Free Energy!
posted by cursenbless on Mar. 30, '10 at 8:17 AM

I was fiddling around on the interwebs and found Free Energy's photo diary of their SXSW odyssey. Now... I thought I'd seen them on the rooftop for our party at Maggie Mae's and this confirms it. Here they are with the shot girls. I believe they were enjoying Bight Club at the time.



Check out their photo diary HERE at Time Out NY.

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The Lone Star of the North - Vita.mn goes to Texas!
posted by cursenbless on Mar. 22, '10 at 12:57 PM

Well, that was that. So went your correspondent's first SXSW in a few years (after having taken a hiatus since 2006) and Vita.mn's first large-scale endeavor at hosting an event outside of the Twin Cities, outside of Minnesota.

With our lovely friends at SXSW, Best Buy Musical Instruments Store and First Avenue, Vita.mn put on a day party featuring some of the best of current Minnesota Music (aptly titled "Minnesota Music"). There were donuts, a down-home BBQ spread, free cocktails (for the lucky first 400 through the door) and six hours of our finest. I reckon we've got a lot to be proud of.

Here are some of my highlights from the day:

* Just as the day began and We Became Actors took the stage, we enjoyed a line of hungry festival-goers out the front door and down the street. I regrettably didn't catch much of the band's set as I was working the entrance but the wondrous thing about our rooftop location on Maggie Mae's was that I could hear every single note... as could most of the pedestrians walking up and down 6th that day. Minnesota Music pretty much dominated the audiosphere for the entire day and what a great way to start it off with this band... totally the sleeper hit of my trip to Austin. I must see them again and I must see them soon.

* The affair was donuts downstairs and BBQ upstairs. By all accounts, both were a big big hit. Thanks to Maggie Mae's for going above and beyond and bringing us donuts. Ka-yum.

* The City on the Make were elusive after their typically raucous and earnest set. I so wanted to discuss with them the metaphysical questions that obviously present themselves when pondering "Chicks on Bikes" but alas, I couldn't find them. We'll hear more from the when they play the Vita.mn party at Lutsen on 4/10.

* Bight Club. There really isn't much else to say on them. I had no idea they existed but two months ago and they've been bitchslapping me almost daily ever since. After smacking my gob and dropping my jaw at Are You Local on the 6th at First Avenue, I began to ask myself if this was a one-off kind of chemistry. Could they possibly pull this off in a different city/state/world on an outdoor rooftop in the middle of the day. I started their set on the street to see how 6th Street would take to hearing some Dirty North (are we allowed to say that in Minnesota) blow down the Avenue... as yet, we hadn't heard ANYTHING hip-hop that day. People stopped, turned, stared and some even were lured into Maggie Mae's to see just what the hell these boys were all about. I implore EVERYONE who reads this to make a point to see these boys perform in the near future. If they can polish up their recorded output (which they tell me will soon be completed), I'm pretty sure they will be unstoppable. Anyone who had doubts after the Are You Local competition only had to see what these boys brought to the roof on Thursday to realize something special is going on here.

* SXSW was made for Romantica and the vice is versa. Their beautiful and occasionally rocking set made for the perfect soundtrack to kicking it on the roof with some good friends, good food and good drinks. It never ceases to amaze me the spectrum of music that comes from our fair state and I'm so proud to have these boys as some of our most distinguished ambassadors.

* Continuing on the theme of local royalty, I'm ready to coronate Jeremy Messersmith the prince of Minneapolis Music. I don't need to blather on here about how awesome he is and how ravishing his new album is (I love how he's the kind of musician who sets his mind to trying or expanding upon a new sound... and he does it. Flawlessly.) but I do want to give him some well-deserved props for putting up with the power surge and finishing his set acoustically which, luckily for all of us, he has many merit badges in doing. Always charming, always princely. I would send him on a UN peacekeeping mission.

* Addressing the power surges we experienced on Thursday... so here's the deal. SXSW and its affiliates are responsible for kitting out the rooftop at Maggie Mae's for the week's events and for providing the sound tech staff to support. And, did they ever. There were some 8 sub-woofers and mini mountains of amps, speakers and equipment well--suited for a space twice the size of ours. Lucky for us, mucho gear = mucho volume which served all of our performers well and made for a decidedly Minnesota soundtrack ALL DAY LONG up and down 6th. If I keep mentioning this it's because it was fucking awesome. I will never forget standing on the Avenue (doing my interviews) and hearing nothing but Solid Gold permeating the air for a 5-6 block radius. Even if you weren't at out party, well, you were at our party.

With the mountain of equipment comes a gargantuan need for power... and therein lay the rub. Four bands in, the system was getting a little ornery and surge-y (it's a word because I say it is) and finally, the system went kaputnik halfway into Jeremy's set. Luckily, the second half of Jeremy's set was his slow-jam set and he finished out his hour with fans circled around him and rapt.

