A Sigh of Relief

Now that SXSW 2007 is a memory and I'm back in Washington, I'm just relieved that no national tragedy broke out in Austin, necessitating my having to post heartsick missives to NPR as one of its only two correspondents on the scene. With my scant live radio experience, I would have probably wound up wailing, "Oh, the humanity!" or "IT WAS A BABY!" and everyone would have found me amateurish and improper and derivative. After all, everyone's a critic these days.

Stephen Thompson

11:48 PM ET | 03-18-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

Bran Van 3000 and the Babysitter Rule

South by Southwest is a surreal spectacle in a lot of ways, and it's fascinating to watch the way relentless buzz makes people stand in line for things they probably wouldn't bother with otherwise. A few years back, a band called Bran Van 3000 was putting out a record, and its SXSW showcase attracted a line outside that stretched for blocks. I remember thinking, "These guys wouldn't sell out a coffeehouse in Madison." I mean, there was nothing wrong with Bran Van 3000, but let's not get carried away, you know? Should you really skip something you know you like, just because you'd miss something people are talking about?

That dilemma affects virtually everyone at SXSW every year, and it brings to mind an ongoing debate I've had with my dear friend and fellow NPR blogger Neda Ulaby. She and I have engaged in a few philosophical discussions about how to approach the festival -- okay, we drank beer and talked about what bands we wanted to see -- and we follow virtually opposite guidelines. She only wanted to check out things she'd never seen before, whereas I refused to pass up stuff I knew I already loved. She was looking for illuminating angles and ways to tell a story, and I followed "The Babysitter Rule," wherein I wouldn't skip a show I'd hire a sitter for at home.

Both approaches are understandable given our respective circumstances: Neda is a gifted reporter who loves to view subjects from many perspectives over time, while I'm an obsessive fanboy recluse who spends far more time wolfing Cheetos Puffs, shelving CDs, and watching The Amazing Race after the kids go to bed than he spends exploring the D.C. nightlife. Both of us found a lot of what we were looking for -- Neda gathered stories and I bought a Bloodhag T-shirt -- while rarely seeing shows in the same place at the same time.

Sampling hundreds of recordings in preparation for SXSW made me think a lot about the endless diversity of music, musicians, and music fans today. There's a saying that goes, "90 percent of everything is crap," but it's fascinating to see how that 90 percent is different for each individual. One of the joys of SXSW lies in its ability to provide a different experience and different epiphanies for each music fan. I only hope that this blog -- not to mention the dozens of live sessions we've streamed with the aid of NPR member stations -- has been a worthwhile reflection of what readers would want to get out of the festival. If not, there's always 2008, right?

Stephen Thompson

11:42 PM ET | 03-18-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

The WFUV Road Trip

Before this blog fades into the voluminous NPR archives, alongside hundreds of old Song of the Day entries and that comedic play they did on Morning Edition, here's one more SXSW missive from WFUV colleague Rita Houston.

It's an odd experience to take in live music in the daytime (audio), but that's part of the experience in Austin. Then again, it's pretty unusual to drink margaritas at noon, too. [Wait... it is? --ST] It actually all started for me with Forro in the Dark at breakfast! Next time you're in Austin, you must check out Las Manitas -- I recommend the vegetarian Huevos Especial con Migas washed down with a watermelon aqua fresca. Two tables down offered me the opportunity for the first pounce of the day: Martha Wainwright. Alisa wasted no time pouncing on her faves, Cold War Kids, who will likely emerge from SXSW with a much higher profile. A stop at a Starbucks for a mid-day, post-margarita pick-me-up was music-filled, with the CSNY-style pop of Low Stars, who played acoustic over the din of barista calls of "Venti Venti Venti." Alisa headed south while I went east; she found Money Mark, Aqualung and a grilled cheese, while I found some fancy sushi and sake.

