The best bands I stumbled upon at SXSW2017 - part 1

The great thing about SXSW is that there are more bands converging on Austin that week than probably just about any other music festival in the world. And they're all on their A-game.

While of course I try to see bands I know and love, I leave a little room for spontaneity and wandering too (and free-drink-chasing!). Plus sometimes the lines are just too long to get into the shows you want to see (a problem getting worse and worse each year unfortunately).

But whether they were opening for bands I wanted to see, or I wandered into their show by chance, every year I discover artists that I'm really excited about. In past years, this list has included Fantastic Negrito, Magic Giant, Melanie Martinez, Joseph, Priory, Christine & the Queens, and more.

So without further ado, here is who I was most excited to stumble upon this year:

Lizzo

I was actually familiar with Lizzo before because I had seen her perform with GRRRL PRTY at Paisley Park for Prince's last album release party before his death. GRRRL PRTY sadly broke up last year, but Lizzo had a growing solo career even before they parted ways. This was the first time I got to see her live on her own and she was freaking incredible. She's a powerhouse with awesome style and dance moves. Plus all her music is very feel-good and upbeat so it's a really fun show in general. I wasn't surprised by her talent but I hadn't honestly realized she was part of the lineup (I had gone to see Sylvan Esso).

Good As Hell [Spotify - iTunes]

The National Parks

The National Parks might have one of the worst names I've ever encountered from a Googleability factor (and from a merch factor because a fan in the audience at the show I was at was wearing a shirt with their name but outside of their show, I imagine most people think it's a shirt for the National Park system of the US). That said, they were fantastic. If you like Ra Ra Riot, you'll love The National Parks. With a full, melodic folk-pop sound that incorporates violins, trumpets, banjos, and other instruments, their music tells contemplative stories. Fittingly, their songs are full of nature references and odes. I see these guys going on to big things if people can find them, haha.

As We Ran [Spotify - iTunes]

Close Talker

Canada House was one of the places with the most free drink events so I ended up there a few times when I didn't have other shows on my schedule. There were a few gems there, but my favorite was Close Talker. Catchy hooks, solid vocals, and syncopated rhythms make this trio one to add to your playlists. And good news: they're going on tour (mostly around Canada but there are US and EU dates too!) starting April 12th and releasing a new album on April 21st! So check them out, follow them, tweet at them, help spread the word about these awesome Canadians.

Waking Up [Spotify - iTunes]

The Britanys

Hailing from my former hometown of Brooklyn, The Britanys have a jangly, catchy, pop rock sound similar to The Strokes. From what I can tell they've only been around two years but I think they have a lot of promise and it seems other music publications agree. Check them out so you can say you discovered them before anyone else! 

Basketholder [Spotify - iTunes]

Part 2 of this list coming later this week! Stay tuned!

Joseph

I think my favorite find of SXSW 2016 was Joseph, whom I stumbled upon at the Universal Music Group showcase. Composed not of a guy named Joseph but of three sisters, their band is named in homage to their grandfather. The three sisters' voices compliment each other perfectly and their music is a wonderful blend of sultry, dramatic, dark, beautiful and soulful. They're as gorgeous as their voices are too, which doesn't hurt. I'm totally mesmerized by their music right now so check them out!

Cloudline [ Spotify ]

Check out this awesome 360° video of Magic Giant from SXSW!

Our sister company, Experience360, made this awesome 360° video of one of Magic Giant's performances at SXSW and just launched their YouTube channel. Look around and dance with the audience as the band rocks out!

While you can view it Chrome or Firefox and scroll around with your mouse, it's best used with your YouTube app on iOS and Android devices so that you can use your phones accelerometer to look around. If you have Google Cardboard, YouTube on Android is compatible!

AWOLNATION at SXSW

My favorite show during the music festival portion of SXSW was the 101X showcase, coincidentally at the same venue (ACL Moody Theater) as my overall favorite show, The Flaming Lips. I was there for Priory, Big Data (who is primarily who I was there to see), and AWOLNATION.

