Las Vegas rockers The Killers have been touring around ten years now and their live show has grown to perfection. It is more than just a performance for their fans; it’s a love letter.

Their current tour opens with the house lights still on as the band launches into one of its biggest hits and first ever songs: “Mr. Brightside.” No, the lights aren’t an accident. They’re on because this song is just as much about the audience as the band. Instead of just watching them on stage, you’re a part of this number, which is why the lights are on you. It’s exhilarating to begin this show in this manner — where we’re all equals in our joy, nostalgia and singing. It’s also fun to see how genuinely excited the band is to be on that stage and feeling the crowd’s glee. After “Mr. Brightside,” the lights go down and the rest of the night is a mix of laser lights, confetti and pyrotechnics; however, the glee and feeling of camaraderie doesn’t dissipate. Even on some of the newer, lesser known numbers, the band makes sure that everyone is having fun and feeling a part of this experience.

I joined the Killers for part of their recent stint in Texas. They had already played Houston & El Paso (which included a second surprise performance at a more intimate venue), so I caught their remaining Texas shows in Grand Prairie (Dallas) and Cedar Park (Austin). The Virgins opened for all these shows and performed a relaxed, throwback set of their songs. I loved the rhythms and the slick vocals, but I think I would have enjoyed this band more in an intimate venue. Though the audiences weren’t very familiar, the crowds were polite and anticipation for the Killers only grew during their set. After the Virgins played for roughly half an hour, the Killers’ crew swiftly got to work changing over the set. It was a 45-minute set change, which is a bit on the long side, but totally worth the wait. The audience cheered the roadies on in all their tasks whether checking mics, climbing a shaky rope ladder to the spotlights or bringing out the iconic, emblazoned synth for frontman Brandon Flowers.

The set list for both nights in Texas were fairly similar, but there were still plenty of surprises exclusive to each city. After the bright sing along of “Mr. Brightside,” the lights dimmed for another hit, “Spaceman.” During this number, Flowers danced around the stage and even fell back to to the floor on some of the slower parts of the song. The entire the time, the audience bounced up and down with the song’s “oh oh ohs.” Dallas had a few feedback issues, but those were handled adeptly by the band and completely absent by the time of the Austin show. The background LED screen flashed images of space and stars, giving the song an effective soaring vibe.

Next up was “The Way It Was,” a more ballad-like number that could have seen a bit of a lull in the set, but was instead turned into a big back and forth sing along as Flowers instructed the audience to follow his lead. When the final “Daaaaaaaaaaaaaarlinggggggggg” riff came up, it was dripping with emotion. The return to Hot Fuss for “Smile Like You Mean It” got the crowd dancing. The band switched things up next with a little treat that you can only get from their live shows. The lights dimmed and a spotlight found Flowers at an acoustic piano rather than his signature synths. In Dallas he played a reprise of “Spaceman” that was filled with a yearning. In Austin, the last night of the band’s Texas tour, he played “I Can’t Stay,” which also had a yearning to it — it felt like the band was genuinely sad to move on from the state and was remorseful that they couldn’t stay beyond this night.

From the haunting sounds of the acoustic piano, the band again turned things up with a crowd favorite: the big anthem of “Bling (Confessions of a King).” With its “Higher and higher” refrain, the crowd was fist pumping and jumping. This may not have ever been an official single of the band’s, but it got one of the biggest reactions and the band poured more energy into it than some of their other songs. Speaking of big and bombastic, “Miss Atomic Bomb” was the evening’s first appearance of pyrotechnics and judging by the grins on the band’s face cuing the flame, they were just as excited as the crowd was by the blasts. Though for me, the highlight of this song came not with the flames, but when a spotlight found guitarist Dave Keuning as the audience recognized the familiar notes echoing “Mr. Brightside,” leading to even more cheers. After the dust cloud settled on that roller coaster of a number, the band re-embraced some of their more new wave influences and broke out “Human.” To answer that song’s question, in that moment, everyone in the crowd was “dancer.” “Somebody Told Me” was a swirling rush of guitars and synths that kept the dancing going.

Speaking of dancing…”You all got your dancing shoes on? Ronnie, you got your dancing shoes on? Mark’s always got his dancing shoes on,” Flowers teased before the band played perhaps their folkiest number: “From Here On Out.” This Americana number isn’t quite what I would call a “dancing” song, but the band put up a pretty good argument in favor of it becoming one. The twangy guitar and the back and forth echoes of the “From Here on Out” phrase made this yet another fun interactive moment for the audience. Another song that really pandered to the audience was “For Reasons Unknown.” Though this was never a single, it’s become an audience single and it sees bassist Mark Stoermer picking up guitar and Flowers donning a bass — the only song on which he does this. “Any guesses what’s next,” he asked as he slung the bass around his chest and remarkably, most of the audience knew just from that gesture.

