24 posts from March 2009

Big Blue Moon plays like the soundtrack to a gentle romantic drama, one with minimal daylight scenes and lots of long, winding walks past ivy-covered Brownstones and quaint Mom & Pop cafés.  It’s New York City, shot through the lenses of a poet, where the daily grime is tucked away in shadows and loneliness is as beautiful as a street-lit silhouette.  I was reminded of the film My Blueberry Nights, which begins in New York but follows the main character as she moves across the country and eventually returns to the small Manhattan diner that initially drew her in.  Jazz accompanies her journey, a fitting musical choice as the wayfaring heroine is played by Norah Jones.  Similarly, Tolar channels Jones’s calm, light-but-not-lite sensibility, which explains why this style of music complements the visual narrative of film—its simple elegance is understated without seeming obtuse.

Tolar is a self-described “Southwestern girl living in Brooklyn,” a transplant from Colorado by way of California, raised on folk legends like Carole King and the downcast country blues of Johnny Cash.  It’s fitting then that Moon addresses issues of displacement (a theme that Tolar cites in her bio); there’s an overwhelming connection with “home,” both geographically (“Colorado calls me home underneath a big blue moon,” from the title track) and as a symbol of romantic contentment (“Somethin’ in your words brings me home when I am lost,” “Somethin’”).  Despite an obvious attention to heartbreak, Moon avoids gloomy cynicism, perhaps owing to the conceptual quality of the album as a whole:  a kind of reflective “travel” diary, with each song documenting Tolar’s search for answers to The Big Questions in Life, like “why does love have to be so complicated?”

When Moon picks up in pace (on songs like “Along for the Ride”), Tolar proves that contemporary jazz can be sexy, in an unfussy, silk-and-red-wine sort of way, without sacrificing consistency.  Often the inclusion of one or two up-tempo tracks has the adverse effect of disrupting the balance of these mostly-mellow records.  But Moon opts for steady sophistication rather than stylized showiness, which speaks well of Tolar’s self-awareness as an artist and makes for a moving debut album.

Big Blue Moon can be purchased through Sarah Tolar’s official website at www.sarahtolar.com (via CD Baby; direct link:  http://cdbaby.com/cd/sarahtolar).  Tolar will be playing a CD release show at The Canal Room in New York City on April 13.  For more information please visit her website or Myspace.

SXSW: SUMMARY
You know, the festival is only four days, but it really seem like weeks.

While having every band in the world merge at one place might sound like a great idea... sometime their appearance conflicts with other artists that you also want to see. So one of the biggest problem I had was sacrificing who to see.

Music happens from daylight (probably closer to 10am start) until two in the morning, or even later.

I usually started my day around 8am, working out my schedule for the day. Sometime it's logistics, sometime it's time-issues, but usually I have a full day's worth of stuff to do. I don't follow my schedule to a T, but there are certain items that I absolutely cannot miss (scheduled interviews takes priority over shows).

