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The SXSW 2007 Recap: Day Three

Friday

DIW Magazine put on a spectacular showcase at the Emo's Annex (Full disclosure: I'm the magazine's managing editor), beginning with a fervent live set by Scotland's Twilight Sad. Indie rock's latest import produced a triumphant, orchestral noise akin to Mogwai but with dramatic vocals courtesy of singer James Graham. Experimental electronic artist Daedelus then teamed up with the supremely talented Los Angeles rapper Busdriver (pictured above). The two improvised on stage as Busdriver freestyled brilliantly at a frenetic pace.

It was a talent-heavy lineup, but last-minute addition Ra Ra Riot claimed the day. The six-member Syracuse collective pranced through a brief five-song set with unrepentant (and infectious) exuberance. I felt bad for the band that had to take the stage afterwards.

The unlucky responsibility went to New York's atmospheric shoegazers Calla, who played a competent half-hour of brooding art-rock complete with echoing distortion and thundering minor chords. Finally, completing the showcase, Australia's twee-pop cooperative Architecture in Helsinki debuted its new dancier material. Although the band had already performed multiple times during the festival, staying true to rambunctious form, the six musicians showed no signs of exhaustion.

Vice magazine usually hosts an ambitious festival-within-a-festival annually, but this year, the purveyors of snark squeezed it all into one day. Sadly, I missed most of the performances but was lucky enough to catch the filthy garage rock of the Black Lips. The hyped Atlanta, Georgia foursome puts on a retro-ruckus that wouldn't sound out of place on a Nuggets box set. The Lips, too, earned their weekend stay in Austin, playing nearly a dozen times throughout the festival.

First up for the nighttime activities, the Monitor Records showcase presented its newest signing, Brooklyn's Yeasayer. The distinctive foursome combines elements of world music, New Wave, post-punk, and sheer pop experimentalism. By turns, the band exuded the spontaneity of Animal Collective coupled with Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, or a polished TV on the Radio incorporating Middle Eastern influences. I expect big things from this new group.

I stuck around a few minutes more for Baltimore, Maryland's Ponytail who turned out to be the oddest band I've ever seen: Over electrifying punk riffs, front woman Molly Siegel screamed and growled, sounding at times like a cat being exorcised. I left.

England's Winterkids are no revelation, but you can't deny the infectiousness of their pop-punk. It comes off like Bloc Party influenced by blink-182—if you can imagine such a thing; or, a more hyperactive Idlewild. Performing songs off their debut, Memoirs, at the Whisky Bar, the Kids were all right. Watching singer James Snider's melodramatic stage antics, their lack of uniqueness might well be attributed to their youth—but the potential is definitely there.

Soon, I spotted gossip blogger Perez Hilton standing next to me, which tipped me off that I might have ended up in the wrong place at the end of this night. And as hard as I tried to enjoy Perez' favorite British pop sensation Mika, I still couldn't shake the thought that his saccharine campiness was rather underwhelming. He hugged his guitarist intermittently and then laughed his way through a mocking cover of Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie." Despite media comparisons to Freddie Mercury, Mika seems more queen than Queen. [keep reading...]

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