fancy stuff, no talking to the crowd and in a really bad venue’s back garden under a scorching sun, they played an equally scorching show. Great driving Southern Rock. I must have really liked it as they were the only band whose vinyl I bought at a show all week.

I started out watching them in the only place I could find with shade at the back but I was drawn closer and closer. This video shows both my animal like sneaking up and also how good the band sounded. Look out for a very young George Bush on bass guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoF1zMsiKUg&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg&index=10

Frontier Folk Nebraska

I was heading to see the Third Thunderpussy show but needed to eat lunch. Lucky to pass the British Embassy, or rather Latitude 30 club , which had been once more taken over as the base for all British bands. It was just opening for the day and offered free food and drink for the first few hundred to enter. So one plate of chicken something and two glasses of Chardonnay later I had a relaxing moment watching The RPMs. They all looked like they were still at high school and wanted to sound and dance like Wham. Fun half hour.

The RPMs

Next to St Elmo’s Brewery where Whitney, Leah, Molly and Ruby were playing. Good crowd and the band were once more in top form despite the heat and one or two recovering from not being so well the day before.

Thunderpussy Show Three

I would say hardly anyone in the crowd had seen them before - fanbase growing daily.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyaGpin2BjI&index=9&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg

And that was the afternoon over, it was a bit of a drive to the brewery and my new maturity was ensuring I ate a meal every early evening.

To the last night and in my search for different, even, odd, stuff I head to The Hideout which always host more avant garde artists. I had also heard about a couple who had built a giant robot drum machine. Had to see that, at least for two songs. They are Ponytrap. A violin, a cello and a bloody huge drum machine. Entertaining for ten minutes but hard to keep your attention much after that. Try them for a minute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMrJ6zMrVIQ&list=UUDY2p2LwgsZfGiN5132sNIg&index=8

Ponytrap

SXSW loves Swedish bands and they often draw a good crowd and get quite a buzz. This year’s much talked bout group were Hater with BBC Radio 1 swooning at their ‘crystalline scandi pop’, according to their own Bio. They looked good but sounded average. One of only two acts that I did not even bother to photograph.

Back to BD Riley’s for another first, the top band of all Mongolia, from Ulaanbaatar, The Fortunes. The place was virtually empty but there were five or six obviously huge fans and probably fellow Mongolians who were going berserk watching their heroes. They sing in their native language. I investigated them and found that their second album had the wonderful title: "Near Young Lenin on the Third Floor”. I was keen to see how they would top that with their latest and third album. They called that one, “Three”. Ah well. Check the link to hear what they sound like.

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2018/artists/22519

The Lemons

The next hour delivered the two most intense shows of the week one after the other. First, I finally got to see my best Scottish Act Of SXSW, a Glasgow bunch called Tijuana Bibles. I met them before they played and invited them to stay at our place if they pass through Portland. Then I saw them live and I am now wondering obut how to withdraw my invitation. They were great but a little bit unhinged. See what I mean in this little clip. They played the worst dive bar of SXSW, Club 720 which is basically a small room with a bunch of weird blue lights and a stage that no band can fit on. They still put on a show!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvb8asEEz3Y

Tijuana Bibles

Then I hobbled out to Hotel Vegas to see my Nike friend from our European HQ’s son’s band, Canshaker Pi. I knew they were good as I had heard some of their stuff I did not know they would be this visceral, this spectacular. One reviewer aptly called it - " a Canshaker Pi show can be described as one big kamikaze run. The Amsterdam-based quartet's inflammable brand of indie rock is a gleeful but high-stakes affair.” They have already made quite a splash in the music world having had their debut album produced by none other than Stephen Malkmus.

An excerpt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po5Y0iEwRRA

Canshaker Pi

It is now 11pm and to the Scoot Inn. Great outdoor stage with fairy lights and lanterns all over. Venue three quarters full and great atmosphere to see Hiss Golden Messenger who had one of the albums of 2017 with Hallelujah Anyhow. Sublime alternative country music.

