In case you missed it:

The South By Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce Bruce Springsteen as keynote speaker for the 2012 event. The keynote will take place on Thursday, March 15, 2012 at the Austin Convention Center, the hub of SXSW Music events.

Register for SXSW music before January 13, 2012, and save some $–which you can then spend on music. More information is available at the SXSW website.

More information and SXSW coverage to come.

Here’s a taste of the band’s music, for the uninitiated:

“Club Foot”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5iMgG-WJI

“Where Did All The Love Go?”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl3QoD6wiDI

The band’s latest album, Velociraptor, is available in stores and online now.

SXSW 2011
Friday, March 18^th, 2011

To be quite upfront with you, I didn’t’ do as much “in the field” today as I usually do at SXSW. I knew what bands I wanted to see, so, after seeing them, I felt I was finished for the day. The result was that I really enjoyed myself yesterday, as I didn’t rush around to six (or more) different venues to see ten to thirteen different acts (many of whom I usually don’t know).

My day began at Agave, a long, narrow “shot bar” when SXSW isn’t in town. The place was on the empty side for the first hour or so, as festival attendees were still waking up from Thursday’s St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans. Up first was White Laces, a band whose EP I reviewed earlier this year and whose brand of second-wave-emo-tinged post-punk I really dug. The quartet put together a strong five-song set that was crisp, on-point, and pleasantly loud, complete with excellent guitar tones pulsing with tremolo.

Tiger Bones, a four-piece out of Chicago, played next, with its own snaking, wiry version of post-punk. Working from its 2011 debut EP, the group hit some great notes, included some ‘60s garage influences, and the sound was all-around tight with sharp edges. A relative one-man band called Idiot Glee took the stage next, and provided a complete change of pace. Call it quirky bedroom pop for hipsters, but this Kentucky native merged together ‘70s pop slow jams (a la Neil Diamond) with current trends in indie-pop by playing pop chord progressions on a keyboard while zippy beats burst from a processor. And it didn’t hurt that the guy bantered with the crowd with relative ease. 

I then meandered down 6^th Street to Emo’s, a proper, long-established Austin music venue. I was eager to see Twin Shadow and discover how he would bring forth the sounds of his 2010 debut full-length to the stage. And he delivered with style, as he proved to be a stellar guitar player backed by a drummer, a bassist (who also worked a Micro Korg synth), and a Jeanene Garaolo look-alike playing a full-sized Nord synth and an old-school Roland Juno keyboard. The band’s overall aesthetic was quite righteously ‘80s, from the drum patterns and guitar riffs to the sexy, body-moving combination of dance, pop, and goth.

Though I saw Esben And The Witch yesterday, I welcomed the chance to see the trio perform inside with a real sound system. The result was magical, as I was able to hear more of the programmed beats that propel each song (and hear them more clearly), and the bass and drum kicked much harder. While yesterday’s passion wasn’t diminished in the slightest, the band did play the exact same set, though that’s somewhat to be expected when you’re guided by technology and play two sets a day for four days straight. On the whole, I found myself liking this group even more, with its very English take on the tribal, spectral side of goth and rock.

The only band I had slated to see today that I’d never heard of before was The Naked And Famous, a quintet from New Zealand. The group performed six songs, only two of which have actually made it stateside – the overall sound was glam mixed with electro and up-tempo mainstream rock. While I really wasn’t into the band’s music, I did admire its energy and the fact that four guys and a girl were good performers who engaged the crowd well. The group was a bit too theatrical and over-eager for my tastes, but I’d rather hear this sort of music on mainstream rock radio than most of the schlock that’s there now.

I called an end to my day after viewing Braids. I wanted to see this Canadian quartet for the same reason I wanted to hear Esben And The Witch yesterday – not every young band who makes a buzzed-about debut record can actually perform those songs live. I came away mildly impressed with how thick and full the songs were, as I quite expected the quartet’s brand of ethereal, post-Animal Collective pop to be quite wispy and airy. Between two keyboards, two guitars, and a drummer, the sound was rather layered, and the vocal harmonies (usually the two women) were outstanding in their clarity and in how they supplemented the music. The guitars were more texture than anything traditionally chord-based, as the swaths of noise from the heavily tweaked synths led these delicate songs. On the whole, I liked what I heard, though I’d recommend seeing this band inside: the music would probably float away into the atmosphere on an outside stage.

On to Saturday!

Thanks to Adam for the SXSW coverage.

SXSW 2011
Thursday, March 17th, 2011

I had a great Thursday at SXSW. It’s easy when moods are up, the weather is lovely, and the music is good. I started my morning at the Buzzgrinder 10th Anniversary Day Party at Valhalla. The Seedy Seeds kicked things off with their fun-loving brand of intelligent indie-pop that calls to mind the hyperactive kid sibling of The Apples In Stereo. Up next was We Are Hex, a loud rock quartet that was reminiscent of the ‘70s blues rock being re-created by The Dead Weather, complete with a passionate young woman who’s obviously modeled her siren shriek after Allison Mossheart.

From there, we wandered over to Parkside for the Wunderbar event to hear Tobias Thomas spin, and he kept the tempo of the party light and fun with bubbly house and light garage-pop fare.

Esben And The Witch knocked our socks off at Beauty Bar. I wasn’t sure that the UK trio would be able to re-create this year’s Violet Cries effectively in a live environment, but I’m glad that I was wrong. The band might be dependent on technology to get some songs moving, but they also knew how to connect with the crowd.

