Tag Archives: South By Southwest

South By Southwest 2008 Recap

March 21, 2008Music, SXSWBill Kirchen, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Black Mountain, Carolyn Wonderland, Cruiserweight, Experimental Aircraft, Freddy Steady Five, Invincible Czars, Jens Lekman, Jimmie Vaughn, Kid Dakota, Laura Gibson, Mostly Dead, No Age, Opposite Day, South By Southwest, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Evangelicals, The High StrungJames

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.

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South By Southwest Preview, Part 5

March 12, 2008Music, SXSWPriscilla Ahn, South By Southwest, The Aggrolites, The Airborne Toxic EventJames

SXSW 2008 Preview

To prep for the 2008 South By Southwest music festival in, I’m arming myself with an alphabetical list of the groups performing and an active Internet connection with the goal of listening to top tracks from as many bands as possible and offering my impressions here.

The reactions will be quick and dirty, reflecting my own musical taste and ignorance, but if they save me or anyone else from accidentally sitting through a performance of Hey, How’s Your News, then they will be worth it.

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