Entries Tagged With: jon hardy and the public

Jon Hardy & the Public, Tim Easton, Sarah Borges, Tommy Womack and more at SXSW

At 04:22pm Mar 18, 2008

RFT freelancer Roy Kasten helped us blog from SXSW. For more coverage visit Living In Stereo. All photos by Roy Kasten.

In their eighth year, the Twangfest day parties (now co-presented by KDHX) have built their own momentum and following. (Full disclosure: I’m a Twangfest volunteer and KDHX programmer.) They’re always a South By highlight, and this year drew label reps from Anti-, No Depression honcho Grant Alden and NPR critic Ed Ward. It really is true you can go to Austin every March, skip the wristband or badge expense, hit the free shows all day long, and still see and hear more bands than ought to be humanly possible.

Down at Jovita’s Mexican restaurant on Thursday the line-up included Amy Lavere, Th * Legendary Shack Shakers, Deer Tick and St. Louis’ own So Many Dynamos and Gentleman Auction house; Saturday was the better-attended day, however, with the Waco Bros., Chuck Prophet, Kevin Gordon and Blue Mountain drawing ridiculous crowds inside.

Tim Easton:

I hung and “stage-managed” outside, where unknown-to-me alt-country band the Whipsaws (from Anchorage, Alaska) kicked off the afternoon with pure Bad Co. and Skynrd southern rock, then backed up Joshua Tree-based troubadour Tim Easton, who looked weathered in shades and graying hair. It’s hard to think of Easton becoming one of the wise old veterans of alt-country, but such is time, and Easton can still churn through Dylanesque blues as well as anyone of his generation.

Tommy Womack:

Tommy Womack followed, looking even more grizzled and more spaced-out than usual, and seemed just a little bit tired as he led his band through a 40-minute set in the sunshine. (As the weekend progressed, the climate in Austin just got sweeter and sweeter.)

Sacramento’s Christian Kiefer and band took their time setting up (apparently he couldn’t see his tuner in the sunlight), and though Kiefer’s Undertow debut Dogs and Donkeys gets by on poetic ambition, the meandering tunes don’t really translate live. Kiefer lost the crowd after about 10 minutes.

Jon Hardy and the Public:

But St. Louis’ Jon Hardy and Public, in their usual sharp suits, pulled the audience back just as quickly. This was the band’s first Austin gig, and they didn’t mess around. Even without the horn section so vital to last year’s Working In Love, Hardy delivered every song like it would be last time he’d sing them in the sun.

Sarah Borges:

After a quick back-line changeover, Boston’s Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles quadrupled the crowd on the patio, churning through their slightly twangy pub-rock until a speaker cable blew in mid-set. After a failed attempt at an instrumental, Borges stepped into the crowd and sang-out sans microphone. The frazzled sound guy finally fixed the PA and she wound up her set with a smart Tommy Womack cover and a version of the Reigning Sound’s “Stop and Think It Over.” If the crowd had its way, she would have played til sunset.

From Nashville, Aaron Robinson (another Undertow artist; if you’re sensing a pattern here, thank Chris Grabau) followed as a last-minute add. Although only a handful of folks stuck around for his folk-pop set, he played with both wit and grace, even if it was rather late to get much, if anything, out of the tip bucket.

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Tags: sxsw, music, jon hardy and the public, sarah borges, tim easton, tommy womack, christian kiefer, jovita's, twangfest, kdhx, aaron robinson

St. Louis Bands at SXSW

At 03:08pm Mar 03, 2008

Well, the final verdict is in as to who's going to be at SXSW from St. Louis this year. Behold!

Gentleman Auction House: Big things are afoot for indie darlings Gentleman Auction House in 2008. With a record deal in hand from Columbia’s Emergency Umbrella Records, the septet is gearing up to release an EP, The Book of Matches, and then its debut full-length, Alphabet Graveyard. The latter features plenty of songs the septet has honed during its recent live shows. In other words, expect sugar-spun indie rock sprinkled with wispy harmonies, twinkling orchestration and plenty of visceral grooves, including a Rick James sound-a-like (no, really) and a reggae number that shouldn’t work -- but does. (11 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, Club 115)

Magnolia Summer: Chris Grabau – and whatever band mates he can rope into coming with him – performs as Magnolia Summer during Undertow Records’ annual SXSW showcase. That night generally feels more like a family picnic than a music industry event, and this year is no different: Caleb Engstrom, Glossary and the Monahans, among others, will join Magnolia Summer on the bill. Grabau and Co. are playing a rare local show at Off Broadway on Saturday, March 22, while new songs – which are often augmented by gorgeous fiddle parts from Grace Basement’s Kevin Buckley – are also on the horizon. (Thursday, March 13, Habana Calle 6 Patio)