For a band with multiple albums under their belt, a cover song might seem unnecessary, but I kind of love that the Killers freshen things up for their audiences and for themselves by performing covers. “Tiffany stole this song from Tommy James & the Shondelles. Tonight, we’re stealing it back,” said Flowers as the band launched into “I Think We’re Alone Now.” It was a fun cover and showed off a bit of the band’s humor, dimming the lights and strobing them with the drummer’s “heart beat” rhythms. This wasn’t the only cover of the evening. In Austin, the band played their version of Joy Division’s “Shadowplay,” which featured in the Ian Curtis biopic, “Control.” Then, in each tour stop, the band’s been playing a city-centric cover song as a sort of coda to “A Dustland Fairytale.” In Dallas, it was Willie Nelson’s “Dallas,” which featured Keuning breaking out an acoustic guitar to join with Flowers’ singing. I think Flowers must have forgotten the words though because he chuckled and dashed off stage for a moment, leading a befuddled Keuning to keep looping the song’s intro. It was still an appreciated effort and the band’s humbleness in the moment just made the attempt more endearing. They found more success in Austin with “Always On My Mind.” In other cities, they’ve covered “Ring of Fire” for Nashville & “New York, New York” in none other than New York. These little cover snippets act as a lead-in to “Read My Mind,” a beautiful number that the band accompanied with blue skies and clouds on their LED screen.

The set ended like a firecracker with “Runaways” and a confetti-filled “All These Things That I’ve Done,” which is always a crowd pleaser. The band returned for an encore spanning their career with the wonderful bass lines of “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine,” “When You Were Young” and the newer “Battle Born.”

The only song that seemingly hit a lull in the otherwise highly charged and uplifting set was “Here with Me,” which the band played in Dallas, but not in Austin, perhaps because they thought the audience wasn’t feeling it enough. I personally really enjoyed the number and the variance in pace, but in the middle of the number at Dallas, Flowers looked up from the piano and said, “I can’t tell if you all don’t know it or if you’re just being polite.” I think it was the crowd just being polite because they kept up with every other Battle Born song and “Runaways” and encore closer “Battle Born” got two of the biggest reactions of the night. Of course, “Battle Born” had the benefit of some really epically big drumming, confetti raining down on the band, lots of pyrotechnics, and a barrier walk by Flowers that had the front few rows swooning. “Battle Born” has easily become one of my favorite songs for its uplifting message, but I really loved it live because the band’s personalities really came out for this song. I loved hearing Flowers introduce his band mates, “you might have felt a rumble during the course of this evening…nothing to be alarmed about…it must be Ronnie Vannucci on the drums!!!”

The guys even came together for a bow at the end of the show, which came across as a humble symbol of camaraderie and gratitude to their fans. It was the icing on the cake for an already memorable show and a great reminder that even as this band has grown over the last ten years, they’ve never lost sight of just how much support their fans give them. Heck, these guys will still come out after shows to meet with their fans (though you might have to wait for a while before they do). You want to know how to earn loyalty, respect and love from fans in the music world? The Killers know the secret and its an easy one. Simply respect and love your fans right back.

Grand Prairie (Dallas), TX Set List:
Mr. Brightside
Spaceman
The Way It Was
Smile Like You Mean It
Spaceman (piano reprise)
Bling (Confession of a King)
Miss Atomic Bomb
Human
Somebody Told Me
I Think We’re Alone Now (Tommy James & the Shondelles/Tiffany cover)
Here With Me
For Reasons Unknown
From Here On Out
A Dustland Fairytale
Dallas – Willie Nelson cover
Read My Mind
Runaways
All These Things That I’ve Done
//
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
When You Were Young
Battle Born

Cedar Park (Austin), TX Set List:
Mr. Brightside
Spaceman
The Way It Was
Smile Like You Mean It
I Can’t Stay (piano intro)
Bling (Confession of a King)
Shadowplay (Joy Division cover)
Miss Atomic Bomb
Human
Somebody Told Me
I Think We’re Alone Now (Tommy James & the Shondelles/Tiffany cover)
For Reasons Unknown
From Here On Out
A Dustland Fairytale
Always on My Mind – (Willie Nelson/Brenda Lee cover)
Read My Mind
Runaways
All These Things That I’ve Done
//
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
When You Were Young
Battle Born

*Photos taken via a Samsung Galaxy S3

Bethany Smith

I'm a geek; I love music, technology and grammar.

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With Austin, Texas and the crazy happenings of SXSW firmly in my rearview mirror, I’ve had the time to rest my feet, regain hearing and reflect back on my fond and a few not-so-found memories. These were the 5 best moments of SXSW and the 5 worst moments of SXSW 2013.

