SXSW 2014: Rachael Ray’s Feedback w/ Blondie & Ceelo Green & more

Ok, so this was now Saturday the last official day of the festival (though I would stick around for two more days) and as I didn’t get in until close to 5am I woke up around 10am and it was pouring down raining. As in past years I had planned to attend Rachael Ray’s Annual cookout and concert that is held outdoors at Stubbs on the last Sat every year. Little sleep and not quite ready for rain and more Rock and Roll – I decided to finally see one of the movies instead –  Open Windows (more on this in the next entry).

Day 4 – Saturday March 15th

After coming out of the movie (which was weird…review to come) its still raining a bit so I took that opportunity to run by the Brass House to see my buddy (and occasional collaborator) Neil and his band Son of Swan –

Neil has been on quite a roll this year and has been getting some waaay overdue recognition. From a great showing at NAMM this year to performing with Orianthi Panagaris at the Trobudour – he’s been on quite the ride. He flew straight here from Los Angeles after performing an insane show with Eurthymics’ Dave Stewart just the night before.
Once I got to Stubb’s, after all the crazy running around this week I was determined to just stay there and not leave for the rest of the day/night (and that’s exactly what I did).

Rachael Ray’s Feedback – Stubb’s
w/ Yelawolf
Blondie
Ceelo Green
& more – 

Rain apparently does not dampen the appetite for free food and music – even after 2 straight weeks of it apparently as the line snaked literally the entire block around Stubbs when I got there after 3pm & into the late afternoon. I feel guilty sometimes that I am ushered right in to these things while others wait for hours, but I also know that I have worked my ass off and have earned it.
This party, now in its seventh year, has won its reputation as one of SXSW’s most reliable good times, whether you’re there for the food/free booze or music from usually a pretty reliable lineup.

Yelawolf 

The first group I saw when I arrived was this rapper dude Yelawolf – I saw him at some Village Voice party down here a few years ago and it was fucking terrible.
Another in a current crop of white, heavily tattooed skinny dudes that look like they just got out of jail.

Speaking of heavily tattooed, skinny, white dudes that look like they just got out of jail the big attraction was that he was playing with a full band that included Travis Barker – drummer for Blink 182 (& for hire for whatever flavor of the week or awards show).

I went to the indoor bathroom right after this and suddenly I couldn’t get out – the inside was overtaken by total insanity as everyone it seemed in town had evacuated the city and were rushing in here to the tiny indoor stage (apparently because they heard that Green Day was doing a surprise intimate show) – Wait….fucking Green Day was causing all of this?

Foxboro Hot Tubs

Ok, so while its all three members of  Green Day, its a side project called Foxboro Hot Tubs that’s from the looks of it supposed to get them back to basics and have a reality check of some sort from carrying punk rock guilt and miss playing small clubs and the fun without the pressure.
They didn’t downsize its show at all, from the balloon drop at the start of the show to the confetti and silly string that  showered the packed room.

Billie Joe Armstrong (the guy with the most punchable face in Rock N Roll) sporting a flowered top hat & a (ironic…barf) Motley Crue t-shirt, Armstrong opened by taunting the crowd that it was “Boring!” before the group tour into its garage-y originals –
However a running theme of the day seemed to be all of the bands doing at least one recognizable, but completely unexpected cover – In this case it was the Who’s mini-opera A Quick One (While He’s Away).

Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell proclaimed Saturday Rachael Ray Day and presented her with a plaque; Ray, however, had lost her voice “screaming the Beatles with my husband ‘til midnight” and kept her remarks truncated, though she did introduce Foxboro Hot Tubs’ set.

Blondie

Despite the shortened set, Blondie was tight and clearly energized, powering through a hits-heavy playlist that included One Way or Another, Rapture, Heart of Glass and Call Me.

Debbie Harry is still able to pull off being Debbie Harry – and their recognizable, but completely unexpected cover was the Beastie Boys’ Fight For Your Right To Party which was done really cool and perfect for the afternoon. I’ll never forget the image of after they were done Rachael Ray came out to receive them and drunk or just unaware of Debbie Harry protocol, grabs Debbie by the ears, and moving her from side to side in total fan girl glee.

