Went to see a super documentary called The Dance on Monday night. Twas about a man named Billy Roth that has been going into Louisianna state prisons for about 40 years, teaching, coaching and befriending inmates through the sport of boxing. Quite a hero the guy is, quietly and selflessly serving in the Name of Jesus. It was awesome to see the role model himself down in front on stage with the producers after the screening (which was the world premiere).
This week has been a blur of writing, work, writing, work, editing, work, and all the things it takes to oversee an issue going to press (like gathering ad files). Late at night I snuck out to catch a few shows. I walked into a small club called Privilege and made the choice to go right at the entrance instead of left. I patiently waited for the show to start as 6 musicians (!) set up on a stage not much bigger than a king-sized mattress. "That's not Ester Drang!" I thought, but I couldn't help but watch these noise terrors go nuts. They're called Swarm of Angels and they were insane. I quickly explored the venue and found the outdoor Patio stage where Ester Drang were already in musical stride. Their dreamy guitars were sounding sweet, and they kept a decent-sized crowd pretty captivated. Next off was a set by Soviet, who were playing at the same time three blocks down the road at the infamous Emo's. There were four huge lines to get in - those with SXSW registration badges, those with music festival wristbands or cash tickets waited in block-long lines outside two entrances. By the time I navigated to the right door, Soviet had just finished impressing the snot out of the crowd by the stage that I jealously interviewed. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead, and I figured I'd have to sit there for a couple sets I was only mildly interested in - SubPop's Kinski and Jungle Brothers. I stuck around for a few songs of Kinski. Nice ethereal and spastic jamming. I hoofed it over to another infamous club - Antone's to catch the next Texas legend - Gary Clark Jr. This young lad (I think he's above voting age now) is quite the classic blues virtuoso. It'll only be a matter of time until he becomes another household word in blues circles. I could only sneak a peek from an open door outside, as the long lines outside were only moving as people exited (Thanks in part to the fire in Rhode Island last month).
I headed back to the main part of 6th Street for part of The Militia Group's showcase. I saw a very pleasing set by Acceptance, caught up with writer Brian Quincy Newcomb for a chat, followed by several songs by The Rocket Summer. The precocious Bryce Avary is not quite the one-man show (he was accompanied by a organist), but he still wowed the crowd with his gentle but obvious understanding of the perfect pop song and the musical talent to switch from guitar to drums. Singing those "Bah-ba-ba's" in perfect time while playing fairly intricate drum patterns is a feat in my book. I decided to take a chance at being able to see a little Trail of the Dead, even though I knew I'd see gargantuan lines of impatient people, but the badge line was non-existent and I was able to see several songs. Amazing. Four guys on two guitars, bass and drums were accompanied by a four female string section of Oboe, and violins (never can quite tell the difference twic viola and violin). The experimental mixture is fabulous, adding more tension and dynamics to an emo and pop influenced driving rock show. Seeing the drummer come out with a cymbal stand and back fall into the audience while smashing away was classic. Then I went home to ponder my good fortune. More to come in the following nights...
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at March 13, 2003 11:13 AM