SXSW Review: Vampire Weekend, Haim, Small Black @ Stubb’s

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So we’ve reached the end of our SXSW experience. And I do mean experience. SXSW is like no other festival that we’ve covered, primarily because it’s not really a festival. South by Southwest is an industry event that takes the city of Austin hostage for the week and every hole-in-the-wall that can serve as a music venue is co-opted for the occasion. You start each day with a loose schedule of the bands you’d like to see then you have a handful of backup options that usually kick in. For instance, our night started out at La Zona Rosa. Prince was said to be in town for the night with a Tribe Called Quest (not Bruno Mars as was previously rumored). We got to La Zona, and entry was blocked to the lucky purple wristband holders. In the sushi joint around the corner, the rumor was tickets were going for $300 a pop and got snatched up like fresh Krispy Kremes. Next, we went over to Perez Hilton’s party over at Austin Music Hall. There was a rumor earlier in the week that Alicia Key’s would be the special guest. The place was dead, so clearly the rumor was bunk (the special guest ended up being Fall Out Boy). So option number three was the fabled Stubb’s outdoor venue where Vampire Weekend was playing.

Stubb’s is a Bar-B-Q joint with a music problem. It started in Lubbock in 1968 and hosted some of music’s elites from the early days including Stevie Ray Vaughn, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Muddy Waters. The restaurant in Austin sits at the corner of 8th and Red River with the music venue tucked discreetly behind it. It is basically a large outdoor lot with a stage tacked on the end. It is certainly no frills, but I think they wouldn’t have it any other way.

When we walked in, Wardell was polishing off their set. We only took in a couple songs so it wasn’t a proper introduction. Small Black came to the stage next. The indie group from Brooklyn can best be described as mellow synth and are part of the chillwave movement. They are SXSW veterans, playing the festival as far back as 2011. They got the most out of their travel dollars, playing six sets over the last three days. These guys left me sufficiently underwhelmed. It was one of those bands who I’ve forgotten before they left the stage. They weren’t necessarily bad, but they also weren’t memorable. There are so many small bands fighting for your attention at SXSW and unfortunately the majority just won’t make an impact.

Our next band could have been renamed impact. The Los Angeles quartet, Haim, brought the rock to Stubb’s. Haim is a girl group (plus the testosterone on the drum kit) dressed in all black, sporting long hair who are, curiously enough, sisters. That is quite the musical gene pool. They are currently touring with Vampire Weekend as the supporting band so tonight was largely akin to another stop on the tour. Haim was distinctive as all girls have their own drum set and aren’t afraid to use it. Their last song of the evening sparked a massive drumming party that would have made the Blue Man Group jealous. They got to play a full set of around 45 minutes and featured tracks from their Forever EP as well as their forthcoming full length release. Front woman Danielle said playing Stubb’s was a dream. They made their SXSW debut last year at the Central Presbyterian Church and looked across the street at the BBQ joint and thought, “Someday”.

On their EP, the band comes off as very catchy, highly polished, and a bit safe. Their live act scrapes most of these perceptions. On stage, they are highly passionate, ripping into the guitars and blistering the drums. Their retro pop record vibe gives way to vibrant rock. They blossom onstage, feeding off the crowd energy and simply owning it. I can’t say their EP will be hitting heavy rotation, but I absolutely loved these ladies live. Haim have an energy and intensity that was unmatched in the rock groups we saw this week. They get my vote as the best low-profile band at SXSW.

Vampire Weekend had the tall order of following their tour mates. The NYC rockers slotted SXSW as the first stop on their upcoming tour. They’ve also committed festival appearances with Coachella and Firefly on their April-May swing through the U.S. They are touring in advance of their new album Modern Vampires of the City that will release on May 6. They used their time at Stubb’s to introduce us to a few select cuts from the new album including “Ya Hey,” “Unbelievers” and “Diane Young.” I have to say, things sound pretty promising off first listen.

The group played a long set, stretching 18 songs. Aside from the aforementioned new cuts, they sampled select tracks from their eponymous debut as well as Contra. As expected their surf rock/worldbeat/indie pop fusion got the capacity crowd dancing. The singles like “Holiday” and “A-Punk” garnered hefty cheers from the South by Southwest fans. The band didn’t talk much during the set. They took a short pause to say how much they loved Stubb’s, and how nice it was to be playing outdoors. Largely, they let the music do the speaking for them. Haim were such fans of Vampire Weekend that Este joined the crowd after their set to catch VW along with the SXSW crowd. Vampire Weekend put on a very impressive set. They may not have had the pedigree of Justin Timberlake and Prince who lassoed all the media headlines Saturday night at SXSW, but they played their hearts out.

I have to say Vampire Weekend choose a great compliment for their tour in Haim. The two group combo form a must-see billing that will be dotting the country this summer. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.

This brings our South by Southwest music coverage to a close. It has been a challenging, trying, tiring but ultimately fun week in Austin. We’ve sampled many new bands along the way and have to say that the state of music is alive and well in 2013. The promise of the future is very bright and we look forward to watching some of SXSW’s lesser known acts make a name for themselves in the years ahead.

Check back with us in the days ahead as we give you our full thoughts on the week in our SXSW wrap-up review and we also plan to publish the rules of the road to help out those who are looking to take on the festival in future years.

Vampire Weekend SXSW Setlist : March 16, 2013
Cousins
White Sky
CCKK
M79
Diane Young
Holiday
California English
A Punk
Unbelievers
Run
Horchata
Campus/Comma
Giving Up the Gun
Ya Hey
Contra (GTD)
Blake’s
Mansard Roof
Walcott