Top 5 Worst SXSW Moments

As great as SXSW is, there are also those moments that make you question if you’re getting too old for this and if you’ll return next year. Fortunately, the good usually outweighs the bad, but it’s still important to be aware that SXSW is exhausting and not always a walk in the park. Here are some moments that dragged the festival down.

5. Lines. I knew to expect lines, but this year it seemed like there were lines just to wait in lines. If you wanted to go to a Myspace show or exclusive party later in the evening, you had to spend a few hours in a line in the morning. And as much as I love volunteers, because the people running these lines were inexperienced, that often meant these things moved at a snail’s pace. There has to be a way to move these things along quicker.

4. Overpacked places. Yes, we all want to get into the “it” show, but it sucks when the venues oblige by pushing their establishment well past fire safety codes. It also doesn’t help that Austin is hot and SXSW attendees aren’t the best about staying hydrated. And people, it’s not always worth it to see an act when you can’t even move or are so crammed in that you can’t even see. Besides, there’s a good chance that act has like five more shows at the festival.

3. People just being plain rude and dumb. A lot of the workers at SXSW are volunteers, so it’s really obnoxious when these poor folks have to fight off drunks, linecutters or dumbasses that think they can sneak into VIP. People, just behave yourselves at this festival so you don’t ruin it for everyone else.

2. Rumors. The rumors were out of control this year. Sometimes it’s better to just walk into a random venue  and enjoy a new act rather than sit on the capitol building steps checking Twitter for a Daft Punk performance that is not going to happen.

1. Pedicabs and traffic in general. Pedicabs, I wanted to like you and support you, but a vast majority of you were just jerks to pedestrians and drivers. Follow the road rules and don’t endanger people unnecessarily. Of course, the traffic problems weren’t entirely on you. I saw plenty of close encounters with unaware or drunk drivers and I even saw one pedestrian get hit by vehicle. Let’s all try to do better and be safer next year.

Top 5 Best SXSW Moments

The thing about SXSW is there are thousands of great acts and brands all fighting for attention. So to be the best, you couldn’t just be good. You had to be memorable (and memorable without being gimmicky or else you’d be on my worst list). So here’s my best moments of SXSW 2013.

5. Hanging with people that you never normally hang with. There are so many amazing people at SXSW that it’s really easy for the celebrities, musicians, bloggers and regular people to all just chill and chat. I was able to walk right up to Fall Out Boy on the street and they happily answered questions for me. Rachael Ray gave me a hug. I made friends at a bar with some fun Austin guys and of course, I made countless friends just chatting music with random people in lines to get into venues.

4. Surprise performers. There were tons of surprises at this year’s festival. From the Myspace Secret Shows with Sleigh Bells & Justin Timberlake to the special guests that artists brought out. It boggles my mind that I saw T.I. come out with Travi$ $cott as a simple guest artist when he is headlining sold out arenas. I loved that Macklemore had his entire posse with him for his shows because without that, I’d never really know the amazingness of Mary Lambert. I also loved that artists like the Flaming Lips teased about some of the hyped performers like JT before bringing out Jim James as a guest. If you caught a surprise artist, you felt like you had the hottest ticket in town.

3. Freebies. This is kind of a weird “best” moment, but if it wasn’t for some of the freebies I got at this festival, there’s a good chance that I would have passed out from dehydration. The Green Lounge gave out much needed reusable water bottles, free phone battery swaps kept me in touch with my group and free snacks gave me the ability to walk those extra necessary blocks to get to my next show. I owe the people handing out freebies so much gratitude.

2. The bands that warranted an encore. With so many bands in Austin playing really tight schedules, the expectation for encores was low. Audiences rarely asked for them. But when they did, you knew you were seeing a really special act. Icona Pop, Twenty One Pilots and Capital Cities were some of the best bands that I saw during the entire festival, and as a consequence each act was asked for an encore even though weren’t headlining their respective showcases. Icona Pop and Twenty One Pilots happily and humbly obliged, but sadly Capital Cities didn’t have enough time to fulfill the request. It’s safe to say that I would see any of those three bands again in a heartbeat.

1. Samsung. Samsung owned SXSW. Hands down. They were really just doing things officially for the Interactive portion of the festival, but they kept their marketing going all through the music portion. Everything they did was just brilliant. They had the basics covered with a lounge for people to cool off and test some products in. They had little freebies that they were giving out. But one of my favorite initiatives that they dis was the ability for Samsung users to tweet #powerup for a Samsung volunteer to ask for a DM of that person’s location to bring them a fully charged phone battery. This is GENIUS. Everyone’s phone’s are on massive power drains during this festival, so this was a great way to be useful, but also get a great buzz. I loved making the Apple jealous just from this awesomeness. The other big thing that Samsung did was to host a scavenger hunt. Using the NFC technology on the Samsung phones, users could unlock exclusive giveaways all over Austin. As if getting free cupcakes, beer and coconut water wasn’t enough, users that unlocked all of the freebies around town were then given FREE tickets to see Prince play at an intimate venue. What a great way to close out SXSW and make sure that you were the brand that everyone was rightly talking about.

