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See You In the Pit SXSW 2006 Schedule

It's time, we're ready, are you? Here's a handy guide to the music festival showcases based upon artists we've written about (and a few we didn't get around to) with links to the original entries. The songs most likely are not still up but if you were a good little reader, you got them while they were. All information about performances is subject to change, of course, and please check the official showcases schedule and map to get the latest on what's happening. Otherwise, we bring to you the See You in the Pit SXSW 2006 Music Festival Schedule:

WEDNESDAY, March 15th

5:00pm
The SYITP Party with Charles Bissell of the Wrens, The Hourly Radio, and Pompeii at the Lair Upstairs

8:00pm
Cue at Buffalo Billiards
Envelopes at the Parish
Page France at Emo's Annex
The Arm at the Blender Balcony at the Ritz

9:00pm
Single Frame at Elysium
Sam Champion at Friends
The Reputation at the Velvet Spade Patio
Headlights at Emo's Jr.
Voxtrot at Emo's Main Room
The King of France at Red 7

9:30pm
Ex-Boyfriends at Habana Calle 6 Patio
Jose Gonzalez at Eternal

10:00pm
Midori Umi at Whisky Bar
Oranger at The Velvet Spade Patio
Field Music at Emo's Main Room
The M's at Emo's Jr.
The New Pornographers at Stubb's
The Czars at Fox and Hound

10:25pm
The Cuts at Club de Ville

10:30pm
Annie at Eternal

11:00pm
Aloha at Emo's Jr.
Belle & Sebastian at Stubb's
The Grates at the Parish
Serena Maneesh at Emo's Main Room
The Organ at Nuno's Upstairs
Maneja Beto at Opal Divine's

11:30pm
Frog Eyes at Habana Calle 6 Patio

12:00am
Irving at the Velvet Spade Patio
Of Montreal at Emo's Main Room
+/- at Friends
The Plimsouls at Exodus
Pompeii at Redrum
Midlake at the Fox and Hound
The Octopus Project at Emo's Jr.

12:45am
The Secret Machines at La Zona Rosa
Goblin Cock at Habana Calle 6 Patio

1:00am
The Velvet Teen at Latitude 30
Saturday Looks Good to Me at Emo's Jr.
Peter and the Wolf at Karma Lounge
The Go! Team at Exodus
Art Brut at the Parish

===

THURSDAY, March 16th

7:00 pm
Spoon at the Town Lake Stage

8:00 pm
Christine Fellows at Tambaleo
Tiny Steps at Elysium
Guillemots at Eternal
Rahim at Soho Lounge
John Vanderslice at the Parish
MC Lars at Maggie Mae's
Echo & the Bunnymen at Town Lake Stage
Metal Hearts at Emo's Jr.

8:30pm
Belaire at Emo's IV

9:00 pm
Magnet at the 18th Floor at Capitol Place
Film School at Club de Ville

9:30pm
Smoosh at the Parish II
Morrissey at Austin Music HAll

10:00 pm
Immaculate Machine at Nuno's Upstairs
Mazarin at Buffalo Billiards
The Starlight Mints at the Parish
Devotchka at the Velvet Spade Patio

10:30pm
The Long Winters at the Parish II

11:00pm
Calla at Club de Ville
Crystal Skulls at Emo's Jr.
Two Gallants at the Parish
The Organ at Nuno's Upstairs

11:15pm
Man Man at the Velvet Spade

11:30pm
Chingo Bling at the Back Room

12:00am
The Hidden Cameras at Molotov Lounge
The Like at Elysium
The Double at Club de Ville
Mates of State at the Parish
People in Planes at Dirty Dog Lounge
Dirty Pretty Things at Eternal

12:15am
Goldfrapp at Austin Music Hall

12:30am
Islands at Emo's IV

12:45am
Aqueduct at the Parish II

1:00am
Thunderbirds Are Now! at the Soho Lounge
Celebration at Club de Ville
Nada Surf at the Parish
The Gossip at Emo's Annex
Nickel Creek at Stubb's