IMIW09	Shay in the Blackwatch Studios	Camera Obscura - Setlist (3-19-09)
The May Fire - Set List (3-18-09)	Proclaimers - Set List (3-19-09)	Glasvegas - Set List, La Zona Rosa, Austin TX (3-20-09) - From Bob
Late of the Pier - Set List, Austin TX (3-21-2009)	Crimea - Set List, Austin TX (3-21-09)	Superdrag - Setlist, Guero's (3-19-09)
Wave Machines - Friends, Austin, TX (3-18-09)	Jay Jay Pistolet - Friends, Austin TX (3-18-09)	May Fire - Havana, Austin, TX (3-18-09)
Meiko - Cedar Door, Austin TX (3-19-2009)	Superdrag - Guero's (3-20-09)	Primal Scream - Austin, TX - Photo from Bob
Ed Harcourt - Cedar Door, Austin TX (3-19-2009)	Kate Tucker - Cedar Door, Austin TX (3-19-2009)	Diane Birch - The Garden Party, Austin TX (3-21-09)
The Gin Riots - Rio, Austin TX (3-21-2009)	Goldielocks - Rio, Austin, TX (3-21-2009)	Crimea - Austin TX (3-21-2009)
Babies Loves Jeremy Jay - Austin, TX (3-21-09)	Jeremy Jay - Club de Ville Austin, TX (3-21-09) 1 comment	Melissa Auf De Maur - The Garden Party, Austin TX (3-21-09)
Camera Obscura - La Zona Rosa, Austin TX (3-20-09)	Solid Gold - Beauty Bar, Austin TX (3-20-09)	Laura Marling - The Garden Party, Austin TX (3-21-09)
Ed Harcourt - Until Tomorrow Then 1 comment	Cedar Avenue - Running Home 2 comments	Los Fancy Free - JAJAJA 1 comment
The May Fire - Under The Wave 3 comments	Solid Gold - Get Over It 2 comments	Kate Tucker & The Sons of Sweden - Saturday Night 1 comment
Meiko - Piano Song 1 comment	I Am Incinerator 5 comments	The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - The Sun Ain't Shining No More 2 comments
Glasvegas - Geraldine	Camera Obscura - Eighties Fan (original version)	The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) 8 comments
Primal Scream - Suicide Sally & Johnny Guitar 2 comments	Jeremy Jay - While the City Sleeps	Laura Marling - Ghosts 3 comments
Late of the Pier-Space and the Woods [Cenzo Townshend Mix] 1 comment	The Crimea - Jellyfish 3 comments	Camera Obscura - Hands Up Baby 2 comments
Ed Harcourt - Until Tomorrow Then	Crimea - Jellyfish 1 comment	The Proclaimers - 500 Miles

WHAT WORKED
- Offline gmail. This worked! I read/did most emails offline and when I was connected, all emails were sent, marked as read, etc.
- iPod Touch, worked like a charm. I was able to grab onto various (free) wifi to receive emails or websurf (maps), etc.
- Austin Convention Center's SXSW wifi stayed up most 99% of the time. Wonderful!
- Cash (ATM) availability
- Blocking off 6th street for pedestrians

WHAT SUCKED
- AT&T Network, apparently everyone in Austin had an iPhone
- Walking......
- Sony Memory Stick not supported on my laptop
- Bands playing 30 minutes or less
- Badges are ridiculously expensive ($600-$700). I think they should make it more affordable, especially since most places don't bother to check for a badge and/or were free. If there was a cover charge, it is usually under $10.

I guess my problems are not really that bad.

DAY ZERO (Tuesday)
Travelling… nothing too exciting. My least favorite state was the one with the road tolls (I think this was in Oklahoma). We did stop in Oklahoma City to see Blackwatch Studios (myspace). We got to hear a few songs from Minneapolis' Cedar Avenue (official/myspace) band from their forth-coming long playing record. The few songs we heard were incomplete, but it sounds really layered with a variety of tracks.

By the way, if the name Cedar Avenue sounds familiar to you, it is because Kristin reviewed their debut album a while back.

DAY ONE (Wednesday)
Getting my barring was hard. I didn't know where any of the streets were. So when people text me: come over to (name of venue), I replied and ask what the cross streets were. Since walking around was my main means of transportation, I ended up crossing out outlier venues immediately.

Wednesday was evening-only, so I mostly went to see some British acts over at Friend's. These guys were all from the London area, with the exception of Liverpool's Wave Machines (official/myspace). These guys creeped me out with their masks that they wore on stage - however, due to heat and comfortableness, they took them off half way into their short set. Also caught a bit of Jay Jay Pistolet (myspace), whose singing voice is very peculiar... it's like he sounds like he's sing out the side of his mouth.

When Mumford & Sons (myspace) took the stage, it was very, very, very crowded. The audience loved them and it's apparent that these guys are going to blow up this year.

The Havana Bar had some Spanish showcase, featuring mostly Mexican bands such as Songs For Eleonor (myspace), Satin Dolls (official), Cosmopolitan (myspace), and Los Fancy Free (myspace). With the exception of The May Fire (official/myspace) and Spain's Capsula (official). We like Spanish acts, so be sure to read more Mexican Summer and my coverage of Los Fancy Free.

DAY TWO (Thursday)
I think this was the big press day, I got to meet & greet Victoria who setup the interview with Solid Gold (myspace). She was kind enough to have me in the Myspace Music event, featuring some artists that I really enjoy: Kate Tucker, Meiko and Ed Harcourt.

