SXSW 2008 in review (Friday, March 14)
15/03/08 17:18
By SAM LADACH-BARK
AUSTIN -- Somehow the masses scraped themselves out of bed (or possibly the gutter), hit the streets and did it all over again. The crowds moved with less gusto, but the artists played with poise and passion.
UK's Lightspeed Champion did his best to waken a somber crowd inside the Paste/Stereogum day showcase. His off-kilter variety of indie folk worked better than the Bloody Marys and Micheladas ever could. Singing about comic books, traveling through space and geeking out to Weezer, his voice still carried a certain hidden repressed undertone similar to Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes. But it didn't ruin the fun.
As the temperature rose, soaring above 95 degrees, heaven was found in the shade with a cold beer and busy stage. New York group White Williams, playing outside during the hottest part of the day, received an A for effort. But their sound was about as sophisticated as dropping loose change down a garbage disposal. Also powering through the grueling heat was Chicago get-up Anathalio. They featured an indie rock base and inspiring percussion that took one member of the band from one corner of the stage to the other playing snare, kettle and one gigantic timpani.
The night provided a refreshing, welcome change of pace and temperature. Downtown became flooded, not only by festival goers but the usual rabble of mostly overdressed ex-sorority girls and hair-gelled Blackberry owners. I even heard one girl exclaim, "What the hell is going on down here tonight?"
Getting around was tricky, especially if you were jumping venues to maximize the night's musical potential. Clubs were at capacity almost everywhere by 10 p.m. Inside Emo's, hip/hop buzz band The Cool Kids out of Brooklyn whipped a hipster crowd into an arms-in-the-air free-for-all, with the 10-foot radius surrounding the stage becoming one of the more dangerous places in Austin for 40 minutes.
With the crowd roiling to a boiling point outside, Akon/Family on the inside stage got set for their brand of crowd-captivating campfire rock. They played -- well, screamed actually -- songs from 2007's acclaimed Love Is Simple, inviting the crowd onstage at the end for one gigantic sing-a-long.
Meanwhile, Sonic Youth lead singer Thurston Moore's record label Ecstatic Peace was showcasing its best and brightest. Moore's musical tastes extend in all directions, and his record collection is legendary, which explains the diversity of his artists. Notable performances included pretty punk from Be Your Own Pet and a rebirth of grunge from Boston's Black Helicopters.
Moore took it upon himself to close out the evening with his back-up band, The New Wave Bandits. Selections from his latest solo album, Trees Outside the Academy, were thrown into overdrive, stretching and evolving amid the endless feedback. Basically, a label owner was telling his bands to watch and learn -- I'm still a lot cooler than you are.
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