It was only weeks ago that I added Sean Costello to my ‘Best of Winter ’08’ playlist. His blues-rock record ‘We Can Get Together’ (released in February of this year) is remarkable and truly sits near (if not at) the top of the list in its genre so far this year. Today we learned the […]
Drive-By Truckers ‘Brighter Than Creations Dark’, a Giveaway
**NOTE: Contest is now closed. You can still participate but will no longer be eligible for the giveaway.** The Drive-by Truckers had to make ‘Brighter Than Creations Dark‘ in the way that they did. Consisting of 19 songs comprising 75 minutes of twanged up tell-it-like-it-is rock n’ roll. I’m sure the band will attribute the […]
Alejandro Escovedo and the E Street Band!
Oh, to have been in Houston last night… If you read my recent post on Alejandro Escovedo’s Sunday night performance at SXSW, you know what a fan I am of the man. If you followed my entire South-by “highlights reel,” you also know that the Replacements are my all-time favorite band. What I haven’t yet […]
James McMurtry + More, Releases 4/15
JAMES MCMURTRY, Just Us Kids (Lightning Rod) Official Site | MySpace | Preview | MP3* [audio:http://audio.sxsw.com/2008/mp3/James_McMurtry-Cheney%27s_Toy.mp3] I never really understood the James McMurtry hype until I saw him live for the first time prior to the start of this year’s SXSW music festival. Outfitted with SIX guitars on this night at Austin’s Momo’s his weapon […]
Griffin House: Flying Upside Down
In this day and age, Singer-Songwriters are often compared to other similar artists from both past and present. For Nashville-based performer Griffin House (offical / myspace), the chief comparison seems to be Josh Ritter or Ryan Adams. Griffin’s latest offering, Flying Upside Down (April 29 – Nettwerk) opens with the track “Better Than Love†and […]
SXSW 2008 – John’s Sunday Night Highlight: Alejandro Escovedo
For all intents and purposes, SXSW turns into a pumpkin at 2 a.m. Saturday night, but true aficionados know that it ain’t really over until the legendary Alejandro Escovedo leaves the Continental Club stage after his unofficial closing night show on Sunday. We knew going in that this year’s set was going to be something […]
SXSW 2008 – John’s Saturday Night Highlight: The Airborne Toxic Event
My Saturday night started strong and finished monumentally, though in the middle was an unfortunate lowlight in the form of the only showcase I didn’t get into this year due to the length of the line (it was an acoustic Nada Surf performance, but don’t cry for me, Twangville Nation — I’m seeing them at […]
SXSW 2008 – John’s Saturday Afternoon Highlight: Kate Nash and Billy Bragg
Saturday afternoon began for me with a touch of deja vu, as I once again started my day at Cedar Street Courtyard for the kickoff of day three of the Filter throwdown there. I didn’t know it at the time, but I’d be bookending my day parties with Filter on this day. Kicking things off […]
SXSW 2008 – John’s Friday Night Highlight: Lucero
Friday night followed my unintentional afternoon trend of mixing old favorites with new sounds. My preference at South-by is to see almost entirely new-to-me bands, especially during official showcases, but there were just too many favorites to stick to my guns on a day like this. Sue me. In that respect, Friday night truly provided […]
SXSW 2008 – John’s Friday Afternoon Highlight: Los Campesinos!
My Friday afternoon was largely about Filter magazine’s Showdown at Cedar Street party. This was day two of what was a three-day throwdown hosted by Filter this year, and it was a lineup that (for me) couldn’t be beat, not even by the SPIN party, for which I turned down a pass generously offered by […]