Music

SXSW: Nicole Atkins at the Brooklyn Vegan Showcase

by AUX staff

As previously stated, there’s essentially two SxSWs – the official one and the unofficial one.  The former runs in the evenings and is generally logically organized into hour-by-hour grids with a clear hierarchy of admission: badges first, for they are the delegates, the industry insiders, the ones with $600 to spare.  Then the wristband holders, which include the artists, much of the media and the locals who lined up at Waterloo Records for the opportunity to participate in the event that basically shuts down their city for a week.  Then finally, if permitted for the show in question, are those paying a cover charge and forgoing the club-hopping in favour of a much more affordable and manageable one-stop sample of the SxSW experience.  The rules are simple and clear; everyone knows what is what.

The unofficial shows, on the other hand, are insanity squared.  The venues can range from proper clubs to parking lots with makeshift stages erected and can be located well off the beaten path.  Set times, if even available, are imprecise at best and completely out to lunch at worst.  Acts can drop off the lineup without warning. Requirements for admission can range from everyone welcome to suggested RSVP to mandatory RSVP to secret handshakes.  Everyone you know who’s going has heard something different about the who/what/when/where and all are probably wrong.  It’s part of the fun of SxSW but it’s also the most maddening.

Friday was one of the days where pretty much all of my information was wrong.  In no particular order, I found out that I hadn’t been put on a guest list that I’d be told I was, that I hadn’t in fact RSVP-ed for a show that I was certain I had and a band that I had circled on my schedule for a specific time and place wasn’t playing at all and never had been.  And the one band that was actually playing when and where I thought they were had a lineup stretching down the street to get in. Needless to say, my carefully planned itinerary was a shambles.  In the end, the only afternoon show I was able to get into was one of BrooklynVegan’s seven (!) official and unofficial showcases, this one at Club DeVille, and featuring more than a few acts I wanted to see. They just weren’t the ones I’d planned to see.

Still, it’s ridiculous to feel anything resembling disappointment for getting into a free show that featured Holly Miranda, Centro-Matic, Sondre Lerche, The Antlers and Nicole Atkins [pictured above] amongst others.  Atkins, in particular, was a must-see for the week, what with having left her label and overhauled her band since I last saw her perform.  For these SxSW appearances, her new backing band The Black Sea weren’t on hand and instead, Austin stalwarts Future Clouds & Radar were taking their place. Aside from one “Neptune City” song, her set was all new material which clearly showed the darker, more rocking direction she was taking and as a set closer, a cover of Sparklehorse’s “It’s A Wonderful Life” in tribute to the late Mark Linkous.  As consolation prizes go, I’ll take it.

Photo and words by: Frank Yang