I had never heard of Priory before that night, but they were really fun. Although I'm sure I had probably heard Weekend and maybe even Put 'em Up before and just hadn't realized who it was by. They had a lot of energy, told stories between songs a bit, and the lead singer even crowd-surfed. By the end of the set, I really wanted to be friends with them because they seemed like really cool guys.

The lead singer of Priory crowd-surfing

Big Data, whose music I am a big fan of, was actually a little bit of a disappointment in comparison to Priory. They didn't have as much energy or stage presence. I really expected more, honestly. I still enjoyed their show and maybe had they not been in this particular line-up I wouldn't have felt the same but they were my least favorite of the three.

AWOLNATION, on the other hand, blew me away. Like many others at the show(much to the band's chagrin I'm sure), I only knew "Sail" when I walked in the venue that night. I wasn't sure if I would like the rest of their set but they were fantastic. They had so much energy, lead singer Aaron Bruno's voice has this amazing ability to go from raspy, dark scream to beautiful, smooth melody on the turn of a dime. Plus he jumped/danced his ass off throughout the show. Despite not having the crazy production value of the Flaming Lips, it was pretty epic just based on his performance. Definitely go see them if you have the chance. I will say, though, you can tell they're really sick of performing "Sail" - that was Bruno's least energetic performance and he pretty much left the stage the second he was done singing, despite the song not being over. So do them a favor and don't yell "SAIL!" throughout the whole show.

SXSW - Ex Machina

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The one and only film I managed to see at SXSW was Ex Machina, a sci-fi thriller that addresses big moral questions but leaves it largely up to the audience to decide the answers for themselves. In the film a young programmer wins a trip to his billionaire boss’ reclusive estate to play the human part in a Turing test against the AI robot, Ava. It’s a beautiful, quiet, tense film all the way through. Even the peak of the action maintains an almost calm quality. The simple aesthetic and spectacular visual effects immerse you in this not-so-distant-future.

Without giving too much away, I simultaneously liked and found suspicious every single character in the movie, so I really wasn’t sure where the plot would take us, who would “get their way” so to speak. I won’t say I was surprised by the way it ended but I enjoyed the fact that I wasn't really certain until the end.

SXSW - Neiman Marcus Make Some Noise Party

My favorite "unofficial" party was the Nieman Marcus Make Some Noise Day 2 music line-up. I really want to be friends with whoever picked the artists on this one. I went to see Marina and the Diamonds so I decided to plant myself there for the day to make sure I got a spot and I enjoyed every single artist in the line-up. The only bummer was how short everyone's sets were because every single artist left me wanting more. Also, because of the rain, I didn't take many pictures so apologies that this is so text-heavy.

I got in toward the end of Meg Mac’s set, and I don’t remember much about it since I only caught the last few songs but I thought she had a great voice and the two songs I heard were very catchy. I added her to my Spotify playlist and have been quite pleased with everything I've heard so far.

Next was Christine and the Queens, the only act I saw at SXSW who had dancers. More artists/bands should really consider having dancers on their tour – it added a whole level of awesome entertainment value to an already high energy and fun set. Most of the dance moves she did herself were relatively simple but it looked totally killer when she and her dancers were in sync. She was super sassy and interacted with the audience a fair amount, which I always enjoy.

Next up was Melanie Martinez, who was delightfully disturbed. I have to say, I much preferred her manic, intense, full voice in-person to the breathy, child-like vocals on her recordings that I listened to after the fact. Her songs are very catchy but dark and quirky enough so as to set herself apart. I hope she moves her recording voice in the direction of her live performance technique – I’m not sure when she recorded the songs but from the looks of her videos she may have been younger (and she’s young in general) so hopefully this is a sign of a maturing artist and I look forward to watch her grow.

Milo Greene is a band, not a person. Or well, I think also a person. To be honest, this was the least memorable of the sets for me but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. There just wasn't really anything to set them apart the way there was for everyone else.

