Nu Rave Brain Wave

This year, I was incredibly happy to be involved with throwing the Eruption of the Real party that happened on Friday, March 18th at the Cherrywood Coffee House. Our partners, Sweet Relief Musician’s Fund and Secret Chief Management were the most awesome, helpful all around badasses with fantastic taste in music, and who know how to throw a great party. Sweet Relief Musician’s Fund is a really awesome organization that provides financial assistance to all types of career musicians who can’t make ends meet while facing illnesses, disability or age related problems. They are involved in all kinds of projects to do so, and could and always will appreciate and use your donations to support musicians. So we all conspired to throw a day-party at Austin’s cutest coffee-house (with badass fucking burgers, if you’re in the market for one) with 22 great bands. Here’s some of the awesome craziness that ensued:

Beautiful Cherrywood Coffee House

Up first we had the great Dead Man’s Clothes from Portland, Maine (Yep, people live there! News to me, too). I know it’s a super cop out to describe some band as being ‘indie rock’, because you may as well say that there were some guitars, some vocals and a little bit of drums for as much as it describes something, but there’s really no other way to describe them. They had jangly guitars, nice vocals from a good lookin’ front man, and solid melodies: overall, it was really great. It may not have completely changed my world or stunned me or anything, but in the Austin sunshine with a beer in my hand, it was really nice.

After Dead Man’s Clothes, we had TRMRS. I’m going to try not to write an essay about how much I love these weird Costa Mesa punks and am so happy that they were added to the lineup. Since I wrote about them immediately when I got back from SXSW, I have had lots of time to listen to them and appreciate the live show so much. Definitely not digging on their recorded stuff (because it rules) but their live show is so damn compelling. I loves me a band that basically the same as a garage/trash pop TNT explosion of crazed energy — and while they were playing an early show, so there wasn’t, ahem, any head thrashing or jumping around — that’s something that I would do anytime I heard their music. They basically fulfilled every box I have for a band I like: surfy garage pop tunes, tons of energy, ridiculous clothing, at least one moustache, and at least one ridiculous hat. It all really works – I like their ethos and I like their songs. Best discovery of SXSW — and bonus points for being able to see them constantly in LA/the OC.

TRMRS @ Eruption of the Real SXSW Party from Brianna Saraceno on Vimeo.

mp3 | TRMRS – Zombie Party

Finally! Atlanta’s Carnivores were on next. They were one of the bands I was super excited to have play, and to see play for the first time. And holy hell, was the wait worth it. I’ve been pretty much in love with their peculiar brand of kind of psychy-garage rock. They delivered one of the best sets of the whole day. Not only did they go hard the entire time, but Philip and Caitlin had some really great dance moves — I particularly liked the way Caitlin slaved over the keyboard helping to add those weird but absolutely entrancing melodies. The shared vocals between the classically trained pianist Caitlin, sparse and dry guitarist Nathan, and the bright and pogoing vocals from bassist Philip worked really well — each has something different to offer to each song that makes their songs feel more variegated and fresh. The two highlights from their set most definitely had to be ‘Dressed For the Rain‘ which is a UK exclusive that kills me on record, but slays me live in a completely different way. It’s such a weird funky little song that will get stuck in your head SO easily — it’s actually kind of like perfect for the UK because it reminds me so much of making your way through a really foggy disgusting day after something really strange happened to you. I hope that’s what they’re going for, because they fucking nailed it. Second highlight was for sure the brilliant and strange ‘Georgia Power Company‘. I beg you guys, get their stuff from Double Phantom, you’ll love it. And UK buds, get ready, we’re gonna hear alot about these guys soon…

Carnivores @ Eruption of the Real SXSW Party from Brianna Saraceno on Vimeo.