===

FRIDAY, March 17th

Between sets, all night long
Eugene Mirman at the Red Eyed Fly

6:00pm
Josh Ritter at Town Lake Stage

7:30pm
Bettye LaVette at La Zona Rosa

8:00 pm
Tarantula AD at Buffalo Billiards
The Sharp Things at Friends
The Mendoza Line at Maggie Mae's
The Brunettes at the Red Eyed Fly

9:00 pm
Silversun Pickups at Spiro's
Head of Femur at Habana Calle 6
Oppenheimer at Friends
Great Lake Swimmers at Maggie Mae's
Forward Russia at Fox and Hound

10:00 pm
The Boy Least Likely To at Elysium
Eric Bachmann of Crooked Fingers at The 18th Floor at Capitol Place

11:00pm
Editors at Blender Bar at the Ritz
Metric at Stubb's
The Evangelicals at Maggie Mae's
Band of Horses at Red Eyed Fly
Asobi Seksu at Elysium

12:00am
The Most Serene Republic at Spiro's
Shearwater at Maggie Mae's
The Silent League at Nuno's Upstairs
The Magic Numbers at Stubb's
Jason Forrest at Latitude 30
The Spinto Band at Friends

12:30am
Ted Leo/Pharmacists at Red 7

1:00am
Tapes 'N Tapes at Latitude 30
Centro-matic at Maggie Mae's
Neko Case at Antone's
Love is All at Elysium
The Cribs at Exodus

===

SATURDAY, March 18th

7:30 pm
Dressy Bessy at Habana Calle 6 Patio

8:00 pm
What Made Milwaukee Famous at Stubb's

9:00 pm
Magneta Lane at Buffalo Billiards
Foreign Born at Maggie Mae's
Small Sins (formerly the Ladies and Gentlemen) at The Parish
Charles Bissell (of the Wrens) at Molotov Lounge
Jose Gonzalez at Eternal
The Lovely Feathers at Club de Ville

9:30pm
The Galactic Heroes at Habana Calle 6 Patio

10:00 pm
The Essex Green at Antone's
Western Keys at Molotov Lounge
The Joggers at Maggie Mae's

10:30pm
Boyskout at Lava Lounge Patio
The Owls at the Habana Calle 6 Patio

11:00pm
Super XX Man at Molotov Lounge
The Deathray Davies at Buffalo Billiards
Bosque Brown at Zero Degrees
Superchunk at Anton's
Martha Wainwright at Eternal
The Duke Spirit at Maggie Mae's

11:15am
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness at Emo's Annex

11:30pm
Tullycraft at Habana Calle 6 Patio

12:00am
The Morning After Girls at Blender Bar at the Ritz
controller.controller at Club de Ville
Lady Sovereign at La Zona Rosa
The Meat Purveyors at Copa
Josh Ritter at Eternal

12:15am
Okkervil River at Emo's Annex

12:30am
The Juan Maclean at the Parish

12:45am
The Bats at Habana Calle 6 Patio

1:00am
We Are Scientists at Fox and Hound
Ghostface at La Zona Rosa
Glass Eye at Copa
Two Gallants at Eternal
The Cribs at Club de Ville

1:15am
Magnolia Electric Company at Emo's Annex

===

That's it from us here at See You in the Pit. Thanks to everyone who wrote us email about artists, commented on entries, complimented us, linked to us (especially Largehearted Boy, Donewaiting, Gorilla Versus Bear), and especially those of you who purchased music from some of the artists we've featured over the last couple of weeks. We're excited to see some live music (finally!) after talking about SXSW for so long.

This is the Queen of the Front Row, Last Girl to the Party, and Little Miss Rock 'n' Roll signing off. Good night, see you soon, continue rocking hard, and we'll see you in the pit.

