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SXSW 2002

South By SouthWest is a monster of a music conference and festival. Every March, SXSW takes over Austin, as hundreds of bands and industry players come to town. Our own Samantha Deskins reports back with an extensive diary of this year's proceedings. Time to get some South By South Rest!

Tekst: Samantha Deskins

Publicatiedatum: 23 april 2002

WEDNESDAY, 13 MARCH

The SXSW Music Festival opened on Wednesday, March 13th, with the golf tournament, the first night of band showcases, and the Austin Music Awards. Once upon a time, when the conference was much smaller, the only thing to do the first night of SXSW was attend the Austin Music Awards. Unofficially dubbed "the night the Austin music scene goes to the prom," the Music Awards predate SXSW by five years, and this is the night that Austin honours its own. And as the more cynical might point out, because nobody else will...

The Music Awards are structured around five sets of awards, with musical acts in between running 15-25 minutes in length.

First up were the Snobs, one of Austin's "major minor" bands with an average band member age of 14. And in true LA style, they took the stage with a throat-ripping, gut-wrenching, body-slamming hardcore set.

Next came the Super Girls, a composite group put together especially for the Music Awards. Led by Patrice Pike, they put on a late-Sixties/early-Seventies-influenced rock'n'roll fiesta replete with glitter, sequins, capes, go-go dancers, and costume changes.

The third act was Austin band Spoon, who put on their usual clean, tight set, showcasing several new songs along with a nifty Kinks cover. Unfortunately, as the Super Girls ran a little over, Spoon went a little short, and their set was over all too quickly.

Sixpence None The Richer, best known for the hit single Kiss Me, played a light and upbeat pop set and kept the crowd happy and tapping their toes.

Second to last came the tribute to the late Champ Hood, led by son Warren Hood and rounded out by Toni Price and the South Austin Jug Band. On the fourth song, they were joined onstage by Lyle Lovett and Lyle's cellist, John Hagen. Admirably and soulfully performing a range of Hood's songs, this set would have been great except for three DI boxes failing and a variety of ensuing tech problems. But with such a range of pros onstage they got through the difficulties and still managed to please the audience.

Rounding out the show were veteran professionals Asleep At The Wheel, led by Ray Benson. Bringing Lyle Lovett back onstage, which led to a wonderful country jam, this set ended the evening on a high note.

Oh, the winners? Well, Eric Johnson and his band Alien Love Child walked away with a number of awards, as did blues chanteuse Toni Price. If you're really interested in the Austin music scene, I suggest visiting the Austin Chronicle website, where you can get a complete list of the evening's award recipients.

So that's what the audience saw.

Well, any production with that many people involved is guaranteed to have things go wrong. I've actually been a production assistant with the show for ten years now, but in those ten years I've never had a night like this one...

The first half of the show really did run fairly smoothly. Well, the escorts didn't show up until ten minutes before the show started, and the walkie-talkies the staff were supposed to use didn't work, but nothing really problematic. But as the evening progressed, the outdoor tent that was supposed to be our VIP area got so overrun that it had to be cleared every 20 minutes or so, with limited access for everyone other than staff. So our VIPs had to hang out in the parking lot with no bar or free food. The crowd started to get rather disgruntled, and tempers began to flare. Then, when Lyle Lovett and his entourage showed up, his "people" told our security guards to restrict access to the left side of the stage. This included staff, and both Louis Black (one of the directors of the entire SXSW festival) and myself (the assistant stage manager who was responsible for getting Mr. Lovett onstage) had to argue our way back. But the highlight - or should I say lowlight - of the evening occurred around one of the staff members. It was his second or third year on the show, and he and his wife arrived drunk and continued to get drunker over the course of the evening. He attempted to kick me out of the backstage area when I was knocking on Spoon's dressing room door to get them to the stage, even though we'd talked several times at planning meetings. But the final straw was after he'd been fired and he and his wife were corralled in the meet-n-greet area to the left of the stage. While waiting for security to escort them out, the director of the Music Awards attempted to tell the wife that - as they were being kicked out of the show - she was not welcome to the free food. In response, she turned around, threw her food at the director, and then took a swing at her. Quite a time to be had by all. Then the show went so far overtime that what should have ended at 11.30 pm let out at 12.45 am, which meant an extra day's rental fee on some of the equipment...

THURSDAY, 14 MARCH

I never really feel as though SXSW is in full swing until the Trade Show opens. Wednesday night is just a teaser, and the conference doesn't really start until the registrants descend on the Austin Convention Center like a plague of locusts looking for free swag and "the good schmooze".