mp3 | Carnivores – Georgia Power Company

Hasselblad photo by the stunning Rachel S. Peters

Hasselblad photo (with extra special ME) by the stunning Rachel S. Peters

Next up we had Los Angeles’ finest, Sweaters. Long term or short term readers of this blog will know how much we adore Sweaters, not just as one of the finest craftsmen of the most illustrious pop songs that I’ve ever heard. Not only are they deft songwriters, but they’re ridiculous and amazing people who wrote a book chronicling their Can’t Stop Winning Cult, of which I am a member, and was also founded before all this Charlie Sheen nonsense.  They also put on a stunning show, that really stole the afternoon. Their particular brand of 70s inspired, glam pop that’s completely DIY has always converted any crowd and this one was no different. Running through their standard set of Bob-Dylan-referencing (When they ask yr real name, never give it) ‘Investigations‘, the forceful and unimaginably catchy ‘Killing A Man‘, the story of my life ‘Skymall‘, and the less-oft-played but still-amazeballs ‘Fruit on the Vine‘. They run the gamut from kooky to confused to unflappable to ecstatic to joyful, but Sweaters will always, and have always played sets that put a smile on my face in a way that no other band does. If they’re good at nothing else (false), you could say that the atmosphere that they create at gigs is worth the price of admission alone. Don’t sleep on these dudes, they really are LA’s finest.

mp3 | Sweaters – Killing A Man

photo courtesy of Dieter von Schramm

After Sweaters, we had to take a little break from baking in the Austin sunshine, but we came back out for a block of bands that was curated by Austins great John Wesley Coleman III who came and played with his band (featuring none other than ex-Strange Boy Matt Hammer on drums!) and ended up being one of the best surprises for me. Coleman played a really nice late-afternoon set that was packed with beautiful, fuzzy, boozy, bluesy gems. It was one of the sets that I think people enjoyed most. After was Brooklyn’s Fletcher C. Johnson who does his own project and moonlights as King Tuff’s backing band. On a completely selfish level, I’m super pleased Fletcher came to play as he brought King Tuff and I finally got the ‘Was Dead’ tape I’ve been after since last year when they sold out. But Fletcher’s set was really great as well. I really enjoyed his breezy, bluesy sort of countrified songs. Also he is adorable. Bonus points! Austin’s Fleshlights were a real treat, too.  Any band who describes themselves by saying “We’re just kids that hate male pony tails and love to rock” is fucking A-OK in my book, as long as they rip as hard as Fleshlights do. And boy, did they rip hard and fast. Note to self: get more of their stuff. Last notable was Chapel Hill, NC’s Shit Horse. They were the most hilarious, engaging, strange band and their MC had the BEST pants I have ever seen. Kenny Bloggins over at The Decibel Tolls has some great photos. If anyone knows the frontman of Shit Horse, I’d really like to get my hands on some of the pictures he took at our show.

mp3 | John Wesley Coleman III – Liquor Store

School Knights photo courtesy of someone who tagged them on Facebook

After the most relaxing, enjoyable, free beer afternoon, I finally got to see a mostly full set from Boulder’s School Knights. I say mostly because I spent about 3 hours running around like a crazy person, and I watched a teensy bit of TRMRS’ great semi-acoustic set. Seeing them do a longer set than the day before, my first time seeing them as a 3-piece was incredible. They were louder than ever, and holy shit, do they sound good on an excellent PA and for not having played much together as a trio, were tight as fuck. They played all of my favorites: a crashing and reverbed out version of ‘Fuck The Beach‘, a semi-sloppy but completely on point version of ‘Never Needed‘, and the perfect set closer (my absolute favorite, and best song I’ve heard in so long) ‘Lunch Money‘. They also played a new instrumental song that sounded really, really good. I know that I go on all the time, constantly, about how these dudes slay/rip asses/kill etc but I just really think that they’re super talented. Their ability to craft supremely catchy garage/punk/power/pop songs is unparallelled for any band whose been together for as short of a time as they have. I can sense a little frustration in the way they play, waiting for their album to get released — they’re changing songs and writing new songs and I know that once they find someone, they’re gonna unleash some fucking incredible, incredible songs, if the ones off ‘Fuck The Beach‘ are anything to go by.

