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)

You’ll notice I had less energy to record as the week went on. Also, as the festival progessed, everything got much more crowded – with the final day culminating in the “perfect storm” that was St. Patrick’s Day on a Saturday during SXSW. I’ve resolved that next year I’ll be getting a badge whether or not I’m there on “official business”. Or maybe I’ll turn this website into something legitimate and pass myself off as press. Either way, I’d also like to check out the interactive portion of the festival which seems very interesting.

I may or may not have time to write up a detailed account of my Austin adventures so I’m going to go ahead and post the MP3s that I collected while I was there. Unfortunately they don’t tell the story of Cursive’s awesome 2 am encore, the memorable 5 am drive-thru taco run or how I somehow found myself backstage at a Public Enemy concert.

Before we get to the music, here’s the most interesting thing I heard all week:
The Birds of Austin (live at 8th and San Jacinto)

Wednesday

Funny how I travel to Austin to see a Brooklyn band for the first time. The Forms’ music is interesting because it is usually built on a repetitive guitar line, but almost never in straight 4/4 time. They quip at the end of this track about how Austin’s mayor is cooler than New York’s.

The Forms – unknown (live at Mohawk)

Here’s a new tune from Pela. Billy had just busted and replaced a string which is why it sounds a little out of tune. Last time I saw them it was Eric who snapped one of his bass strings. They’re gonna ask me to stop coming out to shows.

Pela – Interstate (live at Red Eyed Fly)

This instumental group was at the top of my to-see list. They sound a little bit like those Morr label bands like Lali Puna or The Go Find only they have a much bigger sound and aren’t as “pretty”.

The Octopus Project – Tuxedo Hat (live at Red Eyed Fly)

This is Architecture In Helsinki’s new single. Their new music is a bit of a departure from the last two albums. It’s a little less cutesy and this track in particular has an interesting island feel. There’s more crowd noise than usual on this one, just a fair warning. It sounds better towards the end.

Architecture In Helsinki – Heart, It Races (live at Mohawk)

This marked the third time I’ve seen Matt & Kim in three months. Though they write simple songs that I probably won’t ever listen to on a daily basis, their live show is an absolute blast. The recording starts off with Matt not-so-fondly recalling the video shoot for “Yea Yeah”. What I really love about this clip is that you can hear Kim singing loud and clear without a microphone. The performance was at a party celebrating “Dinner With The Band” a new television show which you can check out here.

Matt & Kim – Yea Yeah (live at Six Lounge)

I love the delivery in Michael Kentoff’s voice and every time I go to see The Caribbean their music becomes more and more memorable as well. I picked up The Caribbean’s new 45 “The Go From Tactical” while I was at this show. This song is on the B side.

The Caribbean – The Beverly Boys (live at Mohawk)

The Twilight Sad are a little bit like The Walkmen with a very heavy Scottish accent. However, I find that the accent is the only thing that is strikingly original about their music.

The Twilight Sad – Watching That Chair Painted Yellow (live at Mohawk)

Here’s my number one “discovery” of the festival. When I was picking up The Caribbean record, the Hometapes merch guy gave me the whole “this band will change your life” speech about Slaraffenland. I’m glad I stuck around to check them out. They played one song in which all the band members were on various woodwind and brass instruments except one guy, who was effecting, mixing and looping everyone else’s sounds into a crazy riff that became the background for the entire song. I’m a sucker for acoustic instruments subjected to awesome technology. Unfortunately, I didn’t record that one.

Slaraffenland – Show Me The Way (live at Mohawk)

Twelve more tracks from ten more bands coming up soon. You can cheat here.