Good-Pass Filter: SXSW
SO. You didn’t get to go to SXSW this year? Yeah, neither did I…but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying Austin’s antics in a voyeuristic, web-based sorta way.
If you’ve been living under a rock since 1987, maybe you don’t know what SXSW is. In a nutshell, it consists of more music than you could possibly listen to, more people than you could possibly meet, more films than you could possibly watch, plus a ton of comedy, workshops, talks, food, & drink. It is Texas, so it is huge in both a metaphoric and literal sort of way (big is what Texas does best, unless you’re thinking women’s-rights).
Not a place for Claustrophobia
I still have not had a chance to experience SXSW in person, but I’ve got many friends who’ve gone, and upon their return I wait with baited breath to hear about their journey to the short-term music mecca. I’ve also read reviews of SXSW since my very first issue of Rolling Stone in 1994. This year, I’ve decided to watch as many video clips of the festival as I possibly could, so my eyes have been glued to YouTube for the past couple weeks.
The most interesting video I watched was the festival keynote speech by the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. It is just under an hour long, and I was riveted to the whole thing. I am not even that big of a Bruce fan, but that man is so in love with music that I couldn’t help but hang on his every word. He seemed to craft this speech with the same care he puts into writing lyrics, while also feeling like a commencement speech, dedicated to the new class of musical performers. If music makes you feel ANYTHING, then you need to listen to this:
They’ve pulled it from youtube, but NPR has it here
Bruce’s speech takes place on the 100th Birthday of the late Woody Guthrie, whom Springsteen gives great homage. He talks about how This Land is Your Land is such a powerful and uniting song. If you’re like me, This Land is Your Land feels like a kid’s song and doesn’t speak to the rebellion we’ve experienced, but somehow Bruce’s speech makes it seem like punk rock. Here’s a video of Bruce performing it with Arcade Fire, Alejandro Escovedo, Eric Burdon (of the Animals), Tom Morello, and more. It isn’t punk, but it has an electricity I would not have expected.
Bruce’s speech is one person’s story of experiencing rock music as it unfolded. He walks us through the history of rock music as he experienced it. If you’ve never understood why people like some of the music from the 50’s to the 70’s, Bruce makes a compelling argument to love all of the classics. Hell if you’ve never liked Bruce, he makes a compelling argument to love him too.
"Young musicians, learn how to bring it live then bring it night after night after night AFTER NIGHT...your audience will remember you."
But there was more at SXSW than just Bruce Springsteen.
On the opposite end of the spectrum was Skrillex. So, for those of you sick of the nostalgia of Bruce, the future is upon us…and it sounds like alien farts.
One of the groups I’ve been digging as of late is Fun. I read about their technical issues at one of their shows in Austin a few days ago where the mics stopped working and the audience sang the end of their new hit We Are Young … gave me the goosebumps.
Another powerful and chilling performance is by Fiona Apple, as she played a new song. That girl still has it.
I really wanted to discover some new music in my SXSW search, so I probably watched WAY more videos than I should’ve. But as luck would have it, I eventually stumbled upon East Cameron Folkcore, an Austin band with a crapload of members all playing roots/americana instruments and basically sounding like a well rehearsed drunken campfire jam. I dig it.
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I could regale you with dozens more live videos of performances from SXSW, but really, how many of these are you going to watch? This is but a hint of the goodness that could be found there. The big news was the amazing Jack White show that was not documented, except in reviews. No pictures or video was allowed, and people were being kicked out for trying to do so via their iPhones and such, because Jack White wanted to give you an amazing show in the moment, where the audience was not distracted with thoughts of sending pics to friends or taking videos to watch later. That show was all about enjoying it to its fullest RIGHT THEN…and everyone says it was the show of a lifetime. He played 2 sets: 1 with his all female band from his solo record and one with all guys. Both sets saw songs from his entire catalog, and from what I’ve read, he gave it 1000%. Too bad we can’t see what that was like.
I guess I’m finally gonna have to make it to Austin next year. See you there?