Hiss Golden Messenger

Then I have a decision to make. It is almost midnight. The next band to take the stage here at the Scoot Inn are one of my all time favorites, Okkervil River, but I have seen them many times ever since first seeing them here at SXSW ten years ago. I have a great spot leaning on the stage. It is a beautiful Austin outdoor evening. I should stay. But, at another of my favorite venues the best indie band from Hungary will play at midnight. I am here to discover new bands, new things. What do I do?

To Palm Door on Sabine to see The Qualitons, all the way from Hungary. Great choice. They were super. A great psychedelic garage rock sound. Probably I will never see or hear of them again, Okkervil River - they will be through Portland in June.

The Qualitons

I head back to the hotel and drop into BDRiley’s again (it is right next to my hotel) and see the last evening show of SXSW 2018, Grace Vonderkhun , an old school punk rocker with a big TRex record collection from Delaware. Nice way to end the evening.

Next day I popped into a few lunchtime shows after checking out of the hotel. Saw Casper Skulls another good Canadian indie geetar crowd at Sidewinders inside and then at Barracuda’s backyard one of the most hyped English acts, Goat Girl. They were playing at being more miserable than Morrissey when he is not happy. This all girl band were just deathly dull, more interested in letting the crowd see that they’re indifferent to them rather than carrying a good tune. You will read a lot about them. Avoid.

Before I jumped in a lift to get to see the final show of the SXSW week I stopped at the outdoor stage and saw a great little late 70’s punk inspired set by Honduras from Brooklyn. They could do something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg2cpxycJf0

Honduras

Last show of SXSW 2018 and it had to be Thunderpussy. They had been invited to play a private party for a company on the 18th floor of an office building. It was a little different. A projector showed the company poster below!!

Here they are taking the stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USQB8maMRvk

Did I say it was on the 18th floor? Did I mention it was in an office?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWE7dElGcw4

It is the final show for this year. It was a bit special following a band to all their gigs, let me see what it is really like to be a band and play multiple shows at SXSW.

Thanks to Thunderpussy for having me tag along with them. They finished around 3 and I went to the airport and they got in their van to drive to Denver for a show the next night!! Rock n Roll. Here is their theme song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJMQFfB5wGg

Thunderpussy Show Four

And that was that.

Around sixty shows over half of them from acts outside the US of A. For me , LA bands dominated my shows followed by NYC and Montreal. Italy was the surprise country as I saw three great acts from there. I also saw bands for the first time from Hungary, Mongolia, Estonia and a little place called England. Joking.

I also explored Austin more than normal, being on my own meant no compromising - so I got to 36 different venues. I also managed to not go to many of the most well known places. I did not set foot in Stubbs, nor Mohawk,nor Cedar St Courtyard, nor Lustre Pearl. I saw no shows in Hotel foyers.No shows in Esther’s Follies. I did not go to Fader’s party, although I had access. And, crucially to my enjoying the week, I stayed off of Sixth Street as much as possible, spending more time on Rainey and navigating the back alleys rather than the throngs on the main parade. It added to the comfort.

The best shows?

Well Thunderpussy, quite obviously with their first show at 1am on a Tuesday night in a little irish bar, BD Riley’s being the best of four great shows.

Other best shows were from CHAI, Calliope Musicals, MEUTE, Warbly Jets, Frontier Folk Nebraska, Hiss Golden Messenger and Gaz Coombes.

Additional thrilling moments - shows where there was something extra special in the air- were IDLES, Canshaker Pi, French Vanilla and Gang Of Youths.

My 12th SouthBy as we say. I prematurely retired from SXSW last year. I am going back. It is an addiction.

I did of course not get to see everyone I wanted especially a band called KOLARS. So I saw them a few days after I returned to Portland. They were every bit as good as all of the best SXSW shows. So here is a bonus, the last minute of Kolars at Missisippi Studios Portland. I defy you to not enjoy this. Glam-a-Billy!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uqyVDjvKCI

Lastly, a SXSW 2018 memory: One of the parties sponsored by Kenneth Cole. The music was good and I smell great - now.