Jason Lytle was all over SXSW last week. I was really hoping to catch his set at the same church I caught Grizzly Bear, but settled for his 35 minute offering at Mess With Texas at Waterloo Park. While Lytle was admittedly a little “in the bag,” that didn’t stop him from delivering a great set of new tunes and a Grandaddy set closer. It cemented my excitement for his upcoming Anit- offering, Yours Truly, the Commuter (May 19th).
You can download “Brand New Sun” off of his upcoming album below and then head over to NPR for a stream of “Birds Encouraged Him.”
Discuss: What are your favorite Grandaddy recordings?
Another beautiful capture by our friends at La Blogotheque, “A trip across Paris in a van. Lost drumsticks. A cafe you’d never expect to visit before the age of 60. An hour of waiting, and then, voilà–a few notes on the harmonium, a grand piano, a heavenly voice.”
Here are the Wisconsin and Chicago shows we recommend you take in this week. Check them out below and let us know which ones you’ll be attending or ones you think should really make our list.
Upcoming Wisconsin Shows:
3/24 – Rachael Yamagata/Cory Chisel – Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee
3/24 – Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – Majestic Theatre, Madison
3/26 – Clem Snide/Plants & Animals – High Noon Saloon, Madison
3/26 – The Death Set/Team Robespierre – UW Der Rathskeller, Madison
3/27 – Brian Jonestown Massacre – Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee
3/27 – Bowerbirds/The Daredevil Christopher Wright – Der Rathskeller, Madison
3/27 – Cloud Cult – High Noon Saloon, Madison
3/28 – The Ladybug Transistor – UW Der Rathskeller, Madison
3/28: Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe w/ CLyde Stubblefield Band – Majestic, Madison
Saturday marked my final full day at SXSW and I was determined to make the best out of it–and goddamn it, I did. I was finally able to track down the infamous missing Sparks to start the day off at the Beauty Bar where the day was kicked off with Under Driver and Cruiser Weight. I tried to catch Wheat’s early afternoon set with Loney Dear, Hood Internet and Chairlift at the Red Eye Fly’s Coffee? No Pants Party, but the set seemed to be running behind schedule.
Since I’ve heard so much hype around Wavves, I had to bounce to Fader Fort to get my own two cents and check this out. Turns out the buzz is right on–this kid can totally shred some mad garagey guitar action and the combo with his sole drummer made some hella loud noise. Loved it. Def plan on picking up this recent release as soon as I recoop in real world Chicago land–pretty sure Wavves will be making an appearance at the Empty Bottle in early April, as well. Totally recommend it.
Post Fader, I trekked over to Peckerhead’s for the full capacity Rolling Stone showcase where I got to check the lovely, spunky dancey soul beats of Janelle Monae for time number two. The floors and walls of the venue shook so hard that I thought that shit was gonna collapse. My friends and I left awestruck, yet again, and on a complete kick-ass show high–meanwhile, picking the chunks of broken ceiling debris out of our hair. Bananas. Picked up the Metropolis: Chase Suite EP from her merch dudes and have been spinning it since. Good stuff.
Next I wandered over to Radio Room to check Milemarker with my roommate but wound up outside in the courtyard for Cursive’s set instead. Incredible set–especially when this Saddlecreek fave busted out their new single, “From the Hips.” The crowd went nuts for sure.
At this point my group all went their separate ways and I was the only one ballsy (or dorky) enough to man the Fader Fort lines and crowd for the at this point infamous Kanye West rumored set. Caught Jadakiss’s set in the outter line and then made my way into the most crazy packed set of my life. Rumors struck true and Mr. West, along with SEVERAL friends took the Fader stage around the 9 o’clock mark, kicking the 2-hour set with 808 and Heartbreak’s “Amazing.” INCREDIBLE. (But no Young Jeezy, present, sad to say.) Several old favorites were represented, including my personal pick, “Gone,” featuring Consequence. Many older numbers like “Drive Slow Homey,” “Spaceship,” “Crack Music,” a shortened “Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” “Get Em High,” “Heartless” w/the lameoid “Pinnochio” interlude were all accounted for. But when Ye stepped out with Kid Cudi? SHIT. The duo busted out “Welcome to Heartbreak,” which got the crowd’s heads spinnin’ tenfold. This of course, led into Kid Cudi’s set, including an insane dance extended remix of his ridiculously catchy single “Day N Nite” (Crookers’ Remix, even.) Also up were “Paranoid,” with Mr. Hudson (the random white blonde headed dude from England), the all-star sing along of “Good Life” and the show closer “Love Lockdown,” backed by a full band. INSANITY.