Har Mar Superstar

My friends Joady & Andrew own a booking company (that also includes Peter Murphy & Star and Dagger that I saw last night) and they represent an enigma that goes by the name Har Mar Superstar. The pic below is the most clothes I’ve ever seen him wear in concert.

I spared you the vision of him (as per usual in his show) stripping down to his whitey-tighties – This dude is so absurd and I believe that’s the point. A short, balding, pudgy man that looks like a cross between Danny Devito & the Critic gesticulating suggestively like he’s Prince but it’s not parody and he sells it as sincere as can be. You actually believe that he believes that he is this fearless & sexy. Hey good for him, and the thing is that the dude really can sing. So you could look at it like he’s not letting his aesthetic short-comings hold him back, or it could be that he’s completely unaware and someone should tell him – you decide.

Ceelo Green

However, Cee Lo Green was not to be outdone – . Fronting a full, mixed-gender band, whose female members called Scarlet Fever, sported tight, glittery body suits, and promising to “be your adult entertainment for the evening,”
Out of the seemingly millions of unbelievable hot girls I’ve seen this week, either performing on stage or just a patron of the festival (Austin is home to some of the most beautiful women on Earth) I really think the most attractive girl I saw all week (and one of the hottest ever) was the blood-red-headed keyboardist, Dani Ivory. They were ALL really hot – and played their asses off but on a stage full of insanely gorgeous women, she still stood out – THAT’s how hot –

He started his buoyant, spirit-lifting set with Bright Lights Bigger City before taking the human jukebox approach at the start of his set, covering MGMT’s Electric Feel, David Bowie`s Let’s Dance,  Pussycat Dolls’ Don’t Cha and of course the Violent Femmes’ Gone Daddy Gone which he recorded as part of Gnarls Barkley before elevating things even further with Crazy and “the song that made me rich and famous,” Fuck You.
Pretty much what you would expect. Though I’m quite aware that he’s a punchline and I share that opinion, I thoroughly enjoyed both Gnarls’ LPs and thought this was a really fun show.

The Toadies

I’ve known these guys since I was 16 years old and when they got signed to a major label deal a few years later, it felt like a victory for all of us. When they released their debut LP Rubberneck it was a triumph that is still celebrated as they have become a state treasure for Texas.
This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the LP and the band is still going strong and the singles from the album are still in heavy rotation all these years later.
So to commemorate the occasion they are about to embark on a tour that features them playing the entire record from front to back, something they have actually never done before and tonight was their first time doing so.

To be clear, usually when you see the Toadies live they do play most of Rubberneck, usually sans:

Mexican Hairless
Quitter
Velvet

But what the big deal was that they were presenting it in order for the first time and it was a real treat. They were a last minute add (hence why they were going on first) and they were doing just the LP and that’s it – No encore etc. Just here’s the record and bam – A very cool statement I thought.
They pulled it off in spite of logistical problems beyond their control – I had been texting with them to find out when they were going on and apparently CeeLo was in no hurry/wasn’t aware/or simply didn’t care to get his shit and go so they had the nightmare of trying to park and get set on his schedule.
I was hoping they were gonna go on late – I wanted a break from music and was hoping to catch the wrestling show and then follow that up with them, but staying there gave me a serendipitous moment of what came next that might be the highlight of the whole week for me – Here’s what happened:

The Last Internationale

After the Toadies played, I wasn’t sure of what was next – All I knew was that I was so drained and exhausted from the week that I really no longer cared about anything other than just staying put, however I didn’t know any of the bands that were listed to play and the sponsor for the showcase was the fucking Gap so I really wasn’t sure what to do.
I went to the inside bathroom once again and then to the inside bar where that smaller stage was to get a beer and I’m really, instantly enjoying the music I’m hearing behind me on the stage, from what I learn is the band the Last Internationale.
And then I hear this:
“We found out that the Gap recently became a sponsor, and we almost canceled this show, but we didn’t because we didn’t want to upset anyone, but we want to make it perfectly clear that this show is NOT sponsored by Gap.”