It was a pleasure to see Damien Jurado play an intense solo set at Swan Dive, working through eight songs from 2010’s Saint Bartlett in less than twenty-five minutes. Next door at Barbarella, Fergus and Geronimo served as our only flop of the day, as the quintet’s brand of arty indie-pop failed to keep our attention. Thankfully, Yuck followed by launching a proper assault on my ears – big guitars, big hooks, and big energy. The band’s sound was tight, filled with rich overdrive tones and loud drums, right down to a rocking cover of Sir Elton John’s “Rocketman.”

We moved outside to hear Obits next, and we enjoyed the kinetic fusion of ‘60s garage and ‘80s post-punk. However, the band’s set paled in comparison to the verbal onslaught delivered by Mellowhype and some of his associates from Odd Future Wolfgang Kill Them All. The assembled crowd of hipsters, blipsters, and media types went nuts when the beats dropped, as this still-teenaged hip-hop collective has been drawing favorable comparisons to early Wu-Tang, especially in terms of production aesthetic and overall energy.

I ended my evening at the Village Voice Party at Austin Music Hall. I’ve been a fan of Ume ever since I reviewed the trio’s 2009 Sunshower EP, so I was eager to hear new material. Working with a new, more powerful drummer, the band did NOT disappoint. Rounding out my first day at SXSW was Times New Viking – I really do dig the band’s recorded material, but I much prefer hearing dirty, fuzzy, lo-fi sour candy pop of this nature in a dingy club where the reverb and feedback can slap about the walls with abandon. The trio was energetic and into the music, but something about the mix in that venue didn’t work well for my ears.

On to Friday!

Special thanks to Adam for this write-up — it’s much appreciated. You can also read Adam’s coverage of SXSW 2011 on Rocks Off, Houston Press‘ music blog.

I recently asked In-Flight Safety’s John Mullane a few questions about their music and thoughts on South By Southwest.

Houston Calling: What are you most looking forward to at this year’s SXSW?

John Mullane: I am most looking forward to my hit list of new bands I want to check out for the first time and bands that I have been listening to for years but would otherwise never get to see.

HC: What bands/musicians you’re looking forward to seeing at this year’s SXSW?

JM: Personally and on a friend level: Rah Rah, Rich Aucoin but as a fan-boy: Twin Shadow, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Telekinesis, Menomena, Naked and Famous, Duran Duran (!!).

HC: What do you consider to be your primary musical influences and how do they play into your songs?

JM: I have to say my primary musical influences have turned out to be all the records I listened to as a kid in the late eighties and early 90s. I think my sense of melody is guided by the overly melodic stuff like Crowded House, The Cure, and then later Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead. As much as I have new influences monthly those early ones remain steadfast.

HC: What do you think is the hardest part about getting the word out about your band?

JM: At this stage of the game it’s just the sheer over-saturation of information and entertainment option available to any one person. It’s super daunting as a human being to pick and choose what form of entertainment you are going to digest at any one instant. To that end we generally hope and pray people are still looking for great songs and make that our focus. Also put 5-6 ordinary dudes in a rock band and that’s seems like the ultimate recipe for boring. So the trick is how you separate yourself from that mold which has, frankly, become lame.

HC: What can you tell me about the video for “Actors”? It’s pretty interesting…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLzp-mVDEkU

JM: The video for actors was cooked up by goods friends Andrew Stretch, Ken Leblanc and myself. We did this project at a film fest here in Halifax where we had one week to come up with a video concept and then shoot it. I would say we were heavily influenced by the lyrics of the track and Radiohead’s “Just” which has always creeped me out in a satisfying way. 

HC: You guys will be heading overseas after playing in Austin for South By Southwest. How did that tour come about?

JM: Yeah, we are off to new lands. It’s definitely a dream come true for us to play in Europe. We have a friend in Europe who passed our record around to a few folks, two of whom wanted to put the record out. It was sort of an embarrassment of riches. One in Germany and one in UK. It caught us off guard because we don’t even have a label proper in North America. So the tour was booked around the release of the record over there.

HC: Are there any bands that you’re currently listening to that you’d recommend I check out?

JM: This great young band our of little label called Milks & Rectangles, also a young band from Vancouver called Clockmakers (they have a Bandcamp site). Digging this Kiwi band called Naked and Famous as well. A lot of “and” in bands names these days.

Check out the video for “Coast Is Clear”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZISV82K8bI

In-Flight Safety plays its official SXSW showcase at Paradise tomorrow (Saturday, 3.19.11), at 10pm.

Check out the band online at www.inflightsafety.ca.

Also, visit Done Waiting for up-to-the-minute updates.

As always, Showlist Austin is an excellent resource on who is playing where and when.

This is a free show. No RSVP required.

You do not need to have badges to be able to attend Flatstock 29, which is located in the Austin Convention Center. It is free and open to the public.

Here are a few videos to get you psyched for the band’s set tonight at Rolling Stone‘s SXSW 2011 kick-off party in Austin.

“Feel Good Hit Of The Summer” (live):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOzBkMn-tPs

“Avon” (live):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW2AKkwJb_c

“Song For The Dead” (live):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB3KD3pDozw

“Leg Of Lamb” (live):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idVkuLniHy8

QOTSA plays in Austin tonight (Wednesday, 3.16.11) at La Zona Rosa with The Black Angels, J Mascis, Mini Mansion, and Beast Make Bomb.

Visit Queens Of The Stone Age online at www.qotsa.com.

Check out “Houston At SXSW: Where & When The Bayou City Invades” here.