Over The Weekend: SXSW Edition with Vampire Weekend, Motorhead, The Black Keys

By Chelsea Mueller At 03:27am Mar 17, 2008

Lemmy from Motorhead at SXSW. (Mark C. Austin)

It should come as no surprise this weekend we were at SXSW down in Austin. To get a full feel for the annual music fest you can read our national blog or flip through our local coverage of the event, but here are a few highlights to get things going.

Vampire Weekend

After debating it, getting shit from you guys for debating it and getting a tarot reading saying he needed to go Pete caved and went to see Vampire Weekend. Turns out, great decision. Bonus: Pete should be adding some mp3s from the packed Friday night show at Antone's to DC-9 today.

Motorhead

I was very excited when I saw Motorhead on the schedule to play a free afternoon party on Thursday. So, let's just say I was pretty pissed when a couple hours beforehand I got tripped and broke my big toe. I still walked down to Stubb's to see the band, and the pain was very much worth it. Lemmy and Co. blew me and hundreds of others away. I won't tell you not to feel bad about missing it, but you can feel a little better about it by listening to DC-9's recording of Motorhead playing “Killers” at the show.

The Black Keys

So, it's no shocker than both Pete and I were at the Village Voice Media day party Friday afternoon. We work for them. However, we couldn't help but share how awesome The Black Keys were at the shindig. If you need proof, I happen to have a live song up for your aural pleasure.
P.P.T.

P.P.T. performing at SXSW Friday night. (Mark C. Austin)

Dallas rap group P.P.T. made the trek to Austin, and did its best to ignite the crowd at Wave Friday night during the Idol Records showcase (others locals The Crash That Took Me and Black Tie Dynasty followed P.P.T.). Unfortunately, Wave wasn't really the ideal venue for the high-energy trio. Picnic, Pikahsso and Tahiti performed a solid set, but sound issues and a lame older crowd killed some of the party vibe typical of a usual P.P.T. show.

New Bands: The Dodos, Madeline, The Big Sleep

The thing that's great about SXSW is that you can stumble upon a new great band. Oh, it happened, all right. Early Wednesday night I heard the sweet, childlike vocals of Madeline and became awestruck (listen and learn). Then later that night while heading to see metal band Children, I ended up watching The Big Sleep at Mohawk's patio. Finally Friday night, I ended up discovering The Dodos (listen and learn) while waiting for Does It Offend You, Yeah to take the main stage at Emo's.

Perez Hilton

Pete spotted the celebrity blogger at Robyn's Pangaea show Friday night. See his Perez-inspired photo for a few giggles.

The Baptist Generals at NX35. (Melanie Gomez)

NX35 – The Denton Stage

We led off SXSW this year by spending Wednesday afternoon at the unofficial Denton stage. Some of our local favorites really impressed the crowd at the showcase. Check out the photos to see those you love including: Sarah Jaffe, The Baptist Generals, mom, Record Hop and others.

Reviews

Wednesday shows: Ra Ra Riot, Hey Willpower, Peter and the Wolf, The Von Bondies, Grand Old Party, Be Your Own Pet, The Lemonheads, Children, The Big Sleep, The Feds and Madeline

Thursday shows: Motorhead, Old 97's, Cloud Cult, Tapes 'n Tapes, The Remolon, Florence and the Machine, Wild Lights, MGMT, Drug Rug and Yeasayer

Friday shows: P.P.T., Basia Bulat, Foreign Born, Vampire Weekend, DeVotchKa, Robyn, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Watershed, The Dodos, The Black Keys, Helio Sequence, British Sea Power and The Little Ones

Saturday shows: David Banner and The Cringe with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top

Flatstock 16

Flatstock 16. (Mark C. Austin)

We meandered through the annual poster sale. Click through our slideshow to get a feel for it, or you can just gawk at my awesome purchase. -- Chelsea Ide

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defensive listening said:
Great job scoping out "new" bands. Madeline has been playing 1919 Hemphill semi-regularly since almost 2005 and The Dodo's played to nobody at Club Dada almost two years ago as well. Keep up the good work.

Posted 03/17/2008 at 13:54:04 pm