Favourites from Wednesday to Sunday at SXSW

I wrote about my Monday and Tuesday experiences at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas and have posted photos of acts I've seen throughout the week, but here's a rundown of my SXSW highlights from Wednesday to Sunday.

Wednesday
 

The Wet Secrets

The Wet Secrets
I believe this Edmonton band's Free Candy album deserved more Polaris Music Prize consideration, and it always puts on an entertaining show.

Carl Barat and The Jackals
The former Libertines member played a couple of songs from that band as well as more recent solo material. This performance was much better than when I saw Barat in Austin a number of years ago.

Frank Turner
It's no secret that I'm a major fan and this solo acoustic performance was good enough to get me to see him do it again (though with a somewhat different set list) on Thursday night even though I'd just seen him play with his band The Sleeping Souls in Toronto earlier in the month.

Broncho
If you like King Tuff, Weezer, power pop and '80s new wave, you should enjoy this hook-happy quintet.

Thursday

Mac McCaughan

Mac McCaughan
The Superchunk, Portastatic and Merge Records founder reached into the catalogue for several favourites as well as songs from his forthcoming Non-Believers solo debut. He was alone on stage with an electric guitar, but he didn't need any other backing for his songs to shine.

The Apache Relay
This makes the cut if just for "Katie Queen of Tennessee," a great, classic-sounding pop song.

The Cribs
I still think of this British group as being very young, but it said the last time it played SXSW was 2007, which shows how much time flies sometimes. The group offers a great mix of power pop, punk and indie rock.

Big Harp
This guitar, bass and drums trio plays sharp power pop that can also rock pretty hard and sometimes sounds like it has keyboards infusing through it, even though there are none to be found.

Hippo Campus
This young Minnesota band incorporates African high life elements into its indie pop and had the crowd dancing to its infectiously upbeat sounds. This is an act that could go places and ranks among my best discoveries of SXSW.

Alvvays
The most buzzed about Canadian band at SXSW played to packed houses everywhere it went while playing almost 10 shows over the week. Its dreamy, jangly pop won over another crowd at Cheer Up Charlies' outdoor patio and the only disappointing part of the 20-minute set was its brevity.

Surfer Blood
Snappy, indie pop songs with chiming guitars are this band's forte, and the numbers it played from its forthcoming album stand up to anything from the catalogue. This is music that makes you happy, which made this band a great way to close my Thursday as it put a bounce in my step despite my aching feet on my walk back to my apartment.

Friday

July Talk
The male-female vocal dynamic and mix of grit and sheen makes this Toronto band interesting to listen to and even better to see, as there's great stage chemistry between Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay. I'd say that this could have been the second biggest Canadian buzz band of SXSW.

Best Coast

Best Coast
This California group has a distinctly Californian sound, if that makes sense, and its forthcoming album is titled California Nights. The new songs were just as enjoyable as those played from previous albums, and there's a lot to like in this group's gauzy, dreamy indie pop.

The Waco Brothers
It's a SXSW tradition to have margaritas with members of The Waco Brothers at Guero's on Friday afternoon and then head across the street to the outdoor space behind the Yard Dog Gallery to watch them close off the Bloodshot Records day party. It was another wild and woolly time, as drummer Joe Camarillo fell off his drum stool, two women in the front row with me fell down and Jon Langford name-checked me from the stage regarding a falling incident of mine a few years back. Familiar originals and time-honoured classic covers were played so well that I had to go back and see the band at the Carousel Lounge on Sunday night, where Langford invited me on stage to sing "Folsom Prison Blues" with him.

Joe "King" Carrasco
I loved Carrasco and his band The Crowns in the early '80s and seeing him perform some of the songs from those days was one of my SXSW highlights a few years ago. This set didn't include any of that material and didn't have the organ from those records, but featured a more traditional Tex-Mex, blues and rock-and-roll approach. He's still the "King" and a consummate showman.

Hinds
I found out that I share a birthday with one of the members of this young, all-female garage rock quartet, who I also saw tearing up the dancefloor while fellow Spaniards The Parrots played a garage-surf set on Saturday night. Hinds includes elements of jangle pop, garage rock, indie rock and '60s pop and, while the music still needs a bit of polish, it's on the right track. Ending a set with a cover of Thee Headcoats' "Davy Crockett" was a nice touch.

Twin Peaks
This young Chicago band is apparently a favourite of the sons of Jeff Tweedy and Jon Langford, and I'm on board with them. The quartet is full of energy and punk spirit but can also write very solid songs.

