SXSW Friday Report

Jon Langford and Bill Kirchen Reenact the Battle of Waco

JC Brooks

The first part of Friday I went to the annual Bloodshot Records party at the Yard Dog Gallery. I got there just in time for JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound. He's Bloodshot's entry into the soul-revival -- a revival, like I've said before, that has been going on for years and hopefully will be for a long time.

Brooks is a young guy from Chicago, but he's obviously well versed in the book of Otis Redding, Wilson Picket and other founding fathers of southern soul. His band -- guitar, bass, drums and keyboards -- is nice and tight.

Brooks plays mainly original tunes but one real crowd pleaser is their cover of Wilco's "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," which is the first song by J.C. I ever heard. I never envisioned that tune, (which starts out, "I am an American aquarium drinker ..." ) as a soul workout when I first heard Wilco do it all those years ago. But I'm glad J.C. Brooks did.

Paul Burch with the Wacos

It just wouldn't be a South by Southwest trip for me without seeing The Waco Brothers at the Yard Dog. I've seen them every SXSW I've attended since 1996. And yesterday I passed over Roky Erikson, T. Tex Edwards and many other shows to see them again. And the Wacos, fronted by The Mekons' Jon Langford --  foul-mouthed, self-mocking and charming as ever --  didn't disappoint. I knew they wouldn't.


Amazingly, The Waco Brothers haven't released an album since their 2008 live set (released just before the last time I saw them.) But now, they're about to release a collaboration with Paul Burch, a wonderful country singer himself. Unfortunately on most the songs Burch sang yesterday were severely under-miked. I guess I'll have to wait until the album to fully appreciate them.

Probably the highlight of the show was when then band was joined by Bill Kirchen -- former guitarist for Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen. With Kirchen, The Wacos unleashed a downright apocalyptic version of "Folsome Prison Blues."

That was the afternoon/early evening. For the night shows, I spent all my time at the new Emo's -- Emo's East, where the former Sixth Street punk rock institution presented a free show (not associated with SXSW) hosted by In the Red Records.

Thee Oh Sees

I went for The Gories and Kid Congo Powers & The Pink Monkey Birds -- two bands I saw a couple of years ago in New York. But I was surprised and impressed  with another band Thee Oh Sees.

This San Francisco band has two drummers as a well as a male and female singer. They're hard-driving, playing songs based on tasty garage-rock riffs.

My only complaint is that the last song they played, a droning psychedelic excursion (sorry, I'm not familiar with the titles) was too long and repetitive. The sets at Emo's on Friday tended to be short and they probably could have fit in two shorter snappier numbers here,  But overall, I still want to check out more of Thee Oh Sees.

Kid Congo has to be one of the most under-rated, under-appreciated musicians working today. His rock 'n' roll resume is impeccable (The Cramps, Gun Club, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.)  But his music with The Pink Monkey Birds is wildly original -- mostly original instrumentals or songs in which the only vocals are the Kid speaking the lyrics.

He does often pay homage to his old bands though. last night he did a version of "I'm Cramped." His set was finished though before I even had a chance to shout a request for "Sex Beat." (He did that Gun Club classic when I saw him in New York.)

Hey Hey We're the Gories!

The Gories are as loose as The Pink Monkey Birds were tight. But that's their heritage, a proud tradition since the 1980s they must uphold. The group -- guitarists Mick Collins and Dan Kroha and drummer Peggy O'Neill -- broke up in the 90s, but a few years ago got back together for a reunion tour. This, I believe is their third such reunion. They aren't ready for the casinos yet, but they were just right for Emo's.

 They romped and stomped through most of their best songs, including "Hey Hey We're The Gories," "Thunderbird ESQ," "Idol With the Golden Head" (a Coasters song, but played as if filtered through Bo Diddley) and a ragged but right take on "Mona," (a Bo Diddley song as filtered through The Gories.)

Unfortunately the all-ages crowd began to seriously thin out by the time The Gories went on.

Kids these days ...

SXSW Thursday Report

Bonaparte at the Dog & Duck

Thursday was a great day for rock 'n' roll spectacle at South by Southwest. Though most of the music I listen to -- be it rock, country, blues or whatever, is performed by artists with come-as-you-are fashion sensibilities, sometimes it's fun to see a full-blown costume party on stage.

That was certainly the case with a German band called Bonapart, who played an afternoon party organized by Saustex label of San Antonio. They were already in to their set when I arrived and I couldn't believe what I was seeing on stage. There was a guy in a horse costume. One of the guitarists had a mask that looked like a  terrorist  gorilla (that's correct -- not guerrilla.) The keyboardist, to quote the Bonzo Dog Band,  had "a head on him like a rabbit.." A woman with a Plasmatics-style Mohawk was charging out from the stage into the audience.

Several costume changes ensued during the next few songs.