Read my Tuesday photos/recap, Wednesday photos/recap,Thursday photos/recap, Friday photos/recap and Saturday photos/recap.

Bethany Smith

I'm a geek; I love music, technology and grammar.

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The beauty of SXSW’s ability to put virtual unknowns next to some of the most iconic musicians of all time really was established on Saturday: the final day of the music festival. It was on this day that I adventured to the Rachael Ray party for some good food and to hear the chef’s favorite acts. I also made my way to the Perez Hilton Party for a lot of dance acts, many of which have barely been mentioned yet on blogs but are sure to be snowballing in buzz soon. Then I ended out my evening with one of the most exclusive and memorable shows of my lifetime: an intimate performance by Prince with A Tribe Called Quest. SXSW, I bow to your awesomeness.

The Rachael Ray Party is always one of the most interesting annual parties. Rachael Ray collaborated with bands like OK GO and more to come up with this year’s dishes. The creamed corn was one of my favorites, but the pork tacos were also a popular hit. In between munching on the celebrity chef’s concoctions, bands such as Delta Rae, The 1975 and more were playing on one of the three stages. I personally was a fan of the Eagles of Death Metal’s rocking set and light-hearted attitude. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis got the younger crowd amped up and then a lot of people chilled out to the laid back rock of Kenny Loggins and the Blue Sky Riders.

Delta Rae

The 1975

The Eagles of Death Metal

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Kenny Loggins

From the mix of old and new at Rachael Ray’s, I went to a completely different type of party that featured almost exclusive new artists. The Perez Hilton Party was made up of some of the blogger’s favorite artists such as Angel Haze, Kerli, Wynter Gordon and more. His taste skewed more toward the dance acts and while I loved the beautiful voice of Foxes and the fun energy of Charli XCX, Capital Cities won my heart at this party. This group of guys came out looking suave in sunglasses and neon yellow blazers. They were still fitting for a dance hall, but had more of a retro vibe to them the other artists at this party. They were also one of the artists that the audience demanded an encore from. Unfortunately, the Perez Party’s long lineup meant a tight schedule and no time for an encore from these guys.

Foxes

Kerli

Perez Hilton

Angel Haze

Charli XCX

Capital Cities

Wynter Gordon

For those of lucky enough to have a purple wristband for having a Samsung device and completing the NFC-device scavenger hunt, we were guaranteed tickets to one of the hottest tickets of the week: Samsung’s Closing Party with A Tribe Called Quest and Prince. Of course, there were plenty of other acts to see Saturday night including Justin Timberlake, Smashing Pumpkins or Fall Out Boy, but this Prince show one hands down. First off, it was in the tiny La Zona Rosa and very few people ever get the chance to see Prince in such an intimate setting. Second, A Tribe Called Quest actually uniting for a show is a rare occurrence. Another bonus — Prince had a 20+ ensemble performing with him on backing vocals and orchestral instruments. Prince played for close to three hours — at least 5 encores and several outfit changes. It definitely was a memorable way to close out the SXSW 2013 experience.

A Tribe Called Quest

Prince

Read my Tuesday photos/recap, Wednesday photos/recap,Thursday photos/recap, Friday photos/recap and my Top 5 Best/5 Worst Moments.

Bethany Smith

I'm a geek; I love music, technology and grammar.

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Friday was my day in line. Ugh. With bigger weekend crowds and requirements to pick up wristbands and passes for some of the weekend’s more exclusive events, I spent far more time burning in the Austin sun in a non-moving line than I cared for. Fortunately, some great performances from bands such as Fall Out Boy, Vampire, Weekend, Chvrches and more made up for all the line waiting.

I began my day at the Austin Convention Center where supergroup Divine Fits was playing. This features members of Austin-based Spoon and Canada’s Wolf Parade and it was a happy combination with a slightly edgier rock sound than what the other projects have. I also caught a folkier set from musical inspirations Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell.

Divine Fits

Emmylou Harris

Next up, I took on the heat and the crowds for SPIN’s eclectic lineup of up-and-coming acts over at Stubbs. From rap stars to indie pop to electronica — SPIN had all the genres covered and found some of the best U.S. and international acts to perform at its daytime party. I caught UMO and the highly buzzed Chvrches at this showcase.

UMO

Chvrches

Next I ventured to the Paste party at the Stage on Sixth. They always can be counted on to book some great indie rock acts and if you like that one genre, the double stages easily have you covered for the entire week. I found a packed house for Canada’s singer songwriter Dallas Green and his band, City & Colour.

City and Colour

After hopping around a few parties in search of refreshments and power outlets, I made my way back to the music for Ivan & Alyosha, a tight sounding rock group with some nice harmonies and chill vibes.

