Randy at SxSW

I haven't been able to attend the annual musical orgy that is the South By Southwest Festival in the last couple of years. Thankfully I have friends like Randy who usually get to go, and then write about it. Here is Randy's report for SxSW 2010.

"BEST OF THE FEST" – RANDY’S PHOTO SET: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/sets/72157623723952696/

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CHERIE CURRIE OF THE RUNAWAYS CARVES WOOD: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4464079391/

BEAUTIFUL AUSTIN WEATHER AT THE LEVI’S/FADER PARTY: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4464085401/

WANDA JACKSON, JAMES BURTON & RAUL MALO: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4465607625/

MICHAEL MONROE OR KLAUS KINSKI?: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4460934987/

GWAR INVADE THE STREETS OF AUSTIN : http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4466367306/

RANDY WITH KEITH MORRIS OF CIRCLE JERKS & BLACK FLAG: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4464079391/

RANDY WITH STEVE McDONALD OF REDD KROSS / TATER TOTZ: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4463871568/

OFF!’s FIRST-EVER GIG (with Keith Morris & Steve McDonald): http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4463860178/

SATANA THE GO GO DANCER AT LORDS OF ALTAMONT: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4462488028/

HUNX & HIS PUNX DRESSED AS PUSSYCATS: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4461754096/

YAY! IT’S THE MUFFS: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4459219797/

HARDCORE PUNK WITH THE SPITS: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4459241966/

I'm not sure how many people attended the SXSW music festival this year. Reports differ, so I'll just say A LOT. So many that I had trouble getting food. If you wanted to go to a restaurant, you needed to expect an hour-long wait for a table. Even if you were just willing to settle for a slice of pizza from a street vendor, the lines were still about 40-people deep. Luckily I had stopped at a grocery store on my way into downtown Austin and stocked up on food for my hotel room. Lots of bananas.

I saw 30 bands out of 2000. Most folks are impressed that I caught 30 bands in 3.5 days but it seems lackluster to me. In my best year, I think I caught 45. I heard about some people who were gunning for 100.

Before I get to the gigs, it's worth mentioning that I worked on two Sony Legacy-related panels. One celebrated Elvis Presley's 75th birthday on January 8, 2010. I was chosen to collect Elvis' 30-lb. peanut butter cake from the bakery delivery truck on the street, and then carry it up the escalator and down the hall to the opposite side of the convention center. I was relieved not to drop it. I sustained a shoulder injury from a fall last November, so my left arm was feeling wobbly. But I didn't let The King down. In the presence of this regal cake, it was also a treat to hang with music legends Wanda "The Queen of Rockabilly" Jackson and James "The King of the Telecaster" Burton . My father met and had Wanda Jackson sign his concert program in the '60s, so meeting her felt kind of "full circle."

The second panel focused on the 40th anniversary of the release of Miles Davis' ground-breaking Bitches Brew album. We had a great lineup of talent on the panel including Miles' son, Erin Davis; Miles' nephew, Vince Wilburn Jr.; and legendary jazz drummer Lenny White. Lenny was quite funny and told many awesome stories.

Rather than discuss at length all 30 acts that I witnessed, I'll just hit you with some highlights and insights.

SMOKEY ROBINSON – You've gotta give it up for Smokey. He's written so many songs that are indelibly imbedded in the global consiousness. At 70, the Motown legend proved to be in fine form, flirting with the females, thrusting his hips, and cooing in his velvet glove of a voice. The adoring crowd was treated to a stroll through his backpages which included "Tears of a Clown," "Tracks of My Tears," "Get Ready," "My Girl," "Ooh Baby Baby," "Goin' to a Go Go," "Quiet Storm," "Being With You," and perhaps my favorite, "Cruisin."

SMOKEY ROBINSON at Austin Music Hall , 3/18/10: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4466387904/

VIV ALBERTINE – After 25 years, the former guitarist returns to rock action. The Slits were a first-generation female British punk band, and their cred is unassailable -- they featured on the UK 's 1976 "White Riot" tour alongside the Clash, Heartbreakers, Buzzcocks and Subway Sect. In the years since giving up music in 1981, Viv's angular, idiosyncratic style of guitar playing has established itself as massively influential, with its signature stylings appearing in reggae, post-punk, and the riot grrrl movement.

I managed to catch Viv twice at SXSW. On Friday she played an Ecstatic Peace showcase at Red 7. During the course of her show, Viv proclaimed that "I've done my time in the straight world and now I'm back to being an artist." She revealed that her 17-year marriage ended badly, and that being back in the dating scene at age 55 (she looks marvelous!) well and truly sucks. She's now the mother of a 10-year-old daughter, which makes her eligible for her self-acce pt ed "MILF" status (look it up online). As a result of the travails of her personal life, and a strong affinity for the music of Neil Young, Viv's new songs are nakedly confessional. Her ex-husband has obviously played a large part in the relaunch of her career, providing grist for songs like "I Don't Believe In Love," "The False Heart" and "Never Come." Musically, it was miraculous to experience the logical continuation of her signature Slits sound after such a long time away.

