SXSW 2010: Part Four
Posted 03/25/2010 07:13AM by Dan Goldin as Show Review
Australia’s favorite progressive alt/metal heroes Karnivool had a very busy day ahead of them on Saturday, kicking things off with a noon performance at Maggie Mae’s for the annual Aussie BBQ Day Party. I arrived in time to catch their final two songs, “New Day” and “Themata”, and was promptly blown away. While I would have loved to catch their entire set, it wasn’t too big of a concern as the band played twice more that day. I caught both their acoustic afternoon set and late night headlining show, with full reviews below.
Having left the LIONS show a few songs early on Wednesday night in attempt to catch Nothing More’s set, I was excited for the opportunity to catch the riotous rock and roll up-and-comers again in their set’s entirety. The band claimed the 2 PM start was the earliest they had ever performed, and seemed to be reeling a tad from the previous night’s activities. Aside from their own comments about their fatigue, including lead guitarist Austin Kalman giddily announcing, “I had whiskey for breakfast,” the band’s music didn’t suffer in the slightest. The band, now back to a four piece (check out day 1 coverage here) rocked through their catalog, including fan favorites “No Generation,” “Screaming Out,” and “All Hail”. After a heavy riff rocking set full of energy despite the nursing hangovers, the band closed with their cover of Bob Dylan’s “Girl from the North Country,” a song the band originally recorded for FX’s hit show “Sons of Anarchy”. Straying far from the original in the sonic department, LIONS' version pulsates with heavy reverb laden vocals and gorgeous washes of guitar midst a ring with echo and delay. Different from their usual riff oriented balls out rockers, a simple cover song has proven LIONS are a band of diverse capabilities and are still finding their true sound as they head for consistently bigger stages.
Karnivool were scheduled to play an acoustic set at 4 PM over at The Belmont, but upon arriving at the venue, we found that they were running severely behind. The band who were next to perform wound up being my absolute favorite discovery of the entire conference, a heavy stoner blues duo named Left Lane Cruiser. The band, hailing from Fort Wayne, Indiana performed an incredible set of lo-fi down home swamp blues, with raw, gritty vocals, rusty twanging slide guitars, and knee stomping rhythms. Imagine the neo-blues of The Black Keys infused with Jimmy Page’s slide guitar idolization, and the punk attitude of Nick Oliveri wrapped into one raw and jangly good time. The band represent “Hillgrass Bluebilly” a phrase that speaks to their sound and one of the many exceptional tracks played during their set. The band played through tracks from all three of their albums, with highlights including “Amy’s in the Kitchen,” “Cheyenne,” “Big Mamma,” and so many more. Instrumentation varied on a song to song basis as singer/guitarist Freddy Jay IV alternated between electric slide blues and resonator guitar, while drummer Brenn “Sausage Paw” Beck pounded on his kit, cowbell, and neck worn washboard for a dirty Mississippi blues in the haziest of times.
Nearly two hours after their scheduled time, Karnivool took to the stage of The Belmont to play an entirely acoustic set of songs. Scaled down to just lead singer Ian Kenny and guitarists Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking, the band played an extremely short set of just three songs, seemingly disappointed by the lengthy wait. The show was always intended to be a special acoustic performance, yet Kenny let the audience know, “This isn’t really our cup of tea, but it seems to be going alright,” after the riotous applause following set opener “New Day”. The set focused on the strong vocal melodies of their tracks, choosing a set of their most vibrant and epic performances from Kenny. The band broke into another track from Sound Awake when they played the powerful “Umbra,” transforming the song into a gorgeous acoustic piece with gentle textures from the dual guitars and soaring vocals. The acoustic setting pushed an emphasis on Kenny’s vocals as he belted out the triumphant hook, “Wake me with a bottle across the head,” as the audience sung along, grasping to every word he sang. The band closed with a phenomenal version of “Roquefort,” a stand out track from the band’s 2005 debut album Themata.
Shortly after I made my way over to the Canvas Bar and Gallery where Los Angeles’ newly revamped Open Hand were performing at Anodyne Records' showcase. The band are preparing to release their highly anticipated third album Honey in April. It’s been five years since their last release, and the band have returned with a new line-up featuring original Open Hand main man Justin Isham and an entirely new line-up. The new full time band is comprised of two guitarists, keys, bass, drums, and their new backup singers, simply referred to as “The Angels”. Rest assured, though, their set was still very much what I expected an Open Hand show to sound like, a blend of progressive rock, metal, space rock, and post-punk. The new songs fit in amongst the older tracks, lending new textures to the band’s already well established sound. The band has worked closely with Hum’s Matt Talbott on their past two studio albums, and his influence is apparent in their live shows with complex time signatures over vast sprawling layers of guitars. Open Hand offer a generous amount of space metal fury, seductively beautiful back-up singers, and unapologetic loudness… everything you’d want from a rock concert.
