South by Southwest 2009 takes over Austin

Issue date: 3/27/09 Section: MULTIMEDIA

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AUSTIN -Standing on stage with a wall of towering amplified subwoofers to my back, something wonderful happened. Bun B, who with his close friend and partner Pimp C pioneered southern hip-hop under the UGK moniker, took his hat off.

The familiar bass line and soothing Isley Brothers vocals from the classic, emotionally stirring "One Day" pounded out from the speakers, and Bun was off, showing a crowd, hanging on his every word, respect for his deceased partner in crime that he felt came with the Texan terrain.

It's moments like this that make Austin's annual South by Southwest festival stand out. It's an overwhelming, often surreal, experience, and drastically different from many of the other festivals that concertgoers attend over those grueling summer months.

The areas surrounding Austin's downtown are transformed into a four-day celebration of music. And it's not only bars and music venues that get in on the fest: art galleries, book stores, clothing shops, record stores and fields all transform into venues stockpiled with bands day and night.

For most of the goings-on at night, you'll need a badge or a wristband to get in. These are limited to record label folks, press people, volunteers and general industry know-hows. Fans can often pay to see a showcase if they arrive early enough, but after 9:00 p.m. hits, it's slim pickings at most places.

Because of this, a sort of counteraction occurred in the day-show phenomena. Most of these venues will book bands during the day and open it to the public. Most are chock full of free beer and food until they run out and there are enough of these to make it seem worth the trip to those who lack the badges and wristbands.

But for those who can get their hands on these, the city is virtually wide-open.

THURSDAY

It took about a day to get used to SXSW, and I think it's fair to say the festival organizers knew this. Wednesday's schedule was fairly thin compared to the other days, and it allowed fest-goers to wander, register and get accustomed to all the walking they'd be doing the rest of the week.

The best day shows weren't in the heart of downtown, they were shuffled east of Interstate Highway 35. Art galleries like The Art Collective and Typewriter Museum, minimalist bar/venues like Miss Bea's, the field party cluster of the Fader Fort: These were the places to be during the day.

The Art Collective hosted a severely under-populated set early Thursday, with Seattle, WA's droning stoner rock troupe Wild Life, Austin's incredibly fun punk crew Cruddy and the buzz-worthy DD/MM/YYYY. After Cruddy brought its Wire-meets-Dead-Kennedys punk to the table, DD/MM/YYYY turned into the Spoon of noise-rock. The five-piece pulled out a very calculated set based on timing and structure and annihilated the small room.

Back inside the highway, No Age and The Hold Steady were playing a set at the indoor/outdoor venue Red 7. The Hold Steady was as good as always - I've seen them about five times now - but the weight of a Hold Steady set relies heavily on the crowd and these folks were idly standing around.

Inside, No Age stole the show. After seeing the band last year at Hailey's, the California duo has tightened up its songs, turned up the volume and got even more rowdy. Guitarist Randy Randall crowd surfed while still armed with his plugged-in guitar, not missing a beat.

Denton's Sleep Whale, formerly known as Mom (it's added live drums), provided a bit of solace at Club 1808 by bringing its mostly instrumental music to a crowd of fascinated onlookers. This music is too pretty and interesting to look away from, and the set was a sort of oasis in the midst of noise and brash rock tunes.

At night, I looked for something a bit different: Hip-hop. OutKast member Big Boi took the stage at Austin Music Hall backed by a funk band and proceeded to rip through a set list that had about 90 percent OutKast tracks; he even rapped André 3000's lines without missing a beat.

"So Fresh, So Clean" was followed by "Ms. Jackson." "B.O.B." was belted out with the full band and that epic guitar solo was extended and hung in the air above the crowd. "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik" led into "Player's Ball." It's tough to describe how great OutKast songs sound with a full band behind them. Oh, and "Kryptonite" absolutely killed.

