SXSW 2012

SXSW discovery: Canadian duo Whitehorse puts an indie spin on the ContinentalClub

Canadian duo Whitehorse has a sound check that looks more like a Portlandia sketch than anything the Continental Club has seen before. But the painful ten minutes of “less guitar, more vocals” was worth it. Even for a succinct forty-minute set.

Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland took the Continental Club stage during Wednesday night’s No Depression SXSW Showcase with a case or two of instruments in hand. Everything from a stripped down drum kit, guiro and multiple guitars to a keyboard and old school phone receivers attached to mic stands appeared from those treasure chests.

It was clear from the set up that Whitehorse would be different than the rest of the No Depression Showcase (a bill of female-led groups, heavy on harmony, light on rock). Whitehorse’s breed of roots music diverges from the clean harmonies and folky hooks that are expected of an Americana showcase.

And though the duo definitely capitalizes on solid, dark country vocals and impeccable instrumentation, Whitehorse juxtaposes those country chops against an inventive, indie use of sampling and electronic loops for each song.

I guarantee you it's enough to turn the tide for any indie kid hanging at The 'hawk.

Whitehorse's set started with the powerful stomp of a bass drum and subsequent beats from Doucet’s percussion army — all recorded and looped to play back live during the songs. His hook-heavy beats and guttural guitar licks were offset by McClelland’s chilling vocals, and frequent use of that phone receiver to create a chorus effect looped into the songs just like the percussion.

During the set, Doucet and McClelland played too many instruments to count, sometimes even several guitars within one song. Watching the two on stage was watching a well-choreographed piece with enough ad lib to keep it authentic: each loop, each new sound, an integral part of the performance.

On stage, Whitehorse is electric. The duo is like an edgier, dirtier version of The Civil Wars, but with no theatrics, and real chemistry — Doucet and McClelland are actual partners. Just like Americana's sweethearts, Doucet and McClelland pulled the club into their intimate performance. But they did it without waving their arms and employing tricky vocal arrangements: They did it with gritty passion, hard-hitting beats and techniques that fall outside of the roots movement.

The showcase was forty-minutes of phone receivers, sampling and loops that weren't gimmicky at all — just a way to reinvigorate an already stellar meeting of musical passions.

Take note that Whitehorse's self-titled debut album (just released in August 2011) captures more folk styling than their live performance. Stand out originals include the grungy groove "Killing Time Is Murder" and the rock-infused "Passenger 24." It's rounded out with an apropos Johnny-and-June-esque cover of Bruce Springsteen’s "I’m on Fire."

Put it on repeat. Then remember to see Whitehorse the next time they journey down to Austin — we'll just have to wait and see if they stay the course on the country circuit or make a move to the indie side of town.

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Belles of the Ballroom

9 Austin bar and venue experts take over popular Old Austin space near UT

29th Street Ballroom/Facebook

Changes are coming at the 29th Street Ballroom, but the goal is to preserve what already makes it special.

The evolution continues at the 29th Street Ballroom, the music venue formerly attached to Spider House Café. It's no secret, Resound Presents CEO and co-founder Graham Williams says, that he and a large team of other industry pros are taking over the space; but now they're ready to talk about what comes next for the venue and adjoining bar.

Although Spider House Café closed in 2020, the Ballroom stayed open, and has continued serving University of Texas students and anyone else who wants to see a show outside of the ordinary: punk shows, burlesque revues, fundraisers, and more. It'll stay open through most of the renovations, scheduled through January of 2025, and is expected to hold a grand opening in March.

Now Resound — one of Austin's top live music organizers, which was itself born from the ashes of another Austin institution — is lending two of its co-founders to managing the space going forward: Williams and Ian Orth. They're joining seven other team members from venues around town, many of them overlapping: Amy Mullins, Brian Tweedy, Jason McNeely, John Yaklin, and Shannon LeBoeuf of Hotel Vegas, Chess Club, Kinda Tropical, Tweedy’s, and Yellow Jacket Social Club, in varying capacities; and Brian Buscemi and Mike Sanchez of the Little Darlin’.

Williams emphasizes that although things will be changing at the Ballroom, the goal isn't to change anything people already love.

"Over the next few months as we kind of ease into the spring, we're using this downtime to revitalize things, decorate, revamp some of the stuff in the venue and the bar, and just kind of get things moving in the right direction," Williams says, "taking what's already popular about the venue and just adding to it, really."

Bar updates
The biggest shift will be turning the bar from an accessory to live shows into its own entity that's open even when there's nothing else going on. Amy Mullins, best known as a co-owner of Yellow Jacket Social Club, is overseeing that transition. She's never operated a venue that is primarily focused on music, and has been enjoying learning more about how to do it; she even worked the door recently when a staff member called out sick.

Mullins echoes Williams in assuring that the change is more about logistics than tone. It'll still feel like Old Austin, but she does express a hope to run more than the "typical venue bar," handing out simple drinks as quickly as possible. She's working on a new menu that includes wine, beer, craft cocktails, and non-alcoholic options like tea, kombucha, or mocktails. Regardless of what's on the schedule on any given night, Mullins says the menu will stay the same.

"There's no drink too complicated for us to make, however busy we are," she says.

Food options
Another goal for the team will be making sure the space works when there's not someone onstage to crowd around. They'll expand the front and side patios and create a food truck food court that features the same trucks that are there now, plus one newcomer. All in all, that includes Yalla Burger & Wings, Gyro Center, Li’l Nonna’s Vegan Pizzeria, Guppy’s Indian Fried Chicken, Waylon J’s BBQ, and Ay Chihuahua Tacos.

The expanded patio will connect to Tweedy's Bar next door, which also has its own food trucks. The idea is to create a space to hang out after shows that feels fit for the purpose. It's possible to stick around after events now, but the layout does create a vague feeling of loitering.

Artist and fan-friendly tweaks
On the entertainment side, Williams says some of the renovations include putting in a new sound system, redoing the green room, updating the facade, and repainting signs. Since the winter is a slower time for live music, they'll be taking advantage of the extra time to work on things before packing the calendar with more events than before. Resound will handle most of the bookings in live music, comedy, and DJ sets, welcoming both national and local talent.

Whatever the details end up being, this team has proved to Austinites that they know how to run venues worth visiting. And since they're all friends and business partners on multiple levels, it sounds like having this many cooks in the kitchen just isn't an issue.

"Some of us have been roommates and known each other since we were young," says Williams. "It's a good mix of people who are all very like minded, so a lot is being brought to the table per decision. So yeah, it's it's really exciting. Sometimes that's not the case. .... But with this project, it's a lot of really great, creative people that are good at what they do [and] they trust each other."

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