Wednesday SXSW Picks and Sleepers
Fri., March 10, 2006
WEDNESDAY SLEEPERS
All showcases subject to change
TOOF
7:30pm, Spiros Patio Meet Toof, a one-man band of surprising diversity and imagination. Austin's Trey D'Amico is an electronic wizard, performing with scarcely more than an electric guitar, keyboard, and his God-given falsetto. With the recent Jennifer Love Handles (Propeller), Toof brings silliness to a new level: It's all chains, cannibalism, and hangovers. – Darcie StevensCOLIN GILMORE
8pm, Pecan Street Ale House Following in the footstep's of his father, Jimmie Dale, Colin Gilmore has carved out his own niche due in the songwriter world. Matching jangle and clang with a hint of twang that reflects his West Texas upbringing, the Austinite's sound is wide-eyed and thoroughly listenable. He's recently worked with producer Scott Matthews in preparation for a new album. – Jim CaligiuriTHE CARROTS
8pm, Bourbon Rocks Matching outfits, sugar-high harmonies, and songs about kissing can only mean one thing: Austin sixpiece the Carrots is born of the Sixties girl group stew. Featuring members of Dumb Haircuts, Tigers, and two-thirds of the Old-Timerz, the Carrots are adorable, but will also challenge you to a game of Chicken at Dead Man's Curve. – Audra SchroederCUE
8pm, Buffalo Billiards It's said there are three perfect shapes in the world: the hull of a boat, a violin, and a woman's body. Two out of three ain't bad. Austin fourpiece Cue layers instrumental post-rock beneath Stacy Meshbane's climactic violin in ways that would make Mogwai shiver. Last year's debut, Bring Back My Love (Earth Gets Back), pulled in the tide with earthly swells and quakes. – Darcie StevensOH, BEAST!
8pm, Molotov Lounge One of Austin's most dependable purveyors of weirdo-rock, Oh, Beast! fuses Krautrock, prog, and good old-fashioned butt-rock with a twisted sense of humor straight from the nearest rubber room. They're fond of challenging other local bands to impromptu onstage showdowns. A follow-up to 2003's Makin' It in the Scene (Perverted Son) is in the works. – Christopher GrayHYDROPONIC SOUND SYSTEM
8pm, Club One 15 Blunted on crisp drum-breaks and jazz loops, Skinny Fresh and Rube of Hydroponic Sound System produce hip-hop-oriented instrumentals guaranteed to make even a lardass want to move something. On their latest EP, Choice Cuts Vol. 2 (Alternate Take), regular MC collaborators Headkrack, Bavu Blakes, and MYK uplift Hydro's sparse tracks into hectic states of cerebral dance floor mania. – Robert GabrielBENKO
9pm, Buffalo Billiards Mars may need guitars, but we've got more than enough down here. That's why Benko's vibraphone-for-guitar take on indie-pop sounds so refreshing. While this might come off as novelty in the hands of dilettantes, vibraphonist Sarah Norris, bassist Erik "the Butcher" Grostic, and drummer Graham Reynolds all ooze voracious chops. The Austin trio's self-released debut EP, An International Affair, offers an intriguing first take. – Greg BeetsBALANCE
9pm, Back Room A decade past grinding home recordings on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley alongside peers Hobo Junction, Living Legends, and Kirby Dominant, Balance now seeks to transcend his current position as the Bay area's Mixtape King. His full-length debut, Young & Restless (SMC Recordings), features cameos by Chamillionaire, Keak da Sneak, and EA-Ski as it rides a wave of combustibility. – Robert GabrielZOM ZOMS
9pm, Blender Balcony @ the Ritz Polka dots, synthesizers, and some crazy hair. Austin fourpiece Zom Zoms pay homage to Devo in the simplest ways: jittery steps, spooky stares, and screeching beats. A second LP, Yellow Rainbow, is due out this spring, introducing dancers nationwide to a strange kind of love. – Darcie StevensTHE REPUTATION
9pm, Velvet Spade Patio With the distinctively dulcet vocals of Elizabeth Elmore front and center, Chicago power-pop quartet the Reputation works both sides of the melodic crunch equation with aplomb. Their acclaimed second album, 2004's To Force a Fate (Lookout!), was recorded as Elmore rushed to complete her law degree at Northwestern. – Greg BeetsTHE STRANGE BOYS
9pm, Velvet Spade Eccentric, whiny, punk blues played by three – ahem – young men from Dallas. And we're not talking Conor Oberst whiny. More Iggy than that, with a Texas accent. The Boys raised hackles over the past year playing local dive Beerland, and now they're ready to share it with the rest of the world: Welcome the States Newest Noise Makers. – Darcie StevensCARDINALE
9pm, Spiros Patio For the love of God, don't forget earplugs. Embryonic Austin fourpiece Cardinale absolutely fucking destroys. Nail double stacks on the floor behind former Sea of Thousand screamers and thrashers, and you can feel the metal across your face. Arclight debut 31:13 hits the streets in April. – Darcie StevensDIE PRINCESS DIE
