Category Archive: SXSW

The Devils music

Posted at 1:01 PM on March 19, 2011 by Mary Lucia
Filed under: SXSW

Yesterday was a blast hanging at the First Ave/ Gimme Noise day showcase. The Goondas, Jeremy Messersmith, Sims, Solid Gold and Tapes N' Tapes.

It was great to see all the familiar Mpls faces as well as the faces of a few famous transplants Lori Barbero and Dan Wilson. I think we all felt proud to be in a room in the middle of the afternoon in a packed club to see the hometown talent show Texas how it's done.

I didn't escape without injury however as one goofbag threw an elbow while High Fiving another goofbag. I caught it in the face so today have the beginnings of a nice shiner. Nobody said it would easy. I'll have to come up with some bad a@# story of how I got it.
Many record A&R types were in attendance hope something HUGE comes out of it for these bands. Maybe I'll tell people I threw down with some record executive insisting he sign Jeremy.

Evening was great too — caught up with an old friend (no, not Tequila) and then went to Stubbs to see The Vaccines. WOW! I loved every minute of their high energy set.
They're from The UK and have a vaguely Arctic Monkeys vibe.

From there, I high tailed it to church. You heard me. Church. Sondre Lerche played in this house of the holy, we sinners filed into the pews and were treated to him playing his new record in it's entirety. Comes out in early June, I can't wait to hear a few of the gorgeous songs again.

Today is more NPR work for me, and then who knows? I may end up in church again as Haley Bonar is playing there tonight. Church 2 days in a row. Who'da thunk it?

God bless.

SXSW 2011 Day 2

Posted at 6:17 PM on March 18, 2011 by Melanie Walker
Filed under: SXSW

So, I've been busy down here in Austin. But, I am pushing through the pain and trying as best as I can to keep up with all the rock!

Last night, Thursday, I saw a new signing from Minnesota to Ribbon Records called John Maus. He was a manic genius performing only with a backing track and a mic. He petrified and captivated us all. I can't wait to hear the new record! I stuck around for the Domino records showcase to see The Kills who are always a good time. Alison and Jamie make us all envious to be them. They are the epitamy of rock n' roll. I then wandered down 6th street to see one of my most sought after new artists, Theophilus London. You might be familiar with him for some of the work he did with Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio's side project Maximum Balloon. He's my favorite I've seen so far. Reminds me of Prince meets P.O.S. with Michael Jackson's moves and style. LOVED IT! Afterwards I tried to see an artist that has some Minnesota roots but now lives in L.A., MNDR. But, her show was cancelled. Hope to catch her tomorrow. So, I wandered over to cap the night with Owen Pallett, formerly known as Final Fantasy. All his strings and atmosphereics was a nice way to gently ease myself into the evenings end.

I woke up early today so I could have brunch with non other than Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie. Get this, not only is he a sweet guy but he's a huge fan of The Current. I can't tell you how flattering and humbling that is from one of music's most respected musicians and producers. We chatted over migas and O.J. about new music. I recommended he check out Lower Dens, and he recommended I check out Kelli Schaefer. It was amazing. I then wandered over to the Spin day party to see Dom. They were my wild card for this conference. I love "Living In America" but wondered if they had any more hits in them. Well folks, I'm here to tell you they do! I'm really looking forward to hearing the new record. It's much more garage rock than I expected. Afterward, I went to my day sanctuary for SXSW, The French Legion, where there's always a day showcase with a number of great acts. I saw a bit of Cults and was pleasantly surprised with what I heard. The buzz is real and I can't wait for them to come to Minneapolis.

Tonight's game plan is...Lower Dens, The Vaccines, Los Rakas, Papercuts, Twin shadow, Dum Dum Girls, Givers, Wild Flag and I'm ending the night on a high note with Jim Jones Revenue and MSTRKFT. Hang tight as I'll be tweeting my little heart out all night as I do my best to keep up with the manic frenzy of SXSW.

How many indelible ink stamps can I collect on my body

Posted at 12:26 PM on March 18, 2011 by Mary Lucia
Filed under: SXSW

Austin is not a sprawling city in fact most of the action for SXSW happens in a fairly contained 10 block area. Think of it as Rock and Roll quarantine.

