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| It's been three years since I could see Fear Of Men again. |
Mitski, Protomartyr, Tacocat, Fear Of Men, Beach Slang (again)
I was beat when I got up on Friday morning. Thursday was one long, hot, humid day; and I may have overdone it a bit. On Friday, then, I decided to take things kind of easy and see some of the acts I'd come to see but had missed so far. The Pitchfork Day Party at Barracuda had a few, so that's where I made my first stop.
Mitski has been to Asbury Park a few times; but, for various reasons, I missed her every time. I resolved to catch one of her sets at South By Southwest, and I'm happy I did. The crowd was quite attentive and quiet during her set, which Mitski appreciated. That quiet attentiveness would change as the place filled up.
I made my way over to the outside stage and set up for Protomartyr. They're probably one of the main reasons I was so excited to come to Austin. Their last two albums, Under Cover of Official Right and The Agent Intellect, are two of my favorites from the last several years. Singer Joe Casey snarls the lyrics like he's just about to burst into a rage, remaining precariously calm as the band lets loose around him.
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| Protomartyr |
Katie Crutchfield was finishing up her set inside as I made my way towards the door. By this time, the crowd had swelled, and the attentiveness from earlier in the afternoon had disappeared.
Not wanting to overdo it again, I decided a sit down lunch was in order. I made my way over to Iron Works Barbecue and was thrilled when I found no line and plenty of seats. Amazing what walking a few blocks can do. Brisket, a beer, and just some sitting. Then it was time for Tacocat over on Rainey Street at Container Bar.
Tacocat took the stage to the strains of The Everymen's "Spain" and powered through some sound issues to deliver a set of smart, funny, and subversive pop. They'll be at Mercury Lounge on April 12th, and you should try to catch them.
Back out to my hotel for some R&R.
I made my way back downtown to Sidewinder for the Flowerbooking / Polyvinyl / Topshelf showcase where I'd get to see Fear Of Men and Diet Cig, both of whom I'd been trying to catch all week, along with Beach Slang. The two surprises of the night for me were Palm and Wildhoney. Philly's Palm are mathy and complex. Wildhoney from Baltimore are dream pop in the vein of, well, Fear Of Men.
I've waited to see Fear Of Men again since catching them at FYF in 2013. Since then, their sound has moved from jangly post punk to something more synth driven. The songwriting and singing of Jess Weiss, though, still carry things; and, freed from her guitar, she's able to lose herself a little bit more in her performance. They were great.
Diet Cig guitarist / singer, Alex Luciano, is some combination of a kid on a sugar high and an aerobics instructor. From the opening chord of Diet Cig's set until she made her way down into the crowd for the end, she was non-stop high kicking, bouncing, and smiling. A few folks down front were right there with her. Drummer Noah Bowman gave some heft to the band's poppy bounce.
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| Diet Cig |
It was time for Beach Slang again. Compared to the set at Frank the day before, both the audience and the band were a little more ramshackle. A few folks up front decided that they would try to direct the show, and frontman James Alex took the band well past their time limit, repeating "Noisy Heaven" as requested and throwing in covers of songs by Jawbreaker and The Replacements (2). Another great set for totally different reasons. Watching the band absorb and adapt to the crowd was pretty amazing.
That took me right up to 2am. I made it back to my hotel and tried to get enough sleep to collect my energy for one more day. I can barely walk anymore, but I'll dig deep. Until next time.
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