The 25 Best Acts We Caught at SXSW 2013
photos by James Joiner, Clint Alwahab, Josh JacksonEven in the offseason, Austin, Texas, proclaims itself to be the Live Music Capital of the World. But when March rolls around, that claim feels like an understatement. During SXSW, every venue, parking lot and restaurant seems to have bands playing day and night. From unknown acts driving up in broken-down vans to massive headliners playing corporate-funded shows, it’s impossible to see it all. But we had every pair of ears on our staff wondering the streets, catching as much as we could. Here are the 25 we’ll remember most:
25. Soft White Sixties – The Blackheart
Walking into the middle of a set from San Francisco’s Soft White Sixties, all I had was a recommendation from a friend and no clue of even what genre to expect. But as soon as I stepped out into The Blackheart’s courtyard, the old-school blues-rock groove took hold. Led by a wiry, mesmerizing frontman, Octavio Genera, the band could have come straight from a gig booked by Bill Graham at The Fillmore in 1968.—Josh Jackson
24. The Weeks – Bungalow
The long-haired young’uns flung their bodies in and out of the crowd. The crowd breached the stage. Beers and shots and shots and beers passed to the band who willing indulged. Capitalizing on their raucous rock ‘n’ roll spirits, the raw power of the lanky quintet consumed Saturday’s midnight atmosphere.—Kristen Blanton
23. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Stubb’s
Our first night of music at SXSW kicked off with a blonde Karen O taking on the new tracks in a yellow, sparkly cowboy-type outfit that would make Elton John blush. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ not-so-recent addition of bassist/guitarist/keyboard player David Pajo (of Slint fame) on this tour has added a welcome fullness to the trio, especially on the bass-heavy “Mosquito” and the live debut of the chilling, choral “Sacrilege.” Guitarist Nick Zinner seemed to want to capture the show’s moments himself, snapping photos of the crowd during an instrumental break and at the end of the show. If anything, the appearance has given us a lot to look forward to on what’s bound to be an atmospheric set of Yeah Yeah Yeahs tracks.—Tyler Kane
22. Allah-Las – The Stage on Sixth
It’s always a good sign when a band’s crowd has quadrupled in size by the end of their set, and that was the case with The Allah-Las. Their throwback, psych-rock songs drew more and more people the longer they played—and rightfully so. The California group sounded right at home under the beating sun on our outdoor stage, dropping feel-good tracks from their self-titled debut as well as road-testing some promising new tracks.—Bonnie Stiernberg
19. The Flaming Lips
As Wayne Coyne puts it, The Flaming Lips love to give SXSW a “radical” show, and they certainly kept Austin weird with this year’s concert at Auditorium Shores. Hours before playing ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots’ at a more intimate venue later in the night, the band performed the entirety of their new album ‘The Terror’ for the huge audience at the Shores, soaring well beyond the realm of normality, even for the strange standards of The Lips. If the unnamed baby doll held in Coyne’s arms and christened occasionally with a kiss on the forehead wasn’t weird enough, the fulfilled request from guest Sarah Barthell of Phantogram for the frontman to pull her hair while she sang “You Lust” next to the him sufficiently blew the gourds of every last person in attendance.—Tyler Bowden
20. PHOX – The Stage on Sixth
This psychedelic pop collective from Madison, Wisc., has an original, charismatic frontwoman in Monica Martin. This is big-tent music—a trippy party that makes you feel good the way The Flaming Lips or The Polyphonic Spree or Of Montreal makes you feel good, but without the gimmicks. Festival bookers: This is one to scoop up while they’re young.—Josh Jackson
19. Phosphorescent – Bar 96
If you weren’t already looking forward to Phosphorescent’s Muchacho, Matthew Houck and Co. gave you a reason to re-check its release date at the Filter showcase at Bar 96. Sprinkling the set with tracks new and old, Matthew Houck reminded fans of what we loved most about his southern-twinged, slow-rolling tunes and reeled us back in with new tracks like “Muchacho’s Tune.”—Tyler Kane
18. The Lone Bellow – The Blackheart
Singers Zach Williams, Brian Elmquist and Kanene Pipkin are the heart of The Lone Bellow, often touring as a trio. But the band got it’s start as a much bigger collective, and having a rhythm section gives the songs more power. A little more country than The Lumineers, a little more rock ‘n’ roll than The Civil Wars, The Lone Bellow is poised for a breakout year.—Josh Jackson
17. METZ – Bar 96
After a day of walking, over-exposure to the sun, dehydration and all-around exhaustion, there’s nothing like the 30-minute, ear-drum pummeling that Canadian trio METZ provided to revive your spirits. The band was showing off cuts from their self-titled Sub Pop debut, and—love it or hate it—they grabbed the attention of every person in the packed Bar 96 with their sweat-soaked set. On day three of the demanding festival, the show proved that METZ’s might as a space-flooding trio doesn’t stop in the studio and that Austin needed to try a bit harder to break down these current kings of hardcore.—Tyler Kane
16. Telekinesis – The Parish
Telekinesis is fronted by drummer-on-stage/multi-instrumentalist-in-the-studio Michael Benjamin Lerner, whose back catalog we’ve been fans of for years. But tonight, Lerner was testing out his new cuts from the forthcoming Dormarion and introducing his new band: Erik Walters of The Globes on guitar, Say Hi’s Eric Elbogen on bass and Wild Flag’s Rebecca Cole on keyboards. It’s hard to think of a band that looked happier on stage than this foursome, showing off material that promises a great new album in Dormarion and also convincingly tackling Lerner’s back catalog.—Tyler Kane