SXSW 2013 day five: Robyn Hitchcock, BP Fallon and their friends

I managed to get out earlier today, and my first stop was Mpressfest at Soho Lounge. I heard a couple of non-descript rock songs from A House for Lions and stocked up on free sandwiches and wraps to take with me on the walk down South Congress to the Yard Dog party.

The Split Squad

I arrived in time for “Aw Shit Man,” the last song of what I was told was a killer Minus 5 set featuring Linda Pitmon on drums. But I didn’t miss any of The Split Squad, which had thrilled me enough two days earlier that I went back for a second helping. It was a shorter set, but just as intensely entertaining, with guitarist Keith Streng once again up to his crowd-mixing antics. And this time he was joined by fellow guitarist Eddie Munoz, who was once again introduced by lead singer Michael Giblin as a great guitarist but a “terrible, terrible human being.” Pitmon was enjoying it from the side of the stage while dancing and playing a tambourine.

Watch part of The Split Squad's performance here, courtesy of Matzoh Ball. 

It was the same deal with beer as the day before. Pay three bucks for the first one and then just a dollar for refills if you kept your cup. This time I moved up in strength to Lagunitas Little Sumpin’, a hoppy, crisp and delicious ale that packed a 7.5-per cent alcohol wallop. Austin institution Allen Oldie stood behind me in line. I unfortunately didn’t catch his nostalgic band this year.

Ian McLagan

But I did see Ian McLagan and The Bump Band, who I’d meant to spend time with on past visits but didn’t. The 67-year-old former Small Faces keyboardist — who also sang and was accompanied by three excellent musicians — primarily stuck to solo material, including “Been A Long Time,” “Don’t Say Nothing At All,” “I Will Follow” and the closing “All I Want To Do.” But the blues-rock outfit also reached back into the Faces catalogue for “You’re So Rude,” which was the B-side to “Stay With Me.”

I had another Little Sumpin’ for Ian Moore and The Lossy Coils, who were joined on keyboards by Ken Stringfellow (The Posies, Big Star). Things began somewhat slowly and then picked up, and that back and forth pattern continued through much of the set, and my thoughts on it were also mixed. Scott McCaughey (The Minus Five, The Venus Three) joined on guitar and vocals for the final song.

The James Hunter Six

I made my way back north to the Auditorium Shores Stage, a large public space on the bank of Town Lake, to see The James Hunter Six. The nattily attired British singer/guitarist and his crack band (featuring upright bass, drums, keyboards and two saxophones) exuded class with their mix of soul, blues, rock and pop on songs including “One Way Love,” “Chicken Switch,” “Let The Monkey Ride,” “The Gypsy,” “Minute by Minute,” “Jacqueline” and “Carina,” which had a pleasantly surprising ska flavour. The 50-year-old Hunter ended a more than impressive set by playing guitar while doing a Cossack dance on “Talking ‘Bout My Love.” You try doing that in a black three-piece suit when it’s 35 degrees Celsius. Consider me a convert to this man and his band’s classic, timeless music.

Women standing sidestage during Hunter’s set were dancing along and signing the lyrics, which was appropriate since the Texas School for the Deaf was just down the street. It was a nice touch.

I dropped by The Agency party at Lambert’s for a couple of free margaritas and to pay my respects to a few people before stopping for a beer and some catch-up on my computer before it was time to venture out again to see Robyn Hitchcock and several of his friends at The Ginger Man at 7 p.m.

Robyn Hitchcock

I’d talked to Hitchcock earlier in the week for Spinner about this show, and other things, and this extended set was one of my anticipated highlights of the week. It didn’t disappoint. I found a seat at a table near the front with my Bear Racer 5 IPA, and Hitchcock walked out by himself with his acoustic guitar and opened with “Nietzche’s Way.” He put on the harmonica for “Only The Stones Remain” and acknowledged his recent 60th birthday by saying, “I’ve crossed the valley into senility.”

