SXSW 2009: Raunchy Day Five

03/24/09 2:17am

by Steve McLean (CHARTattack)

I was on a quest to hear great music until the first few days of spring at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, and I intended to do it without spending a penny on food.

Here's the report from my fifth day in the live music capital of the world:

Television cooking show host Rachael Ray's party began at noon at Maggie Mae's, but the lineup to get in went all around the block an hour before it even began, so I passed on that to go the Yorkshire party at Latitude 30.

There was no food today, but I got a free beer and stuck around for Rolo Tomassi's 1 p.m. performance. I knew they were a screamo band, but didn't realize their screamer was a woman. I didn't like the first two songs at all, so I quickly finished my beer and left.

The Mpress Records party was around the corner at the Soho Lounge, where I encountered the same situation as I did the day before at this venue: fine food and bad music.

Singer/songwriter Seth Glier sat behind a piano and was accompanied by a violinist, which made for what was easily my dullest musical moment of SXSW. I downed a free bourbon and Coke, Caesar salad, and vegetarian, turkey and tuna sandwiches before I made my exit.

I moved on to the Habana Calle 6 patio for Hamburg, Germany's Reeperbahn Festival party, where there was free Franziskaner Weissbier, German sausages on a bun and vegetables to be had. No music had started yet when some American and British friends who were having lunch in the restaurant above the patio spotted me and waved me up.

They told me there was a Gentleman Jesse And His Men showcase sponsored by Athens, Ga. venue the 40 Watt Club around the corner at the Side Bar patio. Since I'd already caught many of the bands I'd planned on seeing today and I didn't want to stand in a lineup for a couple of the trendier hipster parties, I decided to join them. They even bought me a beer.

Gentleman Jesse And His Men's self-titled debut was one of my five favourite albums last year, so it was an unexpected coup to see this Atlanta band. There's a strong early Beatles influence in Jesse's kick-ass Rickenbacker guitar-driven power pop, and the songs were sped up live. Set hightlights included "Butterfingers," "Careful What You Wish For, "I Don't Wanna Know Where You've Been Tonight," "Look Around" and "All I Need Tonight (Is You)."

"Black Godfather" Andre Williams was just starting at the Continental Club, but the 30-minute walk across the river and down South Congress would have taken too long, so I spent seven bucks (including tip) on my only cab ride of the week to get to the annual party hosted by Mojo Nixon.

I could hear the music inside while I waited in the short lineup, and Williams was singing "She's A Bag Of Potato Chips" when I walked in. Williams originally recorded the song with The Sadies on Red Dirt, but he was backed today by The Allen Oldies Band, who I had unfortunately missed during their own set earlier in the day.

The 72-year-old Williams (the subject of last year's Agile Mobile Hostile: A Year With Andre Williams documentary, which I unfortunately still haven't seen) is one of my favourite performers, and it was good to see him again for the first time in about five years.

He was decked out in a red pimp suit and bookended on stage by two go-go dancers, which seemed appropriate for "Let Me Put It In," which started slow and sexy and built to orgasmic proportions. The set ended with his mid-'50s hit, "Jail Bait," and was met with huge applause.

Williams moved to a table to sign copies of his CDs, vinyl albums and singles and posters. He was even selling the Andre Williams Bar, made with smooth milk chocolate and extra nuts (of course).

Nixon introduced Dash Rip Rock as the "greatest band in the land," and the rock trio did their best to live up to the billing. They opened with "Country Girlfriend," the title track from their new album. A breakneck version of "Johnny Ace," a punk rock tune with a dash of Elvis Presley thrown in, followed. My favourite Dash Rip Rock song, "Locked Inside A Liquor Store," was thankfully included. "Beertown, that's my hometown," Davis sang in "Beer Town U.S.A." Considering he's from New Orleans, he wasn't really lying.

Singer/guitarist Bill Davis is the only remaining original Dash Rip Rock member, but he's still having fun and rocking out in the group's 25th anniversary year. The set continued with the totally punk "My Neighborhood Is A DMZ," which brought the go-go dancers out again.

"Natchez Trace," "Jolie," "All Liquored Up," "Shake That Girl" and the set-closing "Let's Go Smoke Some Pot" (set to the tune of Danny And The Juniors' '50s hit, "Let's Go To The Hop") all had the crowd of Austinites (I was refreshingly the only SXSW badge holder I spotted in the packed 200-person club that often draws comparisons to Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern) singing, dancing and shouting along.

The band gave into peer pressure and returned for an encore cover of "Delta Dawn" that started a cappella, moved into vintage punk style and featured a brief rap interlude.

The crowd chanted "Mojo" until the day's host, who's essentially retired from performing apart from these annual shows to focus on his Sirius satellite radio show, took the stage with The Toad Liquors. He's put on some weight and a Hawaiian shirt since I last saw him down here in 2004.

"The president called and said, 'Mojo, if you play, more people will drink, fuck and get pregnant," Nixon said in explaining that his periodic returns were a boost to the economy.

Nixon often ad libbed his lyrics in a raunch-filled set that included "Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant," "Louisiana Lip Lock," "Are You Drinkin' With Me Jesus," "You Can't Kill Me" and "Elvis Is Everywhere." While the audience needed no encouragement to sing along, Nixon threatened a guy in the front row that he'd "fuck him in the ass until jism started seeping out of his eye sockets."

