SXSW 2008: Day 1

And so it began. Let's call this one SXSW: The Name-Dropping Edition...

Fast lines at the convention center were a welcomed kick-off to my ninth straight SXSW. I don't know if the overall attendance was down. It makes sense that it could be with tough times in the music industry. But whatever the reason, the two hours that we blocked off to get in and get our badges was whittled down to a mere 15 minutes tops.

Left with time to wander, we grabbed our swag bags (which I'll review in detail later) and stumbled into our first band of the trip, Brooklyn's A Place To Bury Strangers playing at the SESAC Day Stage. The band has been called "the loudest band in New York" and I could see why. Even in this less-than ideal setting with bored industry wonks sitting around checking their schedules, they put in a buzz-worthy performance. Laurie said they reminded her of Joy Division and I think that's pretty good. I'll be adding them to my post-SXSW shopping list. Score one for the Bronx.

Swag bags in tow and time to spare, we decided to cart them back to the car and grab a bite to eat at the Cedar Door next to the garage. As we were sitting there eating, a big black rockstar bus pulls up in front, which set us scrambling for our pocket guide to see who was playing there that night. A quick scan... oh my, it's Bo Bice, American Idol runner-up to Carrie Underwood. A couple of snarky comments later and we're back to figuring out the schedule for the night.

We decide that we're going to start with Van Morrison at La Zona Rosa, then walk clear to the other side of downtown to catch Jeffrey Lewis and the Jitters. After that, we'll had back across town to Antone's to try to see the Kills and another blog buzz act, White Williams.

Waiting in the line for Van the Man, we run into a couple of nice gents from South Africa making their first trip to Austin. Quite a trip they'd had to even get to that spot and as such, they were thrilled to be seeing such a legendary performer out of the gate. During our long wait in line we got to hear about a recent trip to the Led Zeppelin reunion at O2 where this guy was back stage with the likes of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Mick Jagger, and soul legend Ben E. King. We exchanged cards and he told me he had a band for me to check out called Desmond and the Tutus. The Strokes meet Vampire Weekend. Here's their Myspace page... Not bad...

Also while waiting in line for Van, we saw a number of journalists waiting to gain press access. Most notable was David Fricke from Rolling Stone, who got in before us for whatever reason, then was standing by himself against the wall about midway back during the set. Ah the lonely life of the rock journalist... Told you this was going to be the name-dropping edition.

We learned a lesson about camera policy when one of the South Africans was sent back to his car because he had an non-SXSW approved camera. Twice before the gig, the crowd was warned that anyone caught taking pictures, even with a lowly cell phone, could be evicted and have their gear confiscated. Any bets that within a week, you'll still be able to find video on YouTube?

First thing I notice once the doors open is that this isn't just "dad rock", it's "grandpa rock". Median age of the crowd has to be over 50 and with better than 80% male, it's a bit of a sausagefest. Why no love amongst the females for Van? Hmmmm...

Van and his 11 piece band put in a very professional performance, but I found myself bored and frustrated. I checked my watch at least 4 times in an hour... never a good sign. I don't think they ever broke a sweat. Kinda like having a champion thoroughbred and then never letting it break out of a trot. The set list had no real classic Van material and the newer stuff, while adequate, isn't nearly as great as the man performing it.

Being in the room with that powerfully soulful voice itself was amazing. Listening to Van scat, worth the trip by itself. I just wish that he had something or someone pushing him. When some guy shouted out a request, Morrison snarled "Ah, fuck off!" He's Van Morrison, bitch... and he's got nothing left to prove to us mere mortals.

So it was off to walk cross town to Club De Ville. On the way, we check out Antone's to see what kind of line we might be coming back to and there are a ton of kids waiting to get into the Domino Records showcase there. We start reconsidering the walk back since it looks like it could be a tough ticket, even with a badge.

The best part about getting to Club De Ville was finding a couple of seats to give our feet a rest. As we listen to Deer Tick, we decide that we'll try to see REM just down the street at Stubbs rather than risk the Antone's gig and get shut out. SXSW is all about choices and strategy and being flexible, I say...

