sxsw (late) recap

So let me get this out of the way first: I love SXSW. Love. I look forward to this week every year, and spend the bulk of my time trying to cram in as many shows as humanly possible. It’s my Super Bowl, if the Super Bowl was a week long and ran for a series of 14-hour days. I am tempted to say that it’s the musical equivalent of March Madness, except I’m not really sure what March Madness is. Except that it involves brackets of some kind.

Before I get to my recap, let me start by saying that enough cannot be said about the eMusic Showcase. A truly wonderful night, and the sound of Ed from Grizzly Bear’s voice filling the rafters at Central Presbyterian Church is not something I will soon forget. If I had to pick a single SXSW highlight, that show would win by a country mile.

Fortunately, though, I’m picking five highlights. You can read what they are after the jump.

1. Wolves in the Throne Room, Emo’s Annex
Sweet mother of God. I had been waiting all week for this show, and it did not disappoint. Awesome, overpowering sound, a gang of guitars blending into a single black band of noise and mowing down anyone within 15 feet. It was like the finale of Raiders of the Lost Ark — there were moments I expected all of us to be tied up by specters. The songs went on forever, ghoulish, ghastly symphonies — the result was physically devastating. I was dumbstruck.

Anecdote: the afternoon of the show I was walking down 6th Street in my new Skeletonwitch T-Shirt (more on that below), when a burly-but-amiable guy accosted me and asked if I knew when there would be any metal shows (side anecdote: I had more friendly conversations with strangers the day I wore my Skeletonwitch shirt than any other day of the festival). I gave him the rundown, and then asked him what kind of metal he was into. He pointed proudly at his Extol T-Shirt and said “Mostly Christian metal.”

I mean, really, people. What are the odds?

So he and I geeked out a bit over Mortification and Vengeance Rising in the middle of 6th Street, a scene that bottomed out with both of us singing Saviour Machine’s “Carnival of Souls” a cappella just loudly enough to be obnoxious. His name was Mike, and he was auditioning to be the vocalist for a band called Benevolence. SXSW was kind of a pre-audition training camp. He was enormous but unbelievably giddy, face full of piercings, his body like 10 of me put together. At one point I put a friendly hand on his arm and it was like fondling a side of beef.

We ran into each other multiple times over the course of the evening, but my favorite moment came near the end of the Wolves show. I was lurching forward and back, yanked around by the black waves of sound, when I felt two meaty paws on my shoulders. Without warning, Mike spun me around and, eyes full of a combination of terror, fear, wonder and elation, he blurted out: “It’s so demonic! It’s like SATAN’S WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM OF GOD.“

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

2. Sprengjuhollin, Opal Divine’s Freehouse
The last time I saw Sprengjuhollin they were, to put it mildly, awful. Out-of-tune, out-of-sync, long on personality but short on anything like songcraft. I remember telling their manager, who I now consider a dear friend of mine, “Uh, yeah. I’m glad I got to see that.” Flash forward one year later and Sprengjuhollin are a radically different band: tight, energetic, buoyant and unstoppable. They only played for 12 people at Opal Divine’s, but it was as if they were playing for 12,000. It was one of those moments that I found myself thinking, “Everyone in Austin needs to be here, right now, seeing this band.” Absolute euphoria.

3. Cut Off Your Hands, Emo’s
The perfect combination of melody and energy, Cut Off Your Hands rocket off the stage without sacrificing musicianship. Their songs are jangly and almost laconic on record, but live their tightly-wound and explosive. A non-stop thrill ride.

4. Silver Scooter, Radio Room Patio
The sentimental favorite. I nearly didn’t go to this show, on account of the fact that it’s 2009, but I am unbelievably glad I did. If Silver Scooter had formed five years later than they did, they might have been Death Cab for Cutie. As it is, they left a small legion of fans — of whom I am proudly one — misty-eyed and satisfied. This showcase rocketed me back nearly a decade, and when they finally broke out “Pumpkin Eyes” I actually felt myself misting up. Come back, oh sound of late 90s indie rock. All is forgiven. All is forgiven.

5. Skeletonwitch, Emo’s Annex
The show I almost didn’t make it into, but patience is a virtue. White-hot riffs, just enough camp to be endearing and just enough metal to be menacing. Skeletonwitch plant a firm stake at the crossroads where hardcore meets death metal. I left beaming, clutching a T-Shirt emblazoned with the image of a demon holding a fistful of dessicated human heads. And then I went and saw the whole show all over again the next night.

Things I Missed That I Wished I Hadn’t:
Hurray for the Riff Raff: They played just one show all week, and it was right after our showcase at the church. The 40 minute layover between Grizzly Bear’s conclusion and their commencement seemed too long to wait out. Possible upside: If I hadn’t skipped this, I would have missed Cut Off Your Hands.

Ladyhawke: I heard the show wasn’t spectacular, but I still would have liked to see it.

Crystal Antlers: Yancey raved about this show. I have no idea what this band sounds like, but his endorsement made me feel like I’d missed something truly special.

Blu & Exile: I was somewhere else, seeing something else, and the fact that I can’t remember what clearly indicates that it wasn’t as good as this would have been. So it goes.

Metallica: Just cuz.