Ivan and Alyosha

From here, I ventured back to the Austin Convention Center for a brief set by Vampire Weekend, where these guys shared some new tunes and thanked independent radio for helping them find success.

Vampire Weekend

Next, I made my way over to Stubbs for some band collectives known for their happy, friendly vibes and gang vocals. The Mowgli’s and Walk Off the Earth were both great acts to singalong to and Walk Off the Earth even treated the audience to a few of the cover songs that helped propel them to YouTube stardom.

The Mowgli’s

Walk Off the Earth

To end out my night, I headed to a tiny bar for the Crush Managment showcase. From bumping into the band early that day, I knew that Fall Out Boy were the special secret guests headlining the showcase and it seems that like me, plenty of people had found at. The bar was packed with so many people that it was almost impossible to move — I definitely struggled to even get my camera up out of the sea of bodies in an attempt to snag photos of the bands. However, while many people were out the bar waiting for Fall Out Boy, the opening acts were equally amazing. Butch Walker should have been headlining in his own right and in between rocking faces off, he would charm the crowd with his witty banter. Matt Nathanson was a little less edgy and calmed the crowd down with his singalong rock pop songs, but then New Politics amped everyone back up and even hopped into the crowd for some moshing. Fall Out Boy had a brief, but fun set. I was amazed by how many people already knew the words to the just released songs, but the energy was high for some of the older numbers, especially the set closer. Noting that Friday was now Saturday, the band closed the night off with a wild performance of “Saturday.” It’s good to have these guys back.

Butch Walker

New Politics

Fall Out Boy

Read my Tuesday photos/recap, Wednesday photos/recap,Thursday photos/recap, Saturday photos/recap and my Top 5 Best/5 Worst Moments.

Bethany Smith

I'm a geek; I love music, technology and grammar.

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Right in the heart of Fishtown sits the gem of Philly’s live music scene, Johnny Brenda’s. One of the best small venues for over ten years, the place feels like a shrunken down gothic opera theater with a balcony overlooking a turn of the century burlesque club. I often leave feeling like the bands I’ve seen have played a personal show for me. I know the next time around they will be playing a much larger venue but feel ecstatic I got to see a rising band playing music they love, for the love of live music.  Ivan & Alyosha and Twin Forks (formerly Twin Falls) show on Thursday was no different.

I only knew two things about the bands Ivan & Alyosha and Twin Forks before seeing them live. 1. Twin Forks was a new band formed by Chris Carrabba, the lead singer of Further Seems Forever and Dashboard Confessional. And 2, Ivan & Alyosha were the headlining band and the show sold out, fast.

Before Twin Forks took the stage to open the night, there was a buzz beaming across the venue floor.  Already more packed than I am used to seeing at the venue for an opening act, I sensed that something special was about to take place and I was the only one who had yet to discover why.  I asked people around me who they were there to see.  Three girls next to me said they were excited for Chris Carrabba and a couple behind me expressed how amazing Ivan & Alysoha are.

Soon after 9:00 pm, Twin Forks emerged out of the dressing room and began taking the stage.  Lead by Chris Carrabba with an acoustic guitar strapped to his chest, three other band mates followed.  Chris took center stage behind a microphone, an adorable girl with a mandolin, who I would later find out is Suzie Zeldin from the band The Narrative, took the far left microphone.   One gentleman picked up a bass, the other jumped on drums.   Chris started to strum his guitar, the mandolin started to pick and I instantly knew that I was in for something different compared to Chris’s past musical endeavors.  The band started to build and come together and exploded into happy indie folk rock led by Chris’s powerful, emotional vocals.  By the end of the song people had their feet stomping, hands clapping while Chris sang, “That’s the love that can’t be broken!” This would be a recurring theme for the rest of the night, and I was 100% OK with that.  The strongest songs came when Suzie and Chris sang together, weaving their happy  vocals with lyrics about love, reminiscent of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero’s “Home”.  You could sense from Chris’s lyrics and the happiness in his new found sound that he had fallen in love with music all over again.  His days in Dashboard were behind him and he was 100% OK with that.   

By the time Twin Forks ended their set and left the stage the energy in the crowd was contagious.  The feeling I had at the beginning of the show about something special happening tonight WAS happening and this would only get stronger once Ivan & Alyosha took the stage.   

