Music

Is it possible that Robyn’s Friday night set was even better than Vampire Weekend’s? Don’t laugh! (Pete Freedman) So the all the hype caught up with me tonight; after fighting it and fighting it, I decided to give in to Vampire Weekend. Catching Helio Sequence during the day had something…

P.P.T. throwing it down at SXSW Friday night. (Mark C. Austin) P.P.T. got cheated last night. The three Dallas rappers Picnic, Pikahsso and Tahiti busted out new songs –- never performed live before –- and old favorites, offered hilarious stage banter and were bouncing all over the place getting the…

I ended up popping into Emo’s Jr. while waiting for Does It Offend You, Yeah? to take the main stage last night, and caught The Dodos as they took stage. Wow. The three-piece have such energy. The band offers up indie rock with country tinged guitar (fervent plucking) that’s heavy…

British Sea Power does it epic at the Mohawk. (Pete Freedman) Oh, Friday. You weren’t as hot as hyped weather-wise. But, musically, you were simply en fuego. Delightful stuff again, Austin. Here’s What It Was Like on Friday afternoon… Band: The Black Keys, the greatest blues rock duo to ever…

Drug Rug takes it to the Spiro’s crowd. (Pete Freedman) Last night brought some of the best performances I’ve seen yet at this festival. Here’s What It Was Like on Thursday night… Band: El Remolon, a two-piece electronic dance act from Buenos Aires Where: Ninety Proof Lounge What It Was…

Each day I feel like the lag between shows has gotten longer. I wasn’t the only one standing around in that gap between day parties and nighttime showcases. See? (More photos after the jump.) — Chelsea Ide…

We love The Black Keys. The couple hundred people at this afternoon’s show at La Zona Rosa love The Black Keys. If you aren’t already in love with the blues rock duo, then you need to listen to from this afternoon’s show. If you don’t fall head over heels by…

So, you’ll have to wait a bit for our updates on last night’s gigs from The Remolon (an electronica act from Buenos Aires), Florence and the Machine (a songstress from the UK), Wild Lights (indie rockers from New Hampshire), MGMT (psych rockers with dance fever from Brooklyn), Drug Rug (low-fi…

Disappointed that you didn’t make it to see Motorhead on Thursday afternoon? Can’t blame you. But make yourself feel a little better by at yesterday’s show. Turning the speakers all the way up is required. — Chelsea Ide…

Woman asking for directions: “You know, that one fuckin’ venue all the way down there?” A couple guys waiting outside Stubb’s: “Those windows are already broken. You should break the other two.” “Well, I’m tall enough. I’ve got enough scars on my hands, though.” “You can’t have too many. Bare…

Lemmy. Enough said. (Mark C. Austin) Motorhead. Fucking Motorhead. The hard rock* Brits with the gravelly-voiced bassist Lemmy Kilmister for a frontman took to Stubb’s Thursday afternoon and annihilated every song with the same vigor they surely had in the late ’70s. Lemmy even joked, “Sorry, that one’s from 1976.”…

Proof that Vampire Weekend could be worth it. (Pete Freedman) Thanks to some helpful commenters and some sleuthing on our own, we found out about Vampire Weekend’s two unofficial showcases this weekend. One was today at about 5 p.m., hosted by National Public Radio at The Parish. Only, uh, one…

The Old 97’s at Club de Ville on Thursday. (Pete Freedman) Day Two was a pretty warm one in Austin–made warmer with hordes of people crammed into venues to check out the day-time parties. For Austinites and hangers-on, it’s the lack of badge-holding preferential treatment that makes the day parties…

Record Hop at Wednesday’s showcase. (Melanie Gomez) As promised yesterday, we’ve got images from the NX35 showcase at SXSW — a.k.a. The Denton Stage. Click through to see your favorite locals having a hell of a time in Austin. Included: Record Hop, Sarah Jaffe, the Baptist Generals, Dan from Dan’s…

Grand Ole Party having a ball (Pete Freedman) Saw plenty of stuff on night one in Austin… here’s a quick rundown, in an SXSW feature we’ll call “What It Was Like”… Band: Hey Willpower, a two-piece dance duo from San Francisco Where: Ms. Bea’s (unofficial party) What It Was Like:…

No lie. Metal dude in hippie wear. (Chelsea Ide) Last night I experienced something for the first time. I’m still in shock. I saw a metalhead — we’re talking long haired, guitar wielding metalhead — in a tie-dyed T-shirt. On stage, no less. And, oddly, I kind of dug it…

Once upon a time, Evan Dando was the fresh-faced savior of indie-rock. And boy, oh, boy did the girls find the Lemonheads front man dreamy. That whole idea would’ve been utterly sickening—no boy bands in indie rock, please—had the fellas not embraced his act’s tunes, too, nodding along at the…

The last time Gogol Bordello performed at the Granada, the band filled a clothes dryer with a tour’s worth of dirty laundry and turned it on, blasting the funky exhaust into the audience. The gesture was completely unnecessary: Gogol’s wild live show can work even a theater full of freshly…

If you don’t remember Trey Songz from his 2005 debut album, I Gotta Make It and you somehow missed last fall’s follow-up, Trey Day, you’re missing out on one of the acts making up the new wave of R&B elite. Songz, 23 years old, is young, but he seems to…

Well this looks fun. Just two weeks after blowing people’s minds with computer-based beats, whiny vocals and contagious energy at their Melodica Festival performance, the three young men of Sydney Confirm are back on stage performing, this time at Club Dada and in a billing that looks ripe for dancing…

Whether you want to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or catch some South by Southwest acts coming through the region (or do a little of both), festivals are a good option this week. And you don’t even have to make a trip down I-35 (the “I” stands for “Immobile”) to Austin…