So power surge happened, Jeremy's magnum acoustic enterprise came to an end and we had two more bands to go... two more electronic music bands. As I was fixing to calculate the trajectory of my body were I to fling myself from Maggie Mae's rooftop, our sound techs (in-house and out) managed to fix the problem in the nick of time for Lookbook to take the stage.

* Lookbook continue to get better and better each time I see them and it was at our day party that I realized that these kids are truly ready for prime-time. Maggie was a daytime vision in her onesie (or whatever it's called, I'm not a fashion guy) and Grant continues to cultivate his superstardom even while barefoot. I've kindly asked them to prepare the gaudiest possible outfits for their Lutsen set. I'm hoping for fur boots and chain-link bikinis.

* Solid Gold really left me with little to say but my fondest memories of the day. The power grid got ornery again and interrupted their set an inexcusable two times... but at what price. For 40 minutes that Thursday afternoon/evening all you could hear was Solid Gold in downtown Austin. And I loved it. And I loved them. With or without their billboard. :)

I could talk for days about the behind-the-scenes intrigues, the gossip, the loves, the lies, the cocktails and the Krispy Kremes... but our friends at Anthem Heart whipped together this highlight reel of the party and I will let you take what you like and leave the rest.

I will however provide this disclaimer... I was UNAWARE of what was going with my hair at the time. I put some pomade in it and the devil took it from there. As it is on tape for the sake of posterity, it will now be my forever shame... please don't let the Gay Homeless Yeti Wolverine distract you too much from the beautiful people I'm spending time with.

x + o 2 u,
c-p

Vita.mn presents Minnesota Music @ SXSW Recap from Anthem Heart A/V on Vimeo.

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A cool finish for SXSW, and a lot of Chilton love
posted by chrisr on Mar. 22, '10 at 9:49 AM

I was especially bummed about the way things cooled down on the final day of the South by Southwest Music Conference.

"I had a cute outfit on under this, but I guess I won't get to show it," she coyly complained after taking the Stubb's outdoor stage with her band She & Him on Saturday, an unseasonably cold and windy day that sent the rest of the festgoers looking for something to wear besides their favorite tight indie-rock T-shirt.



She & Him headlined the so-called Feedback soiree put on by TV foodie Rachael Ray at Stubb's, which also featured Jakob Dylan with Neko Case, School of Seven Bells and Minnesota-rooted band Free Energy, plus the best free grub of SXSW's myriad of day parties (the highlight: albondigas subs). Some semi-surprise guests heated up the party scene, including Deschanel's new husband, Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie), and Ohio blues-rock favorites the Black Keys, while Snoop Dogg crashed celebrity blogger Perez Hilton's after-hours bash.

The cold weather was something of a bonus for Minneapolis singer/songwriter Jeremy Messersmith, who kicked off Saturday's nighttime showcases at Central Presby- terian Church. Introducing his song "Beautiful Children," he quipped, "Usually I have to preface it by saying, 'Imagine a Minnesota winter,' but now I can just say, 'Imagine Austin today.'"

For a thousand or so lucky SXSW registrants who got into Antone's nightclub, the conference ended with probably the warmest showcase of the fest: A tribute to Memphis music legend Alex Chilton, who was supposed to be there performing with his cult-loved band Big Star, but died Wednesday of a heart attack. A roster of friends and fans played his songs with his bandmates, including R.E.M.'s Mike Mills, She & Him's M. Ward, X's John Doe, the Lemonheads' Evan Dando and indie-pop star Sondre Lerche.

Big Star drummer Jody Stephens, for one, was touched by the tribute, saying, "The whole music community in Austin has wrapped its arms around this."

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SXSW Saturday parties: She & Him & Jakob & Neko
posted by chrisr on Mar. 22, '10 at 9:19 AM

Best return to SXSW: He was a buzz act 15 years ago with the Wallflowers, but Jakob Dylan came away generating what felt like fresh hype this year for his new band/album with Neko Case. Playing foodie Rachael Ray's 4th annual Feedback party outside Stubb's on Saturday -- when the weather had unnaturally turned Minnesota cold -- Dylan really warmed things up with a stirring set the new and mostly twangy originals. They're some of the best songs of his career, but then throw in Neko's gorgeous voice on harmonies, and you have gold. As Jakob thanked the crowd for listening attentively, Neko added, "And thanks for the yummy sandwiches." The were damn yummy, by the way.



