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SXSW DAY 1: Austin armed for Battle
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SXSW DAY 1: Austin armed for Battle
Yuck, 8:15 p.m. @ Stubb’s
’90s-style indie pop, not too aggressive, not too wimpy. Well, sometimes a little too wimpy. This London band was a bit underwhelming. Maybe the venue — large enough to accommodate Duran Duran later in the night — was a bit too much for hopeful, earnest rookies. Not yucky, just eh.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., 9:15 p.m. @ Phoenix
This is more like it: catchy power pop kinda stuff that didn’t take itself too seriously. Or maybe they were serious about the music but the one dude looked a little like Judah Friedlander and their name is ridiculous, so everything felt loose and fun. Their album It’s a Corporate World comes out in June.
Battle Circus, 10:15 p.m. @ Valhalla
Band of the night. Just loud, heavy killer rock ala Sabbath/Faith No More or something from a New Zealand four-piece. Guitar, bass, keyboards and intense drums.
Eatliz, 11 p.m.-ish @ Easy Tiger
This artfully heavy, kinda proggy Israeli band was doing well rocking three guitars and huge, near-operatic vocals — until they decided to try an unfortunate Bjork cover. That bassline is the best part of “Army of Me.” The song just doesn’t work without it. Singer Yael Kraus was the highlight with powerhouse vocals and flamenco-ish dance moves.
SXSW's a choose-your-own-adventure kinda deal. Was gonna check out Black Lips, Lia Ices, Chiddy Bang, Rafael Saadiq, Gudrid Hansdottir and Surfer Blood, but some lines were too long, or the show times conflicted, or the venues were too far away, or the reviewers were too tired.
Food: Pulled pork sandwich from a truck. Eh.
Sightings: Ex-CP editor Brian Howard, ex-CP Hang the DJ columnist J. Edward Keyes, rock star Ted Leo, and my pal Maris Kreizman of Slaughterhouse 90210.
Missed: Jack White playing a parkng lot.
Funny: Local TV news people confronting SXSW people about jaywalking.
Singing flight attendents: Two. Nicely done, Southwest.
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