I originally felt that I couldn’t handle being in one corner of Golden Gate Park even if Jack Johnson was playing on another, but now that more of the artist lineup has been announced for this August’s Outside Lands Festival, the temptation is killing me. Early-bird tix are available now via Radiohead HQ.
When they said that Lollapalooza-type festivals would be criss-crossing the country eating each other up, they weren’t kidding. But what could be better than an August weekend in Golden Gate Park with the music accoutrements of (for starters): Continue reading “SF Outside Lands Fest: Too Good to Pass Up?”
I’ve already posted these at LAist but thought I’d go into a bit more detail here. I caught the Raveonettes after literally getting thrown onto (not under) the bus, by Kyra who was hosting day parties Thursday and Friday at Red Eyed Fly with Little Radio.
It’s definitely a spectacle to see every side of a festival that includes 1700 bands, some 100+ venues and all of the labor, scheduling, and moving about that it entails. It’s not uncommon for bands to play 3 or more sets in a day during SXSW. So it’s crucial that the bands and their crews are on time and expedient and for the most part — this was the case. Little Radio’s setup at Red-Eyed Fly was an ADD-dream-come-true, with an outside stage and an inside stage, each with staggered 25-40 minute sets so that there was never a quiet moment. Red Eyed Fly was another establishment that participated in one of the the biggest — likely the tastiest — cocktail promotion I saw throughout Austin: The Dewars and Ginger Ale. All I could think was that someone finally set Dewars straight at a focus group… you CAN mix scotch with Ginger Ale, and it’s even tastier and more special if it’s with something like Reed’s Ginger Beer.
Anyone who heard me DJ or received a mix from me circa 2005 knows that The Raveonettes “Love in a Trashcan” is a favorite. So it just worked out perfectly that it was the song they performed when I turned on the camera.
Still absorbing the excellent music I heard in Austin last week, some of it expected — if not long-awaited, but much of it newly discovered. Here are some cuts from some of my surprisingly awesome discoveries (new to me, at least) at SXSW.
Picked up on LOTS of good bands, ideas — even concepts — at SXSW. I attended the music conference previously but this was the first year that I was there for an entire week, focused especially on the Interactive conference.
I’m still going through my notes, but I can drop a couple faves off the bat. I went to Filter’s Showdown at Cedar Street on Friday in hopes of checking out The Wombats and Lightspeed Champion but walked away with an earful of The Pigeon Detectives (already big in the UK, natch) — live, they took the whole Hives/Strokes/Art Brut thing to new levels. LA peeps — they’re playing Spaceland tonight (St. Patty’s Day).
In a week filled with encouraging rock and roll, I found myself totally blown away by the gentler sounds of Fleet Foxes from Washington state. Listen below:
The Ruby Suns – Tane Mahuta
Spindrift – Beauty
The Builders and the Butchers – Black Dresses