SxSw 2010: Los Angeles heads to Austin

As a newly crowned occasional contributor (and currently the only Los Angeles resident) of an.interlude. (insert triumphant-ass trumpeting here), I was strongarmed into took it upon myself to put together a sweet list of Los Angeles bands that will be peddling their musical wares this coming week in Austin. (Guest columns FTW!) Unfortunately I will be stuck here in Los Angeles instead of being in Austin (duty calls…), so consider this my cheat sheet of everything I would be doing if I was actually cool enough to make it to SxSw. The only thing that makes me feel slightly better about not getting to Austin (yet again) is that I at least have seen, or will get to see, all these bands play in LA.

Anyway, on with the list…

FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS

First up is one of my favorite LA bands as of late, Fitz and The Tantrums. Singer Fitz (fun fact: not his real name) and company play exceptionally fun, vintage-y, blue-eyed soul. Think self-titled (aka “Silver Album”) era Hall & Oates, a la “Sara Smile” or a contemporary, LA version of The Spencer Davis Group. If you like that stuff even remotely, you will love this. If you like anything on Daptone you will like this. If you like good music you will like this. Also, female vocalist Noelle (who is shamefully less-prevalent on the EP recordings) has a hell of a voice, and even more stage presence to back it up. I posted a live track from their KCRW set so you can hear a little bit more of her. I was lucky enough to see them on two separate occasions at The Echo recently. Not only is their music good, but their live show is great, especially for those of us (myself included) who sometimes get burned out on seeing so many indie rock bands live. I imagine this could easily be a problem during SxSw. They seem to have a lot of people behind them too. Having recently opened for Maroon 5 on tour (though we won’t hold that against them right?), as well as putting the finishing touches on a brand new full length album due out this year, I have a feeling  2010 will be a big year for them.

Wednesday March 17 – 11:45pm – KCRW Showcase @ Galaxy Room Backyard

Thursday March 18 – 3:45pm – Spaceland Party @ Beauty Bar Annex

Friday March 19 – 3:00pm – RM64 Blog Party @ Dirty Dog

Saturday March 20 – 9:15pm – Dangerbird Party @ Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop

Listen to “Winds of Change – Live on KCRW”

THE DELTA MIRROR

LA trio The Delta Mirror currently have the Monday night residency at The Echo, and I had the pleasure of seeing them their first night of it a few weeks ago. The unique 3-piece play electronic influenced, shoegaze-inspired indie rock (electro-gaze™?). Think a more deliberate (read: slower paced) Big Pink with a little dash of Jesu at times. I think they, much like Dan Black, would benefit from a live drummer, though the lack of one didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of their set. Their new album “Machines That Listen,” comes out this tuesday (3/16) on Lefse Records, which some of you may know as the home of Neon Indian (*cough*overrated*cough*). A concept album of sorts, the album’s nine songs are set to represent different rooms of a hospital. I’m not going to lie to you, their music is more depressing than it is uplifting, which likely has at least a little to do with the subject matter, but sometimes its nice to hear something not so chipper. That whole depressing-concept thing worked out ok for The Antlers right? I’m looking forward to hearing the album as a whole on Tuesday.

Wednesday March 17 – 1:30pm – C3 Presents @ Lamberts

Thursday March 18 – 3:00pm – End Of An Ear Showcase @ End Of An Ear

Saturday March 20 – 3:00pm – Terrorbird Day Party @ ??? (on their Myspace page but only Terrorbird day party I can find is 3.17…?)

Listen to “He Was Worse Than The Needle He Gave You”

KITTEN

Kitten is led by 15 year-old Chloe Chaidez. Yes, you read that correctly. She is 15. Like not-old-enough-to-legally-drive-yet 15. But with her very Karen O-esque vocals and unrestrained presence, she seems like 15-going-on-25. I saw Kitten play The Echo in February, and there’s something both completely fascinating as well as a little unsettling about a 15 year-old girl (woman?) fronting a band of boys (men?) in a hip venue that typically won’t let anyone under 21 inside. I think it would’ve been easier to accept if she hadn’t been writhing around on stage, at times suggestively, before later making some awkwardly timed remark in regards to “thinking about sex.” But that’s not to say that she doesn’t already have the presence to be a great front-woman soon, though at a few points in her set watching her perform at times felt as awkward as being 15 years old actually WAS. Overall, she is a talented young girl (woman?) who has a bright future ahead of her, and I commend her for making indie rock music instead of the dreck most teenage girls would be churning out. I recommend checking Kitten out now, if nothing else for the sheer spectacle of it all, as I think we’ll all be hearing a lot about Chloe and company in the coming years; she just inked a deal with Atlantic Records last week.

