Huw's tips from Day 2
SXSW Day 2!
Today I saw Los Campesinos! play an excellent gig at Emo's. The Americans love a bit of twee, but Gareth Campesinos! says onstage they're a punk band. They're the most brilliantly confusing band around.
The Welsh showcase has the biggest Welsh flag I have ever seen. It is mammothical. And Cate le Bon who sings on the Neon Neon single I Lust U looks tiny next to it. Her voice, as usual, sounds beautiful.
I met up with James from Weekender Records who's out here with Look See Proof and the Peoples Revolutionary Choir. Weekender is a prolific indie label and have a huge banner on a building on 6th street, making sure everyone knows who they are, and more importantly, that they're here.
Why? are an excellent US-leftfield lo-fi hip hop band. But it's hip hop in the loosest sense; this is a drooling, slow, melodic glockenspeil wielding band who always come up with the goods. Saul Williams' gig yesterday was a pleasure to watch, and Jammer, Cool Kids, Dizze Rascal and lots more make sure the hip hop quality elsewhere is high and in peoples faces.
Fleet Foxes sing these beautiful American harmonies, and look set to make a name for themselves. It's laid-back without being wet, beautifully introspective without being woeful. Think Band of Horses in a smaller room.
New Zealanders know how to have a good time, so off I go with Zane Lowe to the NZ barbecue, or, if you prefer, bbq. The Ruby Suns played a fun set; their new album has a lot of different styles on it and it grooves almost as much as they do onstage.
I get to see Neon Neon's first ever gig; Har Mar Superstar is absolutely brilliant onstage joining Gruff, Brian and Cate and the drummer who's name I don't know. It's an 80's electro-ballad-fest as they sing the life of car designer John Delorean to a most groovy effect thanks to bass supplier Tom Rogers who's driven there with said bass by Beth Elfyn, and a whole load of top synth sounds. It's by a swimming pool and it's the nearest to being in The OC I'l ever get.
The Introducing night is ramma-damma-ding-dong, with MGMT proving the biggest pull in a interesting line-up chosen and compered tonight by Steve Lamacq. You can hear highlights on Steve's show.
F*** Buttons take ages to set up at Red Eye Fly. They should, really, be from the States, but are from Bristol, a place about to become famous musically again because of Portishead. Don't stress; F*** Buttons are the best unistenable, un-danceable, un-groove-able band about.
No Age though are from the US Underground. In a not too dissimilar set up to the excellent I Was a Cub Scout, drums and guitar, their jangling, heavy bursts of noise make me excited.
Wandering the streets; The Cribs on 6th street; Duffy on 6th street, Duffy at the Introducing gig, Victorian English Gentlemens Club outside a club,