The music was frantic and hard driving. I liked it well enough to buy a CD (My Horse Likes You) -- though on first listen it's not nearly as exciting as what I heard on stage.

Pinata Protest

Bonaparte was followed  by Pinata Protest, a San Antonio band I've described as a Chicano version of The Dropkick Murpheys. (They do a fantastic punk version of "Volver, Volver") I saw them last summer in Espanola, where their opening act was The Imperial Rooster. (Here's a video of one of their songs from that show.)

Although the German crazies was a hard act to follow, Pinata did the job. At the Dog & Duck show, I heard some songs I hadn't heard them do before, including a cover of "Jesus Doesn't Want Me For a Sunbeam" originally done by The Vaselines, but made famous by Nirvana.)

Although the German crazies was a hard act to follow, Pinata did the job.

I guess Thursday was Saustex day for me. After the D&D party, I went to the label's official showcase at a downtown club called Karma. Unlike my bad experiences from the night before, I was able to get in by paying a cover charge -- an incredible $5.

Glambilly

Glambilly had just started its set when I walked in. This is a San Antonio trio that infuses a basic cowpunk sound with a New York Dolls style glam-rock sound.

Michella the Fire Eater

Glambilly concentrated on tunes from their album White BBQ Sauce, including a blazing version of "I Must Be the Devil." (I'm not kidding about "blazing." the performance was aided by a beautiful dancer/ fire-eater, who provided some real "glam."

Glambilly was extremely tight. My only complaint is that they didn't do their cover of Bob Wills' "Stay All Night."
A San Francisco punk band called The Grannies followed. This was the second great costume-party band I heard Thursday. The members appeared on stage in granny drag -- bad wigs and even worse dresses.

And their show was downright feral. The singer frequently charged out into the audience to get the moshing started.

But the set was way too short. Apparently some technical problem caused them to start 15 minutes or so after they were supposed to. Oh well, they were fun while they lasted.

The last act I saw was The Hickoids, the band fronted by Saustex owner Jeff Smith and one of the first real-live cow-punk bands of the 1980s.

The group includes Santa Fe punk hero Tom Trusnovic (Monkeyshines, The Floors, Blood Drained Cows, 27 Devils Joking).

When they played in Santa Fe last year, Tommy was playing drums with The Hickoids. However, he's since switched to acoustic guitar. The band was bigger than the one that played at The Underground (Evangelos' basement). At one point they had four guitars blaring on the stage.

As always they were loud, funny, obscene and rocking. They even make Elton John's '70s clunker "Bennie & The Jets" sound exhilarating.

The Hickoids ponder the Universe.

SXSW Wednesday Report

I learned a couple of valuable lessons for SXSW yesterday.

1) Austin traffic during the festival either has gotten a lot worse during the past 4 years, or at least is a lot worse than I remember it. And parking is even worse.

2) Not having a badge or a wristband is a lot harder than people say, at least for the nighttime, officially sanctioned events.

The first lesson I learned after trying to get from my daughter's house in south Austin to Lovejoy's where Kid Congo Powers was playing a free show at 5:15 pm. After dealing with the traffic crawl and finding a $10 parking space about 6 blocks from the venue, I got there just in time to hear Kid Congo thank the crowd.

Hubbard & son

I also arrived too late to see Eric Burdon (yes, former singer of The Animals)  play a free show in the Hotel San Jose parking lot. That was my own fault though for stopping for a nice Mongolian BBQ dinner downtown.

But then the badges deal: I figured my musical taste was so obscure there wouldn't be big crowds for some of the bands I wanted to see -- such as Lee Fields, a soul singer I like.

I was wrong. The line was so long in from of Red 7 that the SXSW looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if I could pay a cover charge.

Then I hiked several blocks uphill (with my soon-to-be-replaced arthritic hip) to the Presbyterian church where Giant Sand was playing. Even though there wasn't a big line, again it was a badge-or-wristband-only show. I even tried to play the crippled old man card. Sorry. Policy is policy.

By now it was midnight, so I trudged back to my car, down near I-35 and drove to East Austin where I knew that Ray Wylie Hubbard and Billy Joe Shaver were playing at a bar called The White Horse.. I found a parking spot nearby (free!) and I didn't need a wristband to get in. In fact it was a free show. And Ray Wylie Hubbard was onstage with a full band.

The funny thing is that I'd started out the day with Ray Wylie Hubbard. He had done a short solo set around noon at Threadgill's, where I'd just had brunch with family. I didn't mind  For one thing, Hubbard sounds best with a band. His songs stand by themselves but they sound best with bass and drums and electric guitar. His son Lucas does that job, both on stage and on the record. And the boy can pick. I remember seeing an impromptu set by Hubbard four years ago when I was in Austin during SXSW, Hubbard and son, then about 14, I think, did some blues tunes at Threadgill's. He's learning well.

