2008-09 Austin M usic Aw Ards - The Austin Chronicle

EfterklangHometapes7pm, Habana Bar Hometapes might have relocated from Brooklyn to Portland, Ore.,but they’ve still got a digit on cross-cultural pulse. Danish headliners Slaraffenland andformer tourmates Efterklang return with spaced-out mood music and whimsical chamberrock, respectively. Quintet Slaraffenland dropped EP Sunshine last fall, and a new LP isforthcoming. North Carolina trio Megafaun paints bearded Appalachian tunes with anexperimental blush, Florida hip-hoppers CYNE keep it smooth and soulful on latest PrettyDark Things, and Stars Like Fleas cue the strings and polish the brass from last year’sThe Ken Burns Effect. Gypsy-folk duo A Hawk & a Hacksaw, back in New Mexico after astint in Budapest, and Madison, Wis., electro quartet All Tiny Creatures pull down thedrawbridge.– Audra SchroederRUTHIE FOSTER11pm, Mother Egan’s You won’t hear a bettersinger all weekend than Austinite RuthieFoster. Her amazingly radiant, powerful voiceis steeped in the gospel tradition, althoughshe feels equally at home singing blues,country, R&B, and folk. Her new album, TheTruth According to Ruthie Foster (Blue CornMusic), recorded in Memphis, Tenn., at thefamed Ardent Studios, is a soulful delight.– Jay TrachtenbergJ*DAVEY11pm, Pangaea Pair the playful and seductivevocals of mohawked singer Jack Davey(the girl) with the future funk production ofBrook D’Leau (the guy), and you have theoddly punctuated J*Davey. On The Beauty inDistortion/The Land of the Lost, the Hollywoodhipsters spew a brew of acid grooves andglitchy hip-hop that channels everyone fromBadu and Bambaataa to the B-52s.– Thomas FawcettFLOWER TRAVELLIN’ BAND11pm, Smokin’ Music No group betterrepresented the enlightened countercultureof postwar Japan than the Flower Travellin’Band. The psychedelic pioneers’ second LP,1971’s Satori – a five-part suite of explosive,exploratory heavy blues – tops Julian Cope’slist of essential recordings in his 2007 book,Japrocksampler. After a three-decade hiatus,the Flower Travellin’ Band reunited last year forthe Fuji Rock Festival and has since releaseda new album, We Are Here, along with aneponymous live documentary. – Austin Powell8BALL & MJG11pm, Dirty Dog Bar 8Ball and MJG havebeen slingin’ dirty Delta rap since 1993debut Comin’ Out Hard, but the Memphislowriders have been going at it alone as oflate. They followed up 2007’s Ridin Highwith 8’s Doin It Big and MJG’s This Could Bethe Day but recently returned to the studioto record a 10th LP. – Chase HoffbergerBEAUTIFUL NUBIA11pm, Copa Soweto’s streets aren’t theonly ones defining Afro-pop. This Nigeriansinger-songwriter from Lagos has sold millionsof albums but remains unknown stateside.Boasting traditional Yaruba harmonies,folk instrumentation, and quality riddem,last year’s Kilòkilò should be a bigger breakthrough.– Dan OkoTHEE OH SEES11:20pm, Emo’s Jr. With John Dwyer(Coachwhips, the Hospitals, Pink & Brown)leading the way, this SF quartet tossesWest Coast pop in a psychedelic blenderwith droning garage riffs. After numerousincarnations and experimental forays, Dwyersettled the band into a bruising force withlast year’s The Master’s Bedroom Is WorthSpending a Night In (Tomlab).– Doug FreemanBLACK LIPS11:30pm, Cedar Street Courtyard Musicspawned of pre-cosmic-cowboy Texas psychedeliadoesn’t seem the likeliest candi-CONTINUED ON P.36a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m MARCH 20, 2009 THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE SXSW MUSIC SUPPLEMENT 35