Wednesday March 17 – 8:00pm – Girls Rock Camp @ Submerged

Friday March 19 – 8:00pm – ??? (just date and time on Myspace page, no location listed)

Listen to “Don’t Kill The Light”

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB

Though admittedly I’ve never been floored by anything the boys in BRMC have put out, I’ve always felt they have been exceptionally consistent at putting out solid music. The LA-by-way-of-San-Francisco band has been around for about 10 years now and if you haven’t been paying attention, that’s ok. Despite some lineup changes, not a lot has changed. They still rock all black outfits with leather jackets. They still wear their influences on their sleeve (JAMC, Stone Roses, The Verve, Sonic Youth, etc) for their brand of British-influenced garage rock. And they still seem completely content doing it their way. There’s something entirely refreshing about the way they don’t seem to give a fuck. And they seem to just kind of ooze “cool.” They remind me of a lost era of rock swagger that sadly doesn’t seem to exist much anymore. They just released a brand new album last week, and just played a trio of sold-out shows at The Echo. So maybe their sound hasn’t changed much in 10 years. So fucking what. Why fix what isn’t broken?

Friday March 19 – 11:00pm – La Zona Rosa

Listen to “Conscience Killer” (This song reminds me of another song by another LA band from a few years back. And that’s not a bad thing at all.)

FASHAWN

Ok, maybe I cheated a bit here. Rapper Fashawn isn’t really from LA per se. He’s from Fresno, CA. But I promise you no one is going to do a post on “Fresno artists at SxSw” so I feel it is only fair I include him here. And not because I need more material here, but because in 2009 he released one of the best hip-hop albums I’ve heard in the past few years with “Boy Meets World.” Interestingly enough, the last time I enjoyed a hip-hop album all the way through as much as this was Blu & Exile’s “Below The Heavens” in 2007 (props to Aaron Rosenbloom on the video!). Not to take away from Fashawn for a minute, but considering Exile exclusively produced the beats for both “Boy Meets World” and “Below The Heavens,” that should say a lot about his talent as a producer. I’ve always felt a rapper is really only able to be as good as the beats he rhymes over. A bad beat does not a good rapper make. With that being said, Fashawn definitely holds his own as a lyricist, and in a lot of ways, reminds me of Blu, which would probably explain why the two MC’s and producer Exile just went on tour together in Europe. Check out The Blendcrafters’ mix below that couples material from all three artists. It’s not the most amazing mixing job in terms of mix execution, but rather it stands as a testament to the quality of material the three have managed to put out together. I haven’t seen any of them live (for shame), but I’m willing to bet Fashawn brings it when he plays SxSw this week.

Thursday March 18 – 2:00pm – Peckerheads

Friday March 19 – 10:30pm – Mohawk Patio

Saturday March 20 – 8:15pm – Emo’s Main Room

Listen to “Blu x Fashawn x Exile x The Superblenders” mix (contains cuts from “Boy Meets World” as well as “Below The Heavens”)

Listen to “Remember” (plays near the end of the above mix, track is from “The New Classics” mixtape)

VILLAINS

For those of you looking for more of an ass-shaking good time, I would highly recommend trying to get into the Dim Mak party to catch a set from LA’s own DJ/Remix duo Villains. I haven’t seen them live before, but their remixes are fantastic. Every track they touch is transformed in an absolute banger. They specialize in that dirty, buzzsaw-synth sound (my personal fave of the electro sounds…) and I imagine they will absolutely destroy it at the Dim Mak party. Check out their Dragonette “Fixin To Thrill” and Bloc Party “Ares” remixes. And then find someone who knows someone who knows Steve Aoki‘s best friend to get you in.

Thursday March 18 – 8:30pm – Dim Mak party @ Elysium

Thursday March 18 – 11:30pm – Kosher Management / Alliance Talent party @ Submerged

Listen to “Dragonette – Fixin To Thrill (Villains remix)”

Listen to “Bloc Party – Ares (Villains remix)”