For another thing, his soon-to-be-released album, The Grifter's Hymnal, is the first great album of 2012 as far as I'm concerned. It's got Hubbard's trademark style of snarling, cosmic blues he's perfected during the past few years. Lots of slide and attitude.

As I said in reviewing his previous album, " ... unlike his fellow cosmic cowboys of the ’70s, Hubbard stayed cosmic. Since the ’90s ...  his best material has been concerned with the wrath of God and the temptations of the devil, of earthly delights and heavenly light. And it’s mostly done with wry humor."

(I didn't get close enough to shoot a decent video myself, but check out this one Ray made himself.)

Bass Drum of Death

Earlier in the day I did catch a pretty cool band over at Waterloo Records. They're called Bass Drum of Death. No, thy aren't some techno band. It's a trio from Mississippi that play a raw blend of blues rock and pop. I couldn't make out any of their lyrics, but they played with spirit.

But some of my favorite part of SXSW  is hearing music just walking down the street. For instance I came across a fun little jazz band -- trumpet, guitar, snare drum and accordion -- playing "Mack the Knife" and other tunes, on Sixth Street Wednesday afternoon. They sounded a lot better than the one happy guy banging on an acoustic guitar just up the street.

And there was a fairly competent metal band called Broken Teeth, playing a free outdoor show on Seventh Street   I heard while eating a BBQ chicken Korean taco on my way between being denied entrance to Lee Fields and being denied entrance at Giant Sand.

So far today I've been hanging out with my grandson on his first birthday. We'll see what music awaits this evening.

UPDATE 3-16-12 : The original version of this post misidentified the venue where I saw Ray Wylie Hubbard do his solo set.

SxSW 2012

Here's a couple of great musicians who unfortunately I won't be
seeing this year. (R.I.P Doug & Freddy!)

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- I'm here at the Live Music Capitol of the World for the South by Southwest Music Festival, my first time at SXSW since 2008.

I'm off to a great start. I rolled into town about 1 am and went to the motel I usually stay at. But to my surprise, when I booked the room in January, I boneheadedly booked the chain's other Austin location -- way way up on the north side, miles away from anything. And, as fate would have it, the northside location doesn't have wi-fi in my room. (I won't name the motel chain, but let's just say that NRBQ was WRONG!)

But I won't let a little thing like that stop me. I'll just camp out in the lobby and blog away.

Unlike past years, when, like other media elites, I'd have a press pass for the festival (and my own dear friends with me would refer to me as a "badge-wearing scum"), this year I'm trying something different. I'm going to try doing it like a regular plebeian -- hitting the free parties shows and/or paying a single cover at bars and staying all night instead of running all over the downtown area. We'll see how that turns out.

Hopefully I'll see this guy this year.

So check back here every day and I'll let you about the bands I see.

(Here's a handy link to all my SXSW posts -- going back to 2004)

Rising from the Tar Pits, the New Big Enchilada

You bet Jurassic, there's no stoppin' the dinosaurs from hoppin'! Get hip to the prehistoric jive of this month's Big Enchilada featuring giant reptilian rock 'n' roll. Shake your dinosaur bones to The Hickoids,   J.C. Satan, Persian Claws, The Terrorists, The Mighties and Bedrockin' New Mexico bands like The Blood-Drained Cows, The Dirty Novels and -- from the tar pits of time, Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs.

DOWNLOAD | SUBSCRIBE| SUBSCRIBE TO ALL GARAGEPUNK PIRATE RADIO PODCASTS

Here's the playlist:
(Background music: Jurassic Beat by Eddie Angel)
Brontosaurus by The Hickoids
Quick Joey Small by Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus
Two Girls (One Bar) by Pere Ubu
Garage Pusher by The Mighties
Bad News Travels Fast by The Sextress *
Bottle of Wine by Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs

(Background Music: Godzilla by The Monsters)
Prehistoric Love by J.C. Satan
Murder City Shakedown by Black Furies
Mi Amore Es Electrico by The Dirty Novels
Sick of Sex by Daisy Chainsaw
Big Boss Man by '68 Comeback
No No No by Die Zorros

(Background Music: Brontosaurus Stomp by The Piltdown Men.)
Digging Up My Date by The Blood-Drained Cows
Fall on You by The Plimsouls
Shoot it Up Baby Doll by The Terrorists
Fly Paper by Persian Claws
Rattlesnakes Don't Commit Suicide by Help Me Devil
Centreville by Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires
I'm a Little Dinosaur by Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers



* This song from the Italian garage rock compilation  Fresh Meat . You'll find a song by The Mighties there too. For a free download of the compilation, send an email to freshmeatdownload@gmail.com . Thanks to Freddi at the Kicks from the Boot podcast for finding this.

 Play it here: