Just a reminder we'll be broadcasting live at 8PM Eastern this Friday, March 20th from Texas! WFMU's returning to curate a nighttime showcase at the SXSW Festival, this time joined by our pals at Aquarius Records in San Francisco. We've handpicked 14 (!) bands once again that we love, and the schedule runs as follows (times are central time). WFMU will broadcast half of the sets live (a mix of both FMU's and AQ's picks), and we're hoping to bring some of the remaining sets to you at a later date. (Flyer: Ben West)
Spiro's on the outdoor/indoor stages (611/615 Red River, downtown Austin):
7:00 PM Prizehog / Gary War
8:00 PM Wildildlife / XYX
9:00 PM Lord Weird Slough Feg / Mayyors
10:00 PM Absu / The Renderers
11:00 PM Obits / Ovens
12:00 PM Major Stars / Woven Hand
1:00 AM Gunslingers / Elm
Blurbage and links on these bands after the jump, we're totally psyched for all of these sets. Liz Berg, Trent Wolbe, Diane Kamikaze, Brian Turner, Benjamen Walker and Scott Williams will be there with some WFMU merch and live reports/interviews between sets, Andee and Allan from Aquarius will also be at the show, so please say hi and grab some swag! Without doubt one of the best official bills of the festival with equal parts heavy/folky/punked/psyched/pop sounds of the highest order!
Here's the lineup, alphabetically, AQ picks first, then WFMU's (thx Andee/Allan for blurbage):
AQUARIUS:
ABSU
You
know we had to have a black metal band on the bill. And who better than
one of THEE earliest and best of 'em on the American scene, ever?
Texas' own Absu! We've been fans of these guys for YEARS. Amazing,
arcane, thrashing true occult black metal that will DESTROY. We're
beyond chuffed that Proscriptor & Co. agreed to play. If you're at
all metal, do not miss their show!
ELM
Dark brooding twang flecked drones from one half of the free rock duo Barn Owl. Like a more druggy blissed out Earth, woozy guitarscapes and undulating layers of low end, conjure up primal blackness and
hazy moonlit melodies.
OVENS
Shredding,
hook-jammed pop blasts from SF, Weezer meets Guided By Voices meets the
Beatles meets The Fucking Champs, 30 second blasts of crunchy pop
genius, songs about smoking PCP, getting fired and falling down the
stairs, as likely to kick out a Melvins cover as they are to tackle
some Bee Gees baroque pop classic, they have a new record coming out in
a few weeks on tUMULt!
PRIZEHOG
Crushing, slowmo heaviness from SF. Like a more spaced out Harvey Milk, gloriously pummeling and abstract, chugging riffs collide with murky droney drift (pictured right)
SLOUGH FEG, THE LORD WEIRD
Our
other more-metal-than-thou pick. From San Francisco, we have first hand
knowledge that this band is one of the most truly cult heavy metal acts
currently going. And when we say heavy metal, we mean melodic '70s and
'80s, Iron Maiden/Judas Priest/Thin Lizzy style with classic riffs, a
twin axe attack and heroic vocals. Epic and shredding and as weird as
their name implies. Few, if any, other bands can compare.
WILDILDLIFE
Damaged
and druggy, rhythmic, tripped out, psychedelic metallic noise rock /
space pop whatthefuck from these Seattle based (formerly SF, and before
that Boston) noisemakers, featuring one former aQuarian, their record
on Crucial Blast was an instant classic, their live shows are wild and
unhinged, and Wildildlife are definitely one of the few bands who
could, and did, give the mighty Harvey Milk a run for their money.
WOVEN HAND
One
of our all time favorite bands, ex-Sixteen Horsepower, David Eugene
Edwards and his troupe are masters of abject apocalyptic swamp folk,
dark and folky and biblical and so so grimly beautiful. Almost every
Woven Hand record has been an aQ Record Of The Week. (pic right Erwin Verstappen)
WFMU:
GARY WAR
Gary War makes warbly Tascam psych-wave with the best of 'em. His debut LP, New Raytheonport (Shdwply Records), was not only mastered by Ariel Pink, but features guest appearances from Haunted Graffiti members. He also played in legendary lost-psych mind fixture Bobb Trimble's backing band. Gary War (who was also a core member of eclectic freak-folkers Chas Mtn) continues with releases on Woodsist and Sacred Bones this year, but is newly-assembled full live band is somewhat different in comparison to the recorded output but no less than amazing.
GUNSLINGERS
Featuring
members of black metal horde Diamatregon and avant post rockers Aluk
Todolo, the Gunslingers are from France, and spit out a wild frenzied
savage and super distorted psychrock. Like a French White Hills of
Heads, plenty of garage rock crunch, and pounding seventies acid punk
style RAWK blowout, everything doused in a heavy haze of amp damage and
distortion. First US tour ever.
MAJOR STARS
Massachusetts
based psych rockers, featuring Wayne Rogers and Kate Village (from
Magic Hour and Vermonster), specialize in their own unique brand of
druggy, washed out, buzz drenched, guitar heavy psychdrone bliss. Heavy
and freaked out, total distortion drenched psychedelic nirvana. A rare
non-East Coast show. (pic left: Benjamen Sisto)
MAYYORS
Some
serious, down and dirty, Chrome meets Brainbombs, sonic destruction
from Sacramento. Sludgey and noisy, trashy and garagey, with plenty of
hooks and swagger, pound and pummel, wrapped in some speaker shredding
NOISE!
OBITS
Rick
from Drive Like Jehu and the Hot Snakeswhich is pretty much all you
need to know. But just in case you need a little more, they’re now
Brooklyn based, with a record coming soon on Sub Pop, and Andee saw
them at the Sub Pop 20th Anniversary festival in Seattle and they
destroyed! (pic right: Jim Herrington)
RENDERERS
Legendary
New Zealand post punk avant folk outfit, plenty of dark twang and
brooding shimmer, a strange hybrid of noisy dissonance a la Sonic Youth
or Mission Of Burma, and delicate lo-fi NZ ghostlike balladry a la
Alastair Galbraith and Graeme Jefferies. First show in the states in
ELEVEN YEARS!!
XYX
All
the way from Mexico, comes this female fronted trio, who kick out the
hooky, noisy, effects heavy WAY lo-fi art-punk jams. Supposedly an
incredible live band, we can’t wait to see for ourselves.
Cann't waitt!
Posted by: boil | March 18, 2009 at 10:33 PM
MAYYORSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: adadadadadadadam c. | March 21, 2009 at 09:40 AM