(And don't forget to come to our party.)

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 03.14.06 at 4:04 PM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

Pompeii

Pompeii is one of the acts that's graciously agreed to play our little party on Wednesday, but even if they weren't we'd most definitely cover them anyway -- in case you were about to accuse me of engaging in some kind of payola (I kid, I kid!).

I was bowled over the first time I saw Pompeii, after missing their sets for months --despite the best of intentions. They're a sweet, melodic, and melancholy band, unabashedly bittersweet with their hearts on their sleeves. Often compared to Death Cab for Cutie, Pompeii's work is a lot meatier and darker than that band's comperable early offerings; in the end that comparison always seems to do a disservice to Pompeii -- they are their own band.

And, forgive me as I quote myself here, but as I watched Pompeii that first time, I realized I was seeing a band who was using that ubiquitous (and utterly tiresome, usually) Radiohead influence in the right way -- chiming, lovely guitars and sweet, sad boy vocals and modestly epic and darkly uplifiting lyrics (courtesy of lead guitarist Erik Johnson and frontman Dean Stafford, respectively), over the driving clatter of emo drums (from Rob Davidson) and Peter Hook-ish melodic bass lines (courtesy Shane Stevens) -- all hoisted up by the deep, raspy scraping of Caitlin Bailey's cello. I'm hesitant to know what to call Pompeii's music -- because it's not indie pop, or indie rock, or straight up goth or emo. It's all these things, and in the end, I think that's why Pompeii's music is so affecting.

Pompeii - Catalogue

Pompeii's offical site. They have a self-released 3-track EP available at shows, and their debut on Eyeball Records will be out later this spring. Pompeii's official showcase is Wednesday at midnight at Redrum (it's all ages, a rarity at SXSW). See their website for additonal day party appearances.

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll on 03.14.06 at 10:18 AM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

The Lovely Feathers

For eccentric and quirky pop-rock, The Lovely Feathers deliver on all counts. They're from the same genes that sprung the Unicorns, but this band chose the path of a more complex, layered sound . Based out of Montreal, The Lovely Feathers are masters of tension-filled, stumbling rock borrowing from a diverse set of influences such as Television, Pavement, Talking Heads, The Pixies, and the Arcade Fire and aren't afraid to switch gears or change lanes without signaling. The Lovely Feathers have a way with absurdist song content, exacerbated by constant use of repetition, as they chant empty sentences ("I really, really, really, really like you" or "He gave me a fruit, and it still had a peel, still had a peel, still had a peel") or non sequitors ("She'll eat you up, she'll eat you up, she'll eat you up") until they become hypnotic. Songs start off as hammering guitar assaults and then swerve and backup into piano-driven jazz fests to power pop singalongs, always with a sorrowful, emotive piano in the background.

The chugging power of "Fudgicle" hits listeners in the face like a sack of bricks, then goes on and becomes permanently attached due to some magical stickiness formula straight from a secret government laboratory. The Lovely Feathers know exactly when to break out the frentic, catchy post-pink choruses and when to step back and take a deep breath, stepping expertly through slower, chunky passages, before plunging into the next hyperactive climax. The sad-sack ballad of "Orchid" starts off caressing and melancholy, takes then moves into jackhammer riff style, with jittery two part harmonies and a catchy, memorable two-tons-heavy indie rock hook. And "Only Appalachian Cornfield" rises up to a fever pitch with nervous pop energy, and punches me in the face, and I can only welcome the feeling. This is exuberant, strangely lovely music I can get behind.

This fresh and unique band have an official debut album called Hind Hind Legs out on Equator Records some time this April.

The Lovely Feathers - Fudgicle
The Lovely Feathers - Orchid
The Lovely Feathers - Only Appalachian Cornfield

The Lovely Feathers' official site. Buy My Best Friend Daniel from Amazon. They play Saturday, March 18 at 9:00 p.m. at Club de Ville.

