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 […]
Jason Isbell / Live At Twist & Shout 11.16.07 EP
Coming this Christmas to a theatre near you…ok, not really…it will actually be here April 15th, that’s next Tuesday, and its not in theatres but available exclusively in CIMS locations, the Isbell online store and at live shows. Oh yeah, and it’s not a movie anyway. I’ve just always wanted to start a review with […]
George Strait – Troubador
I have to admit a prejudice against mainstream Country. I tend to dismiss anything on a major country label. In the 80’s country was awful until the rise of the neo-traditionalists, such as Dwight Yoakam, in the the late 80’s and early 90’s. Then along came Garth and Faith, and in came soccer mom easy […]
SXSW 2008 – John’s Thursday Night Highlight: Jens Lekman
The highlight of my Thursday night occurred straight out of the gate in the 8 o’clock showcase time slot, but it was hardly all downhill from there, as a “bonus highlight” also awaited me during the witching hour. I’ve had a few tracks by the Swedish singer-songwriter, Jens Lekman, for a couple of years now. […]
SXSW 2008 – John’s Thursday Afternoon Highlight: Old 97’s / the New West Party
The party of the day on Thursday was –as tends to be the case– the mighty New West soiree at Club DeVille. This was certainly the place to be for the Twangville crew, as all four of our intrepid correspondents posted this invitation-only affair. After all, with a bill featuring likes of the Drams, Old […]
SXSW 2008 – John’s Wednesday Night Highlight: The Playing Favorites
SXSW 2008 – John’s Wednesday Night Highlight: The Playing Favorites My third showcase of the night on Wednesday was when I struck gold for the first time “officially†this year, and I knew it almost as soon as the Playing Favorites began their set. The Playing Favorites are a supergroup of sorts, featuring members of […]
SXSW 2008 – John’s Wednesday Afternoon Highlight: Matthew Ryan
With apologies for the tardiness of the appearance of this, the beginning of my 2008 SXSW highlights reel, we’re off to the races now. This post is the first in a nine- (possibly ten-) part series which will be coming your way regularly over the coming days, so please don’t be shy about chiming in […]
The Dirty Dozen Is What’s Going On
Take a tuba, a fat drum beat, add a scorching guitar and you’ve got the foundation of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band as seen in Amsterdam last Thursday. Flesh it all out with a raving horn section and you’ve got a combination that is guaranteed to make you sweat. The Dirty Dozen are one of […]
The Waybacks – Loaded
“Tradition in Transition” is the title of the cover article in next to last No Depression It focuses on how young bands such as Crooked Still, The Avett Brothers, Uncle Earl and Chris Thile’s new project the Punch Brothers are innovatively changing traditional acoustic music. A couple of bands that aren’t as young as the […]