Ludo: After years of playing renegade SXSW gigs for anyone who would listen, Ludo has graduated to a plum official showcase slot on the strength of its new album, You’re Awful, I Love You. This debut for Island Records showcases the quintet’s strongest songwriting yet – while maintaining its commitment to scrambling together power-pop, Moog-punk, ska and fuzz-rock. Appearing with Ludo at SXSW will be the band’s March tourmate, the Presidents of the United States of America. (8:50 p.m. Thursday, March 13, Cedar Door)

Shame Club: After Shame Club released the smoldering Come On late last year, the Detroit stoner-rock label Small Stone Records swooped in, signed the quartet and decided to re-release On to a wider audience. The label’s excitement is understandable: With touchstones as diverse as Dinosaur Jr., Sly and the Family stone and Led Zeppelin, the album is like a sequel to the Dazed and Confused soundtrack -- or a really great classic rock station where the DJs have an encyclopedic knowledge of music history to impart. Bring your earplugs, because Shame Club always turns the amps up to eleven. (10 p.m. Friday, March 14, Room 710)

Story of the Year: The Lou screamo kingpins sound rejuvenated on “Wake Up,” the lead single from their April 22-released album, The Black Swan. Recorded for new label Epitaph Records, “Wake Up” is an adrenaline-inducing punk-pop anthem that’s slick without being sterile. The quintet will be whirling and shredding its collective vocal cords on Warped Tour all summer. (1 a.m. Friday, March 14, Habana Annex Backyard)

Club-hopping at night is only part of the SXSW fun, however. After all, everyone needs a cocktail (or three) to ward off the previous night’s hangover.

Twangfest and KDHX (88.1 FM) are again co-sponsoring a two-day afternoon soiree at Jovita’s. Thursday’s line-up includes Ha Ha Tonka, Black Diamond Heavies, David Bazan, Scott H. Biram. On Saturday, locals Jon Hardy and the Public – think an indie-soul version of Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe’s trenchant power-pop – will share the stage with Wussy, Steve Poltz, the Redwalls, Chuck Prophet and more.

The St. Louis University on-campus venue the Billiken Club is also curating its own stage on Thursday afternoon, in conjunction with the Twangfest/KDHX party. Appearing will be the “This Is American Music” lineup (including the Drams and Grand Champeen); the experimental electro duo Pattern is Movement; heartfelt Neil Young-ish folkies Deer Tick; Gentleman Auction House and keyboard-prog spazzes So Many Dynamos. The latter bunch of gearheads is fresh off finishing its third full-length, which it worked on with an impressive list of collaborators, such as Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla and mixer Alex Newport (At the Drive-In).

Piano-heavy, guitar-less trio The Feed is performing at several day parties; the Ben Folds-meets-Clash act should have a new record out sometime this year. F5 Records labelmates Earthworms and Nato Caliph will also be showcasing their new material at some day parties. The former released Bottle Full of Bourbon in January, while the latter unleashed Cipher Inside last year. And finally, singer-songwriter Geoff Koch is also doing the day-party circuit, before he heads to Nashville in April to record with Wilco’s Ken Coomer.

-- Annie Zaleski

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Tags: music, sxsw, so many dynamos, jon hardy and the public, gentleman auction house, shame club, ludo, story of the year, geoff koch, the feed, magnolia summer, undnertow records, earthworms, nato caliph

KDHX/Twangfest SXSW Day Party

At 07:25pm Feb 20, 2008

Times are TBA, and a few slots may be filled, but this KDHX/Twangfest day party should ease some mourning the loss of No Depression. This is at Jovita's in Austin.

Thursday (outdoor stage with the Billiken Club):

Amy Lavere
Black Diamond Heavies
David Bazan
Ha Ha Tonka
Scott H. Biram
Legendary Shack*Shakers
Otis Gibbs
This is American Music feat. The Drams, Glossary, Two Cow Garage, Grand Champeen
Gentleman Auction House
Pattern Is Movement
So Many Dynamos
Deer Tick

Saturday:

Kevin Gordon
Redwalls
Chuck Prophet
Waco Brothers
Blue Mountain
Wussy
Christian Kiefer
Steve Poltz
Whipsaws with Tim Easton
Jon Hardy and the Public
Sarah Borges

-- Annie Zaleski

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