Satellite of Love
Welcome once again to Austin’s annual musical rodeo, which some of us call SXSW and others call March madness. (There’s another rodeo going on across town; some of you Brits may be short enough to qualify for the calf scramble.) By now, most of you probably know what to expect: bands, beer, barbecue, and at least one life-changing revelation. Don’t forget fatigue and Las Manitas.
At a record 8,000-plus SXSW Music registrants this year, some of you are bound to be new at this, and may go home with the mistaken impression that every hair salon, clothing boutique, furniture store, and typewriter museum in Austin offers live music on a regular basis. It’s not quite like that, but our fair city easily sustains enough musical talent to support its own satellite-radio service. See for yourself …
All Things Rock
INDIE-MAND
Austin and Pitchfork both drool over …Spoon, …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, the Sword, What Made Milwaukee Famous, I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness, Okkervil River, Voxtrot, Sound Team, the Arm, Zykos
BARDS “R’ US
Been around the block, but a long way from out to pasture. They actually remember the Armadillo and, to their credit, hardly ever mention it.Alejandro Escovedo, Jon Dee Graham, James McMurtry, Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Jimmy LaFave, the Resentments, Stephen Doster
BIG SHOTS
Critics hate them, guaranteeing a packed house every time:Bob Schneider, Monte Montgomery, Dirty Wormz, Pushmonkey, Wideawake, Canvas
FAIR-HAIRED BOYS
Melting hearts far and wide, so keep an eye on your girlfriend.Johnny Goudie, Shane Bartell, Dan Dyer, Casey McPherson, Darin Murphy, Matt the Electrician, David Newbould, Jade Day
BUBBLING UNDER
Blowing up as we speak.Brothers and Sisters, Lomita, Quien es BOOM!, the Lemurs, Tammany Hall Machine, Mercers, Belhome, Zookeeper
SONGS FOR THE DEAF
Some prefer glam, others the blues, but their amps all go to 11.Honky, Grady, Dixie Witch, Hellapeno, Tia Carrera, Amplified Heat, Lions, Cardinale, Secret Weapons, Those Peabodys, IV Thieves, Real Heroes, Addictions, Rockland Eagles
TALES FROM THE HARD SIDE
Blowing big bong hits of metal and hardcore right up your ass (eew):At All Cost, America Is Waiting, Hit by a Car, Fire Kills, Blackholicus, Blood of Patriots, Black Novas, Ignitor, Hatchetwork
PUNK’D
Safety pins, studded belts, and snotty attitudes.Riverboat Gamblers, Applicators, Ends, Manikin, Winks, Kodiaks, Krum-Bums, This Damn Town, Tokyo Nites
RECORD PLAYER PARTY
The hard R&B sounds of the go-go Sixties (or earlier) live on.Ugly Beats, Stepbrothers, Bloody Tears, Crack Pipes, John Schooley’s One Man Band, Scott H. Biram, Possessed by Paul James
THE LONG CUT
Some go heavier on the roots, others on the rock.Gourds, Flametrick Subs, Reckless Kelly, Grand Champeen, Milton Mapes, Honeybrowne, Li’l Cap’n Travis, Damnations, Transgressors, Two Hoots & a Holler
MAID TO ORDER
All under 30 (or close enough) and providing an isle of feminine grace in Austin’s sea of testosterone.Ana Egge, Trish Murphy, Ruthie Foster, Alice Spencer, Elana James, Kacy Crowley, Sarah Sharp, Jane Bond, Abi Tapia, Betty Soo
THE OUTRÉ LIMITS
Austin keeps it weird all right. More experiments than chemistry lab.Octopus Project, Golden Arm Trio, Pong, Cat Scientist, Gorch Fock, Attack Formation, Weird Weeds, Oh Beast!, Invincible Czars, Horse + Donkey, Skullening
POP GOES THE WORLD
