SXSW 2014 – Saturday Recap

SXSW's final day closed out with some Rachael Ray & more....
South-by-Southwest

South-by-Southwest 2014 - Saturday Recap

The Austin music industry festival South-by-Southwest has gotten bigger, and bigger, and bigger (to say nothing of the film and interactive editions of the event) – in 2014, the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lady Gaga played! Yet even as the biggest acts in the world come to the Live Music Capitol of the World for some indie cred, they can’t completely suck out the oxygen devoted to the music festival’s real purpose: discovering new acts, previewing new albums, and free drinks. This year’s hullabaloo had something for everyone, with way too much to be seen and heard – but QRO still tried to catch everything that we could, Tuesday through Saturday, March 11th to 15th.

 

 

Rachael Ray Feedback party @ Stubb’s

Cody ChesnuTT

Cody ChesnuTT

Click image for full gallery – Jerri Starbuck

While Friday afternoon Stubb’s had the big regular SPIN Magazine party, Saturday afternoon had another regular event, Rachael Ray’s Feedback.  The daytime personality started coming to SXSW to bring her highly regarded food, but has since seriously branched out into music at the festival, with three days of the Rachael Ray House, and her Feedback party – which, in addition to high profile (if relatively mainstream) artists such as Cody ChesnuTT, of course also includes great food.

 

The Cringe

The Cringe

John CusimanoRachael RayClick image for full gallery – Jerri Starbuck

The other reason Rachael Ray comes to SXSW is her husband’s band, The Cringe.  Usually about as warmly received by audiences as you’d expect the host’s husband’s rock band to be received, with cheering from Ray (and even taking some photos from the pit) but not from many others, The Cringe got a warm reception at Stubb’s, with hubby John Cusimano even getting to crowd-surf.

 

Allen Stone

Allen Stone

Click image for full gallery – Jerri Starbuck

Despite the event starting very early, not to mention on-and-off rain, there was a major line to entry at Stubb’s because the place had hit capacity long ago.  Thankfully, your correspondents had gotten ‘line-skipper’ badges and made our way in, though couldn’t skip the many lines inside, such as for the quite good free Rachel Ray food (and finally got to eat some of that big carved up the day before), or for the not so good port-a-potties, whose line often extended past the new second stage where artists like Allen Stone played.

 

Yelawolf

Yelawolf

Click image for full gallery – Jerri Starbuck

Alabama country-rapper Yelawolf was very fitting for Rachael Ray’s Feedback, and a clear crowd-pleaser.  Also crowd-pleasing?  Having Travis Barker of Blink-182 (QRO album review) on drums – how many tattoos were on stage in that moment?  Yelawolf was even able to go from covering “Sweet Home Alabama” into “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (before you grungers get your flannels in a bunch, Cobain himself did a few chords of Skynyrd in an excellent outtake from Nirvana’s acclaimed MTV Unplugged session – QRO DVD review).

 

The Wild Feathers

The Wild Feathers

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

It was still fairly early when the country-rock rollick of The Wild Feathers came onto the new North Stage, and all the acts that played there not only had to contend with such things as the port-a-potty line spilling over into their crowd (that’s where your correspondent caught them), but also Feedback scheduling an act at the same time inside Stubb’s.  Oh, and during The Wild Feathers Deborah Harry walked through the crowd, with security clearing the way not just for her but many others.

 

Blondie

Blondie

Click image for full gallery – Jerri Starbuck

Deborah Harry was headed through the crowd to the main stage at Stubb’s because she was there to front Blondie.  The big rock show certainly pleased the older parts of the crowd, and Debbie Harry is still able to pull off being Debbie Harry – and some (relatively) younger fans got to hear the group cover Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right To Party”.

 

Har Mar Superstar

Har Mar Superstar

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

Other than headliner Cee-Lo Green, the biggest act at Rachael Ray’s Feedback, one of the biggest acts at SXSW in general, was Foxboro Hot Tubs.  Never heard of them?  That’s because it’s the not-so-secret alter ego of Green Day (QRO album review).  They’d headlined the prior night at Brazos Hall, but for Feedback they were scheduled inside at Stubb’s – a tiny space in the best of times.  The line from the outdoor concert area into the indoor space was monumentally long well before they started playing; you know it was long-since at capacity, and who the hell was going to leave before/during the performance?

Put in the unfortunate spot of competing with Green Day (even though, as ‘Foxboro Hot Tubs’, they reportedly didn’t play any Green Day songs), was Har Mar Superstar, but he didn’t let it phase him.  Funky and awesome, he maybe didn’t get quite as naked and sweaty as he does at indoor, 21+ shows (QRO photos), but still brought 110% of his wild showman ways.

 

Cee Lo Green

Cee Lo Green

Click image for full gallery – Jerri Starbuck

Another funky, awesome showman, though with much more name appeal & a way bigger budget, was Feedback headliner Cee Lo Green.  Green is pretty much beloved by everyone (even has inspired a reoccurring impression sketch on Saturday Night Live), and with good reason.  He’s happy as fuck to be there, is a great fuckin’ musician, and is just fuckin’ fun to be around.  He had some great covers, like Violent Femmes’ “Gone Baby Gone”, The Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha”, and QRO’s favorite, “Ghost Town” by eighties two-tone legends The Specials (making up for the actual Specials not playing the wonderful number at SXSW last year – QRO photos).  And yes, he did, “The song that made me rich & famous”, “Fuck You” (no ‘Forget’ for even the all-ages crowd) – but even did more music after that.