The crowd started to clap and cheer as the 5 piece, all male band Ivan & Alyosha walked into the room and commanded the stage.  With a drummer in the back, three guitars and one bass up front, lead singer Tim Wilson began strumming his guitar and his fellow band mates followed as they all burst into more indie folk rock.  The couple behind me bounced up and down singing along with the intricate harmonies of the four men singing onstage backing Tim’s lead vocals. Guitars soared, harmonicas slide back and forth across smiling mouths and the band all danced together while  Tim sang, “The sun was shining through my window; we’re making music, making music!”  There was no doubt that the sun was actually shining through a window across the band when they were creating these songs.  Their songs had traces of The Lumineers, Arcade Fire, and Simon and Garfunkel with soaring group harmonies reminiscent of Mumford & Sons and Fleet Foxes but raw, less produced and less commercial.   The crowd once again started stomping their feet and clapping their hands along to the bands lyrically compelling, uplifting, motivational songs.  I found myself singing along with the crowd and even though I did not know any of the lyrics it didn’t seem to matter.

By the time the night was over we were all one big, sweaty, happy mess.  Both Twin Forks and Ivan & Alyosha shined as rising indie folk bands and  I walked away ecstatic I got to see them at a time when they were playing music they love, for the love of live music.  

At the end of the show I had a chance to talk to Suzie Zeldin and Chris Carrabba from Twin Forks, who were some of the nicest musicians I have ever had a chance to talk to:

JC (Midcoast): Suzie, you were one of the most adorable people I have ever seen onstage, how did you end up singing in Twin Forks and was that a mandolin?

Suzie: Awe Thank you! Yes, that was a mandolin! I have been part of an indie rock band called The Narrative out of Brooklyn for five years now.  A few years ago a friend who knows Chris suggested that we send each other some material.  Since Chris lives in Florida we would email each other songs back and forth and it started from there.  I did some guest vocals with Dashboard and when Chris decided to start Twin Forks he asked me to be part of it.  I am really excited to be a part of it; it is some of the happiest music I have ever had a chance to play.

JC: Chris, the last time I saw you live was in 2007 at a big venue in Atlantic City, how did you transition from the sound of Dashboard Confessional to Twin Forks? By the way, that was one of the happiest shows I’ve ever seen.

Chris: Thank you! That means a lot.   I have been interested in making this kind of music for a long time now.  A few years ago I picked up my guitar and started writing and it has grown from there.  You see, being part of Dashboard Confessional the fans expected a certain sound from us.  I felt like I had to write songs in the style of Dashboard and couldn’t detour from that.  Now I can and it means so much to me that people are enjoying and feeling the love and happiness that I am creating with Twin Forks. 

By Jonathan Cresson

Midcoast Station

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SXSW Thursday was another gorgeous day in weather and the start of some of the bigger events and showcases. Savvy social media users spent the day getting exclusive access to special events such as the Myspace secret shows or the Samsung exclusive concert featuring Prince. That Samsung one required having one of the newer NFC-enabled Samsung phones and participating in an Austin-wide scavenger hunt. The event that I was most excited for though required no extra effort from social networks, though that didn’t stop people from instagramming everything. This was the MTVU Woodie Awards.

MTV had built a pair of stages in the middle of an empty grass lot to host the Woodies. Performances alternated back and forth between these stages — one of which tended to feature rising rap and hip hop acts and the main stage which featured indie rock and other big buzz acts such as Macklemore, Tegan & Sara and Alt-J. It was here that I spent most of my day — the variety was rich, plenty of free refreshments to keep me energized and there were so many surprise guests that it was almost too risky to adventure away. For example, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis had a posse of guests that joined on songs, including the show stealing Mary Lambert for “Same Love.” However, the biggest surprise was probably T.I. joining Houston’s Travi$ $cott. A surprise that got the crowd so revved up that they flooded the stage. As cool as the guests were though, Twenty One Pilots managed to put on one of the best performances of the day without a single guest. For just two guys on drums and piano, these guys are nuts. They were doing backflips without missing a beat and had the crowd eating up their energy even if their songs were relatively unknown to the audience.

Atlas Genius at the MTVU Woodie Awards

Atlas Genius

Alt J at the MTVU Woodie Awards

Alt-J

Travi$ $cott & T.I. at the MTVU Woodie Awards

Travis $cott & T.I. and Trinidad Jame$

Twenty One Pilots at the MTVU Woodie Awards

Twenty One Pilots

Twenty One Pilots

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis at the MTVU Woodie Awards

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis with Mary Lambert

Hosts MGK (Winner of Woodie of the Year) and Tegan & Sara at the MTVU Woodie Awards

MGK and Tegan and Sara at the MTVU Awards

Of course, I did find the time to see a few other acts. Icona Pop was playing a nearby venue to the Woodie Awards and boy was I glad I got the chance to see the duo behind “I Love It.” The venue was packed with people dancing to the upbeat club anthems and this was one of the few bands that warranted an encore.

Icona Pop

I also caught the smooth vocals of Solange over at the Fader Fort. She may not be quite as well known as her sister Beyonce, but her music was a lot more diverse and hypnotizing (sorry, Bey, but it’s true). Solange charmed me and I hope to see her again someday.