Hitchcock continued with “Dismal City” before Linda Pitmon (who rejected my marriage proposal at SXSW several years ago, but I’ve never held it against her) walked out to join him by adding percussion via maracas, tambourine and a shaker. R.E.M.'s Scott McCaughey (bass) and Bill Rieflin (percussion) joined shortly thereafter for “Be Still” from the new Love From London album. A Hitchcock rap about the new pope morphed into “Ole Tarantula,” with R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills adding his voice to all of the fans who sang along with the chorus. Another Venus 3 song, the rollicking “Adventure Rocketship,” followed.

Robyn Hitchcock, Bill Rieflin and Scott McCaughey

“Queen Elvis” continued the momentum, as did a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue,” which accompanied me to the bar to buy a pint of Texas-made winter stout whose name escapes me, and a cover of David Bowie’s “Soul Love.” Ken Stringfellow and Kelly Hogan joined the ensemble to add backing vocals and “Madonna of the Wasps” stung beautifully before Hitchcock’s long introduction to “(A Man’s Gotta Know His Limitations) Briggs.” Stringfellow played keyboards on “Airscape.”

A birthday cake was brought out and the audience sang the requisite song before Hitchcock strapped on an electric guitar, Rieflin got behind the drum kit and The Fastbacks’ Kurt Bloch came on with his guitar to join McCaughey, Pitmon and Stringfellow on three brilliant Beatles covers to end the 90-minute set: “I’ve Got A Feeling,” “Don’t Let Me Down” and “One After 909.”

Tijuana Panthers

I was sure nothing was going to surpass what I just saw, but there were still five more hours to fill before the clubs closed, so I moved on to a relatively uncrowded Maggie Mae’s Gibson Room to see Long Beach, Calif. garage/surf/punk trio Tijuana Panthers. I liked things more as the set went on, with a cover of Buzzcocks’ “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays” and a song that sounded a bit like The Undertones’ “Teenage Kicks” standing out above the rest.

There was more garage rock happening at The Parish Underground, beginning with Subsonics at 10 p.m. The trio was fun, but not as special as I was hoping for, although it did become more energized as the set went on. 

Watch Subsonics perform "I Made You A Clown" here, courtesy of Matzoh Ball. 

The Ugly Beats' Jeanine Attaway

I wasn’t feeling particularly energized, but I found a comfortable seat and decided to be lazy and stick around for The Ugly Beats. I’d seen the Austin band at past SXSWs and enjoyed its brand of good-natured, hooky garage rock, and it was the same story tonight when the quintet crammed on to the small stage. Keyboardist/tambourinist Jeanine Attaway definitely isn’t ugly, but I’d probably think that Abe Vigoda was hot if he was playing an Acetone the way she was. “Throw Me A Line,” “Brand New Day” and a rocking instrumental were among the highlights that rejuvenated me enough to move on at the end of the set with new vigour in my step.

I arrived at Dirty Dog Bar before BP Fallon began his set and I briefly talked to the diminutive, soft-spoken, 66-year-old Irishman, who reminded me a bit of Charlie Chaplin in his black suit and bowler hat. Fallon has a dry, droll vocal delivery, but his group The Bandits had a lot of power behind him. The band is Blondie bassist Nigel Harrison and drummer Clem Burke along with guitarist Aaron Lee Tasjan, who played with the reformed New York Dolls. And Stooges drummer Scott Asheton even subbed in for Burke for a song.

Fallon opened with “I Saw Her Face” and worked through a thoroughly entertaining set that also included “Fond of Cocaine,” “Does Anyone Care What Anyone Says in Rock’n’Roll” and a killer cover of Van Morrison’s “Gloria,” where Fallon relieved the pressure on his pink Chuck Taylor-adorned feet by getting down on his knees to sing.

BP Fallon & The Bandits

In case you’re wondering how someone you’ve likely never heard of can attract such star power into his band to help record his Still Legal debut album at the age where most people are retiring, here’s a sample of Fallon's resume: He's an author and photographer who worked with the Beatles in the late ‘60s, was the publicist for Thin Lizzy and T. Rex and toured with Led Zeppelin in the ‘70s, represented Ian Dury, appeared in John Lennon’s “Instant Karma” video, DJed on tours for U2, My Bloody Valentine and The Kills, opened the Death Disco club with Creation Records founder Alan McGee, and was approached by Jack White to make his first seven-inch single.

