SXSW Day 2

Back for more...the beardo look is fitting in just fine here in Central TX.  There are so many beards here, that its catching on with the ladies too..or maybe thats just an effeminate grindcore frontman....on to the shows.

First was I Wrestled a Bear Once(Shreveport, LA). I wasn't expecting much from this very young metalcore band..but then lead singer Krysta Cameron came out dressed like a furby/ penguin hybrid and started in singing...I've never heard a female voice like it. her's is 30/30/40...Bjork on helium/shrieking piglet/and a very cute but powerful death growl. She has total possessed control of her vox..amazing to hear..even if you don't like this sort of music, and I don't. the band messed together genres with interludes of jazz, Mr. Bungle outtakes and math rock.

Next was Tia Carrera from Austin. Heavy power trio with rotovibe blanket...their thing is that they improvise every single show from start to finish, much easier to do with no vocals..

Next was Suplecs from New Orleans....I sat next to one of their superfans and asked him to describe them to me before the show..he said they've got that stoner heavy swamp thing going on. I asked him to go deeper for me and he told me "all you journalists are the same". I told him "look, I know what a heavy stoner swamp thin is, but maybe readers don't...and he said you know ZZTop /Allmans...I just smiled.......knowing that there are very few swamps in Texas or Georgia. He had gold fangs.

Next was The Meat Puppets !  What a show...older, yes they are..Curt Had a very large beer belly...looked like he was in his second trimester...but they blew me away with rolling desert jams, country beats, tumbleweeds rolling in a hoedown and massive spaces full of tight cactus rock..

next was Souls.. one lanky drummer, bassist and guitarist were lightskinned black skinhead lookin', singer was Long curly haired "Maiden fan" lookin'.  Then the music...explosive anger, 2 minute point and pump shotgun blasts length songs, a fury whip pit of arms and arterial spray. I was actually scared of their music....kind of brought out the feral in every member of the audience.

Next was Who made Who from Denmark- Two dieter looking dudes with manicured mustaches and suspenders churning out some tasty live disco beats..but the kicker was the guitar..funky greasy and sometimes spacey swoops of slide guitar...and it worked. Their voices in tandem rang out like a faster Brian Ferry ...a major surprise...I almost got out on the dance floor..but really now, the only move I know is the white man dance/Angus Young two step.

On to the Tee Pee records showcase where i was entertained by a very loud stoner band called Iron Age from Austin...another one of a kind vocalist sounding like a much louder Rob Halford if he was gargling small pieces of glass...also watched a J Mascis side project called Sweetapple, with members of Cobra Verde and Witch.

At 1:30 I had my last Lone Star which almost came up as I sang Big Star's "Thirteen" on the late night bike ride home.

Seano at SXSW

I would like to announce (as well as warn the fine city of Austin,TX) that I will be attending SXSW 2010!

I plan on covering the festival as much as possible with interviews, reporting and blog posts via several websites including this one. For me, and many other music aficionados, SXSW is a mecca. It cannot be missed if you want to find new music to love/hype/bitch about. It cannot be missed if you happen to want to write about music for the rest of your life. Check out the line up so far, and notice all of the bands you've never heard of here:  SXSW Band Schedule(so far).

As you may know, last year I attended as a performer(w/Bang Camaro). I was able to have enough free time between 2 showcases to see bands from afar, or to online RSVP for free showcases. The RSVP doesn't guarantee entry to the showcases, however. Access to shows (hundreds official and hundreds more unofficial) gets tricky. An official all access badge costs around 1K. No can do, this year. I'm too busy transitioning out of a life of hard labor.

Although my attempt to raise money (a SXSW Seanathon) here at Circle of Fits FAILED miserably, I have a good friend and benefactor(Thanks Alex!) who bought me a plane ticket in exchange for my contracting services.

