Sadly, The Wheel’s Still In Spin will not be going to SXSW this year. But we can still dream. Here is a list of the bands that we would most like to see at SXSW for Fri, March 14, 2008. There are links to each artist's band page at SXSW.com with a short quote, when available, from the band's bio that appears on that page.
6PM
- The Sadies at Auditorium Shores Stage (Lady Bird Lake) | “The Sadies’ inspired amalgam of psychedelic country rock, surf, bluegrass and Ennio Morricone-esque inspired instrumentals has made them the preeminent torchbearers of cosmic American music.”
8PM
- Daniel Lanois at SXSW Live (The Bat Bar) Austin Convention Center | “the recipient of ten Grammy awards and five Juno awards”
- Foxy Shazam at Scoot Inn | “Better Than The Chili” | “piano propelled songs that layer spastic hardcore noise atop fractured Soul inspired pop”
9PM
- Paul Thorn at The Tap Room At Six | “Critically acclaimed Tupelo Mississippi singer/songwriter, poet, folk artist and character in general… The live sound and experience of the five piece band is best described as, going to church with a six pack and listening to the Rolling Stones.”
10PM
- Liam Finn at The Ale House | “Finn plays nearly every instrument on the album, a responsibility he doesn’t relinquish during his now mythic live gigs. During his raucous yet intimate performances Liam utilizes effects pedals to create, sample and loop bass, guitar, drums and vocals to layer with his live vocals and guitar.”
- X at SXSW Live (The Bat Bar) Austin Convention Center
- Takka Takka at Friends | “unique pop tunes that acknowledged Gotham inspirations like Lou Reed, Bob Dylan and Philip Glass while also recalling Guided By Voices and, yes, Pavement”
- MGMT at Stubb’s | “enigmatic and prophetic collection of hallucinatory sounds and hook-riddled pop tones for the new millennium”
- Mittens On Strings at The Hideout | “Sure, they play rock music, but with strings, mandolin, keyboards, and enough voices to get the party going. It's kinda folky and kinda weird while keeping its wits about it.”
11PM
- Vampire Weekend at Antone’s
- Born Ruffians at Ninety Proof Lounge
- The Bo-Keys at Opal Divine’s Freehouse | “a hard-hitting and authentic modern take on Memphis’ original soul-stew sound”
- Earlimart at Buffalo Billiards
- Dr. Dog at Cedar Door
- Be Your Own Pet at Mohawk Patio
- Say Hi at Red Eyed Fly | “Keyboards chime and swoosh, drums bump, basslines wiggle and vocal melodies shoot and fall, converging at the expected intersections some places and surprising with new tangents others.”
11:30PM
- Nik Freitas at Habana Calle 6 | Download “Sun Down” (mp3) | “parts wry, warm and sonorous… no reaching, no going for the gold, just perfect, four minute thesis statements… a sort of indie grandeur that is both unexpected and totally natural”
- The Helio Sequence at Bourbon Rocks Patio | “layered keyboards and impossibly big guitars with crisp songwriting and a newfound appreciation for minimalism”
12AM
- J Mascis at Mohawk Patio
- DeVotchKa at Antone’s | “The stage is an instrumental junkyard cluttered by sousaphone, accordion, piano, violin, a bouzouki, an upright bass, percussion, trumpet, drums, and a theremin… somewhere out of time, certainly out of place, somehow it makes perfect sense.”
- Cloud Cult at Red Eyed Fly | “Cloud Cult’s live shows include elaborate theatrics that include live painters on stage, live video projection of audience and band, and back screen video. The live band includes cello, violin, trumpet, flute and percussion, along with the more standard guitar, bass, keys and drums line-up.”
- Headlights at Habana Calle 6 Patio | “the band's version of pop music recognizes both tradition and progress… alive with a pulse that beats with shoegaze spirit… an indie-pop band not afraid to incorporate a synth wall of sound and a mod organ in consecutive songs, not afraid of anything at all”
- Tapes ‘n Tapes at Cedar Door
- She & Him at The Parish | “This is the musical debut from Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward”
- Citay at Spiro's Amphitheater | “a full-fledged eight-piece band whose potency moved beyond the studio and into the live arena… an otherworldly place, full of psychedelic swirl, soaring harmonies and grandiose jams”
12:30AM
- Limbeck at The Rio | Download "Let's Get Crazy" (mp3) | “equally well-received touring alongside pop-punks like New Found Glory and the All-American Rejects or Americana acts like Lucero and Rhett Miller”
12:45AM
- Thurston Moore w/ Band at Mohawk Patio
1AM
- Nada Surf at Cedar Door
- Blitzen Trapper at Bourbon Rocks | “Brought forth in a spasm of creative mania… rough-hewn but lush, crackling (sometimes audibly) with a weird and lucid energy.”
- Destroyer at The Parish | “an artist as quirky and enigmatic as Sparks, as symphonic and grandiose as Scott Walker and as quixotically literary as Bob Dylan”
- Atlas Sound at Prague
- Joseph Arthur at Buffalo Billiards | “raw, atmospheric pop”
- Lucero at Red Eyed Fly | “To call Lucero Memphis' answer to Bruce Springsteen is not a stretch.”
Back to The Wheel's Still In Spin Mainpage.
Yo, I'll be going and would thrilled if I could get to half of these shows. It doesn't always work out the way you hope, but I will do whatever necessary to see Devotchka and She & Him at least once!
Posted by: TitoP | 09 March 2008 at 08:48 PM
Tito, I agree. In the past I've made the big dream lists and am lucky enough to get to half of the shows. There's just so much to choose from. I can't imagine leaving SXSW healthy. After 4 or 5 days of endless day parties and evening showcases, I'd be amazed if anyone didn't come home with some kind of cold.
Good luck seeing DeVotchKa and She & Him. Let me know how their sets were.
Posted by: The Wheel's Still In Spin | 09 March 2008 at 09:26 PM