Jessie Love Action at SXSW (Day 4)

Jessie Ward - September Girl guitarist and host of Love Action’s Friday Fix here on RadioNowhere is keeping us up to date on her adventures at SXSW 2014! 

Day 4 Friday September Girls had two gigs booked for Friday, so we headed off early enough to El Sapo, a newish cantina with a gret atmosphere, fantastic Mexican style burgers and a full bar with jam jar cocktails and craft beers. The MFL (Music For Listeners) party was booked here over three days, and it seemed the lineup and location attracted a decent crowd despite being a ways away from downtown. September Girls set went well, the setup was great and the sound much better than the previous night. PINS, who were scheduled to play right after us were there as well, enjoying the jam jar cocktails and sunny weather. Unfortunately we couldn't stick around for PINS as we had to leg it back downtown to BD Riley's where the Full Irish Breakfast showcase was in full swing. There was another decent sized crowd and although we had to cut one song due to time restrictions, we were happy with how it all went. We stuck around to watch WOUNDS and Kid Karate again, who also wowed the crowd with their energy and antics. 

After a day of doubled up gigs, it's was a while before we felt ready to head back into see any other bands until the evening. Tipped off by PINS we were headed to see Foxboro HotTubs, a pseudonym for Green Day. Having experienced many a queue at this stage, and without much time before the gig was due to start, we instead ducked into The Chevy Courtyard where The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Dum Dum Girls and Julian Casablancas were due to play. The venue was a long outdoor courtyard with indoor bars on either side and the crowd was large, but not uncomfortably so. Unfortunately, unless you were willing to squeeze your way to the front, the stage was impossible to see. You could catch an occasional glimpse of the side of the stage when waiting for the toilet, but overall it was more a listening gig as opposed to a viewing gig. 

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart filled the small stage with their lovely jangle pop. If it wasn't for the southwestern-y location and the cans of Lone Star beer, you could easily think you were in the midst of Indietracks. 

Dum Dum Girls set was tight as usual, again playing a good mix of most of the singles from their three albums. True professionals, the Girls didn't show any strain despite a busy schedule of around 12 shows over the week. 

 Julian Casablancas hit the stage around 11:30pm and I have to admit I was pretty excited to see the former Strokes frontman for the first time. Unfortunately with the lack of visibility, it was very difficult to get into the gig although the sound was decent. I snuck a few side glances via the toilet queue, and could see most of Dum Dum Girls enjoying his set from the stairs beside the stage. We decided that we should try to make our way to the miserably overcrowded Night Owl bus before the rest of the crowd did. 

Nite nite!

Jessie Love Action at SXSW (Day 3)

Jessie Ward - September Girl guitarist and host of Love Action’s Friday Fix here on RadioNowhere is keeping us up to date on her adventures at SXSW 2014!

Day 3, Thursday We took it easy for the start of Thursday, knowing we had our first showcase that night so we didn't get to town until later in the afternoon. We headed to the venue, Hotel Vegas, which was the home that day for the Austin Psych Fest showcase. Hotel Vegas is a good bit East and a lot more dive-y and laid back compared to the heaving Mardi Gras atmosphere of downtown 6th St. The daytime party was in full swing, and we headed out to the back yard to catch The Black Lips. The band seemed in top form and they played to a decent crowd. At 9:30, September Girls took to the stage... From a performers point of view it's hard to say how it went. The crowd was at capacity but with only a short line check before the set, it took a few songs for the sound to level out correctly. Despite any difficulties, we really enjoyed it, happy to finally play. 

After our gig, we stuck around Hotel Vegas with PINS, catching Japanese psych rockers Bo Ningen, who were suitably noisy, Imarhan, with their unusual setup of Native American drums and noisy folk sound, and Mystic Braves, whose look very much matched their 60s throwback sound. All great stuff.

Filmic March 2014 Playlist

Track/Composer-Artist/Film

Opening Titles/Alexandre Desplat/The Monuments Men
Fixer Upper/Daniel Hart/Aint Them Bodies Saints
The Wall & Passing TimeMax Ritcher/Wadja
Title Card & Mattox & Reporters/Pedro Brofman/Robocop
Royal Pursuit/Christophe Beck/Frozen
Journey [Dreamy Flight]/Joe Hisiashi/The Wind Rises
The Ego Room/Olivier Dariviere/Remember Me
A Thousand Times Goodnight/Abel Korzeniowski/Romeo & Juilet
Prelude/Milly May/The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown
Live and Let Die/Paul McCartney/Live and Let Let Die
Subway Sounds & Harolds Ways & Theme/David Amram/The Young Savages
The Launch of Vostsok/George Kallis/Gagarin: First In Space
New At Dawn/George Fenton/White Mischief
The Godfather Waltz/Nino Rota/the Godfather
Venus De Vilo/Michael Nyman/A Zed and Three Naughts
Payphone/John Johansson/McCanick
Movieola/John Barry/

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September Girl Jessie at SXSW

Jessie Ward - September Girl guitarist and host of Love Action’s Friday Fix here on RadioNowhere is keeping us up to date on her adventures at SXSW 2014! Catch the latest edition of her show!

