Kevin Devine is amazing no matter how you can get him: recorded; live; solo acoustic; plugged in and backed by the Goddamn Band; they’re all winners. This year he officially kicked off South by Southwest with an early solo acoustic set at The Mohawk. The majority of his set featured material from his forthcoming album Brother’s Blood, set to drop April 24th. Though the album features the full Goddamn Band, Devine wrote and released the acoustic demos on his MySpace page throughout 2008 and performed with as much passion and force acoustically as he brings to the the stage when plugged in.
He began the set with the Elliott Smith-esque “All Of Everything Erased” before launching into the beautifully tragic “I Could Be With Anyone”, which was my favorite leaked demo, yet was perfected with a full band behind him on the mastered single. Followed was the intensely intimate “Fever Moon” after which he used website FuckMyLife.com to segue into “Another Bag of Bones”, saying, “This is like a collective fuck our lives song.”
For the long time friends and fans in the crowd, Devine performed both “Brooklyn Boy” and “You’ll Only End Up Joining Them” from 2007’s Put Your Ghost To Rest, before ending the dynamic set with the emotionally charged “My Brother’s Blood”.
Set List: All Of Everything Erased I Could Be With Anyone Fever Moon Another Bag of Bones Brooklyn Boy You’ll Only End Up Joining Them My Brother’s Blood
Catch Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band’s remaining appearances at South By Southwest: Mar 18 - NPR Leonard Cohen Tribute Party / Waterloo Ice House (5:15PM) Mar 18 - Favorite Gentlemen Showcase / Radio Room Patio (8PM) Mar 21 - Favorite Gentlemen Day Party / The Belmont (2:30PM)
Austin, TX station KUT 90.5 are offering a special SXSW treat. They’re bringing some of the best artists that SXSW has to offer into the studio and broadcasting the performances. If you’re in the Austin area be sure to check out KUT 90.5 on your radio dials or if you are missing out on the Austin action, you can stream off the KUT website. Check out the artists being broadcasted below:
Thursday: Asa - Taping at 10am - Broadcast LIVE The Decemberists - Taping at Noon - Broadcast LIVE Jason Lytle (Grandaddy) - Taping at 2pm - Broadcast LIVE Gomez - Taping at 4pm Playing for Change - Taping at 4pm (In a different studio)
Friday: Giant Sand - Taping at Noon Peter Bjorn and John - Taping at 1:30pm Raul Malo - Taping at 1:30pm (In a different studio) Sam Roberts - Taping at 3:30pm Vetiver - Taping at 5:30pm
You can also check out their broadcast and stream the NPR showcases on Wednesday (and the day party of Thursday).
If you are at SXSW, be sure to check out KUT’s showcase, Friday night at Momo’s.
Showcase Artists: T Bird and The Breaks Thao Nguyen w/the Get Down Stay Down The Rosebuds Jon Langford & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts Mark Olson & Gary Louris Right or Happy
PureVolume.Com kicked off its house party tonight for the music portion of SXSW the other night. As cool as the idea of an unofficial party is, the main draw seemed to be the free alcohol and not so much the actual music. So for a
majority of the night, there seemed to be more people crowded in the outdoor tent in an attempt to cool off or in the bar area for the free alcohol. However, there was one band that did seem to have the energy and appeal to gather more people into the area around the stage than any other. That band was Lights Resolve.
This New York outfit didn’t appeal to me during their first song, but then lead singer Matt Reich dropped his jaw as low as possible and let out some of the biggest vocals I’ve ever heard from a man that skinny. For as much as drummer, Neal Saini, and bassist, Luke Daniels, moved and jumped around, those boys never missed a note. Their live show was full of energy and for a crowd generally unfamiliar with their tunes, they were quite impressed.
I think as SXSW progresses, the real test of a band’s talent will be determined by who can get the crowd interested without the gimmick of free shit. Lights Resolve proved they were up to the challenge.
It doesn’t get much more underground than the way PopWreckoning kicked off its coverage of South by Southwest 2009. Tucked away in the basement of The University of Texas KUT 90.5 communication department, 90’s radio contenders Fastball threw together a bit of a casual setlist for fans and select media.