Stephen Thompson

2:38 PM ET | 03-18-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

Long Lines and Crossed Wires

During the course of the festival, I kept hearing a lot of the same names: So-and-so was amazing! Such-and-such was playing its single, and Pete Townshend hopped on stage! Many breakthrough acts made a lot of strong impressions on a lot of people, and... well, I didn't see them. But I thought I was going to, so I had our audio guys create streams for their songs before I left. Here are a few tracks by acts who 1) drew Gnarls Barkley-sized buzz at SXSW this year; and 2) went unseen by me, probably because I took one look at the line outside and said, "Pffft."

The Fratellis, "Flathead" (audio)
Lily Allen, "LDN" (audio)
Amy Winehouse, "Rehab" (audio)

Stephen Thompson

1:21 PM ET | 03-18-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

Sore Feet and the Sound of Sound

In the 14 or 15 hours since my last post -- the last two of which were spent miserably wandering Austin's streets looking for a cab and shaking my fist at the heavens -- there's been a honkload of music to catch up on. The bloggers' party I mentioned in a previous post featured, among other bands, Page France, whose off-kilter pop was praised in Song of the Day here a few months back. And rightfully so: God knows I hear a lot of quirky indie-pop acts, but this one's songs are built of the right stuff, namely hooks.

Outrageously long lines discouraged entry to the likes of Field Music and Midlake, whose "Roscoe" (audio) is fantastic either because or in spite of the fact that it starts out sounding just like Fleetwood Mac. At one point, so many shows were inaccessible that I passed the time by ducking into a club just because I knew it would be selling Bloodhag T-shirts. Bloodhag's inscrutable grindcore metal songs are written entirely to celebrate science-fiction writers -- here's "Anne McCaffrey" (audio) -- but in my mind, it's all window dressing for awesome album art and merchandise. Even though popping in to buy a shirt meant listening to some of Jello Biafra's joyless spoken-word hectoring, it was totally worth it: My new Bloodhag shirt features a horned skull wearing reading glasses. Seriously, what the hell could be better?

Buying a Bloodhag shirt provided a natural segue into the adult-contemporary song stylings of Irish singer Fionn Regan -- a major up-and-comer who, like about 350 other Europeans with acoustic guitars, sounds like he might be the next Damien Rice. Fortunately, and crucially, he's got some nice songs to back up his aims: Here's "Be Good or Be Gone" (audio) from his debut album, which comes out here in June.

After a much-needed stop to see gifted Twin Cities rapper Brother Ali -- here's his wonderful celebration of being ugly, "Forest Whitiker" (audio) -- the night's remainder was all about raging against the dying of my feet. But I did get to see one of several SXSW performances (here's one from NPR station KEXP) by the reunited Stooges, led by singer Iggy Pop, who turns 60 next month and has probably never complained about his feet in his life. Given the abuse his body has taken over the years, watching Pop jump around like a 19-year-old gave me much-needed perspective as the festival wound to a close: Iggy Pop is a spastic force of nature, whereas I am a weak, creaky-jointed, prune-eating crybaby old-timer who can't wait to go to bed. Rock 'n' roll!

Stephen Thompson

5:28 AM ET | 03-18-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

Looking for a Challenge

I thought it would be a major accomplishment to be the biggest nerd at a party full of bloggers, but these people are all pretty cool. I didn't even have to step up my game!

Stephen Thompson

2:36 PM ET | 03-17-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

"Fifty Thousand Dollars?!"

Okay, first a bit of backstory: The Milwaukee band The Promise Ring was a bit of a hot item in the '90s, getting featured in Spin and otherwise serving as a standard-bearer for the genre dubbed "emo" -- for lack of a better definition, rock that wears its heart on its sleeve. (Jimmy Eat World has been called emo, while Dashboard Confessional brings it a ways over the top.)

Around that time, my friend Nathan was at some party or other, and he ran into a guy who unleashed an unsolicited tirade against The Promise Ring -- which was, a presumable byproduct of having attracted attention outside Wisconsin, a bunch of pitiful corporate lapdog sellouts. "Did you know," the guy asked Nathan, "that those guys made fifty thousand dollars last year?" This was, of course, an appallingly ostentatious sum of money for four guys to collectively make in a year of appearing in magazines, releasing an album, and touring the country.

