SXSW is all about expanding your circles, hearing new things and meeting new people. Surely most people don't go to Austin to check out K-Pop bands, but given the success of PSY, Korean inspired food trucks and Samsung, it's not hard to say that South Korea is definitely getting some hype right now. If people blogged about countries for whatever reason, they would be very much blogged about. F(X) is a all female Korean K-Pop band. They were formed by an entertainment group called SM Entertainment. The five members are Victoria, Amber, Luna, Sulli, and Krystal, so [...]
Credit: Their facebook page I always love to see what accouterments a band brings up onstage with them. In my mind, bands choose these objects because it will enhance the experience of their fans in some special way – it’s the precursor to their music, the first thing the crowd sees before the band takes the stage and it creates the environment and sets the mood for what is to come musically. Pet Lions brought three potted ferns. And obviously it was a good choice because I instantly liked [...]
I will admit that the first time I saw ZZ Ward's name, I kind of hoped it would be M. Ward fronting a ZZ Top cover band. I was initially disappointed (Seriously, imagine M. Ward's interpretation of "Tush." Intriguing, no?) but after giving Ms. Zsuzsanna Ward a listen, figured it might be worth checking out. While her bluesy, hip-hop informed fare was not necessarily within the confines of what I normally listen to, she's got a strong voice and a handful of promising songs, so I figured while I may never get to hear one half of She [...]
You say: Of Monsters and Men . Everyone (and their mother) says: Little Talks. It’s great when a band’s song takes off on that semi-universal level. Scoring that mainstream hit makes sure good bands get propelled to the big leagues , which is always great to see (and hear). BUT. What of the other songs? In this instance, what of Slow and Steady? Lesser known but just as well-done as Little Talks, Slow and Steady is a great track. It’s catchy yet soothing. Not overly poppy, yet definitely uplifting. Basically 5 minutes of great rhythm and [...]
I was in Portland last weekend. So was Comic Con . I have never been to Comic Con, so the lure of entering a world completely unknown to me was irresistible. It was kind of like SXSW, only replace the beer, hipsters and sunshine with collectibles, comic book/sci fi enthusiast and the dim glow of the convention center. Here are some thoughts: Money There is a lot of money here. Everyone is selling or buying something - comic books, costumes, artistic work, collectibles, t-shirts with random sayings .. it's all there, and [...]
Formerly from Here We Go Magic, Teeny Lieberson, formed Teen in the Spring of 2011, with her two sisters and Jane Herships, who made(makes) folk music under the moniker Spider. Teen has a 60?s garage go-go sound mixed with a lo-fi electronica. On February 15th, they hit the Drake Hotel with openers The Lost Babies. The Lost Babies were… weird. Not a really great fit with Teen I found, and while the lead singer had a great range on her voice, lyrics about doing a bunch of drugs and being a lazy, dirty person for the fun of [...]
Butterfly in the sky. I can go twice as high. Take a look, it's in a book ... a bleeding rainbow? Yes, as the story goes, Philadelphia's Bleeding Rainbow was once known as Reading Rainbow, but apparently PBS and LeVar Burton wouldn't stand for it and thus the name change. Truthfully, it's a way better name this way - the juxtaposition of imagery sounds cooler (and bloodier) while still evoking nostalgic memories of the series. Also evocative of the past is their sound, which definitely has a bit of a '90s edge to it, with the song "Drift [...]
If I had to sum up Minor Characters in an idiom it would be “short and sweet.” They’re a band that understands the concept of leave them wanting more, and clocking in at 17 minutes and ten seconds, the band’s new EP sticks to that theme. The hardworking Chicago foursome dropped their first EP in November of 2011, and their sophomore effort, Heal Me, Healing Times , seems like a natural extension of their debut. Maintaining the same ebb and flow of the last EP, “Heal Me” starts off the album with slow, halting strains [...]
This March, countless young new bands will be flocking to Austin hoping to make their big break. Some will be relative novices, only having played a handful of shows and looking to prove themselves. That story will likely be fairly common one at SXSW. That story is not Harry Taussig's story. Taussig, a contemporary of John Fahey who plays a similar style of American Primitive guitar, released his first album, Fate Is Only Once , back in 1965 and is just now releasing his sophomore effort, Fate Is Only Twice . Not only that, but Taussig [...]
On February 15, 2013, Quest For Fire played their last ever show. The individual members are moving on to other things as is to be expected with most musical projects. Everything has to end at some point. Except nowadays, I'm not entirely sure what "last ever" means. Bands I thought I'd never see and even bands I'd never have thought I'd need to see have reunited. It doesn't even faze me anymore. It seems particularly noticeable these days, with even the most obscure of bands reuniting to play to their fanbases, but it's not necessarily a new thing [...]
