SXSW 2004

3/18/03
1:15 pm
Big Star #1 Panel @ Austin Convention Center
I decided to skip Little Richard's keynote speech in favor of sleeping in, which helped my energy level considerably. Feeling refreshed, I hit the Austin Convention Center for a quick round through the trade show, then picked out some panels. I haven't attended any of the panels in years, due to both a lack of truly interesting meetings and general burnout on my part, but this year I found a couple of good ones. The aim of the Big Star panel was to dispel some of the myths that have built up around the legendary Memphis power pop band, primarily the one that states that Big Star was the sole creation of revered singer/songwriter/flake Alex Chilton. The panelists—Big Star drummer Jody Stephens, original bassist Andy Hummel (now an aerospace engineer), producer/engineer Terry Manning and Posies Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, who play in the reconstituted Big Star with Stephens and Chilton—offered history and insights that ranged from trivial (where and when the teenage members first met each other) to revelatory (Bell and Chilton freely borrowing each other's melodies for songs of their own). Moderator Kent Benjamin (an editor for my alma mater Pop Culture Press who grew up in Memphis and knew most of these guys way back when) kept the proceedings from veering into too much free association. Chilton's absence (he refuses to participate in such things) allowed the panelists to more finely discuss the contributions of late co-guitarist/songwriter Chris Bell, whose presence was keenly felt in the reminiscences of Manning and Stephens. An hour and 15 minutes wasn't really long enough to cover the tangled history of Big Star—a forthcoming book will go into greater detail—but it was still an informative and enjoyable panel.

2:45 pm
Songwriters' Way With Words @ Austin Convention Center
The songwriters' panel presented every year is usually a guaranteed good time, since musicians from all walks of music gather on stage with guitars and mics for an impromptu hootenanny. For some reason, this year the writers weren't set up to perform, which was a drag. Fortunately, though, the discussion moderated by BMI's Paul Corbin ended up being a fascinating glimpse into the working methods of a very disparate trio of songwriters: Ron Sexsmith, Charlotte Martin and Robyn Hitchcock. While the conversation rarely touched on minutiae like how one writer puts certain words to certain melodic lines (though I'd've loved to hear Hitchcock dissect one of his tunes in such a manner), each writer outlined the times, spaces and, most importantly, accouterments required to foster creativity. Hitchcock claimed the most important items to his songwriting state of mind were not only his guitar but also his kitchen table and a mug of hot coffee. The British cult hero was charming and witty as always, while Martin and Sexsmith were both self-effacing but confident in their own talents. I've always dismissed Sexsmith, but after this panel I'm eager to give his work another shot, and I'm looking forward to Martin's debut album later this year. And, of course, my interest in Hitchcock was rekindled. This was the most fun I've had at a panel in years.

8:00 pm
Javier Escovedo @ Hard Rock Cafe
Javier Escovedo is, of course, part of the infamous Escovedo clan, younger brother to Alejandro, older sib to Mario, and forging a sound different than either. As opposed to Al's visionary eclectica and Mario's rocking punk with the Dragons, Javier instead played straightforward, surprisingly poppy (vocal harmonies!) bar band rock & roll, refreshing in its complete unpretentiousness. That description makes his music sound plain and uninteresting, but it certainly wasn't; songs like "Tonight is Gonna Be Better," "You Ain't Gonna Put Me Down" and the amp-frying closer "Keep On Tryin'" may not be blazing new trails, but they're way too catchy, heartfelt and, most of all, fun to deny. I hope this showcase raises Javier's profile enough for him to release a record, which I'll be first in line to pick up.

9:00 pm
Stinking Lizaveta @ Room 710
Philadelphia power trio Stinking Lizaveta had already taken the stage by the time I got to Room 710, even though Javier's set ended early and I was at the club by 8:45. I didn't know what to expect from a band with such a gawdawful name, and I walked into an aural hurricane. The drummer flailed at her kit like a pissed-off jazz musician, the bassist fingered his upright electric bass like he was trying to hit every spot on the neck in each song and the guitarist sometimes paused throttling his ax to howl like a banshee directly into the pickup, creating an otherworldly sound that perfectly complemented the band's crushing melodies. I suppose you'd call nimble pounders like "Sketches of Pain," "The Drop" and "LBJ" progressive metal, but that brings to mind a bunch of frowning musos more intent on hitting the proper notes than rocking out. The members of Stinking Lizaveta looked they were having a complete blast (in every sense) playing this music; no matter how complex the tunes became, the band never forgot to rock the fuck out. All I could think when it was over was "Holy shit!"

