NPR MUSIC LIVE IN AUSTIN: CONCERT WEBCASTS, BROADCASTS
FROM SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST 2010

NPR Music Opens SXSW with Spoon, Broken Bells,
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, The Walkmen and VisqueenWednesday, March 17 at 8PM (CT)

Day Party Features Sleigh Bells, Surfer Blood, G-Side,
Local Natives, Smith Westerns and Brooklyn Rider
Thursday, March 18 at 12:30PM (CT)

NPR Music and Five Member Stations to Cover Festival March 17-20
With Artist Interviews, Performances, Social Media

March 16, 2010; Washington, D.C. – For the third straight year, NPR Music is opening the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference and presenting a daytime concert the following afternoon – featuring two of the most dynamic lineups of the festival. Both shows are accessible to audiences everywhere through free live webcasts and live streaming via the NPR iPhone App, as well as broadcasts on NPR Member stations across the country. All SXSW coverage, and archives of the past two years of music, can be found at NPR Music. Resources for media, including a calendar of all NPR Music events in Austin, media availabilities, photos and fliers are available at: http://npr.presslift.com/nprmusicsxsw2010

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Imagine Dragons mixes synth-laden rock with infectious dance grooves and restless energy, bringing the energy of the city that never sleeps to Austin, TX.

WHERE TO EXPERIENCE THE SOUND:

Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 11:30 a.m.
Music Tech Mashup
Rusty Spurs Saloon
Austin, Texas

Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 2:30 p.m.
ATN Showcase
The Bayou
Austin, Texas

Thursday, March 18, 2010, 2:00 p.m.
Guero’s
Austin, Texas

Thursday, March 18, 2010, 10:30 p.m.
OFFICIAL SXSW – BMI SHOWCASE
Maggie Mae’s
Austin, Texas

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Silversun Pickups
United Center – Chicago, IL
March 12, 2010

Silversun Pickups left me with just one thought as they left the stage upon completing their set: This band should have won the 2010 Best New Artist Grammy Award that it was nominated for…these four musicians deserved to have won. Instead, the Zac Brown Band took home the coveted award that can make or break an artist’s career. What the hell was up with that? Silversun Pickups only performed eight songs while opening for Muse last Friday night at Chicago’s United Center, but those eight chosen pieces of music were LONG. The alternative indie rock foursome from California played for almost 45 minutes, alternating between new songs from 2009’s release Swoon and 2007’s breakthrough record Carnavas.

More photos of Silversun Pickups after the jump…

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TAYLOR HAWKINS AND THE COATTAIL RIDERS:RED LIGHT FEVER

Second Album From Foo Fighters’ Drummer and Friends
Out April 20 On Shanabelle/RCA

A year in the making, the second effort from Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins and his Coattail Riders, Red Light Fever, is now scheduled for an April 20 release on Shanabelle/RCA Records.

Hawkins began demoing tracks on his own when an early 2009 break from the Foo Fighters’ grueling touring schedule finally freed up the time. According to Hawkins, who of course provides drums and vocals on all tracks among other additional instrumentation, “About halfway through, I just said f**k it, I don’t care if the record ends up sounding like me having sex with my record collection. I’m just going to have fun with it.”

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Hockey
Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
3.12.2010

“You guys are awesome… no, for real!” – lead singer, Benji Gruben in reaction to the front row fans antics.

The too hip for hipsters donned their tightest skinny jeans for their Chicago show. The Portland-based group is currently touring the US with no end in sight. They toured the UK for the majority of last year where they first garnered attention from BBC Radio 1.

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SXSW Dates

3.17 (5:30pm) – Shangri La’s 1016 E. 6th St. (Enter at Garden entrance on Medina)
3.17 (10:00pm) – Buffalo Billiards – 201 E. 6th St.
Ms Bea’s – 1104 E. 6th St.
3.18 (2:30pm) – Scoot Inn (Baeble Music Party) – 1308 E. 4th. St.
3.18 (6:15pm)- The Side Bar (Spectre Party) – 602 E. 7th St.
Vice House (Lose Control/Hype Machine)
3.19 (1:00pm) – Emo’s (Windish/Pitchfork Party) – 600 Red River St.
3.19 (3:00PM) – Lovejoys (I guess I’m floating party) – 604 Neches St.
3.19 (5:00PM) – Okay Mountain (KVRX party) – 1312 East Cesar Chavez
3.20 (5:20PM) – Mohawk (MOG party) – 912 Red River St.
Longbranch Inn (Impose Party) – 1133 East 11th Street

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Silversun Pickups
Swoon
Dangerbird Records
United Center, Chicago
Friday, March 12, 2010

Silver Lake, that artsy enclave in Los Angeles, has spawned another musical act that is destined to be around for a long time. Especially if the group – Silversun Pickups – continue to release records like Swoon.

