SXSW Day 2: The Labelmakers

POSTED: Friday, March 19, 2010, 6:30 PM

Filed Under: Music

Photo | Pat Rapa

Superchunk

Where Wednesday was a wandering zombie-crawl of unrelated acts, Thursday was a semi-methodical trudge up and down Sixth Street from one themed showcase to another. The day started with an eMusic lunch. The tacos were good; so was the music. Especially Hooray for the Riff-Raff, a New Orleans banjo/violin / banjo/drums duo. Dark stuff sung sweetly. RIYL: Jolie Holland, the Be Good Tanyas.

Then I headed over to the Convention Center where Michael Azerrad (author of Our Band Could Be Your Life) interviewed Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance of Merge Records. Yeah I'm an indie nerd. Besides label history, Mac and Laura talked business and longevity.

Next was the Kill Rock Stars showcase. Explode into Colours was good, but I was really there to see Quasi. The veteran Portland rockers are a trio now (frontman Sam Coomes, drummer Janet Weiss, new bassist Joanna Bolme) and due to their new guitar-forward philosophy and the shortness of their set, they didn't even bring along a keyboard. Super-high energy show. Coomes looked crazy joyous up there. I think new American Gong is their most positive yet. RIYL: Quasi.

Then on to the big Merge show, where the super special secret surprise guest was Tweeted out earlier in the day. Yep: Superchunk. The five people in front of me in line were like "Who's that? We're here to see She & Him." They talked about their favorite Zooey Deschanel movies. Then they got schooled. 'Chunk played new and old stuff in a fierce, quick set. Finished off with "Hyper Enough." Next came Let's Wrestle (British grungy kinda thing) and Radar Bros. (good ol' rock and roll). Right before She & Him came the announcement of a no-photography ban. Everybody laughed; every SXSW is basically overrun with amateur photographers (myself included) and there was no way they were gonna miss out on shooting a for-real non-indie celebrity. The place — a breezy, overcrowded outdoor patio — flickered like a strobe light until Zooey asked people to at least turn off the flash. Anyway, She & Him played pretty, easy, Southerly music. RIYL: A gentler Jenny Lewis.

Finished off the night by accidentally giving some drunk girl the wrong directions and then stopping by the SubPop/Hardly Art show. Out back, the super-fun Dum Dum Girls looked kinda retro but played the things kids today are listening to. RIYL: feeling happy.

I left early in Golden Triangle's set cause I'm on East Coast time, people.

Jesse D

Posted 2010-03-21 17:34:17

Kill Rock Stars, Merge, and Sub Pop showcases all on the same day. That is just awesome!

Posted by Patrick Rapa @ 6:30 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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