Nathan and I always used to laugh about that -- the idea that successful musicians are constantly at risk of "selling out" every time they entertain the idea of signing with a major label or getting their music on a TV commercial, when most of them make less money than the average sandwich-assembler at Subway. A member of The Promise Ring makes $12,500 in a year, and that makes him a sellout? I'm thrilled when my favorite bands get Gap ads or TV themes, because it means they're far less likely to become customer-service reps somewhere.

A few years back, I ran into singer Davey von Bohlen and drummer Dan Didier, who've since disbanded The Promise Ring and formed Maritime (which played here last night). I told them Nathan's story, and they laughed heartily before Davey said, "The awesome thing about that is that we never made that much money in a year. I have no idea where that guy even heard that."

Food for thought the next time you're debating whether to drop $10 for a T-shirt at a rock show.

Stephen Thompson

12:23 PM ET | 03-17-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

More Rock, Less Talk

Just a thought -- a quick one. SXSW isn't just about seeing bands and drinking beer. (It's true, Stephen.) There are also panels, all day long, every day, on topics ranging from marketing and merchandising to intellectual property to new trends in music. Maybe I've just hit the worst-attended panels, but I've been surprised by the sparseness of their audiences. Concurrently, about a billion companies have started throwing day parties with free food, free booze, a dollop of swag (think CDs and T-shirts) and crowd-grabbing headliners.

Even a music-industry wonk like me hesitates for a long minute when given the choice between attending a panel on a topic I care about and seeing current It Musicians like Amy Winehouse and Mika playing in a courtyard on a beautiful day.

Neda Ulaby

11:28 AM ET | 03-17-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

Dark Horses and Suspect Tips

Every so often over the past few days, I've looked around and muttered, "I'm attending a massive International Conference of Bar Bands." That's partly my fault. I'm into checking out bands from weird places, following incredibly suspect tips, and I've been known to troop off to see, say, a rumba-punk fusion band from Wales if their drummer compliments my haircut in the taco line.

That said, I'm passing on some suspect tips of my own. Among the dark horses of this year's festival are Bone Box from Manchester, England -- dreamy, dirge-y, wonderful. There's St. Vincent, the brainchild of 23-year-old Annie Clark, who happens to be the niece of Tuck & Patti. She's a member of The Polyphonic Spree and she's played with outfits like Television and Tracy + The Plastics. And finally, folks here have been awed by the showmanship of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, an ensemble that one audience member described as "a Motown-style soul diva backed up by a bunch of nerdy guys in suits. And they take the love they have for each other and they pour it into the audience."

Today, I'm hoping to check out The Fratellis, Paolo Nutini... oh, yes, and a band called Hypernova from Tehran, Iran.

Neda Ulaby

11:22 AM ET | 03-17-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

"A Bar Is Just a Church Where They Serve Beer"

My Friday evening's festivities commenced with Jim White, a playfully eccentric singer-songwriter with a gift for both unsettling murder ballads and hilarious between-song chitchat. Among his standout lines, "A bar is just a church where they serve beer" set the stage for a night strafed with spiritually uplifting highlights.

For one thing, a bar may well be a church where they serve beer, but every SXSW, the Central Presbyterian Church turns into a bar where people actually shut up and stop networking long enough to listen to shows. The awed hush and ample seating more than compensate for the lack of alcohol; I guess they didn't want the sound of clinking bottles to detract from the music, huh? Anyway, NPR station KCRW sponsored an appealing lineup inside what emcee Chris Douridas appropriately called "a sanctuary," leading off with Norwegian singer-songwriter Thomas Dybdahl. The oft-wonderful Dybdahl -- for evidence, here's "A Lovestory" (audio) -- even took questions from the audience without fear of Norwegian-accented heckling.

From there, the agonizing choice between Clem Snide and Adem -- two acts I'd happily drive at least an hour to see on any given night -- was decided in part by a chance encounter with friends heading to the former. As I've noted in a previous post, Clem Snide's new songs sound amazing, though my long-running fandom could theoretically qualify as bias at this point. And skipping Adem was probably a wise move anyway: Superb singer-songwriter Laura Gibson played the same little tent/patio stage an hour later, and she spent the entire set fighting to be heard over what sounded like five nearby metal bands. (Which would probably have put a damper on my traditional Adem-viewing ritual of snorfling like a little girl.)