To kick off the party was The Real You (myspace), a power-pop band from Seattle, Washington. According to their biography, they've been on constant tour since forming in early 2007 - so I'm sure you'll run into this young band eventually.

I haven't been keeping up with Kate Tucker (official/myspace), but apparently her latest project is with a band called The Honeydove (myspace) - who debuted at SXSW! Unfortunately, I had prior commitments, but I would've liked to have seen her new band play at the Beauty Bar.

Anyway, the nicest bit about her set was that she wanted everyone at the event to get a copy of her last album, "I want to give you my music!"

So if you weren't at the event, you missed out. Hey, maybe you can stop in and say hi to her in Washington:

04/05/09 Sunset Seattle, WA
05/21/09 Chop Suey as honeydove Seattle, WA

Read more Kate Tucker & The Sons of Sweden on W♥M.

Meiko (official/myspace) had a guest trumpet player on for most of her set (she requested him on for the rest of show because I guess she felt more comfortable with having someone else with her). She actually started her set with "Piano Song", which ironically just her and her guitar... She made some funny comments, such as "I've never played to a bunch of porta potties before".

You get the impression that she was happy to be there, and maybe it's yellow-iest dress combined with her orange/red dyed hair, but she looks gorgeous.

Ed Harcourt (official/myspace) was very engaging…. During "Until Tomorrow Then", he got down to the audience and walked around, singing and putting his hands around people while everyone was filming and taking pictures. Enclosed is a video evidence.

Harcourt is releasing a new six-track EP called Russian Roulette out on May 5^th, but SXSW audience were privy to some of his new songs courtesy of Dovecote Records and Directv. Pay close attention to "Caterpillar", as this is a personal song about his newborn daughter being placed in an incubator as they helpless sit and wait.

Went to an open-door new talent showcase, this was not an official sanctioned SXSW event (you'll find that there are many, many unofficial events), so I don't have a listing of who played at what time. They were all giving away their CDs, but I couldn't bother to pick them up (this would require me to carry around stuff, and I didn't have a hand bag ready). Reminder for next year: bring a man purse.

Also went over to check The Elevaters (myspace) and Rumspringa (myspace) at the Hi-Lo venue. While Elevaters were fun and energetic, it seems the drums/guitar duo of Rumspringa had a lot of problems with their equipment. They had to cut their southern-sounding melodic set short after four (?) songs, quote from the singer, "my shit ain't working."

DAY THREE (Friday)
The busy day. Walked all over town basically. My only out-of-the-way venue was at 3 o'clock to see Superdrag (official/myspace) at Guero's, which I thought was far walking there. I ran into one of our RV family, who we'll call Rose because she looks like a pint-sized Pippettes, complete with dress and all. We walked back across the river so I can make it to my Asteroids Galaxy Tour (official/myspace) interview (this was delayed because of some miscommunication).

Afterward, headed over to Beauty Bar to see Solid Gold play, mustache and all. I can tell the audience was having a good time, especially the girl at the backstage.

Then snuck over to see this punk(ish) band that MTV was covering. I didn't catch their name, but it sounded something like Dirty____ Something. The singer had bleach blonde hair and eye shadows.... and likes to walk around with no shirts on.

Evening was spent mostly at the Scotland show: We Were Promised Jet Packs (myspace), Dananananaykroyd (official/myspace), Camera Obscura (official/myspace), The Proclaimers (official/myspace), Glasvegas (official/myspace), Primal Scream (official/myspace). I was in-out so I did end up missing Glasvegas & Primal Scream, but thanks to Bob for sending in some pictures.

DAY FOUR (Saturday)
Saw a few bands in the daytime at the Press Here Garden Party at the French Legation Museum across the Freeway (this is actually closer than it sounds). The walk there was interesting, and I discovered a no-seating Wendy's on the right side of 7th Street. Yep, I ended up having dinner there since they were making these chicken things that's not available in Minnesota.

I got to the Garden just in time to see Jeremy Jay (myspace), and enjoyed the most of the day with The Soft Pack (myspace) and Diane Birch* (myspace) before heading over to 900 Red River to see Jeremy Jay again.

Listened to Camera Obscura afterwards with those Peelander-Z, as I previously mentioned.