The next day, Viv played the "day stage" at the Hyatt Hotel. The "day stage" basically amounted to a stage erected in the hotel's lobby, next to the check-in desk and a pair of working escalators packed with a never-ending cycle of clueless people staring at Viv. This is the kind of SXSW gig that must leave lifetime scars on an artist's psyche. Alone with her guitar, Viv courageously told the hotel guests of her difficulties as a middle-aged mother back in the dating scene, and tried not to swear too much in front of the little grey-haired couple sitting at a table directly in front of her. After each song, the little grey-haired husband would turn to his wife with a smug glance that said "Can you believe what she JUST SANG?" When Viv introduecd a hilarious new tune called "Couples Are Creepy," she made sure to mention that it wasn't dedicated to the little grey-haired couple. But everyone knew it was!

Check out Viv's new EP, Flesh, on Ecstatic Peace.

VIV ALBERTINE at Red 7, 3/19/10: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4467426070/

DEMOLISHED THOUGHTS – This was a case of being in the right place at the right time. I wasn't aware of the name of the band playing the Red 7 patio after Viv, and I certainly wasn't aware of the band's "superstar" lineup. But the buzz soon reached me that Demolished Thoughts was a new sideband featuring the talents of Andrew W.K., Thurston Moore (vox), J Mascis (bass) and Don Fleming (guitar). Andrew was a no-show, but the rest of the guys were definitely on stage, ripping through a set of old school hardcore cover songs, including scorchers from Gang Green, Section 8, Deadline, and more. Thurston screamed all the lyrics from handwritten pages he held throughout the set.

Bill Murray watched from about 8 ft. to my right. I guess John Belushi wasn't the only member of SNL to love hardcore punk (he famously invited Fear to play SNL).

MICHAEL MONROE – Warming up for Motorhead at the Austin Music Hall , former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe proved to be a glam rock lightning bolt, strutting the floorboards and pursing his lips like prime Jagger. I'm not familiar with Monroe 's deep back catalog, but this gig definitely made me want to do research. After wowing me with his theatrics, I was struck by how much Monroe has morphed to look like Klaus Kinski. In the '80s, he looked liked his namesake Marilyn, but watching him now is like seeing Aguirre or Fitzcarraldo in a platinum-blond peacock hairdo! Monroe received rock solid support from an amazing band comprised of Sami Yaffa (Hanoi Rocks, New York Dolls), Steve Conte (New York Dolls), Ginger (Wildhearts) and Karl Rockfist ( Danzig , Chelsea Smiles).

MICHAEL MONROE BAND at Austin Music Hall , 3/17/10: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4460910989/

DARKER MY LOVE – On Jack Rabid's advice, I checked out Darker My Love's second album, 2008's appropo 2, and became a fan of this band for life. That album's heavy psych flavor has been traded for a country rock sound reminiscent of the Byrds and Paisley Underground acts like Rain Parade. These new tunes should be surfacing soon on Dangerbird Records.

DARKER MY LOVE at Longbranch Inn, 3/19/10: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4467438322/

CHEW LIPS – Toiling under the awful name Chew Lips (apparently a character in Brendan Behan's novel Borstal Boy), this electrop trio is already a sensation in the UK , thanks to their striking female vocalist Tigs regularly appearing in the NME. Best part of their set at the Longbranch Inn came when Tigs jumped off the stage to steal my pal James Stockbauer's safari hat, wearing it for a second before tossing it over the audience like a frisbee.

CHEW LIPS at Longbranch Inn , 3/19/10: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4467474826/

IN THE NURSERY – In existence since 1981, In The Nursery finally got around to playing their first-ever gig in the U.S. The gig happened at long-running goth club Elysium on the final chilly night of SXSW. Surveying the sparse audience, I got the impression that most of the black-clad crowd were out-of-towners who had traveled far to catch this rare appearance. Featuring twins Nigel (keyboards) and Klive (percussion) Humberstone, the group also included vocalist Dolores Marguerite C and a drummer whose name I didn't catch. In the '80s, In The Nursery was lumped in with the industrial music movement, but these days the group creates neo-classical compositions scored with synthesizers and percussion. One of their most recent projects was creating a new score to Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1928 film, The Passion of Joan of Arc.

IN THE NURSERY at Elysium, 3/19/10: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/4467496060/

CELEBRITIES I SPOTTED AT SXSW 2010: Bill Murray, Zooey Deschanel

WORST NEW BAND NAME: "Best Fwends." This awful monicker follows previous winners "Get Cape . Wear Cape . Fly." and "We Were Promised Jetpacks."

FULL ROLL CALL OF BANDS I SAW THIS YEAR: Awesome Color, The Spits, The Muffs, Voivod, Michael Monroe Band, Motorhead, Hunx & His Punx, The Russian Futurists, Lords of Altamont, The Walkmen, The Fresh & Onlys, Cockpit (an all-girl band – genius name!), OFF! with Keith Morris and Steve McDonald, The Batusis with Sylvain Sylvain and Cheetah Chrome, The Jim Jones Revue, The Dum Dum Girls, Golden Triangle, Harlem, Japandroids, Metric, Raphael Saadiq, Smokey Robinson, Pierced Arrows, True Widow, Viv Albertine, Demolished Thoughts, Darker My Love, Chew Lips, The Middle East, In The Nursery.

SXSW 2010: “THE FULL HORROR” (10 pages) PHOTO RECAP: http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofrandsom/

See you in 2011!