After Gibson, the night turned into an epic grudge match between two overpowering impulses -- soaking in more bands vs. soaking my aching feet -- and believe it or not, the former more or less won out. The Swedish power-pop band The Faintest Ideas proved as charming onstage as it does on "You're Beautiful" (audio), though I ultimately regretted skipping a big chunk of its show to see Chad VanGaalen: After walking for what seemed like a mile, I arrived to discover that the Canadian had been denied entry to the U.S. for SXSW. Which makes sense, because nothing says "grave national-security risk" quite like reclusive singer/songwriters from Calgary. A grateful nation breathed a sign of relief, but asked nicely for me to post the sweet-but-unnerving "Build a Home Like a Bee" (audio), from VanGaalen's Infiniheart.

Midnight's slot belonged to an old favorite, the Milwaukee band Maritime, which combines two of my favorite things: sweetly infectious power-pop and being from Wisconsin. "Tearing Up the Oxygen" (audio) sums up the group's appeal nicely, but I'll post more on Maritime after taking a shower -- speaking of a grateful nation -- and recommending a moment with the lovely Beach House. The Baltimore band closed the long night with some dreamy and inscrutable atmospherics; here's "Saltwater" (audio).

Stephen Thompson

10:47 AM ET | 03-17-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

On, Wisconsin!

Man, SXSW sure gets crowded on Friday afternoon, when people who actually live in Austin get off work and join the festivities. A much-anticipated music-and-comedy showcase -- featuring, among other things, appearances by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross of HBO's brilliant but long-canceled Mr. Show -- was virtually impossible to get into, and (according to reports from those who did) a crowded nightmare upon entry. A Spin-sponsored party featuring The Buzzcocks and Kings of Leon was easier to get into, but the crowds were still pretty imposing. (As a bonus, though, I did get to meet Arrested Development's Alia Shawkat there. If someone can think of a way to say "I love your work" without feeling like a total goob, please do let me know.)

That said, the day's true highlight was a come-from-behind victory by the Wisconsin Badgers over the hated University of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. If UTAMCC had won that thing, I'd have had to cancel the blog due to sadness and rage -- the very things that fuel so much of my personal expression. Ironic!

Tonight? Terrific Norwegian singer-songwriter Thomas Dybdahl plays soon, followed by a punishing choice between Clem Snide and Adem (see below), not to mention a whole bunch of other stuff I'll figure out once I'm done freaking out over how close the Badgers came to becoming a national joke this afternoon. Whew!

Stephen Thompson

7:14 PM ET | 03-16-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

The WFUV Road Trip

WFUV colleague Rita Houston sends along this missive.

Where to start?! Wednesday night was the Austin Music Awards. Thousands trek here from all over the world, but this event is ALL about celebrating the local scene. And what a way to kick off. This is where I caught up with SXSW veteran Michelle Shocked and first-time solo performer Carrie Rodriguez, playing back in her hometown. The show is like the Grammys: So many people are really dressed up -- some fancy, some freaky. Too bad my camera battery was dead. Meanwhile, Alisa Ali hit the street to talk to festival-goers. And yesterday, I had a chance to sit down with the incomparable Emmylou Harris. Wandering around SXSW with a mic in your hands generates all sorts of responses. Some have run away and some have opened up and some have talked and talked and talked. Here are some of the highlights (audio).

Stephen Thompson

2:11 PM ET | 03-16-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

Filling the Dead Time

I've written about a few bands without posting audio -- including at least two whose music won't make you want to sit in the bathtub and weep miserably -- so I figured I'd catch up during the dead time between waking up and drinking beer. So here's Mando Diao's "Welcome Home, Luc Robitaille" (audio) and The High Dials' "These Days (Mean Nothing to Me)" (audio).