When Marina and the Diamonds came on, I swear to God, grown men in the audience screamed like teenage girls. It was intense. I will say, one thing annoyed me: every person in the audience just about had their cell phones up and recorded pretty much her whole (very short) set. LIVE IN THE MOMENT PEOPLE. Plus, I’m not here to watch her perform through your phone screen, thanks. That being said, she put on a great show. She danced quite a bit (she could’ve taken a note from Christine and the Queens and incorporated some back up dancers!) and seemed like she was having a really good time. Her joy was infectious but she was also seemed really humbled by the adoration of the fans. I will say, I knew a few of Marina’s songs but I was surprised at how bubble-gum-poppy some of them were, although there was still usually a little edge to them (there’s literally a song called “Bubble Gum Bitch”). Her voice is spectacular though. You can really tell she’s classically trained.

The Flaming Lips at SXSW (aka possibly the best show I've ever been to)

The concert I was most excited about at SXSW actually was not part of the music festival (though I will add that I didn't see a single bad show at the music festival and still had tons of fun). But I've been dying to see the Flaming Lips forever and this show was for free, as a SXSW Interactive party thrown by Spredfast & Viacom Velocity.

I was not at SXSW as press this year because going was a rather last minute decision but thanks to some kind strangers I got a kickass spot right up against the barrier. Future Islands opened, and I ended up loving them. I didn't realize they are based just an hour away from me in Baltimore! And I was most impressed with lead singer Samuel Herring's ability to dance and dance and dance and dance while singing for what was a pretty long set. They put on a fantastic, entertaining show.

I wish I had more to say about Future Islands honestly but even their show paled in comparison to the Flaming Lips. The Flaming Lips are known for their epic shows, and sure enough, this show had everything I ever wanted out of a show, plus a lot of stuff I didn't realize I wanted. For starters, there were giant dancing mushrooms and a giant dancing rainbow on stage for a majority of the show. They were later joined/replaced by two inch-worms wearing a crown (one of which wouldn't stay inflated) and a smiling sun.

The light show was overwhelming (in the best way) and there were shiny things dangling everywhere on stage - light ropes from the ceiling, confetti from frontman Wayne Coyne's microphone, neon fuzzy balls dangling from his... pants (which were also shiny)...

 

 

There were tons of giant balloons dropped from above into the audience, there was confetti that Coyne shot into the audience, and later in the show he literally got into a giant clear ball and rolled out into the audience.

 

And of course, there were sing-a-longs. I often forget that Do You Realize is even by the Flaming Lips because it's definitely not my favorite of theirs (though it's a great song). But singing along to this song, with the band and the whole audience, with everything else going on, was just a magical fucking moment. One of those transcendent musical moments that is truly spiritual - where you feel connected to everyone and you're filled with joy and, well, love.

My SXSW

This year I had the privilege of finally attending SXSW. I went for all three festivals (Interactive, Media, Film) and was there for all 10 days. It was intense. This was my SXSW:

• Those moments when people you've literally just met are so supportive of you and offer to put you in touch with so-and-so who might be able to help you with such-and-such.
• That moment when some kind strangers let you squeeze in next to them on the rail so you have a primo spot to see Future Islands and The Flaming Lips (the show you happen to be most excited about for the whole festival) and you bond.
  

  
• Those moments when you're waiting in line and it feels endless and you're thinking "I paid $1600 for this Platinum pass! How does that not give me line-skipping privileges?!" and wondering what it takes to be a VIP.
• Those moments when you think there's going to be a line but there's not and you waltz right in to whatever amazing thing you are attending.
• That moment when you’ve decided to take it easy for a night to recover a little and you’re in bed by 11pm but then can’t sleep, despite being completely exhausted, because your body is now used to staying up until 3am.
• Those moments where the panelists just say the perfect thing.
  

    

  
• That moment when someone you met on Friday invites you to his birthday dinner on Tuesday.
• That moment when you run into your college roommate from freshman year completely by chance in a food truck lot at 1:30am.
• That moment when you're so sunburned that it hurts to wear clothes.
  

  
• That moment when you're so hungover that it hurts to exist.
• That moment when you throw up in a trashcan outside your friend's apartment the morning after drinking and realize why people who live in Austin hate SXSW.
• That moment where you're sitting on a floor blindfolded with a bunch of strangers and eating an apple and thinking "this panel was not what I thought it was going to be."
  

  
• That moment when you really wish people would watch the show instead of recording the whole thing on their phone because you came here to see the artist in person and not through the person in front of you's screen.
• That moment when grown men scream like teenage girls over a musician.
  