Opening strong with two numbers displaying the band’s versatility, the band began the evening with “Running Away”, a straight forward guitar number, before switching to “Always Never”, a piano number highlighting Fastball’s inability to be put into any box. However, remembering not to step too far away from the soapbox that put them in the place where they were sitting. In reference to the band’s hits, Miles Zuniga stated bluntly “This has been nice. Sometimes, when you play radio, they ask can you play one more? I’d be out of my head, if i didn’t go out of my way to ask you to play one more,” before playing a beautiful rendition of the groups 1998 hit, “Outta My Head”. “I was hoping Willie Nelson would cover that song. So Willie, if you’re listening…”
Sandwiching cuts “Angelie” and “Soul Radio” from the new album Little White Lies, which drops April 14, on either side of the Supergrass cover “I Should Coco”, Fastball states a claim that few would believe; this band which often finds itself typecast somewhere between “one hit wonders” and “a thing of the past” can and still does have a place in modern music. Their songs sound new and refreshing, freeing themselves from the tags often found with artist trying to recollect the spark of a once shining career. Unlike fellow 90’s standouts Third Eye Blind, who recently found their way back to music, Fastball has reinvented itself into something substantial, instead of grasping tightly to the fame, while gasping for their last breathe of exposure.
But you can see for yourself by catching them at Ace Lounge at 1am on Wednesday, and a free show at Auditorium Shore at 4:45pm Saturday.
Setlist: Running Away Always Never Out of My Head Angelie I Should Coco (Supergrass Cover) Soul Radio Vampire She’s Got Rain // Falling Upstairs
Welcome back, readers. Unfortunately, I’ve been sick for the last few days and have had absolutely no energy to write anything. I feared this nagging cough and fever might stunt any kind of creativity necessary, but then it dawned on me… do a shortened version and find a song with the word ’sick’ in its title! Lo and behold, only one awesome song came to mind. Welcome to Under Cover: Matthew Sweet “Sick Of Myself”.
Matthew Sweet (original, 1995) You’re sick of not being with him/her, you’re sick of yourself for not being sick of him/her, and all this sickness becomes a self-loathing that turns your insides out… but in a good way. Has anyone ever been so perfect that they’ve actually made you sick? Well, you’re not alone since Matthew Sweet wrote the book on this one. “Sick Of Myself” is probably the prettiest song ever written about a love interest whose out-of-this-worldness reduces you to a nervous and stuttering little schoolboy. And that infectious chorus says it all: “Sick of myself when I look at you / Something is beautiful and true / In a world that’s ugly and a lie / It’s hard to even want to try / I’m beginning to think, baby you don’t know.” This is the stuff that power pop dreams are made of and it’s never sounded so good.
Bowling for Soup cover (2005) Mommy, please make it stop! I should have known better than to research this Bowling For Soup cover but I blame the flu that has taken over my mental capabilities. This cover is just an example of songs that are better off left alone if you’re not going to bring something new to it or at least do it the justice it deserves. It’s a pop punk cover that’s really just a failure of the imagination. The lead vocals are stringy, irritating, and don’t have any of the same sweetness of the original. I just don’t get any genuine yearning or longing in this version and these are the very emotional states upon which “Sick Of Myself” was built. Hate to say it but… shame on you! Stick to bowling. And about that [chicken] soup… send some of that over here, will ya?
Awww, this may be one of the cutest covers I’ve heard in a while! This acoustic rendition actually made me smile from behind this mountain of Kleenex. Death Cab For Cutie front man Ben Gibbard is almost the perfect agent for the same syrupy sweet vocal innocence as Matthew Sweet. In fact, it’s almost as if “Sick Of Myself” was meant to be covered by DCFC. They’re no strangers to putting out rock songs on the love tip that are beautiful, touching and almost always tug at the heartstrings. Aside from the gentle acoustic strumming that contrasts with the electric guitar interplay of the original, this version is slower paced, features soft background vocals, and Ben Gibbard enunciates his words even more than Sweet when he sings. All of this just drives the point home that this sickness just may be worth it.
ff its coverage of South by Southwest 2009. Tucked away in the basement of The University of Texas KUT 90.5 communication department, 90’s radio contenders 
adio” from the new album Little White Lies, which drops April 14, on either side of the Supergrass cover “I Should Coco”, 
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