In the meantime, I'm sitting in the studios of NPR station KUT, listening to a lively roundtable discussion featuring KEXP's Kevin Cole, WFUV's Rita Houston, KUT's Jeff McCord, and WXPN's David Dye. The whole shebang, moderated by NPR's Bob Boilen, will run soon as a special episode of All Songs Considered, and I highly recommend it. In fact, not that I'm absurdly biased or anything, I highly recommend subscribing to the All Songs podcast; no matter how much you know about music, you'll still discover something new and amazing there.

Speaking of discovering something new and amazing, I'm gonna go drink! Aw, I'm kidding. I meant to say that, speaking of discovering something new and amazing, I'm gonna go see some bands, probably while drinking. Later!

Stephen Thompson

11:23 AM ET | 03-16-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

What's in a Name?

With more than 1,300 bands, there are also, coincidentally, a lot of band names. Some are good. Some are bad. Some will never, ever be uttered aloud in unadulterated form on the radio in the U.S. (Those bands represented here include F---ed Up and Holy F---, and possibly also bands called Holy S--- and one that's the past tense of S---.)

Here at SXSW, you can see The Pandas, The Panda Band, Panda & Angel and plain old Panda. I'm going to start a band called Panda Zeitgeist. There are two bands called The Affair -- some wag programmed them for the same time slot at two different venues.

I saw a terrific British band last night with a terrible name: Temposhark. They're skinny dudes in monochromatic black outfits with Beatles haircuts, and they tap deep into the dark reservoir of British rock. If they had a better name -- Dark Reservoir, for example -- they'd get more buzz!

Neda Ulaby

11:16 AM ET | 03-16-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

Oooooh! I'm Gonna Give You Such a Blogging!

With dozens of acts playing simultaneously in venues scattered throughout Austin at every given moment, nothing triggers an audience's ire quite like a band requiring 20 minutes of sound-checking and generally pantsing around. And even though Mando Diao (a punky Swedish rock group reminiscent of The Hives, but with less preening) played a terrific set, it had to be even better than it was to make up for the pre-show yammering from the guy yelling "YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY" into each microphone for 10 minutes. Sadly, that experience taught me that I can't kill a man with my mind. Boooooooo!

As for the rest of the evening, highlights included Micah P. Hinson, whose weary warble conveys genuine depth; here's "The Day the Volume Won" (audio), from a great EP he released last year. Rocky Votolato is always worth hearing -- as evidenced by his gorgeous "White Daisy Passing" (audio) -- though his music got a bit lost in a cavernous venue. And Okkervil River played an extended set of its crushingly sad dirges; here's the band doing one of my favorite songs of last year, "The President's Dead" (audio). That's a bleak lot of songs right there, but the music should perk up tomorrow. Maybe I'll track down some Mando Diao once I've finished my sound check.

Stephen Thompson

3:43 AM ET | 03-16-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

High Expectations and High Dials

My mother always told me that when your feet are too tired, it's time to sit down and post to your blog. She's actually never said any such thing, come to think of it, but I bet she would. And, since she's one of the few who might be refreshing the ol' blog page this late at night, please allow me to say: Hi, Mom! I think you're super.

It has been a fantastic day for live music at SXSW, and I say that not because my heroic intake of Sparks -- a malt liquor/energy drink hybrid -- has turned me into a twitching, orange-lipped living corpse. It's been a day of great bands living up to high expectations: I love Loney, Dear's album Loney, Noir, and the endlessly charming "I Am John" (audio) is a highlight of both that album and the group's set this afternoon. I've now seen Clem Snide 26 times, and everyone who knows me would rather rip out my flapping tongue than listen to me gas on about it some more, so here's "Jews For Jesus Blues" (audio). Since many of the people reading this have already heard my Clem Snide song and dance before, I'll shut up about it now, except to say that the newly reconfigured trio's new songs are glorious.

As expected, commiserating with my old (and new) Onion pals this afternoon meant drinking and gabbling at the expense of hearing much new music, but Andrew Bird played, and he's always great. Here's "Scythian Empires" (audio), because I'm generous that way. Also, I worked at the paper/site for 12 years -- having created and edited the paper's A.V. Club section -- and I will forever kick myself for not thinking of the slogan it had printed on a banner behind the stage: "Helping Nerds Become Snobs." Seriously, folks, read The A.V. Club.

