The Best (And Worst) Of SXSW 2010: The Music

There were thousands of bands and thousands of shows in the last few days of the 2010 South By Southwest Music Festival and there was no hope of catching even a fraction of them. Instead, and so you wouldn't be annoyed if we went to some VIP/invite-only/after party/2am/Four Seasons bar bullshit and said "hey, sorry you missed out," we picked only free shows to watch and let you know about.

You may have missed these groups at SXSW, but hopefully they'll be coming your way soon...

The Middle East. These guys played at the IFC's free studio show series on Friday and sounded like they were lip-synching to the record. That's actually a compliment -- they were clearly playing live, but their sound was so precise, polished, and lush, you almost assumed Phil Spector had been acquitted and was out producing them. They don't need him anyway -- beautiful soundscapes, wonderful musicians, and the perfect compliment to the free breakfast we'd just finished. Check them out here.

Nicole Atkins. PBS and NPR blew our minds by opening the doors to the Austin City Limits studios for an amazing night. Just walking around that place would've been incredible enough, but then Nicole Atkins came onstage with a new band and launched into some actually-awesome new songs which she's currently "recording in Brooklyn." You don't want to miss that record or, um, mp3 download.

Billy Bragg. We never imagined cramming the aging (not in a bad way) Essex-born singer-songwriter in between psych-rock and dance pop at the Mess With Texas concerts would actually work. Nor did we think Bragg's between-every-song-diatribes about healthcare would go over well with hipsters tired of preachers. But everything went off without a hitch, even an ill-advised singalong to Bragg's closing song, with most people chiming in even though few knew the words. A highly recommended concert experience.

Demolished Thoughts. According to Spinner, Bill Murray, Lou Barlow (of Dinosaur, Jr.) and Lenny Kaye were all spotted in the mosh pit at the MOG / T-Mobile showcase, but no one was paying any attention to them. No one was carrying a loud conversation or trying to hand me a CD of their band, either. They were all just laughing or rocking out... usually at the same time. J Mascis and Thurston Moore threw together this apparently serious new band, featuring a stage show that involves Sonic Youth's Moore yelling out random "poetry" off a piece of paper, rattling off deliberate rock cliches ("We've been on tour for... six months. Come see us, we're living in a van nearby now," etc.) and then launching into 60-second punk songs, all while failing to keep a straight face. That's how it's done, kids.

She & Him. The worst experience we had was right after the Middle East set at IFC. She & Him (she, specifically, we're guessing) demanded the audience be kept out of the studio during their TV broadcast. Then, after dozens of people waited for hours, the band insisted the drapes be kept over the windows looking into the studio. The onlookers booed as they realized they were stuck watching the performance on TV, which they could've done at home. Bonus: the band did two songs and hurried out of the building. Ouch. (Here they are playing later that night at a small club.)

P.S. You may think this four minute clip of Demolished Thoughts is enough to explain what's going on, but we were at this show and we have no idea what the hell this is:

Demolished Thoughts @ SXSW from NOW Magazine on Vimeo.