Friday is usually a great day at SXSW, because it’s loaded with day parties (where record labels and other such companies, like booking agencies or magazines put on parties with free food and music by good bands). The weather had been awesome all week long, showing out-of-town visitors the delight of spring in Texas.
Our beloved intern, Daniel, was over at Emo’s most of the day, I think, catching good metal. Before I started setting up the HM Magazine Showcase I stopped in over there to see MyChildren MyBride take the stage. They brought the metal with fury and power and the audience responded with lots of movement, pit moves in the circle and fists pumping all over the audience. The guitarists, bassist and drummer got down to the business of destroying the place sonically while the frontman, Matthew Hastings, was like a conductor, shouting verses into the mic while looking out over the sprawling audience. He had them in his back pocket and everyone in the tent knew that this was a band bringing it with full confidence and intensity. Daniel says they played three new ones. I was sickened not to stay for the full set, but I had a banner to hang and magazines to display over at the 311 Club. Sigh…
The medium-sized-but-small club was sparse at first. 6pm came and went as we hoped for more people to arrive, but 5 minutes later we began the showcase anyway … knowing that sometimes people need to hear live music in order to venture inside. While I’d seen Leper perform at Cornerstone in previous years, I wasn’t fully convinced of their live music skills. That is, until now. These two guys sounded way better than I’d ever heard. Using samples, a bass and an electric guitar, Leper brought the dark, gloomy and doomy metal across these ears. Otto played bass and started the samples going while a scarf-hooded Skot Shaw churned out power chords on his electric. While not giving a lot to look at, the sonics were quite satisfying. They introduced a few songs and explained that one tune in particular was a cover of The Resurrection Band, “when they were going through their New Wave phase,” but they claimed that they’d “redeemed it.” After hearing the stark and heavy “Playground,” I had to agree. They did the song justice … and then some.
The Letter Black stepped in as a last-minute replacement for the showcase and held their own with a solid hard rock performance. Their frontwoman, Sarah Anthony, did a good job of singing their dark hard rock songs. Their last song, “Hanging On By A Thread,” did a good job of balancing tension and resolution. Their upcoming tour with Skillet and Red should go well with their sound.
Before There Was Rosalyn wisely set up their merch table on the sidewalk outside. With the energy of five young men, they recruited people off the street to come in and watch them shred. Once they started playing, they packed lots of people between the bar and the stage. People hopped and headbanged and had a good time. The melodic singing vocals of guitarist Jeremy Wurts cut through the sonic blast of their hardcore/metal very well. Trent Gibson, the other guitarist, had a mic, too. He added some shout vocals to join frontman Carlos Salazar. The overall sound was full and heavy. For 35 to 40 minutes they completely dominated the HM Magazine showcase. It was awesome to have a moment like this – where the club was alive with bodies and energy and the band was just killing it.
At times the band and audience were worshiping, and Salazar exhorted the audience with kind words: “Heaven is waiting / and heaven is watching… God believe in you. We believe in you…”
After the last set change of the evening Shapes Stars Make came on. Since they made such great chill instrumental music, I sat down in a chair just off the “dance floor.” For those present, it would be hard to describe this show without the dancer that “performed” for the crowd in front of the band. To put it simply, the guy was very gay and very drunk. It was an effort to avoid eye contact, because he seemed to be staring right at us in the center of the room. I felt like King Herod or something when his daughter danced in front of them for entertainment. The band told me afterward that he kept requesting the Rolling Stones. Weird.
This band from the Dallas area is great at creating a vibe – so chill yet energetic. Near the end of their set the bass player began hitting this very large but narrow kick drum on a stand with a mallet (before turning the mallet on his bass). The guitarist used a mallet on a small tambourine on a stand.
While I wanted to take in Cheap Trick and Andy Pratt, I had to truck my magazine stands, banner and stuff back to my car. Prior to heading home for the night, though, I gave myself the option of “if I find a parking space, I’ll go watch Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at La Zona Rosa.” I did and I’m glad. It was a packed club and the audience all seemed to know and love this band. There’s something hypnotizing about their brand of shoegazing-meets-rock. Lots of bodies and strobe lights add to the vibe. The title track to their new album, Beat The Devil’s Tattoo, sounded really good live. The singer has big old lambchop sideburns almost as big as Flatfoot 56’s Tobin Bawinkel.
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