low-res south by

Two minutes and seventeen seconds from my favorite acts at SXSW '08, including appearances by We Are Standard, Liam Finn, Duffy, Ludacris, X, Vampire Weekend, Sia, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, R.E.M., and My Morning Jacket. Music by We Are Standard.

I know I said it would be hard for any act to top Friday's set by X, but on Saturday the Basque band We Are Standard tore it up during their intimate South By set.



at sxsw | flatstock

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The annual Flatstock show for poster art and artists, yesterday.
[photo © eugene hernandez]



at sxsw | ludacris

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Ludacris makes a surprise appearance on Saturday at one of the outdoor SXSW party tents near the Austin Convention Center.
[photo © eugene hernandez]



at sxsw | perez

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Perez Hilton (center), backstage at his SXSW party last night.
[photo © eugene hernandez]



at sxsw | x

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I really think it'll be hard for any act at South By this year to top today's set by legendary L.A. punk band X, headlining the SPIN party at Stubb's.

Perhaps worth noting: Exene Cervenka from X made her way past us and walked through the crowd -- seemingly unnoticed -- during the Vampire Weekend set, and after Vampire Weekend finished playing the crowd thinned out considerable. A group of us wondered whether "the kids" didn't know X. But, after Perry Farrell gave X a rousing intro, and the band fired into their first song, folks began to push towards the stage. By the end, the band expressed their gratitude to the crowd for their warm response.
[photo © eugene hernandez]



at sxsw | this year's arctic monkeys?

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Every so often, the stars seem to align at SXSW and an act hits the fest just as they seep into the mainstream. Two years ago, the Arctic Monkeys began to really breakthrough as they hit Austin, this year Vampire Weekend seems to getting even wider awareness as they arrive at the fest (witness the recent SPIN Magazine cover). The band played the annual SPIN party today, pictured here during their Stubb's set. Their official South By gig is tonight at Antone's.
[photo © eugene hernandez]



at sxsw | r.e.m.

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Am way behind on blogging, due to the infamous SXSW chest cold that arrived on my own doorstep on Tuesday night. Despite feeling like crap, I just couldn't miss R.E.M. at Stubbs...
[photo by eugene hernandez]



radiohead, take two

Below, a press release I just received from Nasty Little Man, PR firm for Radiohead, no doubt in response to media inquiries from their earlier announcement about the band releasing their new CD digitally:

There will be no advances, promotional copies, digital streams, media sites, etc. of RADIOHEAD's In Rainbows.

Everyone in the world will be getting the music at the same time: Oct. 10. That includes us. We don't have anything to play anyone in the nine days until the record is available. Everyone at nasty has
put his or her order in and just to clarify: you are not being asked to pay for a promo (as some have inquired). you can pay nothing or as much or as little as you want.

There will be no promotional copies of the discbox either, as each discbox is being made to order. Sorry.

Meanwhile from an article in Time, emailed to me today (thanks Mark Wynns):

"This feels like yet another death knell," emailed an A&R executive at a major European label. "If the best band in the world doesn't want a part of us, I'm not sure what's left for this business."


the new radiohead, name your price...

Don't want to wait until early December for the new Radiohead CD? The band will offer it as a "pay what you wish" digital download next week on their website. And in early December, fans can pay £40.00 to receive a special box with tons of bonus music and stuff... The Wall St. Journal takes a closer look at the strategy.



summer music: rufus, nationals, and more

One of the great things about New York City in the summer is the number of opportunities to catch live music outdoors all around town. On Thursday night, the Lula Washington Dance Theater kicked up the energy at Lincoln Center's Out of Doors series. Of note was the first half of the show, which matched the dancers with a live jazz band. On Friday, down at South Street Seaport The National drew a huge crowd for their free River to River show. I'm a fan.

And finally, yesterday a steady rain didn't scare away fans who stood for hours to catch the generous show by Rufus Wainwright in Central Park. A highlight of Rufus' two-hour plus set was a hilarious encore moment channeling Judy Garland... If you're heading to a Wainwright show soon, read no further and don't click the YouTube link above. For the rest of you, the clip showcases Wainwright's lip-syncing of his own recording of "Get Happy" at Glastonbury this summer, performed with his fellow bandmates. It tops recent tours in which he enlisted bandmates to fall to the ground during one song or lovingly crucify him for another. He'll be performing as Judy Garland just one last time soon (because its "so fuckin' hard," he said last night), at a Hollywood Bowl gig on September 23rd. Tickets are still available, I am sure it will deliver, the guy's a true showman. Always a treat.



