Doug Van Pelt

SXSW.06

The photo above is my uncle, Alan Haynes, who is always playing blues clubs around Austin, other Texas cities and parts of Europe. For your information: If you'd like to check out the "of interest" list of bands playing SXSW, go here. For some on-the-spot updates, follow me on twitter or facebook (Doug Van Pelt). I'm using my mobile device to post pictures and the occasional low-res video.

The first night of music at SXSW was absolutely fantastic -- and I know that I just tasted a small amount of the total offering. I actually skipped at least one hour of official music showcases, because I had to start my night with a heavy metal concert documentary movie.







IRON MAIDEN: FLIGHT 666
Before the movie began, the narrator and co-director of Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (Sam Dunn), introduced the impetus for this film: "There's been many great bands that have had multiple documentaries made of them (The Rolling Stones, etc), but we thought they deserved a film of their own." What they documented was amazing. This old school metal band consistently packs out STADIUMS around the world without radio airplay or media support. And to top that little detail, they are travelling around the world in six weeks in a Boeing 757 jet -- piloted by lead singer/commercial airlines pilot Bruce Dickinson! They had some beautiful exterior flight and takeoff shots of the plane, piloted in a "chase plane" by Skip Holmes in and around Southern California. The fan reaction in India, Central and South America, Australia (I kept looking for shots of a headbanging Steve Rowe in the crowd of the Melbourne show) was over the top enthusiastic. The crowds sang and chanted along like they were at an international soccer match. It helps to have someone that loves Iron Maiden on the directorial team, as the shots captured were all the views that an Iron Maiden fan would want to see in a concert film. During big hit songs, like "Run To The Hills," "The Number of the Beast" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" were punctuated in the Paramount theater by a couple of lads up front that stood up, pumped their fists and waved their instantly disrobed shirt. Too fun!

Afterwards, the directorial team of Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen fielded questions (two by me, he he). They revealed that they used 7 cameras for each show, shot 500 hours of film, and most of them all shot during the shows. And the next documentary on their list: Rush. I suggested to Scot McFadyen that they should maybe consider the huge niche scene of Christian metal for coverage. He said they almost featured it in Metal... He said they might do a series with VH-1, so who knows...?







THE ELMS
This band sounded and came off much better than being the butt of a joke from the movie Saved! (for those that don't remember, Mandy Moore's character punished a friend that wasn't walking "Christian" enough by forcing them to do something like listening to "7 hours of The Elms on her iPod"). They entertained a packed tent across from Emo's. I heard a brand new song that they'd just written in Nashville, which had a heavy guitar anthem and singer/songwriter feel to it ... in a country sort of way. Sounded good.







ANATHALLO
I heard a really good set by Anathallo. I'm not sure how visually appealing it was, though, because I was stuck in a 5-deep line that wrapped around a small bar outside the room the Mohawk stage is in. Good thing they took out a giant part of the wall and made a window behind the end of the bar, so you could get a small glimpse of the band -- kinda like snooping on a neighbor over your fence, but with moving bushes in the way. The band sounded a little more bouncy and melodic than I've heard 'em live in the recent past. The long pauses in between songs were hard to take, especially with the multiple layers of conversation going on, but it's all good. Anathallo deftly filled the room with their energy.







THE RISING SOUND
I don't know anything about this band, except that they're real friendly and they're not Twenty-Four64, who I thought I was watching, due to the scheduled performance time. Turns out the schedule was off, I missed any band intro's, but when I spotted them later in the night at the Seabird show, I asked about their name. So, instead of falsely giving a review of a 2464 show, I'll share my notes on The Rising Sound. They play a little old school rock, with big 4/4 beats. "Natural Girl" was a real strong song with a good hook. Other songs reminded me of soulful 70s rock, a la Faces.







THE LEE BOYS
I knew this would be a good, spirited performance, but I had no idea I was about to be treated to some real greatness. I was successfully club-hopping my way through a great SXSW night, and then I but a pause to my movement so I could digest all that was going down here. They were tearing up the joint with a full band that featured some pedal steel guitar and a huge 7-string bass whose bottom fret board I could not even wrap my hand around. The place was hopping. Roosevelt, "The Doctor," was picking the strings on his pedal steel bench with pick/slip things on his fingers. They invited The Travelling McCourys up on the Smokin' Music Lounge stage with them to jam. They seemingly improvised bluegrass and gospel standards (like "Let's Ce-le-brate" and "I Wanna Be Ready (Walkin' in Jerusalem Just Like John)") and welded their styles together for a fresh fusion of energetic music that turned the crowd on its ear.





It was interesting to see the violin trade licks with the pedal steel. The Dr. would point to the guy on mandolin and let him riff, then point to violin, then jam himself. Wow. This was a special performance.







VIVA VOCE
They packed out the Radio Room on 6th. The Portland, OR, band seems to have expanded since I last saw them. They have a new girl on guitar (Karina) and a drummer. The set started out rocking, got slower in the second tune, and then picked up again with some beach style (only faster) drumming. Anita's lead guitar playing featured some cool bluesy trills in the chorus (reminding me of Hendrix's "Little Wing"), and the song had some nice, heavy drumming. It wasn't the only song that Anita showed off her cool lead guitar chops. This guitarist is just plain good. The fact that she's a petite beautiful woman only makes this fact cool and rare. Her husband Kevin mostly played bass and he introduced a new kinda surfy but wide and full sounding song from their new album. It'll be called Rose City and releases on May 26th. To end the set Karina hit some pads with drumsticks for a cool, hollow, almost industrial sound. Kevin switched to a guitar, which changed the lineup to two percussionists and two guitars going after it. Very cool.







SEABIRD
While the band was just warming up on the small postage-stamp-of-a-stage, Aaron Morgan's vocals stretched and filled the room with his distinctive vocal style. By the second song, "Apparitions," the piano tinkling its big, organic rock sound had the audience's full attention. The narrow room was slowly filling up, and it belonged to Seabird, and their relaxed performance sounded great. Aaron gave a shout-out to the Pomegranates, who were playing here this week. Cries of "not alone" rollicked along in their cool style. Aaron introduced "Rescue" and explained that it was used on a "tweenie" show recently. It's a killer song. "I'm pushing up daises, I wish it were roses..." A nice way to end the evening.