Authors: Alexander Ortega
SXSW 2013: Tegan and Sara @ The Main iHeartRadio Showcase...
I would play guitar for Tegan and Sara. That’s the only instrument I play well, and, really nobody would notice that I was in the band, because, like in their music videos, JUST Tegan and Sara are in the spotlight onstage. They have a retinue of dudes (and they’re DUDES, not chicks) who play guitar, drums, bass or keys, depending on the song—as long as I was just CLOSE to them, I would be happy, really. … read more
SXSW 2013: Café Tacvba @ Stubb’s NPR Music Showcase 03.13
I made my way to the Stubb’s stage, which was in an outside-concert-style scheme. It was nighttime, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to make it through the line in time to see Café Tacvba, as the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s were booked to play next. I made it in with ease, though, and got up front with a packed crowd during their first song, which was a rock n’ roll–ranchera hybrid played to easygoing spiritedness from the front of the audience. … read more
SXSW 2013: Nü Sensae @ Holy Mountain Backward Enabler PR...
I would marry Andrea Lukic. There was just something about her—the same thing I like about Chelsea Wolfe—which makes me think that she would have a nice conversation with me one day over tea, then strangle me in my sleep the next. I like that in a girl. … read more
SXSW 2013: White Lung @ Holy Mountain Enabler PR Showcase
When White Lung played their first song with their sharp melodies and Mish Way’s nonchalant stage presence, the darkness and slight dinginess of the club complemented White Lung’s macabre sound well as a group of photographers at the front snapped and flashed their machines like the band members were stars on some sort of award show in a noir movie. … read more
SXSW 2013: Royal Thunder @ The Dirty Dog Metalsucks Showcase...
Royal Thunder’s set at the Dirty Dog was like sex on the beach. They started out with a couple of their more mellow songs, then they royal thumpered into “Whispering World” to take the rhythm and pace to the next level. Frontwoman Mlny Parsonz really knew how to lure a guy in with soft coos that eventually transformed into full-bodied singing, then growls like a tigress. … read more
SXSW 2013: Death @ TenOak Metrotimes Detroit Blowout Showcase 03.14
It was Death, the protopunk band—one of the (retroactively) driving forces in rock n’ roll history. And they killed it. The remaining Hackney brothers were right on spot in the rhythm section, and they had two guitarists rather than one. As Bobby Hackney said at various times during their set, this was music straight out of 1975, and I felt like I was transported there. … read more
SXSW 2013: Bajofondo @ Auditorium Shores Stage (Lady Bird Lake)...
Bajofondo has a polished sense of how and when to move onstage. At one point, the drummer got a thick beat going, and frontman and guitarist Gustavo Santaolalla heralded his bandmates to get the crowd to start clapping along. As the audience followed suit, the stringed instruments cascaded into a dissonant, bend-sounding synergy of sound. … read more
SXSW 2013: Young Widows @ Red 7 Tone Deaf Touring...
Young Widows exude a chilled-out vibe to their brand of sludgy hardcore. Their music is intense, with frontman Evan Patterson’s guitar riffs chunking out like metal bolts and anvils coming out of a meat grinder, but it’s a sort of pensive aggressiveness, like watching volatile chemicals in science. Young Widows are the type of band whose record you throw on and smoke a J to, even though they are noise-rockers imbued with hardcore. … read more
SXSW 2013: Lemuria @ The Mohawk Indoor 03.15
Sheena Ozella, the frontwoman (guitar and vocals) of Lemuria, is an amazing guitarist—she’s clearly an intelligent person, as her odd chord structuring and deft movement along the neck played out sonically with an almost jazzy character. Her left hand played Tetris with itself and moved from barre 7 chords to tuning while she was singing during a stop. … read more
SXSW 2013: Masked Intruder @ Red 7 Fat Wreck Chords...
You see, Masked Intruder has a dancer, who is a dude dressed up in a cop costume. His job is to run around and rile people up. He accomplishes this by pushing people and moshing with them. Part of his job is to flip people off, too. He flips off as many people as he can at any given moment, on- or offstage. I imagine that Masked Intruder would kidnap me, as they are robbers, and I’d probably get sick and tired of the cop, even though I think he’s cool at the same time. … read more