  
• That moment when you're eating free ice cream in the rain.
• Those moments when no one will dance and you're so frustrated on behalf of the band because they're not getting any energy back from the audience.
• That moment when someone crowd-surfs and you really wish you weren't wearing a skirt so you could too. 
  

  
• That moment when you really wish people would stop crowd-surfing so you could enjoy the band without getting kicked in the head.
• That moment when some guys behind you are bitching loudly and you turn around and offer them a hug because their harshing your good mood and you actually turn the mood around and then you're toasting to how awesome life is
• That moment when you can tell you're getting sick because your body just doesn't want to do this anymore but there's still several more days of the festival so suck it up and take some vitamins.
• That moment when the party ends very abruptly and the staff is all "get the fuck out" and even take your drink away that you paid for before you can finish it because they are so over SXSW.
• That moment when someone friends you on Facebook and you realize you already have 11 mutual friends.
• That moment when you hang out and eat cupcakes with the band you just saw and wishing one of them a happy birthday.
  

  
• That moment when you get a Lyft driver for a second time and realize that's how long you've been in town.
• That moment where you realize you only saw one movie the entire time you were here.

• That moment when the Mexican restaurant hands you what you think is a poncho to keep dry from the rain and it turns out it’s just a trashbag but you poke a hole for your head and wear it anyway.
• That moment when people are dancing in the rain on 6th street and you would join them if there weren't so many cameras filming it and you didn’t want to be recorded literally wearing a trashbag.
• That moment where you pay $5 for a poncho so you look slightly less ridiculous than you do in a torn up trashbag and get the last ponchos at the store and everyone behind you in line hates you.
• That moment when you see a sign that says free ice cream and realize how jaded you are because at first you don't believe them.
• That moment someone you met 20 minutes ago tells you he thinks he loves you.
• Those moments when the audience does dance and it makes it a noticeably better show experience.
• That moment when you have to say goodbye to the wonderful people you've just spent 10 days with and you get a little emotional.

Check out the rest of our pictures here. And come back later for more on the specific bands we saw and loved!

The Get Up Kids @ Emo's [11/18], First Batch of SXSW '10 Artists Announced

Kansas City isn't often known for producing successful things as of late. (There's that Zack Greinke fellow, I guess. And they'll always have barbecue.) But in the mid-90s, the second wave of emo was bourne out of the heartland, and was led by KC's own Get Up Kids. [Other area emo acts include The Appleseed Cast (still around) and The Anniversary (not so much). Somewhere, there's irony in knowing that the marriage between the lead singers of The Get Up Kids and The Anniversary ended in 2003, much like "true" emo. Zing.]

A lot has been said about this band lately, much surrounding the response surrounding its seminal moment - the 1999 release of Something to Write Home About. It put Vagrant Records at the forefront of a movement, and led to the label's christening of sounds like Saves the Day, Dashboard Confessional, and the like. (Call this developement what you will.) In a resulting move that seems increasingly prescient, the band became alienated from wanting to be poster boys of the sound and style they helped foster, and their next release - 2002's On a Wire - traded pop-punk anthems for campfire songs. This intentional middle-finger to their fanbase was greeted with plenty of frowned looks behind thick-rimmed glasses crossed with arms folded into hoodies at shows, and was recently named by the AV Club as the 10th-most "deliberately confounding follow up to a popular success."

There were plenty of positive reviews - Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone certainly appreciated that the kids were growing up. But the popular sentiment seemed to be echoed by Alternative Press, who wrote “Unfortunately, the visceral energy of their early days is lost in their newfound maturity.” It's an unavoidable truth, and the band members didn't shy away from this fact at all - some choice quotes from various publications:

*Bassist Rob Pope: “We didn’t want to be the ‘emo’ poster boys” (Alternative Press)
*Guitarist Jim Suptic: "The punk scene we came out of and the punk scene now are completely different. It's like glam rock now. We played the Bamboozle fests this year and we felt really out of place...If this is the world we helped create, then I apologize." (Drowned in Sound)
*Guitarist/Lead Vocalist Matt Pryor: "[Nobody], including Vagrant, ever gave that record a chance...We really didn’t give two shits if anyone liked the record or not, we were really confident that we were going to kill this ‘emo’ stigma that we had and take the people with open minds with us and leave everyone else in the dust." (The Post)
*Keyboardist James Dewees: “I felt like we were committing career suicide.” (Alternative Press)