Anyway, for those who didn't hear me yapping on Morning Edition Thursday, I love Shearwater, and seeing the band perform at a church was as sublime as expected. If some sort of post-death clerical error lands me in heaven, it will sound like Shearwater playing "La Dame Et La Licorne" (audio) at the Central Presbyterian Church in Austin. Oh, and I had to peek in and clap for The High Dials, a fun garage-pop band from Montreal, because the guys once woke me up in an airport and kept me from missing a flight out of Austin. Seriously, they saved me about 12 hours of sitting around airports. I love you, High Dials!

Stephen Thompson

10:34 PM ET | 03-15-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

First Sounds of a New Day

You know it's not a bad day when you can stroll into a club without paying, belly up to a huge spread of Mexican food, and grab a free beer (thanks, Rhapsody!), just as The Broken West goes onstage to play "Down in the Valley" (audio), the best song from its terrific new album, I Can't Go On, I'll Go On. I'll go on record right now: There are worse things than this.

Stephen Thompson

2:08 PM ET | 03-15-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

The WFUV Road Trip

Hey, just heard from our friend Rita Houston, Music Director at WFUV. She's down here at the festival all the way from New York and just sent this in:

The WFUV Road Trip begins! Rita Houston here, getting ready to hit the streets of Austin and soak up as much music as possible. Whether you're going to SXSW for your 11th year (like me) or your first (like my partner in crime Alisa Ali), it takes a little preparation to dig into the list of the some 1400 bands playing the festival. Big names like Emmylou Harris, Iggy Pop & The Stooges, Rickie Lee Jones -- they'll all here -- but you've got to save room for the surprises, and those undiscovered bands that could just blow you away. Here's a little audio preview (audio). I'm also blogging myself, all week long...

Stephen Thompson

1:12 PM ET | 03-15-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

Hot Tips and Happy Surprises

Hunched over my recording equipment in Ballroom A in the Austin Convention Center last night, I was happy to meet a colleague from Austin's public radio KUT, also covering the Austin Music Awards. He had a hot tip: "Pete Townshend is playing here at 9:15." An unpublicized set, following his keynote address. That's a SXSW moment.

Word got out fast, and within minutes, the room was at capacity. And, at a little before 10, out strolled Townshend, almost 62, beaming with pleasure, rocking out for an audience who at that moment would rather have been nowhere else.

Neda Ulaby

12:55 PM ET | 03-15-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

Keeping It Local

Austin is a cradle for music, not a forge. Visiting Austin for music is like visiting the Loire Valley for wine, and even with all the heady high-profile artists here right now, the shows performed by the men and women who live here seem transfused with their own tender earthiness. I've been working on a story about a local DJ and music columnist named Andy Langer. That means following him around and hearing what he hears. As a result, I've been introduced to a couple of terrific Austin acts.

Meet Bobby Whitlock. He was a songwriter, vocalist and keyboardist for Eric Clapton's band Derek & The Dominos. If you've heard Clapton's "Layla," you've heard Bobby Whitlock. He moved to Austin with his wife Coco Carmel from Nashville late last year, and they perform together. The two are an incongruous couple -- he's grizzled and hyper, she's blonde and elegant -- but they're perfectly synched on stage.

Elana James is a Texas swing fiddler who toured twice with Bob Dylan's band and just released an eponymous new album. I recorded her playing live in the lobby of the Austin Four Seasons hotel; you can hear her singing and fiddling here with her band.

Neda Ulaby

11:41 AM ET | 03-15-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

Read, Listen, Repeat

Before launching into another day of the old routine -- blog, rock, repeat -- here's a quick summary of Wednesday night's highlights.

After a quick stop to take in one of several reunion shows by The Smoking Popes -- a band that inspired a lot of pop-punk hit-makers without ever reaping the commercial rewards of said influence -- the evening began with a much-anticipated appearance by country legend Charlie Louvin. I've already touched on Louvin, complete with audio, in an earlier post; witnessing him live, backed by an ace supporting cast, did nothing to diminish his weathered but potent legacy.