mp3 | School Knights – F_#k the Beach

I was super overjoyed to have San Diego’s Heavy Hawaii over to play. We had them go on in the inside stage which actually suited them really, really well because it was a cute little space with like fairy lights and we were able to make things really dark and atmospheric. I’m not going to lie and say this was kind of incendiary different set than the one I’ve seen them the past two or three days (and since January) but thats definitely not a bad thing. Something I really like about Heavy Hawaii is the fact that they’re really consistent. They consistently write consice, lovely, floating jams and they consistently step up their game and make songs that serve me so well on sunny Sunday mornings into engaging shows. Although I was only able to catch like 2/3 of this show, it was as good as I’ve seen them. ‘Better‘ is really such a good fucking song. Keep your ears peeled, I think the singles that HH are going to be putting out soon are going to blow your little ear holes with greatness.

mp3 | Heavy Hawaii – Better (Early Version)

I’m pretty sure Vancouver’s Dead Ghosts thought I was a major dork just because of the way I was gushing about how excited I was to see them. I came into their self-titled record at the tail-end of last year and it ended up being one of my favorites of the year. They said “get ready to be dissapointed”, but sorry fellas, I was totally blown away. Although I was only able to catch half the set (again, more running around) but I was so impressed about the way they were soo tight and even though on record they sound sloppy/great, in person it has something much more finished about it. My two favorites had to be a really fucking radical and practically perfect rendition of ‘Girl Across The Street’ and a similarly fantastic and rowdy version of my single favorite song they’ve done ‘When It Comes To You‘. These dudes slay. Fact.

mp3 | Dead Ghosts – James Brown

We also had Orange County’s greatly underappreciated (that will soon change, I think) Cosmonauts. I really, really enjoyed them and have seen them live since and they’ve been equally great. There’s something really fresh to their take on psych-garage rock. I wouldn’t put them far away from San Fran’s Fresh & Onlys. They write really tight songs and then live they sometimes let them meander into jammy noise territory and it all works really well. I can’t wait for more from these dudes.

Anyone who had the opportunity to see King Tuff at SXSW was treated to the OC’s young power-rippers Audacity playing as his backing band. After SXSW, they left on a Burger Records Boogaloo back to LA as his backing band. So when we had them play on Friday — we were treated to something that probably no one else has seen: a King Tuff set as performed by Audacity — no King Tuff involved. Even though Matt was wasted, they played a really, really tight set of covers. I mean, as someone who missed King Tuff in 2009, and then proceeded to miss every King Tuff set at SXSW… it was really special to get to hear them played, even if KT wasn’t there. They did a spectacular versions of ‘Animal‘ and ‘Ruthie Ruthie‘, and as always ‘Connection‘ was fucking fantastic. Due to time, they just ran through a short set but it was really cool and I’m so happy they played. Seeing them about a week later opening for and with King Tuff, I just can’t get enough of these guys. And having heard some of the material they’re gonna put on the album they’re recording in the next few weeks — it’s going to SLAY hard.

mp3 | Audacity – Power Drowning

Best – OFWGKTA @ Vice Late Night Party, Saturday :: I didn’t think I was going to be able to fit in an Odd Future gig which was depressing because it was one of the things I wanted to see the most. Major props to the people who made it possible for me to see this — the line was crazy as fuck, and I don’t even know how I got in, but thank you! I got to catch the tailend of Thee Oh Sees, all of OFF! and then finally got to be front row for Odd Future. Granted I was pretty wasted (thnx, R&R!) but this show was fucking INSANELY AMAZING. They were all jumping around (pretty sure Tyler almost stomped my purse but I couldn’t hold it one second longer) and the energy was as catchy as Meningitis doing all my favorites (highlights include EVERYTHING) and I was just so happy to get to be able to finally see them. Fuck the haters, fuck the hype, these dudes are SO damn good. Wish Earl could’ve been there. SWAG.