Palma Violets
This British quartet pleased a large and enthusiastic crowd with a raucously entertaining and spirited set of psychedelic-tinged rock-and-roll. It played a handful of songs from the forthcoming Danger In The Club album that are worth looking forward to.

Saturday

Low Cut Connie
Singer/pianist Adam Weiner was one of the most engaging frontmen I saw all week and at one point he grabbed my pen and drew a happy face on my notepad. The Philadelphia band's vintage rock-and-roll sound was a great way to start the day, and including a cover of The Gories' "I Think I've Had It" was even better.

Elliott Brood
I've seen this band numerous times in Toronto and once before in Austin and it always delivers a roots-rocking good time.

Black Linen

Black Linen
This Atlanta group plays melodic, hook-laden, '60s-influenced power pop very well and has a cleaner sound than most of its contemporaries.

Chuck Prophet and The Mission Express
Prophet and his band provided one of my live music highlights of 2014 and even though this set was shorter, it was again right on target. Among the favourites played were "Countrified Inner-City Technological Man," "Wish Me Luck," "Ford Econoline," "Temple Beautiful," "Willie Mays Is Up At Bat" and a cover of The Flamin' Groovies' "Shake Some Action."

Spells
This quintet couldn't stay on the 720 Club's small stage, or even in the club, during a very interactive party rock set that was a ton of fun for the 50 people in attendance.

The Blind Owls
This well-dressed band look very young but play like it's 1966 with mod, freakbeat, garage rock and pure pop elements. A cover of Them's "Gloria" fit right in with the original material.

Danny B. Harvey and Anne Marie Lewis
Harvey plays guitar in HeadCat with Lemmy and Slim Jim Phantom and has played with numerous other people including, on this night, his bride-to-be Anne Marie Lewis (the niece of Jerry Lee). Harvey is the best guitarist I saw all week, while Lewis can definitely sing, and their mix of rockabilly, '50s rock-and-roll, country and blues was a marriage made in heaven with covers of "Hit The Road Jack," "House of the Rising Sun," "Suzie Q," "You Win Again," "Who Do You Love?" and more.

The 69 Cats
Harvey stayed on stage along with his drummer and were joined by Jyrki69, the singer of Finnish goth’n’roll band The 69 Eyes, and former Cramps bassist Chopper Franklin. Let's call the sound gothabilly, as the band put a unique spin on such familiar songs as "People Are Strange," "She's Not You," "Heartbreak Hotel," "Smokestack Lightning" and "Bela Lugosi's Dead." This was pure entertainment.

The Uglybeats
I've seen this group at three previous SXSW festivals, so I ended this one with a level of familiarity as the Austin quintet provided a healthy dose of good times with its retro-garage original songs and a cover of The Ramones' "I'm Against It."

Sunday 
 

Jon Langford and The Far Forlorn

Jon Langford and The Far Forlorn
SXSW essentially ends on Saturday, but there are usually a few shows spread out over Sunday for folks like me who need another fix. It was provided along with some tasty fowl at Lucy's Fried Chicken, where Langford and seven other musicians performed some of his solo material as well as a couple of cuts from his band The Mekons.

 


Number of performances seen from Monday to Sunday: 84
Number of selfies taken: zero
Amount of money spent on food from Tuesday to Saturday: zero

Free Food
Thanks to Nettwerk and Canadian Blast for filling me up on Wednesday. The SOCAN/ASCAP boat cruise and the British Music Embassy at Latitude 30 provided me with nutritional fuel on Thursday afternoon and the M for Montreal poutine party got me through the evening. Friday's food was provided by the British Music Embassy and the Australian BBQ, where I also got a free rain poncho to help make me a little drier on a very rainy day. The British Embassy came through again big time on the food front on Saturday. There were also free drinks at all of these parties, and others as well. Thank you to you all for keeping me well-nourished and lubricated.

SXSW highlights from Saturday and Sunday

As mentioned previously, I'll provide an overview of my top moments of this year's South by Southwest Music Festival in a later post, but here's a brief overview of my Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday I saw:

Low Cut Connie, Saukrates, The People The Poet, Whitehorse, Screaming Females, Pop Group, Elliott Brood, Black Linen, Chuck Prophet and The Mission Express, The Parrots, Spells, The Blind Owls, Danny B. Harvey with Annie Marie Lewis (Jerry Lee's niece), 69 Cats, a Trinidadian steel band that played while we were waiting for Mighty Sparrow (who never showed up in his allotted hour-long time slot), Pujol, Sweet Talk and The Uglybeats.

