SXSW 2006: Wednesday
Well Wednesday got off to a really good start for me. I have decided to avoid the crowds this year and go to as many free shows as possible. I'm going to try to get more into blogging again; I've been to a lot of shows and stuff but just haven't felt super inspired.
Day Show: End of an Ear record store on S. First
Rachel Goldstar
Unforunately I couldn't sneak out of work until 3, so I missed the beginning of her show. What I saw impressed me as much as ever, though. Her solo work sounds very much akin to the sounds I've heard from her band, Experimental Aircraft. Playing with a girl bassist whom I'd never seen before (sorry, I forgot her name) and Cheapos-record-store guy Carlos on drums, Rachel produced standing waves of harmonic resonance, with layer upon layer of distortion produced with the aid of a 12-string electirc, at least one acoustic guitar, some kinda old-school synth keyboard and and her sweet-sounding vocals on top.
Tunng
Some weird band I'd never heard of from the UK, consisting of at least 6 people (somehow they all fit into that little corner of the record store) came in and produced a weird mix of folk and techno-tronic sounds that reminded me of Broken Social Scene only more melodic and less annohying. Although they were still a little bit annoying. A lot of weird percussion instruments were used, including fruity twinkling sounds that kind of made me think of that song "Age of Aquarius" or something along those lines and this weird crashing sound effect that Octopus Projec t (aka the Best Band from Austin, EVER) uses on one of their songs. Overall, fairly entertaining.
My Education
My second-favorite band from Austin delivered. They only played 3 songs, (of course, each song is like 6-12 mins) but it was 3 songs worth of pure sonic enthrallment. The drummer seemed more keyed-up than ever to me. I don't even know what else to say. I am pretty sure I recognized all of the songs, even though I actually haven't listened to these guys in quite a while. I'm sure if their "real" SXSW performance lived up to the standard they set at this day show, they are probably going to gain in popularity this year. -Which actually kind of sucks, for us the fans.
SXSW: Hurts to Purr at Caribbean Lights (KUT Songwriter showcase)
I had never heard of this club before, but we finally found it over on 6th street next to Emo's. Going inside it was immediately apparent that this is not the crowd I typically see at shows. Considering that the showcase was hosted by public Radio, I guess that makes sense =)
Lead singer and pianist Liz Pappademos was barely recognizable with her newly-shorn locks (well I'm assuming it was a recent change, anyways, since I saw her perform only like a month ago or something and her hair was shoulder-length-ish). Her drummer (I think his name is Jason or Jeremy? something like that) was really good, but I was disappointed to see that the bassist wasn't there. It looks like, sadly, Hurts to Purr is really already over. Which is really sad becasue they made one really good record, ya know? And Liz is off to California to start anew, so maybe we'll hear from her again.
Liz's ballad about the earthquake she experienced as a child in San Francisco was especially poignant in light of her impending departure. Her voice really shone on "I didn't Mean it" (the opening track off their eponymous album), and the song they opened up the set with, "at 6 months" (well actually i'm just assuming that's the title because i'm too lazy to look it up) was especially catchy and engaging. I was really quite impressed with the drummer and can only hope to see him around town playing with another band, perhaps. Good drummers are always in high demand.
My favorite moment in the set, though, was when Liz made the unwise move of opening it up for requests (they had more time than she'd planned for). Naturally I loudly requested my favoriate song off the cd, "House" (only I asked for it wrong because I did'nt know the real title... what can i say? I know all the lyrics, i just never look at the cd case). That song is just too frickin' awesome. I was intrigued to hear how it would sound with only piano, drums and vocals, and I wasn't disappointed. The set was closed out with a rousing rendition of Paula Abdul's "Straight UP now tell me" (ok, once again i'm too, too lazy to look up the real title. but all of us 20-something hipsters remember that song).
Wow, you know times are changing when early-nineties kitsch becomes hip.
*sigh* I wish I could have seen Hurts to Purr when all 3 band members were still part of it. Ah well. Nevertheless the show was totally worthwhile and I'm sad that Liz is leaving Austin. Her piano skills are unstoppable.