One of the most impressive things about Silversun Pickups is the sheer technical ability of the musicians. It is one thing to be a good musician; it is something all together different to blend four good musicians and create music that is seamless and timeless.

The rhythm section includes Nikki Monninger on bass and Christopher Guanlao on drums. They provide pristine back drop for Brian Aubert’s easy-on-the-ears vocals and his shred-light guitar. Joseph Lester gets lost in the shuffle from time to time, but you would surely miss him if he wasn’t there.

There seems to be no ego here. Just four people with one vision. The true hero of this disc though, is Monninger. She keeps things moving at a buoyant pulse with a metronomic precision. It doesn’t appear that she is trying to steal focus so much as that a consistent bass line is one of their foot prints.

Swoon is a good party record. It might be the perfect party record. It can be played at a low volume behind the clatter and clash that a party creates. It can also be cranked up later in the evening when it’s time to dance. Either way, the band’s 2010 Grammy nomination (Best New Artist) is well deserved. We can look forward to more captivating music from the quartet that will surely make you swoon.

Stand out track:
“Growing Old Is Getting Old”

Written by: Paul Barile

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The Constellations
Southern Gothic
Virgin Records
Lincoln Hall, Chicago
Friday, March 12, 2010

There are a lot of influences – past and present – on The Constellations‘ Southern Gothic. From the opening bars of “Setback” we hear The Beatles providing the backbeat for some interesting rap-like vocals.

One of the things that makes The Constellations a compelling musical act – and one to watch as they grow and develop – is that they aren’t going to settle into a formula which is the death knell for so many bands these days.

Gratefully, The Constellations can’t even settle on a formula for Southern Gothic. They glide effortlessly between genres with such ease they blur the lines. They just as easily drop melodic pop vocals over electronica light as they rock out hard and with focus in quarter time.

Unlike the cookie-cutter pop bands that lock into one thing and just connects the dots, The Constellations find nooks and crannies to fill with texture and shading. There is a sense of economy in their recording. They want to put as much into each bar of music as they can.

They have found a way to make music aurally interesting without making it sound cluttered or labored.

Produced by Ben H. Allen, Southern Gothic feels like an audio snapshot of Atlanta and the diversity of that thriving city. This disc delivers the goods like the curb man at the Varsity. For those not aware, the “curb man” is in reference to the Varsity restaurant that is world famous – and in Atlanta.

Stand out tracks:
“Love Is A Murder” and “December”

Written by: Paul Barile

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Hockey
Mind Chaos
Capitol Records
Lincoln Hall, Chicago
Friday, March 12, 2010

Mind Chaos comes in like a comical video game that escaped from the 1980s and goes out like a tender thought shared between friends over a pint of something really good. Hockey – the Portland, Oregon-based quartet – has released a collection of songs that blend genres while bending them to fit their explosive little soundscapes. There is never a dull moment on Mind Chaos.

There is also nothing expected or predictable. The first listen to this 11-song disc is like a 45-minute birthday. There are a lot of surprises and they all feel so good you can’t wait to hear them again.

Ben Grubin’s vocals as versatile as the types of songs collected here. Whether he is rocking a bumpy cut like “Song Away” or offering a plaintive relaxed delivery evidenced on “Wanna Be Black” Grubin keeps things interesting.

Mind Chaos exists at the confluence of humor and solid craftsmanship. They highlight it with an unquestionable love for music that would be as at home in a John Hughes film as in a Devo concert. The endearing thing is – this music is honest and fun.

Stand out tracks:
“Song Away” and “Everyone’s The Same Age”

Written by: Paul Barile

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All it took was for me to hear the opening guitar riff in V.V. Brown’s single “Shark In The Water” and I was in love. Then I heard the chorus. Words cannot express how insanely catchy that song’s hook is. The horn section! The layered vocals! The chord progression! The voice! The beat and groove! The guitar riff! The clapping! There is not one tiny thing wrong with that chorus. It is absolutely perfect. It serves its purpose: to get stuck in the listener’s head and have that person singing or humming along to the melody over and over all day long. That’s what it did to me upon hearing it the first time. “Shark In The Water” is still on repeat when I listen to it (over and over again). I am not only in love with the song, but in love with the woman singing it. Again, all it took was 20 minutes of conversing with V.V. Brown over the phone and my respect and admiration for her skyrocketed. V.V. Brown is by far my new favorite artist of 2010 and she should be yours as well.

Read on to hear what the British singer/songwriter had to say to The Dead Hub…

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