Every year, SXSW reinforces the Chronicle‘s mission statement: telling Austin tales. Sure, the Music staff wants to get on the horn with your Iggy Pops and Pete Townshends, but that’s merely gravy to the real feast. As the local Music Festival continues growing at exponential proportions, and the very idea of trying to throw a net around it approximates landing a 990-pound Giant Squid (the former locals’ showcase is Saturday, March 17, 9:30pm @ Maggie Mae’s) from the deepest, darkest depths of the Antarctic, our coverage simplifies: Stay home. Morever, SXSW provides yet another excuse to do exactly that with something like our annual “Picks 2 Click” roundup. These seven Austin acts, all showcasing this year at the Festival, have been on our radar for varying lengths of time, and rather than having to concoct some “new songwriters” feature to ink up Peter & the Wolf, Pink Nasty, or the Band of Heathens, we rope them in here. The Ugly Beats, meanwhile, have blown our hair back for a couple of years now, ATX rapper Ryno breaks out from the “Pirate Utopia” of the 0-2, and Brothers & Sisters “clicked” with locals almost from day one. Palm School Choir? Ask NBC. Remember, be it ever so humble, there’s no place like Austin.
This article appears in March 2 • 2007.