Headed back to the Garden to see Melissa Auf De Maur (official/myspace), who started her set with three cover songs: Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang", Danzig's "Devil's Plaything", and The Smiths "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before". Although the first two went off pretty well, she totally messed up on "Stop Me" - which is understandable because that song has a lot of Morrissey's lyrics and also they had only practiced it the night before in their hotel room.

It wasn't long before people started filling up the seats at the Garden to see Laura Marling (official/myspace). She was joined on stage by Marcus Mumford, I think. He played percussions and sang backup, although I have to say that Marling would've done just fine with her lovely voice and acoustic guitar.

Saw Late of the Pier at the Bat Bar later that night. Since it was being broadcast live on Directv, I think the pressure got to the band and it was just embarrassing to watch. Towards the end, they seem to not be so nervous, and the (rather long) setlist ended with men in death masks coming on stage to carry the band offstage. I don't have Directv, is there a way for non-subscribers to watch this?

Honey Ryder (myspace) was really happy to be Austin, I think this was their first ever US appearance or something. I believe also that their name came from a James Bond girl ? I don't know much about them, but they seem to have a wider audience and following in the UK, where their single "Fly Away" entered the UK Top 40 at #31.

GoldieLocks (myspace) is 75% English and 25% Swedish from Croydon (South London). She raps to DJ Sports (?), who is wearing this Skeletor T-shirt. After the show, she wanted to give everyone in attendance her EP, which actually went pretty fast. As I previously mentioned, keep an eye on this one.

There's no denying that The Gin Riots (myspace) have quite a few hardcore fans here, as evident by a bunch of Gin Riots T-Shirt in the audience.

It's been a few years since The Crimea (official/myspace) toured in the US, so I was happy to be there for them on their second and last SXSW appearance. They were the last band on my list, so it was kind of a relief when it was all over.

And as corrected by superfan Christopher, Tara Blaise shared the stage to sing backup for the band.... Highlight of the show was then Davey Macmanus stepped down and sang in the center of the audience.

* A note on Birch is that she has these incredible legs, but too bad they were well-hidden behind her piano on stage.

Songs From The Heart, 12 Song Album, 2008
by
Sylvia Bennett With “The Three Tenors”
Genre: Smooth Jazz/Adult Easy Listening

Sylvia Bennett - Ain't Misbehavin' Sylvia Bennett Tour Dates 04/18/09 Bertofino’s Biscayne Key Biscayne, FL 05/16/09 Bertofino’s Key Biscayne, FL Selective Discography [1985] You're My Fantasy (ZYX and New York Music Company) [1986] Sentimental Journey by Lionel Hampton [1991] Here's That Rainy Day [2006] There Will Never Be Another You by Lionel Hampton [2008] Fantasies the Remixes [2008] Songs from the Heart

Sylvia was born in Italy, but emigrated to Philadelphia when she was a child. After moving to Miami, she started singing professionally in 1976.   Phyllis Diller, Jackie Mason and other headliners began to use her to open their acts when in Florida. She was content being a pop performer until she met Lionel Hampton, who told her she should be singing jazz. Recording with Hampton in 1985, Bennett worked with him at festivals and at the inaugurals of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Three jazz records resulted from Hampton's injunction to go jazz -- I Need a Man in 1988 for New York Music, Rainbows in the Sky in 1991 for her own company, Out of Sight Music, and Here's That Rainy Day for Bay Cities in 1992. Tenor man Boots Randolph joined her on the latter session. During the 1990's, Bennett has appeared at European jazz festivals, notably in Budapest and in Amsterdam. 

Although the songs on Songs From The Heart are standard jazz love ballads or “torch songs”, Sylvia's silky smooth, clear and bright toned soprano voice and warm personality, are particularly suited to these old favorites. Not only does she touch your soul, she soothes and caresses it!  You instantly feel relaxed and at ease listening to her, and by the time Sylvia has finished you feel reassured that things really will be all right. 

Add to this “The Three Tenors,” tenor saxophonists, that is.  The late Boots Randolph, two-time Latin Grammy nominee Ed Calle and eight-time Grammy nominee Kurt Whalum accompanying the singer with saxophone solos on each tune, and providing the perfect blend of sax and vocal.  Just another reason Songs From The Heart is a “must have” for every jazz collection.