10:00 pm
Susan Cowsill and the Mid City Ministers @ The Vibe
My original plan was to see Madeline Peyroux, who was highly recommended to me by a couple of different people, but I mixed her start time up with Lizaveta's and missed her set. Instead I dropped in on the Pop Culture Press showcase to see Susan Cowsill, and boy, am I glad I did. Most recently a member of the Continental Drifters, Cowsill has parlayed her three decades of experience in the music biz into a streamlined, no-bullshit brand of singer/songwriter rock that encompasses sparkling folk rock, tough power pop and melancholy ballads of exceedingly high quality. Tunes like "Palm of My Hand" and "Talking Shit Around Town" were already good stuff, but enhanced by her soulful singing and her excellent band (including her fellow former Drifter Russ Broussard and former Bluerunners/Cowboy Mouth bassist Rob Savoy) they were even better. She even dipped into her Drifters songbook for "The Rain Song," and was completely charming between numbers as well. The lights and smoke machine were a bit much, but not her choice or fault; otherwise, she put on a shockingly strong performance.

Beatle Bob was there again, serving as MC before her set.

11:00 pm
Anne McCue @ Pecan St. Ale House
I promised publicist Cary Baker and Messenger Records owner Brandon Kessler I'd attend singer/guitarist Anne McCue's show, even though I thought it might impact my ability to get into the Church's showcase (more on that later); once again, I'm happy I did it. I like her latest record, the accomplished, soulful Roll, even if I think the production is a bit too slick, but there was no slickness to her performance. Accompanied by the basic rhythm section from the album (including roots rock super-producer Dusty Wakeman on bass), McCue ran through an excellent selection of material from Roll, including awesome readings of the bluesy "Ballad of an Outlaw Woman" and the beauteous "Fifty Dollar Whore." A tasteful guitarist, she held back most of her six-string fireworks and served the songs, even if that meant calmly making a lap steel scream in agony on the dark blues "Hangman." On the set's final number, a cover of Jimi Hendrix's underrated classic "Machine Gun," she finally let loose, teaching an important lesson to all the wannabe guitar slingers out there: guitar wank is a lot more impressive when held in reserve. For some reason, she seemed uncomfortable on the stage, which is strange, considering she's been a working musician for a decade on three different continents. Maybe she had indigestion or something; regardless, it didn't hamper her stellar performance one iota.

Celebrity sighting: Michelle Shocked

12:00 am
Bad Wizard @ Room 710
My original plan was to go see the Church at the Elysium, but the line for both badgeholders and ticket buyers was around the block (as it had been at 9:00, when I walked by the club earlier), so I decided to blow off the show, rather than wait in line for who knows how long and miss some of the music. (I was later informed that the band went on 45 minutes late and, if I'd been willing to wait a half hour or so, I would have gotten in plenty of time. But that would have meant a half hour of missing live music elsewhere, so I've no regrets.) Instead I headed across the street, back to Room 710, to see Bad Wizard. I've managed to miss these butt rockers supreme every other time they've hit town, so I was glad to finally see them in action. On stage, the NYC quintet sounded exactly like I expected it to—like AC/DC on speed—and the singer's constant exhortations to "have fun have fun have fun" were unnecessary. With riff rockin' ass-shakers like "Lay Your Love on Me," "Natural High" and "Keep High/Stay Low" in evidence, there's no way the crowd could have done anything else.

1:00 am
The Posies @ Bigsbys
The other thing missing the Church allowed me to do was catch the reunited Posies, one of my all-time favorite bands. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so, as the club was stuffed to the gills, there was a long line and I had to wait to be let in until some patrons exited. Bad Wizard ended early, so that wasn't a problem—I was even able to catch the last bit of Fastball's set, including a drastically retooled punk rock version of the Austin band's hit "The Way" and a nice cover of Graham Parker's "Crawling From the Wreckage." But all memories of Fastball were forgotten once the Posies laid waste to the stage. Though known for their sterling pop melodies and pristine, beautiful harmonies, the Posies have always been a rock band, at least live, and this show was a reminder of that fact. Aggressive, rough around the edges and loud as hell, this was the Posies as garage band; amazingly, the band's songs weren't trampled underneath the raging power chords and haphazard energy bursts. The group stuck mostly to its standards—"Throwaway," "Flavor of the Month," "Grant Hart," "Solar Sister"—with only one new song, which ended the set in a haze of feedback and broken guitar strings. It was an awesome show by a great and obviously revitalized band and sent me home with ears ringing and heart singing.

And there was Beatle Bob, this time onstage dancing during one of the songs. Imagine that.

Celebrity sighting: Javier Escovedo