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

Photo highlights from Friday at SXSW

Here are the acts I saw on Friday at the South by Southwest Music Festival:

Go Wolf, July Talk, Rachel Sage, Best Coast, San Cisco, Broncho, The Waco Brothers, Grounders, Joe "King" Carrasco, Hinds, Twin Peaks, Palma Violets and Cloud Nothings.

Since the music festival officially started on Tuesday, I have yet to spend any money on food.

Here's a sampling of photos from Friday:

Cloud Nothings

Palma Violets

Twin Peaks

Hinds

Joe "King" Carrasco

Grounders

The Waco Brothers

San Cisco

Best Coast

July Talk

Toronto Urban Roots Fest finished with a flourish on Sunday

Jean Cook and The Burlington Welsh Male Chorus

I got my earliest start (after my latest night) for the third and final day of the Toronto Urban Roots Fest, and it was worth it.

Jon Langford, backed by members of The Waco Brothers and frequent contributor Jean Cook on violin, came on stage at 1 p.m. to perform songs about southern Wales from his 1998 Skull Orchard album and this year's follow-up, Here Be Monsters. The early focus was on three newer songs ("Drone Operator," "Mars" and "Lil' Ray O' Light") and the vintage "Tubby Brothers" before the musicians were joined by a few dozen members of The Burlington Welsh Male Chorus to sing material they recorded on the Skull Orchard Revisited re-do of that 1998 album as well as a few other tunes.

It's quite an amusing collection of songs in its own right, especially with Langford's witty introductions of them, but the choir adds another entertaining element. The addition of vocalist and longtime Langford musical foil Sally Timms was the icing on the cake as the small but appreciative audience of fans and choir family members were treated to "Pill Sailor," "Butter Song," "Youghal," "Inside the Whale," "Deep Sea Diver," "Come Home Tom Jones," "Tom Jones Levitation" and "Are You an Entertainer?" The choir then sang a Welsh folk song that none of us could understand, but it's apparently about how angry the Welsh still are with the Romans, according to Langford. The set ended, fittingly, with a sing-along rendition of one of the frequently-referred-to-in-the-set Welsh superstar's signature hits, "Delilah."

Twin Forks

I was much less familiar with Twin Forks, the Americana music project from Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba. I arrived just in time at the west stage to hear a jaunty, acoustic-based cover of Talking Heads' "And She Was." That was my highlight of the country-folk-based set from the sextet, which I liked but certainly wasn't blown away by. The female harmonies were a nice counterpart to the frontman, and I got to hear "Blister In The Sun" for the third time during the festival (joining Violent Femmes on Saturday and a cover by Hollerado on Friday), which was okay by me.

July Talk

July Talk has been creating a buzz and playing to increasingly larger audiences, which was evident in the reaction it received on the east stage at 3:20 p.m. There's great chemistry and vocal counterbalancing going on between Tom Waits-like singer Peter Dreimanis and cohort Leah Fay, who definitely adds a degree of sex appeal. The quintet's self-titled debut album has a unique mix of indie rock and Americana, but it's taken to another level on stage and the group proved it can hold its own on a big one. "Guns + Ammunition" and "Paper Girl" may have been the standouts, but the entire set showed that July Talk is a band to continue to look for big things from.

I confess that I spent more time chatting with friends than paying attention to Jenny Lewis during her set on the west stage. There was nothing wrong with the performance; it just didn't make much of an impression.

Gogol Bordello

That certainly wasn't the case with Gogol Bordello, which was probably the most frenetic and eclectic act of the festival -- and that energy carried over to the healthy-sized crowd. "My Companjera," "Last One Goes" and "Start Wearing Purple" were standouts from the rotating cast of gypsy punk masters fronted by wine bottle-swilling Eugene Hutz. An encore was demanded and granted. Good times were had by all.

Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy will release his Sukierae solo debut album in September and he's assembled a new backing band that includes his 18-year-old son Spencer on drums. Much of the new material was on the mellow side, and the sometimes plodding delivery was, frankly, a comedown after Gogol Bordello. While the pacing didn't pick up much, and Tweedy banished the band to play solo towards the end of the set, my enjoyment heightened with such favourites from the Wilco catalogue as "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart," "Passenger Side," "Jesus, Etc." and "I'm The Man Who Loves You." Tweedy also performed: "You Are Not Alone," the title track he wrote for Mavis Staples' Grammy Award-winning 2010 album; Uncle Tupelo's warmly welcomed "Give Back The Key To My Heart;" and Woody Guthrie's brilliant "California Stars" from the 1998 collaborative Wilco-Billy Bragg Mermaid Avenue LP.

