SXSW 2005

I greeted the 2005 South By Southwest Music Festival with my usual mix of anticipation and dread. On the one hand, I had great bands, old friends and new discoveries in the offing. On the other, I also had sleep deprivation, physical exhaustion, throbbing calves and feet and, for the first time, ripping lower back pain (guess I'm getting old) in my future as well. But the former is worth the latter for me, so why complain? Let's get right to the nitty gritty, shall we?

3/16/05
1:00 pm
Jason & Susan's wedding party @ Hole in the Wall
Having finally gotten smart this year and picked up my badge early, I was able to dive right in to the music, beginning with Jason Cohen and Susan Sheperd's wedding party at the Hole in the Wall. Cohen, like myself, is a former writer for Pop Culture Press, and a music and sports critic of strong renown. His wife has also dabbled in music criticism; both have made many friends in the music community over the years. A bunch of them came to help celebrate the couple's union, beginning with Paul K & the Weathermen. The last time I saw the erstwhile Paul Kopasz, he was strumming an acoustic guitar; I'm happy to note that he's back in power trio mode, the format in which he's most effective. The band played a set of songs mostly unfamiliar to me, unsurprisingly, since I've not heard a Paul K album since 1999's Saratoga. The rhythm section kept up a more-or-less steady rock pulse while Paul howled and rasped about pain and redemption above it. Ripping gnarled fills and chunky leads out of his cheap Les Paul copy, Paul played as if he and the music were at war, with the human barely coming out ahead. Every tune, new ("Sterling Morrison") or old ("Liar's Prayer"), was excellent, a testament to this man's seeming effortless ability to come up with quality material. "Radiant and White," an anthemic love song that's as close to a "Free Bird" as Paul has, never fails to soar up with every spirit it touches. The biggest highlight, however, was a savage cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Waitin' Round to Die." Paul gave this gem by one of his primary inspirations a rough-and-ready treatment that Van Zandt would've appreciated, pumping up both the black humor and inherent tragedy of the tune without once resorting to showboating or false drama. Ninety-nine percent of the singer/songwriters out there could learn a few things from Paul K.

The rest of the performers couldn't match the standard set by Paul, but that doesn't mean there wasn't plenty of music to love. Dave Shouse, formerly of indie rock darlings the Grifters and currently of the Bloodthirsty Lovers, played a brief set of tunes that made me rethink my previous disdain for the Grifters' catalog. Britt Daniel also impressed me, despite my dislike for his beloved band Spoon; playing a Julian Cope cover goes a long way with me. Robyn Hitchcock was a delight, as always, digging into his back catalog for "One Long Pair of Eyes," a beautiful tune requested by the couple. Since Hitchcock also performed the wedding ceremony a couple of days earlier, he, Cohen, Sheperd and witness Michael Krugman signed the wedding certificate onstage after the set. It was almost too cute.

British act the Dawn Parade followed, with what the band claimed was its first set outside of England. I don't know where Jason and Susan found this group, but I'm glad they did. The quartet was wonderful, tossing gem after widescreen pop gem that would make U2 and Echo & the Bunnymen jealous. Somebody sign these guys to an American distribution deal, please. After that out-of-the-blue shock came Tim Lee. The former Windbreaker and current purveyor of excellent solo albums played a fine set of loud roots rock that begged the question: why isn't this guy better known? Finally, the Great Lines, a British quartet led by the songwriters from PCP faves the Dentists, played a few catchy numbers, attracting Beatle Bob in the process. There was more music to come, including a second set from Paul K, but I had to meet someone, so I wished the happy couple well and took off.

