Showdown at Cedar Street - March 19, 2010

My second day in Austin presented me with plenty of sunshine, beautiful scenery and a overwhelming amount of epic events and free parties to choose from. Seriously the pure amount of jaw-dropping-amazing bands performing in the city is enough to give a music enthusiast like myself a panic attack. On this particular day in Texas my first destination was the FILTER Magazine SXSW Showcase entitled Showdown at Cedar Street, an event spanning three days of free BBQ and amazing live music. I was hitting day two of this event and by the line outside it was quite clear that word had gotten out about the massive music-gasm about to take place.

Admittance was first come first serve and while the line did go around the block the wait wasn't long and I was inside before the packed courtyard was at capacity. Those who made it late crowded along the fence outside the courtyard straining to get a glimpse inside as the first band began to set-up. The air was electric as everyone prepared themselves for one hell of a day full of live music. Seven amazing bands, in one place, back to back - it was clear to everyone this was the place to be that afternoon.

The first artist to take the stage was Nneka (pronounced 'Neck-uh'), a Nigerian-born singer with a bit of soul, hip-hop and reggae all mixed together with a splash of Bob Marly thrown in for good measure. I hadn't heard her music before, but after one song I was hooked. Cited as an artist with a "heart as big as her afro," Nneka has apparently been building buzz all over the country due to word of mouth and the intensity of her live performances. Since the release of her US debut album, Concrete Jungle, Nneka has made a lot of press including mentions in Rolling Stone, SPIN and being chosen as one of Beyond Race Magazine's 50 Emerging Artists. Her writing has also gained critical praise for covering issues such as capitalism, poverty and war in her home of Nigeria and Western Europe. As she puts it herself: "I do it in a sweet way - but I sing to speak the truth."


The UK rock trio Band of Skulls took the stage next with a powerful set from their amazing debut album, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey. If you haven't heard this album yet you are doing yourself a serious disservice as it is easily one of the best releases of 2009. With instant classic like "Fires," "Patterns" and the amazing ballad "Cold Fame" this album is a must have. While their name congers up images of a really bad black metal band trust me when I say they far from it. BOS is pure infectious rock-n-roll highlighted with bluesy guitar riffs, the great duel-vocal play of guitarist Russell Marsden and bassest Emma Richardson and the pounding punch of drummer Matt Heyward. Formed only two years ago BOS are on the verge of world wide stardom after a successful national tour as well as landing the track "Friends" on the Twilight - New Moon Soundtrack. I caught these guys in STL last year where they put on a scorching show so my expectations for this performance were really high. Of course BOS didn't disappoint as they attacked the audience for near 30-min with a wall of sound built by amazing vocals, infectious guitar riffs and an head pounding drum beat. It's scary to think this will end up being only #3 on my top 10 list of best performances that week, but the best - as they say - is yet to come.


The third band to grace the stage was none other than Delta Spirit, a San Diego based group with a mix of folk, soul and southern rock. A favorite on college radio stations, Lead singer Matthew Vasquez had the crowd swaying and singing along with the lyrics. "If you're feeling what I'm feeling, c'mon," Vasquez sang, "all you soul-serarching people, c'mon!" the crowd replied. The energy level in the audience spiked as the band bounced around the stage with smiles on their faces as they shuffled through several of their hit songs. Known for their catchy and contagious melodies, DS is often referred to as a "hybrid of rock and northern soul" creating a alt-country style that goes well with their spiritual-infused pop lyrics.

The music kept on flowing with The Temper Trap, an Australian outfit that has built insane amounts of buzz after landing on the 500 Days of Summer Soundtrack as well as the TV shows Greek and One Tree Hill. In fact you could actually see the girls in the crowd swoon as the first notes of "Sweet Disposition" began to dance on the air. The band went on to play many of their hits from their debut album, Conditions, including the pulsing base of "Resurrection" and the instrumental "Drums." Describing themselves as "soul-jazz exploration," Temper Trap is known for their atmospheric sound, grandiose guitar riffs and lead singer Dougie Mandagi's incredible vocal range. Comparisons to Coldplay and U2 are justly deserved as these Ausies put on one hell of a show.


