The Current Music Blog: March 20, 2009 Archive

Song Of The Day Info - Local Music - The Alrights - 03/20/09

Posted at 9:43 AM on March 20, 2009 by Barb Abney (1 Comments)

Song Of The Day Info - Local Music - The Alrights
Today on our Song Of The Day Podcast we're featuring the local band The Alrights with the tune "Get Ready For Love" from their as-yet-untitled record. Catch them live this Sunday evening on The Local Show with Chris Roberts.
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SXSW Thursday: 12 hours, 15 bands, some mexican food

Posted at 9:45 AM on March 20, 2009 by Jim McGuinn (2 Comments)

Thursday night at SXSW was a virtual smorgasboard of music. How do you like it? Hip hop from the Twin Cities - go to the Rhymesayers showcase. How about Australian rock bands - check out Aussie Sounds. Maybe it's the all-Japanese showcase that's more your taste? Or how about a bill of Sam Roberts, Delta Spirit, Black Lips, and Primal Scream, outdoors in a tree-lined courtyard with 1,000 of your soon to be closest friends? We hit all of that and more last night at SXSW, the annual pilgrimage of rock-topia here in Austin, Texas.

For me it was a LOT of music last night - 15 bands in 12 hours - some only a song or two, others sticking for entire sets - which tend to be more of the sampler platter variety - the typical setup for SXSW is that you play for 35-40 minutes, which enables the stages to continually turn over and stay roughly on time for hourly starts. A lot of credit to the hundreds of stage crew, sound people, organizers and volunteers that make the conference roll off with few major glitches.

There's also a fun game I like to play: It's spot David Fricke or Jon Parales - the editor of Rolling Stone and major critic of the NY Times - cause you know that if you are at the same show they are at, there's a good chance that next week's headline about who impressed at SXSW will probably include a band you saw. So far I've seen Jon walking frantically thru Austin's streets, but haven't caught him at any shows. I did stand near David at Port O' Brien - check for a mention in the next issue of Rolling Stone!

So the rundown of yesterday's festivities and bands for me:

BLK JKS: South African rock band, mixing TV on the Radio stylized funk with African influences that for once are truly authentic. Great drummer (which seems beyond obvious, given the history of drumming in the world).

Modern Shirts: Young band with some buzz, playing fairly standard issue indie rock. Might have some catchy songs that could sound great on the radio, but live some of these young bands just don't impress, especially compared with...

Janelle Monae: So far the best discovery of the festival for me. A strikingly beautiful woman with expressive dancing and jestures and a pompadour a la Little Richard, Janelle and her band somehow managed to find a bridge between a jazzy Nina Simone, the smoldering R&B of an Amy Winehouse, and the funky weirdness of Outkast. Based in Atlanta, perhaps a female Andre 3000 is an apt comparison, but with more vocal chops and just as much panache. I am very curious to hear her full length that drops this summer.

Amazing Baby: Another one of those young buzzy indie rock bands. And like the Modern Shirts, the record will sound great on the air, but these guys might need another 50 shows to get the live gig experience honed in.

Sam Roberts: I actually caught Sam twice yesterday, the first time totally by accident in that SXSW way. Walking back about a mile and a half from the Fader Fort to the NPR Music party, I heard "Brother Down," probably my favorite Sam song of his career, wafting in from a small bar - it was the Canadian Blast Day Party. And like my turn at Delta Spirit the night before, I got into the room in time to hear the last 2 minutes followed by "thank you, see you later" - grrr! But that bonus was nice, because when I saw Sam four hours later, it was a different set, and a different set of circumstances, under a clear and starry Texas sky with a huge crowd at Cedar St Courtyard. The band was electric and ecstatic, mixing taunt rockers with extended jams.

Peelander-Z: Japanese punk rock in costumes? I'm in! Stopping at one of the four different Emo's venues to ask directions, the doorman said "wherever you're headed, you must go see this first." And he was right. Human bowling? Handing their instruments over to fans they've never met? Passing out pots and pans and sticks to the entire audience? A woman in costume parting the crowd to pick up any stray beer cans and ceremoniously deposit them in the trash? Sure. The doorman was right.

Delta Spirit: Another bands I was teased by last time, I stuck for their entire set, which was on of the best of SXSW so far. Somewhere in that Band-loving universe along with Dr. Dog, the Delta Spirit comes on like their name describes, with a swampy gut bucket vibe and great harmonies on top of classic songwriting chops.

POS: From Cedar Street I hooked back up with Melanie over at the Rhymesayers showcase, at the opposite end of the festival. Wow. Twin Cities represented with a packed tent of fans who knew the hooks and gave it up to our hometown hero, who brought up Sims and Dessa to close out his set.

The Boat People: Australian pop - good songs... seemed younger and shorter than I expected.

Primal Scream: You never know what to expect from veteran acts, but The Scream totally brought it. Unlike Echo and the Bunnymen, who supplemented two original members with some new younguns, Primal Scream was nothing but the old dudes, and they've still got it. They might look like they are 55, but sound like they're 22. And a few of these young buzz bands could have learned a thing or two about how to rock a crowd. A perfect end to a great day and night of music from SXSW.