The lowered attendance this year was reflected in a slightly smaller trade show, but the espresso bar and beer stands were already going strong at noon, and I was kindly rewarded for my prompt arrival by catching Pat Dinizio performing a half-hour acoustic set on the daystage, including Smithereens hits Yesterday Girl and Blood And Roses.

Several quick tours around the floor confirmed my hunch that there really weren't any stands I felt strongly about visiting, and I soon found myself in my favourite spot: the smoking balcony. I've always had the sneaking suspicion that more goes on on that balcony than inside, and it's definitely the best place to run into old friends and chat with anyone inclined to do so. The American Spirit booth handing out free packs of cigarettes didn't hurt either.

But to be fair, plenty was going on inside. While some choose to mingle at the Trade Show, there are also workshops and panels galore Wednesday through Saturday afternoons from 11 am to 6 pm, on all manner of subjects, which in past years have even included topics such as whether Paul McCartney really did die in the movie Help, as well as the infamous groupie panel with Pamela des Barres and Kim Fowley.

At 1 pm it was time to head to the Hard Rock Café for a brief radio spot for the Venue. But when we arrived, we were informed that an earlier interviewee, Eric Johnson, had arrived late, so we'd have to wait. I could only assume that accepting all of Alien Love Child's awards the night before had worn him out, and he'd slept in a bit to recover.

I decided to bypass any more Thursday afternoon daytime activities to go home and catch some sleep before heading to Maggie Mae's to deal with load-in and soundcheck for the Venue. After Wednesday night, I was hoping for a fairly stress-free evening. But I really should have known better. Only a week earlier, I had discovered that the stage manager for Maggie Mae's had never arranged for backline. A little-known fact about SXSW is that they don't supply backline for the bands. For American bands arriving by van this isn't so much of a problem, but when you have bands from overseas... it can be a headache. Usually bands with backline are willing to share, but when you have an entire evening of international bands, the stage manager is responsible for compiling a master backline list, sending the list to the sound equipment rental company and letting the bands know who pays what. On 7 March, I found that our stage manager had done none of this, and somehow I ended up doing the backline arrangements for the bands at Maggie Mae's on 14 March myself. I was only able to finalize the list on 12 March, and there were still some questions. It had not been a stress-free week.

I walked into my apartment and picked up the phone to check for messages. A message from the stage manager told me that load-in had been switched from 6 pm to 4 pm. A phone call confirmed it, and I barely had time to run back to the Convention Center, grab a band member, and head to the club, where there was a sound engineer but no stage manager... who decided not to grace us with his presence until 6.30 pm.

But various glitches aside, the Venue went on promptly at 9 pm and by all accounts gave an excellent performance. Rolling Stone Senior Editor David Fricke seemed to think so, as he spent most of the set dancing up by the stage. And numerous people continued to walk up to various band members all day and night Friday to tell them what a great show it was. Unfortunately, somewhere between stress and nerves, I lost the ability to be able to judge for myself.

And the Venue were lucky to be in very good company with their Thursday showcase. Up next was Australian band Car Stereo Wars. Due a late start, they only played about five songs, but their mellow ambient-rock was lovely to listen to: melodic, haunting, and almost a bit ethereal.

Then came acoustic pop band La Honda from London. With a light sound clearly influenced by both late-Sixties and early-Seventies pop, this band was also easy on the ears, not to mention fun.

At midnight, Australian band Knievel took the audience down a slightly more psychedelic path that reminded me a bit of Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young discovering electronica. And having a blast with it while hypnotizing the audience.

However, due to a few other glitches based on the backline, members of the Venue pulled me into the bar next door around 12.30 am to pour shots down my throat to de-stress me a bit, so I unfortunately missed Welsh band Big Leaves. Several of our group did make it to Emo's for the Shins, who - according to reports - also put on an enjoyable show. But by 2 am it was time to head off to a private after-hours party and lots more drinking.

FRIDAY, 15 MARCH

The daytime festivities that surround SXSW have really taken on a life of their own. There was even an article in the Houston Press about how to do SXSW for free, which mainly concentrated on the daytime parties. The main idea is to wander around Austin during the day, listen for the parties (there are usually bands playing), and just head on in. Some require passes, but most are free to the public, and some even have free food and beer. Of some notoriety are the High Times party and the Bloodshot Records party, BBQs offered by different attending groups (such as the Canadian Music Group this year), and the infamous Spin Magazine party (which requires a special badge only available at the Trade Show). There are also free outdoor concerts (sponsored this year by American Spirit cigarettes) and numerous daytime shows at clubs and record stores around town. In fact, many bands end up playing several gigs during the conference. This year, I didn't really partake of the daytime activities, as I seemed to spend a little time at the Trade Show each day and then attempted to catch up on my sleep (a losing battle), but I certainly have in years past, and they are great fun. Rumour has it that the Bloodshot Records show at Yard Dog was as good as ever, and a tip-off from a friend who did attend the Canadian Music Group's BBQ led to my seeing some good music Friday night.

