SXSW 2006 Report [Part V]: Saturday, March 18, 2006

by Rachel Pesin
6 April 2006

[Continued from Part IV]

The heavens opened up on Friday night, and it rained on into Saturday morning and afternoon, but luckily I had planned on going to only one day show, which took place indoors at the Velvet Spade.

The show I went to was a dream for any Anglophile interested in seeing the latest British exports. The first band I saw was BOY KILL BOY, an excellent glammy, synthy, dark dance band from London.

Next up was another London band, THE RAKES, who joked (?) that this was their “lunchtime gig” (they went on at about 1:30 PM). They’re an incredibly fun, spazzy pop band with clever lyrics.

Then came THE KOOKS, the young Brighton band I had seen the night before. They were just as good in the daytime!

The Brit theme was then broken by two American bands, but I can’t complain. First was VOXTROT. There was a lot of hype surrounding this Austin band and they lived up to it. Their Texan take on lush, jangly pop made us forget that it was pouring outside and got us dreaming about sunshiney days.

Following Voxtrot was TWO GALLANTS, who managed to impress me yet again. Even with the inappropriate time of day, (they really do belong in a dark place at a dark hour), they were powerful and impassioned.

The Brits—THE CHARLATANS to be exact—returned for the final performance. I’ve never been very impressed with this band, and I wasn’t paying too much attention to their set, but their performance was pretty good. Singer TIM BURGESS has dropped the falsetto on the new songs and, in my opinion, sounds much better!

Thankfully the rain had stopped by evening, so I was able to run from venue to venue without getting soaked. The first three bands I saw at night were at the Fox and Hound. First on was WHIRLWIND HEAT. The first (and only) time I saw this band, they had no sense of rhythm or melody. This time, however, all of their songs had obvious beats and were much more accessible and I thought their no-wave, garage-y, nonsense-y music (honestly, that’s the best way I can describe it) was really great!

Then came FORWARD, RUSSIA (pictured left). This Leeds four-piece excels at dance-y math-rock. And their shirts are awesome!

BATTLE was the last band I saw at this location, and I have to say I was underwhelmed. On record they are very lush, fun, and dance-y, but for some reason (perhaps it was the technical difficulties), it wasn’t working out for them live.

I headed over to Exodus to see THE LONGCUT, who ended up being the best band I saw at SXSW. The Manchester trio blew me away with their sonically-challenging dance-rock tracks. I recommend that people see this band live, as they are much more exciting and intense than they are on record. I’m not able to convey how amazed I was by this band, but two weeks later, I can still remember the high I felt during the gig. This is what SXSW is all about!

From there I went to Eternal to see one of my old favorites, JOSH RITTER. This Idaho native writes the most gorgeous, well-worded alt.country folk songs I’ve ever heard. It was a beautiful set.

The last band I saw at SXSW was THE CRIBS at Club de Ville. I’ve seen them before and I knew I’d have a really fun time dancing around to this gritty punk-pop band of brothers from Wakefield, England.

It started raining just as the band was finishing—perfect timing! I headed back to my hotel, stayed up all night, and flew back home at the pre-crack of dawn. I can’t wait for next year!

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