Category: SXSW

Gordon Answers Your 2011 SXSW Questions

Kim asks, "who wants to ask Gordon a SXSW question?" Photos on this post by David Price unless otherwise noted.

Welcome to my annual tradition of answering the SXSW questions you didn’t know you had! And here are this year’s questions.

1. What over-hyped band was the first one I saw, and surprised me by being excellent?
2. Who brought horns and a bunch of new songs, and got me to see them twice?
3. Who is still my favorite new band discovery of 2009, even as they totally destroy in 2011?
4. What hip-hop performer made even this hip-hop-know-nothing stand up and take notice?
5. What band blew the circuit breaker — twice, got cut off for time, and got to finish their set after the crowd yelled for more?
6. Who had the most frustrating technical difficulties?
7. Who’s possibly the best live act in the world today?
8. And if it’s not them, who is it?
9. What greatly anticipated import lived up to my expectations, and then some, but then got screwed over?
10. Who was the best guitar player in Austin during SXSW 2011?
11. What Kaiser Chiefs song was I honestly singing while waiting for Death From Above 1979 to play on Saturday night?
12. What’s this I hear about overcrowded, over-commercial SXSW? Is it true?

Click for the answers! Continue reading “Gordon Answers Your 2011 SXSW Questions”

Marie’s Best of SXSW 2011 Awards

Art vs Science = Happy Award Winners

This year I probably saw even less buzz bands than the average blogger than last year. My priority was to have a good time, whether that be hanging out with friends or watching great music. So this list is a testament to all the artists, people and venues that made my time in Austin memorable. Continue reading “Marie’s Best of SXSW 2011 Awards”

Spinning Platters Picks Six: Former Teen Idols Playing SXSW

Nope, Teen Idles aren't getting back together this year...

SXSW is a great place for a band to go to generate buzz at the beginning of their career. It’s also a great place for a band that was once on the top of the universe, but isn’t anymore, and is looking for a career resurgence. Many of these bands at one point in time were “icons,” some may have even qualified as teen idols. This is a guide to some of my favorite former rock stars gracing the SXSW stages:

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Former Teen Idols Playing SXSW”

Spinning Platters Picks Six: Bands To See at SXSW While Wearing Cowboy Boots

 

Who's with me on this one?!

With the recent breakout success of Mumford & Sons, I finally feel validated that the sound I’ve enjoyed for years has finally crossed over to the category of  “stuff my friends will actually listen to.”  In past years, I’ve had to venture out amongst the throngs of music go-er’s at SXSW by myself in order to catch the bands that I wanted to see. Not the “on-the-verge-of-breaking-out-so-you-better-see-them-now” bands, but bands like Deer Tick, and A Hawk and A Hacksaw; folky, introspective music that doesn’t necessarily provide an earth shattering good time or  story, but leaves you with a lingering ache in your stomach, like recalling an old memory, long after the show is over. Music that creates that physiological response is what ultimately attracts me as a listener. So hopefully these acts will provide that tingly sensation to my SXSW companions, and entice them to join me the next time their schedule opens up. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Bands To See at SXSW While Wearing Cowboy Boots”

Spinning Platters Picks Seven: Canadian Artists You Should See at SXSW

Young, wild and free, but not at SXSW this year. But my picks have got the magic power of the music in them, too.

I love Canada. There was time when I could sing “Oh, Canada.” In French. I still know it in English. After all, it’s the home of hockey, Rush, William Shatner, and Molson. These are not trivial things. For years, I’ve wanted to be Canadian, going so far as looking into emigrating. Alas, I’m still here, happy in the Bay Area, but when I really want to feel Canadian, I’ll listen to some great Canadian music. And at SXSW this year, there will be plenty of acts from the Great White North worth checking out. No, Rush won’t be there, but these fine musicians will be: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Seven: Canadian Artists You Should See at SXSW”

Spinning Platters Picks Six (x2): Indie and Pop Acts to Watch at SXSW

The first new band to see on my list: Kitten.

