Stereogum » SXSW

Portraits Of SXSW 2011

amrit — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 21:42:55 +0000

The concluding post on this year’s SXSW comes with this, a break from the norm for us and likely for you as well. In addition to identifying the bands we were most excited about at this year’s SXSW, and filing our reports from Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, we decided to round out our coverage this year by teaming up with photographer Ryan Muir to identify and photodocument a cross-section of our favorite festival talent in environments more relaxed, more unique, more removed from SXSW’s standard beer-splattered stages. I hope you’ll enjoy this spread as much as we did conceiving and executing it: Ryan’s eye for composition is keen, his pictures rewarding. Click through the shots above, and click on for his thoughts on this week in portraiture:

SXSW Saturday: Featuring Das Racist, Owen Pallett, Gold Panda, Puro Instinct, Cults

amrit — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:10:23 +0000

On the last night of SXSW there were riots at Death From Above 1979′s “secret” show, there was Kanye and the G.O.O.D. roster and Jay-Z electrifying a converted power plant, and there was our Last Night party, featuring Cults, Gold Panda, Puro Instinct, Owen Pallett, Das Racist, birthday cake, and this whole thing. Tomorrow we’ll have a pretty spread of portraiture of our favorite artists taken by Mr. Ryan Muir, for now we point you back to our coverage from Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, our list of SXSW 2011′s must-see bands, and this look at Saturday’s goings-on. Click through for photos, and some thoughts on Childish Gambino and Tombs…

Watch DFA1979 Reunion, Riot

jessica — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:38:51 +0000

We knew Death From Above 1979 was reuniting with their first planned show happening at this year’s Coachella. But the band, who broke up five years ago, made their first appearance during a surprise set at SXSW. The band played late Saturday night at the outdoor, tented stage at Beauty Bar. The venue was already at capacity when they were announced, but fans waiting outside in an alleyway tried (and for a while, succeeded) to tear down the fence separating them from the band. After the fence came down police halted the show and cleared the alley (using mounted police officers and pepper spray). The band finished their set a bit after. See photos of the band above (by Graeme Flegenheimer), and scenes from the DFA mini-riot below:

SXSW Friday: Featuring James Blake, Odd Future, Esben & The Witch, Jamie Woon, Mount Kimbie

amrit — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 22:04:46 +0000

Click on for some thoughts and sights from a very busy Friday in Austin. Tonight’s the last night here, so if you need some guidance please refer to our list of must-see bands, or our favorite moments from Wednesday and Thursday. And if you’re looking for a way to close out your SXSW, come to our LAST NIGHT party: Das Racist, Owen Pallett, Puro Instinct, Cults, and Gold Panda. Doors are at 11PM and the drinks are free all night so please get there as early as possible. It is going to be a madhouse. We want you to get in.

Click on, this is a fun one:

SXSW Thursday: Featuring Austra, Mister Heavenly, Chelsea Wolfe

amrit — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 22:13:24 +0000

Here lies our documentation of Thursday in Austin. For more, check our list of 32 Must See Bands this week, and our coverage from Wednesday. (That’s Zola Jesus above, by Ryan Muir.) Click on:

SXSW Wednesday: Featuring The Antlers, OFF!, Darwin Deez, Duran Duran

amrit — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 21:26:57 +0000

We’ve offered our suggestions as to what bands to see this week, now we shift into the bands we are actually seeing. SXSW has begun in earnest, and is earnestly crowded. We’ll try to cut through the static a bit this week by recapping notable sets and posting up photos from our fleet of photographers. Let’s get started:

Fred Armisen’s Guide To Music And SXSW 1998

Scott — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:25:08 +0000

A few years back we hosted Fred Armisen’s comedic five part video guide to SXSW 1998. Then we switched video platforms and the clips were swallowed by our system. Whoops! We’ve finally rescued them and promise not to delete them. This “guide” is generally viewed as Fred’s official transition from being the drummer in Chicago punks Trenchmouth to being a comedian who also played drums in Chicago punks Trenchmouth. The plot’s simple: Armisen poses as various journalists (blind, German, mentally challenged, deaf, a college kid from Hofstra, a dude with rabbit teeth and great hair, etc.) and interviews or shouts questions to band folks and industry types including Steve Albini, Janeane Garofalo, members of Pavement, the Aluminum Group, and the Mekons, etc. After you watch, check out clips from Fred and Carrie Brownstein’s Portlandia if you haven’t yet. It is the best sketch comedy show on TV.