This morning I went to a radio music panel, snippets of songs were played while various Program Directors and Music Directors from across the country intellectually dissect it.
In fact the name of it had me snickering like a teenager. "Adult music conference"?
, All I could think of was Adult film music, now that would be quite the panel. Bow chicka bow wow.

I feel sort of out of place at things like this as though any minute someone is going to expose me for the fraud that I am. I like Rock music plain and simple, I like big hooks and I can not lie..(you other brothers can't deny) a bit of danger and interesting vocals. Sometimes it's just that simple.

This music festival is exhausting and as Paper Tiger put it yesterday "I'd rather not look and see who all is playing as I'd want to attend everyone of the shows and there simply isn't time."

Yesterday at The Parrish while intro-ing Tuneyards, one of the buzziest bands of the festival, I said "I'm Mary Lucia from MN Public Radio's The Current" I heard a few "WOOTS!" from the audience, people know us down here and that's a nice feeling and gives you an idea of the kind of online listenership we have.

Yesterday being St Patrick's day was insane. Picture the state fair times 10 and everyone's had 62 drinks and you have a clear picture of 6th Street last night.

Today I'm going to check out Flatstock the poster show which is always a favorite thing to do when down here. This year I'm on the hunt for the perfect Guided By Voices Poster.
I'm also heading over to Skinny's Ballroom to check out a Mpls band showcase put on by Gimme Noise and First Avenue. Cause sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name....

SXSW 2011 Day 1

Posted at 4:26 PM on March 17, 2011 by Melanie Walker
Filed under: SXSW

Arrived a bit late last night to the over crowded streets of Austin, TX. Every year this music conference seems to get more and more congested, which can be a bit of a drag. But, it never bothers me much because more attendees equals more rock n' roll! The more popular SXSW becomes the more wonderful bands that make the trek to Texas.

First night I saw UK post dub step sensation James Blake to a huge crowd at Stubb's. I am a massive fan and he sounded great with his band on stage. But, there were so many people taking and it was so crowded I really felt like another more intimate setting would have complimented his understated sound.

Afterwards I stuck around to see the latest buzz act out of Chicago, Smith Westerns. They had their game faces on last night, just captivating the entire venue with their catchy pop hooks. For such a new, young band they really sound like they've been doing this rock n' roll thing for a lot longer.

I then head over to see one of my favorite records of last year, Sun Airway. I'd never seen them before and was not disappointed.

I ended my night at the Wax Poetics showcase seeing some amazing funk and soul. I unfortunately, never got the name of the band playing. All i was told was that they made the film score for the film Black Dynamite which I LOVED!

Today Mary did an intro at The Parish for NPR Music's showcase for Tuneyards. If you are not familiar with Tuneyards you should be. She's the hottest, most unique thing to roll out of Brooklyn since The Dirty Projectors.

We also had our day stage at the SXSW conference center today. We had DeVotchka, Chapel Club and P.O.S. representing the Twin Cities sound! It was all amazing!

Tonight we plan on seeing The Strokes, John Maus, Chapel Club, Austia, The Kills and end our night with Gayngs! Wish us luck!

I like it loud

Posted at 3:54 PM on March 17, 2011 by Mary Lucia
Filed under: SXSW

Devotchka just finished charming the entire room here at The Current's day stage. And as always were impeccably dressed.
My favorite rock writer David Fricke from Rolling Stone was in attendance, I'm such a dork, I like a good writer as much as a great guitar player.
UK fave Chapel Club have now taken the stage, can't wait for the hometown to represent with P.O.S rounding out our bill.
This isn't your mothers convention center the lights are off and people are laying on bean bag beds all over the floor.

Minnesota Bands at SXSW

Posted at 11:10 AM on March 14, 2011 by Brett Baldwin
Filed under: SXSW

Chris Riemenschneider of the Star Tribune pointed out, in his "5 Reasons to Care about SXSW" article that there were, at last count, 36 MN acts making the trek down to Austin.

The City Pages does one better and compiles the entire list.

You can follow the activity of most MN bands on twitter by using the #mnsxsw hashtag.

Coverage and more information on our SXSW page

Chris Riemenschneider talks SXSW with Mary

Posted at 10:37 AM on March 14, 2011 by Brett Baldwin
Filed under: SXSW

The Star Tribune's music critic (and former Austin resident) Chris Riemenschneider sat in with Mary on Monday to talk all things SXSW.

Chris is looking forward to catching The Vaccines, Off! and Wild Flag. He's also looking forward to Kanye West's presence at the festival.