My first stop Friday was actually at the Red Room for Swedish band Maryslim. The one song of theirs that I'd heard on the Export Music Sweden sampler CD was pretty entertaining in an Eighties Metal sort of way. Which can be fun if the band is tight and the beer is cheap. And I was also a bit curious about this band from the photos I'd seen of them. One band member sports a curly poodlesque mohawk do, while another goes heavily for the Steven Tyler pouty look. I thought, if they combine good metal with a sense of humour, it might actually be a fun show.

Well, the room was pretty empty, and the sound was annoyingly loud (a problem that the Red Room suffered from the entire week), but the band was tearing through the song I'd already heard and doing a pretty slick job. But then the bass player (with the curly hair) looked out at the audience and did a tongue wiggle a la Gene Simmons of Kiss, and no one other than me was laughing. Entertaining bar band aside, I hotfooted it back down to the sidewalk and headed to the Chile Pepper.

Far towards the opposite end of the spectrum was Canadian alt.rock band Starling. Soothing, almost ambient music (without being depressing or dull), the band was relaxed and clearly enjoying their set. As the Chile Pepper doesn't usually have live music, the club layout was a bit odd, which made actually watching the band a bit challenging, but I was able to find a barstool, relax, and enjoy the sounds. With songs that were alternately soothing and uptempo, by the third or fourth song I'd decided to buy their CD. Since their showcase, I've learned that Starling is an Ottawa-based trio that has been around in various forms since 1996 with two CDs out. And in my opinion: definitely worth a listen.

Out of curiosity, with nothing specific marked on my calendar for the Friday, 10 pm slot, I wandered over to Maggie Mae's to see how the Friday international showcase was going. At 10.10 pm, the second band was late starting, and the Jimi Hendrix CD that the soundman had been playing in between bands the night before was back on, but at twice the decibel level. Finally, at 10.15, Blackmail from Koblenz, Germany, took the stage. Due to the noise level, I actually got the impression that Blackmail was some sort of heavy death-metal band. Since then, I've been to their website and discovered that they are actually a mix of noise-rock music and pop lyrics. They remind me a bit of early Smashing Pumpkins, and I've really enjoyed what I've downloaded. Which makes it all the more annoying that the incredibly bad sound drove me out of a show that I might have enjoyed.

But I left Blackmail and headed back to the Red Room to get in line for Citizen Bird. Now if SXSW had any major problems this year (aside from a slightly lowered registration and deaf sound engineers), it was the misplacement of bands and the local law enforcement agencies. After 15 years of existence, some of the local clubs offer their space and services year after year, while others decide they want nothing to do with the festival. This year, there was something of a scramble to get enough venues to hold the 800+ bands, which resulted in a number of bands being placed in venues way too small to hold all of the people who wanted to see them play. Hand in hand with that problem came the over-zealousness of the Austin Fire Marshall and the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission (TABC). For five days out of the year the Austin Fire Marshall not only pays attention to how many people can safely attend a show, but sends agents to check up on every venue unannounced. I wouldn't have as much of a problem with this if they paid any attention at all during the other 360 days of the year, but they don't. For the rest of the year the locals can fry in a blaze at any venue in town. Just not during SXSW. To compound the problem, if a club is found to be over its "load card" (recommended capacity) it is a) shut down until the room is cleared, and b) the load card limit is reduced to 60%. The Red Room was popped Wednesday night by the Fire Marshall so that by Friday, when Citizen Bird and the Soundtrack Of Our Lives were scheduled to play, only 120 people or so were allowed to be in the club at one time.

I was fortunate enough to get in after only a 20-minute wait and caught a few songs by Citizen Bird. The lead singer had worked himself into quite a frenzy (quite fitting given the apt comparisons to Iggy And The Stooges and the MC5), and the band was wailing. But the walls were also vibrating, and I left to go find friends.

By 12.30, I was happily ensconced at Emo's and by 1 am was enjoying Chicks On Speed. The sound was good, the beer was cold, and the girls were putting on quite a show. An interesting mix of Eighties techno-pop with sharp, witty feminist vocals, partly sung, partly spoken overtop, Chicks On Speed made me think of an intelligent person's parody of the Spice Girls. And while I may not run out and buy the CD, I'll certainly run out to buy a ticket next time I have the chance to see them perform.