But the real crowd pleaser? Shit. That award is split in half–one to Chicago superstar Common, who wowed the crowd as he stepped up to perform his single “Universal Mind Control” and when a stunning Miss Erykah Badu stepped out briefly to join Common on the duet “The Light.” Crowd simply lost it. I can’t even begin to summarize the mad energy that was flowing in this sea mass of sweaty, drunken, dancing bodies. Just craziness.
People can hate on Kanye as much as they want. Sure, dude’s got an ego (he did, after all, “bring hip hop back”), but he used his celebrity last night for a good cause–to bring back SXSW to what it’s really all supposed to be about–showcasing the newer artists. I have a feeling Kid Cudi is going to be HUGE in 2009, (maybe not so much Mr. Hudson, sorry dude), and the artists showcased from Good Music were definitely represented last night as one big musical family. I know I’m leaving out some of the other performers’ names, but I was busy dancing my ass off with everyone else to take super proper notes. Nothing could have possibly topped this set for me–so this def wrapped up Jodi’s coverage of SXSW 2009 and it couldn’t have come in a better way. Good Music prevailed last night. Thank you, Mr. West.
Started yesterday off at the Mohwak for the Hot Freaks party. The place and party always put on a great day of live music. I got to hear These United States for the first time. I’ve had their record on my desk for a long time, and now when I get home, I’m gonna give it a proper listen. Great stuff, check them out:
I got to see The Rosebuds with Brad from Megafaun holding down bass guitar duties. Some two years ago, they put on one of my favorite shows ever and introduced me to this guy. This year, they had the fantastic new Life Like material injected into the mix, great stuff. Coming soon is a video from the end of their set where they played “Bow To The Middle” in the crowd.
Muzzle of Bees Presents The Rosebuds + Megafaun at Club Garibaldi in Milwaukee on Sunday, April 5th. Tickets are $10, send me a message if you’d like to get advance tickets. A proper post/announcement coming next week!
I was planning on not seeing the Hold Steady at all during SXSW. I’ve seen them enough to know what it’s all about. They’re one of my favorite bands, so I didn’t need to be won over. Then I hear a few chords coming from Club DeVille, saw a bunch offriends in the front row, and next thing you know The Hold Steady throw down 18 songs during their 70-minute set. Pure rock and roll.
After some dinner, I checked out Common Loon at the Polyvinyl Party. You’ll be hearing a lot more of them as a result of their performance and their forthcoming album. Took the opportunity to walk across the street to catch The Felice Brothers, who debuted some new material, but it was their Elton John cover and Townes Van Zandt’s “Two Hands” that really tore the roof off the pace.
St. Vincent was up next. She played what probably turned out to be my favorite set of the day. I absolutely cannot wait to hear Actor and have her back at the Pabst Theater.
Finally, we got convinced to go to the La Mar St. Bridge because Vivian Girls were playing on there. After walking ourselves lost we finally arrived to find hundreds of other people waiting to see what, if anything, would happen. Around 2am some death metal band threw tons of boxes of Converse shoes into the crowd which people used to throw at each other for the remainder of their set. We got scared and left, but I guess the Vivian Girls did end up playing. Oh well, probably a better story that we left terrified, right?
Too many things to do, not enough time. Another shortened day on Friday, and I have BMI’s complimentary brunch and mimosa fest to blame. What I did catch, however, was pretty fantastic. Kicking off Day 3 in Austin was a lively and rockin’ set by The Thermals at Onion’s Day Party at the Radio Room. Very impressed, to say the least. Perfect way to get the day jumpin. Next up was the Fader Fort, which is pretty much where I spent the rest of my day. Caught sets by the all girl quartet Coupleskate, the Minneapolis electric rock outfit Solid Gold, and my two favorites so far The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and We Have Band. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are racking up rave reviews for their latest release, and their performance only backed up these various praises–super pretty harmonies and delectable pop hooks. We Have Band also was super good–electro dance party madness–keep your eyes peeled for their debut album in the near future. Fun stuff.
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