This immediately got my attention and I turn around and see this incredibly striking looking gal just kicking ass and the band is right there with her.

Then, addressing anyone from the Gap who might be in the room, the guitarist began throwing out free band shirts, shouting “This is made in the USA … NOT in some sweatshop. Fuck the Gap!”

Mixing politics with music can be dangerous, but I look past the singer and I swear that the drummer is Brad Wilk from Rage Against the Machine.
Inciting some strong feelings was clearly the intention here. Besides, it never got violent, just more awesome as the frontwoman leapt from the stage to sing the final song encircled by wildly cheering fans.
They were one of the most enjoyable acts I’ve seen in a long time and wanted to know more – I had never even heard of them, I just happening to be getting a beer in there.
I’m no fanboy type but I had to know so when the drummer walks by me I asked him if he was from Rage and sure enough it was him – He then turns his attention to my T-shirt (Eddie Van Halen) and asks me if that’s EVH on my shirt and then instantly we are bonding as VH fanatics.
I told him that David Lee Roth’s first solo tour was my first concert and he countered that VH”s Fair Warning tour was his to the point that it became playfully competitive over who was the bigger fan.

As silly as it sounds but for some reason I was expecting him to talk like Rage singer Zach and be humorless and very militant – He couldn’t have been further from that and was the nicest most regular dude ever. Talks with a heavy Southern California accent and was instantly welcoming and incredibly friendly.
While we were nerding out over VH I remembered reading something a few years ago that he was married to Selene Vigil the singer from 7 Year Bitch – one of my all-time favorite bands – I was afraid to ask him in case they weren’t together anymore etc. But finally I did and he says “Oh yeah man, she’s outside with our kids, would you like to meet her?” – I was just simply on my way to the bathroom – incredible.
I follow Brad out and he introduces me to his two young boys and Selene, who looks exactly the same as she did the last time I saw her which was close to 20 years ago. Her and I talked for like half an hour really enjoying reminiscing about the 7 Year Bitch days and seemingly everything in between. She was as nice and eager to talk as he was. She released a solo record in 2010 (that I didn’t get to hear to almost 2012) called That Was Then – that I highly recommend.
I told her how happy I was that she was making music and how good it was to hear her voice again and she said that the timing of our conversation was fitting because like just this week a label is wanting to put out a live 7 Year Bitch record – I instantly started winding her up that they had to tour etc and we just had the best time. I really hope they decide to do it.
Selene introduced me to the awesome frontwomen I mentioned earlier from the band, Delilah, and she is really friendly as well and was telling me about the band.
While Brad is obviously based in California, the rest of the group is actually from NYC and living in Brooklyn for seven years we did the NYC talk for a bit before I got out of their way and let them get on with it.
Their debut record is coming out in June – If its anything like what I heard its really an album to look out for.

The Gap Showcase
w/ The Preatures
Bear Hands
The 1975

Ok so after bidding them all farewell I was thinking about calling it a night but was gonnna hang with the Toadies a bit before and thought I would go outside to the main stage and wait till they were done loading out. It took alot longer than expected and I managed to see the next three bands of this silly Gap Showcase.

The Preatures

One good thing that did come out of this is that I did see this band the Preatures from Australia and their singer Isabella Manfredi is just awesome – A total Force of Nature –

Bear Hands

Next was a dumb band with an even dumber name – Bear Hands – get it?

Not much to say here other than they sounded exactly like the kind of band that would be playing a Gap Showcase at SXSW with a name like Bear Hands.
the kind of contrived act that found themselves in the hands of connected handlers that manufacture this kinds crap.

The 1975

The EXACT same thing can be said for this band the 1975 – they even the prefix The AND a number as the suffix – how so very trite and calculating.
The entire festival I’ve been hearing the hype of this band – They are this years Ambulance LTD. – remember them? Me neither.

Photos – 

Roy Turner
Jerri Starbuck
Ted Chase
David Hall
Kayla Merrill
Daniel Boczarski
Brian Lahiere