On Sunday I saw:

Ice Cold Singles, Jon Langford and the Far Forlorn, Banditos, Churchwood and The Waco Brothers (who invited me on stage to sing "Folsom Prison Blues.")

I didn't take my camera out on Sunday night because the battery was dead, but here are a few photos from the past few days:

Jon Langford and The Far Forlorn

The Uglybeats

Pujol

Low Cut Connie

Elliott Brood

Danny B. Harvey and Annie Marie Lewis

Chuck Prophet and The Mission Express

Black Linen

69 Cats

SXSW day four: Chuck Prophet, Wacos, Big Star and more

After a morning and early afternoon of work, music began for me at 2 p.m. with Chuck Prophet at The Ginger Man -- of course that was after a naked guy rode past me on a bike during my two-block walk to the club.

Chuck Prophet and Peter Buck

I've loved Prophet's last two albums, 2009's Let Freedom Ring! and this year's Temple Beautiful, and the former Green On Red member was high on my 2012 South By Southwest Music Festival priority list. He didn't disappoint in a set that included "Castro Halloween," "Left Hand and the Right Hand," an extended "Willie Mays Is Up To Bat," "Doubter Of Jesus (All Over You)," "White Night Big City" and "Little Girl Little Boy."

I'd seen R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck standing at the side of the stage and wasn't surprised when he came on to join in on "You Did / Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp" to end the set. It became an exhibition of guitar prowess with Prophet, Buck and band member James Deprato, and Prophet briefly bowed before Buck. Prophet received a deserving standing ovation, and any discerning adult who enjoys rock and roll and storytelling should definitely investigate this man.

I wanted to stick around for The dB's, and figured that Buck would also play with them, but I had obligations on South Congress and walked 25 minutes south to the Yard Dog Gallery to see Lydia Loveless. Last year's Indestuctible Machine was one of my 15 favourite albums of that period, and  although I spent the time wisely chatting with Bloodshot Records publicist Josh Zanger, I would have liked to have heard more and am hoping the young alt.country artist makes it to Toronto soon.

J. Roddy Walston

I walked a few blocks north to Jo's Coffee for J. Roddy Walston and The Business and arrived just in time to hear the rocking "Don't Break The Needle." Walston was sitting behind a piano at the front of the stage with his band members surrounding him and his cover of Little Richard's "Lucille" outrocked the original. A new song called "Marigold" has me looking forward to a new album, while '70s rock throwback "I Don't Want To Hear It" reinforced why I went to this showcase in the first place. This is throwback rock and roll with soul that wins more than Charlie Sheen.

I returned to the Yard Dog to add some notes to my Waco Brothers article for Spinner, but first saw JC Brooks and The Uptown Sound. He's one of the young entries in the soul revival and looks like he could be around for a while as he reinvigorates the genre along with more seasoned artists like Sharon Jones, Charles Bradley and Lee Fields. I would have appreciated some  horns, but the band was rock solid even without them, and his soulful cover or Wilco's "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" elevated his coolness to another level.

The Waco Brothers

The Waco Brothers pulled off another terrific show that included "Fox River," "Walking On Hell's Roof Looking At The Flowers," "Too Sweet To Die" and "Red Brick Wall" before singer/songwriter Paul Burch came on stage to play songs from the group's forthcoming The Great Chicago Fire album.

"It combines the brute sexuality of the Waco Brothers with the songwriting virtuosity of Paul Burch," said the irascible Langford. The lovely Tawny Newsome, who Langford introduced himself to during the title track even though she's a member of his Skull Orchard band, also came on stage to sing harmonies with violinist Jean Cook.

The Tex-Mex "Monterey" was next, but Langford paid tribute to the Canadians in the crowd instead of any residents of the California city who may have been in attendance. Perhaps that had something to do with us getting him drinks and having Diana Aubrecht as his songwriting muse. Other songs from the excellent new album included "Wrong Side of Love" and "Cannonball" before a return to the Wacos' "Plenty Tough Union Made" and covers of The Small Faces' "All Or Nothing" and Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" and a by-demand encore cover of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy."

I made my back up north to see Posies and modern Big Star member Ken Stringfellow (and Indigo Girl Amy Ray, who came up for a duet) at The Ginger Man for a bit before I had to return to the condo for a few hours to get some work done.

