SXSW MUSIC FEST FRIDAY FROM P.43<strong>The</strong> RenderersWFMU/Aquarius Records7pm, Spiros/Spiros Ampitheater Jersey City free-form pacesetter WFMU joins San Franciscoretailer Aquarius Records to unleash a circus of aural curiosities on dueling stages. Brooklyn’sGary War jump-starts the indoor stage with brain-curdling synthadelic warble from debut NewRaytheonport, followed by Monterrey, Mexico, bass-and-drum noise duo XYX. <strong>The</strong> Mayyorsexport incendiary freak-punk destruction from Sacramento, Calif., while New Zealand combothe Renderers ply their smoldering psych-folk stateside for the first time in 11 years. SanFrancisco’s Ovens turn out poppin’ fresh scruff-rock, sharply contrasting the Celtic/Gothictribal fusion of Denver-based 16 Horsepower successor Wovenhand. On the outdoor stage,San Frannies Prizehog mine slow-roasted ambient drone to pave the runway for screamingnight thunder from Seattle’s Wildildlife and Maiden-esque epic metal from San Francisco’sSlough Feg. Sole Texan entry Absu hammers black metal from deep in the heart of Plano.Drive Like Jehu/Hot Snakes guitarist/vocalist Rick Froberg leads Brooklyn’s Obits, whoseSub Pop debut, I Blame You, arrives this month. Cambridge, Mass., collective Major Starsdeliver a psychedelicized stoner-rock smackdown exacerbated by the Dead Kennedys-meets-Legendary Stardust Cowboy weirdness of Grenoble, France’s Gunslingers. – Greg BeetsLAZYWALL12mid, Club 115 Constant touring acrossEurope and North Africa indicates that the onlything lazy about this hard-rocking trio/sometimesquartet is the name. Prior to recording scheduledself-release Apoptosia, the band worked withSteve Albini. Purveyors of heavy metal Islam,they split time between the UK and Morocco, andobvious debts are owed to early Ozzy. – Dan OkoCANCER BATS12mid, Latitude 30 Canada and hardcoreweren’t synonymous to us Yanks prior toFucked Up, but Toronto’s Cancer Bats havebeen pounding for five years, combiningthe metal of In Flames with the intensity ofBlack Flag. With elbows out and steel toeslaced up, the fourpiece released sophomoreLP Hail Destroyer last year to sick reviewsand crazy shows. 1 – Darcie StevensIAN MCLAGAN & THE BUMP BAND12mid, Mother Egan’s A founding memberof Small Faces and Faces and <strong>Austin</strong>-basedsince 1994, Mac’s toured or recordedwith Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, BruceSpringsteen, Bonnie Raitt, and myriad others.Locally, he fronts a party band, and histhundering B-3 organ is all over current albumNever Say Never. – Jay TrachtenbergWHITE DENIM12mid, Radio Room Patio Hands down themost exciting new indie rock band to emergelocally in years, White Denim packs more junkin its trunk than a traveling salesman. <strong>The</strong>trio’s spastic full-length debut, Exposion – availableas part of the band’s subscription service– shuffles seamlessly from garage-funk bendersand shoegazed ballads to piano pop andinstrumental psych elixirs. – <strong>Austin</strong> PowellHague Daze:NetherlandsGenre-Benders<strong>Aw</strong>kward I(Fri., St. David’s Church, 10pm)Mellow Bon Iver folk-pop.Kraak & Smaak(Thu., Vice, 12mid)Wicked and wackedelectro-funk trio.Monokino(Wed., Elysium, 11pm)Synth pop trio trembling vocalsacross skuzzed beats.– Doug FreemanJAPANTHER12:05am, Headhunters Japanther is one ofthe young century’s few feel-good DIY stories:<strong>The</strong> Brooklyn duo has spent the last eight yearstouring relentlessly on a shoestring, playinghouse shows, and dropping records on tinyunderground labels. Pegged as “noise rock,”what the band’s truly involved in is old-fashionedpunk songwriting filtered through the sensibilityof stoned and scrappy youth. – Daniel MeeNEW YORK DOLLS12:30am, Smokin’ M<strong>usic</strong> Almost 40 yearson, and these damned dolls ain’t dead yet. Infact, save for original bassist Arthur Kane andguitarist Johnny Thunders, these glam-punkheroes are more alive than ever, althoughfrontman David Johansen appears to havebeen pickled in brine some time ago. Summersaw them gigging with Morrissey, and springbrings news of a Todd Rundgren-produced LP.– Marc SavlovDINOSAUR JR.12:45am, Cedar Street Courtyard That oneoff2006 Dinosaur Jr. reunion tour yieldeda new album (2007’s tepid Fat Possum LPBeyond) and a new label, indie pop havenJagjaguwar. <strong>The</strong> amp-distressing trio’s stillferocious live, singer/axeman J Mascis’ searingsolos close to illegal time limits, but it’salways 1991 in our hearts. – Audra SchroederOKKERVIL RIVER1am, the Parish Since last SXSW’s triumphantteaming with 13th Floor Elevators operatorRoky Erickson, these <strong>Austin</strong> indie darlingslost Shearwater frontman Jonathan Meiburgand guitarist Brian Cassidy but gained spots atKraak & Smaakthis year’s Coachella and Bonnaroo festivals.In September, the septet released <strong>The</strong> StandIns (Jagjaguwar), the sequel to 2007’s <strong>The</strong>Stage Names.– Melanie HauptSHEARWATER1am, 18th Floor at Hilton Garden Inn Lastyear’s Rook (Matador) was one of the bestalbums of <strong>2008</strong>. Not one to rest on its laurels,this <strong>Austin</strong>-based art-rock trio topped offthe year with heaps of touring and the releaseof a digital EP, <strong>The</strong> Snow Leopard. For now, amuch-deserved breather, with some writingand a few gigs here and there.– Melanie HauptFUTURE CLOUDS & RADAR1am, Wave <strong>The</strong> brainchild of guitarist/vocalistRobert Harrison (ex-Cotton Mather), FutureClouds & Radar is an <strong>Austin</strong> quintet thattakes kaleidoscopic sound to another planet,drawing comparisons to such peerless actsas the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and XTC. Bothits 2007 self-titled double-disc debut and<strong>2008</strong>’s Peoria made critics and orchestralpopfans swoon.– Jim CaligiuriNOMO1am, Antone’s Ann Arbor isn’t usually thefirst place that comes to mind when youthink about Afrobeat, but this horn-heavy,percussion-driven collective takes the m<strong>usic</strong>of Nigeria’s Fela Kuti and gives it a creativespin. Last year’s Ghost Rock (Ubiquity) sawthe band expanding its horizons, forging adeliciously funky world jazz concoction.– Jay TrachtenbergCONTINUED ON P.4644 THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE SXSW MUSIC SUPPLEMENT MARCH 20, 20<strong>09</strong> a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m
a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m MARCH 20, 20<strong>09</strong> THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE SXSW MUSIC SUPPLEMENT 45
Change language