I've been slowly working my way through the SXSW 2010 shows, mastering, cutting, tagging, uploading etc. Good news is Im done (at least with the shows that are worth posting... Unfortunately ended up with about ten shows that just didn't work out - very sad, especially Yatcht, The Watson Twins and the Living Sisters.)

One absolute jewel that emerged today was Nicole Atkins closing song at the Brooklyn Vegan day party at Club de Ville, a cover of Sparklehorse's It's A Wonderful Life, dedicated to the recently deceased Mark Linkous. Check it out.

Live MP3 MP3s:
It's A Wonderful Life

Labels: brooklyn vegan, Club De Ville, live mp3s, mark linkous, nicole atkins, soundboard mp3s, sparklehorse, sxsw

I was wondering what happened to the (what I expected to be) annual Hot Freaks! SXSW party that for the last several years has been put on by a host of excellent bloggers at Club De Ville and the Mohawk in Austin, but I never found out - all I know is that it didn't happen in 2010.

Which isn't to say there wasn't a host of good music at those venues this year. On Friday March 19th, Brooklyn Vegan descended on Club De Ville and hosted a great set of bands (and free beer! and free vodka! and free food! and free ear plugs! (critically important at the loud shows)).

I was especially excited about The Antlers and Sondre Lerche. Long time readers will know I'm a big fan of Sondre Lerche, having seen and taped him numerous times, beginning with this show in support of his first record, Faces Down, back in 2003.

As usual he didn't disappoint, playing a great little show - finishing up with a rousing solo (with audience as accompaniment) rendition of his classic, Modern Nature. Check out a few of the tracks below.

Live MP3 MP3s:
Good Luck
Airport Taxi Reception
Modern Nature

Labels: austin, Club De Ville, indie, live mp3s, sondre lerche, soundboard mp3s, sxsw

Quick post! I won't get to post again til Wednesday, and wanted to get at least one more SXSW show out there!

This was one of our favorite shows this year - definitely in the top 3. It didn't hurt that we'd had Lykke Li's record, Youth Novels, on repeat for the last week. Hearing the record, then seeing her live, you just know that this artist is going to make it big. Last year it was Amy Winehouse at SXSW. This year, we're betting that Lykke blows up in Europe and the States.

If you haven't heard any of her studio tracks be sure to head over to her MySpace and check them out. You can also buy her record here.

Amazing set - Lykke's performance and voice was just spot on, and the live interpretations of the studio tracks were inspired, especially the odd "toy" instruments, and ultra-simple drum set up.

I'm personally hoping more Lykke set's show up from SXSW. Enjoy!

Live MP3 MP3s:
Intro
Dance Dance Dance
Let It Fall
Hanging High
Little Bit
Window Blues
I'm Good, I'm Gone
Outro

Labels: austin, Club De Ville, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s, sxsw

Austin during SXSW 2008. Fantastic.

We got to see a couple of dozen bands at some great parties over the last few days, including memorable stops at the Nylon Guess shows at their 5th Floor pool party, Hot Freaks at Club de Ville/the Mohawk and Everloving at the ultra-swank furniture store, Design Within Reach.

One of the beautiful aspects of SXSW is that you never actually know what you're going to get from the bands. Today a guest 30-minute DJ set from "List Christee" aka Kevin Barnes, lead singer from Of Montreal turned into a surprise live performance at the Hot Freaks show at Club de Ville.

Intended to be an acoustic set, Kevin ended up borrowing an electronic guitar from the band White Rabbits, who were next up on the bill, after technical issues forced him to set aside his acoustic.

An eclectic set, Barnes played a new one-minute track (which in lieu of an official title, we've labeled "Why Am I"), a couple of cool MIA and Grateful Dead covers and an Of Montreal staple. He also played a song he attributed to Bob Dylan. After a couple of listens and some time with Google, it seems that the track may have been a spontaneous creation, with Barnes making up the lyrics on the spot. Any corrections would be appreciated!

