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| From | Jennifer Leduc <jenleduc@hotmail.com> |
| Subject | SXSW 2008 - part I |
| Date | Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:53:12 -0500 |
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I finally got to meet Lauree at this year's festival. I think that it was at the Showcasing Scotland party, no ? We also ran into each other at the airport after the festival.I'm also a fan of some Scottish bands. I'm not on the same level of obsession as Lauree but the affection for Scottish tunes is certainly there.Although the music festival didn't officially start until March 12th, I went to a few SXSW kickoff shows a few days before it all commenced. I saw a couple of bands play at a backyard party : Nic Armstrong (from IV Thieves/Nic Armstrong and the Thieves) play a solo set. He has lots of new tunes and other musical ideas in the works so stay tuned. Here's a clip of one new tune : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrGipdAsS94. At the same party, I saw a band called mrandmrsmays which consists of a married couple, James Mays and Kate Kind, and a few friends of theirs. It's like having Nick Cave and Bjork in a band together and throw in some Blondie and B-52s (http://www.myspace.com/mrandmrsmays).The day before the festival I went to a couple of free shows. I went to see Glynn Wedgewood from IV Thieves play a solo set (http://www.myspace.com/glynnwedgewood) at an Irish pub and then headed over to Emo's to see Scissors For Lefty (http://www.myspace.com/scissorsforlefty) and The Hard Lessons (http://www.myspace.com/thehardlessons). A friend of mine was at the neighboring stage to see The Von Bondies and I caught their last 2 songs. I saw SFL and THL last year and I wanted the opportunity to see them again. SFL write danceable indie rock songs. Usually that description makes me cringe but something about SFL is completely irrestible. And, they smile and have fun onstage.I'm already tired and the festival hasn't even officially started ;-). I try to ease myself into the swing of things. I started with seeing Oliver Future who I used to go see occasionally in Austin but they've been based in LA for a couple of years now. I stuck around for The Red Romance which includes a couple of ex-members from Ambulance Ltd. Based on that, I was hoping to like them but their songs weren't that memorable - just OK. The main reason I came to the first venue was to see Chester French. They've been signed by Pharrell Williams to Star Trak/Interscope and even been hyped been Perez Hilton and Rolling Stone. I've been enjoying the songs on their MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/chesterfrench) and was curious to see if their live performance was just as enjoyable. Their show was infectious, fun, and incredibly charming. Their tunes are a blend of 60s pop, new wave, and hip hop. I'm smitten to say the least. Their debut CD, Love The Future, might be released this summer. I headed out to support some friends showcases, Electric Touch (http://www.myspace.com/electrictouchmusic). ET was started by former IV Thieves bass player, Shane Lawlor. ET was followed by Young Heart Attack (http://www.myspace.com/youngheartattack), who have a new CD called Rock and Awe. They started their UK tour this week -- a guaranteed ear-ringing good time :-). My energy is waning but I've got one more band to see, The Duke Spirit (http://www.myspace.com/thedukespirit). I became a fan with their Cuts Across The Land CD a few years ago but I love their new tunes even more. Solid, tight performance all around and Liela Moss is like a siren who will draw you in and keep you entranced. OK, so I've got a bit of a girl crush on Ms Liela. They're playing a few headlining shows and supporting BRMC in the US next month. Extremely highly recommended.
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