 

Day 2 Weds - We start the day a bit more organized, but a bit hungover as well. It's warm, but changeable and the crowds really seem to get going in the late afternoon. Most of sxsw is sprawled around downtown Austin, the convention centre for official talks and around 6th street for music. Anywhere and everywhere seems to become a music venue, although the city really seems purpose built for this kind of thing.

 

We start our day heading to Spotify House to catch Dum Dum Girls and their new 5-piece including a bit lineup. They roll through most of their singles confidently and with decent sound considering the outside venue. The band have really stepped up their game with the new album, and it is a much more slick operation. Just when we're starting to think it might be getting a bit samey, Debbie Harry strolls on stage and they all burst into a version of Blondie's "Dreaming". Harry looks absolutely stunning, and the band look as if they are fulfilling their dreams. It's a pretty magical moment.

We head over to another pop up venue in 6th to catch Irish band Kid Karate, a two piece punk outfit with a sound much bigger than just two lads suggest. They've got a confident swagger and the small crowd is really enjoying it. 

After visiting a few of the cool spots for drinking and watching bands, including The Mohawk and Cheer Up Charlie's, we queue up for the NPR showcase at Stubbs. It's a large outdoor venue and unfortunately the sound is pure mush. Perfect Pussy take the stage looking great, and a bit scary, playing the kind of hardcore I had been into as a 90s teenager. And It. Is. Loud. After Perfect Pussy we stuck around for Eagulls, a band eveyone seems to be tipping. They are five lads from Leeds who are pure indie rock. It's enjoyable, but not particularly enthralling.

(photo credit: Five Seven Music) 

We head over to the Irish showcase to catch Hozier, who plays his soulful folk to a heaving crowd. Everyone is delighted to eat his earworm "Take Me To Church". The crowd thinned out for The Young Folk, a real Mumford-y band and not my particular cup of tea. WOUNDS were up next and had an incredible stage presence and swagger, screaming noisy punk and swinging the microphone like nobody's business. Tired, we headed off to the packed bus, dreaming of Day 3 and our own showcase.

September Girls at SXSW

Jessie Ward - September Girl guitarist and host of Love Action’s Friday Fix here on RadioNowhere is keeping us up to date on her adventures at SXSW 2014! Catch the latest edition of her show!

  

Day 1-Tuesday Tuesday was spent getting our bearings in Austin and registering with the festival. It's a huge event with films, interactive sessions and a trade show all aside from the music event. We stood in the first of many many queues to get our wristbands and get going. During the day most shows are free to anyone, no official badge or wristband required, and there are many sponsored venues that simply require you to queue up to receive their wristband. As we didn't fancy queuing, we didn't really see much aside from the margarita bar... Until PINS official showcase with Bella Union in the Presbyterian Church. There was quite a bit of a wait to get in as the venue was at capacity to watch Agnes Obel. The wait was forgiven however, when Pulp's Jarvis Cocker & Steve Mackey turned up. Catching the end of Agnes Obel's set was magical in the setting of the giant church hall. After a rushed start, PINS were their wonderfully brash selves, echoing through the hall. A strange setting for a band who are probably more comfortable in a small punk venue, they still sounded great. On to day two...

The RadioNowhere Vinyl Dungeon 10.March.2014

The RadioNowhere Vinyl Dungeon
10.March.2014

GENE - Fighting Fit
ALPACA SPORTS – Just For Fun
CHOIR OF YOUNG BELIEVERS - Hollow Talk
EUREKA, CALIFORNIA - Another Magnet
THE DIVINE COMEDY - Becoming More Like Alfie
SEPTEMBER GIRLS - Someone New
LIZ PHAIR - Never Said
THE SILVER FACTORY - Comedown Cherry
PARTLY CLOUDY - Bus Ride
CLANNAD featuring BONO - In A Lifetime
THE MARCH VIOLETS - Snake Dance (extended)
RANDY TRAVIS - Forever And Ever, Amen

Vote For Your Favourite Album Side!

When I was a wee youngster our local AOR FM station had a feature called ‘The Perfect Album Side’, where they would play… you guessed it… an entire side of one LP.  In the days before Spotify and Soundcloud it was a great way to hear non-single tracks and I ended up buying loads of albums because of it. 

Since the launch of The RadioNowhere Vinyl Dungeon there have been so many albums and tracks I haven’t had time to fit in and I thought to myself it seems like the right time to resurrect this old format as well as being able to introduce all of you to some music you won’t hear anywhere else… well, it is RadioNowhere after all! 

Each month I will feature one album side, but I will also provide a selection that you might enjoy, giving you the opportunity to vote for your favourite.  RadioNowhere doesn’t believe in voting to hear great music – if it’s good you play it, simple as that – but this is designed to give you an opportunity to hear some tracks you may not have heard before.  So, all you need to do is drop by our blog and vote for your favourite and we will play your chosen album side with no interruptions and no censorship, and all from vinyl, the way it was intended to be heard!!

Yours always

The Vinyl DungeonMaster