Wow…I can’t even remember what happened on what day anymore–they all seem to run together.

Fanfarlo at the Soundcheck party

First today was the Soundcheck party with Fanfarlo’s (myspace) first ever US show at Emo’s Annex[1]. I heard about them a few weeks ago and at that point saw they were playing SxSW and knew I needed to catch them. They make great indie pop in the sort of Belle & Sebastian band. Their apparent youth belies the fact that they’re actually making pretty great songs.

Their set was great. It gave me a smile; the serotonin was flowing for sure. Despite the fact that the mix was a bit rough (not entirely the engineer’s fault–it was a tough set up) and I could hardly hear the trumpet, glockenspiel, fiddle or mandolin at times, it still came across really well. All the guys (and girl) in the band seemed really nice and genuine when I talked to them briefly. I was singing some of their songs all the way to the car (which was pretty far away).

Deer Tick at Cream Vintage

We skipped up to Cream Vintage to see Deer Tick. I’d misremembered the timing of the sets a bit so we saw less of their set than I would have liked (which would have been all of their set plus about half an hour), but it was really nice.[2] It was just acoustic guitar (apparently a last minute change because his amp busted), upright bass and a drum kit. I really liked the songs and the band’s playing.

A sign in Hank’s backyard at the +1 house party

Then we headed down to the +1 House Party in South Austin in the almost-rural home of Hank Sinatra down near the end of a no-outlet street. In the backyard there was a stage, a small pond, trailers, old signs, a bbq smoker, sheep, chickens, bands, label people, industry people, fans, 40s, kegs, brisket tacos, and ribs. Compared to how hectic and crazy every other show and even just walking around Austin has felt, this was peaceful and laid back. People were hanging out with people in bands, industry people. You’d be having a conversation with someone and ask why they were there and it was because they were in a band. Bands, who in general during a lot of SxSW seem to be loading in, playing and leaving as fast as possible, came at the beginning of the afternoon and hung out and watched the other bands. It was very cool and fun atmosphere. If there’s another one next year, I’d highly recommend going.

A bunch of bands came and went as I chatted with people and hung out. Jeremy Yocum and the Last Rounders played nice acoustic alt-country sort of stuff. Arch from Illinois played host and a short set after them. Trainwreck Riders (from SF) played a nice set. (I don’t think there were any bands that I disliked at all during the whole day.) My ears perked up a bit for Peggy Sue and the Pirates. I liked their sound. Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit also had a cool sound and played a nice set.

Chris and Joe of the Morning Benders

The highlight of the afternoon for me was the Morning Benders (myspace). They played a really fun set (isn’t that always the case?) to the receptive crowd. It included a bunch of new tunes. I’m really excited about the new album.

One person who was there that I didn’t know existed but some people were excited about was John Norris. (What? I grew up without cable.)

the sun setting over the Morning Benders

The rest of the evening was a bit of a bust–the Billions showcase (Basia Bulat, Devotcha, Constantines) was a no-hope sort of line. (Thanks a lot, Vampire Weekend!). The Bowery Presents show (Rogue Wave, Dr. Dog, Tapes N Tapes, Nada Surf) was possibly more hopeless. We walked by the place the Sub Pop showcase (Grand Archives, Kelley Stoltz, Fleet Foxes, Blitzen Trapper) and that line was going nowhere. Finally the Leafy Green (Dodos, Akron/ Family) showcase was apparently still letting in people, but the price seemed a lot for basically wanting to see one band on the bill, especially since the one I wanted to see, I can see fairly easily in our shared town of residence. Oh well.

You can view more of my photos if you’d like.

[1] I’ll put this as simply as possible: there are too many Emo’s. Cut down the number or change some names. Two is the max. It’s just too confusing otherwise.

[2] The worst part of SxSW is that I saw Deer Tick and they were great and on any single other day I’d probably be heaping on the praise, but I’ve seen some incredible shows in the past few days, ones where I’m just ecstatic walking out, so it’s hard on the ones that were “just” great.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 15th, 2008 at 8:41 am Posted by adrian in SF bay area, live review, photos. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.