Texas is a beautiful place - don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Austin, in particular, is a wonderful city - and they really care deeply about live music - SXSW alone contributes over $38.5 million to the local economy.
SXSW isn't just a series of gigs, though, of course. During the daytime, there are all those panel discussion type things. I managed to get myself to three of them today - starting with 'A&R Before, During And After the Deal'. A number of experienced A&R types spoke on how their trade is changing in this new digital music age, with general agreement that things are getting more difficult for A&Rs in an industry where short-term successes were expected from artists, and where bands were given fewer chances to develop once being signed. All of which means that bands wanting to be signed now need more than just great songs. Exactly what that 'more' is was a subject of some debate, though some said that bands should now endeavour to build a considerable fan base and get some serious touring under their belts before looking to sign to a label. And band's need to remember that getting signed is not, as many new bands think, 'the end', rather it's the beginning - the point at which the hard work begins.
Next 'China's Emerging Music Market'. Promoters and label owners experienced in the Chinese music space, and even a former member of a Chinese rock band, spoke about this increasingly important market, though concentrating in the main on the subject of bringing Western rock bands into China. Record labels have it very difficult in China of course, what, with pirated records accounting for around 95% of music sales, and new releases generally being pirated, copied and distributed throughout the country within days of completion. And download revenues aren't any higher due to widespread file-sharing and the lack of credit-card penetration. And touring almost always loses money as venues are unable to charge music fans large amounts commensurate to the amount it costs to fly bands in from the rest of the world. None of which sounds especially optimistic. It was a mostly pedestrian discussion though things livened up a bit in the questions section when an irate American started lambasting the panel for being 'ugly Americans' and for inflicting Western culture on the Chinese market, arguing that the panelists should instead be working closer to the grassroots and involving young Chinese people in the growing music industry in the country. He might have a point.
Last of the panels for today was the most interesting for me - 'Greening the Music Industry' - discussing ways in which labels and large live events can offset their carbon emissions, to become, as is the fashion these days, 'carbon neutral'. A number of examples were offered, from Perry Farrell's Lollapalooza to SXSW itself. There was more optimism here - with panel members very optimistic that a sea-change in attitudes towards the environment is currently taking place, and that the music industry has a large role to play. It was pointed out that what the climate change movement needs is to change our culture while being seen as 'cool' - and this is exactly what music has been doing for decades.
Panels over for the day, the gigs started. First up were Stardeath And The White Dwarves - proof that one of the 'mores' that can get you established as a band is family connections, the uncle of the lead singer of this lot being none other than Mr Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips. Sadly, the vocals of said lead singer were weak, the sound was muddy, and confused noodling replaced any notions of psychedelia in the music. Though Stardeath are supporting the Flaming Lips on their forthcoming American tour, so they may succeed despite those limitations.
After some dinner, I proceeded to Dirty Dog bar for their showcase. Kicking things off, Boston's Apollo Sunshine were deeply unmemorable. My feet started to feel tired, my back began to ache, and I started to really feel the dodgy Mexican food I'd recently consumed. Luckily, California's 'Melee' saved the evening. A fantastic frontman combined with tremendously accessible stadium rock songs won the crowd over almost immediately and by the time Melee's set was over, the band enjoyed huge applause. Melee is a band to watch out for, in a U2/Killers/Keane sort of way.
Mutemath, who followed Melee, are also a band I recommend you watch out for - they've got some of the best live drumming I've seen in a long time. They were powerful, tight, and crisp - like listening to Kasabian without the slightly dirty feeling, or a dancier Secret Machines perahps. If you're a fan of that sort of thing, I'd highly recommend looking Mutemath up and trying to see them live. Be prepared, however, for the aforementioned drums to completely overshadow the other three members of the band.
The considerable crowd that Mutemath drew had dwindled by the time Mando Diao took to the stage, but they didn't seem to mind too much, as they brought their large bowl of Swedish Rock'n'Roll to the proceedings. In perfect synchonicity, the two frontmen belted out powerful garage rock anthems, much like the Hives, but without the gimmicky arrogance. Mando Diao have long been a hot new band, but how long can they be 'new', without breaking through?
Finally, the Fratellis brought a close to the evening. The Glasgow trio played through a relatively mundane set - omitting their biggest British hit 'Creeping Down The Back Stairs' but including single 'Chelsea Dagger', which was duly well received by their SXSW audience. It wasn't a storming set, but it was solid - great for the fans, though not really winning any new converts I suspect.
CMU fans who have been closely following this column (well, read this one and yesterday's) may have noticed I didn't manage to see any of the shows I was intending to see today. Not sure what happened there. Tomorrow (or, by the time you read this, today) I'm hoping to see the Polyphonic Spree, Sound Team, Pete & The Pirates and the Sterns. We'll see how that goes. Your next report from me will most likely be in your inboxes on Monday morning, by which time there should be some more detailed showcase reviews on the website. Meantime, goodnight from Texas! DG