Most people would choose their birthday or a vacation as their
favorite week of the year; I, on the other hand, would choose SXSW. To
me, SXSW is sort of like a birthday and a vacation rolled up into one.
It’s the one week when all of the bands we tour with and all of the
people we work with get together in a small city in southern Texas, and
attempt to see as many shows as humanly possible. This year I saw some
great ones; here are my picks:
1) The Dears @ Habana Calle 3/16/07—A secret late-night show by one of my favorite bands. What more could I ask for? It also helped that the first four songs they played are my top tracks off the new record.
2) Nicole Atkins @ Copa 3/17/07—She’s currently
one of my favorite songwriters and I’d never seen her perform live.
Even though it was the last show I saw at SXSW, it was still one of the
best.
3) Spoon @ Stubbs 3/17/07—Seeing Spoon in their
hometown is sorta like giving a homeless person a $20 bill: it just
feels right. They played a lot of stuff off Gimme Fiction, which is my
favorite record of theirs.
4) Brett Dennen @ Eternal 3/16/07—Though he looks like a giant version of Carrot Top and sounds like a Muppet, I have no doubt that this amazing songwriter will soon be the next Jack Johnson. His voice makes me feel happy.
5) Kid Koala @ The Convention Center 3/16/07—The last time I saw this DJ was when he opened for Radiohead in the summer of ‘02. I stumbled upon this intimate show and was blown away by his set-ending cover of “Moon River,” which of course he sent out to his mom.
6) This is Me Smiling @ Emos 3/14/07—Friends of mine had been telling
me to see this band for a while and I’m so glad I did because they
rocked. Sounding like a cross between Weezer and the Beach Boys, these
Chicago kids tore it up.
7) House of Fools @ Redrum
3/15/07—These North Carolina guys are labelmates of ours and good
friends; they are also the only band I can think of that sounds like
Neil Young+Crazy Horse and Elliot Smith. If you get the chance to see
them live, don’t pass it up, they’re a lot of fun
8) MC Lars @ The Tap Room 3/17/07—This Oakland-based MC raps while a
projector displays images of his words on a screen behind him. Very
creative and very funny.
9) The Mountain Goats @ Emos 3/14/07—This band is so good, every time I
see them they convert me. It’s odd but there’s always a song of theirs
humming in my head. Right now it’s “This Year.”
10) Limbeck @ Spiros 3/15/07—Alt-country done right. Great songs, great guys and a road ethic that would make any touring band quiver. They’ll be out on tour for the next four months; check them out if you have the chance.
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