The rest of the evening was spent camped out at Emo's -- a sort of compound of clubs, two of which are conveniently connected by an outdoor patio, allowing for easy passage between them -- for a lineup that included the old-world rock of Beirut and the stridently raw-nerved gut-spilling of The Mountain Goats. The former probably doesn't usually play for crowds that size outside of Brooklyn, but songs like "Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)" (audio) translated pretty well. As for The Mountain Goats, the band's recent Get Lonely seems a tad somber to translate to a chatty outdoor music-industry crowd, but the group can turn any setting into a hotbed of catharsis. Speaking of catharsis, here's "This Year (audio)" from 2005's The Sunset Tree.

Today should be a doozy, complete with tons of streaming shows at NPR.org, the chance to spaz out while watching the amazing Shearwater perform in a church, and a daytime lineup sponsored by my old friends (and longtime former coworkers) at The Onion. Here's to staying upright!

Stephen Thompson

10:07 AM ET | 03-15-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

"Can't Talk Now -- I'm Blogging!"

So I totally thought that blogging from a rock show would make me feel like a big man -- that people would come up to me, and I'd be all, "Can't talk now! I'm blogging!" And they'd say, "Whoa!" But actually, I feel like a total wad.

That said, I haven't streamed any music in a while, and I absolutely love the singer-songwriter I just saw, so here goes. This is "To Be Alive and Alone" (audio), a song by an amazing (and sadly defunct) band called Troubled Hubble. The group broke up only a few months after putting out Making Beds in a Burning House -- one of my favorite albums of 2005 -- and now singer Chris Otepka is making music as a one-man band called Heligoats.

Otepka is, in many ways, everything I love about SXSW: a guy who drove with his girlfriend 18 hours to play eight songs as part of an afternoon showcase, then gathered his stuff to drive 18 more hours back home. Halfway through his set, dissatisfied with the sound, Otepka unplugged and played with no amplification at all, surrounded by maybe 15 or 20 people. Eighteen hours, eight (fantastic) songs, zero amplification, 20 people, 18 more hours home. He never even seemed to think it wasn't worth it.

Stephen Thompson

7:23 PM ET | 03-14-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

Too Much of a Good Thing

After waking up at 4 a.m. (that's 3 a.m. Austin time) to catch a 6 o'clock flight following a long night of packing and freaking out, I actually felt a brief pang of nostalgia for last year, when I drove to SXSW from my then-house in Madison, Wis. -- 1,250 miles each way. As long as it took, and as much as it wore me out, I at least got to travel on my own terms, on my own time, and at my own pace (fast). Plus, I got to stop at the World's Largest McDonald's in Vinita, Okla., and you don't get to do that every day, unless you work at the World's Largest McDonald's in Vinita, Okla., which would put a damper on the excitement, I suppose.

Anyway, all that sepia-toned nostalgia conveniently glosses over my horrible first night at the festival last year. Having decided to travel on the cheap -- though I previewed the festival on Morning Edition and was editing Song of the Day for NPR.org, I hadn't yet been hired at NPR full-time -- I'd worked out a deal to sleep on a friend's hotel-room floor. Unfortunately, upon arriving, I learned that this arrangement had fallen through, and that I'd have to spend the first night... curled up in the backseat of my car. The same car that smelled like sadness and moldering underpants from the 21 hours I'd just spent driving in it.

I'd planned to make the best of it and take in the big opening-night after-party, which was right near where I was parked. But the exhaustion had become overpowering by the time 2 a.m. rolled around, so I figured I'd hit the backseat and get it over with. As I got closer to the car, however, I quickly realized that the big opening-night after-party was taking place in the parking lot, and that I'd parked about 40 yards from where they'd later erected an outdoor stage. Which was perfect, because there's no better way to top off 21 hours of driving and 12 hours of amplified music than to sleep in your filthy car while amplified music blares nearby.

Tonight should be a vast improvement, at least where sleeping arrangements are concerned. Thanks, NPR!