Finally, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club took the stage for a short set featuring some of their fan favorite hits as well as the title track "Beat The Devils Tattoo" from their new album. The guys were joined by Raveonettes' touring drummer Leah Shapiro who replaced Nick Jago in 2008. I'll be complete honest in that I had totally forgotten about Jango leaving and was a bit surprised and confused by the cute girl sitting behind the drums wearing thick black sunglasses. However, Shapiro has no problem keeping up with the boys and makes a great addition to the band dealing out the heavy beat that has come to characterized BRMC. The band sounded great but there was a sense of urgency in their set that felt rushed giving me the impression that the guys felt they had better places to be. I love BRMC but it was a strange transition from the enthusiastic smiling faces of Delta Spirit and Temper Trap to the relatively pissed off looking BRMC. Oh well, I suppose short and sweet is better than no performance at all.

At that point in the day I was physically and mentally exhausted and in need of food, water and a comfortable chair. After all there is only so much mind blowing music one can take in one gulp, and only so much standing in the sun you can do in seven hours. With regret I took my leave of FILTER Magazine in search of someplace to regroup and rehydrate. Little did I know that soon after my departure from Cedar Street Courtyard indie-rockers Local Natives and Dr. Dog both put on amazing shows clocking in at around 40-min each. Sa la vie.

Band of Skulls @ Fubar 8/24/09

Arriving hours before the concert began, my friend Matt and I pulled up next to Fubar around 7pm on a Monday night to find all three members of Band of Skulls standing on the sidewalk not more than fifteen feet from where we parked the car. They had a couple guitars and were about to head down to a nearby restaurant for a quick bite before the show. We waited the appropriate non-stalker-ish time before we followed. At that point neither I nor my friend Matt had the courage to attempt contact, so we sat a few tables over from the band and had a drink. After a short time we walked back down the street to Fubar where the show was later going to take place.

Walking inside was a bit of a shock to the system due to the fact that there was hardly anybody there. A few people were tuning some instruments as we walked past the stage to the back of the room where the '21 and over' section started. After inquiring at the bar I discovered that the Skulls would be playing around 10pm, meaning we were very very early. Deciding the time should be used wisely I threw away my earlier plan of staying sober and decided to get another drink. This is the point where I was introduced to Sol, quite possibly the best Mexican beer I have ever had. Best described as a better tasting Corona with a hint of vanilla, Sol is now one of my favorite beers.

We listened to an acoustic one-man outfit serenade the total of 5 people in the room for awhile before deciding to go wandering. After getting our hands stamped we walked outside to an empty street and noticed that the members of Band of Skulls were now relaxing in a booth at the front of the empty bar. At this point I was hit with the honest truth, no one was coming to this show. We had left Springfield early and flew down the highway to St. Louis expecting a packed and maybe even sold out show. Instead we stumbled onto a rare opportunity, to see a great band in a very intimate, low key setting before the rest of the world caught on to how good they really were.

After a short adventure around the historic district of St. Louis in search of a sharpie we returned to Fubar. I took in the last few songs of a band Matt described as "Modest Mouse meets Fallout Boy," before deciding to go make contact with the members of Band of Skulls. I picked up an LP of Baby Darling Doll Face Honey for $15 at the merch table and walked over to the bass player for Band of Skulls, Emma Richardson, still sitting with her band mates in their booth. The best way to describe her reaction to my autograph inquiry would be... exhilarated amazement. With an excited "Of course!" she ripped the album out of my hands and started tearing the plastic wrapping off. She pulled a folded poster out of the sleeve that I hadn't even known was there and asked my name before signing it.

The poster was a large reproduction of one of Emma Richardsons' paintings. As she handed the album to guitarist Russell Marsden I asked her about the painting and the album cover. It was indeed from her gallery "Meat Me At The Butchers," but as she informed me, had been cut in half and mirrored for the cover which she wasn't too happy about. Matt showed up shortly with his own purchased LP to be signed, which Emma again tore the plastic off in search of the poster. After all three members had signed our LPs we talked a little about their tour so far and the fact that we had drove two hours to see them. "We wanted to catch you before you get so big that we'll have to pay $80 for a ticket to a stadium show," I told them. "That would be great," Russell replied,"not that you have to pay $80 but that we would have lots of people come to see us." He continued to tell about how they had played an early set at Lallapalooza and mentioned how few people had showed up. I wanted to bring up the alarming lack of people at the current show but didn't have the courage.

Band of Skulls played a powerhouse of a set to a not so packed crowd of 23 fans. It was pure rock n' roll with driving guitar riffs and deep bass grooves. Many small venues suffer acoustically from their design, but Fubar sounded very good with the small exception of the low volume of Emmas' mic. They played most of the songs from their new album including "Light Of the morning," "Fires," "Blood," and my favorite "Cold Fame." They ended the show with the song "Impossible" and walked off the stage while the sound system replayed the last few fuzzy guitar cords over and over. A great ending to an amazing show.