THE HENRY CLAY PEOPLE

First off, The Henry Clay People are STRAIGHT HUSTLIN lately. They seemed to be playing half of the shows I went to in LA in 2009, and it was just recently announced that they signed with TBD Records, current home for Radiohead and White Rabbits (you might have heard about this “Radiohead” band before…). On top of all this, they seem to be playing more showcases than all the other artists listed here COMBINED. Their Myspace page lists 10 shows across 4 days. Using my excellent math skills, that equates to approximately 2.5 shows per day. If you’ve ever seen these guys play live, that number seems a bit risky considering these guys don’t phone it in live. Not sure how they’re going to muster up the energy for four days with all these back back shows! But hell, they say it themselves on their Myspace page: “They are best seen live as opposed to dead.” These guys certainly put in the work over the past few years and I’m really happy it paid off for them. Do you like hanging out in bars that only play the GOOD classic rock songs from the 70′s, while you drink domestic beers with your buddies shooting the shit or shooting pool on a Tuesday night, even though you know you “shouldn’t be out late because of work, but fuck it why not?” You do? Good. Because that’s what The Henry Clay People sound like. Yes, that good. Just look at the picture to the left and tell me that doesn’t look like a good time…

Wednesday March 17 – 12:45pm – QuinnStorm and C3 Presents @ Lamberts

Wednesday March 17 – 2:15pm – Little Radio party @ Red Eyed Fly

Wednesday March 17 – 10:00pm – Stubbs Indoor Stage (doesn’t say what for, couldn’t find any more info)

Thursday March 18 – 2:00pm – Roky Erickson’s Ice Cream Social @ Threadgill’s

Thursday March 18 – 3:45pm – Aquarium Drunkard party @ Lambert’s

Thursday March 18 – 8:30pm – Billions Showcase @ Club de Ville

Friday March 19 – 3:30pm – Buddyhead Party @ Annie’s on 6th

Friday March 19 – 6:00pm – The Pure Volume House

Saturday March 20 – 2:30pm – Pianos NYC Party @ Kung Fu Saloon

Saturday March 20 – 6:00pm – WOXY Music by the Slice 2010 @ Home Slice

Listen to “Something In The Water”

CLASSIXX

Another Los Angeles DJ duo, Classixx take a more laid back approach to their brand of remixes. I’m no expert on dance music by any means, but from what little I do know, Classixx to me sound much more rooted in the French-house scene than, say, Villians do. In fact, the below Phoenix remix was released on French label Kitsune’s Maison 7 compilation. If Villains are the rowdy, blow the roof off the party kind of sound, Classixx are the pool party, chillin with a drink kind of sound. Still danceable, but much less chaotic and frenetic and much more of a breezy kind of vibe to it. But enough of me trying to quantify their sound. Check out what they did with Phoenix’s “Lisztomania” below.

Tuesday March 16 – 10:00pm – The Mix Agency rooftop party @ Speakeasy

Thursday March 18 – 11:45pm – Bond Music Group party @ Malverde

Friday March 19 – 8:45pm – Green Label Sound Showcase @ Club de Ville (they’re supposedly DJing the whole night)

Listen to “Phoenix – Lisztomania (Classixx remix)”

RAPHAEL SAADIQ

I’m pretty sure Raphael Saadiq actually resides in Oakland, not LA, but I feel compelled to point him out here anyway, if nothing else, so maybe someone that didn’t know about him gets the chance to see him live. I shouldn’t need to tell you who he is, but here’s a brief career synopsis to get you up to speed: he was in Tony! Toni! Tone! back in the day, and then went on to  form Lucy Pearl before eventually gaining recognition in 2002 (as well as some Grammy nominations) as a solo artist. His 2008 album “The Way I See It” was one of my favorite albums of the year. I clearly have a thing for the 60′s soul-revival sound, and he put out a record that sounds at times like Smokey Robinson (“Sure Hope You Mean It”), Marvin Gaye (“Love That Girl”), Stevie Wonder (“Keep Marchin’”) and countless other Motown/Stax artists, which is quite the accomplishment. I saw him last fall at the Wiltern with a 10-piece band and he was incredible. I’m pretty sure dude played for over 2 hours. His encore was like 45 minutes long! Besides him playing, this whole showcase is amazing: Mayer Hawthorne, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, Raphael Saadiq, Smokey FUCKIN Robinson, and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings?!?!?! Are you for real?!?!?! If i was anywhere NEAR the state of Texas on this night, this is where you’d find me.

Friday March 19th – 9:00pm – AOL Spinner Showcase @ Austin Music Hall (I repeat: this whole showcase is amazing!)

Listen to “100 Yard Dash”

That about does it for now folks. To anyone heading to Austin this week, please have a drink or ten for me.

Lovingly yours,

S.

Tagged: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, BRMC, Classixx, Fashawn, Fitz and the Tantrums, Kitten, LA, Los Angeles, Raphael Saadiq, SXSW 2010, The Delta Mirror, The Henry Clay People, Villains

Posted in: SXSW 2010