SXSW Review

Top 5 performances from SXSW — and the artists to follow this year

Courtney Barnett at Mohawk.

Photo by Daniel Cavazos

SXSW 2015 was a throwback to five years ago: crowds were lighter, marquee names weren't in abundance and (most crucially) people were more interested in discovering new acts than waiting around all day to see established ones. This made for an easier and more pleasant experience than the two prior years. Police were helpful, the safety measures seemed smart and lines were mostly quite reasonable. Overall, it was the thoughtful course correction many hoped for.

The "Choose Your Own Adventure" festival means everyone has a completely different experience. After 2014, where we happened upon Sam Smith, Chet Faker, London Grammar, Future Islands and Charli XCX, we thought there was no way to top it. However, we still found tons of notable artists old and new while catching nearly 50 acts. Of that lot, there were dozens of great moments, but here are five we'll remember for years to come.

Run The Jewels: Stubb's on Friday
You could be forgiven for thinking that Run The Jewels would simply turn up and honor an obligation. The rain was mucking things up at SPIN's day show, and Killer Mike was just back from a visit to his Atlanta doctor after being attacked at an earlier showcase. But that's not how these guys do things. As El-P and Mike hit the stage, the crowd roared approval and flashed the duo's signs, leading them to declare, "We're gonna burn this [expletive] place to the ground!"

They weren't kidding. The audience at the gig sang every word from both RTJ albums, and the rappers prowled the stage with an intense confidence. It's rare to see a live act that's at once totally on point and also having a great time, but this was it. Run The Jewels resonated with rap fans and you could see the group feeding off the massive energy and audience love.

Courtney Barnett: Mohawk on Wednesday

Courtney Barnett may be the Keyser Soze of indie rock. Her lolling voice and lo-fi guitars may initially strike the listener as shambolic, but she's pulling a fast one on you. There's a serious method and craft to her tunes. It's always interesting to see a talkative audience quiet down and step away from the bars when something engages them — such was the mood at the Mohawk.

Barnett's demeanor was low-key but chipper: She barreled through songs and kept the banter lean. New cuts showcased from Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit were impressive. Toward the end of the set during "Avant Gardener," we actually saw someone punch up the Amazon app and order Barnett's records. Barnett's talent stood out in a big crowd.

Hot Chip: Samsung on Friday

While not a public showcase, Hot Chip's Samsung-sponsored gig Friday was their first Austin appearance since 2008 — and they made the most of it. The band emerged just before 1 am in polished and fine form. After a quick run through the excellent new single "Huarache Lights," the group treated the crowd to a "best of" set with a few new songs sprinkled in. The crowd loved all of it, but exploded when "Over And Over" started.

This is a fanboy band, and Hot Chip fans really, really love them. Of the older cuts, "Night And Day" was a real killer as well, but the biggest thrill of all was finally getting this fantastic group back to Austin.

Swervedriver: Red 7 on Friday

While we often think of Swervedriver as the spiritual cousin to bands like Ride and Lush, the band's rollicking set at Red 7 had us reassessing our memories. These guys were, and are, more metal than their peers. Despite a driving rain that cascaded sheets of water onto portions of the crowd, the band's massive sound was entrancing. New songs from this year's I Wasn't Born To Lose You blended seamlessly with those from 20-plus years ago and it became obvious that this wasn't a nostalgia run or a cash grab.

Swervedriver have come back fully embracing their sound and their legacy, and as we left, we hoped they'd come back for a full set soon.

Kate Tempest: Red 7 on Wednesday

British wunderkind Kate Tempest definitely produced the most interesting set of the 48 we saw this year. We're not 100 percent sure how listening to her albums would go, but we'd sure as hell buy a ticket to catch her live show again. On stage, Tempest alternates between beat-based songs and a capella poetry. The narratives are like sketches or one-act plays describing party conversations or a naive twentysomething arguing with a wise old man.

Like many of our best SXSW sets, Tempest won points for playing serious music joyfully. She radiated excitement, and the audience responded by paying rapt attention until she finished. "I've never seen anything like this festival! I'm walking 'round with my jaw dropped," she exclaimed. The feeling was mutual, as the audience had never heard any music quite like hers.

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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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