After the show we went back over to the other bar where the band was meeting with all the fans who had come to see them play. They signed albums and posters and listened to fans profess their love for the new album. I was able to overhear a middle aged man tell his story to Emma about how he was there to get a autograph for his son who was a giant fan but couldn't be there because it was a school night. We were able to talk to Emma a little about their show and the importance of artist having sharpies at shows, after which I gave her the one we had quested for earlier. The 70s band Heart came up in our conversation and I was amazed to learn that she had never heard of them. Later I mentioned this fact to their drummer Matthew Hayward. He laughed and scolded Emma, "What!? You've never heard of Heart!" after which two girls at the table started to sing "Magic Man."

As a joke Emma and Matthew both signed a small poster with personal messages for one of my co-workers, Beth, who loves Heart. Emmas' message was about how she didn't know who Heart was but was sure they rocked. Matthews' message was "Beth!! You like Heart!? I like Heart! Lets get together!" (It is also funny to note that when I gave Beth the poster the next day she was listening to Heart in her office.) We left St. Louis near 1am to begin our long trip back to Springfield, the car ride spent listening to Band of Skulls and talking about the show.

Band of Skulls - BDDFH

First off, no Band of Skulls is not a black metal band. They are in fact a solid alt-rock trio from Britain who just released their first album, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, which is a great album considering it was recorded only months after the band was formed. Seriously there really isn't a bad song in the 16 tracks of fuzzed-out guitar riffs, rock duets and smokey lyrics. Its also interesting to note that the album was recorded at Courtyard Studios in Oxfordshire, the same studio where Radiohead recorded some of their early albums. That doesn't really have a bearing on the quality of the music on BDDFH but for a giant Radiohead fan like myself its a nice piece of trivia.

The UK trio consist of Russell Marsden (vocals/guitar), Emma Richardson (vocals/bass) and Matthew Hayward (drums). All of which are contributing writers for the band which is why BDDFH feels like a mixed bag at times. Influences are all over the map including southern-rock, blues-folk and acoustic-pop. Listening to this album is almost like a crash corse in music history with hints of Zeppelin and Heart to more modern bands like Kings of Leon and Dead Weather. In fact sometimes if your not paying close attention it's easy to confuse Band of Skulls with one of Jack Whites side projects. Marsden seems to be doing his best at times to emulate White in both his vocals and his southern/bluesy guitar playing on songs like "Death By Diamonds And Pearls."

Richardson ends up being the standout member of Band of Skulls with her emotion and vocal talent on tracks such as "Blood" and "Patterns." The sensitive, acoustic guitar ballad "Honest" is one of the best songs on the album. Her beautiful and soothing voice echos that of Alison Mosshart (The Kills/Dead Weather) and is only enhanced when joined by the vocals of Marsden on "Fires." On top of being an amazing singer and bass player, Richardson is also a very talented painter. Two paintings from her recent exhibition "Meat Me At The Butchers" have been used as covers for the digital and CD releases of BDDFH. Her paintings are abstract works that she says could be human innards or muscle.

The album closes with the elegant "Cold Fame," a melancholy indie-rock ballad featuring Marsden on vocals. A very emotional song with standout lyrics:

What's the point of fame if it's been abused?
What's a kid like me even got to lose?
Here I am on your bed again,
it's too big for the room it's in.
Wash your face and mouth just a little bit,
Everybody knows that you're good at it.
Nothing hurts like an answer phone,
drinking some, waking up alone.
Maybe if I try just a little more,
I can take myself from this dirty floor.
Walk through buildings of elegance,
just like you are intelligent.
But still I fall from grace with this microphone,
How'd you find yourself if you never roam?
Certainly I'm indebted baby, certainly, certainly...

Already receiving rave reviews from their show at Lollapalooza and joining the ranks of bands like Muse and Radiohead on the 'New Moon' soundtrack, Band of Skulls is set to explode in the coming months. They are now touring the U.S. and Canada for the second time with a stop at Fubar in St. Louis August 24th, which is just close enough that I might try to pop over and catch them. Because lets face it good music is worth loosing sleep over.

http://www.bandofskulls.com/
http://www.myspace.com/bandofskulls