Welcome to SXSW - 3.14

Finally. SXSW is here. At last on this very hungover Saturday morning we have time from all the revelry to shake off the said hangover and type a couple words. My friend Mike and I have been traveling at breakneck speeds since arriving here in Austin so all I got right now is a flickr page, a couple random words, shows, and run-ins. Here are the photos. Shows include three or four bands who we can’t remember/didn’t get their name, Chuck Prophet, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Wombats, Lightspeed Champion, Paddy Case, Santogold, MGMT, … run-ins included Matt Pinfield, Carson Daly, Reggie Watts, Todd Barry, chicks from Rock for Health, a un-understandable cab driver, and Carla Gugino. Venues/Places we ate and drank include (all dope) Las Manolitas, Moonshine, La Zona Rosa, Cedar Room, Blind Pig, Dirty Dog, and dopest of all, the infamous Stubbs.  The tradeshow is also fucking awesome and the Flatstock rock poster art show.This place is seriously sensory overload. Time to get Saturday started. Big day ahead. (Editor’s note: Apparently the summer of Doug Part 2 has started early. Somehow my brother Doug got to Austin after boozing with Volz yesterday morning at Kegs and Eggs. Photo evidence here. For those that know him, see if you can find him.)

Review: Justice at 930 Club 3.13

French electro duo Justice rode the MySpace train into DC last night and rocked a sold out - packed, sweaty, ass-shaking crowd last night at 930 Club. I first learned of Justice while checking out some old Daft Punk mixes and have been hooked ever since. Having drawn obvious comparisons to their Ed Banger labelmates, Justice (real names Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay) has carved a decent niche in seperating themselves from their robotronic countrymen. Before I get into the general details of the show, this is what I have to say. Justice fucking killed it.

Busy P, aka Pedro Winter, owner of Ed Banger Records and manager for Daft Punk and Justice, got the night started off right. Busy P was having such a good time mixing tracks on two CDJs, keeping the crowd hyped and overall setting the tone for the evening. P was dropping bangers from his Ed Banger records collection as well as classics like Beastie Boys So Watcha Want (he was rocking a Beasties Tee). Despite getting shit thrown on him from up in the VIP balcony by those mischievous headliners, P’s set was dope and he finished with Prodigy’s Smack my Bitch Up.

As a suprise performer for the evening, DC rapper and Justice collaborator Wale got in the mix after Busy P. With an abbreviated set, Wale delivered some of his hits like Waledance and Nikeboots which was alright but I did feel he broke up a certain energy to the evening. He is pretty tight and probably deserves another listen or another live performance where he is on his own and has more time.

Then it was Justice time. Their setup was immense-nine massive Marshall amps flanking their signature illuminated cross. It was pretty badass, straightup. They wasted no time in getting the place raging, dropping Genesis from the top. These two chain-smoking beatmasters (seriously, their French, they could give a fuck about a DC smoking ban. My brother Doug joked he was surprised they weren’t chomping on long cigarette holders) moved seamlessly through their set moving from song to song on their album Crosses as well as some of their remixes. Highlights included DVNO, Phantom, D.A.N.C.E, Waters of Nazareth, and remixes of As Above So Below by the Klaxons, Three Six Mafia’s Stay Fly (!), and a Metallica song I can’t remember (someone comment and help me with that one). They also played two encores and although they touched on the song throughout the set, they finished with a dope rendition of We Are Your Friends (a Simian Mobile Disco blend). Definitely check out Justice if you have the chance in the future. They are here to stay and rage.

Pics courtesy of Ryan. Below vid of set-opening track Genesis courtesy of Mark Alexandre.

Choice: Apes at Black Cat or B&W Jackson’s at Velvet? Both?

This Friday night (Feb. 29) presents an interesting quandry in the DC rock scene. CD release shows by two very good DC bands at venues very close to each other. At the Black Cat, Apes are celebrating the release of their record Ghost Games, while over at Velvet Lounge the Black and White Jacksons are releasing their new album.

Apes have been in the DC-music scene for quite some time and are about to release their new record with their new lead singer before embarking on a tour that includes SXSW. From their site … “Apes are a guitarless quartet from Washington DC who create a raw and primal bombast of hard-rock mysticism and thunder with the power of heavy bass, Nord Electro keyboard, and energetic live performances.” I have not seen them live before but hear that they put on an electrifying live set. Equally as artistic as they are rocking, check out Beat of the Double here (Courtesy of Gypsy Eyes Records). Also, check out the below video for Dr. Watcher to get a little visual taste.

Black & White Jacksons play loud, in your face rock. Check out some tracks on their Myspace page. I must also say that my friend and very funny stand-up comedian Jon Eick is opening up the show with a stand-up set. Sandwiched in between is the band Lode Runner.

Both bands are very good and have different, unique styles. I say you be a savage and try to go see both and decide for yourself as to how to pull that off. Perhaps catch Jon and a little of the B&W Jacksons then roll to Black Cat for Apes? What say you?

Apes - Dr. Watcher

Saj’s Hip-Hop Corner: Dilla Tribute

Ain’t it a bitch when your iPod (…or other jankier version of mp3 player) conks-out on you!? And, it’s in that very moment of having that condescending “iPod sad face” looking back-up at you, that you realize that you’ve most likely lost a lot, if not all, of those classic tracks that you never backed-up/took from friend’s libraries/actually paid for??

Well, a version of this happened to me, only it wasn’t with any kind of mp3 player, and the machine that was lost cannot ever be actually restored or backed up.

The date of my “crash” was February 10, 2006, and it wasn’t an actual piece of hardware in my possession that was destroyed, but rather a world of musical genius that was taken from all of us, much-much too soon.

James Dewitt Yancey, better know to the masses these days as Dilla (…but also as Jay Dee/J. Dilla) truly first touched my life back in 1995 with The Pharcyde’s release Labcabincalifornia.

Preview: Jose Gonzalez Next Weds 3.5 - 6th and I Synagogue

Amazing guitar player and soft-crooning Swede Jose Gonzalez is playing March 5th at Sixth and I Historic Synagogue. Jose offers up incredible classical guitar, emotional ballads and great covers. In addition to his classic rendition of The Knife’s Heartbeats, he covers Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart. Last year’s In Our Nature was a great album and I wore out the Veneer album quickly a couple years back. I saw him perform at the Black Cat some time ago as well and he was captivating. His performance plus this unique venue equals a can’t miss show. See you there. Photo of Jose and following vid of him covering Love Will Tear Us Apart courtesy of 3xWes at WaterCoolerGossip.