And that’s more or less what happened: On A Wire flopped, and fewer fans were around to hear the band rock out more on the follow-up, Guilt Show, GUK’s swan song. But by keeping their distance from the genre they once so-loved, at least they emerged somewhat unscathed from the implosion of emo from within. If there's anything important to note that resulted from this analytic deconstruction, it's that Pete Wentz is happy. At least he has an incorrectly created, undeservedly granted "Pop-Punk Kid starter kit with bands like Get Up Kids, so kids would know whose shoulders bands like us are standing on. Fall Out Boy would not be a band if it were not for The Get Up Kids." He forgets to mention the Twilight series, Hot Topic, and glitter as other reasons FOB would not be a band. Citations/medication needed.

I've already attended one of their "final shows" in 2004, when they broke up. But as this reunion is for promotion the 10th anniversary of something as indirectly influential and controversial as Something to Write Home About, this felt more significant, a moment to simulataneously relive and place one final nail in the coffin of an era. I went back to Austin just to attend this show, and in their show recap the AV Club Austin (again) did a great job observing a crowd turn cathartic for good ol' emo nostalgia while souring on post-On a Wire material.

As a person who has friends with (multiple!) Get Up Kids lyrics written down their forearms, their music is ingrained in me as a reminder of (gulp) feeling as though I was growing up into an "important" scene. That matters. But I'm 23 - so does new material. For those at Emo's last Wednesday who were not supportive of an act trying to show they could still create - an album's worth of 9 or 10 new songs are reportedly in the mix - have fun being the person who just learned to doodle vampires after a decade of scribbling crude unicorns. "Our" music is aging, and so am I.

In more straightforward/easier to decipher news, the Austinist has released the first batch of bands that will be showcasing at SXSW 2010. Relaying this information requires little introspective insight! Rejoice!

The Get Up Kids - Holiday [mp3] (iTunes)
The Get Up Kids - I'll Catch You [mp3] (iTunes)
The Get Up Kids - Campfire Kansas [mp3] (iTunes)

Good Old War

God, I love road trips.

Not only do I get to venture into the gorgeous mountains of Wyoming (favorite state I've been to yet), I get to listen to copious amounts of great music in the car while cruising at a nice 85 mph. Lately I've found I really enjoy listening to Good Old War, a 3-man harmonizing group equipped with nothing more than fast-moving acoustic guitars, keys and drums. Good Old War consists of Keith Goodwin, Daniel Schwartz, and Tim Arnold - some of you may recognize Schwartz's name from his days in the band Unlikely Cowboy, and Tim and Keith from the band Days Away.

The Good Old War sound has a bit of a western rock feel, which their sxsw page calls a "throwback to the days of Crosby, Stills, & Nash" (& Young), and their music definitely has the rustic flair that a great acoustic rock-folk cocktail can offer, which is perfect for my current location. Plus, I love me some CSNY, so any music that can be compared to them is good in my book. Good Old War is also on my list of "best of SXSW" this year and they are touring all over the place after they finish in Austin, so make sure to check out the tour dates below and on their myspace.

Coney Island [mp3] (iTunes)

Upcoming Tour Dates:

Mar 29- Mr. Smalls Funhouse - Millvale, PY
Mar 30 - Newport Music Hall - Columbus, OH
Mar 31 - Agora Ballroom - Cleveland, OH
Apr 1 - St. Andrews Hall - Detroit, MI
Apr 2 - Turner's Ballroom - Milwaukee, WI
Apr 4- The Varsity Theater - Minneapolis, MN
Apr 5 - House of Bricks - Des Moines, IA
Apr 6 - High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI
Apr 7 - Reggie's Live - Chicago, IL

Downloads from every SXSW artist!

Want to preview the many many artists that are playing SXSW? Or not going to the festival but want to still enjoy some of the benefits? Download torrents with every song from the SXSW website here. That's 5 GB of music, darlings. Enjoy!

