Herald: Bay State reps SXSW

Did a recap of SXSW for the Herald, which ran today. Kinda a different look from what I submitted (on Friday, no less) but the gist remains. Kinda, a little bit. Evs.

Bay State bands share spotlight at SXSW shindig
By Michael Marotta
Monday, March 22, 2010 - Updated 17h ago
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AUSTIN, Texas - South by Southwest (SXSW), this city’s annual music, film and interactive festival, closed out Sunday. With apologies to the festival’s cinema programming, the live music portion dominated the overstuffed week.

More than 2,000 bands filled 80 stages throughout downtown Austin during SXSW, which is essentially spring break for indie nerds eager to tweet about The Next Big Thing. Each day, showcases started around 11 a.m. and didn’t wrap until some 16 hours later. Numerous around-the-clock parties added a Mardi Gras vibe.

SXSW is mainly about seeing new bands and stumbling into a bar to find an unknown gem of an artist playing for a dozen people. Sure, you could catch Nas at the Fader Fort, Snoop Dogg at Perez Hilton’s party or Cheap Trick, which played a free show for 40,000 at Auditorium Shores.

Boston acts made an impressive showing, with Bad Rabbits, Yes Giantess, Magic Magic, Truman Peyote, Muck & the Mires, the Wandas, Leo Blais, Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents, Big Big Bucks, Acaro, McAllister Drive, Constants, Junius, the Downbeat 5, Thick Shakes, Girls Guns and Glory, Caspian, Erin Harpe all taking stages.

The Bad Rabbits’ hip-hop collective is most likely to return to the Hub with a spot on the national radar.

But plenty of up-and-comers from beyond the Hub were making a name.

Perez Hilton was reportedly seen at Neon Gold Record’s showcase mouthing every lyric to UK pop princess Marina & the Diamonds’ set. Other bands turning heads: the post-grunge pop of Florida’s Surfer Blood, Los Angeles alt-’90s surf-rock trio Best Coast, the Texas strobe-pop of Neon Indian, the art-noise dance-mosh of Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Sleigh Bells, and Chicago electro rapper Kid Sister.

“Even if (a band is) playing South by Southwest in the middle of the afternoon at Denny’s, there’s a chance a guy like me will be there and remember it,” said Kevin Hoskins, talent buyer for Cambridge’s Middle East. Hoskins is able to catch about 120 bands each year at SXSW.

“For any young band,” he said, “South by Southwest is great for the opportunity to get in front of people involved with music.”
- mmarotta@bostonherald.com