Day Two, Pt. 2

SXSW 2011, Thursday, Pt. 2
by Brianne Turner
Photography by Nick Chaivarlis and Brianne Turner

Playing one of Thursday’s first scheduled sets, The Deer Tracks opened the Filter Magazine Culture Collide showcase by turning their duo into a quartet, remaining theatrical and false eyelash heavy throughout. Lead vocalist Elin Lindfors played an array of instruments, from the melodica to a crosscut saw, while David Lehnberg stuck to the guitar, allowing The Deer Tracks to add a keyboardist and drummer to their traveling show. Due to a lack of equipment, the band were forced to cancel their first scheduled U.S. show, making the Filter showcase their first actual American gig, and with any luck, this show was a conclusive indication of what to expect from The Deer Tracks in the future.

London band Yuck played a very short set to a completely packed room at the Flamingo Cantina on a stage which was nearly impossible to see if you weren’t at least 6’8″ or in the first two rows. Positioning, however, was of minor consequence due to the fact that Yuck played the set looking primarily at the stage below them and moved around very little. A group of youngsters who are all within arms reach of the U.S. legal drinking age and who have been a functioning band for just over a year, it’s no surprise that Yuck have yet to perfect their stage presence, a fact best compensated by how good they sound live.

Bobby Long played a large handful of South By shows this year, so we (no surprise) made it a point to go see his night set at the Dirty Dog Bar. He played acoustic and alone, dedicating “Who Have You Been Loving” to a male fan in the front row who drunkenly and loudly admitted to having a man crush on Bobby.

In the spirit of following the bands we’ve decided to love, Suuns played a set at Nuvola, a trendy bar with a chandelier and leather couches, whose crowd was far less receptive to the band’s brand of rock than the one at the Red 7, despite a vast improvement in sound quality at the Nuvola show. Suuns, however, didn’t seem to mind or care, playing and sweating just as profusely as they did when they played for three times as many people who were actually enthusiastic about seeing them.

Showing our allegiance to another Audioholic Media favorite, we went to the Tap Room at Six to see SXSW first-timer Tony Lucca put on his typical, kick ass singer-songwriter show. Always the collaborator, Tony brought Keaton Simons on stage for “Death of Me” and Jay Nash and Matt Duke up for “Pretty Things,” ending the set with everyone on stage for a spot-on cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstitious.”

Taking the stage at 1 a.m., Owen Pallett and his violin played Emo’s. Due to a sound cord that broke just in time for the festival, the one-man band played some songs entirely acoustic and sans looping, a rare occurrence at a solo Owen Pallett show. Closing out the set and the night with crowd favorite “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt,” Pallett left the stage at around 2 a.m.