Who I Missed & Am Now Weeping About – Mind Spiders :: Due to the 1,000 lb stress weight that sits on my chest/shoulders in the weeks heading up to SXSW, which were only multiplied by helping out with a party, I went really light on the scheduling. Which was mostly a good move, I saw a lot that I wanted to, but the one thing I missed was Denton’s Mind Spiders, who have written and released one of my favorite albums this year. Also, one of the cherished and famed Denton bands Uptown Bums played with them during SXSW. Apparently they were really good during SXSW as well. See?

Worst – The Sandwitches @ Eastbound and Down :: I’m not gonna spend time discussing how much I didn’t like them, but I was pretty disappointed because I was really coming around to some of the songs off their forthcoming album, but I think in the end… I just don’t get it. And the shrieking at the end of the set… did not sit well with me. Shame, because their name is my favorite thing.

Favorite New Discovery – TRMRS :: I wrote about this HERE, but these guys are really, really good and their crowds are nothing like the most boring crowd award below. Their Saturday show, which I will write more about, just before Shannon & The Clams was FUCKING amazeballs and ridiculous, and that’s what I love about them.

Most Boring Crowd – Black Lips @ Vice Party, Club Deville :: I usually look to Black Lips to be a crowd in which I can push and get pushed like the maniac that I love to be for about 3 days during the year. This show did not work out in that vein. Especially because they were after OFF! which people were going pretty mad to. Oh well.

Awesomest Cover – Some Band – A Daniel Johnston song :: I’m perfectly aware that I have absolutely no information about the band that was playing this. It was at the House Party at which I saw School Knights, and they were this rad little hippie duo who wore drug rugs and fucking RIPPED through tons of instrumentals before playing this Daniel Johnston cover, which of course, I don’t know the name of. I think the fact that I know nothing, plus there was like >20 people there… makes this the most fucking underground moment of SXSW, but it was really really rad. I wish you guys could’ve seen it.

Worst Cover :: Some Shitty Band Covering Cee-Lo’s ‘Fuck You’ - On Sunday night we were going to like, Shakespeares Pub or something and as were walking we hear literally the worst cover of ‘Fuck You’ I’ve ever heard. So if you were playing approximately 9pm somewhere on 6th street, and covering this — FUCK YOU!

Worst thing – Burger Saturday Night Shut Down By Cops/Moved :: This was so tragic. Taylor and I trekked up past 50th for this Burger House party on Saturday night with King Tuff, Audacity and Shannon & The Clams. Like, 20 minutes after we got there, however, the cops came and shut everything the fuck down. We waited around for at least 30 minutes to see if it would get moved or go back on. We were super disappointed to hear that but we raced downtown to get to the Vice Late Night Party only to find out later that the show was moved and DID go on.

Best Hotdog – Chupacabra :: I ate a lot of street-dogs this year. Last year it was my biggest mistake not to have one until the Saturday night and I’ve been haunted by the memory of that amazing taste. Before you say so, I know street-dogs exist elsewhere but they just don’t taste the same as when you can look at the Frost Building. Chupacabra had the best (read: most) amount of Ketchup so I choose them. Thank you.

Best Celeb Sighting – Aziz Ansari @ Fat Possum’s I’m An Alcoholic & I Hate You :: A few weeks ago when Aziz Ansari was in London, I tweeted about how I wanted a ticket and he DM’d me and hooked an American sista abroad up with tickets, so I thanked him as he cruised into Fat Possum’s party to catch Mellowhype and Bass Drum of Death.

