SXSW - Wednesday

      I first arrived Wednesday, jet lagged but determined to get a good days rockin' in before I hit the lights. I started off by wandering, and came across a band I had never heard of, making some fine music. (happily, this would be a trend for the next four days.)

      The boys in Frightened Rabbit sure know how to distill their angst into crunchy, abrasive, yet pleasantly melodic high-energy tunes. With their telecasters on full blast, this was a racket of a good way to start the trip. I later realized that Frightened Rabbit hail from Scotland, which seems to explain their penchant for making a dour worldview something to rock about.

      The next band on stage was Chikita Violenta. These youngsters from Mexico started off well enough - my first impression was "hey, they're like a Mexican My Bloody Valentine!" But that soon gave way to, "Well, I guess they're more of a Mexican Killers. But without the catchiness..." I think there was a "meh" in there somewhere as well.

      Onward then to the SESAC daystage, an indoor locale in the Austin conference center which then featured everybody's favorite, Ra Ra Riot.. The ladies and gents of that outfit sure are an energetic bunch, and all the heartfelt enthusiasm on display is a perfect match to the epic nature of their songs.

      Melodious yet complex, grand yet down-to-earth; Ra Ra Riot's string section lends the atmosphere of each song a sense of grace, while the rhythm section races through the catchy chord changes which underly singer Wesley Miles' tender crooning. A good show indeed, albeit a short one.

      I decided to stick around the conference center to see Saul Williams, who's intellectual take on soul, poetry, folk (and everything else in between) might make him the only person alive who I could get away with ascribing the term "floetry" to. Saul Williams is one cool cat. Unfortunately, he was a bit off this afternoon, flubbed a few lines, and seemed to be saving his focus for the later gigs. Oh well.

      The night ahead was a smashing success, save for the fact that my camera was temporarily confiscated. This sucked quite a bit, because the highly photogenic Earl Greyhound were on my menu for the evening. After their show at the Vice dance club, there wasn't a pair of socks left in the building as they had been thoroughly rocked off. Earl Greyhound both look and sound like a throwback to 1971. But before you classic-rock naysayers let that dissuade you, I can personally assure you that their badass rhythm section and epic songwriting is anything but "jammy." Sure, the blues influence is there, but its a fourth-generation blues influence, filtered through layers of alt-rock, modern psychadelia, and grunge-lite. This was earth-shaking stuff. Again, apologies for no photos. I humbly recommend that you pick up their debut, "Soft Targets," and rock out like its the last five decades all at once.


Ok! On to Thursday!