SXSW 2008 in review (Thursday, March 13)
14/03/08 10:12
By SAM LADACH-BARK
AUSTIN -- It's that time again. The beginning of spring in Austin brings the hottest, most-blogged-about bands from every corner of the world.
The South By Southwest musical festival has been exposing the masses to eccentric, eclectic, electric sounds since its inception in 1987. But in past years it's become something of a circus. This year in excess of 1,700 bands will be showcased.
Downtown Austin is a veritable candyland for music enthusiasts. It becomes an enclosed entity that for three days seems to function only as a forum for live music. Every bar and restaurant has been retro-fitted.
Setting this year's festival apart from previous years' is the continuing trend of free day shows saturated with both promotional liquor and live music. They began bright and early at noon Thursday -- at least for those who were at the festival's kickoff Wednesday night.
Nada Surf, fresh from their fifth full-length release Lucky, treated folks to an early acoustic set. The Bloody Marys were free and the band's three core members kept things familiar with several tracks from 2003's Let Go. Still, there was too much to see elsewhere.
Avant-garde collaborative masterminds Film School also were happy to play a free show. Differing markedly from their usual slow-burn folk, these Cali rockers took a page from their label's founder (ex Pavement member Scott Kanberg), displaying a previously unseen penchant for forceful feedback.
Just down the road, The Raveonettes had their sound dialed in at Red-Eyed Fly and at first sat nonchalantly at the foot of the stage. Of course, the 200+ attendees were too freakin' scared to say hi. They then poured out selections from Lust Lust Lust, blowing away an already taken-aback crowd. Even though they're just three strong -- two guitars and a sparse drum set -- they created an atmosphere of pure ecstasy.
As the day shows come to an end, the drinks are no longer free. But the bands seem to become more obsessed with giving their all. Sound checks become more cumbersome, but it all seems worth it once washed over.
Up-and-coming Oklahoma get-up, The Evangelicals, spent several minutes arguing with the sound guys before their show at The Mohawk. There were no complaints afterward, though, as the band wove streams of unconscious rock across a post-punk canvas. Who the hell would have thought these boys could be from Oklahoma?
Soon after, Swedish rocker Jens Lekman took on the masses with his sweetly seductive brand of indie disco pop. Bringing a full band, Lekman doled out delicious doses of dance rock from his latest, Night Falls Over Kortedala. His hip-shaking sounds closed out day one of SXSW. I can live with that.
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