And then, there's Perez Hilton...

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See our schedule and get more information on our SXSW page.

Melanie Walker's Top 10 Bands To See at SXSW 2011

Posted at 2:42 PM on March 14, 2011 by Melanie Walker
Filed under: SXSW

Too many bands, too little time. That's always the dilemma I have at the SXSW music Conference in Austin, TX. In years past, SXSW has been the place where I fist heard bands like The xx, Mumford and Sons, Janelle Monae, Peter Bjorn and John, The Ting Tings, and even The Avett Brothers. There will be quite a few established acts down there that I'd like to see too, such as The Kills, DeVotchKa, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Strokes, Lupe Fiasco, TV On The Radio, The Rural Alberta Advantage as well as local acts like Haley Bonar, Jeremy Messersmith, P.O.S., Doomtree, Solid Gold and Gayngs.

Here are my top ten new acts to check out while I'm strolling around SXSW this year...

Theophilus London
Soulful, eclectic and with a progressive style reminicent of Prince, I soon became a big fan of Theophilus London after hearing him on TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek's side project Maximum Balloon on a track called "Groove Me".

James Blake
Soulful, minimal and all about the spaces in between the notes, James Blake is one of music's most innovative new producer's.

MDNR
Amanda Warner, better known as MNDR is a self confirmed tech geek that's destined to become a star. After appearing as a guest vocalist on the Mark Ronson track "Bang, Bang, Bang", MNDR is finally coming out with her solo material full of IDM-informed pop tunes.

Twin Shadow
Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in rural Florida, George Lewis Jr. aka Twin Shadow makes music that's dripping with a melancholic, weathered nostalgia.

Royal Bangs
Royal Bangs is an energetic, turbo pop group from Knoxville, TN that's a bit electronic with a whole lot of glam. They got their big break when Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney heard their music on MySpace and signed the trio to his now-defunct Audio Eagle label.

Dominique Young Unique
With rapid-fire raps set to high-speed electro club beats Dominique Young Unique of Tampa Bay, FL is youthful, raw and ready to drop kick you her brand-new mixtape, called Glamorous Touch.

tUnE-yArDs
Merrill Garbus, aka tUnE-YaRdS, is a one-woman DIY workshop mixing tenor ukulele, digital loops, toms, and (most importantly) a powerful, shape-shifting voice.

Yuck
Great UK band. Bad name. But, don't let them fool you they sound anything but yucky. They sound like everything good from the 90's; a shoegazy sound reminiscent of The Pixies, Pavement and Sonic Youth.

Chapel Club
There's always one new batch of UK lads that go from obscurity to stardom after SXSW and I'm hoping this year it's Chapel Club with their epic dream pop sound.

Dom
I'm guessing Dom's track "Living In America" might be one of the big songs of the summer with it's lo-fi psych pop sensibilities. They are one of my wild cards for the conference to see if they've got more than just one hit under their belt.

See our schedule and more information on our SXSW page.

Mary Lucia's Top 10 Bands to See at SXSW 2011

Posted at 3:18 PM on March 14, 2011 by Melanie Walker (1 Comments)
Filed under: SXSW

With so many options available, it's overwhelming how much amazing music there is to see at SXSW in Austin,TX. These are my top ten picks to see while I'm down at the conference this year!

The Joy Formidable
A wicked cool power trio from London via Wales

The Black Lips
Indie Rockers from Atlanta have a forthcoming Mark Ronson produced CD that I can't wait to hear.

Jeff The Brotherhood
Brothers from Nashville have a Ramones meets Weezer sound.

The Kills
One of the most exciting live acts I've seen in recent history for just two people they sound so dirty and large

Mona
A quartet of handsome god fearing Nashville dudes, drawing comparisons to that other Tennessee retro rock band Kings of Leon

Off!
All star punk band with Keith Morris of The Circle Jerks, members of Rocket for the Crypt and Redd Kross

The Vaccines
A brand new baby band from London haven't been around a whole year and already are drawing crazy buzz.

Wild Flag
From Portland. 2/3 's of Sleater Kinney

Chapel Club
From the UK Playing our conference center day stage!!! Have a giant Glasvegas pop sound.

Smith Westerns
From Chicago young trio play gorgeous pop music.

See our schedule and more information on our SXSW page.

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