|
Apply
Yourselves
Independent music's Spring Break is fast approaching. Which Dallas bands will best represent at the (metaphorical) kegger? 6.November.2006 Think a local blog is already futile enough? You've obviously never performed at South by Southwest. Every year, the Austin music festival hosts its fair share of North Texas acts, and when hometown bands announce that their applications were accepted, radio stations and writers make a pretty big ruckus about the bands' shots at SXSW stardom. But why? The Happy Bullets played one of their career-best gigs at last year's fest, but to a paltry crowd of, well, opening band Chatterton and the rest of their Dallas friends who attended the fest. Bosque Brown and Baboon had it even worse at SXSW'05, performing at awful-sounding stages to scarce crowds. Most touring bands have a bad SXSW story, of course--drive thousands of miles, wind up stuck at the Emo's outdoor stage with ill-fitting metal bands--but North Texas bands are in that perfect sour spot of being both too close to and too far from Austin to get any extra notice at the city's big dance. Then again, there are the equally interesting break-out stories, like when Peter Buck wrote about seeing The Strange Boys last year or the huge European crowds that guys like Brent Best and Will Johnson can fetch with ease. There's no telling who will make a splash and who will get relegated to the most unattended day party in SXSW history, but after seeing roughly 280 SXSW band sets (could be near 300, but I've lost count) in over half a decade, I'd like to think I can pick out what does and doesn't work during March Madness. As local bands work out the final bits of their SXSW applications--DUE THIS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10--I'd like to cast a few votes for the ones that could possibly make a splash; heck, with the fest's continuing overcrowding, even the worst schedule slot will still net a few passersby who couldn't get into Ray Davies' gig on the roof of Hut's. Bands listed, I hope you're applying; steal my quotes if they can be of any help.  Shiny Around The Edges: When a festival can celebrate both the aggressive spectacle of Apollo Sunshine and the hushed beauty of Jose Gonzalez, it most certainly can handle an act that figures out how to pull off both extremes with only two people. Husband-wife duo Michael and Jennifer Seman are certainly indebted to groups like Low for both inspiration and aesthetic, but they also understand that a well-placed tom drum thwack or a guitar strum at the wrong time can heighten tension, and man, are their songs tense. You'll be on the razor's edge as Jennifer pleads with the crowd in her cover of Neil Young's "Pocahontas" or the duo combines folk and blues so nonchalantly--and breathlessly--in the seemingly simple "This Apocalypse." Red Monroe: When they returned from college in Oklahoma to set up camp in Dallas, I was completely 50-50 on the group. Eric Steele's pitch-perfect Thom Yorke impression wore thin quickly, as did the band's inability to play a guitar line that didn't sound like the end of "Creep," but there was something in the Red Monroe's dynamic that forced me to hold on and give them one more chance. Good thing I did, because the group has evolved with a much richer batch of Brit-pop influences and a vastly superior live show, borrowing the enormity of Pink Floyd, the unchecked aggression of the Clash and just a pinch of the overdone Gang of Four-mula to make this the most energetic live band in Dallas, hands down...and thankfully, the songs translate well on CD as well, as the self-titled EP is a surefire pick for this year's local top ten.  Current Leaves: A Denton band meant for Austin if there ever was one, Current Leaves is the ultimate band for the famed SXSE party (3810 Sycamore, east of I-35...do look it up in March). A quick listen to Aaron White's lightly-stoned country-rock might just sound like the world of Waylon and Willie reborn, but there's plenty more going on, as new songs have added the power-pop influences of Matthew Sweet and Fountains of Wayne to the already catchy formula. Really, the group is full of the unassuming style--and enjoyable, slightly nasal vocals--that Austin faves Li'l Cap'n Travis share; I'm surprised the two bands haven't hooked up yet, but maybe SXSW'07 is the place to do just that. The Theater Fire: This one comes attached with a big asterisk. In 2005, the sextet waltzed into SXSW with nary a bit of promotion and walked out with a few great gigs and some very converted fans. A recent tour through Chicago and New York worked in the band's favor as well, but honestly, The Theater Fire needs to direct its attention to Europe, not SXSW. Their fiercely regional sound, a swell of the old country and Latin vinyl bins--and crazy bystander conversations--you might find at a given Fort Worth thrift shop, already sounds other-worldly in the band's hometown; gigs in Germany, Britain and Switzerland will turn these mere mortals into lords. A January/February overseas jaunt would do this band wonders...  