The SxSW Diaries #2: Insomnia Afterhours

The Skinny is already firmly in the grip of sleep deprivation’s hallucinogenic effects by day two; did we really help Kurt Vile over a fence last night?

Feature by Dave Kerr & Vic Galloway | 15 Mar 2014

Shaking off our acute insomnia, we jump a bus into the heart of Austin to have a go at mapping our way through the excessive options ahead of us for these next few days. As live music starts to pour out of every open window, we try to extend our bearings beyond the tractor beam of SxSW’s central hub at the city's Convention Centre. Picture a music festival of several square miles in size, then consider that nearly every twenty yards along any given road there's a gig space or makeshift outdoor venue worth some investigating.  

With the major league keynote speeches already over, we take the opportunity to see St Vincent in conversation – the native Texan speaks frankly about pursuing her own path and offers insight into the making of her increasingly inventive records – the latest of which was made just a few miles down the road. There’s also a broad range of workshops throughout the afternoon, catering to bands, engineers, managers and label folk looking to unpack the basics of mastering, royalties and keeping up to speed with digital platforms. One seminar tackles the ultimate question: ‘Is Loyalty Dead in A Soul-Starved Industry?’, while a more genre-specific seminar across the hall similarly cuts through the bullshit to ask: ‘Has Metal Lost Its Edge?’

As if to answer that directly, Relapse Records take up residence down the street at a bar called Dirty Dog, showing off an international roster that runs the gamut of old school thrashers to a newer breed of tech-metal fusionists. We see Norwegian outfit Obliteration stay true to their name; inciting circle-pits while Braveheart’s gruesome battle scenes play away on the club’s TV screens in the background. Perhaps more indebted to forebears such as Venom and Obituary than blazing their own distinct trail, but it’s indisputable proof of life in the devil’s music.

After setting fire to our tonsils with a chilli dog known as ‘El Diablo’ from a street vendor, then foolishly washing it down with a tequila based refreshment also known as ‘El Diablo,’ we head for Warp x LuckyMe’s showcase housed at an old auto repair garage, where one queue becomes another as we arrive into the courtyard (that RSVP didn't count for a thing). As close as we can get to the action, it basically looks like the club from Blade.

Similarly, gothic electro specialist TRUST proves a hit with the afterhours crowd, making an appearance at the appropriately christened Swan Dive – a venue with lived-in character, decked out like a spit and sawdust saloon – as part of Arts & Crafts’ evening long showcase. Meanwhile Warpaint do battle with technical gremlins as they jam out an abridged three (and a half) song set on the upper deck of Maggie Mae's before the plug is ultimately pulled at the insistence of the local constabulary.

As we make our way downstairs and back along Sixth Street to find a taxi, the carnival atmosphere of moments before is suddenly tempered by the sobering, quick travelling news that a suspected drunk driver had crashed through a set of road barriers and through a crowd of pedestrians queuing outside the Mohawk venue on Red River Street, resulting in two deaths and dozens injured. The city is shell-shocked by the full facts of Wednesday’s tragedy the following morning; certain venues remain respectfully closed into the afternoon and gigs are cancelled as authorities gather a full picture of the incident. 

The day's events start, well, casually, with a beer on the roof of Austin Convention Centre in the easy company of Glasgow-based rockabilly funk fiends Casual Sex, who join the likes of Honeyblood and We Were Promised Jetpacks on our forthcoming video document of the past few days.

Kicking off our third night of gigs, wild-eyed Aussie cyberpunk Kirin J Callinan and his ghoulish squad are a revelation who help reinstate some sense of purpose; a ball of kinetic energy with the startling stage appearance of a topless Barry Chuckle channeling Bennett from Commando. When he breaks into Morrissey mode he might lose a little of his hard fought momentum, but a gig like this – in a tiny shack at the back of Cheer Up Charlies’ courtyard – otherwise carried the hallmarks of a legend beginning to form.

We take a walk down to Second Street – dodging a jewel encrusted ice cream van, Kelis's food truck, an end-is-nigh evangelist and a Games of Thrones rickshaw along the way – and find a more relaxed atmosphere there than the gathering mania in town. A local standing at a school bus converted into a restaurant offers some friendly culinary advice for dinner. ”Chili dogs, man?! You're doing it all wrong!” One tasty Lamb Gyro later and we’re ready for The Infamous.

"If this is R Kelly, I'll like it," says one spectator at The Gatsby’s courtyard – with guerrilla gigs happening all over town this week, the rumour mill has apparently been reduced to fans just trying to will their idols onstage. It’s already been proven over the last few days that SxSW is a platform for new beginnings as well as introductions, and there's always time for a Yo MTV Raps throwback. Here to teach the young bucks a thing or three about rhymecraft, Prodigy and Havoc (AKA Mobb Deep) bring a boatload of classics, weed clouds and a taste of their first album in eight years (due next month). As a group plagued by legal wrangles, fall-outs, jail terms and weighty expectations ever since their second album – arguably as influential as Illmatic or 36 Chambers – brought about the next evolution in hip-hop, it’s a thrill to see them on fire tonight. Survival of the Fittest – complete with a verse dedicated to Tim Westwood, head bobbing in the wings – an Eye For An Eye and Shook Ones Part II all present and correct. Soon after, their spiritual descendant and Slim Shady’s heir apparent, Tyler, the Creator storms the stage. Even in semi-lethargic “so motherfucking sleepy” mode, his in-song energy is a rampant force of nature.  

As are Future Islands, who have quite rightly become talk of the town with a little help from that divisive viral Letterman hit. “We're just doin’ our thang, all we got is love," frontman Samuel T Herring confirms – surrounded by wide smiles on Cheer Up Charlies’ open air stage. Like The Flaming Lips before them, they bring about a pure sense of hope and occasion that not many have mastered in latter-day rock n roll. And when he starts roaring verses like the Cookie Monster on karaoke, we'll what's not to appreciate? In light of Wednesday’s tragedy the trio somehow see to it that a bit of joy returns to Red River Street, Herring held aloft by the crowd and carefully delivered back to the stage. Such bands are precious after all. 


Vic's PickS

Everyone has a different festival, and you can go through the whole music week without seeing friends, associates, colleagues or even the same artists. From yesterday's selection, I'd point out a band based in Berlin but made up of Irish, Brazilian and Yorkshire members called Ballet School. They've recently signed to Simon Raymonde's excellent Bella Union label and manage to effortlessly combine chorused, Cocteau Twins guitars with poly-rhythmic drums patterns and bombastic 80s FM pop into one rather interesting, pop-tastic whole. In front-woman Rosie, they have a bonafide star in the making who is both eccentric and accessible, throwing shapes onstage and using her acrobatic vocal range to wondrous effect. Search them out!

By day three of SxSW you start fraying at the edges slightly. From a list of artists including Temples, bEEdEEgEE, Bob Mould and Wye Oak, my Thursday recommendation comes in the shape of SOHN. His mournful, falsetto, R'n'B vocal, apeggiated synths and broken, dubby beats really moved me... almost to tears at one point. London born but Vienna based, his music is for fans of James Blake, Thom Yorke and Burial and it connected better in a live setting more than in simple, recorded form. One of many highlights from another outstanding day in Austin. And there are still two more packed days to come. Tonight, there's Creative Scotland's Showcasing Scotland gig, which I'm hosting. Hell yeah!

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