SXSW 2006

3/15/06
12:00 pm
Band Marino @ Austin Convention Center
The first official day of the Festival is always the most difficult to fill up, but I found a few artists to occupy my time. First up was Band Marino, a young group from Orlando, Florida, described in the SXSW handbook as comparable to Modest Mouse and the Pixies. Normally that kind of description would turn me right off, but what the hell, I didn't have anything else to do. Fortunately, that description ended up being way off; if forced to throw comparisons around, I'd say the Decemberists and Donovan would be more accurate touchstones for the quintet's melancholy folk rock. Liberal use of banjo and mandolin, the singer's keening voice, pretty, emotional songs like "Someday We All Must Die" and "Every Time I Make a Girl Cry I've Done My Job" and the bluegrass/Willie Nelson tribute "Chasing Rainbows" reveal a wide reach and less of an "indie rock" pedigree than one might expect from such a tender-faced bunch. And as serious and affecting as the band's music was, it's also not afraid to get silly, as on the brief "Elephants are Grey, Elephants are Blue;" a sense of humor always helps. Of course, this being the Day Stage at the trade show, it was an acoustic affair, and the singer promised the group's evening showcase would be a lot more electric and rockin'. On the evidence of this show, however, I don't think Band Marino needs amplification to get its point across.

1:25 pm
Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3 @ Mother Egan's
Yeah, yeah, I saw Wynn and his gang the night before at Flipnotics. So what—he was great, and I was curious to see what he would do for his brief set as part of Guitartown, an annual SXSW party thrown by publicist Cary Baker. I was under the impression he'd be playing a solo acoustic set, but I was wrong. Instead the full band slammed through a raging electric firestorm (notwithstanding the beautiful epic "The Deep End") that left both band and crowd breathless. The quartet hit hard, fast and loud, with its nuclear energy barely under control. Wow.

5:00 pm
Stan Ridgway @ Mother Egan's
For this show, singer/songwriter/iconoclast Stan Ridgway used the same trio format as he did during his last Austin performance: himself on guitar, his wife Pietra Wextun on keyboards and Rick King on guitar and sampler. Though he looked kind of tired (maybe he hadn't been awake long), he played a rousing show of old favorites ("Call of the West" and "Ring of Fire") and newer tunes ("Garage Band 1969," "Goin' On Down to the BBQ," from the new Drywall album Barbecue Babylon) to a delighted, devoted crowd. Ridgway also gave a couple of his older tunes significant makeovers. The formerly harsh, electronic Drywall track "Police Call" rode a sampled tribal drum groove that gave the melody a more relaxed cadence, though Ridgway offset any potential laidbackness with some truly unhinged singing. His much-beloved Wall of Voodoo hit "Mexican Radio" became a Tex-Mex-flavored country song, with Ridgway exhorting, "Come on all you old folks, sing along!" For "Garage Band 1969," from his overlooked gem Snakebite, he called for a drummer from the audience, and local punk skinsman Ken "Stagger" Dannelly, boasting a pristine Wall of Voodoo T-shirt, joined the band as if he'd been playing with them all his life. "Yul Brynner on drums!" Ridgway exclaimed, referring to Dannelly's gleaming, bald pate. "He'll be back later to sing 'Happy Talk' for you." Ridgway, Wextun and King seemed to have a great time on this afternoon; I know the audience certainly did.

8:00 pm
Luminous Orange @ Habana Calle 6
I decided to take a chance on a band I'd never heard before and knew little about for the first official showcase performance. Luminous Orange came from Japan, performing a lightly psychedelic brand of guitar rock/pop. The quintet was obviously heavily influenced by the early 90s British shoegazer scene, particularly the more aggressive branch of Swervedriver and Catherine Wheel. The songs were very melodic, with just the right number of noisy bits, and topped with angelic, layered female harmonies. Everything was seamlessly integrated—no gimmicky or awkward dynamic shifts. At times, it was like a more propulsive My Bloody Valentine or a poppier Sonic Youth. Nice.

