SXSW Recap: Part Two

Guest Appearance by Ben Harper.

Rumors started to circulate: Ben Harper would be sitting in on Tom Freund's set Thursday night. Thursday night before work, we were at The Tap Room listening to Sixpence None the Richer (who were playing their first show in five years) when a fellow volunteer confirmed the rumor-- Ben Harper was doing a sound check at Pangaea. We left quickly and were fortunate to catch the back half of the sound check.

Ben, who produced Tom's soon-to-be-released album, played slide guitar through the whole set.

Afterwards, I was determined to meet Ben. Amy was too... so she walked over with me.

Actual conversation:
Me: Sorry to interrupt, but it was a pleasure to hear you tonight.
Ben: Thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed the show. I'm Ben. (Extends hand to me and Amy. We all shake hands.)
Me: Nice to meet you. It was great to hear you again-- I haven't heard you live since high school.
Tom: When was that? Last Year? (We all laugh.)
Me: Back in 2004 when you toured with Jack Johnson.
Ben: Thanks for helping out. It means a lot.

We then proceeded to carry out Ben and Tom's guitars downstairs, where they were loaded up.

National Record Store Day

We were fortunate to be in Austin for National Record Store Day. After a quick lunch at Whole Foods we headed across the street to Waterloo Records. There were boxes filled with records outside- 2 for $1. Instead of sifting through the boxes searching for a gem, we went into Waterloo and opted to purchase at least one vinyl to celebrate.

My choices:
Son Volt-- Straightaways
Whiskeytown-- Strangers Almanac
John Mayer-- Continuum

Amy's choices:
The Strokes-- Is This It
The Arcade Fire-- Funeral

SXSW Recap: Part One

It would be difficult to sum up my entire SXSW experience in one post, so this will be the first of several posts.

Amy, JC, Ben and I had the pleasure of working at Pangaea, a club that recently opened in Austin. We lucked out with a great stage manager, club managers and crew... oh yeah, and MUSIC.

Pangaea Line-up:

Wednesday Night:
Bruce Robison
Bonnie Bramlett
Daniel Lanois
Blue Mountain
The Felice Brothers

Thursday Night:
Richard Julian
Salvador Santana Band
Tom Freund
Brett Dennen
Men
Perry Farrell

Friday Night:
The Airborne Toxic Event
Christopher Denny
Jon Foreman
Nicole Atkins
The Vines
Robyn

Saturday Night:
Planningtorock
Jacques Renault & Justin Miller
Still Going
Holy Ghost!
Digitalism

Of the above bands, the only two I knew off the top of my head were The Vines (my dad bought me their CD my senior year of high school) and Robyn (think: "Show Me Love," circa 1997). Upon further investigation I also knew Perry Farrell (lead singer of Jane's Addiction), Jon Foreman (lead singer of Switchfoot), Nicole Atkins (singer-songwriter from NYC), and Salvador Santana (son of Carlos Santana). I knew I'd be in for a treat.

Question: Who?

Answer: http://2008.sxsw.com/music/festival/alphalist/

it's official.

My last college spring break will be spent volunteering for SXSW in Austin. I'm excited to hear up & coming bands. Many of my current favorite bands have played SXSW previous years.

Take 2006 for example. Artists included:
*Arctic Monkeys
*Jose Gonzales
*Cat Power
*Belle and Sebastian
*Jamie Cullum
*Neko Case
*Nickel Creek
*Of Montreal
...just to name a few.

Downside? I am volunteering 4 nights and am committed to one specific venue, so there will be several shows I'll have to miss out on. But hey, music at the cost of volunteer hours? Beautiful.

Cover or Composer?

What do most people think of when they hear "When the Stars Go Blue?" Tim McGraw? Bono? Cary Pierce? Tyler Hilton? The Corrs? Phil Lesh? ER? One Tree Hill? Who actually wrote this frequently covered song? Ahh, Ryan Adams, the ultimate songwriter.

Speaking of covers and Ryan Adams, he does one of the greatest covers I've ever heard- Oasis' "Wonderwall." He changes the tempo and emotion of the song-- in my opinion he makes the song much better (and I am an Oasis fan). If you're into songs Ryan Adams has covered, you should also check out his version of "Is This It?" by the Strokes.

never too late for resolutions

My resolution? See more live shows. It becomes quite difficult to blog when I'm not seeing any new music (the last post was far too long ago).

I always complain about having to drive to Austin or Dallas for shows, but I was fortunate enough to start my music year in good old Waco, TX. Jon McLaughlin and Matt Wertz played the annual Omega Kids concert, which all proceeds go to Kenya. Last year Dave Barnes and Andy Davis played. Not only was I able to stay in Waco, but the tickets were only $15.

Jon McLaughlin played first, opening with "Industry" as I had imagined he would. Immediately I loved the vigor with which he played. He was concentrated on the force and passion of his songs- not on note and pitch perfection. Between every song, he had several witty remarks. He said something like, "I'm going to play some new songs that I've been working on. You won't know them. And if you do... that's creepy, because I've never played them for anyone." The new songs had more of a jazz flare to them. McLaughlin played solo with a grand piano (he said he hadn't played on a piano that nice in a long time). This allowed the songs to sound similar to the ones off "Songs I Wrote and Later Recorded." On a side note, McLaughlin was just nominated for an Oscar for his performance of "So Close" in the Disney movie Enchanted.

Unlike Jon McLaughlin, who I have been following for a couple years, I had only heard two Matt Wertz songs (he played both). Wertz entered the stage wearing a shirt unbuttoned halfway down his chest. I had flashbacks to the first (and only) time I saw Gavin DeGraw-- "Oh, here comes the rocker who thinks he is the man." He began playing alone, and I must admit that he plays a mean rhythm guitar. The band entered half-way through the first song and the sound significantly improved. Wertz and his band had a lot of energy and actually managed to get the stuffy Baylor crowd dancing. I didn't know it was possible. My favorite song of the night was "Wesley, Why?" a heart-felt song about the death of his grandfather.

Great show. Both are worth seeing.