SATURDAY, 16 MARCH

The first band I saw Saturday night was Swedish band the Plan. A descendent of the band Broder Daniel and having recently enjoyed unexpected popularity in Sweden with their third CD on EMI Sweden, especially with the single Mon Amour, I was looking forward to seeing the Plan play. And while a little late to start, they put on a fine set. Their music is a little difficult to categorize: alt.rock with slightly off-key melodies. A style - I was informed at the show - that has been popularised in Sweden by Hakan Hellstrom. But even with the slight dissonance, the music is both interesting and catchy and is the type of music that grows on you the more you listen to it.

After a brief stop at Buffalo Billiards to check out I Am The World Trade Center - billed as electric dance-pop with a soul on Kindercore Records and who were pretty dreadful - we headed to the Element to face the line for Ash. But the Fire Marshall had obviously already visited the Element, as they were paying no attention whatsoever to how many people smooshed into their club. This was good, because we got in, but it was a whole lot of humanity in one place! As it wasn't yet 11 pm, we even caught the last couple of songs by Halou from San Francisco.

Having visited their website, I can say that in the studio Halou creates a very lovely, atmospheric type of electronica. But at least at their SXSW showcase it did not translate well, sounding more like a lame attempt to imitate Nineties britpop band Medicine than anything else live.

By contrast, Ash was entertaining Sixties-influenced rock: polished, confident, and lots of fun. They even threw in a nifty lightshow for the sardine-like crowd to enjoy.

Midnight found us back at the evil Red Room, tormenting our eardrums yet again while attempting to listen to San Francisco rock band Vue, currently on Sub Pop Records. They clearly had good songs, but it was another episode of having to download them later.

Next was a brief stop at Emo's Jr. for Swedish punk band the Demons. Almost completely unknown in their own country, the Demons are on Gearhead Records and spend a fair amount of time touring the States. The songs I heard were good, raw London-style punk (rather than LA thrash or hardcore), and the Demons have been compared to the New Bomb Turks and the Dragons.

I was pulled out of Emo's Jr. and back to Buffalo Billiards, where I found myself watching the Sunshine Fix, an upbeat Sixties garage band from Athens, Georgia. But by this time both my ears and my attention span were shot, and my only clear recollection of this band was a lovely rendition of the Beatles song This Boy.

SUNDAY, 17 MARCH

Traditionally, many registrants leave Austin on the final day of the SXSW Musicfest (Sunday). However, as a local, it's my opinion that Sunday is the best day. By Sunday afternoon, almost everyone is suffering from at least mild sleep deprivation, and it's a perfect time for the SXSW softball game and BBQ. For those athletically-inclined, they can register for and play in the softball tournament with teams based on areas of the music industry, i.e. radio, print, A&R, and so on. A tip: One of the more entertaining matches tends to be the A&R team vs. the musicians' team... The game is catered by locally-renowned BBQ restaurant the Salt Lick, just in case those attending have managed to avoid Texas BBQ for the other four days of the conference. But it's a great place to nurse a hangover and do a last bit of schmoozing. It's even where Hanson got their first big break. (Years ago - not accepted for a SXSW showcase - their father brought them to the softball game, where they set up and played and were heard by an A&R scout... So the story goes.)

Then there's time for a nap and then one last night of showcases, although the Sunday night showcases are far fewer and of a slightly different nature than the previous four nights. While the Wednesday through Saturday showcases are about business, the Sunday showcases are more about entertainment and relaxation. My favourite is the Gods And Monsters Review, hosted last year by Dr. Demento. This year, the Gods And Monsters Review had the Dung Beatles (a Beatles parody), ZZ Tom (an all-female ZZ Top), Rip And Destroy (a full-costume Kiss cover band), and the Diamond Smugglers (a very entertaining, full-wardrobe, raunchy Neil Diamond parody, with music intact but lyrics rewritten). Sunday night is also the night that local favourite Alejandro Escovedo showcases. And the Hole In The Wall always hosts some sort of multi-band hoot night, this year performing songs by Willie Nelson.

This year, the showcase roster was rounded out with one last hip hop showcase at Emo's Jr., and Beerland hosting a Sixties dance party, the Fuzz Club, with sets by Austin band the Sir Finks and Swedish band the Venue in between DJed sets of Sixties music.

