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The Black Lips, Cedar Street Courtyard

With Foxygen channeling old school Rolling Stones’ tunes, it only seems natural that Cedar Street Courtyard would to revisit a Hells Angels Altamont Free Concert-scenario and garner the reputation as the worst place to schedule a Black Lips concert. I started out the concert near the front, behind a couple in their sixties, the man donning a fedora and a tweed jacket. I shook my head, debated whether to tell him to leave and dreaded the moment when he would realize his grave mistake. He left promptly once the concert started, as beer throwing, moshing and general debauchery ensued. Just as things were getting started security were walking around in the crowd, removing the beer throwers, telling people “no pushing” and video taping the crowd (not sure why that was necessary).

This was an overreaction in the face of a fairly tame Black Lips crowd, featuring a heavy percentage of older men, far past their prime, prone to yelling to their other polo clad buddies “It’s not a concert if you don’t go up.” “Go up” referring to crowd surfing, a behavior that was strangely tolerated by the crazy eyed security that littered the venue; even if said men were far too heavy to be supported by the crowd.

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I came to Austin, Texas for SXSW never having heard of Mac DeMarco and left not having seen him enough. Mac DeMarco played several shows during the week at a variety of venues. It was on Wednesday, March 13 that I chanced upon him and his band at Thrasher’s night party.

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As a first-time festival goer, even traveling with seasoned pros, I was still largely unaware of how much planning goes into securing the most desirable musical schedule. Even with the vast number of options, the vast number of people there and occasionally misleading advertisements made last minute changes difficult if not impossible. (Due to an abrupt announcement of a $15 cover, I unfortunately missed CHVRCHES). Being a lover of female vocalists, I probably could have scheduled my time around around girl-centric performers, but alas. So, these are the girly highlights from my week dominated by male-fronted acts.

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Don’t you just love it when you are standing, waiting for a concert to start and there is that guy standing next to you, talking loudly to his friends about his pseudo-intellectual knowledge of the chord structure of Beach House. You, being the music scholar that you are, know he has no idea what he is talking about and have no choice but to stand there and deconstruct his critiques in pathetic, sarcastic comments that you bounce back and forth in your mind.

Well, if I started talking about Nurture I would feel pretty much the same. The labels on their Bandcamp tell me they are somewhere between punk, emo, post-hardcore and screamo. Genres, especially emo and screamo, that would be mentally categorized most times as “stuff Will doesn’t like.” But Nurture is something I really enjoy. I’m a sucker for a melodic guitar riff and I have my fair share of angst to headbang away.

Check out the first track and our song of the day “Eye On The Back Of My Hand” in the video below and maybe if you are so inclined their entire Bandcamp. And finally, a plug for their Live in the Lobby appearance on March 26th with Antpile.

-Will Guerin

Markus Mehr
Off
Hidden Shoals Recordings

With Off, Markus Mehr completes his ambient trilogy, In, On and Off.  The single, 42-minute-track begins with a low hum that builds on the grumble of the bowed string bass underneath.  Myriad quiet effects peak in and out while piano enters in a minor key, clear as day above the wall of sound.  This piano has a classical, ominous sound to it and adds a chilling level of suspense, coming and going throughout the piece.  Around the 11-minute mark, the song fluctuates between high and low pitches while other sounds float overtop.  This feel is consistent through the majority of the track’s next 20 minutes.  A chanting choir joins the mix around the 20-minute mark, and fades in and out throughout the track. The track transitions at ~21 minutes, as the wall of sound dissolves into the distant gallop of a horse on cobblestone and the listener is left with the suspenseful piano.  Gradually, hectic sounds return to reform the wall of sound.  With about five minutes left, the flowing section breathes its last breath and the piece completes its journey.  A choppy buzz meets the repetition of a high-pitched keyboard phrase interspersed with the choir’s chant, as the track fades into nothingness. – Gabe Cavallaro

Chelsea Light Moving
Chelsea Light Moving
Matador

Chelsea Light Moving, led by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, bears much resemblance to some aspects of Sonic Youth. It sounds more similar to Dirty than Goo though. The songs seem to have a triad sort of structure; they start with slower, quiet bass riffs Thurston sings over which soon pick up and eventually end with long, distorted guitar solos, and occasionally another verse. In the absence of Kim Gordon’s uniquely firm, somewhat angsty vocals, Moore makes his voice rougher in songs that call for it. Overall, fans of Sonic Youth will most likely enjoy Moore’s new, yet familiar project. – Jana French

Reviews curated and edited by: JJ Posway