Well, that's my commentary thus far. More to follow.
Day Show: End of an Ear record store on S. First
Rachel Goldstar
Unforunately I couldn't sneak out of work until 3, so I missed the beginning of her show. What I saw impressed me as much as ever, though. Her solo work sounds very much akin to the sounds I've heard from her band, Experimental Aircraft. Playing with a girl bassist whom I'd never seen before (sorry, I forgot her name) and Cheapos-record-store guy Carlos on drums, Rachel produced standing waves of harmonic resonance, with layer upon layer of distortion produced with the aid of a 12-string electirc, at least one acoustic guitar, some kinda old-school synth keyboard and and her sweet-sounding vocals on top.
Tunng
Some weird band I'd never heard of from the UK, consisting of at least 6 people (somehow they all fit into that little corner of the record store) came in and produced a weird mix of folk and techno-tronic sounds that reminded me of Broken Social Scene only more melodic and less annohying. Although they were still a little bit annoying. A lot of weird percussion instruments were used, including fruity twinkling sounds that kind of made me think of that song "Age of Aquarius" or something along those lines and this weird crashing sound effect that Octopus Projec t (aka the Best Band from Austin, EVER) uses on one of their songs. Overall, fairly entertaining.
My Education
My second-favorite band from Austin delivered. They only played 3 songs, (of course, each song is like 6-12 mins) but it was 3 songs worth of pure sonic enthrallment. The drummer seemed more keyed-up than ever to me. I don't even know what else to say. I am pretty sure I recognized all of the songs, even though I actually haven't listened to these guys in quite a while. I'm sure if their "real" SXSW performance lived up to the standard they set at this day show, they are probably going to gain in popularity this year. -Which actually kind of sucks, for us the fans.
SXSW: Hurts to Purr at Caribbean Lights (KUT Songwriter showcase)
I had never heard of this club before, but we finally found it over on 6th street next to Emo's. Going inside it was immediately apparent that this is not the crowd I typically see at shows. Considering that the showcase was hosted by public Radio, I guess that makes sense =)
Lead singer and pianist Liz Pappademos was barely recognizable with her newly-shorn locks (well I'm assuming it was a recent change, anyways, since I saw her perform only like a month ago or something and her hair was shoulder-length-ish). Her drummer (I think his name is Jason or Jeremy? something like that) was really good, but I was disappointed to see that the bassist wasn't there. It looks like, sadly, Hurts to Purr is really already over. Which is really sad becasue they made one really good record, ya know? And Liz is off to California to start anew, so maybe we'll hear from her again.
Liz's ballad about the earthquake she experienced as a child in San Francisco was especially poignant in light of her impending departure. Her voice really shone on "I didn't Mean it" (the opening track off their eponymous album), and the song they opened up the set with, "at 6 months" (well actually i'm just assuming that's the title because i'm too lazy to look it up) was especially catchy and engaging. I was really quite impressed with the drummer and can only hope to see him around town playing with another band, perhaps. Good drummers are always in high demand.
My favorite moment in the set, though, was when Liz made the unwise move of opening it up for requests (they had more time than she'd planned for). Naturally I loudly requested my favoriate song off the cd, "House" (only I asked for it wrong because I did'nt know the real title... what can i say? I know all the lyrics, i just never look at the cd case). That song is just too frickin' awesome. I was intrigued to hear how it would sound with only piano, drums and vocals, and I wasn't disappointed. The set was closed out with a rousing rendition of Paula Abdul's "Straight UP now tell me" (ok, once again i'm too, too lazy to look up the real title. but all of us 20-something hipsters remember that song).
Wow, you know times are changing when early-nineties kitsch becomes hip.
*sigh* I wish I could have seen Hurts to Purr when all 3 band members were still part of it. Ah well. Nevertheless the show was totally worthwhile and I'm sad that Liz is leaving Austin. Her piano skills are unstoppable.
Well, that's my commentary thus far. More to follow.
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