Solange

Unfortunately, some tragic news from home meant that my Thursday at SXSW needed to be cut short. Nonetheless, I had a pretty eventful day and was eager to see what continued surprises the weekend would bring.

Read my Tuesday photos/recap, Wednesday photos/recap, Friday photos/recap, Saturday photos/recap and my Top 5 Best/5 Worst Moments.

Bethany Smith

I'm a geek; I love music, technology and grammar.

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Stream M83′s soundtrack for the upcoming film Oblivion staring  every ones favorite scientology crazed Tom Cruise and everyones ACTUAL favorite actor (no sarcasm here) Morgan Freeman rocking some kickin shades.

It’s a phenomenal listen, and the film looks incredibly promising. So check out the trailer album below then buy the album on 4/9 and then see the film on 4/19.

As if streaming music wasn’t enough, we have thrown in an added bonus. Head on over to our handy-dandy Facebook page and find one of our posts on Oblivion and comment on your expectations for the film, or your reactions to the soundtrack for your chance to score a pair of April 16th advance screening passes (sorry….Kansas City area only).

The Oblivion soundtrack is out 4/9 on Back Lot.

Andrew

Avid movie goer, music aficionado and Netflix junkie. I also strive to quote Jurassic Park on a daily basis and I sing like no one is listening when in the car.

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SXSW Music is officially underway!

To kick things off, I adventured to a set by the Very Best, where fans rushed on stage to join the dance party crafted by the act’s mix of hip hop with traditional African music.

From there, I went to see Driver Friendly, a recently signed Austin pop rock band that features trumpet and trombone.

Finally, to end the night, I holed up in the Hype Hotel. In between free Taco Bell bites, I checked out the electro pop music of Bear Mountain, the rock music of Little Green Cars, the indie pop laced with strings stylings of Ra Ra Riot, before ending the evening with indie rockers the Cold War Kids.

Read my Wednesday photos/recap,Thursday photos/recap, Friday photos/recap, Saturday photos/recap and my Top 5 Best/5 Worst Moments.

Bethany Smith

I'm a geek; I love music, technology and grammar.

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Join in the fun with AWOLNATION!

Awolnation is giving away tickets to each show on their 2013 spring tour  with special guests Blondfire and Mother Mother and you could be among one of the lucky ones! Check out the tour playlist and tour dates below.

Click here to enter the contest.

AWOLNATION 2013 Tour Playlist

AWOLNATION 2013 Spring Tour

with special guests Blondfire and Mother Mother

Andrew

Avid movie goer, music aficionado and Netflix junkie. I also strive to quote Jurassic Park on a daily basis and I sing like no one is listening when in the car.

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We all have different tastes in music and different reasons for liking what we do. Obviously it is more than just the sound we like it is how those sounds make us feel. A particular album could have gotten you through a hard time or every time you hear that song you get all nostalgic and think of old friends. But maybe it became something more.

I think of music as an experience, an experience that can spark a whole series of actions, feelings and other experiences. Sometimes those experiences effect you so specifically that they helped make you who you are today.

Here is an email from a friend discussing why he is so excited about the new David Bowie record “The Next Day“. I enjoyed this background story so much that I asked if I could share it on the site.

You don’t have to have a shared interest in  David Bowie or any other bands or artists pointed out to understand everything written below. It doesn’t matter because you have experienced something indescribable with music as well, and you can relate.

I wanted to explain why I am excited for the new Bowie record.

Twenty years ago, I was 13 years old and I liked Nirvana. They were the first band that I told my parents I needed to get their CD for Christmas and the first band that began to slightly shape my young malleable persona. I tried to grow my blonde hair a little longer and thought about cutting holes in the knees of my brand new Levi jeans. I also asked my mom to buy me flannel shirts in which she replied, “Flannel shirts? Your father’s closet is full of them; he wears them for house work.”

On November 1st, 1994, 6 months after Cobain’ death, MTV released “Nirvana Unplugged”. I made my mom drive me to Sam Goodies to get my hands on anything that could possibly be “new” material from Nirvana. I got the CD, went up into my room and pressed play. The first 3 songs were raw, stripped down versions of songs that I knew and loved. Then track 4 came on and it changed everything. Everything. An unfamiliar guitar riff kicked in and Cobain began to sing lyrics I did not know, “We passed upon the stairs, we spoke of was and when…”

A cover song?

I thought, Nirvana is good but who ever came up with that guitar riff and those lyrics is a genius.

I opened up the Liner notes and read:

Track 4 “Man Who Sold the World” written by David Bowie. David Bowie? Doesn’t he sing “White Wedding”? No, that is Billy Idol. Who is David Bowie?