I needed a picks six x’s 2 to settle the warring factions in my South By Southwest Brain this year, new vs old.  Who do I concentrate on?  The tried and true or the exciting and fresh?  This year, more than any other for me, is bringing out the artists that I grew up with; the ones that have helped shape my musical taste.  The fangirl in me is excited to follow these people around for five days to continue my personal worship.  The music journalist in me is excited to see some new acts that will hopefully blow my mind.  Whichever side ends up winning I am sure to have a wonderful time. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six (x2): Indie and Pop Acts to Watch at SXSW”

Spinning Platters Picks Six: International Bands Worth Seeing at SXSW That I’d Never Heard Of Before

You may not have heard of these guys either, but you will.

Suggesting bands to check out at SXSW can be really easy if you want it to be. There’s some definite winners in the “Been there done that” category this year: Friendly Fires, Matt & Kim, and Wallpaper come to mind. Then there’s the “buzz bands worthy of buzz” category, which this year includes Geographer, The Naked & Famous, and my personal faves The Joy Formidable. But that’s a bit boring; these bands will come to (or are from) San Francisco.

What’s fun for me is to find bands from outside North America that I’d never heard of before seeing them on the SXSW schedule. A few clicks and I hear a song, a few more and I’m hearing an album. Finally, I’m looking forward to seeing them live in a couple of weeks. Feel free to give me crap if I “should have heard of” one of these artists. I wish I had! Now, on with the list: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: International Bands Worth Seeing at SXSW That I’d Never Heard Of Before”

Caroline’s SXSW 2010 Photo Highlights

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Rogue marketing.

Rounding out the various articles on SXSW 2010, is me, the reluctant writer. While I should have been recording back at the hotel all the awesome (and not so awesome) things I had witnessed in Austin like Dakin, I was too busy picking out my outfits, and blowing my nose. But then why didn’t I write a post-SXSW article like Gordon, you may ask? Well, I went and partied in Las Vegas instead. Or, how come I didn’t use my day off (Viva Cesar Chavez!) and create a cute and interesting post like Marie? To that, all I have to say is, I’m just lazy. But 9 days after the commencement of the festivities, here are my thoughts and my fuzzy pictures to illustrate the grandeur that is SXSW 2010. Continue reading “Caroline’s SXSW 2010 Photo Highlights”

Marie’s Best of SXSW 2010 Awards

This is one happy award winner!

Let me start off by saying that I probably saw 1% of possible bands to see at SXSW, and none of them were the bands everyone is talking about.  I didn’t bother waiting in line for She and Him.  I left a venue Hole was playing right before they came on twice.  I don’t give a crap about The Black Keys or Broken Bells, and my feet hurt too much to watch Miike Snow (which I actually kinda regret).  My point being that my awards are highly subjective and only the opinion of me, Marie.  A special thanks to YouTube for making these awards possible.

So, on with the awards! Continue reading “Marie’s Best of SXSW 2010 Awards”

Our 30 Favorite Photos from SXSW 2010

his Orchestra gets honorary slot #31 because we like the band so darned much

While the photos on this post are all by David Price, he’s in Vegas this week, so all the text here is simply an …

Editor’s Note: Our photographer, David Price, dealt with inconsistent lighting, security that weren’t all on the same page, a lack of photo pits, and plenty of cameras in his face to take over 10,000 photos at SXSW. And then I went and boiled them all down here to 30 favorites. There’s other photos in individual posts, and we’ll be drawing from other ones as we continue our coverage as well.  Inside, you’ll find several shots of the most photogenic guy at SXSW this year, Pink Eyes of Fucked Up, including one with our managing editor Dakin Hardwick. It’s not the most well-lit shot in the world, and it’s not particularly newsworthy, but we like it. And that’s how I picked these 30 photos. Because we like them. Continue reading “Our 30 Favorite Photos from SXSW 2010”