sxsw 2010, it was the best week ever.

here's my sxsw wrap up.

it was my 2nd trip to sxsw. last year was my first and we were there for 4 nights. this year we were there for 7 nights. and perhaps more importantly, next year we will be there for 4 nights. 7 nights is WAY too long.

the fest was amazing. i managed to catch 76 bands in 23 different venues over the 7 days. not all of those are full sets, but if you've been to sxsw you know how it works, arriving early to see the band you really want to see and discovering new acts along the way as you wait for a set change.

by far the coolest thing this year was running into so many kc folks on the streets and hanging with kc folks at the shows. also, a big thanks to my roommates shannon, jimmy and harper (and blake and buchholtz). another big thanks to josh, steve, billy, rhonda, mary, abby, chris, john, sheppa, emily, nic, jake and everyone else i may have forgotten and all the kc bands that made the trek. kc represented in a huge way down there and i know plans have already begun to make next year even bigger.

here's a rundown of the shows i caught.

sunday
McAlister Drive pure volume house
Shinobi Ninja pure volume house

monday
The Good The Bad latitude 30
Nat Jenkins latitude 30
Chris Shefflett latitude 30
Beans on Toast latitude 30
Smokey Angle Shades latitude 30
Supernovas latitude 30
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. latitude 30
Billy Bragg latitude 30 (i got to meet Billy Bragg!)

tuesday
Johnny Flynn pure volume house
Jakob Dylan & Neko pure volume house
Shunda K beauty bar inside
Shondes beauty bar
Pomagranates beauty bar

wednesday
Brazos (solo lead singer) hilton lobby
Basia Bulat galaxy
Rural Alberta Advantage emos outside
Broken Bells parking garage
Mynameisjohnmichael mohawk outside
Small Black mohawk outside
Anni Rossi mohawk inside
Toro y Noi mohawk inside
Washed Out mohawk outside
Dan Black mohawk outside
Besnard Lakes mohawk outside
Lucy and the Popsonics vice
Zoe Keating central presbyterian
Balmorhea central presbyterian
Sharon Jones/Dap Kings stubbs
Men malverde
jj malverde
Sleigh Bells malverde

thursday
Frightened Rabbit hilton lobby
Lou Barlow galaxy
The Low Anthem galaxy
The Middle East galaxy
Black Prairie galaxy outside
Dum Dum Girls french legation museum
Holly Miranda french legation museum
The XX french legation museum
Sarah Jaffe st david's
Miles Kurosky emos outside
Rogue Wave emos outside
Efterklang buffalo billiards
Marina & the Diamonds lamberts
Nomathmatics canvas

friday
John Hiatt hilton lobby
Courtyard Hounds hilton lobby
Lissie beauty bar
Joe Pug beauty bar
The Low Anthem beauty bar
Ben Nichols beauty bar
This Will Destroy You pure volume house
The Honey Brothers pure volume house
Freelance Whales galaxy outside
An Horse galaxy outside
Local Natives galaxy outside
Fashawn mohawk outside
Frankie Rose mohawk inside
Grass Widow mohawk inside
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart mohawk inside

saturday
The Middle East convention center
Tiny Horse canvas
Beautiful Bodies canvas
Mother Culture canvas
Restless Breed canvas
Cowboy Indian Bear canvas
Cherry Tee Parade canvas
Frightened Rabbit french legation museum (this was my favorite set at sxsw this year)
The Sandwitches mohawk inside
Turbo Fruits mohawk outside
Surfer Blood mohawk outside
The Oh Sees mohawk outside
The Hood Internet karma lounge
Electric President karma lounge

-cc

poster by Public Domain
matt at publicdomaindesign.com

t-minus two months until sxsw

it's only two months away! here's a few more artists to check out when you're in austin.

Ólöf Arnalds

any friend of Sigur Ros is a friend of mine. she plays a mix of Icelandic folk mixed with coffee house music. good stuff.

Azure Ray

together again! Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor, two great singer songwriters from Omaha are getting their old group back together. should be a beautiful set.

Danielson

on one of the more mysterious labels right now Secretly Canadian Records, this should be an experimental and weird, but good time.

Kat Edmonson

a good mix of jazz and pop from the girl next door. she's from austin, so it could be a good turnout.

Deer Tick

good, raspy-voiced indie folk and alt-country type stuff. front man, John McCauley's got one of those voices that can capture you.

Efterklang

they are a danish group that sounds like Sigur Ros at times and Grizzly Bear at others. if these guys get to play in Second Presby Church venue it could be a special night.

