Year of the Brand and Pete Townshend
by Craig S. Hyman
For those of us who live, eat, sleep and breathe music, whose hunger and thirst are never satiated regardless of exhaustion, time investment or listening conditions, there is no choice and no other place to be mid-March in the past 21 years than the SXSW music conference in Austin, Texas.
This year, the biggest and most elaborate year yet, SXSW boasted 57 showcase venues (10 more than last year), plus one large outdoor stage, the day stage in the conference center, and the new Direct TV facility accommodating two broadcast stages (the Bar Bat and the Lone Star lounge). There were 8,000 band submissions, of which 1,400 were handpicked by Creative Director Brent Grulke and team to showcase before 20,000 conference attendees.
The Direct TV broadcasts of 30 artists over four days, which was a SXSW co-production, should be of special note this year. As a result of these broadcasts, 2007 will go down in SXSW history as the turning point of a new SXSW era. Although the SXSW "brand" has always been well positioned in the music industry, over the past few years it has become a household name in the U.S. Due to the fact that everyone with cable television equipped with Direct TV capability can now be brought SXSW live from Austin, things will never be the same. The SXSW "brand" is absolutely and indisputably a household name in the U.S. once it enters into America's living rooms. The result: the world will then begin to show up in Austin for this annual event. It is no longer the property of just the music and entertainment industries. Those days are over.
Wednesday, March 14, Day 1: This year also sported an all-time high of "sanctioned" parties, which are usually daytime showcase parties put on by various magazines, international trade groups, record labels, etc. The first musical event I attended this year was the Canadian Blast Party, with an excellent lineup of artists. Then on to the Guitartown/Conqueroo Party at Mother Egans, where I witnessed John Dee Graham giving what is always a strong performance, followed by Pam Tillis' upbeat and pretty vocals.
SXSW 2007's man of the year was easily keynote speaker Pete Townshend. The spokesman for rock and roll gave a conversation that was as good as it gets. He was in great spirits, charming, funny and intelligent, and candidly jumped right in with honesty about his life and career with and without the Who. He covered topics from September 11, 2001, to meeting guitarist Bert Jansch in a drug den in the 1960s and Jansch's guitar-playing brilliance, and John Entwisle's death and money and cocaine problems. He qualified that the Who were not an angry band but a band who were frustrated due to the postwar condition in England of an "incredible unspoken denial combined with a three-legged musical chair of blues, pop and country" yielding the early sounds of the Who. Last and possibly most important was his quoting of a major-label CEO referring to the state of the music industry as "Rome is burning." Townshend also noted that the major labels "are the new boss," a reference to the lyrics from the Who's Next anthem and possibly all-time greatest rock and roll song, "Won't Get Fooled Again."
My first official SXSW showcase this year was by Sarah Wasserman, daughter of bass player Rob Wasserman (Bob Weir, Lou Reed), who played in Sarah's band at 18th Floor at Hilton Garden Inn. She gave a respectable performance split with covers and originals, as a cross between jazz diva and folk-pop songstress.
Lily Allen (Hammersmith, U.K.) was one of my favorite performances of this year. Her showcase at Stubb's for the NME and ZUNE evening was more than I expected. Admittedly slightly tipsy, she laughingly danced through her Latin and lounged-laced pop songs to a packed venue clearly anxious to see her. Backed by a soulful three-piece horn section, she captured my musical heart, infectiously wanting for more.
Stockholm, Sweden's Peter, Bjorn and John at La Zona Rosa played some pleasing and eclectic pop numbers. They were a hot buzz-band this year, and although their performances numbered four or five (private parties, day stage, etc.), I found them not quite meeting my expectations and feeling as if their songs, although containing great bridges, needed some tightening up.
The Austin Music Awards are a very special event as part of, yet independent of, SXSW. It is an actual awards ceremony much like the Grammys, mixed with live performances of Austin artists. It is the best way to see the Austin side of the music industry and witness what an artistically rich and wonderful community it is. I came in enjoying the last few songs of Barbara Kooyman (former Timbuk 3 frontwoman) and the Texamericans. Presenters then awarded Ian McLagan and the Bump Band. After a heartfelt speech about the late Ronnie Lane, his fellow Small Faces bandmate (before Rod Stewart joined the group), McLagan led the band into a six-song tribute to The Small Faces. Ronnie Lane authored songs including "Your So Rude" and "Itchykoo Park." He then brought up Pete Townshend, whom he has known since their early 20s from the London Mod scene, to sit in on the last three songs of the set. The band ripped into a rollicking version of Mod favorite "Wahtcya Gonna Do." Townshend was on the mark, a monolithic powerhouse as he windmilled through riveting chord changes, wah-wah'd stinging lead notes, and bounced and slammed guitar chords to play its reverb as if it were an additional instrument extended from his guitar. Townshend was happy and having a lot of fun with the audience. It was a rare and special moment that hinted at the greatness of things to come in the next three days of music.
Stay tuned for so many more new music showcase reflections, as well as details on the other three surprise performances that Pete Townshend gave at this year's SXSW.
