South by SouthRest: Things You May Have Missed During SXSW 2014 (March 11 and 12)

South by SouthRest aims to bring to your attention things that you may have missed during SXSW 2014. Our remote correspondent is committed to keeping you in the loop.

South by Southwest is not a sprint. It sometimes feels like and endurance race, but that isn't right either, because there isn't really a winner. Sure, bands blow up because of the annual music conference, but the price of doing so is often questionable because of the sacrifices it takes to get there. And from the fan to the industry professional, every upside comes with an equally undesirable drawback. Essentially, the free Doritos tacos are probably the symbol for the event.

So, on Tuesday the official first day of SXSW Music, taking it easy and not ruining your whole trip were of the highest importance, with the kickoff reminding of a soft opening for a new restaurant. And on this practice run, the early big story of the day wasn't even involving a musician. It was Spin's Rob Harvilla announcing his abrupt departure from Spin to Deadspin, one of many such moves in recent months. An announcement of this magnitude coupled with the fact that nearly every music professional on earth is in the same city for a week, and it was bound to break the internet. And it did, or maybe Twitter really was undergoing maintenance.

Oh, and I meant every music professional except me is in Texas. I'm at home in California for the week, and instead, bringing you South by Southrest.

Rob Harvilla: Who Is He and How Can Knowing Him Help Me?

Music professionals seem to change jobs much in the way that John Mayer switches dating partners, but it is always interesting to see who chooses to acknowledge these announcements and who chooses to go even farther that is appropriate. As SXSW is about networking, it was appropriate that such a networking tool would drop on the music world on Tuesday morning. Common sense, at least in my opinion, would see fans or attendees or any casual norm to simply pushing the "favorite" button or ""like."

The 98 "favorites" included me, who wasn’t sure he had actually ever spoke with Harvilla, but figured it was the right reaction, close to not saying anything as possible. But the 13 retweeters and the remarkably large amount of responders surely have one for more getting creative with networking, using this job change to say “hey Rob Harvilla and anyone that follows us both, I’m a good person and would love work. Any work.” They may even more specifically imply “hey Harvilla, we spoke on a failed pitch a while back, maybe now that you have a new job you can work with me?”

But, with music journalists about to spend a week competing for attention, the Harvilla job change really prepped us for the silliness that comes with #sxsw. We only have our dignity. And when we try to climb social ladders on the internet, hopefully our friends are smart enough to keep us honest, or kick the shit out of us.

Daytime Buzz

Sure, SXSW is heavy on the drinking. And SXSR is run by a rare drinker, but that doesn’t mean the spirit of chasing a buzz should end. Daily we’ll investigate the groups being talked about and see if they are just live intrigues or worth buying in.

Mean Creek

Boston, MA

The reaction: Critics flipped, like David Greenwald, Mark Lore, and Maura Johnson

Investigative findings: The band is actually about to release their fourth album, and some of the newer songs do rock, seeming to marry their cities garage scene with something more timeless, more transcendent. The result is probably their best sound yet, but still sounds like they are trying to sound like something. The farther back you go, the worse it gets for the band, which seemed to have some serious taste issues.

Ages and Ages

Portland, Or

The reaction: Some bands build buzz by performing, Ages and Ages built buzz by not playing. A little wrong information spread and they were scheduled for a show they didn’t intend to play. But, they will be here at the end of the week, so until then the live word-of-mouth remains to be heard.

Investigative findings: Spiritualized meets stomp-hey folk. But it works and will make them a fortune if they license it.

SOHN

London, UK

The reaction: Check out Constant Gardner’s interview here.

Investigative findings: Shades of James Blake, but he’s also praised Deptford Goth, and it’s not hard to place him amongst that sort of new singer/songwriter breed that spans Majical Cloudz to Banks to How to Dress Well and beyond. With a 4AD LP due in April, about as safe as bets can be.

Schoolboy Q as the new Kurt Cobain?

Part of #SXSR is getting to have friendly dialogue with other writers about the current music news and issues. A Tuesday highlight was Craig Jenkins' passionate comparison of Kurt Cobain and Schoolboy Q. I was initially offended by the insinuation, but I’ll be damned if Craig isn't on point here. Check out some highlights.

Look at the stars, how they shine for you.

Yeah, SXSW is about the up and coming artists, but good luck trying to find live streams of them, so SXSR is about the big guns, the people who shouldn’t be here but we can’t really stop. And surprisingly, many of these acts are just as foreign to me as the brand new bands. In brief, here is what we saw.

London Grammar

iTunes Fest
Yes, London Grammar has a voice that can sink to the bottom of the ocean and easily aswim back up for air. But, at the same time doesn't there need to be more than a voice? Maybe television loses something, but yet to be impressed by LG.