I hit Frank at 10:15 to see The Love Language, who were harder-edged than I expected. I enjoyed it, but prefer the recorded versions of their songs over their live ones and look forward to a new album in July.

I ducked into the Cedar Street Courtyard for two songs from The Scoundrels, a British roots hybrid band that sounds like it could have been from Louisiana. "Sexy Weekend" was great and I want to hear an EP that's coming out on April 24.

Ken Stringfellow and Peter Buck

I returned to The Ginger Man for a Big Star tribute led by Stringfellow, fellow Posies member Jon Auer, Big Star drummer Jody Stephens and a number of guests that extended things well past the normal 35-minute showcase duration. Blitzen Trapper's Eric Earley was the first guest for "Feel," and then Buck and Latebirds guitarist Markus Nordenstreng came up for a totally rousing "In The Street."

Stringfellow and Auer shared vocals on "Back Of A Car" and Nordenstreng returned for "When My Baby's Beside Me." Two members of Cotton Mather did "The Ballad of El Goodo" and then X's John Doe moved from standing behind me with a beer to the stage to sing "I'm In Love With A Girl." The dB's' Peter Holsapple was supposed to come up for "Way Out West" but couldn't be found, but Stephens singing the song was enough magic to replace the disappointment of not seeing him.

Members of Star & Micey, a group I want to see, came up for "Thirteen" and then a female singer who I didn't recognize killed on a cover of Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale." Auer took lead on "Don't Lie To Me" with Doe on harmonies before Buck and others came on stage for an amazing "September Gurls" to end the 75-minute set.

That left enough time to go around the corner to Frank and the Merge Records showcase to see the label's latest signing, Bob Mould. I've seen him a number of times in various incarnations with Husker Du, Sugar and on his own over the past 25 years, and this didn't rank among the best of them, but an encore of "If I Can't Change Your Mind" left me very happy.

Money spent on food during first four days and nights of SXSW: $8.

My morning work obligations, 1 p.m. interview with The Cult's Ian Astbury and my eagerness to get to the Yard Dog made me miss my early afternoon free food parties and realize that I hadn't yet eaten by 10 p.m., so I stopped at one of the dozens of delicious food trucks that have taken Austin by storm. I feel so guilty and ashamed.

Chuck Prophet - Temple Beautiful

I admit to losing touch with Chuck Prophet after the demise of Green on Red and through the string of albums he made through the '90s and into the new millennium. But I became reacquainted through 2009's Let Freedom Ring!, which became one of my favourite albums of that year.

I don't think the follow-up, Temple Beautiful, quite matches that more politically charged record. But it comes damn close and shows that Prophet is in the midst of a career renaissance at age 48.

Temple Beautiful has been described as Prophet's "ode to San Francisco," the city he's called home for most of the past 30 years. He launched the album with a bus tour around the city that highlighted some of the haunts alluded to in his songs, and the report I read made it sound like a magical night.

Steph Finch, Prophet's longtime life and musical partner, adds harmonies and keyboards to a number of tracks. The rest of the musicians augment the songs terrifically, including the saxophonist who comes in on the excellent "Little Girl Little Boy." But it's Prophet's guitar, voice and songs that take Temple Beautiful to the next level above "pretty good rock-and-roll record."

"Castro Halloween" and "Willie Mays is Up at Bat" (on which I'd love to see Prophet collaborate on stage with The Baseball Project) are the most obvious nods to San Francisco, at least to those of us unfortunate enough not to have been there yet.

I'm sure that the Cyril referred to in "Who Shot John" is San Fran native Cyril Jordan, the founder and guitarist for garage rock greats The Flamin' Groovies. The end of "I Felt Like Jesus" is reminiscent of what you'd hear from Prophet's friend and transplanted San Franciscan (and one of my musical idols), Jonathan Richman. Prophet borrows from one of Richman's more obvious influences by adding somewhat of a doo-wop element to the vintage pop-and-roll sound on "White Night, Big City."

The two slower songs on the record, the strings-infused "Museum of Broken Hearts" and the closing "Emperor Norton in the Last Year of His Life (1880)," fall a bit short of the other 10 numbers. But that's probably just  because I like Prophet most when he's rocking.

I've never seen Prophet perform, but will catch at least one set at next month's South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. He would have been high on my list of must-see acts anyway, but the songs on Temple Beautiful cemented it.