Songs From The Heart is available either as a CD or as a MP3 download from CD Baby

Artist's Website

It's a chilly night. Come on Minnesota, it's very late March, why am I still wearing a jacket? Even Eleni Mandell admitted that she hoped to survive her travel through the midwest due to a possible upcoming blizzard (tomorrow).

We'll get to Mandell later, first up was folkster Daniel Martin Moore (danielmartinmoore.com/myspace) with his acoustic guitar and collection of friends (including the world's quietest drums). Highlight from his set is his cover of "Smile" - originally composed by Charlie "The Tramp" Chaplin song, but made famous by Nat King Cole in the mid-50s. Moore's version features a piano, played by his brother, who apparently lives in Minnesota.

The other highlight was a secret appearance by Haley Bonar (haleybonar.com/myspace) who showed up to sing backup. People may remember that I personally chose Bonar's song, "The Queen Of Everything", to represent a bunch of wonderful Minnesota bands and singers.

Eleni Mandell at the Cedar Culture,    Minneapolis (03/27/09) ♥ photo by Vu Eleni Mandell - Artificial Fire Eleni Mandell 1 comment

The thing about the Cedar Culture Center is that every time I go here, it seems the audience are all NPR members. Sometime there are young people, but not tonight. This is not a knock against the Cedar, it's just a warning for you to expect a pretty low-key, sit-down night. The benefit is that instead of a noisy bar atmosphere, the venue is perfect for actually listening to the band as they play. And every noise and note can be heard... So yeah, a wonderful place to hear the band.

Eleni Mandell took the stage with her guitar and played two songs solo (which are actually not listed on the official set list), before being joined on stage by the rest of the band.

Half way into "Artificial Fire", Nigel had problems with his bass... which lead to about 10 minutes of awkwardness as the Cedar sound guy ran backstage to get another bass guitar. This lead to Mandell talking about how they've been on the road since 7am from Chicago, Illinois.

Mandell remained talkative at certain songs, explaining how she tried to kiss this man, who pulled back and had no idea she was in love with him. She called the song "Tiny Waist", after something he had said to her.

They mostly stuck to new songs (because she loved them so much), with a few exception. I thought "Pauline" (from her 2000 album Thrill) sounded amazing towards the end.

It should also be noted that Jeremy Drake is a very excellent guitarist, with his wonderful guitar-playing and foot pedals and warped/spacey sounds.

Arcane and Abel, 4 Song EP, December, 2008
by
All of us/None of us
Genre: Alternative/Folk/Metal/Blues

All of Us/None of Us Guitarist and singer Eric Ray, a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and R Tyck, bassist, a recording engineer and college instructor, began collaborating while Ray was living in San Francisco and Tyck in Los Angeles. Originally intending their work to be a studio project, the two wrote and recorded by sending tapes back and forth and making occasional trips between the two cities. Much of their debut album, Lucky Robot, was recorded in this manner.  Upon Ray’s return to his native Los Angeles, the two decided to start performing their material live and began looking for like-minded musicians. In 2005 they added cellist Catherine Cavella and drummer Courtney Olsen and began to perform in and around Los Angeles and the Bay Area to enthusiastic audiences. In 2006 Cavella moved away to Philadelphia. Later that same year Olsen left the group.  All of Us/None of Us continues to write, record and perform with a variety of different musicians.

All of Us/None of Us has been compared to Beck, Radiohead, P.J. Harvey and Jane's Addiction to name a few.  While I did find Arcane and Abel to be a bit Beckish, I also found enough originality in it to call it their own.

"A folk song is what's wrong and how to fix it or it could be
who's hungry and where their mouth is or
who's out of work and where the job is or
who's broke and where the money is or
who's carrying a gun and where the peace is.” (Woody Guthrie)

To this end, Arcane and Abel conveys the hopelessness, social injustice and “I am fed up with society” values of  Guthrien folk music with a unique blues/metal twist, while keeping  it relevant to today's world.

My overall rating:  90 out of 100.
Would I buy this EP:  Yes
My favorite track:  #3 Excess
My least favorite and ironically the longest, track:  #4 Knew That  

At $3.96 on i Tunes, this 4 song EP is a true bargain and should find it's way into everyone's collection.