Best cover song: Of course, it wasn't really a song by another act, but when She & Him worked M. Ward's solo gem "Magic Stick," it felt like a cover the way they reworked it with "ooh-ahh" harmonies and even more of a playful bounce. Their whole set at the Rachael Ray bash was as chaming as the singer's last hit movie ("500 Days of Summer"), and a solid improvement over their SXSW '08 performances, when they were still working on their chemistry. With two sisters for backup singers and bigger arrangements, they've grown into their stylish twang-pop sound -- and Zooey has become more of a personality on stage. Wearing an already stylish-looking red hat and blue raincoat, she had this complaint about the weather: "And I had a really cute outfit on today, but I can't show it."

Best signs Southern rock is alive and well: I walked in on Georgia band Ponderosa's set Saturday afternoon simpy based on the fact that Athens' famed 40 Watt Club booked them for its day party at the indoor/outdoor Side Bar, and my hunch was correct. They looked like the Allman Brothers on their worst days and sounded like them, too, but without the guitar noodling and with a heavy grunge kick and ample distortion. Later that night, I caught Atlanta buzz band Jonathan Tyler & Northern Lights under a tent off Sixth Street. Even after signing to Atlantic, the band's recording don't do its live show justice. It sounded like Skynyrd and Ted Nugent jamming with a great, soulful female backup singer. They somehow managed to play "Honky-Tonk Women" in a new and exciting way.

Nerdiest band that sounded like rock gods: All of New Jersey's Titus Andronicus could work at your local library, and singer Patrick Stickles has a Conor Oberst wavering voice when he's singing softer stuff, but their set on the freezing Red 7 Patio stage put many of the braunier SXSW bands I saw to shame with their three-guitar (and occasional violin) explosive power, with traces of Fugazi, Husker Du and "Daydreamy" Sonic Youth. Amazingly, Saturday's 10 p.m. set wasn't even the band's last one of the fest. Said Stickles, "We have to slow it down, because we still have one more show to play."

Band I wanted to hate but couldn't: Their Christian college dropout looks and elementary-school assortment of instruments (xylophone, horn, violin) seem too cutesy, but Fanfarlo really does have a sweet thing going on. I learned this as the British/Swedish played under a giant tent across from the convention center in Brush Square early Saturday evening. Frontman Simon Balthazar was the best of the many David Byrne-copping singers I heard all week, but the whole quintet plays its wistful, Arcade Fire-lite arrangements with an infectious giddiness and sheer musicality. Love 'em.

Best sign I still have great journalistic instincts, despite my handful of errors and unfinished sentences during SXSW: Prior to the fest, I arranged interviews with two acts (actually three, but then Court Yard Hounds canceled their tour dates). They both were among the most newsworthy acts at the fest, in the end: Jakob Dylan, for reasons stated above; and hyperactive pop-metal guy Andrew W.K., who came back from a five-year haitus from rock shows and played many of the biggest parties -- including Rachael Ray's on Saturday, where he come off like the total antithesis to all the mopey indie-rock bands that permeate the fest. A handful of people told me he was the most fun they had at the fest. When I asked about his madcap, omnipresent schedule during SXSW, Andrew said, "It's like anything else I do. I figure if I'm going to do it, do it all the way."

Words for SXSWers to live by.

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Last Night In Town
posted by leslie on Mar. 21, '10 at 6:16 PM

In case you are not on twitter or have not been following the SXSW coverage, one word would describe Saturday in Austin. Cold. And as a Minnesotan, I don't say that lightly. While it was only 40 degrees, it's the wind down there that makes it worse. However, on the up side, the shows were much less crowded than my previous Saturday at SXSW, which was a relief.



I used my final day in Texas to finally catch Dr. Dog and Local Natives (pictured above). The Local Natives show was fantastic, and lived up to all the hype. While I enjoy their album, the live show was even better. And man, did they draw a crowd.



Dr. Dog (above) was hampered by all kinds of sound issues, but I appreciated their willingness to just play through it and make the best of their limited time on stage. And on a random note, I am pretty sure Kevin Christiana from Project Runway Season 4 introduced the band (in the photo as well).





At the end of the night, I opted to catch both Titus Andronicus and Japandroids again (above, respectively). Their time slots fit my location best, and frankly they were so fun that I wanted to see more. It's a true testament to these bands that while playing 7-10 shows over four days, that even on the last night they brought a ton of energy and enthusiasm to their performances.



One of the shows that I just stopped in without knowing much about was Kate Miller Heidke (above). She's the woman that had the facebook song on youtube. She comes from an opera background, and put on a decent show if that's your thing. It's not really mine, but she was so charming and funny on stage that I was still entertained.

So that's the wrap-up. Of the 43 shows I saw this week, my top four were these (in no particular order): Titus Andronicus, Deer Tick, Man or Astroman? and Local Natives. Three of those are coming to town soon. Take note, and go get your tickets.

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