On my way over to Beerland and Emo's, I ran into all four members of the Dung Beatles having a sidewalk pizza dinner. They informed me that their set had been changed to 8.30, so I went in search of the Venue and a beer. We arrived at Emo's at 8.45 pm, just in time for the last three chords of the last Dung Beatles song. Friends informed me later that it was a very short set. So I guess I'll just have to wait until next year and try again (although at some point the Dung Beatles are supposed to release a CD on Rykodisc).

At 9pm at Beerland, it was time for the Sir Finks. Originally a three-piece instrumental surf band, they'd added a second guitarist/vocalist and a keyboard player. They ripped through a tight 45-minute set to a packed and appreciative audience, mixing instrumentals and vocal originals with a handful of Sixties covers. Neat and sweet, they primed the crowd for a rollicking dance party with Beatle Bob in the front row.

More sound problems occurred when the Venue first took the stage, but after about five minutes' worth of monitor feedback, the glitch was solved, and the Venue tore into their second SXSW showcase. A fun and frenzied set ensued, much to the delight of the crowd.

I managed to pop back down to Emo's and catch a couple of Diamond Smugglers songs. This band is a little hard to describe, but suffice it to say that Jack Black is also among their admirers, and the Smugglers have opened for Tenacious D on the road. I was fortunate enough to hear the lovely Smugglettes (the delightful and lovely backup singers Julie Lowry and Ernie C. Ernst) doing a dead-on cover of Pat Benetar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot. Now, normally most of the audience would roll their eyes at the mention of this song, but on this particular evening about half the audience sang along while the other half danced. Just goes to show what a good tongue-in-cheek rendition can do.

Then back to Beerland to dance the rest of the conference away.

POSTCRIPT

But what about the "buzz" bands, you ask. What about the gossip?

If any band name was on the tongue of SXSW registrants this year, it was Polyphonic Spree. A 23-25 piece group (depends on whose review you read) from Dallas, Texas, this band played at least once every day, and I suspect I was one of the only people who missed them. Dressed in long white choral robes, ten members sing, while the rest provide orchestral accompaniment, resulting in a jubilant and rousing ensemble performance. And quite a sight and sound to behold.

Other than Polyphonic Spree, it's really hard to say. Most of the bands who performed this year are on labels and already have a following. And the daily coverage of the conference tended to repeat the names of groups already in the news: the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Eels, Clinic, the Moldy Peaches, and so on.

But as for gossip? Well, big, hulking, monster of a conference that SXSW now is, and with so many people involved, things inevitably go wrong... And some of the glitches this year were doozies!

* Nightclub the Metro lost their liquor license just prior to SXSW and had various problems in their attempts to sell drinks to patrons, including being shut down one night by the TABC while at least one bartender was carted off to jail...

* At their Hard Rock Café showcase, one member of the Icarus Line had the brilliant idea to smash a glass wall case containing a Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar in an attempt to play said guitar. However, as the guitar was bolted to the wall, he only managed to pull off the front half of the guitar before being chased down the street by an angry club employee. The Hard Rock Café has stated that they will be pressing charges...

* Live music venue the Hole In The Wall, which lives up to its name, apparently had some faulty wiring, which led to the PA system exploding during one of the showcases and a speaker going up in flames. The club was evacuated, and no major damage done (except to the PA). But oddly enough, several days later I overheard a local clubgoer talking about this performance, unaware that the flaming speaker was not a part of the show...

* Spin Magazine for a number of years now has held a private after-hours party the Saturday of SXSW. The only way to gain admittance is to get a badge at the Trade Show and head over at 2 am Saturday night/Sunday morning. It has an open bar and bands performing and is the cool place to be. This year, all three local law enforcement agencies also decided to attend. The Fire Marshall showed up and blocked entry, saying that any more people inside would create a fire hazard, the TABC showed up and shut the party down at 3.30 am for illegal alcohol consumption (which makes no sense as it's a private party), and the Austin Police Department (APD) came in full riot gear. In its history, Austin has only had one riot. And that occurred last year during Mardi Gras. The APD was displeased with young women flashing their bare breasts for Mardi Gras beads (a custom started in New Orleans), but when they attempted to apprehend these women they were a little rough, and their male friends and boyfriends came out swinging turning E 6th St. into a street brawl. Concerned about a repeat performance, the City of Austin decided to "outlaw" bare breasts, but repealed the ordinance after national attention/derision of the act was too embarrassing to tolerate. However, the APD invested in new and fancy riot gear just for the occasion. But this year's Mardi Gras celebration was bare-breasted and trouble-free, so it seems that the APD had to get their money's worth by donning their new riot gear in case all those hot-headed music industry types and musicians decided to get out of hand when the TABC trounced the Spin party...

» Visit the SXSW website @ www.sxsw.com

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