SXSW 2k11 was a crazy blur of wildness, great and loud music, and $1 wells. This is the best and brightest of what ensued:

Heavy Hawaii @ Hardly Art Fag Party :: I have seen Heavy Hawaii play numerous times now, and I can’t stop the amount that I adore them, so I was happy to trek to the Hardly Art Fag party to see them, even though they’d be playing my show the next day. Unfortunately there wasn’t a massive crowd to see them, but the ones who were out fucking loved every second of it. Highlights include the songs that took me a little while to come around to but now are permanent fixtures in my mind, especially ‘Better‘ and ‘Sleeping Bag‘. I love that live, HH doesn’t lose any of that wonderful melancholy that sometimes contrasts and sometimes compliments Matt Bahama’s vocal harmonies, and the quiet but necessary guitar lines. Again, as in January, their newer material sounded on point as can be, a little bit more uptempo, but most of their stuff is in the live setting — can’t wait to see what this year brings for HH.

mp3 | Heavy Hawaii – Teen Angel

Brown Brogues @ Aussie’s Bar & Grill :: I was really happy to finally see Wigan’s Brown Brogues. Having read so much about them and hanging out with them for most of the week, I couldn’t wait to hear them play. They’ve gotten a lot of really good press around their first 7″ (out on Suffering Jukebox). This venue was on South Congress and had beach volleyball being played in the background, but they still ruled. For a two piece, they make a lot of fucking noise and it works so goddamned well. The highlight for me, was definitely them playing ‘Shergar’ which is one of my favorite songs (described by them as ‘quite aggressive) but I think they’re a little bit aggressive, but it sounded amazing. Ben (drummer) and his facial expressions and Mark (guitar) and his John Dwyer-esque moves played really well even though there wasn’t a giant moshing crowd for them (there should be!). More on these rockstar dorks later, saw them a few more times and they ruled each and every time.

Brown Brogues @ Aussies Grill SXSW 2011 from Brianna Saraceno on Vimeo.

Brown Brogues @ Aussie’s Grill SXSW 2011 from Brianna Saraceno on Vimeo.

Brown Brogues @ Aussies Grill SXSW 2011 from Brianna Saraceno on Vimeo.

mp3 | Brown Brogues – Treet U Beta

School Knights @ House Party :: If you’ve read this blog or my twitter since about November of last year, you’ll know that School Knights might just be my favorite new band. I was super happy that they did decide to come down to SXSW and so we left the insanity of downtown and cruised over northeast to a house party. Not only was there plenty of free beer, but I also got to hear a really raging duo right before School Knights as well, AND I picked up a Whataburger coupon to which my drunk brain read as “Buy One, Get One Free – Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits” but a week later turned out to be “Buy One, Get One Free – Honey BBQ Chicken Biscuit”. Sad times. But finally about 8pm, School Knights went on and played three really, really great songs before the motherfucking POLICE came and shut us the fuck down. However, it was my first experience hearing SK as a three piece (they added a second guitarist) and I thought it only added to the amaziness that was already there. I would go on further, but I want to save my good review for their Friday show at my party. They ruled though, for the 10 minutes they were on.

mp3 | School Knights – F_#k the Beach

Black Lips @ VICE Party, Club Deville :: We all know how much I adore Black Lips, there’s nothing that can negate that. They always put on a good show, they really do, but I’ve seen them so many times now that I know exactly what to expect. As I’ve watched them, they’ve gotten older and less volitaile (which is completely fine) — but that’s kind of what I look for in a band, I guess. They played tons of the classics (‘Sea of Blasphemy‘, ‘Drugs‘ etc), and they played a lot of new songs from their forthcoming LP, Arabia Mountain, which was the highlight of the show. I think that this is going to blow their last LP out of the water. This was one of the first and only Black Lips shows where everyone sort of danced on their own (except around Tyler, The Creator) without disturbing anyone else, which kind of sucked because I was in the mood to fucking push some people. It was an okay show, but I don’t think I will ever waste any of my precious SXSW times on bands that I know I’m going to see again very, very soon.