Imagine Dragons

iTunes Festival
Not as frightening as I thought they could have been. Still, sounds like Christian rock with a huge budget. The first minute is pretty epic. A moon sets, the lights blink, and then you are forced to remember something. I didn't

Charli XCX

Fader Fort

Charli XCX put her money where her mouth is, and actually changed her sound to the more punk, less overtly pop sound of before. Her cover of "I Want Candy"

Coldplay

iTunes Festival

Best set of the day. Mixing new songs with hits. I still don't listen to Coldplay, but it was enough to sell me on seeing the tour.

Real Estate

In person

Well, SXSR doesn't mean we're lazy, and so we went to the Real Estate concert and were magically transported back to indies glory years, circa 2005. Only, there were bros everywhere dressed like indie fans and everyone seemed really, really drunk. The band sounded great, and tried to ensure a good time for all, but I'm not sold on Real Estate fans in 2014. The band is making what they do seem easy, though.

Well, as I write this details are still coming out on the people killed outside the Mohawk tonight. Really terrible to have this happen and it kind of makes the joking around less possible. Anyone that has been to Austin during SXSW would agree that its probably more surprising that more accidents like this don't happen, but that won't comfort anyone and it doesn't make it hurt any less for those that lost friends or family. So, our thoughts an prayers to anyone affected by this and let's hope the rest of the event proves safe and fun for all.

Earthless

San Diego, CA

The reaction:

Investigative findings: The kind of music that is only enjoyable at a place like SXSW. Instrumental guitar rock that is basically an amped-up solo for the entirety of a recording. No reason to buzz as they are more than ten-years-old, but a band that probably deserves the audience it does find, as there are a handful of rawk fans that would just eat this up.

Incan Abraham

Los Angeles, CA

The reaction:

Investigative findings: Because they have been the most hyped band recently in L.A., of course I still haven't seen them. But at least I now have listened to their music. The verdict? All over the place, still have no real idea who they are or what they stand for. But hey, you either get L.A. hype for being really good or really evil, and they don't seem evil to me, so take that as you want.

So what does this Neil Young iPod do?

As you may have heard, Neil Young is getting in the streaming music game, or something. Just last month Dr. Dre and Trent Reznor did something similar. I think. Truth is I don't know anyone that really uses any streaming service except for Spotify. So, it is hard for me to imagine any of them being successful.

Now, that said, Neil Young's is a device with a service, and it is supposed to focus on quality, a gripe I've heard many times by audiophiles and I believe that the celebrity endorsements and the nature of these types of fan being willing to spend money for quality, I can see a niche market for Pono. And, as long as everyone is reasonable and knows that music itself is almost a niche market at this point.

So I can fuck the world for 72 hours...

Perfect Pussy

NPR Showcase

Somewhere, there was a secret lottery for hardcore bands to get recognized by a large audience, and Perfect Pussy won. Congrats to them, and if you are into them, congrats to you, because there are about one thousand other bands you will probably like, too. Truth be told, they are enjoyable but mostly because I enjoy lots of hardcore and don't really know why everyone cares about this band and not the others, except for the name.

Eagulls

NPR Showcase

Like Perfect Pussy, there seems something inherently icky about buzz punk bands. Of course, Eagulls aren't nearly as interesting as Perfect Pussy, and come from more of a post-punk background, rather than hardcore, but they seem equally as lottery-chosen as their counterparts. The one thing that should be said is that both put on energetic, uncompromising sets for an NPR audience that might not have been ready for such confrontational music, especially considering the lighter fare on top of the bill.

Schoolboy Q

iTunes Festival

Best set of the day. With his friend Kendrick Lamar headlining after him, Schoolboy the first star turn of his rising career that I experienced, and I've seen quite a few. Maybe it was the fact that his album went number one, or that he has a legitimate album at all, but every song of this set felt like an event, much like Kendrick's performances have come to be like. "Collard Greens" and "Man of the Year" burned especially bright, but everybody has to be a little surprised about how naturally Schoolboy Q has taken to the spotlight.

Kendrick Lamar

iTunes Festival

Upstaged by Schoolboy Q? Well, kind of. Kendrick Lamar is past the proving himself battles, and this year is Q's for the taking. Good thing he is playing a certain party.

St. Vincent

NPR Showcase

Bob Boilen noted that Annie Clark worked with a choreographer for her current tour, and looking at her set with that lens was pretty remarkable. From her tiny steps she would take to move around stage to the subtle motions she displayed in her songs, to know how planned it all was impressed that much more. And yeah, the new songs sound perfect.