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 03.14.06 at 1:05 AM | Comments (1), TrackBack (0)

Midori Umi

The great thing about living in Austin is sometimes you discover that people sitting on all sides of you in the cube farm at your day job have a secret rock'n'roll identities. In my office alone, I've worked with singer-songwriters, pop/punk local heroes, thrilling shoegaze bassists, screamo punks, and members of retro-cabaret-burlesque collectives. But believe me, I had no idea that that nice new girl Paula Smith in the research group was a shreddy guitar goddess. (Or, for that matter, that my friend Hillary's nice new boyfriend Zach was the bassist in Paula's band! I guess the world is too small sometimes.)

Paula's nimble-fingered noodlings are the focal point of the Yo La Tengo, Built to Spill, and Karate-influenced, jazzy, fuzzy, and jam-packed peppy angst rock of Midori Umi. Pretty boy-girl harmonies with guitarist Ryan Wade and bassist Zachary Logan add another level of texture to the band's songs; Chris Laurel's high-hat heavy drumming anchors it all perfectly.

And so, thanks to my super-rad insider connection, See You in the Pit has an exclusive -- a few preview tracks from the band's upcoming EP that will be released later this spring.

Midori Umi - Straight to the Bone
Midori Umi - Hat Trick

Midori Umi's official website. You can catch them on Wednesday, March 15 @ 10pm at the Whisky Bar; the band is also playing a number of day parties around town this week, including The Launch Pad's party on Thursday (12:30pm); Friday at Homeslice Pizza on S. Congress (1pm); and Saturday at Vulcan Video on Elizabeth St., one block west of S. Congress (2pm)

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll on 03.13.06 at 10:19 PM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

The Juan MacLean

The Juan MacLean occupies that space I spent years thinking dance music couldn't look, a location where rhythm is live and vital, where "the forgotten sounds of tomorrow"--Detroit's soft pads and Berlin's precision--move backward and forward at once, all injected with an infections groove that comes from nowhere but No Wave, early eighties electro funk, and raw, spontaneous vocals. One of SXSW 2006's hottest tickets, the Juan MacLean, like labelmates LCD Soundsystem, offers an endurance-based package, his live sets as equally paced as they are relentless. That this project is the eponymous brainchild of Six Finger Satellite's John MacLean remains surprising, considering that most of us who did serious time in dance music invested a lot of energy in arguing that people who rocked couldn't make anyone dance.

The Juan MacLean - I Robot
The Juan MacLean - By the Time I Get to Venus
The Juan MacLean - Dance with Me
The Juan MacLean - You Can't Have It Both Ways (live)

The Juan MacLean's official site is here. Buy Less than Human from Amazon. The Juan MacLean is currently touring with Hot Chip. They will be playing the Pitchfork / Windish Agency day party at Emo's Annex (that's across the street, kids) on Friday, March 17 and the DFA / Astralwerks showcase at The Parish on Saturday, March 18. Additional DJ sets are scheduled for Friday, March 17 at the 2020 Promotions / Ghostly International afterhours party at Plush and Saturday, March 18 at the Factory People day party.

Posted by Last Girl to the Party on 03.13.06 at 8:34 PM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

People In Planes

Here it is -- my one concession to the marketing and hype that surrounds SXSW.

I really like People in Planes -- they caught my attention after seeing their pretty little video on Austin's ME Network (the sad, sad replacement for Ausin Music Network). They're slick, styled, and photogenic and a new entry into the churning beast that is the music marketing machine. They're also a fantastic collision of blues, glam, and the kind of quaint dirtiness that makes teenage girls squeal. Think Kings of Leon or Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, only Welsh. And speaking of teenage girls squealing, lead singer Gareth Jones has a beautiful voice and a face to match, in that so pretty-he's-ugly, so ugly-he's-pretty kind of way, kind of like actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, whom Gareth vaguely resembles.