Enjoy

Live MP3 MP3s:
Intro
Why Am I
Jimmy (MIA)
Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse
Shakedown Street (Grateful Dead)
Matchbox Cars

Labels: austin, Club De Ville, concerts, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s, sxsw

Got to catch the Young Knives at the Hot Freaks! showcase at Club Deville on the last day of SXSW. It was the first day we had visited Club Deville and were really enjoying the vibe. Great raised stage in the corner of a large outdoor patio, beautiful day - and really strong drinks.

One of the challenges with recording at SXSW is the uneven sound mixing. Since there's no real opportunity to sound check, and since most bands use the "house" sound guy, there's a lot of room for mixing "error." In defense of the sound people, they usually have not heard of the dozen or so bands they are going to be mixing for on any given day. This in turn leads to some off mixing since they don't have a sense of how loud the guitar should be versus, say, the xylophone.

With that said - all praise to the Club Deville (and for that matter, the Mohawk) Sound Guys. Great mixing all day long.

One of the benefits of recording outside is that you usually get better recordings than shows that were played inside a venue. Simple reason for this - when a band plays outside, you have to mic every instrument to compensate for the "open air." When a band plays inside they don't necessarily mic every instrument at the same level. If a guitar is cranked up through the amp, the venue doesn't need to pump that through the venue speakers at the same level, thus causing "quieter" guitars in a soundboard mix.

Why the ramble? It's just a prelude to say that this show (and the upcoming Menomena show that will get posted tomorrow) sound really, really nice. ;)

So, onto the Young Knives. I've mentioned before that this years SXSW was a personal smorgasbord of musical stylings, and Young Knives filled the "post-punk" piece of the SXSW pie. Not only did they play a fun, rocking set - but they brought a very dry, self-deprecating, and British sense of humour to the stage with them.

Oh and I really liked the tweed outfits. Enjoy.

Live MP3s:
Part Timer
The Decision
Mystic Energy
Brochures
Loughborough Suicide
Fit For You
Weekends And Bleak Days
Here Comes The Rumour Mill
She's Attracted To

Labels: austin, Club De Ville, concerts, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s, sxsw

We'd never heard of Land of Talk before we walked into Club De Ville - Page France had just wrapped up at the Mohawk, and we had wandered over to tape the Young Kvives who were scheduled to go on next at De Ville.

As we walked in, and heard Land of Talk blitzing their way through their song, Death By Fire, we realized we were missing something seriously good. Picking it up a notch, we dashed over to the soundboard and dangled some cables in front of the sound man, and gave him a slightly pleading (yes, perhaps a tad pathetic) look. The good man shrugged, and plugged me in.

The good news is we managed to tape two killer rock songs, or as we like to look at it, something is better than nothing! We should also point out that one of the two is a brand new track, Young Bridge.

If you've never heard Montreal-based Land of Talk, you should definitely check them out - lead singer Elizabeth Powell's wrought vocals bring an almost desperate urgency to the band's songs, which in turn grab you and don't easily let you go. Straight up rock - honed to perfection.

(We got the great photo of Elizabeth from Kathryn's Flickr account - here - check it out for other great SXSW photos)

Live MP3s:
Intro
Young Bridge
Speak To Me Bones

Labels: austin, Club De Ville, concerts, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s, sxsw

Quick post tonight!

The Rosebuds have been getting much love in the blogosphere lately, and rightly so - their show last week at Club De Ville (go Hot Freaks!) was off the hook a indie-pop met some dancy beats. Roaring through ten tracks - The Rosebuds led several hundred of SXSW prettiest people in a dancing frenzy, culminating in an all out free-for-all as a couple of dozen fans got on stage to close out the set.

Even though the bulk of the songs were from their upcoming record - Night of the Furies (dropping April 10th) - you wouldn't have known it from the reaction of the crowd.. Enjoy.

Live MP3s:
Hold On To This Coat
Cemetery Lawns
Hold Hands And Fight
Waiting For The Carnival
I Better Run
Get Up Get Out
Leaves Do Fall
When The Lights Went Dim
Boxcar
Night Of The Three Furies

Labels: austin, Club De Ville, concerts, indie, live mp3s, soundboard mp3s, sxsw