Blog: You Aint No Picasso

Thursday: Goldenboy (ex Elliot Smith) with The Grownup Noise @ The Green Lantern (9:30pm, 21+) Golden Boy used to play in Elliot Smith's old band, so you know he has good taste. Listen to his song "Summer of the Evening" here. Thursday: Balaclava, Stamped e, Tombstalker @ Al's Bar (10pm) Grim dark metal for those who like loud, angry music. Listen [...]

I spent the majority of the Futurebirds' set unsure if this was my first time hearing them or if I'd been listening to them for years. The question remains unsettled, but let's just say they had a very warm and familiar sound. The Futurebirds had a great set that sounded a bit like Blitzen Trapper [...]

The Orwells were a pleasant surprise at Aquarium Drunkard's party at the Hype Hotel. These teenagers put on a very energetic show that leads toward the punk side of rock. Their frontman and guitarist were the real starts of the show, with their impassioned display and skilled playing respectively. The rest of the band appeared [...]

Alabama Shakes were another on my "must see" list for SXSW. I'd only listened to their EP a handful of times, but knew this would be a great opportunity to catch a rising band. If Alabama Shakes don't capture your heart on record, give their live show a chance. They're powerful performers who put on [...]

Youth Lagoon were nice, but not really my thing live. I, however, seemed to be in the minority on that one. The opening chords of nearly every song were met with cheers and applause. Their relied pretty heavily on their drum machine, but my favorite songs were the ones where it began with just keyboard [...]

MP3: Bass Drum of Death - Get Found I had one of those great moments during Bass Drum of Death's set where I realized that I know/love a lot more songs by the group I'm seeing than I previously had thought. I'm sure at the start of every song I had a look of surprised [...]

It's performances like Lee Fields' that really make my SXSW experiences what they are. At home I have almost 0 chance of catching a great R&B performer like Lee Fields. But at SXSW, they're there if you want to go see them - and man am I ever glad I decided to see him. This [...]

I had no idea High Water Marks were working on a new album, but here they are with the finished product. You can download their new album Pretending to be Loud over at their bandcamp page. Here's "This River Never Ends" for your sampling pleasure. MP3: The High Water Marks - This River Never Ends [...]

Like Louis CK before him, Aziz Ansari has offered up his new special as a five dollar download at his website. Mine is downloading as we speak. Given how great his album Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening is, I have high hopes for this one. Download Aziz's Dangerously Delicious for $5

Midway through their set the Lumineers took some time to thank Gibson Guitars. This wasn't your typical "thanks for having us in your fine venue" speech; it was something a little more real. When the Lumineers were robbed of their touring equipment, Gibson stepped up and loaned them guitars to finish out their tour. Looks [...]

MP3: Eric Harvey - Year of the Rat Spoon keyboardist Eric Harvey just released his new album Lake Disappointment on his bandcamp page. He's being exceedingly generous with it as well, giving it away at a name-your-price price point. If you've got a little extra coin in your pocket, this is worth at least the [...]

I caught the Trishas at the Gibson Guitar Showroom while waiting for the Lumineers to take the stage. I knew nothing about them before they picked up their instruments (which is always half the fun of seeing bands at SXSW), but really enjoyed their set. They were a lead vocal-swapping Americana/pop group that sounded a [...]

Honestly I'd kind of forgotten about What Made Milwaukee Famous before I wandered into the Parish to catch Shearwater. But they quickly made me remember why they rose in popularity not long ago. My current theory is that living in Austin turns bands into super-performance machines. Think about it: do you know any sloppy bands [...]

Shearwater were high up on my list of groups to catch at SXSW. Their new album "Animal Joy" is one of my early favorites of the year and I wanted to see if it would be improved by a live performance. It was even better than I'd hoped. Tracks like "Breaking the Yearlings" were just [...]

I first picked up on NO because they've got Lexingtonian Reese Richardson in the group. That's a nice hook, but that alone isn't enough to keep me around. The group's re ordings are great, so I was excited to catch them at SXSW. Opal Devine is a straight-up restaurant with a stage that looked like [...]

Iowa City's own Wet Hair were in rare form at Al's Bar. The duo performed as a trio with a lean sound that was made cavernous in the constraints of the bar. This was due, in large part to the array of effects provided by their touring bassist who created a wide swath of sound and gave the band a [...]

After Guards' show, Frank convinced me to go across the street to catch local act Ume's set. They had a powerful set, to be sure, but I'll probably remember always remember their show for the wild guitar rawk poses their lead guitarist had. She looked like an unleashed mental patient in her flowing straightjacket-white dress.

Guards' Richie Follin has been in bands long enough to be an absolute pro at performing at SXSW. He delivered basically the ideal SXSW set: tight, powerful and to the point. Even when an alarm went off through the set, Richie just said "can someone turn that off" and kept on going. We got a [...]

Said the Whale are making a video for each song on their new album. Here's the one for "Big Wave Goodbye."

This year I've made a South By Southwest "hit list" of bands that I have to catch. It ranges from smaller groups that aren't likely to tour through Kentucky any time soon and larger groups that I might never have the chance to see (for free) again. Though I had a moderately lazy first day [...]