Festival Coverage
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: Pissed Jeans @ 1100 Warehouse 03.14
There is not enough sarcasm in all of Austin to match the amount that came out of Pissed Jeans vocalist Matt Korvette. Pissed Jeans is just as their name says, sans jeans. Pissed Jeans don’t give a fuck about you or what you do, say, or want. Honestly, Matt said, “We actually don’t care about you guys,” to the audience. … read more
SXSW 2013: Maximum Hedrum @ The Main 03.14
Maximum Hedrum’s stage presence was incredibly wacky and crazy. One could definitely tell that the band was from Hollywood CA. Most of the band members where blasting out more fake energy than a Tony Robbins convention and spouted one liners to entice the audience. … read more
SXSW 2013: Merchandise @ Scoot Inn 03.14
Merchandise had manifested a persona during their show that said, “accept us or reject us, we really don’t care.” They create a calm and introverted demeanor through vocals combined with small, slow-flowing movements while the lead singer would close his eyes to feel the music, crowd and energy of the room, much like any successful shoegaze band. … read more
SXSW 2013: Charles Bradley and the Menahan Street Band @...
I first heard about Charles Bradley after he played The State Room in SLC last year. SLUG’s former managing editor, Jeanette Moses, came in the office the next day exclaiming about his show the night before. For the next week, everywhere I went I ran into friends speaking about the Charles Bradley show. When I saw he was playing SXSW, I knew I couldn’t miss him. … read more
SXSW 2013: Icona Pop @ Lustre Pearl – Dickies and...
Holy shit, I have been to a lot of parties and seen a lot of shows, but I don’t think I have ever experienced one exactly like this. Within the first three songs, Icon Pop had put every single girl in the house into an excited estrogen-fuled frenzy. This must be what Katy Perry shows are like, except the music was fucking awesome and the audience wasn’t dressed up in stupid blue wigs. Every dude in the place looked scared. … 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: 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: 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: Max Pain and the Groovies @ Uncorked –...
I love seeing locals play outside of Utah. Max Pain and The Groovies are no strangers to the road, and it shows. I’ve seen Max Pain and The Groovies plenty of times at Salt Lake watering holes, but usually both of us are drunk on whiskey and a little sloppy. While watching them play on Austin’s Uncorked patio as the sun prepared to set, I recalled these past shows and was impressed by how tight their set has become … read more