9:30pm, Room 710 A Die Princess Die album might make coffee superfluous. Louder than highway construction and dirtier than Internet porn, the Southern California fourpiece blends thrashy and trashy. 2004's self-titled debut drives it like Jehu stuck in fifth gear. – Michael BertinZEALE
9:30pm, Club One 15 At first, South Austin rapper Zeale comes across fairly unassuming. Upon further investigation, Zeale's got a whole lot of freakish aggression lurking beneath the veneer of your average skate-punk philosopher. A Travis Bickel Mohawk never looked so proper, as Zeale's battle-tested tongue lashings conjure fits of surrealistic surprise. – Robert GabrielPEELANDER-Z
10pm, Blender Balcony @ the Ritz This "Japanese action comic punk" trio from New York is the band your inner 7-year-old wants at his next birthday party. Originally from the Z section of Planet Peelander, these animé convention favorites show up festooned in primary-colored superhero costumes, give expert human bowling lessons, and exhort their audiences to sing along with punky paeans to pandas, rockets, and medium-rare steak. Resistance is futile. – Greg BeetsFIELD MUSIC
10pm, Emo's Main XTC's Andy Partridge hasn't been using his genius much lately so the cheeky lads in North England's Field Music up and "borrowed" it while recording their instantly memorable/hummable/toe-tapping/danceable self-titled pop-music masterpiece. Come to think of it, has anyone seen Julian Cope's masterful songwriting abilities of late? We thought not. That darn Field Music! – Marc SavlovWILLY MASON
10pm, Antone's Singer-songwriter Willy Mason is 19 going on 80, or so one would think from his deep, gruff voice on debut, Where the Humans Eat (Astralwerks). The Martha's Vineyard native prefers acerbic, observational folk-rock to East Coast tween-friendly pop. Mason will spend March touring with Jenny Lewis and the Watson twins, then jump ship to support Beth Orton on the road. – Melanie HauptSETH KAUFFMAN
10pm, Tambaleo Formerly of North Carolina's Choosy Beggars, Durham's Seth Kauffman has just released his first solo disc on HighTone, Ting. With his tag of "lo-fi North Carolina funk," Kauffman fashions a Beck-meets-Motown-meets-the Wailers patchwork infused with soul. His backing band the Real Mothers includes Scott Sharpe of the Blue Rags and Bill Reynolds from Donna the Buffalo. – Jim CaligiuriHURTS TO PURR
10pm, Caribbean Lights Austin trio Hurts to Purr specializes in exquisitely textured piano pop confessionals peppered with odd tweaks of Fiona Apple-flavored eccentricity. Quick-burning affectations aside, the most memorable element of pianist/vocalist Liz Pappademas' performance is autumnal subtlety. Though not quite fully realized, Hurts to Purr's self-titled debut displays that potential. – Greg BeetsORANGER
10pm, Velvet Spade Patio San Francisco's Oranger achieved critical renown by crossing psych-pop with the Who's blast furnace ferocity. With the departure of drummer Jim Lindsey, the quintet reigns in the latter on their latest, New Comes and Goes (Eenie Meenie). "Make It With You" was a highlight of Badman's 2005 Bread tribute, Friends and Lovers. – Greg BeetsGRITBOYS
10:10pm, Back Room Treading heavy on the Texas rap mix CD circuit, Houston's GBs sit sideways and ride out the late-night vertigo created by "Drank in My Cup," their '05 collaboration with Paul Wall. Portraying Ghetto Reality in Texas, Pretty Todd, Scooby, Poppy, and Unique advance city traditions originated deep in the heart of Screwston by the likes of Scarface, Lil Keke, and HAWK. – Robert GabrielTHE WINKS
10:30pm, Beerland This four-woman Austin punk rock collective mixes anger and allure in a manner that's only gotten tougher with time and touring. They're sort of like a foul-tempered, well-lit alternative to the Donnas. The Winks' 2005 album, Too Hot to Be This Cool (Super Secret), is a 20-minute maelstrom of Russ Meyer-style sex and violence. – Greg BeetsANNIE
10:30pm, Eternal A Norwegian singer co-signed by every hipster from Pitchfork to Peoria, Annie scored an international hit in 2005 with the Stereolab sensuality of "Heartbeat." Sweet electronic candy slides down the chute of her debut album, Anniemal (Big Beat), as Annie resurrects the early-Eighties pop quirkiness put forth by Tom Tom Club and Human League. – Robert GabrielYOUNG BLEED
10:30pm, Back Room Baton Rouge native Young Bleed kicks up a torrent of gangsta rap signifiers as he builds on the past success of 1998's certified-gold No Limit album My Balls and My Word. Joining forces with notorious Scaramento thug C-Bo through the West Coast Mafia imprint, Bleed supplies '05's Rise Thru da Ranks with a Southern drawl aimed to muscle marks into full compliance. – Robert GabrielMR. BLAKES
11pm, Back Room Juxtaposing introspective lyrics with a socially engaging live show, Bavu Blakes continues to bubble up from the innermost reaches of the Austin rap scene. As at home with the studio concoctions of Hydroponic Sound System as he is with the spontaneous musings of the D-Madness band, Mr. Blakes crafts intelligent songs such as "Nobody Leavin" that tackle the dissonance of modern society head-on. – Robert GabrielWOODEN WAND