I went from old to very young for my last band of the night, moving on to Latitude 30 to see British buzz band The Orwells. The punk-based outfit was good, but I’d hoped for more, although I was impressed with its cover of The Stooges’ “Now I Wanna Be Your Dog.” Give this band a few years and it should be capable of achieving big things.

I wound down at the condo with a couple of nightcaps, my friends and my laptop until the time felt right to hit the sack at 4 a.m.

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

The Best of Kimberley Rew

I've been a fan of singer, songwriter and guitarist Kimberley Rew for more than 25 years, but I've only just now heard more than a couple of songs from his solo recording career.

I fell in love with The Soft Boys' Underwater Moonlight album a few years after hearing it following its 1980 release. YepRoc Records has just issued a 30th anniversary version of the album and if you've ever wanted to hear a record that masterfully mixed pop, rock, punk, psychedelic and folk elements, you should pick it up.

The Soft Boys may not be famous, but they were definitely influential. Just ask R.E.M.

Underwater Moonlight was The Soft Boys' second and last studio album until the band reformed to release Nextdoorland in 2002. I was lucky enough to catch a performance on the group's tour in support of it.

Robyn Hitchcock was the focal point of The Soft Boys, and I've continued to follow him through a productive and eclectic career as a solo artist and with The Egyptians and The Venus 3. He's an off-kilter musical genius who's a joy to behold on stage, as you never know what might come out of his mouth.

When Hitchcock left to pursue a solo career, Rew had a stash of songs begging to be heard. He joined Katrina & The Waves in 1981, but it took four years for the band to release its self-titled major label debut LP featuring 10 re-recorded versions of earlier songs. The album included "Going Down To Liverpool," a Rew composition that had been a hit for The Bangles two years earlier, and what would become the group's biggest hit and signature song: "Walking on Sunshine."

That was the band's commercial peak in North America, although it continued to record and won the Eurovision song contest in 1997 with the Rew-composed "Love Shine A Light," which reached #2 in Britain.

I still prefer Katrina & The Waves' earliest material, before their work was given a major label sheen, and heartily recommend obtaining 2003's The Original Recordings 1983-1984.

Rew released a 1982 solo effort called The Bible of Bop that saw him backed by members of The Soft Boys, Katrina & The Waves and another underrated act, the dB's. That was it until 2000, when Rew issued Tunnel Into Summer. Great Central Revisited followed two years later and Essex Hideaway came out in 2005. I admit to being oblivious to all of them.

The Best of Kimberley Rew was released earlier this month, and it opened my eyes to how good many of his songs I was unaware of are.

One of the earliest tracks, a great power pop number titled "Stomping All Over The World," features guitar interplay between Rew and Hitchcock and you can hear vague strains of perhaps The Soft Boys' best song, "I Wanna Destroy You," in it.

Another early number, "Hey, War Pig!," features backing from Katrina & The Waves. The title is repeated frequently throughout and, had I heard it a few weeks earlier, I definitely would have included it in my Remembrance Day "Songs of peace and remembrance" post for MSN.ca.

"A Girl Called String" has a pleasant reggae rhythm, but without the big bottom end usually associated with the genre. Reggae progenitor rock steady similarly infuses "The End Of Our Rainbow," which also features nice female harmonies.

"English Road" is an up-tempo, jangly, power pop number of the sort that's more normally associated with Rew. So is "Simple Pleasures."

"Old Straight Track" is a rootsy pop number with female harmonies and the country-leaning "The Radio Played Good Vibrations" wouldn't have sounded out of place on The Rolling Stones' "Exile On Main St."

There are also some slower songs, a couple with spoken-word vocals ("Jerome K Jerome" and "Your Mother Was Born In That House") and "Screaming Lord Sutch," a melancholy acoustic ballad about the British music artist and Official Monster Raving Loony Party founder who hung himself in 1999.

With the publishing royalties that I hope Rew has earned from "Going Down To Liverpool," "Walking On Sunshine," "Love Shine A Light" and Celine Dion's cover of his "That's Just The Woman In Me," he may be content to live comfortably and play small pubs on weekends in his native Cambridgeshire. But knowing his pedigree, and especially after hearing this new compilation, it would be a shame if Rew didn't share his talents on a larger scale with more recording and touring.