South By Southwest 2008 Recap

South By Southwest 2008 was a strong year: we saw 20 bands in three days and far more hits than misses. Here’s a quick alphabetical scorecard, highlighting bands to seek out and acts you can safely skip.

Check Them Out

The Airborne Toxic Event
We decided to check them out (see my agonizing in a previous blog post), and they were a lot of fun, with tuneful, catchy hooks—sort of a mix of the Arctic Monkeys and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. Concerns about the singer’s voice weren’t alleviated—it was raspy as hell, but he also seemed to be swigging green tea throughout the show, so who knows if he was sick. My friends were a little put off by some excessive stage-grabbing—jumping on the amps, the guitarists leaning soulfully on one another as they solo—but they’re trying to get signed, so I cut them some slack.

Black Moth Super Rainbow

The highlight of the weekend—their trippy, fuzzed-up organs and funky rhythm section had the whole crowd jumping. The overall impact is electro-psychedelic, and it’s a fun departure from the guitar-based rock we listened to all weekend. The crowd added some hippie highlights, fanning out balloons, spraying glitter and even dismembering several paper mache figures.

Black Mountain
These guys ride a retro Zeppelin riff, with thick guitar and organ lines and ethereal, soaring vocals. The effect is powerful, and the band is polished, sinking into a groove and following it meticulously to its end. They may be a little too honed in—I was hoping for a few thrash explosions to set things off—but they’re definitely recommended.

Experimental Aircraft

This band packed a punch live, a sort of blast-furnace Joy Division with heavy guitar lines and lots of reverb. The female lead singer broadcast a nice mournful wail over the bar, tying everything together into a thick, pleasant drone.

Laura Gibson
A sweet singer-songwriter with some quirky backing (a trumpet, saw and some sort of calliope), Gibson was unfortunately overwhelmed by a loud bar and bad sound setup. I’d love to see her again in a more appropriate setting, one where I could appreciate the grace and humor of her voice.

The High Strung
Fun, energetic power-punk—these guys had put on five shows before we saw them, and they were still bounding across the stage.

The Invincible Czars
This Russian-themed band dresses up in robes and fezzes to blast out a classical-metal hybrid. A saxophone, violin and organ contribute grace notes to the powerful drive, emphasizing the group’s musicality and strength.

Bill Kirchen
One of the best guitar players I’ve ever seen, Kirchen kicks out rock and roll/bluegrass/trucker music with his backing band. He moves up and down the neck of his guitar with a forceful fluidity, but his sense of humor keeps the jams from ever droning on. Hot Rod Lincoln—available on his MySpace page—sums up his whole appeal, with a driving honky tonk beginning that segues into a solo explosion evoking guitar gods from Chuck Berry to Jimi Hendrix.

Plus, he went to high school with Iggy! What more do you want?

Jens Lekman
With his sweet, clever, highly orchestrated rock-pop, Lekman produces rich songs that still make you laugh the fifth time you listen to them. A chronicler of the everyday, he offers sly subversion with songs like “I’m Leaving You Because I Don’t Love You.” Live, he played with a violin and cello, with a laptop kicking in the more orchestrated elements. It wasn’t as lush as the album, but it was fun nonetheless.

Carolyn Wonderland
A female blues singer-guitarist, she tore through traditional licks and mournful vocals with an accessible style that made them feel personal and new.

Fun But Flawed


Bodies of Water

This group puts a lot of energy into their act, with stuttering organs and full vocal contributions from four of its members. While the songs have a nice vibrancy, they seemed to lack a second gear to shift into. If they can find a way to mix up their arrangements with better dynamics and bridges, they’d be really good.

Bon Iver
Sweet, harmonized acoustic rock—there were a little overwhelmed live, but they seem perfect for relaxing to in your living room.

Cruiserweight
The best local band ever—this brother-brother-sister-stranger affair kicked out heavy pop-punk to an adoring crowd. Imagine the Foo Fighters fronted by Gwen Stefani (well, before you hated her)—the lead singer jumped, danced and offered commands throughout the entire show, ending the set with a leap into the restaurant fountain next to the stage.

The Evangelicals
Lots of interesting ideas, but way too much reverb to single out what they’re doing. The vocals and guitars were hard to decipher; a cleaner sound would make them much more immediate.

The Freddy Steady Five
Tight, tight rock-and-roll covers from an experienced Austin band. They even had a go-go dancer on stage to shimmy alongside them as they sang.

Kid Dakota
One of many guitar-drum duos we spotted over the weekend, they offered sound licks and intriguingly sloppy songs, but the overall sound was a bit thin.

Opposite Day
A pop-punk trio, Opposite Day blazed through a set of tight chops and high energy. Musically, they’re solid, but the vocals were a little undersung. The songs seemed a bit straight-ahead, as if the band might benefit from another tool to pull out of the kit.

Skip The Show

Mostly Dead
The four band members displayed solid musicianship, but their songs never seemed to fully come together. They offered a collection of notes, but not quite a tune.

No Age
Rude, loud, and late in starting, this guitar-drum duo screamed through 45 seconds of song at a time, sketching out interesting ideas but abandoning them before they could develop into anything. We left, unworried that we’d miss anything.

Jimmie Vaughn
Stevie Ray’s brother—he could play the guitar, but the ghost hovered over him. Standard blues; nothing terrible, nothing great.