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?

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. (more)