First off, props to Dana Falconberry for having a wicked last name. Who messes with someone whose lase name includes the word "Falcon". (I am assuming that is her real last name). A folk/orchestral pop artist out of Austin, Texas, it would only seem natural for Dana Falconberry to play SxSW. After all, if people are going to come to your city, eat your food, drink your booze and trash your streets, you should at least get to play a show. This little tune is a gentle folk tune that reminds me a lot of Au [...]
Listening to Kishi Bashi perform live is like getting punched in the stomach (or at least as I would imagine it since I’ve never actually been punched in the stomach) but in the best possible way. Your eyes close, your heart flutters, the breath leaves your body and for a couple of minutes afterwards your stomach just aches. I’ve seen the New York Philharmonic and I’ve watched Andrew Bird spin his intricate web of sound, but I can honestly say I’ve never heard a human being produce the kind of sound that Kishi Bashi coaxes out [...]
Well, that took a long time. Brighton band The Maccabees first emerged in 2007 on the strength of the single First Love . Their debut record Colour It In was actually pretty good but it seemed to me that the Maccabees was lost in the shuffle among the many, many "The _____" bands coming from England. It's kind of weird how in the early 902s you had a bunch of bands with a one word band name (Pulp, Suede, Blur, Oasis, Ride to name a few) and then in the 20002s bands all [...]
Denver's Churchill started out as a two piece act and since expanded to include more members, including Bethany Kelly, who works the vocals and keys. It is Kelly's voice that first drew me to the band. I'm always a fan of female singers and Kelly's voice and delivery reminded me of vocal work done by artists of eras gone. This is a pretty catchy pop song. I don't know much about this band other then they are from Denver and released an EP named Change last year. I read their SXSW Profile and was genuinely pleased [...]
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. This is less of a review and more of a love letter to K. Ishibashi and his live set. There's no way my mediocre words and adjectives strung together can in any way capture the beauty and awe inspiring show that Kishi Bashi puts on. A Monday night, after a hard day at work dreading the next day, I headed on over to the Great Hall; without looking at live videos on YouTube, I had no pre-made assumptions of what was to come. Going into a show like this nowadays is a [...]
Somehow in the past two years, hip hop has taken the mantle from other music genres as the reigning king of up and coming music. Kendrick Lamar and Frank Ocean dominated last year. Odd Future, for all the vitriol directed towards them, was big news two years ago. Hell, even R.Kelly has taken time off from pissing on teenagers to go headline Pitchfork this year. One of the forerunners to lead the charge in 2013 is Rakim Mayers aka A$AP Rocky . A$AP has been steadily building up hype in the past years with assorted singles [...]
If you like any of the following things you should enter this contest: stringed instruments, whimsy, talent, very attractive Japanese men, very attractive and newly blond Japanese men, music, fun. K. Ishibashi is Of Montreal's very own violinist, all grown up and setting out on his solo project - Kishi Bashi . His lush and looping music has already made its way into the hearts of a rapidly growing fan base as well as a Windows 8 commercial. He's coming to The Great Hall in Toronto and you won't want to miss it. To win a pair [...]
Talk about finding a good sample and using it. This Public Enemy comeback single from 2007 heavily samples the brass section from Shirley Bassey's track Jezahel and it's a smokin' track. I only really discovered this movie after watching the movie End of Watch , which for my money, is one of the best cop movies I have ever seen. You need to watch that. But back to this song, the sampling and the flow is totally reminiscent of early 90s rap, which I guess is to be expected since it's Public Enemy. How did [...]
Hudson Taylor are a pair of brothers from Dublin. They just released an ep called Cinematic Lifestyle and are going to be in Austin. That's all I know about them. Their song Battles is a catchy little track that has that foot stomping, old timey Mumford & Sons/Lumineers sound that is currently besmirching the musical landscape right now. Still, this track is plenty good and if they are as good live as I think they might be based on this song, then these guys will soon be well on their way. Check it out anyhow. [...]
West Of Memphis is one of the most infuriating documentaries I have seen. It's also one of the best. West of Memphis takes a complete and exhaustive look at the story of the West Memphis 3 . For the uninitiated, the West Memphis 3 are three teenagers who were wrongfully imprisoned after the gruesome murder of three children in the town of West Memphis. The documentary is about the murders and the fight to get the three out of the correctional system. Witch hunts, shoddy police work, incompetent doctors and many other things led [...]
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