Neutral Milk Hotel is one of those bands that inexplicably flew below my radar when it was in its prime back in the '90s and I've never made a major effort to remedy that -- even after group member Julian Koster played his singing saw in my living room at a Christmas party I hosted a number of years ago. But I've appreciated everything I've heard and was happy to have the opportunity to see the influential band perform since it looked for so long like that would never happen again.

We ducked over to the south stage to catch a couple of songs by Hollerado and I was pleased to see that not everyone at TURF was watching Neutral Milk Hotel. The young Canadians had a large throng of folks eating out of their hands.

Waco Brothers

The TURF staff party was held at the Horseshoe Tavern, but open to the public, and the Waco Brothers performed for the fourth and final time to end the festival. There were no concerns with repeating songs from the first two nights, just with letting loose and having a great time. Mission accomplished.

TURF has made great progress in its two years and hopefully has established a strong enough foundation for it to become a staple of Toronto's busy summer schedule from now on.

Violent Femmes highlight excellent second day of Toronto Urban Roots Fest

Shovels & Rope

The momentum created on the first day of the Toronto Urban Roots Fest on July 4 had no problems continuing the next day with another slate of top talent and sunny and warm weather.

I began my day at 2:30 p.m. with Shovels & Rope, the Charleston, S.C. husband and wife duo of Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst. The chemistry between the pair was obvious as they traded off instruments and vocals on almost every song but still made sweet music that never failed to flow. Laid-back folk, blues, mid-tempo toe-tappers and roots rock all formed part of the repertoire, which included a handful of songs from the forthcoming Swimmin' Time LP, their best known number, "Birmingham," and the set-closing "Hail Hail." Shovels & Rope are the perfect band for a festival like this.

Drive-By Truckers

I've always enjoyed the Drive-By Truckers' approach to southern rock and, while I still enjoyed this performance, it didn't seem to be as vibrant as past gigs. Perhaps it was partly attributable to seeing the band on a large stage in the great outdoors instead of a smaller club like in the past. But the group's latest album, English Oceans, has also left a very minimal impression on me. Still, there were moments of magic when the three guitarists cranked things up. "The Righetous Path," "A Ghost To Most" and "3 Dimes Down" left the biggest impressions before I moved on from the east to the south stage at 4:10 p.m.

The Stanfields

The Stanfields are one of the most dynamic and energetic bands to come out of eastern Canada in a long time and I've never seen a duff performance. The Celtic-influenced rock band didn't disappoint again, although, according to my hijacked notes, "I got to sit beside the wonderful Tanya, so that was my favourite part of the day." While that was certainly alright, hearing songs like "Blacktop Blues," "Don't Make Me Walk Away," "Mrs. McGrath," "Run on the Banks," "The Boston States" and "Money Changers" didn't hurt either.

I saw Violent Femmes at the 1990 Mariposa Folk Festival and again at Toronto's Massey Hall in 2006, but this was still the band I was most looking forward to seeing at TURF because its catalogue of songs means the most to me. It seemed I wasn't the only one with that opinion, as the large crowd was singing along, clapping and dancing throughout a great 80-minute set that began with the Milwaukee, Wisc. group's 1983 10-song debut album played from beginning to end. Almost every song on the record can be considered a classic of early '80s alternative music, with "Blister In The Sun," "Add It Up" and "Gone Daddy Gone" perhaps being the most familiar to those who don't own the self-titled effort.

Violent Femmes

Former Dresden Doll Brian Viglione has replaced Victor DeLorenzo on drums, but singer/guitarist Gordon Gano and bassist Brian Ritchie are still front and centre in the Femmes, who were augmented on certain songs by the Horns of Dilemma to add more depth to the often sparse material. The good times continued after the completion of Violent Femmes with an array of favourites from more recent albums, including "Jesus Walking On The Water,"  "Country Death Song," "Old Mother Reagan," "Freak Magnet," "Never Tell," "Black Girls," "I Held Her In My Arms" and the finisher, "American Music," which included some predictable pandering by inserting "I like Canadian music" into one part.