Electric President

if this really happens i'll be so happy. their self-titled album from 2006 was awesome and then they disappeared. it's good mix of folk, pop and electronica; three magic words when used in the same sentence make me really happy. these guys were on the Morr label, every artist on this German label is amazing too.

-cc

10 things to look forward in 2010 and other bits

2009 was great and as we are about to enter 2010 there are a few things to look forward to. musically, of course. let's discuss.

SXSW 2010 - march 17 - 21
my first trip in 2009 was the best week of my life. hands down. hoping for a repeat or at least as close to one as i can get this march. there's still time to make plans for you to go.

THE NATIONAL - new album, date and name TBD
the album has some HUGE shoes to fill as a follow up to Boxer, that album is on handfuls of "albums of the decade" list, including mine.

FRIGHTENED RABBIT - new album, march 9, "winter of mixed drinks"
they already released the first single and i heard it live this summer, it's great. the album's going to be more of the same, which is piles of awesome. hopefully they'll get some more recognition this time in the states.

THE APPLESEED CAST - new tour playing old songs, february and march
local heroes (of mine) are getting ready to hit the road in february and will be playing in full TWO of my favorite albums of all time, "low level owl: volume 1 and 2." if this was ten years ago i'd hope that someone with power would be in the room at one of those gigs. these days people of power don't exist, so i'll just wish them a successful tour and hope they sell a ton of merch to pay the bills.

JONSI BIRGISSON (Sigur Ros frontman) - new album, march 23, "go"
my icelandic hero jonsi is putting out a solo album. not sure how "solo" it will be, but i'm positive it will be remarkable. i'll starting lighting candles in hope of a tour.

ALBUM LEAF - new album, february 2, "a chorus of storytellers"
i'm amazed that these guys aren't household names yet. and live, they put on a special show. maybe we'll get a tour too.

LILITH FAIR festival - summer 2010
obviously not an album, but a tour, but it should be great. kansas city isn't on their agenda yet, but the line will be well worth the drive.

JJ - new album, march 9, name TBD
this obscure band shall be obscure no more! properly signed to a label and currently lining up things for a new release. this album will be a sxsw darling and probably make it impossible for me to see them in austin a week after the album is cut.

JJ to tour with XX - spring 2010
hipsters get in line! should be a great time. the pairing only happens 7 times. not sure if i'll make it to a show, but the musical smugness in that room makes me happy.

WHITE STRIPES Documentary, march, "great white northern lights"
jack white was in one of my favorite movies in 2009, "it might get loud". perhaps in 2010 he'll pull a repeat with their tour documentary. they played tiny towns in crazy small corners of the world. the movie should be awesome.

other bits:
VAMPIRE WEEKEND - new album, january 12, "contra"
ARCADE FIRE - new album, may release, name unknown
THE COLBERT REPORT - more musical bookings
THE HOLD STEADY - hinted at new album in 2010, not much else known
CAT POWER - chan marshall drops some hints of a new album in late 2010
FLEET FOXES - heard in an interview, should have something out in fall 2010
BAND OF HORSES - new album, date TBD, "night rainbows"
PETER GABRIEL - new album, feb. 15, "scratch my back"
JOHN BUTLER TRIO - new album, date TBD, "april uprising"

my top 20 favorite shows of the year, kc and elsewhere

Some people go to Florida for vacation. Some people go to Chiefs games. Some people are in book clubs. Well, I hate Florida, the Chiefs are disastrous and I’m not much of a book reader, i like audio books. What I’m getting at is, while they are out doing those things, I’m at a show.

This year opened some new doors for me. I made my first trip to SXSW in Austin and will go every year going forward (several of my fave shows were in Austin). I also went to Pitchfork Music Fest in Chicago, yeah, but won’t be going back to that one. My out of town shows were only a fraction of the shows I took in.

Yeah, so lots of bands were seen, heard and felt. The year should end with a tally of about 275 bands seen, here’s a list of my favorite 20 favorite shows.

20. Lisa Hannigan 3-20 at B.D. Riley’s Austin, TX – SXSW Day Showcase
19. Katie Herzig 10-10 at Crosstown Station, KC
18. Glasvegas 3-19 at The Mohawk Austin, TX – SXSW Day Showcase
17. ACBs with Ces Cru 2-14 at The Record Bar, KC
16. An Horse 4-25 at The Record Bar, KC
15. Green Day 8-12 at Spring Center, KC
14. Flyleaf 8-9 at The Beaumont Club, KC
13. Over the Rhine 8-18 at Crosstown Station, KC
12. Swell Season 11-30 at The Uptown, KC
11. Brandi Carlile 9-14 at The Beaumont Club, KC

10. Passion Pit 9-1 at The Lied Center, Lawrence, KS

I know this band will never come back to KC after the stage incident, but I really dug their show on KU's campus. Seeing all the 18 year old freshmen discover their new found freedoms a few days before the semester began made the show even more memorable.

