SXSW Day 2: The Love Language, Titus Andronicus, The xx, The Rocketboys, Fenech-Soler

SXSW continued for day 2 as I woke up on Thursday ready to see some more great music. Although Austin isn’t that huge, SXSW, itself, is quite large as there can be shows happening right in the middle of 6th street, beyond the freeway or a bus ride away. Thursday morning was the day I took the initiative to take a bus and see a show further away, and it turned out that it was very well worth it.

The first place on my schedule was Home Slice, a pizzeria. It may sound odd when I say I went to all the way to S. Congress to see a band at a pizzeria, but the best part about this mini trip is that Home Slice is one of the more well known pizza places in Austin. In fact, next to the original Home Slice, there was a building called More Home Slice. After having a slice of their Marguerita pizza, I could see why there needed to be an extra building of the same deliciousness.

As I sat down and ate this new found glory for my taste buds, I could hear Surf City at the end of the back alley where there were two stages set up. While I followed up my meal with a cannoli, the band Brazos (like the street in Austin) seemed to be in charge of providing music in between the bigger sets. Brazos is a small three-piece band, and at some point the lead vocalist went acoustic solo, but Brazos shines its best when the entire band is together.

Then finally The Love Language came on stage. This has been one band I have been meaning to cross off my list for some time, and with the suggestion of a friend, seeing them live only reignited more curiosity of out me. There was a mixture of old and new songs in the set, but their overall sound was such a great way to open up the day of music. They could come off as the average indie rock band to the novice. However, the more you listen the more, the influence of Spanish pop becomes apparent. Spanish pop incorporated into anything is always a unique idea and The Love Language does it so well as they combine it with a few Soul elements as well as a hint of shoegaze.

Next up was Titus Andronicus at Republic Live. However, when I arrived at the venue it turned out that the set times were horribly mixed up and bands were both behind and swapping around in the line up. However, I did endure bands such as Jukebox of Ghost as I waited for my chance to finally see Titus. Not only are their albums great, but lead vocalist Patrick Stickles really knows how to connect to his audience in the midst of all that punk shoegaze. Stickles made jokes about lending out his DVDs and asking for more of the fog machine, but what was great for us (yet unfortunately for Titus) was that the venue wasn’t packed as much as it could have been. In fact, with a band such as Titus Andronicus, a venue should always be packed. I highly recommend grabbing your earliest chance of seeing this band live. Not only are they not afraid to color outside of the lines with their arrangements, but every single one of their songs is just a fun time.

Seeing two bands who were not from Los Angeles somewhat made me a little homesick, and I decided to cure this with a remedy in the form of LA band, Casxio, who happened to be performing at The Blind Pig Pub. Everyone and the mother in Austin had the chance to get to know Casxio a little bit better this week. Their posters sporting their lyric, “I just wanna have sex with you,” above mysterious eyes haunted everyone on the streets. It’ll be a shame if at least 50 people weren’t enticed by that poster. However, I did have to leave their set early to catch The xx next at The Lawn Party.

With a location beyond the freeway, the walk was lengthy and I arrived to see a ridiculously long line. Knowing that The xx went on at 6 PM and that it was well past that point already, I regretted hiking all the way to a party to see a band I didn’t even particularly like. I’ve had an odd relationship with The xx’s latest album. There was an incredible amount of hype surrounding it during the end of 2009 and out of curiosity, I took a listen. My initial conclusion was that this was an indie rock band slipping into R&B territory, and that it sounded good but it also wasn’t anything extraordinary. My decision to walk to this party anyway was a way to give them a second chance. I thought perhaps I would enjoy them more live.

Boy, was I wrong. The line was so long that people were attempting to jump the wall when security wasn’t looking, but I did manage to get in on time. They were also running late but that happiness didn’t stay with me for too long. Although The Lawn Party is a nice area to relax and hear some music in the background, it isn’t the best situation for a short person like me, nor for a band as big as The xx. Performing under a tent, there was a massive gathering under and around it, but the sound was completely horrible. The speakers weren’t working outside as they should have been and the vocals were drowned out. Ironically, the sound was better as you walked away from their tent.