heart of glass

You remember Faye Wong from Wong Kar wai's "Chungking Express" right? Well, here she is singing a Blondie hit (via James, via J.D.):



a canadian idol

There's no need to check the top of Rufus Wainwright's head or the size of his index finger, the singer is quite open about his orientation. In a recent TV interview in Canada, to promote his new album, Rufus talks about how he dealt with the pressures of being named "best new artist" at a young age, and the subsequent creative choices he had to make as his career evolved. He also talks about politics, oper, and the medical challenges his mother, singer Kate McGarrigle, has faced of late.



dm again

After checking in on the "Dangerous Muse" boys (Mike Furey and Tom Napack) at an NYC gig back in December, I posted a clip here on the blog. This week, Brian and I headed down to Hiro to catch their set which featured a terrific cover of Prince's "Controversy" along with songs from their EP and some new tracks. Word from industry insiders at the show last night was that the duo will release their first full length album in August after inking a deal with Sire Records. The label's Seymour Stein apparently gave them a three-song pact more than two years ago after being approached by Furey and listening to their demo on an iPod...

Linked above is a fun video variation on their already quite popular single, "The Rejection." Congrats, guys!



new rufus

rufusSMsq.jpgThe first single from the new Rufus Wainwright album hit the Internet this week. Its called "Going to a Town" from "Release The Stars" (due May 15th).

Insider tip: Rufus will performing next week at a party to celebrate the Sundance Channel's new series, "The Green." And this fall he'll be at the Hollywood Bowl with a full orchestra, performing the songs that Judy Garland performed at the same venue in 1961.

Whatever happened to that documentary about his Carnegie Hall show directed by Sam Mendes?



sxsw in 26 seconds

A swift look at some of my favorite sets from SXSW '07... highlighted in a quick 26 second clip I just posted on YouTube, including Peter, Bjorn & John, Sondre Lerche, Girl Talk, Bonde do Role, and the Buzzcocks, along with Slash, Les Claypool & Perry Farrell and The Good, The Bad and The Queen.

Featured Music: "Objects of My Affection" by Peter, Bjorn & John



the fratellis

A last minute ticket fell into my lap yesterday (thanks Rabbi!), just a couple hours before the sold out Mercury Lounge concert by The Fratellis. I missed 'em at SXSW last week but people were definitely talking about them, no doubt because of the exposure they recently gained from "Flathead" and the iPOD commercial (check out their video for the popular song above).

Anyway, it was a good, fast moving set. The two-year old Scottish band plays loud, quick rock songs, many of which had the crowd singing along and in a few cases even moshing! When was the last time you saw a true most pit? I didn't see a single one at SXSW, but I did miss The Stooges show...



sxsw music

We tried something a bit different today in indieWIRE, specifically a Dispatch from the SXSW Music Festival. Also worth checking out is the cool comic book style SXSW Music Fest wrap from the Brothers Israel, who debuted their new short "Face Value" at the SXSW Film Festival.

My personal favorites from the music fest included crazy sets by Girl Talk and Bondo de Role, as well as music from Peter, Bjorn and John and Sondre Lerche. Had a great time in Austin and some tasty BBQ and Tex Mex, but its great to be home, even if it is too cold here in NYC.



in austin | young folks

People have been whistling Peter, Bjorn & John's "Young Folks" for about six months now, but I finally got a chance to see and hear them live last night at SXSW. Friends have been buzzing about them over the past few days in Austin and their final set of the week was at the massive DirectTV studio inside the Austin Convention Center, broadcast live as part of the satellite company's 8-hour daily broadcast on channel 101.

The warm up for last night's show felt like that scene in "Grease" where the cheesy TV dance party host tries to whip the high school gymnasium crowd into a frenzy just before the dance is broadcast live on television. He was telling us how to cheer and trying to get us to look as enthusiastic as possible for the home audience. "Shut up!", a frustrated voice yelled from the back...eventually he gave up and brought on the band, much to the crowd's delight.

By the time P, B & J got to their alterna-hit, "Young Folks," the audience was playing into DirectTV's hands a bit, moving and shaking to the still catchy tune. And this morning via the Peter, Bjorn & John website, I caught the excellent video for the song...



hey eugene!

I was introduced to Pink Martini many years ago at a small Sundance Film Festival condo party hosted by Mickey Cottrell. They played a couple of great sets in the living room and I've been a fan ever since. The group's anticipated third album -- entitled Hey Eugene! -- is due out in May, but here's a preview (in a clip from their recent cool PBS special). The title track, as lead singer China Forbes notes, is the story of meeting a guy at a party in the East Village... As she explains, they connected, but the guy never called her. What a jerk!

Anyway, its a great song. Can't wait for the new CD!

Set your DVRs, you can catch a replay of the PBS special -- Pink Martini Live: Discover the World -- this Sunday, March 4th at 3:30 a.m. on WNET in NYC (and no doubt on other outlets).



dm

Certainly influenced by another DM (namely, Depeche Mode), young band Dangerous Muse performed what they said was their "first full-length concert" on Thursday night, a high-energy affair comprised of a selection of new songs and a one cover tune.

