Saturday, April 01, 2006

3/18/06 SXSW Day 4

Just one more soulshattering day and my sonic journey would be complete but i had some heavy hitters to get through before this day was out. We got a hot tip from some drunk dude handing out flyers the day before that there was a hot free show that just got added to emos IV for today. we got there and panther was dancing it up for the 1:30 crowd, he was better today, but probably because people were giving him attention.


Wooden Wand came around after them, and i guess the last time i saw these guys i didnt know meneguar that well and i didnt notice that thier frontman was WW's drummer so that was cool, they play a more twangy rock music, that is obviously fueled by thier frontman, it was a nice this to bring you up in an early morning setting. they are good with and without the vanishing voice contingent which adds the experimental noise aspect.


The good old boys from brooklyn, Sam Champion, were down here getting some much deserved attention from a lot of people, every time i talk about these guys i have to talk about how they sound like pavement having sex with CCR, but not in a gay way at all.


One of the biggest guns in the rock today are the goddamn gossip from olympia by way of arkansas. you can tell that i cant get enough of these peeps since this is the 6th time i have seen them in as many months. the new album slays and if you dont think so i dare you to listen to it, what are you scared of, huh? on of the best pics ive evr taken:




The Giraffes, another sweet nyc band. killer metal with a great guitar player, and a very comanding front man with a killer stache, and did i mention duder had 2 heartattacks last year and continues to chake rock venues to the ground, definately a band you cant judge by the recording, it has to be seen.


The Ark seem like they saw what the darkness did and figured they could get famous too, and while not being a huge fan of the darkness i do feel like i am a fan of thier gayer counterpart. the dudes really play to the crowd and the costumes are barely enough fabric to cover them. they exude sex, of the gay kind and its hot.


Back over to Mrs. Bs for my final visit. Roger Sisters were about to go on. i think these people are great, they really have thier own sonic experiments going on in and out of the studio, but then they can rock with the best of them. and its got a dark edge lurking in there too. i havent heard the newest record yet, but the songs sounded great here.


I love Bad Wizard too. they just keep putting out awesome rock albums that get barely any attention, but they bring it live. it had been a while since i saw them, but they were still in top form on the rambler stage. theres just so many people in the band all rocking out at once. check out any of thier gaggilion albums on howler and teepee.


I know i have said i went to sxsw for a particular band, but i was most looking forward to seeing DMBQ. after thier tragic accident last fall i was deeply saddened by the fact that one of the greatest, if not the greatest live shows ive ever seen would never be the same. china thier drummer was thrown from thier van after a collision on the new jersey turnpike. she will be missed, it was an incredible stunt they used to pull, they would surf the entire drumkit into the crowd and she would play a crazy ass solo in midair and jaws would hit the floor, it was incredible. thankfully DMBQ didnt stay down for long even though they had every right to. they figured why not keep going and go they did. it wasnt as intense as last time, but i let this show overtake me entirely and i rocked the hell out hardcore. the crazy psych styling of these japanese dudes is unparalleled, they are amazing at what they do, and i am so glad they decided to keep doing it, next time they come to nyc it is going to be so incredibly amazing i already get chills thinking about it. the best part about this show was at the end they smashed the shit out of some tom toms with this huge rock that had been keeping the bass drum in place and im talking at least 50 pounds of limestone.





The next few bands i couldnt even hear because my ears were so blown out. but i could see tommorows friend. some broolyn kids who bring the rock. it sounded like they were playing bluesy poppy rock stuff. but fuck if i could hear a damn thing.


Diamond Nights i have tried to like for a while, but i just cant get into thier revival of the 80's-ish sound. i dont despise it but i dont think it deserves to be put on a pedestal by the nyc community.


As I will continue to say the new man man album is fucking great. my description of them will always be tom waits hanging with frank zappa and captain beefheart sining sea chanties because thats what fits. i recently talked to singer honus honus for a minute and he completly endorsed that description. so now i got the seal of approval, these guys are really cool and they just seem like they have so much fun, all singing all playing multiple instruments, it just draws you in so well, and the set now is kind of solidified so there are the familiar singalongs that even if its your first time you can still sing along after a repetition or two.



saw three more people at mrs bs after that and that was the end of the night for me. i was spent hours ago. zero skills were some straight up country dudes that i just couldnt do after all the noise rock i endured over the course of the day. Nat Baldwin and Spencer Kingman played thier seperate brands of singer songwriter folky stuff. it brought a nice light close to todds fucking amazing run in texas.
zero skills

spencer kingman

nat baldwin


and after that i wanted to see ill ease again and sharp had offered me and a friend extra wrist bands to come see here, what an awesome lady she is.


alright i admitted i cheated and stayed another day and saw meneguar and matt and kim play at snake eyes vinyl which is a neat place because its a house thats now a record store and venue.




well i think that makes 65 count em up. i have never had such a rockin good time, i think this will be a staple in my yearly life, how can it not be. DYFAO

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