During Deer Tick's middling set, we spot John Doe heading for the door. Don't think he's got a gig, so I take this for agreement on my assessment of the band. As they wrap up the set, Deer Tick tried to pump up the crowd with a cover of Richie Valens' La Bamba although they're doing the Los Lobos version. Deer Tick, I've seen Los Lobos many times. I've even taken a piss next to Cesar Rosas backstage in Cincinnati. Deer Tick, you are no Los Lobos...

Jeffrey Lewis's 12 Crass Songs made NME's top 50 albums of 2007, so he comes with a lot of buzz. Lewis has been called a genius. His set was dense, brainy and folky-punk. Kinda reminded me of Den Bern or Hamell on Trial but without quite their sense of humor. Still this was great stuff watching Lewis's comic book "documentary" on the History of Communism, Part 3 or channeling indie angst on the notable "Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror". Add another one to the shopping list.

After Lewis, we walked past a relatively short line waiting to get into Stubbs for REM so we decided to squeeze in a short set from Be Your Own Pet a couple blocks away at Emo's. This was a 25 minute set... which gives them a chance to play about 20 songs. Jemina Pearl, BYOP's lead singer, wants to kick your ass and grind you into a spot on the ground. Raw, sexy & primal...

Heading back to Stubbs, we're shocked to see the once-short Stubbs line now extended down the block and doubled back on itself. A closer look and it's also all badges. We're fucked. We get in line but then reason that if REM has sucked all the badges down here, we might have our pick of the other venues. REM was Plan B anyway, so we're back to Plan A, walking our tired dogs back across town to Antone's. Our guess was right and we pretty much walk right in for the start of the Kills' set.

Seeing BYOP and the Kills back to back, you're seeing two of the best female rockers working today. But where Jemina's raw and energetic, the Kills' vocalist/guitarist Alison "VV" Mosshart will fuck with your head as well as your heart. She stalks the stage like a leopard and you'll only survive the encounter if she lets you. And the lead guitarist, Jamie Hinch, tears off lean angular guitar riffs over a crashing rock drum machine beat. Hinch has been rumored to be Kate Moss's latest main man in the post-Doherty era, but alas, no Moss sightings at Antone's... Best set of the day.

Following the Kills was already a tough order, but White Williams made it even tougher by losing any momentum they were handed with an overly-long and fussy soundcheck that ate about 15 minutes into their set and left them with about half the Kills' crowd. Williams is another blogger buzz artist who's playing about 10 times at SXSW so maybe this'll get better with practice. The general rule here is that you've only got 10-15 minutes between sets, so you better strap it on and go. Guess Williams didn't get that memo... he's a knob twiddler, with a lot of processed effects on his voice anyway, so I'm not sure what all the fine tuning was about. Seems like there was a level of precision that wasn't supported by his actual musical talents. Anyway, his set was ok. Definitely dancable, but I'm not sure it'll make it onto the shopping list.

Looking forward to the car at this point, we walked back past the Cedar Door, where we could hear Bo Bice working it out. I decided to peek over the security fence to see what was going on. Holy shit, it's empty. This was a decent size venue and Bo Bice is playing to 36 people. Yeah, I counted. I think a couple of them might have been working there. That's not going to pay for that big rockstar bus out front. Laurie says she feels sorry for him. I can see that. We listen for awhile. He's working those 36 people like they were 36,000. Kudos for that. Apart from some lame between song patter ("that was as country as cornbread", "they say things are bigger in Texas"), he's a talented guy, nice voice, decent guitarist. But the hip buzz-seeking crowd at SXSW isn't his audience and I'm sure that was a tough lesson learned...

So that's day one. My feet are already in Day 3 shape and that scares me. Time to switch from my walking shoes (comfortable, reasonably-padded but still decent-looking) to my running shoes (even more padded, but all hope for style points are gone).

Here are Wednesday's grades: A Place To Bury Strangers B, Van Morrison B (Van's performance A, Van's material C), Deer Tick C, Jeffrey Lewis and the Twitters B+, Be Your Own Pet B, The Kills A-, White Williams C+, Bo Bice B-

Bonus video footage from The Kills' set at Antone's...