However, it was not always this way for People in Planes (who were formerly known as Tetra Splendour and Robots in the Sky) -- as the former, the band was dropped by EMI, so they reformed and found a new sound and apparently caught the ear of some bigshot somewhere because they've just signed with those Creed-makers Wind Up Records and have a video directed by Academy Award nominated actor Joaquin Phoenix -- no, really, it's quite lovely, actually! (And! Note the synergy -- Wind Up released the Walk the Line soundtrack. Just sayin'.)

This is one of those situations where this band will blow up and be massive and so ubiquitous that I'll probably wish I'd never written this, or they'll quietly fade away, back into obscurity in Cardiff, Wales -- and there are no inbetweens. Naturally, I'm sure they'd prefer the latter -- but the band's resilience makes me think they're up for any outcome.

People in Planes - If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode)
People in Planes - Penny

People in Planes' offical site. Their debut album hits stores March 28, 2006. They're playing the BIllboard Magazine (yeah, yeah -- I know) showcase at midnight on the 16th at Dirty Dog Lounge.

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll on 03.13.06 at 10:44 AM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

Two Gallants

The latest signee to Saddle Creek records, Two Gallants are a very young guitar-and-drums alt-country duo from San Francisco who have named themselves after a Joyce short story. Although the band are fans of literature (their last album was titled What the Toll Tells), they come across more like smart but country-bred and born boys with a talent for strumming an old acoustic guitar. The music of Two Gallants is raucous and joyful, and full of youthful vim and vigor (the duo is barely in their 20s), much like other See You in the Pit favorites, David Dondero or Okkervil River. Two Gallants have brand of boisterous rock shows hints of Crooked Fingers here and there, and they also use a harmonica. Completely, and totally unironically, which takes more audacity than most bands seem to muster in a lifetime.

Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel of Two Gallants conjure up visions of choked up, fading little towns, great open spaces, and dusty roads, with more than a little bit of wandering troubador, much like other great folk songwriters of yore. Each song is like a miniature epic tale in its grandeur and spectacle, full of witty one-liners and down-home personality. The band have a sort of raw charm that draws you in and keeps you listening, long after you meant to leave, and a unique brand of folksy and rootsy rock full of rough-shod voices and smashing cymbals that results in burning-the-house-down live shows.

Two Gallants - Train That Stole My Man
Two Gallants - Las Cruces Jail
Two Gallants - 16th St. Dozens
Two Gallants - Waves of Grain

Two Gallants' official site. Buy What the Toll Tells from Amazon or iTunes Music Store. They play Thursday, March 16 at 11:00 p.m. at The Parish and Saturday, March 18 at 1:00 a.m. at Eternal.

Shadows tags:twogallants.

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 03.13.06 at 1:50 AM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

The Octopus Project

[We covered The Octopus Project last year, this expanded entry includes text from that original entry. Also, in case you hadn't noticed, it totally seems to be "Attack of the 'the' bands" here at SYITP lately.

So anyway, let's just be up front about this right off the bat: The Octopus Project puts on one hell of a live show (masks! lightshow! and sometimes, pinatas!), which is why we suspect they're playing massive music festival-as-heatstroke-induced-mirage Coachella in May, in case you can't make it down for SXSW but are making a foolhardy journey into the desert instead. Oh, and did I mention the time they had giant pinatas on stage at one recent Austin show?

The Octopus Project specialize in live-wire, anthemic instrumental electronic songs that skip and dance along on the shoulders of sturdy synths and rollicking percussion that are a far cry from the snoozy, dreamy results that are usually the results of the collison of analog and digital.

Two more things notable about the band : Yvonne plays the hell out of her theremin (it must be seen to be believed, but yes, you can indeed do such a thing) and the band's graphic/brand identity, which stars three adorably scary three maudlin little cartoon characters, Slampy, Roodee, and Rowl, is utterly amazing.