I will still keep the Send Seano to SXSW thingy in the TOP RIGHT column open, however. Because a man needs 4 days worth of beer(fine Shiner beer), Emergence -C,  breakfast tacos and a tie dyed Stevie Ray Vaughan  t-shirt(size XL). There's only so much a homeless looking blogger is willing to do for a backstage pass..cavity search, crack beer or blumpkin not included.


I also need some supple greenbacks to pay the cover charge at various showcases I will be trying to get into.There were over 500 bands showcasing last year(officially) and hundreds more playing parties scattered around downtown Austin last year. So if you get a tax return and can't put a finger on which charitable donation brings you the most joy..put the finger on me....maybe.

I know how hard it is out there, so don't even sweat it if you can't donate. Just a comment here and there is all I really want...and thank you.

I'd like to personally thank daily reader Dan S. for the one and only donation I received.  Dan, I will do my best to make you smile from Austin, I promise.

If there are any bands on that immense list that you want me to see and report on which don't include members who frequently wear skinny white denim jeans and glasses too big for their faces...let me know. I'll see what I can do.


But, for now, its......20 days to go and counting.

Coachella Line-Up revealed/ Send me to SXSW

I've never been to Coachella. Its a shame. Never been to Bonneroo, Burning Man, Download, Mardi Gras, Outside Lands, All Tomorrows Parties, Pitchfork, Glastonbury, Reading, Roskilde, Rocklahoma, Carnivale, All Points West, Big Day Out, Isle of Wight, Bumbershoot, Sasquatch, Sturgis, Folsom Street Fair, Summerfest, Cannes, The Mummers, the Cannabis Cup, Tunarama in Australia, La Tomatina in Spain, Comic Con, The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, The Cheese Rolling Festival in Gloucestershire or the annual Gathering of the Juggaloes, either.  What a bore I am...trying to pass as some rock afficionado...yet I rarely leave the house...except for when I went to  Lollapalooza 6x, SXSW, Woodstock '94 & '99, Siren Music Fest, Austin City Limits 2x, and a couple Rainbow Gatherings in my acid eating days.

But I freaking LIVED in California..I had three chances to shuffle off to Indio and go to Coachella and blew it for really dumb reasons like taking care of a pregnant wife, not having a tent, being overcome by crippling headaches and keeping my appointment for a long overdue exorcism of a pesky Azazel demon.  I blew it. I wont be going this year, either...but in the interests of my readers/trollers/lurkers, here is their just released schedule.

By Link:  http://coachella.com/event/lineup                                             
Or Poster: Below (which you MUST CLICK ON to expand)

YEAH!
Sly and the Family Stone
Them Crooked Vultures
Thom Yorke
Spoon
Dead Weather
Devo
DJ LANCE ROCK....YO GABBA!
Baroness
the Gossip
PiL!!!
The Avett Bros.
Faith No More
Gary Numan

NAYYYY!
Jay-Z                     (one of the banes of my existence)
Pavement               (one of the worst bands ever)
Vampire Weekend      ''                             ''
Dirty Projectors           ''                             ''
Grizzly Bear                 ''                             ''
Hot Chip                     ''                             ''
Passion Pit                  ''                              ''
Ra Ra Riot                  ''                              ''
GorillasZ                     ''                              ''
Deerhunter                  ''                              ''
She and Him               "                              "
Girls                           ''                              ''

Its dead even...positive to negative.........why are Gorillaz a fucking headliner...haven't been relevant in half a decade.
Why not have a Brooklyn Day...just ask almost everyone from my Nayyy list and their opening bands to move to a 4th day, charter a jet from Williamsburg...they can all share the same couple stage laptops, thrift shop guitars tuned to an inexplicable style and feast on catered veggie burgers and "not dogs".

Ugh. Cool.   but more ugh than cool.....oh well there's always   SXSW a month before.

I should start a "Send Seano to SXSW" drive....cause I really want to go to just one festival and that would be the one.........would anyone donate though? Wouldn't you want my scintillating and uber informative numerous updates from the three/four days I would be there?   I could tell you what not to listen to in 2010.   Its a win win for me and you.......think about it and let me know