Quirky, respectable pop and not an American Idol aspirant in the bunch.Cruiserweight, Glass Family, Belaire, Loxsly, Casting Couch, Handsome Charlies, Darling New Neighbors, Chapters, Moonlight Towers, the TunaHelpers
Roots and Branches
THE OLD GUARD
Home to graybeards, most of whom are now stumping for peer and independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman.Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Rusty Wier, Ian McLagan, Roky Erickson, Pinetop Perkins
GRAND DAMES
Women of a certain age, who make all the younger gals jealous of their licks (and looks).Eliza Gilkyson, Marcia Ball, Cindy Cashdollar, Miss Lavelle White, Toni Price, Jo Carol Pierce, Lou Ann Barton
HONKY-TONK HEAVEN
Fiddles and steel guitars say it all. Don’t mind all the sawdust.Asleep at the Wheel, Derailers, Heybale!, James Hand, Kevin Fowler, Randy Rogers, Doug Moreland, Alvin Crow, Gary P. Nunn, Geezinslaws, the Texas Sapphires
NO ELECTRICITY, NO PROBLEM
Smokin’ blue and punk grass.Meat Purveyors, South Austin Jug Band, Grassy Knoll Boys, Two High String Band, and Warren Hood & the Hoodlums. Plus swingin’ gin-joint jazz from the White Ghost Shivers and Whit Smith’s Hot Jazz Caravan, and naughty novelties from the redoubtable Asylum Street Spankers.
JAZZ HANDS
A little-known Austin ordinance confines the practice of jazz to the Elephant Room on Congress.Blaze, Gnappy, Ephraim Owens, Tomas Ramirez, Elias Haslanger, and the Jazz Pharaohs reign (a love) supreme.
KIND OF BLUE
The 12-bar sound that made Austin famous (post-Willie) and drives hipsters crazy lives on in:W.C. Clark, Gary Clark Jr., Eve Monsees, Black Joe Lewis, Chili Cold Blood, Eric Tessmer, and Carolyn Wonderland
RAP SHEET
Austin hip-hop is continuously overshadowed by our syrup-sipping neighbors to the east, but this local posse keeps it trill enough.Bavu Blakes, Tee Double, D-Madness, Zeale, Poetic Asylum, DJs Mel and Rapid Ric
WORLD IN YOUR EYES
A catch-all, to be sure, but these acts ensure the only thing domestic at their shows is the beer.Grupo Fantasma, Maneja Beto, Mau Mau Chaplains, Rajamani, Cluan, Afrofreque
News, Sports, Talk, etc.
STREET BEAT
Downtown Austin, especially Red River, is in the middle of a crime wave, so learn where your rental car has the least chance of being broken into. Also, nonwhites: Don’t piss off our cops. They don’t like you but do love their fancy new Taser guns.TRAFFIC JAMS
Austin has arguably the worst drivers in North America, who in fact once inspired Spoon’s Britt Daniel to write “Idiot Driver.” Watch for the other guy, because he ain’t watching for you.KEEP AUSTIN BREATHING
Sorry Euros, smoking in local bars is now illegal. Luckily, the more crowded a place is, the less likely they are to care.BLEEDING BURNT ORANGE
Attention maroon-clad guests from Southern California: NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, BABY!!! We promise not to lord it over you too much, mainly because we’ll be watching our Longhorns go for the baseball-football-basketball trifecta in this week’s NCAA tournament.WHEELS ON FIRE
Both Austin Roller Derby leagues hit the track (and maybe each other) this week: banked babes the Lonestar Rollergirls Thursday and Sunday evenings at the Austin Convention Center, and the flat-track national champion Texas Rollergirls Saturday afternoon at the Austin Music Hall, with special guests the Motels.SXSW PARTY CHATTER
Find out where Jane’s Addiction, Flaming Lips, Beastie Boys, the Strokes, My Chemical Romance, Wu-Tang Clan, and Gang of Four have their “surprise” shows. Or just read our Chronicle dailies. See ya there!This article appears in March 17 • 2006.