In 1994, this was not as simple of a question to ask as it is today. I couldn’t type into Google, “David Bowie” or instantly stream his material on Spotify or ask Siri “Who is David Bowie?” The only thing I knew is that I needed to find out who Bowie was and I needed to hear more. For the first time I became a music detective and this hasn’t left me since. I walked to the local library, opened the card catalog and looked up Bowie’s name. I found countless references in books entitled “The History of Rock n Roll” and even his own book called “David Bowie: A Rock n Roll Odyssey”. I opened these books and the stories I read and the images I saw were truly alien and I felt my small 13-year-old world instantly shift and open up into something new, colorful and exciting. I saw him in photos with people I never heard of before, Andy Warhol? Who is that and what is with that wig? I saw images of a flamboyant Bowie, literally looking like an alien, in a Japanese Kabuki dress and wearing makeup. He was on his knees, playing his band mates guitar with his mouth. He was simulating sex, gay sex. I quickly turned the page and read an interview from 1972 where Bowie came out as gay. I felt light, like the weight of my paranoid closeted adolescence lifted off my body and floated to an all accepting Cosmos. These thoughts that were eating away at me, making me think I was weird, wrong, not normal, all of a sudden became OK. I was instantly connected, hooked and had yet to hear the rest of Bowie’s music.

I spent the next few years saving up money and buying as many Bowie albums that I could at the local chain record shops. His music, his lyrics, his album artwork all spoke to me in a way that I could not explain and I kept this all a secret. When I turned 16, I got a job and a car. I spent my time driving around to independent record shops from Philadelphia to New Hope to Princeton. I was looking for any rare material by Bowie, VHS videos of his live concerts and music from any band somehow with a connection to Bowie. I bought music by bands that influenced Bowie and I bought music from bands that said Bowie influenced them. My musical world had truly opened and there was no stopping the over-whelming amount of musical material I got to enjoy. I eventually got to see Bowie live 3 times, which I can only explain as the best, most natural high I have ever felt. It inspired creativity in me and gave me an uncontrollable urge to want to create my own music and perform my own music live…

2003 was the last David Bowie album. I was excited to open the artwork, read the lyrics and listen to the music. I felt like I was 13 years old again, hearing new music for the first time. Bowie taught me that the excitement and creativity birthed from just being young should never fade, no matter how busy we are in our modern, stressed out adult lives.

On January 8th, 2013, I woke up with my first thought being, it is Bowie’s Birthday! I looked over at my phone and saw 2 texts from friends; I never have texts awaiting me at 6:00am. Both texts read, “Bowie has a new album.” Excuse me? For the past 10 years I had been checking the Internet frequently for word of a new Bowie album. There was never any word of new material. Though it was difficult to imagine, I had accepted that Bowie had completed his musical journey. Still lying in bed, I searched on my phone “New Bowie Album” and instantly breaking news of a new Bowie song, new music video, a new album and images of new album artwork digitally exploded in my face. The first ever musician to have an online music website somehow kept the fact that he was recording a new album completely a secret for two years. In a world saturated with information, Bowie truly shocked the music community. Other musicians, producers and record executives commented that this could change how bands and record labels handle new releases. At 66 years old and years out of the spot light, his new song “Where are we now” went to number one on I-tunes, pushing aside Rihanna and Taylor Swift. This seemed impossible to almost everyone, including myself.

Though obviously excited for anything new by Bowie, I was honestly under-whelmed by the first two songs released off of “The Next Day”. I have never been a big fan of singles and Bowie has never been known as a single releasing musician. “Where are we now” and “The Stars are out tonight” were good but I knew when I heard the album in its entirety that they would magically make sense and sound all new in the context of the album. What was great were the strange and creative music videos accompanying the songs. Tilda Swinton, dressing as an androgynous Bowie? Yes, please!

So last night, one week until “The Next Day” was to be released, I got word that the entire album was streaming for a limited time for free on I-Tunes. The excited 13-year-old me instantly kicked into gear and it was a perfect night for it. I had the entire house to myself. I hooked up my Bose speakers and let the “The Next Day” engulf me. It is fantastic. After 50 years in the music industry and 26 studio albums David Bowie has made one of the best albums of his career. I am not just saying this as a Bowie fan but I am saying this as a fan of music. The album is full of guitar riffs that are dirty yet shimmer with life, horns explode inside mid-tempo ballads and drums snare over top of pure Bowie-esque anthems. Bowie’s unique vocals deliver fragile lyrics reminiscing about ideal versions of his past then burst with criticism and paranoia about where all of our futures could be headed. The two songs that under-whelmed me as singles over-whelmed inside the album and showed me that music can still give me so much excitement that I started to tear up with happiness. This is why, the forever 13-year-old music detective, is excited.  Not just for  ”The Next Day” but all the other new and old music there is to share and discover, and now it is easier than it ever was before.

 

-J.C.

 

David Bowie’s “The Next Day“, is available now to pre-order and comes out on March 12th.

Midcoast Station

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