Restless Leg Syndrome

Crowd on East 7th has their game faces on. SXSW 2011 Day 1

Huzzah! We returned from SxSW, weary, run down, lugging cameras and (in my case) tons of snot and tissues, back to this rainy and cold city (seriously, where did those three nice days of spring go?) But all the exhaustion, blisters and general loss of sanity aside, it was an incredible experience.

Before leaving, I read an article (which for the life of me I can’t find right now) which wondered if the music portion of SxSW was already “irrelevant,” in that it was no longer exclusively attracting industry people and unknown bands seeking promotion, as it once did… that one time in 1987 (jussplayin’). These days, SxSW draws an enormous crowd (this year was the biggest ever, according to the concierge at the Courtyard by Marriott, who told us that we’d never get a cab home before 4 a.m.). In some ways, the article predicted the debauchery of SxSW 2011: Some venues seemed to choose crowd control over technical issues, resulting in tensions between the artists and showcase sponsors when the sound wasn’t quite right; many music journalists resorted to reviewing the festival in poorly done Gonzo prose, retelling drunken exploits instead of focusing on the music. And the flood of #SxSW hashtags tweeted by the 50,000+ smart phones bustling around 6th Street in Austin succeeded in pissing off anyone who was paying attention to the unfolding horror in Japan, the UN strike on Libya, and basically anything more pivotal than indie music.

Despite all these truths, SxSW 2011 was also a spectacular place to be, a well oiled machine of non-stop action which brought out passionate music geeks from all over the world. Almost everyone I spoke to was there to learn about new bands, not just figure out where Kanye West would show up on the last night. The claim that SxSW is now irrelevant because the attendees have changed doesn’t take in to account that the way the world consumes music has changed with it. The internet feeds an enormous audience every new morsel of music minutes after it is released, or sometimes, recorded. As long as people who really care about music find their way to SxSW, it is far from irrelevant. In fact, its overloaded-ness makes it arguably the most relevant festival around, hurdling the largest mix of music consumers I’ve ever seen to one confined place and leaving them to their own devices.

Sitting on a sub-woofer at Gold Panda, still can't totally hear out of my left ear 5 days later.

And from all this, I learned a few things: One, feet are overrated. Next festival, I’m getting a motorized wheelchair. Two, if you’re getting over a cold and going to SxSW, the cold will come back with a vengeance, so bring some green tea, cayenne pepper and lemons with you for the morning afters (IT WORKS, TRY IT). Three, despite the spiraling awfulness of the world at large right now, there has perhaps never been a more exciting time for music. The amount of incredibly talented, creative and just plain nuts bands out there is far too high to count, and if I’m lucky, I’ll never be able to know them all. But I will keep trying, because the satisfaction of seeing a band just absolutely slay a new audience is one of the best highs around.

And on that note, some favorites:

Jessica Lea Mayfield performs at the Billy Reid and K-Swiss SXSW Shindig at the Swan Dive in Austin on Day 1 of SXSW 2011.

“Our Hearts Are Wrong” – from Tell Me on Amazon.

Mayfield released only 100 copies of her first disc at age 15 and it fell into the hands of fellow Ohio-an Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. Auerbach helped Mayfield with her first full length album, 2008′s With Blasphemy So Helpless, and earned her some wider audiences (she also recorded some of the back ups on The Black Keys’ “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be” on 2008′s Attack and Release). While With Blasphemy showcases Mayfield’s slow, silhouette-y vocals and disconcertingly heartbroken lyrics, Tell Me has her breaking out of semi-monotonous and sad tones to do some more upbeat, catchy numbers. She’s added in the drum kit, some back up vocals and more electric guitar, but she’s kept the dark and mature lyrics from her first releases. By the way, this chick is still only 21 years old. Listen to what she’s singing and then, can I get a resounding… dammmn? (She’s playing at Brighton Music Hall in about a week)

tUnEyArDs at Terrorbird Media / Forcefield PR Party at Red 7 Patio, Day 1

“Fiya” – from Bird-Brains on Amazon

Merrill Garbus started recording solo as tUnE-yArDs in 2006 with a voice recorder, music sharing software, a ukulele and what sounds like off-beat drumming on anything that would keep a rhythm – a true testament to the way music gets around today. She’s moved up since then (though surprisingly slowly, I can’t quite believe tUnE-yArDs isn’t huge yet) and has gained a larger audience opening for the likes of St. Vincent and Thao. Now signed to 4AD, she performed at SxSW with two trombone players and a bassist, but her tremendously soulful voice and often hysterical, strange lyrics (See: “News,” in which she proclaims, “I can get pregnant with birds who sing prettier than you,” among other things) are what truly make tUnE-yArDs so great. I can’t stop listening to this album, and although her numerous performances were often plagued by faulty mechanics at the festival, I’ll blame it on SxSW and go see her again at Brighton Music Hall in May.

Reading Rainbow performs at the 21st St. Co-op at the Sexbeat Party on Day 4 of SxSW 2011

“Wasting Time” – from Prism Eyes on Amazon

We happened upon the fuzzy joy of Reading Rainbow at the 21st St. Co-Op up by UT-Austin on the last night of SxSW. The married couple of Reading Rainbow, who hail from Philadelphia, look like they’re about 19. But Sarah Everton and Robbie Garcia play the kind of stripped down post-punk that makes me love Wavves 2010 album, King of the Beach, despite my hatred for the man himself. Everton bangs restlessly on a floor tom and snare drum while Garcia wails on the guitar, and the two top it off with some gritty-but-pretty harmonies. They’ve mastered a minimalist sound but left room to roam to somewhere a bit more hardcore with rampant reverb. Still, in their comfort zone (and on their first album) Reading Rainbow feels like a nice big noisy hug after a long day, and makes me want to drive home from work, bang on my steering wheel and scream lyrics incorrectly.

La Big Vic at wnyu 89.1 fm/pellytwins/tigerkitten family/pixelhorse showcase on SxSW Day 3

“Musica” – single from Weathervane Music Organization compilation (found on their Bandcamp)

One of my favorite parts of the festival was escaping the chaos of downtown Austin. We got bussed away by van to a little house south of the city, where the wnyu 89.1 fm/pellytwins/tigerkitten family/pixelhorse present showcase lit up a backyard filled with Christmas lights, twisting trees, kegs and worn down couches. It felt a bit like magic to sink back and space out to La Big Vic, who played hypnotizing and entrancing songs. Lead singer and violinist Emilie Friedlander sounds like a tribal Nico while synth player Peter Pearson, and synth/guitar player, Toshio Masuda, fill out their euphoric sound. As far as I can tell, they don’t have a full album out yet, but the above track and this one featured on Pitchfork’s Forkcast back in May make for some seriously unwinding noise.

Here’s a video from that sweet show by Liz Pelly of the Boston Phoenix:

End of side one, side two coming at ya soon…