Dakin’s SXSW Journal: 47 Instant SXSW Gig Reviews

 

It ain't no party unless the cops show up!

Another SXSW has passed, and this year, I intended on doing a daily diary, but the internet kind of sucked in our hotel, and I also really wanted to sleep, so instead you get this: a big, huge list of everything awesome at SXSW, including some amazing day parties thrown by our friends at Terrorbird, Force Field PR, Ticketfly, SPIN, NPR, and MOG (thanks!), leaving me pretty tired and delirious. For those of you that don’t want to read, I’ll sum it up: Best bands that I’ve never heard of before were Attic Ted, The Death Set, and DOM. The Kills did not kill, but TV On The Radio, Death From Above 1979, and The Dead Milkmen all played great comeback sets. Now, sit back, relax, have a Shiner Bock and read on:

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Film Review: “Jane Eyre”

Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska in JANE EYRE. © 2011 Focus Features

starring: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins, Imogen Poots, Valentina Cervi

written by: Moira Buffini (screenplay), Charlotte Brontë (novel)

directed by: Cary Fukunaga

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements including a nude image and brief violent content.

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Film Review: “The Lincoln Lawyer”

Matthew McConaughey in THE LINCOLN LAWYER. © 2011 - Lionsgate

starring: Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, John Leguizamo, Josh Lucas, Michael Peña, Frances Fisher, Bryan Cranston, Trace Adkins, Katherine Moennig

written by: John Romano (screenplay), Michael Connelly (novel)

directed by: Brad Furman

MPAA: Rated R for some violence, sexual content and language.

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Film Review: “Paul”

Simon Pegg, Kristen Wiig, Nick Frost, and the voice of Seth Rogen in PAUL. Photo by Double Negative/Universal Pictures – © 2011 Universal Studios.

starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Blythe Danner, Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio, Sigourney Weaver, Jane Lynch, David Koechler, Jesse Plemons, John Carroll Lynch, and the voice of Seth Rogen

directed by: Greg Mottola

written by: Nick Frost and Simon Pegg

MPAA: Rated R for language including sexual references, and some drug use.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 3/17/11 – 3/23/11

Have you seen this leprechaun?

Check out the concerts happening around the Bay Area over St. Patty’s Day weekend — after the jump.

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Show Review: Revolver with Hey Rosetta! and 7 Orange ABC at Rickshaw Stop, 3/11/11

Revolver giving us their sweet harmonies

Sometimes I like to know as little as possible when I go to shows, all I need is a recommendation from a friend of good taste and I’m off!  Seeing a great show from a band you know is fun, but even better is seeing a band you know nothing about and being blown away.  This show was one of those.

Film Review: “happythankyoumoreplease”

Josh Radnor and Kate Mara in HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE. © 2010 - Anchor Bay Films

starring: Josh Radnor, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan, Pablo Schreiber, Malin Akerman, Tony Hale, Michael Algieri, Richard Jenkins

directed by: Josh Radnor

MPAA: Rated R for language.

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Film Review: “Red Riding Hood”

Shiloh Fernandez plays peek-a-wolf with Amanda Seyfried in RED RIDING HOOD. Photo by Kimberly French – © 2011 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

starring: Amanda Seyfried, Shiloh Fernandez, Max Irons, Gary Oldman, Virginia Madsen, Julie Christie, Lukas Haas, Billy Burke

directed by: Catherine Hardwicke

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for violence and creature terror, and some sensuality.

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Show Review: Datarock with Dirty Ghosts and Baertur at Bottom Of The Hill, 3/10/2011

All the way from Norway - just to play for you
All the way from Norway - just to play for you

One constant source of confusion at concerts is what one should be doing as an idle member of the audience. For certain shows, there exists a code of conduct exclusively based on the genre of music, with little room for deviation: headbanging in heavy metal mosh  pits, dancing at hip-hop concerts, and standing awkwardly with arms crossed and a faint look of aloof interest, if one is attending an indie-rock show. Dance-rock shows are, therefore, perplexing to the crowd that cannot decide whether it should be dancing, rocking out, or somehow doing both. At a Datarock show, this confusion is overturned in the form of one simple rule: follow the band onstage, listen to what they say, and remain airborne for the duration of the performance.

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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:

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