I guess I should mention Dash Rip Rock's frontman was naked from the waist down while he was grinding a woman in a skimpy bee costume a foot above my head at the side of the stage. I couldn't get my camera out of its case in time to get a shot. Sorry.

I went across the street to Guero's, where I knew there would be excellent margaritas and Waco Brothers drinking them. I did my duty with them briefly before going down the street for the Yard Dog Gallery's backyard party to see The Blue Aeroplanes, who I missed the other night because of Peter Murphy drawing a lineup outside.

The band's publicist gave me a three-song EP they're shopping for a North American deal, which made up for the free Rolling Rock drying up. I hadn't thought of the band since liking them more than 20 years ago, but I was curious about seeing the sextet.

The Blue Aeroplanes used to remind me of The Jazz Butcher (whose Pat Fish contributed to three of their albums), but played harder and more aggressively than what I recall from records back in the day. "Breaking In My Heart," a 1985 single, ended the set. It wasn't a big crowd, but it was appreciative and asked for and received an encore.

I admired a lot of the great art in The Yard Dog, which includes an entire wall dedicated to Jon Langford's work, before hopping on a 75-cent bus back downtown. My early evening schedule was relatively light, so I went back to our suite to deplete our fridge of a couple of beers and invited one of my roommates to the Mess With Texas Party in Waterloo Park.

We caught the last half-dozen songs of The Circle Jerks before the 8:20 p.m. headlining set by The Black Lips, which didn't begin until 9:10 p.m. But the park was pretty and we had 24-ounce cans of beer, so the wait wasn't too bad.

The set seemed a bit more psychedelic than Thursday night's show, and maybe lacked a bit of the magic, but it was still a great example of what rock 'n' roll can and should be. King Khan came on stage, dozens of cheeseburgers were thrown from it, and a number of stage divers launched themselves off it.

Curiosity got the best of me and I went to Bat Bar for the new "supergroup," Tinted Windows, whose membership includes former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, Fountains Of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger and Hanson's Taylor Hanson, who handled lead vocals.

Iha had ridiculous looking silvery white hair and Carlos wore soccer goalie gloves, but not his familiar fedora. I'd heard a couple of songs on the band's MySpace page that sounded OK, and I figured that Schlesinger would be the driving songwriting force (I love some of his Fountains Of Wayne work), so my fingers were crossed.

It wasn't bad, but totally unexceptional and without any of the brilliant power pop I was wishing for. I left before the set was finished, but noticed Melissa Auf Der Maur was still still sticking it out in the audience as I made my exit.

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are one of those bands I've liked and have heard tales of their explosive performances, but for some reason had never seen before. That changed at Emo's.

Their two drummers provided a heavy backbone for the material, and the entire band rocked hard and with abandon. There were no on-stage fisticuffs or instrument destruction, but I almost got strangled by a microphone cord when it partially went around my neck after singer Conrad Keely jumped into the crowd and walked through it, and then I had to jump over the cord as it was coming straight for my knee on his return trip to the stage. That's rock 'n' roll.

It was then on to The Rio for The Gin Riots, a spunky London Brit-pop band I was very impressed with at last year's North By Northeast Music Festival. Their energy rubbed off on the audience members, many of whom danced excitedly. The set included current single "The Polka" and ended on a high note with "Johnny Cash." I thought there was a bit more of a Celtic influence last year, but The Gin Riots were great both times I've seen them.

ATG Concerts' Craig Laskey was on me all week about seeing Titus Andronicus and pulled out his "I am a talent buyer" line to reinforce his authority and belief in how good the group were and how much I'd like them.

The New Jersey band took their name from Shakespeare's play and the title of their The Airing Of Grievances debut album from the Seinfeld "Festivus" episode. The set was a goodtime free-for-all, with the band's punk-influenced indie music also dropping a fleeting hint of Bruce Springsteen. The group just plain rocked out.

Titus Andronicus ended in time to head down the street from Club De Ville to Red Eyed Fly to catch the end of the Waco Brothers' traditional SXSW Saturday-closing set.

Drummer Joe Camarillo was a no-show (he apparently overslept after a nap and couldn't find a cab to get him to the gig after he woke up) and a young woman from the audience who didn't know the band's songs — and wasn't much of a drummer — was plucked from the audience to fill in. I admired her guts. The group made the best of a bad situation and still ensured their fans had fun.

We invited some Toronto friends back to our suite after the show. The Wacos' Deano Schlabowske elected to crash there as well. CBC's Jian Ghomeshi and Grant Lawrence showed up around 4 a.m. There was lots of conversation, a bit of pizza (that I didn't pay for), a few drinks (maybe more than a few for some people) and a lovely gesture by our hostess Tara King-Cohen in asking everyone to sing "Happy Birthday" to me and presenting me with cards that our guests had signed. Mira Macrae gave me the #1 numbered and signed print of her Waco Brothers painting.

People eventually either trickled out or fell asleep and, when 8:30 a.m. rolled around, I set my alarm so I could have an hour-long power nap before starting Sunday's activities.

Amount spent on food (booze doesn't count) after five days: $0.