It was a cold night in Austin, but Seattle, Washington’s seminal prog pop quintet Minus The Bear still packed the entire outdoor area of Stubb’s BBQ. The math rock stalwarts played an enormous amount of shows during SXSW, working to promote their Dangerbird Records debut Omni, to be released May 4th. The band played a rousing version of their new single “My Time,” much to the crowd’s pleasure, but there was a noticeable change in the band’s sound. Heavy on the new material, much of the older songs began to take on the new album’s feel, as the band relied a great deal on the use of their omnichord synthesizer. The bouncing angular guitars, gently calming vocals, and synth work all works to compliment the shifting time signatures provided by the rhythm section. Songs that are as much dance pop as they are progressive and indie, Minus The Bear look to have what may very well be the biggest year of their career ahead of them. Other highlights included a dazzling live rendition of “Into The Mirror” and the giddily jagged “Knights” from Planet of Ice.
At 10 PM I eagerly headed to see the snarling Belgian garage rock of The Black Box Revelation at Buffalo Billiards. The only problem with this was that BBR were no longer playing the festival, much to my dismay. SXSW is an amazing time however, and as luck would have it, Brooklyn’s always incredible live sextet Midnight Masses had filled that time slot, and the audience was in for a treat. Their set consisted of eerily winding hymn like grace followed by massive explosions of thickly layered guitar distortion as the intensity built and dropped. Lead singer Autry Fulbright sings about redemption, acceptance, and death with orchestrated beauty from the band surrounding him. The three guitar attack (featuring members of …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead and Here We Go Magic) is every bit as monstrous as intended, while drummer Miyuki Furtado and bassist Danny Wood build and structure the song's backbone. Every single member of the band harmonizes together for beauty that would floor the average listener. This was my third time seeing the band in the past few years, and they truly get better and impossibly tighter with each show they play. Highlights including a glorious performance of “Burial Song” and “Walk on Water.” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, seeing Midnight Masses live is just about as close to a religious experience you can have at a rock show.
Kicking off The Mylene Sheath’s official showcase at Valhalla, Boston’s shoegazing metal specialists Junius absolutely crushed the rabid crowd of people. The grandiosity of Junius’ live show is something the band has worked for over time, and the band play together to create music equally in line with art as it is rock. Performing with their trusty own lighting, the band played a brooding and spiritual set, comprised of songs from their recent masterpiece The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist, as well as older tunes and one brand new song. The ever shoeless drumming from Dana Falloon is mesmerizing as he bashes out delicate syncopated rhythms that hypnotized my attention for a large portion of the show. The luscious guitars shimmer in the darkness with bursting vocals from Joseph E. Martinez that may sound even better live than recorded. The band played through much of the new record, including stellar and massive versions of “The Antediluvian Fire,” “Elisheva, I Love You,” “A Dramatist Plays Catastrophist” and “Letters From Saint Angelica” .
After playing shows the previous nights with his new band Sweet Apple and his hardcore cover band Demolished Thoughts [see day 3 coverage here], J. Mascis once again took to the stage at Red 7 this time for a true solo show. Sitting down at center stage, Mascis decided to play an acoustic guitar, but fret not; it was very much plugged in and running with distortion. Opening with “Freedom,” a track from his solo work with The Fog, the veteran indie guitar legend played a mixture of his solo material and one man renditions of classic Dinosaur Jr. music. With his guitar making more noise than I ever imagined an acoustic capable of creating, Mascis asked in the utmost serious concern, “Is the guitar loud enough?” as the audience yelped with approval, he quickly joked in a fake audience member voice, “We need more guitar!” Following this he broke into back to back classics, playing both “Repulsion” and “Little Fury Things,” rocking out extended mind melting solos with every opportunity available. Even legends need a boost every now and then, as Mascis announced, “It’s hard to switch modes, I’ve been playing in a hardcore band,” which was quickly alleviated by an eager and honest fan shouting, “You’re doing great!” and in all honesty, he truly was.
Headlining the evening back over at Maggie Mae’s Gibson Showroom, Karnivool took the stage at the official Aussie Showcase to an anxious crowd shortly after 1 AM. Opening with the record’s first track, “Simple Boy,” Karnivool proved why they are one of the biggest hard rock bands in their home country: the band simply have perfected their craft. Highly progressive and often pitched as the Australian version of Tool, Karnivool are talented and creative enough to live up to those lofty comparisons. After selling out arenas for the past year, the band can certainly throw down in a small club, as they tore through the time shifting artistic metal of their phenomenal sophomore release Sound Awake. The audience was clearly familiar with the record, as they sang back each and every word to Ian Kenny, a man possessed with a gorgeous voice and unrelenting ability to nail each and every note from the studio recording. Drummer Steve Judd moves like a well oiled machine, ripping out complex rhythmic times and shifting into the next with smooth progressions and mountainous fills. The band played exceptionally awesome versions of “Goliath,” “All I Know,” “New Day,” “Themata,” and a crushing and entirely compelling performance of what is perhaps their most aggressive track, the lead single “Set Fire to the Hive”.
Comments
Minnesota
This day sounded amazing. I would have loved to see Karnivool, Minus the Bear, and Open Hand. I'm so looking forward to the new Open Hand album. It can't get here soon enough.
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Brooklyn, NY
I was told that press copies of Open Hand will be out in a week or two!!
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