frequencies
May 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Kylee Swenson
The weather started out dreary and threatened rain, but by midday on Thursday, March 13, the clouds dispersed to boost the moods of more than 1,700 bands playing in Austin, Texas for SXSW. It was too many bands, actually: Although many of the higher profile bands played multiple gigs, it was nearly impossible to see everyone on your wish list. In the long lineup of great bands playing at dozens of venues and outdoor stages, the Duke Spirit, the English Beat, Digitalism, Simian Mobile Disco, The Kills, N.E.R.D and The Raveonettes (and on and on) all made appearances.
In the best “hanging like a monkey from the rafters” move, Does It Offend You, Yeah? member Morgan Quaintance made the Emo's stage his jungle gym while the band played their more dance-rock-electro-house numbers and passed over their supercatchy pop songs. Meanwhile, although there is no doubt about Sia's gorgeous voice, the singer gets the prize for oddest duck of SXSW. Starting out her first song at Stubbs wearing a glow-in-the-dark stick figure outfit, Sia then peeled off the getup to reveal her even kookier persona, making heart shapes with her hands and exposing a wide, crazed grin.
Back at Emo's, Flosstradamus did some old-fashioned roof-raising by slipping in Vengaboys' “We Like to Party!” (Remember the ridiculous Six Flags Theme Park ad?) And the Cool Kids riled up the crowd about gold and pagers (complete with visual aids onscreen behind them).
On the mellower, requires-no-hype-man tip, She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward) delivered a pretty, alt-country-pop set at Minneapolis radio station The Current's outdoor stage. And San Francisco's LoveLikeFire played SFxSXSW's party at Bourbon Rocks, with their song “From a Tower” resonating in the brain hours later. Later that night at the Minty Fresh party, Bilbao, Spain's We Are Standard attempted to get the crowd moving, but after a couple songs, frustrated lead singer/guitarist Deu Txakartegi declared, “This is crazy!” when their upbeat songs didn't inspire a dance frenzy. But with bands and beer going almost nonstop from mid-morning 'til early morning for four days, well, what can you expect?
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