SXSW - The MP3s, part 2
Published March 29th, 2007 in Music, Live Shows, Recordings, SXSW 2007Here’s the second half of my SXSW recordings. You’ll find the first half here.
Thursday
The Pipettes are a lot of fun and a great band to kick off a sunny Texas afternoon. They have a backing band, so all they really do is look pretty and sing. They do both very well, but their sound and aesthetic is so overly contrived that I have trouble taking them seriously.
The Pipettes - Dirty Mind (live at Fader Fort)
I’ve recorded Land of Talk a few times now and they were as good as ever in Austin. They’re on the verge of becoming your new favorite rock band, which should occur when they release their first full-length later this year. Then I can be upset that everyone and their mother wants a ticket to their show. If you’re in the New York area try to catch them at Union Hall, Maxwell’s or Mercury Lounge next week (April 3-5).
Land of Talk - Speak To Me Bones (live at Emo’s Jr.)
In the live setting, Davey von Bohlen’s new band Maritime sounds a little more like his old band The Promise Ring. “We, The Vehicles” was one of my favorite albums last year and the songs they played live at SXSW sounded much more energetic than they do on record.
Maritime - Tearing Up The Oxygen (live at Emo’s Jr.)
Cloud Cult were one of the first bands I posted on this site almost a year ago. Around that time the band had just started playing some of the songs which would make up their newest album “The Meaning of 8″. Here is the full-band version of “Chemicals Collide” as well as the solo version of the song in it’s infancy.
Cloud Cult - Chemicals Collide (live at Red’s Scoot Inn)
[flashback] Chemicals Collide (Moveable Hype @ Knitting Factory April 17, 2006)
Fujiya & Miyagi were one of my favorite acts at SXSW. This song sums up their whole set very well. It starts off simple and is quite repetitive, almost hypnotic. Before you know it your head starts bobbing, your toes start tapping and you and the crowd around you become completely absorbed in the music.
Fujiya & Miyagi - Electro Karaoke (live at Karma Lounge)
I can’t stop listening to this one. Normally I don’t like songs that use the same melody over and over again in the chorus, but Josh Ostrander’s voice delivers “The Box” so perfectly that I don’t mind having it stuck in my head. This particular Eastern Conference Champions song sounds larger than you might expect from a three-piece band thanks to the sampled tracks that they play along with. I’d much rather see a band playing their instruments well and using recorded material to bolster that sound than trying to do too many things at once and sounding sloppy. Catch them in New York on April 12th [Union Hall] with The Films or May 1st [Bowery Ballroom] and 2nd [Luna Lounge] with The View (cancelled, again).
Eastern Conference Champions - The Box (live at Red 7 Patio)
Friday
Speaking of bands who use recorded material to acheive a huge sound… I fell in love with Oppehheimer at CMJ and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see them again in Austin, this time at an Irish pub at 1:30 in the afternoon. I recorded one new song and two of my favorite from their self-titled album.
Oppenheimer - Time Loss/Gain (live at B.D. Riley’s)
Oppenheimer - Look Up (live at B.D. Riley’s)
Oppenheimer - Saturday Looks Bad To Me (live at B.D. Riley’s)
Saturday
Although The Fratellis played an acoustic set at the LeTigre/BrooklynVegan/NY2LON day party, their spot-on delivery showed everyone why they’ve been dubed the UK’s next big export. The music’s nothing out of the ordinary, but they are rock-solid performers.
The Fratellis - Got Ma Nuts From A Hippy (live at Habana Calle)
The first time I saw Malajube was at Mercury Lounge about a month ago. They were good enough that I wanted to see them again despite having plenty of other choices and they didn’t disappoint. A bit of chatter in this recording, but it was still the best recording I had from their set.
Malajube - Pâte filo (live at Habana Calle)
The Yoko Casionos weren’t the last band I saw at SXSW (that honor goes to Cursive), but this was the last time I had enough energy to care about recording a show. Although this tune seems to go on forever, it is a catchy and well written pop song. You can check out more from this Canadian power-pop band at their myspace page.
The Yoko Casionos - Nice To Meet You (live at Molotov Lounge)
Hey man — I’d love the full copy of that Fujiya & Miyagi set. That was one of the highlights of the weekend for me.
Any chance you can sendspace it to me or something? Thanks for posting.
had such a great time. thanks for being my sxsw guide! i want your recording of the birds too….
i keep coming back to see if there’s more pipettes!
If you thought Maritime sounded energetic at SXSW (compared to We The Vehicles), wait til you hear the new stuff! They just started their new project at our studio this week. Sounds fantastic so far!