Pleasant Grove: With the incomparable Jeff Ryan back on drums, more energy in recent concerts and a new kickstart to finishing its long-awaited follow-up LP, Pleasant Grove is quite possibly on the verge of getting its shit back together. The stories aren't exactly private or surprising; this is a band known for languishing, and whether opportunities slipped out of their fingers or coincidences worked against their favor (particularly a lackluster deal with Badman Records), the amount of work and determination in this quintet has been suspect at best. But with easily their best songs since the Auscultation days, now's the time for the most haunting and recognizable Dallas band of the past decade to step out of the shadows and show the rest of the world what the dedicated few in Dallas already know--that Pleasant Grove is one of the best rock bands in the nation, ripe with two equally compelling songwriters and unbelievable builds to guitar blast perfection on stage. The Angelus: Just on lead singer Emil Rapstine's similarity to Josh T. Pearson alone, this band will be a magnet for diehard fans, particularly the European legion that currently prays to Pearson's beard. But Josh is best known for being "promising," a nice way of saying "when is this elusive nut finally gonna finish his solo album?" The Angelus, on the other hand, is promise delivered. Emil's huge, vulnerable voice is the most obvious point, as if Jeff Buckley had hidden in a cave for years and subsisted by eating bats and flies, and he's an ominous one on a stage when he stands with arms outstretched, each holding rattling chains of percussion. But he's only the beginning of The Angelus. The Dallas band's epic songs, somewhere between Nick Cave, David Bowie and Explosions in the Sky, ring with the perfect mix of sophisticated piano parts and layered guitar feedback that should make college radio programmers wet in the pants. Cartright: Lead singer Ben Cartright is the epitome of a memorable, SXSW-worthy lead singer, a guy who wracks his voice to death for the crowd while howling, hooting and leaping all over the place. Full of the same reckless abandon and alt-country leanings as similar Denton greats Little Grizzly and national up-and-comers Lucero, Cartright would kill as an opener for the latter at this year's fest. Give that crowd this lyric--"She broke my wrists, but I'm still makin' fists"--and they'll forget about Lucero in a heartbeat.  Rose County Fair: While Slick 57 is now an afterthought in the local alt-country canon, and The Boys Named Sue are still fighting off their tag as a cover band, John Pedigo (a member of both of those) is quietly making huge waves in his newest quartet. A nod to the days when Son Volt was loud, Uncle Tupelo was new and it was cool to start an alt-country band, Pedigo brings excitement back to the stale genre in Rose County Fair. Perhaps it's the huge dose of The Pixies, or maybe Pedigo's finally letting loose in his first band as sole songwriter, but whatever it is, the man is reborn with stronger singing, better pop-rock hooks and much more compelling songs--particularly "Falcones," which is already one helluva track in only demo form on the MySpace page. Again, another band meant for another city, as the group's hybrid of influences would kill in Austin--and hopefully will this coming year. Bosque Brown & The Strange Boys: After great sets last year, these two don't need more kudos and should hopefully be automatic entries at the fest. The former may not be able to perform, however, as singer/keyboardist Gina will either be extremely pregnant or fresh outta childbirth this March, but the latter, fresh off of the Filter party at last week's CMJ Music Festival, will have a new record to push and probably a boatload of enthusiasm to burn through. A few acts didn't quite make the cut; Fra Pandolf and Black Tie Dynasty, while both among the best of their respective sounds (and live shows) in the region, are gonna have a helluva time standing out from similar noise-rock and '80s-inflicted pop (respectively) at the 2,000+ band affair. PPT's out as well, unless the guys get a live band together...one of their biggest selling points, Picnic's production and focus on melody, gets lost when relegated to a backing CD track, and Pikahsso's overzealous  |