9:30 pm
José González @ Eternal
This was one of my most anticipated shows. I fell in love with the Swedish-born, Argentine-descended González's debut album Veneer a couple of years ago, and was anxious to see him do his thing on-stage. He concentrated on tunes from Veneer, with "Crosses" and "Lovestain" getting the strongest reception. He's a fascinating guitarist to watch as well—he uses classical and flamenco guitar technique, but applies it to pop music, which makes for a distinctive and enticing sound. Unfortunately, Eternal turned out to be the wrong venue for his intimate, acoustic vibe. Normally a dance club, the venue had a high, cavernous ceiling, and González's fragile singing went straight up like it was sucked up by a funnel cloud. (The folks on the balcony probably heard him very well.) For some reason, the mix went heavy for his bass strings, which often drowned out the rest of his picking. It didn't help that, while there was a large cluster of devotees up front that hung on his every word and strum, the people in the back continued their loud chatter as if they were trying to be heard over a metalcore act. Local folk club the Cactus Cafe would have been a more appropriate place for González to play. Now that he's signed to Mute, hopefully he'll be back on a regular tour of the U.S. and I can hear him in a more natural setting.

11:00 pm
World Party @ Exodus
I've been wondering for several years whatever happened to Karl Wallinger and his World Party. His last American release was Egyptology in the late 90s; I knew he'd put out a record called Dumbing Up in the U.K. a couple of years ago, but it never came out here. He seemed to have dropped off the musical radar completely. Well, things have changed; anticipating not only the long overdue American release of Dumbing Up but also a remastered reissue campaign for his back catalog, Wallinger hit the stage at SXSW to remind us that he's not only still alive but definitely kicking. Rather than a band, Wallinger brought only guitarist John Turnbull and violinist/mandolinist David Duffy with him, giving his full-bodied pop music a folkie spin. Wallinger pretty much stuck to the hits, and the crowd of loyal devotees loved every minute of "Put the Message in the Box," "Is It Like Today," "Love Street," "Sweet Soul Dream" and especially "Way Down Now." Things were kind of ragged due to some technical bumps, but Wallinger and company seemed to enjoy themselves regardless, closing out their set with a raucous "Is It Too Late," given a Bo Diddleyed re-imagining. Wallinger may be a bit greyer and heavier than when we saw him last, but he still oozes talent.

12:00 am
The Plimsouls @ Exodus
And speaking of technical difficulties…due both to World Party going overtime and a surprising long setup involving much tinkering, the Plimsouls didn't hit the stage until around 12:20. Peter Case, Eddie Munoz and the boys play together only about once a decade these days, and it shows—not in sloppy execution but in the high energy that comes from letting it all out. Case is essentially a folk singer these days, and it was obvious he was having a blast letting his rock & roll freak flag fly one more time. The mix was taken over by the bass, which almost drowned out the guitars, but the band's exuberance on "It's a Great Big World," "I'll Get Lucky," "How Long Will It Take" and a surprising cover of the Creation's "Makin' Time" easily carried the day. And of course the band played its beloved hit "A Million Miles Away," and there's nothing quite like hearing a classic song get its ass kicked by the artist that created it. The Plimsouls show wasn't quite the transcendent experience I was hoping for, but it was still a good time.

1:00 am
The Ark @ Dirty Dog Bar
The Ark was another band I was hotly anticipating, even with the mixed feelings I have toward their latest album State of the Ark. Though the Swedish quintet has a reputation for being one of the world's foremost glam rock bands, the record sounds more like a fun-loving New Order than anything I would associate with glam. I was able to see only two songs, alas, before a medical emergency took me home early, but I got to see enough to know the set was probably great. Without a keyboard in sight, the band was going back to its glam rock roots and giving the Darkness a run for its money in the over-the-top rawk department. I'm sure it was wonderful and I'm sorry I missed it.