The Gaslight Anthem

While the Femmes were definitely the high point of my day, there wasn't a huge let up when The Gaslight Anthem came on the east stage at 6:30 p.m. and began with what remains my favourite song from the Brunswick, N.J. group: "The '59 Sound." The band's blend of classic New Jersey rock and roll and melodic punk (let's call it Bruce Springsteen meets The Replacements) shone brighter than the last time I saw it as songs from the forthcoming Get Hurt album easily held their own with older stalwarts including "Miles Davis and the Cool," "Old White Lincoln," "Biloxi Parish," "We Came To Dance," "Old Haunts," "Film Noir," "High Lonesome," "Too Much Blood," "The Queen of Lower Chelsea," "American Slang," "The Backseat" and a cover of "House of the Rising Sun." Charismatic frontman Brian Fallon promised that The Gaslight Anthem would be back in Toronto soon to further promote Get Hurt, and the audience voiced its approval. This is a band that looked like it might have reached a plateau but now seems like it's back on an upward trajectory.

I moved to the south stage to see the last of The Strumbellas, who had attracted the biggest crowd yet to the hillside vantage point. The sextet won the Juno Award for best roots and traditional album by a group earlier this year and has built a deservingly large following in a relatively short period and apparently packed the Horseshoe Tavern the night before as part of TURF's club component. I know I'll be seeing The Strumbellas again.

Waco Brothers

The Waco Brothers returned to the south stage, where it had played the night before, and the lads were more boisterous than 25.5 hours before. There were no repeats in an insurgent country set that rollicked on for an hour and included "Harm's Way," "Too Sweet to Die," "The Death of Country Music," "Nothing At All" and "Wreck on the Highway." Sally Timms joined her pals to sing "Old Flames Can't Hold A Candle To You," "Seminole Wind" and "Wild and Blue." The covers component of the concert was complete with playful dancing on stage and amped up interpretations of T-Rex's "20th Century Boy," Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues," The Who's "Baba O'Riley" and The Undertones' "Teenage Kicks." Two shows down; two to go.

Sam Roberts, unfortunately, hasn't done much for me since his first album came out in 2003. So when given the choice of watching his headlining set on the east stage or chatting over a few beers with friends in the artist compound, I opted for the latter. I'll give Roberts and his band credit, however. They made pretty decent background music.

We decided to continue the socializing at Lee's Palace for a reprise performance from Shovels & Rope at midnight. Since I'd just seen the cute couple 10 hours earlier, I didn't bother taking any notes but am pleased to point out that the late show included a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Johnny 99."

The music was over but the party continued with more conversation and beers on a friend's stoop until about 4 a.m. when it was decided it would be wise to break things up since Sunday's music would begin at 12:45 p.m. and two of my drinking companions were due to be playing it.

TURF 2014 started strong out of the blocks on Friday

Lucius

The Toronto Urban Roots Fest showed a lot of promise in its inaugural year and followed it up with a bigger and better event in 2014.

A third and smaller stage was added to Toronto's Fort York location this year, and that's where I found myself sitting on a hill at 4:50 p.m. on July 4 to see Lucius, a Brooklyn, N.Y. band fronted by two sweetly harmonizing blonde women in matching yellow mini-dresses. The indie pop quintet had an interesting look and songs that sounded familiar yet different enough from each other to keep your attention from wandering. Guitars, drums and keyboards were augmented by additional percussion on some songs in a 40-minute set that included "How Loud Your Heart Gets," "Wildewoman" and my favourite, "Turn It Around," which closed things off and incorporated some of Whitney Houston's  "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)." If you like Rilo Kiley, you'll probably enjoy Lucius.

Willie Nile

Willie Nile has been making music for 40 years but has never received the acclaim he deserves for his rock and roll, and that wasn't likely to change judging by the exodus before he began his 55-minute set. Guitar, bass and drums played by black-clad musicians younger than Nile brought added life to his singing and playing in a performance that opened with "This Is Our Time" and also included "Heaven Help The Lonely," "Holy War," "Give Me Tomorrow," and covers of The Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" and The Jim Carroll Band's "People Who Died" before finishing strong with another original, "One Guitar."

