SXSW Day 4: It Doesn't Have To Be Beautiful

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SXSW Day 4: It Doesn't Have To Be Beautiful

POSTED: Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 4:33 PM

Filed Under: Music Show

photos | Patrick Rapa

Slow Club

For the first three days of the SXSW music fest, Austin was sunny and 65 and breezy and people tied their hoodies around their waists and walked around eating cupcakes from the cupcake truck and yay. Saturday some kind of switch was flipped and it was windy and 40 and everybody wore everything they had. Seems like every other venue in Austin has an outdoor patio component. Most of the time this is awesome. Poor Red Cortez, whoever they were, rocking out for a depleted and shivering crowd on a big outdoor stage next to a ice chest full of free Vitamin Water. A banner advertised Music180 which, I don't know what that is, but it summed things up nicely. Just a day earlier, this woulda been a decent show. Same with the stripped-down version Athlete and co. freezing their asses off down at the Cedar Street Courtyard.

Goner Records had a showcase so I checked out CoCoComa (good stuff, bought some CDs) and Magic Kids. After these poppy, smart bands but I think I was itching for something stupid and loud. Enter Witchburn, from Seattle. Wow. Just heavy, metal-punk guitars, drummer twirling sticks, singer laying it all fucking out there. I wanna say Janis Joplin meets Motorhead. Warmed me up for a second.

Witchburn

Dinner with friends ran a little late — sat at a table and using utensils for the first time on the trip. Austin = mostly street food — so I missed Titus Andronicus. Dammit. They're from Jerz so I can catch 'em back home probably. But dammit. That album is so good. Had a second Craig Finn sighting. To console myself I went and saw Best Coast again. Hey, I'm on vacation. Singer Bethany Cosentino apologized for her voice being kinda shot — "that's what happens with you play 10 shows in 5 fuckin days" — but they still rocked. Liked her voice even better with the grit. Dammit they need to put out an album already. After that I decided to head back to the comedy club. Caught Kristen Schaal doing a duo thing with Kurt Braunohler. It was really strange, and a slow build, but ended up really working.

Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler

At the end of the night, I had to make a decision: Slow Club or Japandroids? Catchy, pretty British pop rock? Or catchy, athletic American rock-rock? Both have put out albums that can rule my iPod for days at a time. Eventually, I chose the rarer treat: Slow Club. Rocked way more than I expected. Bottles broke, drunk girls swayed, sing-alongs got sung along to, heavenly.

Slow Club again

Josh

Posted 2010-03-23 18:31:40

These are fun to read... and yay.

Posted by Patrick Rapa @ 4:33 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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