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Thursday, March 18, 2004
Keynote: Little Richard ñ blogged it.
Lunch at Las Manitas with Wanda, Vicky Pepper, and Alex.
Alt-Weekly panel ñ blogged it.
Trade Show.
Peer meeting: Buyers / Agents with Alex and Andy Roe. Good.
Late afternoon: hang out at hotel.
Dinner at Stubbís with Alex.
Highlights of the evening showcases:
8pm ñ Javier Escovedo at the Hard Rock CafÈ - Very good straight up melodic rockíníroll. ìSee You Aroundî was a stand out song with good guitar and great harmonies. A very little person, around 2, ran up and pumped her fist during the last part of the show.
9pm ñ BR5-49 is back in fighting strength after a couple rocky years. I ran into Jay McDowell, the band's former bassist who now is a filmmaker and videographer, in line outside of Antone's. Jay was very excited about his short film that won an award at SXSW Film 2004 and his upcoming baby.
Long hair is back in the best possible way all over Austin and on BR5-49ís drummer. To quote Alex H (although he says this about women)Ö hot! hot! hot!
Music? Oh, yeah. Good. BR5-49 is in the best live shape that I have seen them since Dec. 2000 (Las Vegas), and certainly the best since Gary and Jay left the band. I have seen the band with the two new fellows about a year ago or so and was unimpressed. But the new fellows have grown into the band and it worked.
The ladies toilet stall at Antoneís stated on the right, ìRandall gives good headî and on the left in a heart, ìRandall Rocks.î I thought it would have been more appropriate to say ìRandall Sucks.î
10pm - Alex insisted that we take a pedicab (a bike with a wheeled seat attached on the back) back across town to 710 Red River to see Supagroup. We ran into Eric Melvin and Matt Sciba in line and all went in together. Supagroup was excellent, quite possibly the best rock band of the week ñ good songs, hard, and oozing rock star attitude. The singer-guitarist, Chris Lee, is the 2nd hottest man of SXSW, coming in behind Shaw Wilson of BR5-49.
Ok, enough wingeing on about cute guys, tell us about the music. This was my second time seeing Supagroup and each time they get better and better. Imagine if AC/DC was a band of 25 year olds from New Orleans right now in 2004 with all the influences of our era but their aesthetic. Such is Supagroup. RockíníRoll served straight up, with a side of the blues and a good dose of proto-punk ala Detroit.
11pm ñ Back across town on another pedicab to La Zona Rosa for Pretty Girls Make Graves. PGMG are a fascinating combination of emo meets 80s girl goth meets punk-core, they are a hard and driving but emotive band with an occasional lilting, soft side. Live the band is very compelling, as Andrea Zollo's vocals which weave in and out of the songs hitting tones and aural scapes usually not heard in emo or hardcore.
Unfortunately, the lights were flashing from behind the band and this triggered a particularly nasty migraine headache by the end of the show. It was all I could do to get back to the hotel, take large quantities of Advil, and put my sleep mask on to shield out the evils of light.
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