Re: [bomp] sxsw '07 redux

[FRANK BRANDON <cosmopop@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

it's been a week and i'm still catching up

sxsw is always a blast---i run around seeing a lot of music, having biz meetings and doing what i can do---i also try to squeeze out some time to see things i personally want to see---i finally adapted the attitiude that you can not regret what you missed but instead need to enjoy what you saw

roky gets better and better each year---finally courts have decided he no longer has a need for a legal caretaker---backed by the explosions, he ripped a great set at threadgills on thursday---they will be doing a lot of touring---with freddie steadie's group backing him---check him out

norton night---always great to see miriam and billy----caught a few songs from dexter---abones were just plain fun and as commander cody used to say "i ain't never had too much fun"---had to run out half a block away for twenty minutes to meet someone and when i got back it was impossible to get in for sam the ham----waited for an hour!!!---saw him walking in and that's as close as i came---even was wearing my sam the sham beret at the moment----so gave up and went across town to see the hacienda brothers---check out their dan penn produced country soul stuff---chris gaffney and the guitarist from the paladins pull it off with box tops covers in a country sense very very well---saw them at the americana convention in nsahville last year and was blown away---also caught some lucky tomblin band western swing/honky tonk with the incomparable redd volkaert on blazing guitar---driving back i drove by and saw NO line for mary weiss so looked for a parking space---in the fifteen
 minutes it took to get back, a line had developed---took me a half hour but i got in---friends inside said sam was disappointing---lil red riding hood and wooly bully with "here's a song by my drummer" etc tiome wasting---so i missed the alarm clocks----and the reigning sound solo set---did see mary though, she looked great and sounded good but i thought reigning sound backing her were too sloppy (and not in a good garage way)

friday---i threw a party with 13 acts in six hours so my afternoon was fully occupied and i missed hoodoo gurus at the pop culture press party---dug the ponderosa stomp blast that night with barbara lynn, archie bell, dennis coffey (way more amazing that i would've thought)--ran into freddie fortune there---always nice---highlights was finally seeing bobby patterson doing "tcb or tya" which greg shaw turned me on to in 1971----harvey scales doing the broadway freeze with some love-itis on the side at two in the morning was coolerama mama

saturday afternoon had a an icelandic band called bang gang that was prety cool to me---their official night show was apparently totally different----then off to antones afternoon party thrown by freddie steady----jenny wolfe and the pack----13-16 year olds doing sixties garage---i liked them a lot---ugly beats are really good---joe is always modest but i've seen them a couple of times now and they are always different and always great----freddie did his thing and it is always fun---then paul collins----joe has waxed effusively and it is well deserved---peter case for a mini nerves reunion was very cool----later on swamp dogg at the continental was a good one

did i mention malajube from montreal!!  and how about shawn sahm's tex mex experience at a speed shop on south lamar----very cool...

and a whole lot more---always fun---finally catching up on sleep and waiting for next year----frank



Bob Widenhofer <bwidenhofer@yahoo.com> wrote: 
Oh, I caught up on the drinkin' a little later on..Saturday was St Patrick's after all.
   
  I'll echo Joe's sentiments about the Woggles.  They must've played 5 times while they were here, because they did a day show with my band in addition to the several that Joe caught.  And they were on fire as usual.  Peelander-Z played right after them, quite a spectacle.
   
  Seeing the Buzzcocks and the Stooges in one night was just breathtaking and both bands played damn fantastic sets.  The Stooges especially tore it up, this is not Iggy with some old cronies along for the ride--they're a real band and the place went nuts for their entire set.
   
  Also hafta' agree about Paul Collins, that guy is the real deal and his new band truly rocks.  Having the good fortune to open the showcase that night, I used some microphone time to pick on the Other...uh English Beat and declare that there'as only one REAL band called The Beat.  Collins lived up to this, and then exceeded it.
   
  Joe is too humble to tell you how good the Ugly Beats were.  So I'll tell you, the venue was packed and they were eating out of the UB's hands.  I should give props to every band on that showcase, we were very lucky to sneak onto it since our CD's not on Get Hip...the Breakup Society are a very good pop band in the Bomp sense, and it was just a blast to see The Mullens again.  I had never seen the Cynics do a live show before and all I can say is holy crap what a good band.
   
  Thursday night I was at the Norton Records showcase all night.  I might've left during the Alarm Clocks and Sam the Sham, but the venue was filling up fast and I was afraid I wouldn't get back in, so I stayed.  
  And in order: Dex Romweber Duo, I loved it...same deal as Flat Duo Jets except his sister Sarah is drumming now--I wish my sister could play drums like that!  
  The A-Bones, another band I've never seen in person, and damn entertaining.  
  The Alarm Clocks did not grab me, but in their defense I wanna' say that a lot of people really dug 'em so maybe it was just me.  
  Sam The Sham...sorry to say, this is the kind of stuff better left to Oldies Reviews--not horrible, but it wouldn't have bothered me to miss it.  
  Reigning Sound, well they completely made up for the previous two, I was SO glad I stuck around for their excellent set.  
  Then they remained on stage to back Mary Weiss.  And I gotta' say Mary Weiss understands what decade she's in--she did thow in some choice Shangrilas, but she mostly stuck to new material and it was mostly good.  Her voice is about an octave lower than it was 40 years ago, but she still belts it out.  And I hafta' say she looked about 45 years old, even up close.  Good for Mary!
   
  So many people warned me about The Saints that I quit worrying about the prospect of missing them.  And lots of people said their Austin shows were indeed weak so thanks to all who clued me in.  I too missed the HoodooGurus.  But we can't have everything.  It was a very good year. 
   
  -- Bob

Joe Emery  wrote:
  
whew! my liver hurts! another sxsw come and gone. i didn't get to see a
lot of new stuff this time around -- practicing and playing prevented me
from seeing the hoodoo gurus, saints, stooges and countless others
unfortunately. to add insult to injury my friends made a point of text
messaging me with set list updates for each of the hoodoo gurus friday
shows. bastards.

still, i did get to see the woggles THREE times in as many days. awesome as
always. what a great band. and we made them promise to get back here more
often -- let's hope they make good on that.

paul collins beat was really, really great. he sounds every bit as good as
the old records. he lives in madrid now and has some spanish kids playing
with him that are really great. during his sxsw showcase you would have
thought it was 1980 all over again -- all these kids -- young kids -- in
powerpop bands there hanging on his every word. really great. next night
at antone's records was even better. after playing a killer set peter case
showed up and joined paul and band for hangin on the telephone, walking out
on love, and workin' too hard. you'd think those guys have been singing
together every day for the last 30 years -- harmonies were dead on and not a
single clam. (paul's a really terrific guy as well.)

local heroes amplified heat blew the doors off Red 7 Club at their showcase
-- it was beautiful to see. full on blue cheer meets motorhead madness.
david fricke from rolling stone was there and actually bought their cds --
who knows maybe they'll end up on the cover. god knows they deserve it.

another huge thrill for me was getting to play with the cynics -- great as
ever and we got to do 2 separate sets on friday. holy crap i just got to
play two sets w/ the cynics -- and even got to write the set list! girl,
you're on my mind, baby what's wrong, hand in hand, i live alone, on the
run, yeah, close to me, way it's gonna be, blue train station, and several
others. for the showcase we closed with she lives in a time of her own --
always great to play a roky tune in austin. i'm probably not telling anyone
anything new here, but if you don't own the Cynics "Rock n Roll" record you
need it -- it's one of the greatest records of all time.

Bob? Frank? others? let's hear what everyone saw. Bob should definitely
be chiming in w/ a buzzcocks and stooges review... (and Bob, I promise not
to tell anyone how drunk you were Friday as long as you don't tell anyone
how drunk I was Saturday.)

joe

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