The short silent clip from my digital camera (via YouTube) gives a sense of DM's on-stage theatrics, which had a number of younger women (and a few guys) shrieking wildly, including the woman who makes her way on stage in this clip. The set was quite crowded and also well-documented, with many holding up cellphones and digital cameras to capture the action. Brian Brooks and I met the duo (left to right, Tom Napack and Mike Furey) at the Hamptons fest this year where they DJ'd the IndiePix party and they were kind enough to send along word of their show this week.



sxsw music

morrisseyblog.jpg...been meaning to blog about the latter half of SXSW, specifically the music fest which I attended for the first time last week. The highlight of the event was clearly the full set by Morrissey (right). While at times it felt a touch like a Vegas act, the guy's still got it. He's clearly a showman and his new music is up there with the best of his solo work. The big crowd at the Austin Music Hall ate it up and, was left screaming in joy when he played a few Smiths tunes (I thought my colleague Brian Brooks was gonna lose it when he played "How Soon Is Now").

Another major highlight for me was a Wednesday night set by Athens, GA band, "Of Montreal". I caught them last month at a True/False film fest party and they are right up there with some of the other great Elephant 6 collective bands like Apples in Stereo, The Sunshine Fix, and Neutral Milk Hotel. Other more familiar bands that gave great performances included fun, dance late-night dance sets by Brazilian Girls and Goldfrapp. Sleater-Kinney also gave a great show at an IFC party as the film conference wound down and the music event kicked off.

SXSW Music is all about making tough choices with nearly 60 competing venues offering a full program of bands each night, so among the bands I unfortunately missed were Ladytron, Arctic Monkeys, Belle and Sebastian and surprise shows by The Beastie Boys and The Flaming Lips.

Discoveries for me included British acts Art Brut and Aberfeldy, while sets by Sia and Lady Sovereign gave me a deeper apprecation for performers I was only somewhat familiar with. While not a big fan of Snow Patrol, their acoustic set at a Filter Magazine party was pretty darn good, and the whole music fest was capped off by Diamond Smugglers racy, crowd-pleasing renditions of Neil Diamond tunes.



IN SHEFFIELD | More Music

sheffield.jpgContinuing the music theme...I caught a segment on local TV examining the current British music scene, specifically comparing whats happening now in Leeds, Manchester, and Sheffield, three cities that have launched a number of notable artists. In the case of Sheffield, the city brought us musicians like Jarvis Cocker (Pulp), Def Leppard, ABC, Human League, Heaven 17, Joe Cocker, and Cabaret Voltaire.

The TV segment highlighted acts including Nine Black Alps and Young Offenders Institute in Manchester, The Kaiser Chiefs and Black Wire from Leeds, and speculated that Sheffield has a few noteworthy acts, singling out Harrisons as embodying a new Sheffield sound, and in particular noting that Arctic Monkeys are a British band to listen out for. Arctic Monkeys are are intriguing given that they have yet to release an album but are quite popular. Someone I was chatting with at dinner said that he'd have more luck getting into one of their shows while traveling in North America later this year, since getting tickets to a show in Sheffield is difficult...although I just noticed that their two NYC shows next month at The Mercury Lounge are already sold out.



The Sounds of "Tarnation"

In lieu of a "Tarnation" soundtrack CD, Tin Drum Recordings has created a webpage with links to MP3s of Max Avery Lichtenstein's music created for the film's soundtrack. There is also a link to a track by the band Hopewell, used in the film's trailer.



A South African Favorite

clegg.JPGA highlight of the opening night party at the Tribeca Film Festival last night was without a doubt the performance by South African musician Johnny Clegg. A friend turned me on to Juluka, Clegg's band (with longtime musical collaborator Sipho Mchunu), back in the mid-80s when the cross-cultural collaboration was still illegal within apartheid South Africa (Clegg was born in the UK, but raised in Zimbabwe and South Africa, with Mchunu was a migrant Zulu before becoming a touring musician). Clegg and Mchunu's all Zulu language album, Ubuhle Bemvelo, has been a favorite of mine for years. While Clegg's English language music, which fuses Zulu and Western styles, was showcased by his band Savuka from about 1985 - 93. His Savuka songs were the primary basis of his set last night, but I still refer the Zulu language recordings.

My introduction to Juluka's distinctive music in college, mixed with anti-Apartheid activism at the time (and subsequently the end of apartheid in 1990) opened my ears to Mbaqanga, the dance music of South Africa's townships. A special moment during that era was meeting Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1991 when we at UCLA CEC brought him to speak on campus. Tutu was in NYC yesterday, participating in the opening of the festival, to celebrate ten years since the birth of a new democratic government in South Africa.