References: All of Us/None of Us MySpace Page

                      Band website

I have one final SXSW article to write (I know we're all sick of hearing about it!) and it's so massive that it will take the course of this whole week to put it together. In the meantime, I thought I'd take a break and review some albums that were recently released. The first is Alice Peacock!

I previously briefly mentioned Peacock last year, and there was an overwhelming response to her song "I'll Start With Me". What is people were saying was that the song had great angelic vocals and melodies - and all that and more is on her latest album, Love Remains.

What I think you'll notice that the power of Peacock's songs are her voice and her crafty lyrics. Her lyrics, like most singer/songwriter, gives us a glimpse into her life. Songs like my second favorite song on the album, "Fairborn", and "City of Angels" reveals her traveling life (going to Boston, Minneapolis, Chicago, etc). I suspect this is more to do with her touring lifestyle, she seems to always be on the road. Plus, I think it helps that she was originally from White Bear Lake in Minnesota, but currently resides in Chicago, Illinois.

You will also notice that her songs are borderline country and acoustic pop. Although songs like the title-track "Love Remains" is quite simple in its lyrics, you'll find that it's incredibly catchy as you sing along to the chorus "only love remains".

While "Love Remains" is simple, she can also be complicated as well - in many of her songs, such as "Wrong Time". A song that I would hazard a guess that would best fit Peacock's personality... this is unlike her "All About Me" which I don't think is her at all. That song opens up with "I'd like to get stoned", followed by "do whatever feels good, with whomever I pleased", which is quite a shock as I get the impression that Alice Peacock is a good old fashion kind of girl. I mean she's probably a devoted Christian, based on songs such as "If I Could Talk to God" and the piano lullaby song "Angel".

My favorite song on the album is called "Forgiveness". I think mostly for the electric guitar and Peacock asking us: "Can music change the world?"

Does it come from the heart? Then, I think it can...

You can buy Love Remains directly from her, complete with autograph at buyswag.com for $13.98.

Hey ya’ll (that’s an homage to Vu’s travels down south).  I’m sorry, this review is grossly overdue, please don’t be a hater.  Fortunately, this was an interesting night, and besides the wealth of minors that obstructed my view, the music was pretty good.  Let’s talk about the music.

Openers Resplandor are from Peru, not Beirut*

Hopefully this doesn’t sound like I’m making a cultural stereotype, but all five members had that dark, brooding elegance that I associate with South America.  Similarly, their music was also dark, brooding, and slightly off-putting.  Singer Aracelli Fernandez is just a wee thing up on stage; all crazy with the hair and the New Age hand movements.  The band lists a lot of shoegaze influences, like My Bloody Valentine and the Stone Roses, but if I were to belittle their artistic merit with inane categorization I’d call it “Innocuous Art Rock,” meaning they lacked that careful balance between humdrum drone and ephemeral brilliance that My Bloody Valentine, for example, achieved in aces.  I’d say Resplandor has potential, which isn’t meant to be condescending in the way you might call something bland “nice,” just a courteous suggestion to push forward (after all, this is certainly the genre to challenge conventions).  Resplandor has a few summer dates in Toronto (NXNE music festival); Myspace or Website.

Bell at the 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (03/07/09) ♥ photo by Kate

The crowd had probably doubled by the time BELL came on, an irrelevant statistic (nobody ever shows up early) that, in the moment, seemed odd, since I assumed BELL’s following would be minimal.  I guess I was wrong (and also not cool).

Fellas:  Olga Bell is a cutie. 

Half-way through BELL’s set Kate admitted that the smiley singer’s stage persona was sort of unsettling (because she seemed happy and to be enjoying herself), a sad statement on today’s bitter frown-y music scene.  Why do we find comfort in vulgarity and self-loathing?  Why are pleasant, well-adjusted artists turn-offs?  Something to explore in therapy, I suppose.  But since music can be therapy, I will freely disclose that Bell’s smiling made me smile.  So what if her clear, soaring vocals channeled early Bjork?  So what, We Heart Music.  BELL’s thing (her je ne sais quoi) was so charming that every snide aside I felt obligated to share just went “poof” when she pulled out that cute little mini-keytar!  And, you know, the girl kind of kicked ass.  Despite this being their first tour, the band sounded sharp—Bell on keyboard, doing her samples and loop-de-looping and blippity blipping, her two drummers adding a necessary and impressive rhythmic oomph—the result was effective.  I know BELL inspired at least one dude in the room to shake his groove thang because he did so right behind me.  If a band can make the whitest white man gyrate his hips in such an alarming, graceless, amazing way, while simultaneously drinking a pint of beer, then that band can probably say “we’ve made it.”  BELL will be starting the East Coast leg of her tour at the end of April.  For a full list of concert dates, visit Myspace.  If you’d like to buy a copy of BELL’s EP, go here:  Website.

