SXSW Live Shots

The Process

Gaby & Mo's, Saturday, Mar 18

Of the 13 acts scheduled for the longest of Gaby & Mo's Grrl by Grrl Fest, the Process came dead center in Saturday's lineup. There were only 15-20 or so audience members milling about the back tent area at dusk; some left over from the previous set, some anticipating the next one. The few who did stick around were treated to one of Austin's coolest best-kept secrets. What the Process does isn't exactly original, but the corner of the sound market they cover is certainly unique to Austin 2000. Sometimes it's hard to tell if a particular song they're ripping into is an early Cure cover, or a Pylon cover, or a Gang of Four cover, and if we're not mistaken, they have indeed covered all three bands and then some in their short career of 18 months. Their mastery of that sound, that early-Eighties dub dub jingle-jangle -- where not only are notes 1-2-3-4 accentuated, but all of the ones in between as well -- is unparalleled. Bass player Kelly Martinez grinds some mighty wordy thump to complement Eyad Karkouley's dizzyingly calliope of Gibson SG goodness. All of this is wrapped tight with a skinny tie by the compelling pentameter of Kirsten Schilt's often monotone vocals. Schilt is the most charming and engaging disaffected rock girl to lean into an Austin microphone since the last time Missing Persons played through town.