SXSW: Friday Night With The Builders & The Butchers, Plants & Animals
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Artist:
My back aches, my embarrassing farmer’s tan burns, my feet are killing with blisters, and my ears are throbbing … yet all of these masochistic SXSW side effects feel oooh so good, not to mention the fact that they are soooo worth it. The Austin music shitshow, drawing 12,500 people to the city this year despite a crumbling music industry, has grown in the past few years. In 2001 only some 7,000 people registered for the event. For the entire week, Austin steals the Big Apple’s “city that never sleeps” motto with parties sponsored by brands and magazine’s lasting into the wee early hours of the morning. At last night’s Blender-sponsored party on the outskirts of town, members of MGMT and even Hanson (who we hear is playing some awesome soul music these days) were just rolling up at 3AM.Free vodka, Lone Star beer, burritos and BBQ -- that’s what one survives on …and the infectious energy of the 1,700 bands that are roistered SXSW's 2008 bill.After a sunny Friday of catching some of the hottest acts out there (She &Him, Vampire Weekend) he evening was spent catching some new breakouts. Keeping with the neo-roots rock movement (think Felice Brothers, Dr. Dog) I caught Portland-based newcomers "The Builders and Butchers":http://www.myspace.com/thebuildersandthebucthers set at Club de Ville. The boys opened up their treasure chest of instruments – tambourines, maracas, and other washboard-like handhelds – and passed them out to the crowd. 
Front man Ryan Sollee sang through a megaphone as voyeur participation ensued. Our favorite part of the band had to be the drum part. Two dudes, shoulder-to-shoulder, banging like hipster drummer boys on tom-toms and snares. Along with the showmanship, the organic rock sound was refreshing and promising. (The Builders and The Butchers)
On the walk back down Red River to 6th Street (Austin’s bar strip) the hoards of pedestrians lining up at Stubb's (the site of R.E.M's Wednesday night performance) caught my attention. “What’s going on?” I asked someone in line. The answer: MGMT. Immediately I took to the line. I heard about MGMT about two months back on MOG, fell in love instantly, but was worried that seeing the psych-dance duo wouldn’t live up to the expectations stemming from their debut Ocular Spectacular. The band proved me wrong on Friday night during their set at the Playboy/C3 party. So much so that I decided to get in line at Stubb's and see ‘em again. Although the band's vocals were drowned out by their music, the show was still amazing.
I trudged on to Maggie Mae’s for the "Plants & Animals":http://www.myspace.com/plantsandanimals set. The Montreal trio impressed with guitarists Warren C. Spicer and Nicolas Basque (also the bassist) contrasting tempos to blend a lush indie pop sound.
(Plants & Animals) Next up was the Cool Kids at the Blender party. It took awhile to hail a cab to the discreet location, but the Cool Kids pumped up the volume by jumping up on amps and monitors. The duo even let a white frat boy in the front row beat-box during their set. But that night, like every two nights in Austin during SXSW, exhaustion fell upon me by 3:30AM. Heavy eye lids, the aching back, the throbbing ears…it was time to go home…just so I could do it all again tomorrow.
Front man Ryan Sollee sang through a megaphone as voyeur participation ensued. Our favorite part of the band had to be the drum part. Two dudes, shoulder-to-shoulder, banging like hipster drummer boys on tom-toms and snares. Along with the showmanship, the organic rock sound was refreshing and promising. (The Builders and The Butchers)On the walk back down Red River to 6th Street (Austin’s bar strip) the hoards of pedestrians lining up at Stubb's (the site of R.E.M's Wednesday night performance) caught my attention. “What’s going on?” I asked someone in line. The answer: MGMT. Immediately I took to the line. I heard about MGMT about two months back on MOG, fell in love instantly, but was worried that seeing the psych-dance duo wouldn’t live up to the expectations stemming from their debut Ocular Spectacular. The band proved me wrong on Friday night during their set at the Playboy/C3 party. So much so that I decided to get in line at Stubb's and see ‘em again. Although the band's vocals were drowned out by their music, the show was still amazing.I trudged on to Maggie Mae’s for the "Plants & Animals":http://www.myspace.com/plantsandanimals set. The Montreal trio impressed with guitarists Warren C. Spicer and Nicolas Basque (also the bassist) contrasting tempos to blend a lush indie pop sound.(Plants & Animals) Next up was the Cool Kids at the Blender party. It took awhile to hail a cab to the discreet location, but the Cool Kids pumped up the volume by jumping up on amps and monitors. The duo even let a white frat boy in the front row beat-box during their set. But that night, like every two nights in Austin during SXSW, exhaustion fell upon me by 3:30AM. Heavy eye lids, the aching back, the throbbing ears…it was time to go home…just so I could do it all again tomorrow.
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