SXSW Day Three: The Good, The Bad And The Queen Wrap Busy Night

ChartAttack News Editor Steve McLean is in the midst of his annual pilgrimage to the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. Here's his report from day three:

The musical day began at 1 p.m. at Emo's with The Pipettes, three cute British women in brightly coloured mini-skirts and tights who sang and did choreographed dance moves while their band, who wore black shirts and yellow sweater vests, played behind them. They were very reminiscent of '60s girl groups, but with some modern pizzazz. They're not the best singers, but they charmed my pants off with their upbeat attitude and great pop hooks. It's totally kitschy fun that's even better live than on their We Are The Pipettes album.

I went to the Yep Roc party at Habana Calle 6 Annex, started drinking free Southern Comfort and Sprite. I regretted not bringing my Mexican wrestling mask when Los Straitjackets took the stage with Big Sandy to play a great mix of the band's surf-twang instrumentals and the Fly-Rite Boys' frontman's Spanish songs. It was even more fun than The Pipettes.

American Princes played next, and they're louder and more aggressive than most Yep Roc bands, but the three guitars, bass and drums lineup still knew their way around melodies and had decent harmonies. They were nothing exceptional, but solid, and "Don't Lie To Me" is an excellent song.

As I walked down 6th Street, I saw both The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne with a film crew and a muscular guy wearing tighty whiteys, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat strolling along. Both 6th Street and Red River Street, where many of the city's clubs are clustered, are restricted to pedestrian traffic both day and night during the festival, which was a welcomed move.

Amy Winehouse was doing a solo acoustic show at Bourbon Rocks that had a long lineup to get in, but luckily the club's patio doors were open so I could stand outside and at least hear her. She has a great voice, but didn't sound as good without a band. Maybe she wasn't drunk enough yet, since it was only 2:30 p.m. I was happy after hearing her sing "Rehab," so I made my way down to the convention centre to sign up for Sunday's softball tournament.

After that it was off to the Australian party, where I heard the last song by Expatriate. I talked to Dave and Jessica from The Golden Dogs as I waited for The Hoodoo Gurus, who opened with "That's What I Like" and included "Come Anytime" in their set. The veteran Australian band cranked up the volume and seemed to be in good shape, which bodes well for their appearance later this month at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern. Everyone needs to own the group's first two albums, Stoneage Romeos and Mars Needs Guitars!

Austin's Dillo trolley is free and covers much of the main downtown area, and what it doesn't is serviced by city buses. They cost $1 and you receive a pass that's good for 24 hours. How can the Toronto Transit Commission charge almost three times that much and provide fewer incentives to take public transportation and still lose a lot of money?

Anyway, I caught the bus down to the Yard Dog Gallery for the Bloodshot Records party and arrived just in time to catch a few solo acoustic songs by Graham Parker. He ended the set with the very Bob Dylan-esque "Stick To The Plan," which included a kazoo solo. The Silos came on at 4 p.m. and their set included two of the best songs from their new Come On Like The Fast Lane album, the title track and "Tell Me You Love Me." Walter Salas-Humara always puts on a good show with his roots rock band, and they're better live than on record.

Detroit's Gore Gore Girls, an all-female quartet decked out in fishnet stockings, mini-skirts and go-go boots who mix '60s girl group pop and garage rock, were next. All of the above factors made for a pretty sexy combination. Their Bloodshot debut comes out in April.

The Waco Brothers didn't seem to be fall-down drunk like last year, but were pleasantly buzzed from an afternoon of margaritas next door at Guero's. Their 70-minute set included "Nothing At All," "Blink Of An Eye," "Do What I Say, Don't Do What I Do," "Harm's Way," "Plenty Tough — Union Made," "Do You Think About Me" (which Jon Langford dedicated to the Toronto contingent in the crowd) and covers of George Jones' "White Lightning," Johnny Cash's "Big River" and "Folsom Prison Blues," Neil Young's "Revolution Blues," T-Rex's "20th Century Boy" and a totally free-for-all punk version of The Who's "Baba O'Riley," with Langford doing the Roger Daltrey microphone swing, hanging from the tent roof rafters, unbuttoning his shirt and doing a Russian dance.