All Of The Champs That Ever Lived
The Octopus Project - The Adjustor
The Octopus Project - Music is Happiness
The Octopus Project - The Way Things Go

The Octopus Project website. Buy their latest album, One Ten Hundred Thousand Million, from Amazon. The Octopus Project plays Emo's Jr (that's the front room -- now equiped with deliciously cold air conditiong) at midnight on March 15th. After searching for a new guitarst a few times in 2005, Brandan Durahm, from Palaxy Tracks, joined the band. As mentioned above, play Coachella in May and are touring with the previously profiled Starlight Mints.

shadows tags:octopusproject

Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll on 03.12.06 at 10:43 PM | Comments (0), TrackBack (0)

The Starlight Mints

Straight from Norman, Oklahoma, oddball pop constructed out of bright construction paper and Elmer's glue by four misfits. The Starlight Mints' indie pop is half psychedelic, half groovy, half retro (yes, I know that's three halves). Besides the obvious Flaming Lips influence, they also take a page from the book of both Beck (circa Midnite Vultures-era) and those canonical models of moody, jerky indie rock lead by one Mr. Black.

Their playful milkshake of plucky pop contains flourishes of cello, violin, triangle, and random sound effects from a host of toys: whistles, shakers, and various voice melding devices. The result is catchy, cheerful, and playful, augmented by frantic keyboards and horns. Marian Love Nunez's keyboards and sugary sweet voice lend a hard, candy coating to Alan Vest's punk-inflected, cracked nasal stylings, even when both are singing odd phrases and nonsense poetry. Even so, the band throws in some '60s sounds and "ba ba ba"s so we don't get lose or confused. The seemingly straightforward retro rocker "Pearls (Submarine #2)" is one of their more straightforward songs, but even those are orchestrated with all sorts of orchestral flair and whimsy.

After a long, long hiatus, they return with their third album of infectious weirdness, Drowaton, on Barsuk Records this coming April, and I, for one, can't wait.

The Starlight Mints - Pearls (Submarine #2)
The Starlight Mints - Drowaton
The Starlight Mints - Sugar Blaster
The Starlight Mints - Rinky Dinky

The Starlight Mints' official site. Pre-order Drowaton from Amazon. Buy Built on Squares from Amazon. They play Thursday, March 16 at 10:00 p.m. at The Parish.

Shadows tags:thestarlightmints.

Posted by Queen of the Front Row on 03.12.06 at 2:55 AM | Comments (1), TrackBack (0)

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What This Is
See You in the Pit is an MP3 blog exclusively featuring artists who will be playing the SXSW Music Festival, because the best way to learn about music is to hear it. This weblog will self destruct on March 22nd. You have been warned.

Queen of the Front Row is a twenty-something music fan in New York City who spends more time looking for new bands than she'd care to admit. She can usually be found watching live music in divey clubs on the Lower East Side. She loves that everybody she knows from NYC ends up in Austin for SXSW.

Little Miss Rock'n'Roll is very pissed off that the management of Emo's has repainted the ladies' loo red, masking that gloriously nasty pink paint and all that graffiti. It looks like a circle of hell now. Anyway, she'd like you to know that she's lived in Austin for nearly 12 years now and still knows all the secrets about you and that local musician you think you'd like to date.

Last Girl to the Party is always the last girl to the party...usually because she's fretting about what to wear. She has lived in Austin for 9 years, knows which bars maintain supplies of Campari and Pernod and which serve Stella Artois in those annoying goblets. She'd also like you to know that she has more shoes than Queen of the Front Row and Little Miss Rock'n'Roll combined.

Disclaimers
We are not affiliated with SXSW, any record label/bands/musicians, iTunes, Amazon, any secret government agencies, or your parents. Posts, comments, songs, and angry letters of indignation belong to those who wrote them in the first place.

MP3s for sampling purposes only and will be available only for a limited period of time. Please support the music makers; without them, SYitP does not exist. Information wants to be free, but musicians gotta eat.

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