Caitlin Crosby

Cute tough girl + just slightly husky vocals + infectious pop = Caitlin Crosby, a L.A. singer-songwriter who does it all. She's worked with Babyface, she's an actress, she's released her debut EP in November, she hosts a website encouraging people to embrace and be truly happy with themselves (loveyourflawz.com) whilst being a model/songwriter for Levi Jeans AND she is making the rounds at SXSW this year! It seems that this is quite a lot for someone who just debuted, so I think it's safe to say keep an eye out on this one. "Still Have My Heart" is the first single off of the upcoming album that'll be released sometime this spring.

Still Have My Heart [mp3]
Purchase Caitlin's EP album on iTunes

Headlights

Em has posted them before, but as they are one of the many talented bands playing at SXSW this year, I think now is the perfect time to carve out a little post just for them. Headlights is a group that mixes homespun grew-up-on-the-farm innocence with humble indie pop influence. In fact, they even recorded in a farmhouse. Headlights incorporate that wonderful gentle boy/girl vocal sound with in a dash of electronica amongst the 60's-esque crunchy guitars that are perfect listening for on the road or while doing work, cause these songs truly elevate one's mood. Their last album, Some Racing, Some Stopping, is a bit of a departure from their more indie rock sound and contains some true catchy indie pop tunes, with Cherry Tulips being a favorite of mine. TJ Lipple remixed the version below for Polyvinyl's Remixes release and it suits the song quite well. It has certainly been played plenty on my itunes, so I suggest you check them out and their tour dates for March below.

And, of course, in case it wasn't apparent already, we got a Giveaway going on...

Cherry Tulips (TJ Lipple remix) [mp3] (itunes)

Tour Dates:

Mar 11 - Stonefly - Milwaukee, WI

Mar 12 - Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL

Mar 13 - Southgate House - Cincinnati, OH

Mar 14 - Canopy Club - Urbana, IL

Mar 15 - Bluebird - St. Louis, MO

Mar 16 - Mojo's - Columbia, MO

Mar 17 - Lola's - Ft. Worth, TX

The Republic Tigers

As of late, I just can't stop listening to The Republic Tigers, and since they will be making an appearance at SXSW this year, I felt like that was a fine enough excuse to post about them today. If you're not familiar, the Republic Tigers are an experimental indie pop/rock band that in my mind are the perfect blend of Radiohead meets early Coldplay with a dash of The Bravery, and their latest album Keep Color is a masterpiece. They manage to perfectly balance dreamy with rock and organic with synthetic, just adding enough layers to keep things interesting and your head bobbing. If I had realized that I had them in my iTunes collection earlier, they would've been on a lot of my lists last year. I'm sorry, my bad. Here, let me make it up to you.

Fight Song [mp3]
Buildings & Mountains [mp3]

Purchase other music by The Republic Tigers on iTunes

Hey Ocean!

Hey Ocean! are just fun. A colorful blend of pop and funk with a bit of mischievous flavor dashed in, this four-piece group of energy are starting to make a splash (obvious pun not intended), and with a slot at this year's SXSW, you're sure to be hearing much more of them in the near future. As of late they are working extra hard on touring and making as much music as possible in the hopes of skyrocketing to fame, which I commend and fully support. The most surprising and welcoming part of Hey Ocean!'s sound is the fact that they come across as a west coast carribean-influenced band as opposed to one that hails from Canada, with grooves founded in reggae and funk. Their music videos will be coming out soon for their latest album It's Easier To Be Someone Else, and honestly, I'm intrigued to see how sassy they are. Check them out.

A Song About California [mp3]
Fish [mp3]

Support the artist: Purchase more music by Hey Ocean! on iTunes

Upcoming Concerts:

Feb 6 - Coaster's - Whitehorse, YK
Feb 26 - High Dive - Seattle, WA
Mar 12 - New Frontier Lounge - Tacoma, WA
Mar 14 - Spirit Bar - Nelson, BC
Mar 18 - SXSW - Austin, TX
Mar 18 - Rusty Spur - Austin, TX
Apr 26 - TBA - L.A., CA