FRIDAY

Friday I raced to Radio Room for the Onion A.V. Club day show, only to catch the last few minutes of the Welsh angular-rock giants Future of the Left playing inside.

Outside, Austin's …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead played to a packed crowd stuffed under a makeshift tent cover like a bunch of sardines. The highlight: early album standout "A Perfect Teenhood," which was effective even while standing at the back of the tent.

Back on the Eastside, Austin-based Corrinne Rose brought its unique brand of punk-bluegrass to the outdoor stage of this modest art gallery. This is the great thing about SXSW: It's hard not to find some really solid well-kept secrets here. Corinne Rose and Cruddy, both Austin bands, were wonderful additions to days populated by well-known indie and rap acts. It was a breath of fresh air to see bands attempting to thrive within the Austin scene outside of the SXSW week; there's life here, folks.

After this, I got treated to a performance by one of the best punk bands of all time: The Homosexuals. Though the only remaining member from the 1970s group is vocalist Bruno Wizard, the songs sound just as good today as they do on the albums.

Bruno weaved across the outdoor "stage" at Miss Bea's, shouting advice to the youth while powering through a set with the majority of songs from the band's first record. This was a treat.

After this, I caught up with Future of the Left at Ace's and had my ears pulverized. The Welsh trio was the tightest rock band I saw at the festival. Its fast, angular rhythms never missed a beat, even as bassist Hywel Evans walked across the bar and into the crowd and spat rum, knocked bottles and got the crowd going with his own rhythm made with mixing cups.

The night ended on a bizarre note. I traveled to Emo's to catch Black Lips, but they weren't alone. After manipulating the guitars to sound even more jangly, they began playing Wu-Tang Clan member GZA's "Liquid Swords."

Then the man himself walked out.

Now, don't get me wrong, seeing GZA play with the Atlanta garage punkers Black Lips was worth it for the novelty factor, but the music was a mess. GZA seemed bored, the Lips seemed lost, and the crowd was drunk enough not to care. The pair promised more material in the future, but if this performance was any indication, I'd rather it be a one-off thing.

SATURDAY

Saturday, I hung out at The Smell day party held in the backyard at Domy Books on the Eastside. The Smell is a venue in Los Angeles that's gained notoriety for being home to a handful acts, most notably No Age and Abe Vigoda.

Mika Miko, who I caught first, had great girl-powered energy, but came off as annoying. No Age followed with an abbreviated set that had more noise influence than when I saw them at Red 7, which was a nice change.

The Mae Shi came next and really got the crowd going. These guys filled their show with original vocal harmonies, video game samples, a MIDI controller, a multi-colored tarp, a guest rapper and six band members determined to make sure the crowd got into the show. And it worked.

I decided to close Saturday by dedicating the entire evening to one showcase. Held at the Austin Music Hall, Ghetto Metal had the most incredible lineup at SXSW. Killer Mike, Mistah F.A.B., Rick Ross, B.O.B., Bun B and Dead Prez were all on the bill.

Well, Rick Ross missed a flight and Killer Mike was nowhere to be seen. But Bun B made up for it. His hour-long set was split between a few of his own solo tracks, such as "You're Everything" and "Draped Up," a montage between a bunch of his guest appearances, including Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'" and Webbie's "Give Me That" and then a whole slew of UGK songs. Now, with partner and friend Pimp C dead, Bun stepped his game up, giving the audience equal interaction to rap along to Sweet Jones' verses on classics like "One Day," "Diamonds and Wood," and "Pocket Full of Stones." I couldn't have written a better playlist.

Dead Prez followed and almost topped Bun. The militant, politically-minded New York rap duo got the crowd going with bangers like "I'm a African" and "Hell Yeah" before closing with one of the best rap tracks of the last ten years, the simply titled "Hip-Hop."

It's only fitting that SXSW 2009 would close on a note this high. The giant festival's doors slammed shut Saturday night, and I'm anxiously waiting for them to be kicked open next year.

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