Australia Invades SXSW in Austin
I swear I was going to do this before I read Take Your Medicine the other day…so I’m not being wholly unoriginal. Anyway, with the South by Southwest music festival/conference/party of the year arriving next month – and with preliminary show times now available – here is the 2006 crop of Aussies headed to Austin, Texas:
Bluebottle Kiss*, Clue to Kalo, Dappled Cities Fly*, Decoder Ring*, End of Fashion, The Flairz, Function, The Gear, The Grates*, Grey Daturas, Gyroscope, Missy Higgins, Kisschasy, The Living End, Love of Diagrams, The Lovetones, The Mess Hall*, The Morning After Girls, The Presets*, Shifter, Sia, Something For Kate, and last but far from least these days, Wolfmother.
All those *s mean I really recommend those bands if you happen to be going to SXSW. With the exception of Decoder Ring (who are a bit electro) I’ve seen them all live and was impressed by each one of them. Bluebottle Kiss put on a vicious live show (and have a ton of great new songs to rip through), Dappled Cities Fly I’ve posted about frequently and might appeal to you if you’re into more off-kilter indie stuff. The Mess Hall are another stellar live act who will leave you wondering how just two guys make so much noise; their drummer is awesome and they do a great cover of Nirvana’s “Breed.” The Presets put on an aggressive electro/dance/techno live show and at the Sydney BDO had a massive crowd dancing at 11:30am. Since BDO I’ve been listening to The Grates a lot and I really recommend you check them out; lead singer, Patience, has this wonderful stage presence and they have fun little pop songs. And while they aren’t my thing, Wolfmother will have you rocking out if you like to relive Sabbath/Zep 70s stuff. In fact, the photo on my header up there was taken during a Wolfmother show last year. See those devil horns?
Check out this SXSW page for more info on these bands as well as some free/legal mp3s.
Maybe Dan (a SXSW veteran I do believe), Stove, Adam, and Matthew can recommend some others too.
February 20th, 2006 16:42
Amen to your picks.
The best event for Australian music fans is the BBQ put on by the Australian Music Collective.
February 20th, 2006 17:05
Cheers for that link Dan!
February 20th, 2006 19:12
I’d recommend getting the Clue to Kalo CD, it’s fantastic, but there’s no need to see them live these days. Dappled are hot, Decoder Ring too if you’re feeling shimmering indie pop/electronics.
I’m with you on the Grates, and the Grey Daturas’ moody guitar noise is cool if you’re into things a little left of centre, actually a lot, and a whole lot more than anything else on the lineup.
The Presets are always fun electropop and Wolfmother are getting called the next Jet, make of that what you will but I was actually pretty impressed by Chris Ross from WM’s downlow electro remix of Dappled.
But where is the hip hop? I know it’s all on indie labels and the Aussie accents give it a bit of a parochial flavour, but it’s the most explosive music scene in Australia at the moment and bands like Koolism, the Hoods and the Herd have electric live shows, great new albums and would really benefit from the push.
February 20th, 2006 20:13
thanks for that Matt. He writes for Stylus people, he knows his stuff.
February 22nd, 2006 07:16
No Starky this year? Too bad….
February 22nd, 2006 12:34
Does anyone know if Clue to Kalo are playing anyhere else besides for SXSW?
February 22nd, 2006 17:35
I’m not sure, I’m having troubles finding dates for them. I’ll keep looking for you though.
March 8th, 2006 14:07
Catch Norwegians Sereena Maneesh at SXSW too – somewhere between Nico and My Bloody Valentine or Ride, with a debut album produced by Steve Albini and featuring Sufjan Stevens and Danielson, that’s actually really great. Live, they’re fantastic too.
March 8th, 2006 14:17
Yeah they are definitely a great new band.