Asobi Seksu sex you.

I’m sure I don’t need to remind Asobi Seksu fans that the band’s name roughly translates as “fun sex,” so I won’t, even though I did.  Teeny tiny Yuki (small singer night!) is Asian (obvious) and they all call New York home.  So, sexy name + Asian singer + New York ÷ Minnesota = A LOT of underage Asian girls + their white boyfriends.  Seriously, Asian invasion.  Resplandor and BELL may have brought the young and hip, but Asobi Seksu brought the fever:  YELLOW FEVER.  And let me tell you, Yuki rocked it.  Right away the audience was treated to a full dose of pint-size fury, as Yuki thrashed about on stage, barely visible over the top of the microphone stand.  The combination of her dreamy, albeit often indecipherable voice and the forceful instrumentation was impressive live (studio polish really doesn’t befit these noisy bands).  It’s hard not to get wrapped up in the wave of sound, as it basically crushes that small part of your brain that responds to creative stimulation; conversely, the same effect makes it difficult to consciously distinguish one sound wave from another.  A few times during the night I lost my train of listening and drifted (something that is neither good nor bad).  Happily, Asobi Seksu played favorites from Citrus (i.e. “Strawberries,” “Thursday”) along with selections from their new album Hush, including the first single “Me & Mary.”  The band is currently on tour.  Full dates on Myspace and Website (apparently the website redirects back to Myspace).  Hush is available now; purchase HERE.

* When the band introduced themselves I thought they said ‘Beirut’ instead of ‘Peru,’ so I loudly remarked “Beirut!  Zach Condon eat your heart out!” or something equally tactless.  Now I am embarrassed for myself.

SXSW UPDATE, DAY FOUR
I think part of the fun (at least for me) was meeting so many people with the same like-minded attitude towards music. I've become somewhat of a card collector, swapping info and what we do regarding music etc. Hopefully, next year, if we're still doing the same thing, I would like to meetup with them again at shows and hangouts.

Mostly Saturday was spent in a few places as I didn't want to walk anywhere. I had only planned on attending the Garden Party from Press Here in the daytime and at night, head over to the LondonMusic spotlight at the Rio (primarily for The Crimea). Obviously things didn't work out that way, I ended up seeing Jeremy Jay at the Garden and then sort of just followed them to their next gig over at 900 Red River Street (it's about four blocks). Saw JJ again and found out that the reason why didn't play certain songs, like "Alpharhythem" was because their new drummer didn't know it).

Also stood next to Peelander-Z, who are apparently so distinct looking and famous that every minute people were coming up and taking pictures with them.

Saw Late of the Pier accidentally at their video-filming concert at the Bat Bar. It was a very professional setup, however, playing live proved disastrous for the band. First of all, none of the audience knew who they were, and secondly, they had equipment failures during live recording. Needless to say, it was embarrassing.

So, look for me in a video, I am in front, green shirt, glasses, sweaty...

Then headed over to check out the all-London band showcase at the Rio. Most interest of the bunch seems to be Goldielocks who is a young woman and her DJ, doing British rap-style music. She had a stage presence, look for her to be bigger in the future.

The last show on my list was Crimea, who came on at 1.15am (I knew this because I was really really really tired). They had a girl singer, which surprised me, because I didn't think they had a woman in the band.

Everyone who went to the show got a free copy of Davey Macmanus's album called Listen to Seashells; They Know Everything.

Here is their setlist:

THE CRIMEA 3/22 Grace Loop Jelly Fish Lover Only Living B&G Shredder Alison Movie Psycos Lottery Winners on Acid

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W♥M wrote: Mar 22, 2009 at 5:06 PM

Vu - updated the post with a more recent track, off a seashells demo. And no, they don't really have a girl in the band, davey just uses loads for the vocals. The one you saw was Tara Egan-Langley aka Tara Blaise, they've also had Regina Spektor, Tywanna Jo Baskette and Davey's superstar Radio 1 DJ sister Annie Mac record loads of tracks with them, along with plenty I forget.

