It is that time of the year again, when the music industry tries to adjust in the aftermath of another huge SXSW festival. Each spring, Austin’s famous four-day event realigns the music calendar, dictating what’s in, what’s out and, in 2010, who’s coming back for another bite of the cherry.
SXSW was usually reserved as a showcase for fresh new talent from across the globe, but now that it has grown in stature and size (90 or so venues now make up the festival floor plan), well-established names – and forgotten heroes – have come to join the party. This year, we had the resurrection of two influential groups, Stone Temple Pilots and Hole, while guest stars Muse also downsized their stadium light-show performance for a small club venue.
It is easy to see the appeal for bands of this calibre – being the ultimate showcase event, there is plenty of opportunity to get the hype machine going and Muse are a perfect example of a UK band looking for a bigger share of the lucrative US market.
This a dream shared by nearly all UK hopefuls, and SXSW is the path they normally take. Chart-topping acts such as Duffy, Amy Winehouse and Franz Ferdinand all paraded their talents at this festival after achieving success back home.
So how did the big guns compare with the next big things? With nearly 2,000 bands performing for the 2010 event, competition was tough, but once again, UK outfits were able to stand against the annual might of American talent, as well as that of others from countries further afield.
Over 150 UK acts and 500 industry figures made the trip to SXSW last March – the biggest UK representation yet and the second biggest contingent after the US. The 2010 British invasion had some wild cards up its sleeve; mainly in-band of the moment, London’s the XX, and Southampton’s Band of Skulls – a group perfectly suited to Austin’s dirty rock n’ roll vibe.
Granted, the foreigners may bring a touch of the exotic to an American festival, but there was no reason to think these up-and-coming kids couldn’t stand on their musical merit alone. The XX, with their Rihanna-meets-the-Pixies grooves, combined with an eye-catching emo-meets-Depeche Mode stage persona, were always going to turn a few heads. With influences like the former, it could be hard to imagine what their sound might be (and it’s worth pointing out that these comparisons only scratch the surface).
So, fair to say, many people were intrigued. Austin’s Central Presbyterian Church was the location for one of the most applauded XX performances at SXSW (of which there were many). The venues’ ambience was definitely akin to the band’s demeanour and gave them the chance to enrapt the crowd in their brooding soundscape.
Band Of Skulls
And from intimate holy venues to sweat-on-the-walls rock n’ roll, already causing waves in the States – thanks to their track Friends making it on to the Twilight soundtrack – Band of Skulls knew they would be attracting a crowd. Judging by their appearance you would easily mistake them for locals, and with such a convincing dirty blues-rock sound it is hard to imagine them coming out a pretty and picturesque city like Southampton. The three-piece played to a capacity crowd at Filter’s Showdown at Cedar Street, albeit for a short 30-minute slot – not hardly enough to experience the full screaming potential of their debut, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey. Like the XX, Band of Skulls have only been in the game for a few years, but it seems US domination already beckons for both – the two groups are currently on a whistle-stop tour of the States, with the Skulls making an appearance at the Coachella Festival on the 17th of this month.
Another newcomer, Marina and the Diamonds, may not be around as long to drum up a US following, but none the less, SXSW was more than inviting for the operatic Welsh/ Greek singer and her anthemic backing tracks (interestingly enough, ‘the Diamonds’ does not refer to her band – rather it’s a term assigned to her loyal fans, taken from her surname, Diamandis). Although she claims to be “obsessed with the mess that’s America” in one of her stand out tracks, Hollywood, plenty of locals would have signed up to the Diamond Club after her show at the Chop Shop/ Atlantic Records Party. She is now on a sold-out tour of the UK before returning stateside in July.
If Marina is on the cusp of a meteoric rise, Courtney Love and her resurrected Hole is a faded star that is trying so hard to shine once again. It is strange to think that it is exactly 16 years since Live Through This was released, but now Hole are back with a new album, Nobody’s Daughter, and a very new line-up. Of course, as Love is the only original member, it would be hard to call this a ‘reunion’. Nevertheless, she was said to have put on a performance that was every bit as energised as any show from the mid 90’s.
The set list was also a refreshingly vibrant affair, kicking off with two tracks from the new album – Skinny Little Bitch and Nobody’s Daughter – and introducing old favourites such as Violet and Miss World. The crowd, meanwhile, was another equally mixed bag – long-life fans and teenage girls screaming out for their tragic heroine from the front row. Naysayers will be critical of the new line up for sure, and can view Love’s dramas and tabloid-headline lifestyle as the real fuel for the fire. But no one can argue against the amount of raw energy she can bring to a stage. This frontwoman still has the same fuck-you gusto she spouted as a grunge goddess all those years ago, and if the music is good, we have got the full Hole package.
In stark contrast to the reckless values of Courtney Love, there’s Stone Temple Pilots – a band reformed in every sense of the word. 4,400 people in Austin Hall were treated to one of the performances of the festival, with a rejuvenated, and drug-free, Scott Weiland and co lifting the ceiling. They decided to get things started by giving the crowd exactly what they wanted to hear – classic favourites Creep and Wicked Garden received a rapturous response from an adoring audience.
After they blasted through the rest of the set, combining crowd pleasers with new material from their self-titled album, due for release this May, an encore was more than mandatory. And if things couldn’t get much better, STP were able to bring on one very special guest, who was also at the festival to promote his band of bygone years. When the opening riff kicked off to the Doors’ Roadhouse Blues, Robbie Krieger (shamelessly wearing a Doors t-shirt), stepped on to the stage and went through some serious Crossroads-style duelling with STP guitarist, Dean DeLeo.
A cameo from a living legend will always go down well – a reunion in the vein of Stone Temple Pilots, however, is what every die-hard fan wants to see. Here is a band that delivered so much, peaked, fell, and peaked again only to disappoint once more. If the reaction of this performance is anything to go by, it seems they may have finally reached a prosperous reawakening.
So, if 2010 is the blueprint for SXSW 2011, the festival will be taking on an even broader spectrum of bands next year. From its humble beginnings (a lowly 700 acts played at the first event in 1987) to the 13,000+ attendees, 2000+ performances and series of spin-off events at this year’s monster showcase, it would only be a matter of time before the mainstream would jump on the band wagon.
Thankfully, it will never be just about the latest comeback kings. Taking this year’s figures into account, 2011 will see even more young hopefuls from around the globe, and the UK, looking to make their mark as well. No number of high-profile rehashes will take away from the true ethos of this festival. Breaking new talent is what SXSW will always be about – it is one of the rare occasions in the music industry when the big names are just tagging along for the ride.
(Conor O’Brien)