Black Lips @ Club Deville – Vice SXSW Party from Brianna Saraceno on Vimeo.

mp3 | Black Lips – Stoned

Strange Boys @ The Bat Bar :: Ah, the Strange Boys. Unfortunately, the Bat Bar is the weirdest little venue where its kind of like a long rectangle yet the stage is like a little half hectagon in the near right hand corner. I’m describing it badly, but it was a really weird little place and I don’t think the Strange Boys fit very well in the venue. Maybe it was because it was 1am, or maybe it was because I missed King Tuff at 12, or maybe it was a long fucking day — but the Strange Boys just wern’t on point for me. They played mainly second album material (the ones that I don’t, uh, actually put on very often) and everything had been slowed down by a bit and it just seemed really syrupy and I really missed the bite and the frenetic energy that made me love them in the first place. I’m not adverse to bands growing and doing something different, but I had never seen a set like this from the Strange Boys. Highlight included (although, not as good ast it was at SXSW 2k10) ‘Woe Is You & Me‘ which is like, the story of my life. I’ll give these weirdos another chance soon.

mp3 | The Strange Boys – Baby Please Don’t Go

SXSW 2k11 was a crazy blur of wildness, great and loud music, and $1 wells. This is the best and brightest of what ensued:

The Vaccines @ AOL’s Pop-Up Show Series at the First Baptist Church :: Damn the Vaccines look tired. Kind of seems like maybe entering into the major label circuit was a bit of an oversight. Having done two UK tours, a small US tour and a Europe tour back-to-back-to-back prior to SXSW was a bad idea. This was for some kind of stream that you could watch online (hope you saw me!) so they made us do some fake clapping and stuff which was pretty lame. They played well compared to the ill-fated Spaceland show in January. Their four big singles are damn good (that would be ‘Blow It Up‘, ‘Wrecking Bar‘, ‘If You Wanna‘, and ‘Post Break Up Sex‘), and Justin’s voice was booming (although towards the end of the Festival it went out — and now he has to have surgery – we wish you well Justin!) but the rest kind of fell flat. We did get treated to the longest set of the festival and I had ‘Post Break Up Sex‘ in my head the whole time so there’s that….

The Vaccines – Wolf Pack @ SXSW 2011 :: AOL Popup Thingie from Brianna Saraceno on Vimeo.

mp3 | The Vaccines – Norgaard (Marc Riley Session)

Bass Drum of Death @ I’m An Alcoholic And I Hate You at Club Deville :: I had been extremely, extremely excited to see BDOD. I had gotten a copy of their debut LP, GB City, and so I wanted to see how much they could rock my face off live. Let me just say, they totally fucking did. It’s kind of amazing how loud they are for just two dudes, but John and Colin were blasting — and the fact that they let the songs speak (read: no banter, but lots of presence) for themselves just added to their fucking incredibleness. If I was a guitarist, I would headthrash just like they did. Highlights (from the set AND the album) include the impossibly catchy, eponymous ‘GB City‘, the rough and tumble ‘Heart Attack Kid’ and the incredibly accurate and jangly ‘Young Pros‘. Check out some really great video below. And if you don’t already have your copy of GB City you should head to Fat Possum and get that shit.

Bass Drum of Death – Heart Attack Kid @ Fat Possum Party SXSW from Brianna Saraceno on Vimeo.

mp3 | Bass Drum of Death – The Ballad of Bandit X

Mellowhype @ I’m An Alcoholic And I Hate You at Club Deville :: So, I would probably classify myself as a pretty big OFWGKTA fan. Just ask the Boys whose house I play them in for about 10 hours a day. Consequently, they’re all fans. So I was really excited to see Mellowhype at the Fat Possum party. I was super surprised to see that it wasn’t that packed, but amongst the chants of “Swag!”, renditions of “FUCK THE POLICE” (joined by Tyler, The Creator! SWAG!) and tweets about Aziz Ansari, Mellowhype (Hodgy Beats + Left Brain) left the crowd with no doubt that Tyler, The Creator is not the only member of OFWGTKA destined for greatness. Playing the hits from their forthcoming reuisse on Fat Possum, BLACKENDWHITE, but the most special moment was when they played Earl Sweatshirt’s soon to be classic ‘Earl‘. It was fucking SWAGGED OUT. Can’t wait for more.

