Yesterday I wondered about the crowds. A SXSW official says the lines were deceptive because one was for wristbands, sold at the convention center for the first time to try to limit scalping. That meant there was a massive line that hadn’t been there before. Still, the growth of day parties that don’t require badges mean there are a lot of people here strictly for the free day shows.
Yesterday’s wrap-up – My afternoon started with the New West Records party, which suffered a little for a lack of star power. It was a good hang, but nothing made an impact. At 4, a slightly scaled down Dark Meat (only 12 or members from my poor vantage point at the back of the room) used two or three guitars to create the overtones Ron Asheton created by himself playing guitar with the Stooges. Twenty minutes wasn’t nearly enough. Then to a Spain party with free Spanish beer, decent paella and unmemorable music. Dinner time.
The evening started with a tribute to one of the defining icons of Austin and SXSW, the late Doug Sahm. An upcoming tribute album was the occasion for tribute, which featured the Gourds, Jimmy Vaughan, Dave Alvin, Flaco Jiminez and the surviving Texas Tornadoes. The fun of the show was Sahm’s material; nobody took liberties or reimagined the songs. Sahm’s son Shawn was also a slightly odd presence onstage, playing guitar and trying to rev up the crowd like hip-hop hype man.
From there, I caught the first two songs by Hurray for the Riff Raff, who sounded spectacular in Central Presbyterian Church. The setting and sound highlighted the theatrical elements in the band and Alinda Lee’s voice, but not to such a degree that the song’s emotional core was lost or put in quotation marks. Then a cab to catch the end of BeauSoleil and it literally went that way – I was outside the packed Continental Club as they finished. I was talking with David Doucet during most of the Iguanas set that followed them, so I have no report there. My evening ended with Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women – his string-oriented all-woman band – augmented by accordion player Ponty Bone, guitar picker Bill Kirchen and another guitar player whose name escapes. Chris somebody. They played songs from Yep Roc’s upcoming tribute album to the Hacienda Brothers’ Chris Gaffney, The Man of Somebody’s Dreams, and Alvin’s song choices highlighted Gaffney’s understanding of the language of country and soul with songs that never settled into a beautiful loser mode (though there’s some of that in Gaffney’s writing). The set ended with a version of the Blasters’ “Marie Marie” that’s clearly influenced by Buckwheat Zydeco’s version of it years ago. Nothing was going to sound great after that, so I called it a night.
During SXSW, where you plan to be and where you end up are two very different things. If all goes according to plan I’ll see Mark Olson and Gary Louris of the Jayhawks at the New West Party this afternoon, then go to Peckerheads on 6th Street (and won’t I feel proud walking in that bar!) to see Athens, Georgia’s 16-piece psychedelic heavy rock extravaganza Dark Meat at 4. At 5, Rotary Downs play the Historic Victory Bar, then time for dinner. At 8, Antone’s has a tribute to Doug Sahm with Dave Alvin and a host of others. At 9, I hope to dip into the buzz band pool and check out the Vivian Girls at Aces Lounge, then at 10 I’ll see part of Hurray for the Riff Raff at Central Presbyterian Church. I hope I can get out of there set and into a cab to make it to the end of BeauSoleil’s set at the Continental Club, where I’ll stay for the Iguanas and Dave Alvin’s tribute to the late Chris Gaffney. Yep Roc’s tribute album to Gaffney, The Man of Somebody’s Dreams, documents a writer with an ear for soul and western music and a sensitivity for the strugglers without being faux-poor or mawkish. That will probably be enough for the day. If I want to see a 1 a.m. show, I’ll figure that out on the fly. Back-up plans – Micachu, K’naan (good luck, there), Xienena Sarinana (gotta see foreign music while here and the album’s beautiful), Raul Malo and Austin buzz band the Wavves (again, good luck).
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The news as SXSW starts is the seeming disconnect between the state of the economy, the state of the music business and the music festival/marketplace in Austin, Texas. While the industry and economy continue to reel, there were more people at SXSW than ever on a Wednesday. Lines to register were over an hour long, and day parties for indie rock shows often had significant lines snaking out into the middle of 6th Street.
That doesn’t mean everybody’s in denial or mysteriously flush. Major PR firm Shore Fire has had an opening night party in recent years, but it decided against holding one this year, and Yep Roc Records decided this year to forego the costs of a day party to feature artists on its label. Instead, it’ll go with only its official festival showcase tonight at the Continental Club, where BeauSoleil will make their SXSW debut at 10 followed by the Iguanas.
What’s happening is the question for the weekend. My suspicion is two-fold. One is that being a part of the community who believes in the music you do helps people get through tough times, making trips to SXSW valuable; the other is the belief in the value of networking, and that somehow, the friction of a lot of brains focused on the same questions at the same time could actually produce interesting answers – small solutions to individual problems, any way. Or, it may be that though the music business itself is in bad shape, music is so connected to many people’s livelihoods that the masses here all depend on rock ‘n’ roll in one way or another without officially being in the industry.
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In “The Weekly Beat” next week, we hype some of the Louisiana artists playing in Austin during SXSW. Unfortunately, that comes out a little late for those who play Wednesday. So, for those who are going, here are two events to add to your calendar.
On Wednesday, the swamp pop documentary The Promised Land will screen for free at the Continental Club, followed by a performance by Lil Band of Gold. The show’s from 3 to 6 p.m., and boiled crawfish have been promised.
And Rotary Downs plays its showcase gig Wednesday night. The details of the show weren’t available at press time, so they’re not in OffBeat. They’ll play Wednesday, March 18 at Ace’s Lounge (222 E. 6th St.) at 9 p.m. They’ll also play two day shows Thursday, one at the Electronic Musician/reapandsow music SXSW Day party at Calle Habana 6 (709 E. 6th St.) at 3 p.m. on the inside stage, and again at 5:45 p.m. at the Historic Victory Grill (1104 E. 11th St.) presented by NOLA Soul.