The Waco Brothers

The Waco Brothers have been one of my favourite live bands since I first saw them more than a decade ago, and they've now become friends, so that's added incentive to see them as much as possible. That wouldn't be difficult since the Chicago-based group was booked for three shows of their own and a fourth playing songs by Jon Langford along with a Welsh choir, and the goal was to avoid duplication.

The quintet began its south stage set at 7:20 p.m. and zipped through a performance that provided its usual share of roots, punk, rock and roll and humour -- with lead vocals shared by guitarists Langford and Dean Schlabowske as well as mandolin player Tracey Dear. "Fox River," "Walking On Hell's Roof Looking At The Flowers," "Do What I Say," "Red Brick Wall," "Plenty Tough, Union Made," "Do You Think About Me?," "Blink of and Eye" and covers of "I Fought The Law," "Small Faces' "All or Nothing," George Jones' "White Lightning" (with Jo Walston joining the band on harmonies), Johnny Cash's "Big River" and Bo Diddley's "Hey Bo Diddley" were all part of the fun.

Deer Tick

The south stage audience grew considerably for Deer Tick, a solid roots rock band I'd liked but never seen in person. Now I'm glad I have. They're talented players that form a tight unit and lead singer John McCauley's raw delivery suits the material well. The Rhode Island quintet had people in its hands from the beginning and didn't let up as it played "Main Street," "Houston, TX" and "Mr. Sticks" among others. The group also played "Shitty Music Festival," which certainly didn't apply to TURF, but was still good to hear.

Beirut

Beirut is another group that I've enjoyed only on record until I finally eased myself over from the south to the much larger east stage for its 9:30 p.m. slot. Zach Condon's project was unlike anything else I saw on day one,  full of horns and accordion and fusing Balkan folk with baroque indie pop to create a distinct sound that more than made up for a lack of magnetic stage presence. "Elephant Gun" and "Scenic World" were highlights.

I caught a couple of songs from Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears from afar, and his crew sounded as soulful and tight as ever. This is definitely a band to catch if you haven't before.

Club shows at Lee's Palace and the Horseshoe Tavern awere also part of TURF, and a cab got us up to Bloor Street to that first venue to see the last couple of songs by Andrew Jackson Jihad -- which I'd previously seen open for Frank Turner. But with festivals like this, it can sometimes be pretty difficult to see all of everything you want to and I'm sure there will be other opportunities.

Hollerado

But we certainly got our money's worth with Hollerado, the only Canadian band I saw on Friday, and which was expanded from the usual four-piece lineup on occasion by three female backing singers. We've come to expect confetti canyons at Hollerado shows, which add to the party atmosphere that their music and good-natured approach to their fans engender, and several were fired off during the course of the gig. "Fresno Chunk (Digging With You)," "Juliette," "Fake Drugs," "Americanarama" and covers of The Count Five's "Psychotic Reaction," Violent Femmes' "Blister In The Sun," Blink 182's "Dammit" and Neil Young's night-closing "Rockin' in the Free World" drew deservedly fervent responses from those in the packed club.

SXSW 2013 day four: a Waco afternoon turns into a Specials night

It’s been my tradition since first coming to the South by Southwest Music Festival to cross Town Lake to the South Congress neighbourhood and the Yard Dog Gallery for the Bloodshot Records party and margaritas across the street with the Waco Brothers. It’s a tradition that was continued this year and I don’t see it ending as long as all the involved parties are in Austin.

I arrived at the Yard Dog at 3 p.m., where I caught Lydia Loveless’ last song. I would have liked to have heard more, since I’m a fan, but luckily I caught her in Toronto a few months ago.

Luke Winslow-King

Lagunitas IPA was selling for three dollars, but it was just a buck if you kept your cup for refills, so I ordered my first beer while waiting for Luke Winslow-King to begin at 3:15 p.m. He sang and played guitar and was accompanied on vocals by Esther Rose (who added percussion with both a rub board and by striking a horseshoe with a screwdriver) and an upright bassist. The trio had a rootsy, folky, down-home sound that was nice, but not particularly inspiring.

I went inside the gallery to check out its great collection of folk art and then back outside to the Bloodshot merchandise table where I bought both a Bloodshot work shirt and bottle opener for just five dollars.