Mellowhype @ Fat Possum SXSW Party from Brianna Saraceno on Vimeo.

mp3 | Mellowhype – Fuck The Police Featuring Tyler, The Creator

Hunx & His Punx @ Waterloo Records :: Big time Hunx and His Punx fan, first time seeing them live. Although I would’ve much preferred to see them in a small venue, the Waterloo Records stage looked and sounded amazing. Hunx is the consummate entertainer, wearing a man thong, tights and a see through sort of tuxedo shirt and Russian style hat. He intermingled hitting on men in the crowd (‘Hey sexy gay man in the beard, stop talking about me!’), giving people who left the set the finger, and rocking it the fuck out. They played lots of new songs from their forthcoming second album, including the great ‘Lovers Lane‘. I thought it was a really great set, but it just made me want to see them in a tiny venue where Hunx was way more drunk, stripping way more, and being 1,000x crazier. But I can’t really complain, they’re coming to the Echo in the beginning of April. Best be there.

Hunx & His Punx – Lovers Lane @ Waterloo Records SXSW 2011 from Brianna Saraceno on Vimeo.

mp3 | Hunx & His Punx – Lovers Lane

Davila 666 @ Nuevo’s :: I don’t really know what to say about Davilla 666 other than that they ripped so fucking hard. Having been told to listen to them like, at least a thousand times, and not really knowing where to start, I figured this would be it. They played to a really small crowd at 8pm at Neuvo’s which was a shame but they did NOT hold anything back. The entire group looked a little squeezed onto the stage but it worked really well as their sweat was flying, angry Spanish was shouted and they fucking ruled. Time Magazine even agreed that they ruled super hard, so you can’t really argue with them and us, right?

mp3 | Davila 666 – Hanging on the Telephone (Nerves Cover)

The Growlers @ BD Rileys :: I’m pretty sure this was my 25th time seeing the Growlers (no shame whatsoever) and it was just as good as it always was — maybe even better. Having gone 4 months between seeing them, I rejoiced when I saw their laid-back swagger and their ridiculous spectacle (covering themselves in tin foil), I was reminded of exactly why I adore them so much. Every single song they have is a definitive classic, as you well know if you read this regularly, so I was happy to jump around to ‘Old Cold River‘, ‘Sea Lion Goth Blues‘, and ‘What It Is‘ — it’s hard to keep writing the same things about them — they’re always good live, I never get tired of seeing them (obviously), they always bring something new and endearing and compelling to the table, even if it’s just ridiculous outfits or wigs — but it never overshadows the fact that they write incredible songs and love what they do. If it makes any difference, two Brits that I took to see them loved them, even though one was gonna make $15 bucks if he didn’t. That’s a damn good band.

mp3 | The Growlers – What It Is

SXSW is completely over and I’m back again from Austin, TX and before that, Brighton… and I am exhausted. I won’t bother by writing a shitton of flowery prose about how amazing, incredible blah blah it was — because duh, it was, but I’m gonna wait to rub your nose in it while I get my coverage together. And trust, I know you don’t care. Enjoy!

I am super pleased to announce the Unofficial Showcase that I’ve been working on with some great people. Nu Rave Brain Wave, Secret Cheif Management & Sweet Relief Musician’s Fund are happy to present a day show on Friday, March 18th at the Cherrywood Coffee House (1400 East 38th 1/2 Street). We’ll be brining you two stages of amazing Rock ‘N Roll, French Philosophy and of course, my presence. We’re happy to have some of our favorite bands playing for us and we hope you can join us for what will surely be one of the best days ever. Check out the lineup and set-times below and we hope to see you there. It’s all ages & FREE! RSVP via FACEBOOK HERE.