Green had each part of the crowd say, “Yeah!”, and then said he wasn’t about dividing people, so had everyone say, “Yeah!”  That’s the kind of performer he is.

Green & Ray

~

 

Sailor Jerry party @ Gypsy Lounge

Dum Dum Girls

Dum Dum Girls

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

After all of that, most everywhere else was full in the late afternoon, but still made it to the Sailor Jerry party at Gypsy Lounge for some rum & DumThe Girls Dum were more alive than expected, and “Rimbaud Eyes” held up well live.

~

 

Perez Hilton showcase @ Austin Music Hall

The other reliable SXSW Saturday event is Perez Hilton’s evening party at Austin Music Hall.  This year it featured A Great Big WorldAmerican Authors, Ingrid Michaelson, Lindsey Sterling, LIZ, and Kesington Kross.

 

Kesington Kross

Kesington Kross

Click image for full gallery – Jerri Starbuck

 

LIZ

LIZ

Click image for full gallery – Jerri Starbuck

 

Lindsey Sterling

Lindsey Sterling

Click image for full gallery – Jerri Starbuck

 

Ingrid Michaelson

Ingrid Michaelson

Click image for full gallery – Jerri Starbuck

 

American Authors

American Authors

Click image for full gallery – Jerri Starbuck

 

A Great Big World

A Great Big World

Click image for full gallery – Jerri Starbuck

~

 

Rachael Ray House

Cheerleader

Cheerleader

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

After some more line issues at various places, made it into Rachael Ray House for some more free food & drinks (last chance for the free at SXSW) and Cheerleader, who had a nice, kinda cheery indie-rock.

 

Streets of Laredo

Streets of Laredo

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

Also nice was Streets of Laredo, an alt-country/folk collective, and by this point, the tail end of SXSW, one was too tired to be looking to be blown away.

 

Diarrhea Planet

Diarrhea Planet

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

“I just want to make it clear: Rachael Ray is in no way associated with diarrhea.  I want to make that clear.”  So Diarrhea Planet finally admit that their band name sucks (though apparently it isn’t a career impediment, because if there was ever a place that wouldn’t book a band because they had ‘diarrhea’ in their name, it would be Rachael Ray House…).  The many-membered act has been getting press, no matter their name, as they’re more developed garage-punks.

~

 

GAP showcase @ Stubb’s

Bear Hands

Bear Hands

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

With SXSW petering to a close, ended with a QRO favorite, Bear Hands, because it’s just always great when they’re involved.  It was a very dicey situation for the Brooklyn group, playing a big place relatively late on the final day of the festival, but of course they killed it with the crowd – Bear Hands are more than acceptable to all sorts of crowds.

 

The 1975

The 1975

Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase

Okay, actual final band of SXSW was The 1975, but was too tired to care about this buzz band.

~

 

Other notes:

-Best places at SXSW are the charging center in the Convention Center (especially on the hot days, thanks to its AC), and the benches in the back of Stubb’s, where you can spontaneously discuss with someone how Fables of the Reconstruction is R.E.M.’s most underrated album (QRO deluxe edition review).

 

Unfortunately missed:

-Tinariwen (QRO photos) @ Hotel San Jose.

-Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian (QRO photos in Austin) interview @ Austin Convention Center, 2:00 PM.

-Foxboro Hot Tubs @ Stubb’s Inside, 2:30 PM.  See above

-The Baseball Project (QRO photos from day before) and The Minus 5 @ Ginger Man.  Double dose of Scott McCaughey (QRO interview).

-Small Black (QRO album review) @ Cheer Up Charlie’s, 4:30 PM.  Huge line to enter (but QRO caught them a week before at Savannah Stopover – QRO photos).

-The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (QRO live review) @ Red 7, 5:00 PM.  Huger line.

-Jake Bugg (QRO album review) @ Waterloo Records, 6:00 PM.

-Rick Ross, Julian Casablancas & The Voidz, Travi$ Scott, SZA (QRO photos the Friday after) @ FADER Fort, 6:00 PM.  The worst line situation of all of SXSW might have been at the final day of FADER Fort, where even the VIP/Press line was closed out when the place hit capacity.  The staff & some cops finally closed the main door, though didn’t bother to tell anyone, so your correspondent was stuck futilely waiting in line with many, many others, until overheard the cop mumble to someone on his radio that the space was closed, “I don’t know why they’re all still standing here.”  Sure, cops aren’t the best crowd control in the world, but you’d think those working SXSW would know to repeatedly tell the crowd to leave until they all did, not just stand there while everybody gets angrier…

-Sam Roberts Band @ Rachael Ray House, 7:00 PM.  Stuck on FADER Fort line so long that didn’t make it into Rachael Ray House until after one of Canada’s biggest rock acts finished.

-Willie Nelson (QRO photos at ACL Live) @ ACL Live at The Moody Theater.  Because you’ve always wanted to see him play 310 West Willie Nelson Blvd.

-CHAPPO (QRO photos) @ The Parish Underground, 11:00 PM.

-Washed Out (QRO spotlight on) @ Hype Hotel, 1:00 AM.  But QRO caught them six days later at Maverick Music Festival (QRO photos).

 

Categories
Concert Reviews

Album of the Week