Steel guitar player Mark Durante had been drinking from a flask and came to the front of the stage to sing "Join The Club" and fell down at the end. He fell down again later, taking a microphone stand with him, and upholding a tradition that mandolin player Tracy Dear started last year. There was talk among people who've seen the Wacos more than me that it was the best show they'd ever seen the group do. You can't find a better party band, and I've been to quite a few parties with them. Punk, country, rock 'n' roll and lots of humour. This set had it all.

I made my way up to the Canadian BBQ next. Nathan were playing in a room upstairs of the large house that hosts this annual event, while I stayed downstairs schmoozing, eating and drinking. Les Breastfeeders and I bridged our language barriers and bonded over a plate full of chipped beef.

From there it was on to Buffalo Billiards to see North Carolina's Explorer's Club. Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys walked by and said "Hi," as we watched the band display a mature Beach Boys sound with four-part harmonies. They ended their set with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode." They're coming to Toronto for the Over The Top Festival, and they're worth checking out.

I ran into the legendary Zeno outside Habana Calle 6, and I invited him inside to join me for a beer and viewing of Tiger! Tiger!, another group fronted by two sexy women wearing fishnet stockings, go-go boots and mini-skirts. There was a blend of '60s influences, garage rock and melodic pop that hit the spot just right. Zeno was impressed enough to buy an album after the show and the singer gave me a customized Tiger! Tiger! foam beer holder. We went outside to hear the last song by The Breakup Society, and unfortunately it wasn't "Robin Zander."

The line outside The Parish for The Drams and Steve Earle looked a bit daunting, so I instead opted for The Parish II downstairs. A cute young woman behind the bar smiled and said, "It's on me" when I ordered a pint of Sunshine Wheat. Riding that high, I scored a seat beside the stage for BOAT, who seemed to have a lot of friends in the crowd, all of whom had shakers. By the end of their set, I'd be happy to call myself a friend of the band as well. Their jittery pop kind of reminded me of an all-male Golden Dogs, with a hint of Modest Mouse thrown in for good measure. Bonus points go to the drummer for his Guided By Voices T-shirt.

When a guy came on stage with an acoustic guitar at the Dirty Dog Bar, I was worried. Luckily, that only lasted one song before the rest of You Am I came out and rocked harder than recorded versions of songs I've heard. I see them as Australia's equivalent of The Tragically Hip, in that they're one of the most successful alternative rock bands in their homeland, but have never made it much beyond cult band status in the U.S. They've dumped some of their past majesty for a rawer sound, which meets with my full approval. Chris Murphy walked by and said, "Hi." While I was curious to see Sloan play to a Texan audience, I elected not to stick around for their set.

I walked up to Club De Ville to see The Pigeon Detectives, a quirky indie rock band from England. Their sound is somewhat reminiscent of The Libertines, and their song "I Found Out" is one of my current favourites. There was more microphone swinging and the singer climbed on top of the speakers to add a touch of showmanship to the proceedings.

I then ventured down the street to Stubb's to see The Good, The Bad & The Queen. Damon Albarn came out wearing a top hat and former Clash bassist Paul Simonon still looked ever so cool in his porkpie hat. Albarn alternated between taking centre stage and moving to the side behind the keyboards near an all-female string quartet, who were also wearing top hats. Former Verve guitarist Simon Tong wasn't a major stage presence, but drummer Tony Allen was a powerful force.

The set list was essentially that of the band's debut and, while the live versions of the songs weren't radically different from those on the record, there was a heavier reggae vibe and some dub elements added, which was a bonus for me. The group was called out for an encore and they were joined by a rapper named Islam for their final encore song.

The show continued my good luck streak at Stubb's. In 2004, I got a group of friends on to the VIP balcony above the stage to see the Old 97s and Los Lobos, and when I wandered backstage I was offered sandwiches by The B-52s. In 2005 I found myself on stage with the New York Dolls. I made it on to the VIP balcony for The New Pornographers last year and, Friday night, I decided to try it again for The Good, The Bad & The Queen. The response? "Welcome, Mr. McLean," the door guy said before letting me in, almost as if he was expecting me.

Last call had arrived, so I made my way back to the hotel for another of our nightly music discussions washed down with Shiner Bock. I did some things on my computer until just past 5 a.m., when I figured that sleep would be a sensible option if I wanted to get four hours of sleep to be fresh for the final day of club-hopping.