Dolphin City (Orange County, CA) 1000
Audacity (Orange County, Ca) 930
Dead Ghosts (Dallas, Tx) 900
Cosmonauts (Orange County, Ca) 830
Heavy Hawaii (San Diego) 800
School Knights (Denver) 730
The Early Stages 700
Easy Action (Detroit) 630
Shit Horse (Chapel Hill, NC) 600
Control (Brooklyn) 600
Leslie Sisson (Brooklyn) 530
State Champion (Louisvillle, Ky) 500
Fleshlights (Austin) 430
Fletcher C. Johnson (Brooklyn) 430
John Wesley Coleman III 400 (Austin)
Human Eye (Detroit) 330
Sweaters (Los Angeles) 300
Conspiracy of Owls (Detroit) 230
Midnight Ghost (Austin, Tx) 200
Tapioca and The Flea (Orange County, Ca)145
Carnivores (Atlanta, GA) 130
TRMRS (Orange County, CA) 1230

Special Guests just after 1pm!

mp3 | School Knights – Fuck the Beach
mp3 | Heavy Hawaii – Teen Angel
mp3 | Sweaters - Sky Mall
mp3 | Dead Ghosts – James Brown
mp3 | Audacity - Dicks Hate Police

One of my favorite blogs, Weekly Tape Deck, and their collective Forest Family Recs have teamed with Transparent Recs for this free, 21+, no RSVP show that fucking RULES. Some of our favorites: Eternal Summers, Bass Drum of Death and Tennis will be playing and you best bet that we’ll be there on March 17th at the Double Down Lounge.

mp3 | Eternal Summers – Fall Straight Back
mp3 | Tennis – Seafarer
mp3 | Bass Drum of Death – The Ballad of Bandit X

Check out Urban Outfitter’s Back Lot performers this year — they look really really great, especially the 18th and the 19th. Much better than this ‘artwork’.

mp3 | King Tuff – Stone Fox

Seperating the wheat from the chaff, here’s the best two days of Thrasher Style DEATH MATCH which will be held at the Scoot Inn, 1308 E. 4th Street @ Navasota. Check it:

March 17th – Impose Magazine

Outside Stage
5:00pm – Trash Talk
4:00pm – Weedeater
3:00pm – Zoroaster
2:00pm – Liturgy
1:00pm – The Body

Inside Stage
4:30pm – Jeff The Brotherhood
3:30pm – Hunx & His Punx
2:30pm – DeathSet
1:30pm – Flight

Death Match, Friday, March 18th – Santos Party House w/ Andrew WK

Outside Stage

3:30pm – Odd Future
2:30pm – Das Racist
1:30pm – Killer Mike
12:30pm – Danny Brown

Inside Stage

5:00pm – Pentagram
4:00pm – Green & Wood
3:00pm – Sweet Apple
2:00pm- Fang Island
1:00pm – Balance and Composure

mp3 | Blade By Earl Sweatshirt
mp3 | Hunx & His Punx – Lovers Lane

Woah y’all, I know I just said I’d be at the East Side Drive In for MWTX, and then here comes Psychic Lunch Records x Play Pinball! Records at the Spiderhouse Ballroom (2906 Fruth St) to make me wanna ditch MWTX. Check out the lineup below. SICK!

12:30 PM: The Wrong Words (San Francisco, CA)
1:15: Turbo Fruits (Nashville, TN)
2:00 Audacity (Fullerton, CA)
2:45: Bad Lovers (Austin, TX)
3:30: Pujol (Nashville, TN)
4:15: The Creamers (Austin, TX)
5:00: Fungi Girls (Cleburne, TX)
5:45: Voyageurs (Fayetteville, AR)
6:30: Eternal Summers (Roanoke, VA)
7:15: Dead Ghosts (Vancouver, BC)
8:00 Terrible Twos (Detroit, MI)
8:45: the Night Beats (Seattle, WA)
9:30: TRMRS (Costa Mesa, CA)
10:15: Shannon & the Clams (Oakland, CA)
11:00: the Shrapnelles (Calgary, AB)
11:45: Mickey (Chicago, IL)
12:30 AM: Flesh Lights (Austin, TX)

mp3 | Eternal Summers – Pogo
mp3 | Dead Ghosts – James Brown
mp3 | Shannon and The Clams – Sleep Talk