The country’s largest weekly papers have now consolidated under the same corporate umbrella, but there are some perks to the Village Voice/New Times Media monster conglomeration. The papers pooled their resources to collectively sponsor a pretty impressive SXSW party this afternoon.
I arrived in time to catch the tail end of The Soundtrack of Our Lives’ set, and although the band’s bloated psychedelic rock isn’t my cup of tea, they wowed me with a heavy, but surprisingly natural cover of Nick Drake’s “Fly.”
Austin’s own …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead headlined, and after opening with their biggest hit, “Another Morning Stoner,” they set their sights on deep cuts. The group was more relaxed than at past concerts, but their more sprawling songs were nicely balanced out by their shorter, punkier ones.
“We figured this was a mellow afternoon show, so we aren’t going to smash anything,” Conrad Keely said toward the end of the set, eliciting boos. Leaving the stage intact, the band instead made their point without theatrics, ending the show in a cacophony of violent, poignant riffs.