Stereogum Last Night In Texas Party

brandon — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:18:41 +0000

In addition to eating tacos, we’re doing a couple of unofficial shows at SXSW 2011. We announced our FREE all day/all night Beerland collaboration with Sacred Bones & Chaos In Tejas on Thursday. To help you ease into your post-SXSW existence, we’ve also put together a free Last Night In Texas party. It takes place from midnight to 4AM on Saturday at the PureVolume House (504 Trinity Street). The folks providing the sounds are Puro Instinct, Owen Pallett, Cults, Das Racist, and Gold Panda. There’ll also be an open bar to keep you alert. Please note that space is limited so an RSVP is required: Please RSVP here. You can show your support at Facebook. Because of the drinks, you must be 21 to attend.

Stereogum/Sacred Bones/Chaos In Tejas Unofficial SXSW Party

brandon — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 18:53:23 +0000

We’ll be in Austin in a couple weeks. Nobody likes a lazy non-contributor, so we’ve teamed up with one of our favorite labels Sacred Bones and one of Austin’s greatest institutions Chaos In Tejas to present a free all day/night party on Thursday March 17th at Beerland (711 Red River Street). It focuses on the darker side of rock, punk, pop, metal, folk, etc. But you’ll still be able to dance. The event starts at 2PM and ends around 2AM. The lineup includes one of our favorites Zola Jesus‘ performing her only SXSW set along with appearances by black metal punks Liturgy, West Coast gothy doom-folk player Chelsea Wolfe, Wooden Shjips-associated crew Moon Duo, 2011 standout the Soft Moon, whirlwind Detroit punks Human Eye, atmospheric Norwegian post-metal players ALTAAR, BTW Cult Of Youth, BTW Pop.1280, angular Birthday Party-nodding Australians Slug Guts, Veronica Falls, amazing Toronto newbies Trust, Frankie & the Heartstrings, and others. You’ll find the details on the above flyer. Show your support at Facebook. We’re co-presenting this one. We also have our own show later in the week that we’re excited about, details coming very soon…

UPDATE: The set times…

3:00PM Veronica Falls
3:45PM Liturgy
4:30PM Soft Moon
5:15PM Moon Duo
6:00PM Human Eye
7:00PM Slug Guts
7:45PM Chelsea Wolfe
8:30PM Anika DJ Set
9:15PM Amen Dunes
10:00PM Altaar
10:45PM Cult of Youth
11:30PM Pop. 1280
12:15AM TRUST
1:00AM Zola Jesus

Strokes Confirm SXSW Free Show

amrit — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 22:31:42 +0000

The not-so-secret secret line on SXSW is that the industry fest isn’t much of an industry fest at all — all day everyday is a buffet of buzz bands playing showcases curated by your favorite blogger, usually at the cost of just an RSVP email in advance. The Strokes are doing that all one better by a) playing a free show with no strings attached and b) being a legitimately massive band, if ability to headline MSG is a measuring stick. (They are headlining MSG on April 1st.) This show is at the Auditorium Shores Stage @ Lady Bird Lake, compliments of Levi’s jeans (who apparently are doing this in lieu of partnering with the FADER Fort this year), on March 17th, which is five days before the release of their Angles LP. Friends tell me there are no hotels available within an 8 mile radius of downtown Austin at present, so make sure to bring a sleeping bag. The tweet that broke the news: