Last week, four Cincinnati bands performed at the influential South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. While showcases such as theirs are the heart of the festival, our city's talents went well beyond the official gig schedule.

A radio station, poster artists and three bands that played unofficial shows were also Queen City delegates during a busy SXSW week.

The event, which kicked off March 14 and wrapped up Sunday, brought in thousands of performers, industry vets, fans and media.

Veteran SXSW band the Sundresses ripped through its angsty Americana-punk set to a fresh audience on Thursday. The festival marked a fresh start for the band, whose van was burglarized during a recent show in Louisville.

"Touring is hard when you get robbed," says singer/guitarist Brad Schnittger. But the Sundresses are picking up and moving on to shows in Baton Rouge, La., and beyond.

Friday night was a marathon of Cincinnati acts, starting with C. Spencer Yeh's one-man experimental band Burning Star Core. Yeh put on a mesmerizing showcase, incorporating a variety of electronically manipulated sounds and minimalist drones. In addition to his solo duties, Yeh played alongside legendary Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore at a few shows last week.

"Thurston came to this gig I played in Brooklyn (recently) and extended the offer to jam after we were talking about SXSW and all," he says. Yeh and Moore play together again this week in New York.

Also on Friday, Buffalo Killers played its heady psychedelic material to eager ears at a bustling bar. Brothers Zach and Andrew Gabbard were wonderfully in sync onstage, with Andrew's guitar prowess eliciting more than one request for "more solos."

Rounding out the night, indie-folk group Peter Adams and the Nocturnal Collective rang in St. Patrick's Day with a rowdy crowd. Above the bar chatter and late-night revelry, Adams' thoughtful, energetic set and vibrant backing band kept the focus on the music.

Reflecting a general trend at the increasingly popular (and chaotic) SXSW, many of last week's most well attended events weren't even really part of the festival. Cincinnati bands the Stapletons, patientZero and Pike all played shows in Austin sponsored by non-SXSW-affiliated groups.

Always willing to work outside the box, Cincinnati-based indie Internet station WOXY.com rented a studio space in East Austin last week to stream live broadcasts and host daily live sessions with up-and-coming bands.

General manager Bryan Jay Miller, program director Mike Taylor and music director Matt Shiv kept busy after the 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. workday, too, hitting up hot showcases and hosting their own well-attended day party on Friday.

Thursday through Saturday, Cincinnati artists Keith Neltner and the print makers at Powerhouse Factories sold work and chatted with fans at Flatstock, the rock poster show. Yet another offshoot of the chaos that is SXSW, the popular poster show hosted more than 100 well-known artists in the Austin Convention Center.

Other local attendees to the sprawling festival included writer and Northern Kentucky University assistant professor Brad King, who moderated a panel about selling music digitally; and Newport-based music fan Joe Hansbauer, vacationing with his wife and friends.

C. Spencer Yeh, the man behind experimental Burning Star Core, played his first SXSW this year. In addition to his Friday night showcase, he also played day shows and collaborated with Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth on some other gigs. The always-insightful Yeh also sent me his thoughts on the experience:

Overall I'd say it was a good experience; even within the supposed majority "rock" nature of the festival I didn't really feel out-of-place (there were plenty of 'rock' bands I'm sure who were there for the first time, confused, didn't know what to expect, etc.). I'm very interested in concepts of context and gesture within my 'work' so naturally performing within different contexts are always welcome. ...

I played a total of five times (twice with the quartet w/ Thurston) and I'd have to say the variety of venues as well as performing multiple times during the day was an experience new to me - especially playing outdoors. The best set (I thought) I performed solo was at 5 p.m. in the afternoon outside in this big backyard/tent stage thing, which surprised me because normally I tend to stay indoors with the moon out. I was also surprised to get positive comments from the Coyote Ugly-looking bartender (whereas the night before, a security guard suggested they take my table of gear and throw it in a dumpster). That's just how it is and I guess why we do
these things. ...

... couple weeks before all this, I was talking to Jeremy from Sundresses about SXSW, and he said "we'll run into each other, that's just how it is." Sure enough, I was loading into this one venue Saturday when this big white van pulls up -- with Jeremy in the driver's seat, yelling 'see?? I told you we'd run into you!"

Zach Gabbard is a SXSW veteran, having played the festival with former band Thee Shams. This was the festival debut for Buffalo Killers, and they were busy indeed, playing a Friday night showcase and day shows as well. Here's Zach's take on the week:

(SXSW) is always a great time, well worth it and we were pleased with the turnout at our showcase. We saw our friends The Cops (Seattle) and The Nice Boys (Portland) play - they were great as always, but we really didn't get to see any other bands because our days were filled with shows. The thing I like most about the conference is seeing people from all over the country that we are friends with in one location.

Peter Adams and the Nocturnal Collective played its first SXSW showcase this year, returning to Austin after playing RedGorilla fest last year. Thoughts from lead singer/guitarist Peter Adams:

SXSW was interesting. I got tired of all the indie-rock bands pretty quickly, and I also felt like in a lot of cases people were more concerned with being seen as hip than listening to music. My favorite place to be was the Hideout, the coffeeshop on Congress that had a black-box theater in the back where you could actually hear music. Saw some good acts there, I don't remember any names though and don't have my schedule anymore. Another highlight was wandering around Saturday morning and coming across a big anti-war march congregating at the capital. Everyone had instruments and was playing as they marched, so I joined in (without anything to play unfortunately). It was like a Dixeiland band, everyone was having a great time.

It seemed like good exposure, although it's hard to gauge yet. I'm not sure who exactly saw me (in terms of industry people). I did talk to Corey duBrowa, the guy who has written about me in Magnet, so that was nice. Other than that, I feel we played well and the crowd seemed to enjoy it (wasn't expecting to play an encore, that took me by surprise). I'd be up for playing again next year, although I wouldn't be devastated if we didn't.

Bassist Brian Bruemmer is keeping an online journal of the band's stop in Austin and other dates on its tour. He says he hasn't been able to upload as much as he'd like because of spotty internet access, but bookmark his site and check it out soon for updates.

First in a series of thoughts, observations and generally fun stories from Cincinnati musicians who headed down to Austin last week for South by Southwest and related festivities.

First up: The Stapletons, who were invited to play RedGorilla Music Fest last week. The festival happened at venues along Sixth Street, in the same crowded strip of venues as SXSW showcases.

Thoughts on Austin, from singer/guitarist Jody Stapleton:

SXSW was fantastic, a party every night. But, we do have quite the story. We hit the Texas border around 11am on Wednesday the 14th. Around that time, I received a text message from a pal we crashed with telling me there were some open slots at a SXSW showcase on 6th and Lamar promoting a new watering hole and using Willie Nelson's solar powered stage. A 9 p.m. slot was open for that evening so we jumped on it. We checked in at the stage a little after 8 and they were running a little behind. So we obviously started to drink and went on close to 10 p.m. and managed to get in eight tunes before we were shut down because of the outdoor noise ordinance.

Part 2:
Our showcase for Red Gorilla was scheduled for 3 p.m. on Thursday at Darwin's on 6th. We stumble out of bed around 10 a.m. in order to check in with the stage manager at noon. So we e just casually rolling up Martin Luther King getting psyched about the showcase and suddenly we lose our "BRAKES" at the top of the street. Lance (bassist) is driving and he yells, "I've got no brakes" and begins to slam them to the floor. He jumps a median and we go airborne. Luckily there is nobody coming north so Lance hits the gas so we can get back into the correct lane downhill. Somehow, we get the brakes back, but just for a minute.

Cruising down a side street we pull the van over and begin to make calls to the bar, friends, anyone that could get down a few blocks and give us a lift to the show. I found some brake fluid under the passenger seat and we filled the main cylinder that was bone dry. As we hit 7th street, no lie, we lose the brakes again. This time, however, we are heading for about 10 folks in a crosswalk. Lance slams on the horn, the people scatter and we're able to come to a slow coast, finally stopping at the next light. Whew.

I know you're asking, well why don't they just find a spot and park. The streets are already packed and it's getting close to noon. We make the next turn and another bands van with a trailer is coming hard on the left, again (ha!) we cannot stop. I will never, ever know how we missed each other, but we did. At that moment a parking lot appears. Eagle, the parking attendant, is having no part of us..."no, no, parking for monthly customers only". I jump out of the back seat and run over, "Hey man, please, could you be cool for just 15 minutes. That will give us enough time to get our gear up a couple blocks for our showcase". Eagle begins to listen to my case as he watches Lance hop the curb still trying to roll to a hault. Tom, our drummer, joins me and tells Eagle we got some cash and we can slide him a little extra for some extra kindness. He finally says OK, but it will be $10 until 5 p.m. then we'll have to deal with another attendant.

Needless to say the show went off even better than it ever could have because we were alive. The joint was crowded, we sold some records, drank a ton of Jameson and even had some photos snapped during the gig. The next day a couple of us went searching to get the van repaired. Over drinks at the Bayou the bartender said her father is a mechanic and he helps out bands all of the time. We got some brake fluid and made it to the garage and it was repaired later in the afternoon.

We saw some fantastic bands, partied really hard and made it home last night. I'll never, ever forget our first trip to SXSW.

My last showcase of SXSW 2007 was the super-packed and super-energetic show by the Stooges at Stubb's on Saturday night. This photo isn't the best, since I was pretty far back in the crowd, but you can kinda see Iggy running around the stage. (For more photos from Stubb's on Saturday, see my earlier posts for Spoon, Kings of Leon and Paolo Nutini.)

Louisville band Wax Fang played an early showcase slot on Saturday, but they brought in a great crowd to Mohawk's patio. (I was standing in front of a group of people that work at record labels - Capitol, maybe? - and they were really into it.)
Perry Farrell walking down Red River Street. You can't tell from this photo, but he had a security escort, which he seemed to think was slightly unnecessary. Farrell was also busy during SXSW, playing more than one showcase (he was the "surprise guest" at La Zona Rosa on Saturday, a show I was going to head to earlier in the night to see Eisley and Mew. Alas, I stayed at Stubb's for most of the night).
Mike Taylor of WOXY.com takes the controls at the Friday day party at Emo's Annex. WOXY was broadcasting live from the show. (Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the day that I stopped by WOXY's studio in East Austin. It was super fun; The Rumble Strips played a Lounge Act. You can see lots of photos on WOXY's site, however.)

Behind the sound board at the WOXY.com day show on Friday at Emo's Annex.

The Sundresses play the day show, and a neighborhood kid checks out the scene from right in front of the speaker.

Me, chugging Diet Coke at the Typewriter Museum on Friday for the Sundresses' day show. (I hadn't had my coffee yet, and it was my first show of the day. I learned, over the course of the week, to adjust my schedule to something like: wake up, get out of the hotel by noonish, eat lunch, go to some shows, have dinner, get coffee, go out to night shows. Having coffee at 7 or so was strange at first, but it was a definite lifesaver.)

A couple bargoers dance as Peter Adams and the Nocturnal Collective play a showcase at B.D. Riley's on Friday night.

Buffalo Killers play to a packed room at Beerland on Friday night.

Cincinnatian C. Spencer Yeh performs his showcase as Burning Star Core.

The Sundresses play its showcase gig on Thursday night at Lava Lounge Patio to a good crowd, including a handful of Cincinnatians (there were quite a few "who dey" shouts happening).

The scene on Sixth Street on Wednesday night. It was already crowded, but by the time Friday rolled around, it was even more chaotic (and made for some great people watching).

Street performers take advantage of a roomy corner on Sixth Street and get their jam on.

Imperial Teen rockin' out at Antone's. The California indie pop band hadn't played a show in a while, they said, so this show was "a big deal." They played lots of new songs, and apparently Kim Deal was in the crowd (though I didn't see her).

Peter, Bjorn and John at day show at Red Eyed Fly. One of my favorite performances of the festival (though, as a day show, it was "unofficial," of course), this Swedish group was hailed by many reviewers as the hardest working band at SXSW (they played about a million shows).

Pela at a day show at Red Eyed Fly. I had never heard this band before, but I really enjoyed its set (and the lead singer was really funny. Sometimes stage banter is just annoying, but he knew how to work it).

Scantily clad rollergirls (and one rollerguy) outside Mohawk. I later saw them blocks and hours away, still at it (they were promoting some band).

What better way to end my first SXSW experience than meeting an alt-rock legend like Thurston Moore. More exciting than my random 1:30 a.m. handshake with Thurston was that the reason I met him was because he's a regular collabator with C. Spencer Yeh, the Cincinnati musician behind Burning Star Core. (Pretty great connection for any up-and-coming musician to have.)

On Friday night, Yeh played an 8 p.m. instrumental set with Moore (Thurston Moore Instrumental) and then ran down the street to play his own 9 p.m. showcase (Burning Star Core). Tonight, Yeh played another showcase with Moore, as part of experimental group the Monotract.

Above photo taken early Sunday morning in Room 710. Moore on left, Yeh on right. (And no, that's not me in the middle.)

Still at Stubb's, waiting for the Stooges to take the stage. Paolo Nutini was poppy fun, Kings of Leon got the crowd revved up (though I,m not a huge fan) and Spoon was amazing (especially when I managed to maneuver around the tall guy in front of me so I could see what was happening). Come on, Iggy!
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UPDATE: Iggy indeed made it to the stage promptly at 12:30 a.m. and put on the most wired performance I've seen all week (running, dancing, diving into the crowd, pouring water on himself, etc.). The band kicked off the set with 4 older songs before launching into newer material.

Last night of the festival - sad! I skipped most of the day shows and headed to the Flatstock poster show at the convention center. Stopped by the booths of Cincy artists Powerhouse Factories (first photos) and Keith Neltner and (second photo).

I just saw the showcase of Louisville band Wax Fang. I didn't know much about them, but I was pleasantly surprised. My plan after that was to hike to the other side of downtown to La Zona Rosa (to see Eisley, Mew and others). But lo and behold there was no line for Stubb's (this venue has been wrapped in long lines all week).

Sooo now here I am at the Esquire showcase for the excellent lineup of Paolo Nutini, Kings of Leon, Spoon and the Stooges.

UPDATE: NOW WITH PHOTOS!

SPOON

KINGS OF LEON

PAOLO NUTINI

Friday night was all about Cincinnati bands; Burning Star Core, Buffalo Killers and Peter Adams and the Nocturnal Collective all had showcases with good crowds. I got some video footage and made a fun little montage of the showcases. (This time, I even experiment with titles over the video. Fancy!)

Burning Star Core - Besides some major confusion over the venue (the show was at Spiro's, but there are about 5 different venues that make up Spiro's. It took me a couple tries to find the right one), this set was loud and lovely. A good crowd came out to see one-mand band C. Spencer Yeh. Yeh makes experimental music accessible (not an easy thing to do), and the crowd was fascinated as he tweaked knobs and wires and other electronic instrumentation onstage.

Buffalo Killers - Well before the show started, a large crowd rolled into Beerland to see the SXSW debut of Buffalo Killers. (On Thursday night, I even heard some festivalgoers talking about BK and how its showcase was on their to-do list.) The Gabbard brothers delivered a psychedelic trip of a show, and fans really got into it. (I heard quite a few shouts for "more solos.") It's always refreshing to see a band that stands outside the typical dirty indie rock thing, and the SXSW crowd certainly appreciated it as well.

Peter Adams and the Nocturnal Collective - Rounding out the night was a 1 a.m. set by singer-songwriter Peter Adams and his band, the Nocturnal Collective. B.D. Riley's attracted a good crowd for this - a mix of fans who sang along with Adams' songs and the expected random bar crowd that came in for last call. But the group's jazzy-folk set had everyone dancing and singing along (I tried to get some video footage of the dancing, but alas the lighting was insufficient). The Neutral Milk Hotel cover was a nice touch.

It's almost 3 a.m. Saturday here in Austin, and I am due for some serious sleep. In the morning, I'll post photos, videos and a mini-review of my busy, busy day (it was another 12-hour music marathon). Today I saw: Sundresses (day show), The Broken West, Alexi Murdoch, Nellie McKay, Burning Star Core, Buffalo Killers, Keren Ann, Boris, Peter Adams and the Nocturnal Collective. (Bands I heard from a distance, while walking down the street: Buzzcocks, Eisley, Bob Mould.)

Remind me to tell you about the MySpace hot dogs. Good times.

I'm at my first showcase of the night: Nellie McKay. She was suppposed to go on at 7:45 but ... Oh wait she just came on. (Still - pretty late!)
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Sorta. First unexpected musicisn/celeb spotting: Perry Farrell, decked out in fab 70s style lounge singer suit. (He had a security escort, which seems so anti-SXSW, but yet not very surprising.)
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Broken West is finishing up its energetic set for the WOXY day party, which by the way, is super crowded. (Although right outside is a crazy long line for the Pitchfork day party. Also looong is the line for the Mess With Texas party feauturing host David Cross.)
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An impressive crowd gathered in an Austin backyard to watch the Sundresses rip through an abbreviated set of new and old songs. While the band's official showcase brought a decent crowd on Thursday night, this much less official set seemed overall more successful. As - was leaving, plenty of new fans lined up to buy CDs and chat with the band.
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I can't believe it's Friday already! It's hard to imagine that in a few days I won't get to just roll out of bed and see a band, eat some lunch, see some more bands and on and on. (Hey, CiN people - maybe we can look into incorporating live music into the office?)

Today will involve the usual day show sampling and as many showcases as I can fit in. There's a lot of Cincinnati action on the agenda as well. During the day, I'll be hitting up the Sundresses' day show at the Typewriter Museum (sounds cool, no?) and the WOXY party. Tonight, I'll see showcases by Burning Star Core, Buffalo Killers and Peter Adams and the Nocturnal Collective.

Clips from the band's showcase and snippets from a post-show chat. (Technical note: I've decided I need more practice with the whole "transition" thing.) Good stuff!

Another fantastic day at SXSW is done. I'm back at my hotel, working on a video about the Sundresses, which I filmed during and after their showcase tonight. (I'm blogging as I wait for the files to import … so efficient!)

Today was busy but not quite as busy as Wednesday. Here's an overview:

Day:
1. Sparklehorse at an in-store performance at Waterloo Records
2. Lily Allen in-store performance at Waterloo (I should have a short video of that up sometime soon; I was having some technical difficulties with the footage.)
3. I visited WOXY's temporary studio and saw The Rumble Strips play a superb Lounge Act. (The band was also without transportation, so Mike Taylor took some band members in his car, and I took the rest in mine - and we dropped them off at their next gig. So funny - and only at SXSW.)

Night (official showcases):
4. The Besnard Lakes - dreamy, atmospheric pop from Montreal
5. The Sundresses - first Cincinnati band showcase of this year's SXSW. The show had a good turnout at Lava Lounge Patio, and the set was tight - a perfect introduction for new fans. Ran into Joe Hansbauer and other Cincy fans. (For the full report, wait for the video!)
6. Office - saw a song or two of this new wavey band (who James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins fame just loves).

Lily Allen was lovely. She played an acoustic set and threw in a couple covers (the Kooks, Blondie).

Now I am headed to the WOXY studio. Calla is playing a Lounge Act and I might chat a bit on air at some point too. Tune in at woxy.com.
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After getting just enough sleep, I grabbed a quick lunch at Whole Foods and wandered across the street to Waterloo Records to see Sparklehorse and now I am waiting for Lily Allen to go onstage for her instore gig. Exciting!

Later today I will catch more day shows and the Sundresses at 10. More Cincy news: Burning Star Core is playing a SXSW showcase on Friday. (They had been listed as a Columbus band in official festival guides - confusing!)

More later of course!
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Peter, Bjorn and John day show at Red Eyed Fly


Imperial Teen showcase at Antone's


Hanging on Sixth St.

Here are some brief video highlights of day one at SXSW! You'll find that today's main lesson was about the importance of patience.


I spent 12+ hours in downtown Austin today - first for the unofficial "day shows" and after dinner, I fit in as many official showcases gigs as I could. My feet hurt, but I think the pain is worth it since I got to see so many great bands. I saw:

Day shows:
1. The Forms (only saw a song of this band; it was good, but not sure on the details)
2. Pela (NY indie rock)
3. The Octopus Project (loud, experimental pop from Austin)
4. Peter, Bjorn and John (super fun, quaint Swedish pop)

Showcases:
5. The Ladybug Transistor (NY indie pop; oved the keyboard/trumpet combo)
6. Imperial Teen (classic LA indie pop band; lovely harmonies)
7. Broadfield Marchers (Louisville rock band)
8. Jo Mango (Glasgow, Scotland; beautiful set in a quirky venue - a local church)
9. Cortney Tidwell (Nashville singer-songwriter with a lovely backing band)
10. Cyann and Ben (Parisian atmospheric indie rockers)

*Bonus: Lily Allen's gig was predictably chaotic, and no way was I going to wait in that line. However, on the way to see Jo Mango, I did stop to listen to a couple of her songs from outside the barrier to her outdoor stage. It sounded like a blast.

Tomorrow I will upload some photos and share my schedule for the day. I got a text message from the Sundresses that they will be playing a day show tomorrow (in addition to a couple others they already booked), and tomorrow night they play their showcase. Get ready for some Cincy SXSW updates!