8:00 pm
The Mercury Stars/The Brilliant Mistakes/Jason Falkner @ Tambaleo
Joined by Georgina, I hit the former site of the Electric Lounge for my first official SXSW show. I was mainly there for Jason Falkner, but I'd heard good things about the two bands before him. New York's Mercury Stars, alas, didn't live up to the SXSW guide's admonition that they were a cross between Queens of the Stone Age and New Order. The quintet overlaid guitar melodies over repetitious rhythms, but despite the bassist and drummer's aggression, the music lacked a certain urgency. I lost interest pretty quickly, frankly. Fans of neo-new wavers like the Killers will probably dig 'em, though. The Brilliant Mistakes, another NYC group, were up next, playing melodic pop along the lines of Squeeze or the Rembrandts. Tunes like "Dumb Luck" and "All the Way" were a bit too polite for my tastes, but they're undeniably well-crafted and tightly performed. The foursome also pulled off a sparkling cover of the Zombies' "She's Not There," dedicated to Beatle Bob, who unsurprisingly showed up.

By the time Jason Falkner hit the stage at 10, the place had filled up completely. (Beatle Bob disappeared—I'd've thought the pop-heavy Falkner would be right up his alley. Maybe he didn't like how the crush of the crowd would have prevented him from dancing at the lip of the stage.) The club was filled to bursting with the Falkner faithful, calling out for their favorite songs. He played by himself, despite reports that he was bringing a full band with him, but hell, we didn't care; we were just glad he was there. Armed with an obviously well-loved Telecaster, Falkner himself seemed happy to be there, joking with the crowd and grinning from ear-to-ear. He opened with some (relative) oldies, including "Hard Way" and "She's Not the Enemy" and "Revelation," from his masterpiece Can You Still Feel. After tossing some buttons into the crowd, he then previewed a trio of tunes from his as-yet-unreleased new album. "The Lie in Me," "Stephanie Tells Me" and "Hurricane" found Falkner backed by the record's actual tracks, with the lead vocals and rhythm guitar mixed out. All of the songs were excellent, with the soft-to-anthem dynamics of "Hurricane" making it the clear standout. Following one more new song performed solo, Falkner closed the set with an audience request for "Miss Understanding," one of the best cuts from his debut album Author Unknown. All in all, an excellent set—it would have been nice to hear Falkner's pop gems brought to life by a band, but I had so much fun as it was it would be churlish to complain.

11:00 pm
Tift Merritt @ La Zona Rosa
Though I've seen her twice in the past couple of months, I couldn't resist hitting Tift Merritt's show at La Zona Rosa. Riding high on a Grammy nomination, a tour opening for Elvis Costello and a stupendous band, Merritt was in good form here, treating the crowd to songs mostly from her amazing Tambourine album. "Stray Paper," "Your Love Made a U-Turn" and "Shadow in the Way" seemed as joyful as always, and the band was rockin', particularly guitarist Brad "Sweet B" Rice. It seemed a bit rushed to me, but that's only because they had barely 40 minutes to rock, instead of a full length set time. That's fine; those of us who're fans were definitely satisfied and anybody who'd never heard Merritt before was surely converted.

12:00 am
Magnolia Electric Co. @ Parish
Despite the temptation of Elvis Costello following Merritt, I wanted to support the underdog and see American Music Club at the Vibe at 1:00. But that left me with an hour to kill, so I hit the several blocks between La Zona Rosa and the Vibe paging through the SXSW guide, looking for someone to see in the meantime. I reluctantly passed on jazz pianist Jason Moran, as going to his venue would take me too far out of the way, and finally decided on Magnolia Electric Co. at the Parish. MEC is led by Jason Molina, who indulged in a frightening degree of Palace Bros. worship in his prior group Songs: Ohia. His current outfit, however, eschews self-consciousness for straightforward roots rock & roll, more like Neil Young's 70s work than anything else: plaintive vocals, countryish melodies, loud lead guitar. The band played a few too many sad, midtempo song in a row, but was otherwise solid and entertaining. I definitely want to hear more.

Alas, the American Music Club show didn't pan out, at least for me. I knew something was up when I walked into the Vibe at 1:00 and South San Gabriel was still onstage. Not that I have any objection to SSG (essentially centro-matic and a few pals), whose dreamy balladry is usually captivating and beautiful. But the band didn't finish until almost 1:30, and by 1:50, AMC still hadn't set up, and I simply couldn't wait any longer. I wasn't going to leave my companion waiting by the car in the middle of a dark Austin night, so I skipped out on what I later found out was a tumultuous set. Hopefully I'll catch AMC next time.