11pm, Emo's Annex The Tennessee singer known as Wooden Wand is mysterious and prolific all at once. Sometimes performing with the Vanishing Voice, a collective of willowy guys and gals who sing about floods, death, and nature, they just released Gipsy Freedom, their fifth album to come out in the last year, despite members living in different states. Call it the cult of wilderness rock. – Audra SchroederTHE STANDARD
11pm, Nuno's Fragility is a beautiful trait. Tim Putnam, the voice and strum behind Portland, Ore., quartet the Standard, is at once childlike and wise. Last year's mammoth Albatross (Yep Roc) soared on the multiple layers and tempos of a weathered rock band. Not as rhythmic as 2004's Wire Post to Wire, Albatross insists that indie rock should be as complex as the emotion it represents. – Darcie StevensALOHA
11pm, Emo's Jr. Aloha's 2001 debut, That's Your Fire, spun through melodic, free-falling soundscapes, gathering them in the post-rock cadre of the time. Yet, the Cleveland quartet has weathered the storm of "the next so-and-so," creating more beautiful noise on 2004's Here Comes Everyone, and putting the same melody-stoked fire into their upcoming Polyvinyl release Some Echoes. – Audra SchroederSUSAN GIBSON AND THE MOVING PARTS
11pm, Cedar Street Courtyard Susan Gibson's "Wide Open Spaces" was a massive hit for the Dixie Chicks and her platinum calling card to fame. Last year's Outer Space re-established the Austin area resident in the ranks of popular singer-songwriters and reaffirmed her determined direction down heartfelt highways. – Margaret MoserRONNY ELLIOTT
11pm, B.D. Riley's Tampa's Ronny Elliott has drawn comparison's to Steve Earle and Guy Clark for his rugged brand of country flavored rock, and he's just released his sixth disc, Valentine Roadkill (Blue Heart). Filled with pointed commentaries on the state of America in the time of George W. Bush, it echoes, no doubt to Elliott's delight, rabble-rousers like Phil Ochs and Johhny Cash. – Jim CaligiuriJEDI MIND TRICKS
11pm, Red Eyed Fly These aren't the beats you're looking for. You can go about your bass. Damn, talk about shakin' the subwoofer. The Philadelphia underground hip-hop duo of DJ Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind and MC Vinnie Paz kick out horrorcore rhymes on LPs like Legacy of Blood. JMT has been gigging with KRS-ONE in '06 and Paz is also part of the Army of the Pharaohs, a collective of underground rap notables. – Michael BertinBABOON
11pm, Spiros Now in their 15th year, Dallas/Fort Worth art-punk veterans Baboon have never stopped evolving. They were labelmates with Creed and guest stars on Walker, Texas Ranger during the Nineties, but 2002's Something Good Is Going to Happen to You (Last Beat) is the quintet's most definitive musical statement to date. – Greg BeetsAWESOME COOL DUDES
11pm, Molotov Lounge Between their playful late-night deconstruction of all things pop and a penchant for absurd lyrical tangents, the Awesome Cool Dudes have developed a uniquely slick-but-savage assault on convention that tastes different with every bite. 2005's Maxin and Relaxin (Furniture) found the Austin quartet channeling synth-pop, Eurodisco, punk, funk, and rap. – Greg Beets1986
11pm, Red 7 Power pop is supposed to be fun, and half-Austin, half-NYC fivepiece 1986 was nothing less on last year's eponymous, self-released debut. Vocalist/guitarist Giorgio Angelini took off for the Big Apple last year in hopes of making it big, and with this much energy, who knows? – Darcie StevensTHE SWEETHEARTS
11:20pm, Beerland With their second album, Looks Could Kill (Mortville), Austin's Sweethearts strike a swell balance between the Ramones' gut-bomb energy and boundless New Wave romance. Spunky frontwoman Linette Liendo sings like the younger sister of Gwen Stefani and Josie Cotton with hand-me-downs to match. – Greg BeetsADULT RODEO
11:30am, Hideout Formed on the East Coast, this local quartet's oddball Shimmy-Disc reverberations shot in many different directions after they moved to Austin in 1998. Adult Rodeo's fourth album, 2004's Tough Titty, touches on everything from Spaghetti Westerns to arena rock. – Greg BeetsK-RINO AND THE SOUTH PARK COALITION
11:30pm, Back Room Founded in 1987, South Park Coalition supplies the cornerstone that connects the brunt of the Houston rap scene by either association or influence. K-Rino formed the union of artists after committing one of his city's first rap songs to wax in '86 with a group called Real Chill. Dozens of albums later, the Worst Rapper Alive maintains his cult-leader magnetism. – Robert Gabriel
THE JAI-ALAI SAVANT
11:45pm, Room 710 This Philly fourpiece was traded to Chicago, livening up their Fugazi-fitted punk outfit with a little shiny Police-influenced dub. On their debut EP, Thunderstatement (GSL), the Jai-Alai Savant could be the band most in tune with the average American male's psyche, asking the musical question "Scarlett Johansen Why Don't You Love Me". – Michael Bertin