Jim McGuinn #sxsw

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Live Blogging 03/20/09

Posted at 10:26 AM on March 20, 2009 by Barb Abney

11:45 a.m. Superdrag
They released their 5th studio effort, Industry Giants earlier this week.
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11:30 a.m. M. Ward
He's playing First Avenue on April 25th.
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11:20 a.m. Metric
Their forthcoming record, Fantasies will hit shelves on April 14th. However, you can pre-order it along with some extra goodies here.
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11:10 a.m. Manchester Orchestra
They're playing Station 4 on May 9th.
Mean Everything To Nothing will be released on April 21st.
You can pre-order it here.
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10:45 a.m. A.C. Newman
He's playing The 400 Bar with The Broken West on March 24th.
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10:30 a.m. CD Of The Week - Morrissey
Years Of Refusal is our CD Of The Week.
He's playing State Theater on April 6th.
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10:20 a.m. Local Music - Solid Gold
They're playing The Fader Party Fort and Cash Moneyapolis today at SxSW.
Their next local gig is April 3rd at Turf Club.
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10:10 a.m. U2
Their worldwide 360° tour will kick off on June 30th.
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SXSW Day 2 1/2: I still have my voice!

Posted at 11:20 AM on March 20, 2009 by Melanie Walker

I almost always loose my voice at SXSW. I have to talk over loud music, I scream along, and sometimes sing along to the tunes. I barely sleep while I'm down here too. I really try to make the most out of the 19 hours or so in the day so I can see music, talk about music, have music meetings, attend music panels, etc... At SXSW I truely eat, sleep, breath music 24/7! That being said, it's a true miracle that I still can talk today! So, what adventures did I go on last night you ask? LOADS!

I saw what has to be my favorite new band down here last night, Wild Beasts! Who are Wild Beasts you ask? Four young lads from Leeds, UK that have got to be some of the most intelligent, complex, unique songwriting I've heard in the last year. Lead singer, Hayden's, falsetto is simply amazing! I was a soprano in high school and I don't even have that kind of range anymore. It's insane people... He sings with such unleashed emotion, odd or not, Hayden is a true artist and simply beautiful! I can't not note everyone else's talents in the band. They all are just really talented musicians with skills that could out run any vetran of the scene. Check them out... http://www.wild-beasts.co.uk/ . I know they're not for everyone, but they are definetly worth checking out. I hope to see them again on Saturday! I really want to have them sign my fancy poster of them I got from the Flagstock poster show that happens here as well...

After Wild Beasts, I headed over to see Obits! Obits are Rick Froberg, Sohrab Habibion, Greg Simpson, and Scott Gursky out of Brooklyn, NY. Many of the band members have played in other established independant acts such as Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes. I wouldn't say they are the most innovative band, but they are totally unleashed and were the perfect accompaniment to my ice cold can of Shiner Bock! My ears are still wringing from standing a bit too close to the speakers...but it was well worth it!

Third act I saw last night was one of our hometown heros, P.O.S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was awesome as always! I saw a lot of Minneapolis friends at the Rymesayers showcase for his performance too! It was like tripping into a microcosim of the twin cities for that 30mins. Dessa and Sims even hopped on stage for a track with him! It was great to see him being so well received so far from home...

After P.O.S., I saw a bit of a band called The Boat People from Australia. They were just ok. I've heard the record and liked it but I felt like they sounded like a totally other band performing. So, I had a hard time relating to what was going on in front of me.

Last band of the night was none other than one of my all time favorite bands, PRIMAL SCREAM! No words can describe how phenominal they were! I just kept inching closer and closer to the front the whole night, and it was packed! I had to be selfish and steal good view spots to watch Bobby Gillespie. I'm so so happy I was able to see them! I felt like a true fan going crazy with the crowd again. Sometimes, shows full of industry professionals can be a bit stale. Big suprise there...

I had a hard time catching a cab last night, so I didn't roll into bed till around 4am...woke up at 8am to do this crazy confrence all over again today. Time for red bull #1 for the day and prepare to see some local music this afternoon at local showcase called Cash Moneyapolis, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Fol Chen, All The Saints, Asobi Seksu!

My 3 Songs 03/20/09

Posted at 12:56 PM on March 20, 2009 by Barb Abney

My 3 Songs 03/20/09
Sherri Gleekel from Maplewood picked this set because..

"These songs remind me of the three ladies in my life who keep me going...my mom and my two daughters."

James Brown - "I Got The Feelin'"
Coldplay - "Strawberry Swing"
Passion Pit - "Sleepyhead"

Make your "My 3 Songs" requests here.

5 New Bands You Need To Check Out!

Posted at 1:38 PM on March 20, 2009 by Melanie Walker

I'll be seeing all these bands while I'm in Austin, TX for SXSW! Tune in regularly to The Current blog, on air reports and Twitter feed for reviews of their live performances!

Gentlemen Reg

Late Of The Pier

Fol Chen

Japanther

Little Boots

Do the Shuffle

Posted at 2:00 PM on March 20, 2009 by Mac Wilson (2 Comments)

Here's a handful (literally!) of songs to get your weekend rolling.

Toto - "Africa"
I hope David Campbell doesn't read this; otherwise, I wouldn't be surprised if this turned up on Radio Free Current this weekend.

Derek & The Dominos - "Layla"
I was just talking about how the only songs that ever seem to pop up on Do the Shuffle lately are classic rock songs. My first radio co-host was named Layla; she actually was named after the song. That was the same semester I dated a girl named Roxanne.

The Music - "Human"
Holy smokes, remember these guys?? Worst band name of all time, blending the atmospherics of the Stone Roses with the heaviness of Led Zeppelin et al. Basically a precursor to the Secret Machines, but with a dose of Madchester. They opened for Coldplay in 2003 at Target Center.

Blur - "Birthday"
Or, that feeling of amusement you get when a song by one of your favorite bands comes up on your iPod, and you don't know it in the slightest.

TV on the Radio - "Lover's Day"
TVotR snap us out of our one-word-song-title rut with the epic closer to their latest album, Dear Science.

Now it's your turn! Scroll through your personal media player and post the first five songs that pop up. No cheating, never mind the fact that I cheated several times while writing this today ;) Rock Chalk Jayhawk.

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