Back over to Emo’s main outdoor stage for a highly-anticipated midnight set from Nas & Damian Marley, who have a new collaborative album out. The place was packed and rightfully so, for this was a truly electrifying set mixing the ace hip-hop skills of Nas with the classic reggae vibe of the Marley clan. Nas opened it up with one of his classic raps and then introduced Marley, who sang/rapped over a “One Love” groove. The duo kept mixing reggae and hip-hop throughout the set, such as on “As We Enter,” which featured a line from Nas about the duo being “real revolution rhymers.” “Only the Strong” was another strong moment from Nas, while Marley later rocked a “Road to Zion” jam with Nas proclaiming “revolutionary warfare from Damien Marley.” The crowd loved every minute of the superb 45-minute set. This pair definitely won the best new duo of SXSW award and are surely an act to watch in 2010.
Tag: SXSW 2010 Recap (Page 5 of 6)
I caught up with Broken Bells here at Stubbs since they followed Jones with an 11:00 PM set. The new band from the Shins’ James Mercer and Danger Mouse was definitely one of the most buzzed about. This probably comes from the fact that the Shins have quite simply become one of the most influential bands of the 21st century’s first decade. The Broken Bells sound a lot like the Shins, frankly, due to the distinctive voice and talent of James Mercer. But there’s less guitar and more keys and samples, triggered by Mr. Mouse on drums. The band has a groovy if laid back sound that seemed to hold the crowd’s attention fairly well. “Vaporize” and “Mongrel Heart” both have that classic Shins-y vocal from Mercer over a Shins-y type of groove, which seemed to resonate. The last two songs also featured more guitar, which helped build the energy some more, with Danger Mouse also playing guitar at the end over a sampled beat. It wasn’t the dazzling set that SXSWers have come to expect from evening showcases at Stubbs, but this is a new band, so it’s only logical that they might need some time to develop. There’s definitely some potential here, though.
At 9:00PM it was up the street to Club Deville for Here We Go Magic, out of Brooklyn. It was another outdoor stage with Christmas lights, which provided a festive vibe, and the place was pretty packed. The sound was crystal clear but the first couple of tunes seemed like they were building up to something that never came. The third tune got a bouncy psyche groove going, though, which started to establish some more vibe. I couldn’t stay until the end of the set, but was intrigued enough to want to check them out again some time.
Photo by Ben Ritter
Ms. Zapata’s name caught my eye when I saw it on the grid. It’s not often you find an artist who shares a surname with legendary Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata (who also begat the modern day Zapatista rebels of Chiapas.) I walked up Red River to the Red Eyed Fly and discovered that the venue has a great little outdoor stage in the back. The set was a treat, with the Los Angeles-based Zapata backed by a full band and displaying a powerful voice that at times recalled another great LA female rocker, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde. One tune started off slow and almost meditative before building into a hard-edged riff rocker with Zapata really belting it out. It’s no surprise to see her album is titled Cast the Demons Out, as Zapata seemed like a tortured soul at times. But watching her channel that energy into the music was compelling. “Burn” was a muted-riff rocker, while “Cowboy” also had an aggressive sound before breaking down into a deep well of bluesy feedback.
Photo by Tiffany Kyees
The evening showcases kicked off with Austin’s own Strange Boys, who hit the stage at Emo’s Jr., inside, at 8:00 pm. These guys (and one gal) have a very retro, ’60s garage rock sound. They’ve been generating some local buzz and the room was full of onlookers. Singer/guitarist Ryan Sambol has a gritty rasp that fits the R&B-flavored tunes well, but this sound is going to be an acquired taste for some. I don’t think it was quite my thing. I suspected this might be the case, so I had lined up a backup plan.
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