Tuesday night in Austin, and it鈥檚 hard to escape 6th St. The tattoo parlours, the grandstanders and panhandlers, the topless hula hoopers, the drummers on every corner, the jangle, the clamour and the burnt bratworsts. Yet there are moments when the stimulation becomes hard to manage, and that鈥檚 when I steer up the hill to the Central Presbyterian Church on 8th St.
This is a lovely, chilled place and the setting for some of my most favourite sxsw events over the years. Like John Grant, Midlake and Josh T Pearson. The church people are seemingly liberal and each of the above artists have delivered songs with unholy sentiments. So for Tuesday night solace, I sit there and listen to Sean Rowe, his giant baritone and 鈥楥helsea Hotel鈥�. Fans of Leonard Cohen will know that it鈥檚 a slightly sordid lyric, imbued with a metaphysical regret. Perhaps the venue suits, after all.
Sean is a tremendous artist from New York State. His last two albums have been startling and his burly, bearded presence on 鈥楾o Leave Something Behind鈥� reaches you, big style. He tells us some stories about his time as an altar boy and we鈥檙e not surprised to hear that he wasn鈥檛 right for the job.
Other acts in this sublime place include the Parkington sisters from Wellfleet Massachusetts. Four voices playing sheets of chords, four violins with occasional percussion, piano and stabs of wonder. I was also keen on the Milk Carton Kids, successors to the freewheeling folk scene of Bleeker Street, circa 1963. Sharp ideas, funny introductions, guitar rags and the minor classic that is 鈥楥harlie鈥�.听听
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Japandroids
Down at the Latitude venue, Huw Stephens is introducing the rumble-twang surprise of Y Niwl, the benign lightness of Lucy Rose and New Zealander Mike Moon, who underlines his Jack White connection with a spirited 鈥業鈥檓 Shakin鈥欌�� and some other garage roughage in stop-time.
Wavves
At the Viceland location, capacity is full and the energy charge doesn鈥檛 relent. Wavves are slamming together, jacking their bodies and watching the front rows of the audience as they buckle and cheer. It鈥檚 not quite alarming but the mosh activity and the sheer force of the crowd is on the edge of it. Things settle between acts, but next it鈥檚 the turn of Japandroids to turn things more feverish still. Ladies and gentlemen, we are now approaching overload.
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