SXSW 2006

It's time, once again, for the annual South By Southwest Music Festival. The conference virtually takes over the city of Austin in March (though it has to share power with the Austin Rodeo), and while that causes a great deal of resentment for a lot of locals, I welcome it. For purely selfish reasons, of course: how else am I going to see a bunch of great bands that I might never get a chance to see otherwise?

3/14/06
8:00 pm
Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3/Erik Hokkanen/Flip Grater @ Flipnotic5/a>anen/Flip Grater @ Flipnotic
My first night was actually sort of a SXSW pre-game show. It's not unusual for showcasing acts to hit town early and do some gigs, and for once I decided to take advantage of it. After picking up my badge early at the Convention Center, I headed over to Flipnotics for a varied evening of music to whet my appetite for the madness to come.

First up was New Zealand singer/songwriter Flip Grater. A charming solo songstress, she opened with a fingerpicked folk version of Big Star's "Thirteen." While most of her material fit the mold for a typical girl-with-acoustic-guitar, she did strap on a borrowed Telecaster for a pair of tunes and also covered Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You," suggesting a broader range than her set displayed. She was followed almost immediately by Austin treasure Erik Hokkanen, a virtuoso guitar, fiddler and mandolinist with a broad repertoire that encompasses swing (both the Western and Django Reinhardt divisions), bluegrass, Celtic folk, surf, C&W and even gypsy music on his original "The Tina Special." He and his three-piece band were as comfortable with an old Andrews Sisters tune like "Apple Blossom Time" as they were with a riproaring instrumental like "Flashfoot." The players boasted a very high level of musicianship, but weren't so much showing off their prowess as using every bit of their ability to have a blast and inviting the audience to enjoy it too. Which we all did, very much.

After Hokkanen fis to the outside stage and the main reason I came: Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3. I confess I've only recently become a convert to Wynn's electrifying mixture of Crazy Horse, the Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan & the Band (though I've always liked his 80s outfit the Dream Syndicate), but now I can't get enough. I'm especially fond of his latest album …tick…tick…tick, and was thrilled to hear him and his trio perform most of the songs from it. The foursome ripped through "Bruises," "Cindy, It Was Always You" (which has shockingly been getting airplay on our local triple-A station) and a monstrously powerful "Killing Me," as well as giving the epics "No Tomorrow" and "The Deep End" the earthbound majesty they deserve. Wynn and company also tripped through the Miracle 3 back catalog with "What Comes After," "There Will Come a Day" and a snarling beast of an "Amphetamine," as well as delighting the older folks in the audience with ear canal-scouring versions of his Dream Syndicate classics "That's What You Always Say" and "The Days of Wine and Roses." Wynn still plays those old songs with the same glee as he did back in the day, and his enthusiasm shows. It helps that his current band is probably the best he's ever had; feedback-happy guitarist Jason Victor is an especially perfect foil. Along with the Pat Todd & the Rank Outsiders show I saw the previous Saturday, this was as incredible an example of classic American rock & roll as I've always craved it, and a great way to kick off what promises to be a magnificent South By Southwest.