So with five or six songs, I decided I was over The xx (and probably will be for quite some time). After grabbing some grub, I decided to head into The Parish where The Hotel Cafe showcase was being held – and to my surprise, singer-songwriter Laura Jansen was up next. I had been curious about her as an artist for a while but only because I tend to fall in and out of my relationship with the singer-songwriter genre. There is no doubt that performers who play shows like The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles are talented, but sometimes it isn’t enough to entice me to go out and see a show. However, I am glad I got a chance to see Laura Jansen. Just a little thing with brown bangs, in a sparkly blue dress, she sat and played her piano as she also sang out with this butter smooth voice. It’s great to have a wide range vocal wise, but this girl’s vocals slide in and out of octaves like syrup. Singers often have breaks that make listeners notice their vocal limitations, but Jansen is a break-less gem that has to be heard live.

With my satisfaction at getting in touch with the singer-songwriter scene again, I decided to go out and explore in celebration. It didn’t take me long to find another showcase. I just hopped across the street to Maggie Mae’s and stayed because I saw The Rocketboys on the set list. With the grace of my wristband, I was lucky enough to up go upstairs and see these guys live. I was excited to see an authentic band from Austin as well and I walked right up into a crowd enjoying some raw indie rock tunes which included unexpected ambient layers of harmonies, keys, and guitars. There were six members altogether on stage and even if that does go on the verge of Canadian-esque trends, all six members were equally contributing something powerful with their performance. After seeing The Rocketboys here in SXSW, I can’t wait until they come to Los Angeles.

What I could have done next was go to Band of Horses and Broken Social Scene at the well-known Stubb’s venue of SXSW. All the big names play there, and I did manage to get into line at a decent time that would obviously have had me in there even before the show started. However, I changed my mind and decided to see if there were smaller shows that my wristband could quickly get me into. One band that caught my ear as I walked up Red River was called Generationals from the New Orleans. Playing at Club Deville next to The Mohwake (who was playing some obnoxious music at the time), Generationals put on a basic feel-good show for the evening. Their sound is absolutely great pop but there is a glimmer of pride as their sound sports a bit of the celebration of New Orleans roots. I could be listening to this band during Mardi Gras, but it goes beyond that in the sense of pop hooks. Generationals is definitely a band I could listen to on a daily basis.

Up next was a random We Are Scientists show at The Phoenix which was on 4th and Colorado – a good couple of blocks from the madness that was going on 6th street. We Are Scientists have enough of an established name to sell out a show, but the crowd for The Phoenix was perfect. Because the venue wasn’t in such a high traffic area, the crowd wasn’t unbearable. Although I had always liked WAS yet thought they ran in the mediocre realm with OK Go, there is no doubt that they are fantastic live. However, what surprised me the most was the banter that went on between vocalists Keith and Chris. They could be the next Flight of the Conchords as far as I’m concerned because as much as I was shocked by banter, it was actually quite good.

To cap off the night around 12:45 AM, I popped into the club Vice where The Hype Machine was holding their daily/nightly “Lose Control 2″ party. The club was crazy as expected; they had everything from DJs to strobing lights to people dancing for a crowd. It was a nice environment to let loose in after a long day. Just as I thought I was going to dance the night away to some DJ’s, a UK group by the name of Fenech-Soler took the stage. Apparently they were supposed to go on a half hour earlier but as special guests, the delay might have favorably gone toward them.

Fenech-Soler is definitely a band for those who like to dance. It made complete sense that they were to play a dance club that was pumping out hard beats and flashing lights because this band had its own swagger. Every single band member was dressed up to the nines in glittery shirts or jackets! With a sound that went about 5 more electronic steps than Los Angeles’ Casxio, Fenech-Soler definitely came off European, but they were damn good at sounding like they came from there. Cheers was right. Fenech-Soler is definitely a band to check out if you’re into rock bands who play dance music – rock bands who fool you into think they’re just all electronica.

So that was SXSW Day 2! Stay tuned for photos and more recaps.

Do you already have a love for these bands? Do you suggest any other bands to see?