Stephen Thompson

2:53 PM ET | 03-14-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

SXSW: On Arrival

Austin's airport should hire a sunny Texan greeter to hand each new arrival an ice-cold Shiner beer. It'd be like getting a lei when you step off the plane in Hawaii -- it's how you know you're someplace worth being. Just a suggestion for next year, in case someone with the power to institute such a policy might be reading this.

Stephen Thompson

2:49 PM ET | 03-14-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

Before the Deluge: A Sonic Sampler

Because it's never too early to start tossing around MP3 streams like so much confetti -- and because I'd kind of like to practice posting songs before flying to Texas -- I figured it'd be a good idea to stream songs by a few SXSW acts I hope to see before the week is out. These are in no particular order, assembled with no particular prevailing logic, and those wishing to hear more recommendations can 1) keep coming back here in the days to come; and 2) listen to Morning Edition Thursday for a SXSW preview from yours truly, barring some sort of national calamity.

The Pipettes, "Pull Shapes" (audio)
A relentlessly fun, punky girl group, The Pipettes will play a ton of shows throughout the festival. We just featured the band on Song of the Day Monday, and with good reason.

Charlie Louvin with Eef Barzelay, "The Christian Life" (audio)
Louvin got his start playing a sort of apocalyptic country gospel with brother Ira in The Louvin Brothers. Ira died 40+ years ago, and now Charlie has made a fine comeback record, in which he teams up with contemporary fans of his work for a series of stirring duets. This is my favorite -- and not just because it features Clem Snide's Eef Barzelay, who makes everything better.

The Bird & the Bee, "Again & Again" (audio)
A rising star with a fizzy, buzzy pop sound, the L.A. duo The Bird & The Bee features singer Inara George -- daughter of late Little Feat frontman Lowell George, for what that's worth. The younger George's 2005 solo album All Rise is a hidden gem with some remarkable moments, but this is quite a bit catchier.

Peter, Bjorn & John, "Young Folks" (audio)
The Swedish band Peter, Bjorn & John will be all over SXSW, just as it's been all over NPR.org in recent months. Come to think of it, it'll be all over the site in the next few days, too. "Young Folks" is a terrific ringer, complete with congas.

Adem, "Ringing in My Ear" (audio)
Sadly, though many performers will play five or six different SXSW sets, there'll only be one chance to see Adem, whose wonderful sleeper Homesongs is one of my favorite albums. Here's a track from that disc, but last year's Love and Other Planets is great, too.

More soon...

Stephen Thompson

8:55 AM ET | 03-14-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

South by Southwest: An Introduction

Music festivals come in all shapes and sizes, from battle-of-the-bands-style local marathons to big-ticket summer touring showcases like Lollapalooza and OzzFest, in which hardy music fans tromp around on boiling asphalt and pay $5 for 12 ounces of warm drinking water. Then there's South by Southwest, a sort of music-industry trade show held for four days every March in (usually) sunny Austin, Tex.

An exhausting and exhilarating buffet of sound, South by Southwest attracts more than 1,300 bands -- many more, if you count the ones playing unofficial shows in unaffiliated bars, not to mention buskers and the occasional guerrilla performance on the back of a flatbed truck. And, of course, it brings tens of thousands of diehard fans, label employees, promoters, wannabes, media types, and locals who will gladly expound on their love-hate relationship with the festival and its associated chaos.

From Wednesday through Saturday, NPR.org will not only team up with member stations to stream more than two dozen performances from bands playing the festival, but we'll also post to this blog as frequently as logistics allow. Rather than merely set the scene -- "It's loud in this club! Wish you were here!" -- we'll stream a veritable pantload of music by artists we like: the ones we anticipated coming in and the ones we discover along the way. And, of course, readers can add to the discussion, offering feedback on the music, recommendations for artists both new and old, and terse corrections of the usage errors and broken links that come with blogging while trying to watch rock shows and drink beer.

The festivities officially begin Wednesday afternoon, so check back soon for song streams, recommendations, and live performances. In the meantime, thanks for joining us!

Stephen Thompson

11:43 PM ET | 03-13-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)