Waco Brothers

I then went to Guero’s and bellied up to the bar for margaritas and conversations with old friends, new friends and all of my friends in the Waco Brothers. I was going to briefly check out and go down the street to Jo’s Coffee to see The James Hunter Six, but Wacos drummer Joe Camarillo had already bought me another margarita so I stuck around and chatted more until just before 5:30 p.m. when the band left to take the Yard Dog stage.

I don’t know if you’ll find a more entertaining rock and roll band than the Wacos, and this set featured a fiery set of original songs and choice covers. Jo Walston from The Meat Purveyors jumped on stage for George Jones’ “White Lightning” and Jon Langford reciprocated by jumping into the crowd during Johnny Cash’s “Big River,” but the boys were generally better behaved than at past Bloodshot parties. And yet another Friday at SXSW tradition was upheld when Craig Laskey kept drinking my beer.

Green Day

I made a pitstop back at the condo before it was time to go to ACL Live at The Moody Theatre to see Green Day. You can read my Spinner review of that outstanding show here.

When Green Day had finally finished after playing for more than two hours, I dropped my laptop off at the condo and went across the street to The Ginger Man to see The District Attorneys. Some friends are working with the band, and they should because it’s really good. The relatively young Athens, Ga. group features two guitars, drums, bass and keyboards, plays melodic alternative rock, and goes down fine with a pint of IPA. I’d be happy to be in court with these guys.

The Specials' Terry Hall

The Specials were playing again at Stubb’s at 12:30 a.m., and I got there early so I could grab a tallboy of Lone Star and get right up front where hopefully I’d encounter more real fans of the second wave ska kings than I did the night before. A few people spotted my Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice T-shirt and waved me over to join them. It was a similar set to the previous night, with perhaps a few more songs thrown in, but I was too preoccupied with moshing and skanking to take notes. The Specials once again left me on a high on the walk back to the condo for the usual socializing and debriefing.

Amount of money spent on food during SXSW thus far: $0.

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.

Waco Brothers & Paul Burch - Great Chicago Fire

If I didn't have enough reasons to look forward to the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas next month, I have another one after listening to the Waco Brothers and Paul Burch's Great Chicago Fire.

The album will be released by Bloodshot Records on April 24, but the raucous Chicago country punks and the talented but under-appreciated Nashville singer/songwriter will be performing together at SXSW.

As much as I love the Wacos' unpredictable Austin shows and can sing along with most of their songs, it will be good to hear new material since this is their first studio album since 2005's Freedom and Weep. I've never seen Burch perform, but was an advocate of 2003's Fool for Love, enjoyed his interpretations on last year's Words of Love: Songs of Buddy Holly, and have liked what I've heard from him from various compilations and collaborations.

Waco Brothers' Deano Schlabowske and Joe Camarillo at Guero's in Austin.

So I thought this would be a combination that fits squarely into my wheelhouse, especially after finding out that it was brokered over margaritas at Guero's in Austin. I've enjoyed a few of those tequila-laced cocktails with musicians over the years there, too.

My high expectations for Great Chicago Fire were met easily, right from the opening up-tempo title track and its shared lead vocals, female harmonies, up-front guitars and T-Rex influence ("20th Century Boy" has long been a staple of Wacos performances, so perhaps that isn't as surprising as one might initially think).

Deano Schlabowske sings lead on the Tejano meets Jason and The Scorchers-ish "Give In" and "On The Sly," while offering a nifty guitar solo in "Up On The Mountain."

Waco Brothers' Jon Langford, Deano Schlabowske and Tracey Dear.

Jon Langford's insurgent country number "Cannonball" is sweetened by the backing vocals of Tawney Newsome and Bethany Thomas, and "Someone That You Know" canters along jauntily.

Burch's "Wrong Side of Love" is poppy, but with a honky-tonk element courtesy of Pat Brennan's piano. Brennan adds accordion to "Monterey," which would do the Texas Tornados proud. The more lush "Flight to Spain" is surprisingly restrained, but the guitar-fuelled "Transfusion Blues" returns to more familiar Wacos territory.

Bryan Ferry's cover of Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" remains my favourite, but the bluesy singalong version that ends this album certainly isn't a disappointment.

Great Chicago Fire is my favourite album of 2012 so far, and I can't envision it not being among my top picks 47 weeks from now.