- Christopher

SXSW UPDATE, DAY THREE
My busiest day, bruised feet and all.

Today's schedule doesn't really start until noon, so I have a few minutes to rest. There are a lot of Minnesotans here, as I ran into the Duke of Dark accidentally. I'm glad to see familiar faces, but what are the chance, you know?

Anyway, I thought you guys might be interested in seeing some of the setlists that I managed to grab. As I previously mentioned, setlists are quite short - kept under 30 minutes with few exceptions. Audience attendance and participation are all really, really good. Even for unknown bands, they can draw a crowd - which is just perfect for bands looking for an audience to play to.

MAY FIRE 3/18 Mad The List No Clone Sinking Late Wave Make it Tight Unicorn Red Eye

SUPERDRAG 3/20 (pending, I have the paper in my other bag. They ended their set with "Aspartame")

CAMERA OBSCURA 3/20 Money in the Sun (?) Sweetest You Told A Lie French Navy Let's Get Out of this Country Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken Razzle Dazzle

THE PROCLAIMERS 3/20 In Recognition Letter From America What Makes You Cry? Throw the "R" Away Sing All Our Cares Role Model Leight 17 (Kings of Leon Cover) 500 Miles (Not on Setlist)

I stayed for most of the Scotland showcase, which had bundled a bunch of great bands together - including Camera Obscura, Glasvegas, Proclaimers, and Primal Scream.

I had to miss some bands because of prior commitment, but usually when I skip bands, it's because I've already seen them at one point in their career.

Camera Obscura did half their set with new songs, which I feel if you've got a limited setlist, you should concentrate on old songs people love. The problem is that no one's heard the new material and listening to it for the first time, in a live setting - you will miss out on lyrics or melodies, just because of the sound distortion and distractions... still the new song (esp the first song) had upbeat melodies.

Proclaimers had a pretty long set, and surprisingly effective with just one acoustic guitar. They were supposed to get off the stage after their set time, but they threw in "500 Miles" for good measure. And the audience went absolutely NUTS. It was a sight to see!

Over 1,000 people attended the Scottish show, so I am sure next year they are going to book an even larger event.

That's all for now.

PS, Since this will be my last update until I'm home, my schedule today (Saturday), looks pretty light. I have to attend a special party from noon to 7pm, and my evening looks pretty light. I think Crimea comes on at midnight-ish at the Rio, so I may just be there the whole night to check out the other bands on that showcase. It's not so much that I'm lazy (well I am), but I can't really walk around that much anymore! As for the party at the Garden, I think it's open bar with Jeremy Jay and Laura Marling playing, so I can cross them off my "to see" list finally!

QUICK SXSW UPDATE, DAY TWO
Have been feeling not the best the last few days due to the fact that I'm only getting a few hours of real sleep (so I'm waking up exhausted/yet unable to go back to sleep).

Today's schedule looks like a lot of fun: two interviews (Asteroid Galaxy Tour and Honey Claws - yes, again!).

Since my legs & feet haven't had this kind of usage in a long time, it was hurting pretty bad yesterday (especially with trying to make it to too many places). So I thought it would be a good idea to just settled into one place and just check out random bands while waiting for other things.

Highlight of the day was interviewing Solid Gold, yes, they are from Minneapolis and, yes, I am living in Minneapolis. Why did it take SXSW to get us together? No idea. Obviously, more write ups will have to be done after SXSW, but quickly, I just wanted to let you know these guys are really down to earth and have great sense of humor. When asked what song (of theirs) we can play out to the interview, they all agreed on George Michael's "Freedom '90". Of course.

Much more on them later.

Gigwise, saw too many bands to mention. Ed Harcourt did a fantastic set, among one of the many highlights. Also managed to meet a few PR reps, so it's great to put a face to a name.

I seriously can't believe I have two more days of this. Saturday's schedule looks too insane to mention. Yikes.

So, off to grab breakfast and then to another long day ahead of me. Seriously, I think I am going to sleep for three days when I get back home.