SXSW Review: Flaming Lips, Divine Fits, Jim James @ Auditorium Shores

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On Friday, we headed over to Auditorium Shores, a beautiful, spacious outdoor venue, to catch three much buzzed about SXSW acts: The Divine Fits, Jim James, and the Flaming Lips. This open air venue was chosen to provide a free opportunity for local Austinites who didn’t shell out hundreds of dollars for wristbands & badges to see a few of the festival’s high-profile acts. The gracious open air setting provided a much welcome reprieve from the sweaty, smoky, and mostly miniscule venues that dot the streets of Downtown Austin. On the short walk across the Colorado River and along the shore to the entrance we witnessed pups chasing their tennis balls into the water, lots of kayakers, and even a few paddle boarders paddling to the beats from the passing party barge. It was a great reminder that the city of Austin is much more to offer than simply SXSW.

First on the afternoon bill was the much buzzed about Divine Fits. Comprised of Austinite Britt Daniel of Spoon, Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade, Sam Brown, and Alex Fischel, the band played no less than eight sets by the time they hit the stage at Auditorium Shores. The Divine Fits are still a young entity, having played their first gig a mere nine months ago in Austin.

Britt Daniel commented that it was really great to finally be playing for people from Austin after schmoozing with industry people all week. Their set was mostly comprised of tracks from their first full length album A Thing Called the Divine Fits, including a cover of Nick Cave’s “Shiver.” Daniel & Boeckner toggled vocal responsibilities back and forth throughout the set. Obviously, for the Spoon and Wolf Parade fans in the audience, it was hard to not recall certain songs when Daniel’s voice would hit a certain inflection, or when Boeckner would make a particular hook. I can’t say the Divine Fits are superior to either band, but the collaborative cohesion does generate a new, curiously interesting sound.

A quick set change gave way to the peculiar sounds of Jim James, front man for My Morning Jacket. Dressed quite formally in a black suit, white shirt, and necktie he was ready to launch into the jams or start preaching to the masses, all depending on his mood. He dove into tunes drawn from his latest solo release Regions of Light and Sounds of God. Opening with “State of the Art (A-E-I-O-U),” he played eight more tracks. Much like he does with MMJ, James stretched songs out with long jams whether it be letting the music inspire him into interpretive dances or pulling out the brass to solo on the saxophone.

James’ solo material isn’t a radical departure from his My Morning Jacket sound. It is a bit more striped down in places and doesn’t rely on the trippy psychedelic distortions as much. He served up a solid set which was his third performance of the week at SXSW.

The Divine Fits and Jim James were worthy openers, but it was clear that the fabled live show of the Flaming Lips was the performance everyone had flocked in to see. The sparse audience for much of the afternoon swelled to 10,000 as the 8 o’clock hour arrived. The Lips were their usual eccentric selves, cluttering the stage with mirror ball orbs and extraterrestrial lighting to make the photographers cringe. Those coming to see blinding confetti, college girls in extra skimpy outfits and Wayne Coyle in the hamster ball had to be a bit disappointed.

Much like many artists playing SXSW, the Flaming Lips were trying out tracks from their upcoming album The Terror that is due out April 16. The new songs are patented Lips in their trippy and bizarre formula. Just add your favorite drug of choice and let the mystical blindness take you away. They didn’t just lean on the new material, as they pulled a few hits off of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots towards the end of the set. The clever Coyne even played off the rampant Justin Timberlake rumors, saying he was backstage. What actually appeared was Jim James. Probably not the face the ladies and their burning loins were hoping to see.

Overall, the Auditorium Shores was just what SXSW needed. The week is filled with insider events and venues largely blocked off to the industry elites. Music is first and foremost about the fans and that is the biggest thing SXSW has forgotten over the years. The Auditorium Shores is a small way to give back some of that great music that has made this industry what it is. If you keep neglecting the fans, there will be no reason for anyone to come to Austin each year.