Sunday 20-March
2005
After some much-needed rest and a hearty breakfast taco at “Juan in a
Million” on Austin’s east side, I was ready to see more music.
Matthew Hebert @ Cheapo Discs
“Hebert is a gifted
writer with a mellow, lightly raspy voice that sounds like a Bay State
John Prine.” – Steve Morse, Boston Globe
Jon Nolan @ Cheapo Discs
Ware River Club had been regulars at SXSW in recent
years, and this
time band-leader Matt Hebert was there to promote his upcoming solo
record. He was actually joined by some of his band mates, so his set
didn’t sound that different from a WRC acoustic show. Matthew
shared his slot with Jon Nolan, who played a few songs from his
upcoming solo debut.
Mekons’ Jon Langford and Sally Timms shared the opening slot at
Alejandro’s traditional yet unofficial SXSW closing event at the
Continental Club. I arrived just in time to see the last couple of
songs, with Beatle Bob dancing away merrily on stage.
John Schooley’s One Man
Band was next, but his act appeared to be little more than a Bob Log III
clone minus the helmet.
[Update
30-January 2006: John sent me an email today pointing out that his
first One Man Band release came out about 2 years before Bob Log III's
debut. So much for my "clone" theory...]
David Garza, who had
stepped in for the originally scheduled Nicholas Tremulis, played a
diverse and appealing set featuring Nina Singh on drums.
Charlie
Sexton @ Continental Club
Shannon McNally @ Continental Club
“In a post-Sheryl
Crow/Shelby Lynne
world, Shannon McNally has a real shot of stardom, since there have
already been artists who have opened the doors for her classy, urbane,
slyly roots singer/songwriterism. That's not to say that McNally is
totally indebted to those artists, even if her debut, Jukebox
Sparrows, recalls both, along with
touches of everyone from Lucinda Williams to Stevie Nicks. It's that
she's departing from the same point — post-alternative
singer/songwriter pop, with a heritage in classic rock and a fondness
for classic country, but with enough hipness to know when to keep
things calm and measured and when to haul out the obligatory trip-hop
drum loop. […] A very enjoyable, promising debut from an artist who
could turn into something special.” - Stephen Thomas Erlewine,
allmusic.com
Raul Malo @ Continental Club
“The
Mavericks, who reunited last
year, were the great Latin-accented country act of the Nineties; the
lingering sound of the band is Raul Malo's voice. Malo intends to
perform this showcase acoustically, but if you're hoping for a
souvenir, you'll have to wait for June's new album.” – Margaret Moser,
Austin Chronicle
Raul Malo played an acoustic set of some of his favorite
(non-Mavericks) songs. The ladies in the house loved it, but I got
bored quickly.
Alejandro Escovedo @ Continental Club
“In the clarified
artistic vision of
a mature musician with a broken heart, a spiritual sense of his place
in the world and a rich, resonant voice, Escovedo devised an electric
folk idiom — part Townes Van Zandt, part Band, part Rolling Stones.” -
Ira Robbins, Trouser Press
Shortly after midnight, before introducing Alejandro
Escovedo,
Continental Club owner Steve Westheimer asked the crowd: “Do any of you
ever f*cking sleep?” “Tomorrow”, the audience replied as one. Certainly
not before seeing the man everyone had come to see. Al started off with
“Put You Down”, in a set that also included “Sex Beat”, “Everybody
Loves Me”, “Crooked Frame”, “Baby’s Got New Plans”, “Wave”, “I Was
Drunk” and “Losing Your Touch”.
There was a power outage during “Velvet Guitar”, and
once it was
restored Al launched into ”Wanna Be Your Dog”, “Gravity / Falling Down
Again / I Wish I Was Your Mother” (complete with story about seeing
Mott The Hoople in 1973 and about playing with Ian Hunter at Auditorium
Shores a few days earlier). Al’s fantastic band included Bruce Salmon
(keys + guitar), Brian Standefer (cello), Hector Munoz (drums), Mark
Andes (bass) and his old True Believer bandmate Jon Dee Graham (guitar
+ lap steel).
And that was it - SXSW 2005 was over. There were 1367 “official”
showcases on 58 stages, with some artists playing more
than one official showcase, and many more playing day parties. Artists
ranged from Aa (Brooklyn) to ZZZZ (Chicago) – not to be confused with
zZz (Amsterdam). Does it matter whether there are 700, 1000 or 1300
acts? It does matter to fans of genres which weren’t as prominently
featured in previous years, such as HipHop and DJs. But, with only 6
showcase slots each night, there are only so many bands you can see
unless you try to see 3 bands an hour, which isn’t much fun as far as
I’m concerned. For me, the highlights of SXSW 2005 were The Blind Boys
Of Alabama, Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3, Kathleen Edwards, Alejandro
Escovedo, Matt Mays & El
Torpedo, Calexico and Tegan & Sara!
Thanks to Kate Ryans,
Cathy Fischer, Harlan Seagran, Brittani Mathis, and Virginia Evans.
See y'all
next year...
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All pictures (c) Steffen Paulus 2005