9. Bela Fleck’s Africa Project 4-2 at The Uptown, KC

I’ve been a fan of African music since I first heard Paul Simon’s “Graceland”. Bela is a huge fan and traveled around Africa building a band of merry musicians and brought them to America to play for us. Thanks for doing that Bela.

8. The Hold Steady 3-20 at The Mohawk Austin, TX – SXSW Showcase

If you haven’t seen The Hold Steady it’s like spending the night at a friend’s house in high school and waking up on Sunday morning and going to church, and realizing their church is nothing like the church you’ve grown numb too. Preacher Finn, preach on.

7. The Rural Alberta Adventure 3-19 at Central Presbyterian Church Austin, TX – SXSW Showcase

The coolest venue in the coolest town at the coolest fest, these 3 kids had no idea what was in store for them. If you pull the spot in front of Grizzly Bear you’ll get a full house. And if you’re a good band, particularly playing in a church as it was, these fans will go forth and spread thy word. Then you’ll get signed to Saddle Creek records.

6. This Will Destroy You 3-18 at SOHO Austin, TX – SXSW Showcase

To quote The Matrix, “I’ve never seen anyone move like that”, when I watch TWDY’s drummer I always remember that line. Wooden shards were flying above his head in this crowded, upstairs bar on Sixth Street. All music fans should see this band.

5. Manchester Orchestra 5-11 at The Record Bar, KC

This was a radio promo show and most of those are lame. Here’s a glaring exception. Andy Hull, MO’s frontman destroyed that room last night with his crazy range and with two full drum sets rattling the windows of the Record Bar for almost 2 hours.
Photo by Brittney Bush

4. Frightened Rabbit 7-19 at The Bottom Lounge, Chicago

In 3 years they’ll be at the Sprint Center (although I hope I’m wrong), so see them sooner than later. It’s a timid name for this Scottish indie rock outfit. Their lyrics will crush you. They’ll be back in the US this spring at SXSW and then a tour.

photo by Euan Anderson

3. Phoenix 6-24 at The Record Bar, KC

This was a Myspace (not-so) Secret Show. The line was the length of the shopping center at The Record Bar. It was about 92 that day and I waited 3 hours to get my bracelet to get in. It would have been worth a 10-hour wait.

SIDEBAR:

My favorite moment of the year came in this Phoenix show. I got to see a band that I really like, in a bar that I love, in the smallest venue on their tour all less than 400 steps from my home. Really. The entire show had built up to this fever pitch that would explode during the song “1901.” Every refrain, as the crowd shouted back at the band, “Fallen, fallen, fallen”, well it was amazing. I know that sounds silly right now, but some of you get it and some of you were there. They stretched out the middle for a few extra chords as they teased us, anticipating the last verse of the song. Somewhere in that moment if felt like the roof was about to rip off the building. Everyone was hot, we’d been waiting all day/night and this was one of the songs the crowd came to see. The studio version of the song is awesome, but this live version was something else.

Photo by Todd Zimmer http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimfo/

2. The National 7-16 at First Ave Minneapolis, MN

I hadn’t been this excited to see a band for the 1st time in a long while and they didn’t disappoint. I can’t believe they’re not a household name yet. That night front man Matt Berninger took us all on a crazy trip with his deep baritone voice guiding us. Please come back to KC.

1. Leonard Cohen 11-9 at The Midland Theater, KC

After the first song ended I said to my buddy that “it’s so good it feels fake.” I had no idea how good this show would be. The dude’s 75 but as spry as any indie band kid skipping on and off stage. The production and musicianship on stage was remarkable and the crowd hung on every word. Thanks Mr. Cohen.



“Don’t know if we’ll pass this way again but it is our intention to give you everything we got tonight.” - Leonard Cohen

my top 10 to check out so far at sxsw in march

sxsw announced 200 more bands yesterday. so far they've given us 400 names, so only about 800 more to go. of those first 400, here's who i am excited the most to see so far!

an horse (Brisbane QLD)
Frightened Rabbit (Selkirk UK-SCOTLAND)
The Low Anthem (Providence RI)
Anya Marina (Los Angeles CA)
Pomegranates (Cincinnati OH)
Sherlock's Daughter (Sydney NSW)
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter (Seattle WA)
Those Darlins (Murfreesboro TN)
We Are Scientists (New York NY)
Ze! (Kuala Lumpur MALAYSIA)

-cc