Day One

SXSW 2011, Wednesday
by Brianne Turner
Photography by Nick Chaivarlis

Staying true to the etymology of “shoegaze,” dream-pop shoegazers, BRAIDS, saved the stage thrashing for the rock bands and maintained a primarily fixed position throughout their set at the Red 7 on Wednesday. The Canadian four-piece made up for their lack of movement by giving the crowd fantastic-sounding renditions of songs from their recently-released LP, Native Speaker. Keeping their pop songs dark and preserving the full sound of the slow builds found in the arrangements of each track, BRAIDS sound just as good– if not sometimes better– live as they do via the studio.

Next we moved on to see Jonquil, who played Empire Automotive Service, an auto repair shop-turned-South By venue. Openly enthusiastic about the opportunity to play SXSW and to eat some Texas barbecue, the band’s set was consistent in sound and personality, sometimes bordering on stodgy, which could have simply been a result of nerves (their SXSW showcases mark some of Jonquil’s very first shows in America).

After standing in line at one of the biggest clusterfucks of the festival, Suuns made it all (mostly) worthwhile by playing an unapologetically loud and magnetizing set at Red 7. Pronounced “soons,” as confirmed by vocalist/guitarist Ben Shemie when we asked post-set, Suuns had no problem filling the room with their heavy drums and distorted guitars and keyboards, giving their intense and pulsing songs a sense of chaos and anarchy. Shemie is a dramatic frontman, contorting his body and rolling his eyes into the back of his head in a way that is both captivating and frightening but never boring. Endorsement: Suuns are our favorite discovery of this year’s South By; go see them live as soon as you can.

Nicole Atkins and her band, The Black Sea, played a strong set at Antone’s, in spite of Atkins’ recently-broken foot. Though sweet during her banter, Nicole’s talent is unyielding and solid in a way that leads you to believe she doesn’t fuck around. The Black Sea also play their parts well, a special mention going to guitarist Irina Yalkowsky, who was decidedly one of the best axemen at the festival. Atkins and Yalkowsky share a masculine femininity which translates well on stage, keeping the set aggressive without allowing it to become callous.

Stephen Kellogg took the stage after Nicole Atkins and the Black Sea to play a late set and a handful of songs in which every female in the crowd seemed to know the words to. Animated and seemingly good-natured, Kellogg makes a point of looking members in the audience directly in the eye while he sings, a tactic that seems to work well, given the devotion shown by his fan base. It probably also helps that he looks like a well-aged Abercrombie & Fitch model.