SXSW Journal - Friday

The Nobility

Day two of SXSW started off much better than the first. I got a pretty good night’s sleep at my friend Mike’s loft over on East Sixth. Seeing all the trendy lofts over there on the eastside kind of freaked me out, but I’m not on the Austin planning commission. My friend Foxy-Jerry and I rushed over to Kerbey Lane on Guadalupe for breakfast with a great band from Nashville called the Nobility. We walked in and I was greeted by the sight of 30 guys in Jayhawks sports attire (they were the KU baseball team). Very good start to the day. I’d hung out with Brian from the Nobility before, but it was nice to meet the rest of the guys. They did one of the least rock ‘n’ roll things a band could do – a massive tour of libraries and elementary schools. Isn’t that a great idea? Think about all the boring assemblies you went to as an elementary student – how great would it have been to see a rock ‘n’ roll show in your gymnasium? And why can’t I get really good migas in Los Angeles? They’re everywhere in Austin….. After that I drove over to South Congress to do some shopping and catch the Nobility’s set at Doc’s Motorworks. Picked up some great gifts at Parts & Labour and then walked down to Doc’s Motorworks. They were running really late due to Restaurant showing up around noon for their noon show and then setting up for about 35 minutes. At least they were fun. They play Little Radio a lot, so I was already familiar with them. I was able to watch some college basketball while I watched the band, which wasn’t all bad. The Nobility were up next and immediately impressed me. High energy and really damn tight. NPR profiled them yesterday in their Second Stage series, so hopefully more people get the pleasure of hearing them.

The Radar Bros.

At this point a couple of Austinite friends had joined me. They were down for something more mellow, so I recommended walking over to Home Slice to see AA Bondy. Aaron from Le Switch turned me onto him last year. He sounded great to me, but my friends are parents and needed to pick up their kids from day care. I bid adieu and heard some familiar sounds coming from behind Parts & Labour. I walked in and saw the Deadly Syndrome playing to about four people. I decided to head over the Hot Freaks party at the Mohawk. They had a cushy VIP lounge with free vodka, beer and tacos. I caught a little bit of Blitzen Trapper but mostly socialized. I seriously entertained the idea of trying to get into Jens Lekman at Club Deville or else calling somebody from Little Radio in hopes of bypassing the line and seeing Autolux. Ultimately I decided to do neither, instead meeting up with my friend Stamford and driving over to Waterloo Records. Great record store. All those gigantic condo developments really freaked me out though. I mean, 56 stories in Austin? Stamford and I drove over to Rudy’s Barbeque on Capital of Texas Hwy. So good. Why doesn’t anybody make barbeque like that in Los Angeles. After that Stamford and I drove over to a sports bar on South Lamar and watched the KU basketball game. We won. Fearing a repeat line performance of Friday night, I went for the sure thing on Saturday. Luckily it was a great one - the Merge showcase at the Parish. Some friends ushered me in through the back door in the alley. I was excited to see the Radar Bros., was very curious about She and Him plus I’d never seen Destroyer. The new Radar Bros. lineup is sounding great and the crowd was really into it. A few of us (and Drunk Dave) heckled them from the side of the stage. Jim, Aaron, Brian and Eric seemed to be having a lot of fun playing to the packed house. Next up was the Shout Out Louds. I’ve always enjoyed their music and they were really nice people. I occasionally think that maybe I should move to Sweden.

She & Him

The main attraction for most (I suppose) was She & Him. I hadn’t heard anything before the show, but I’m a huge fan of M. Ward’s guitar work. I’m sure a lot of horny indie rock dudes just wanted to check out Zooey Deschanel. (If you live in LA you might have already encountered her at Spaceland or out on the town.) Fortunately for everybody in attendance, she’s got a good voice and the music’s upbeat and a lot of fun (mp3). The final act was Destroyer. Dan Bejar’s songs on the New Pornographers albums are usually some of my favorites, but with Destroyer I’ve always been more of an appreciator than a fan. I was a little buzzed, but I thought he sounded good. Gotta pick up that new one….

After that I tried to catch some final act at Club Deville but Ross had dog shit on his shoes, the club kicked us out and I just couldn’t be in public anymore.

To be continued....

Band Profile: The Nobility

In general I try to focus on information that a music fan in Los Angeles can use. So usually in the past I've always needed an LA-related excuse for a post. I tend to avoid the blogs that focus primarily on "breaking" new bands (you know the type... hey guys, check out [insert band name]. I've only heard these two songs, but I think they're great. And don't they look cool in their photo. Here are a couple of MP3s to download). But in the spirit of all those hyperbolic bloggers, here's a new band without any real LA connection.....

The Nobility [f/k/a Jetpack] are a Nashville based band with a new album, The Mezzanine, coming out on July 31st. When they were still Jetpack, they had a children's book written about them and toured libraries and grade schools across the US. Based on their photos, they look like they probably really enjoy Wes Anderson's films. I dug "Mathematics" from their first EP and thought they had a lot of potential. They realize that potential on their debut full length. The album's ambitious and nuanced, incorporating strings and horns on many of the tracks. The album starts off with two upbeat tracks "The Mezzanine" and "Halleluiah Chorus." At first you might wish all the tracks were as immediately catchy as "Halleluiah Chorus" but as you listen you begin to really appreciate the more subtle tracks. The lead singer's voice sounds a little bit like Eric Johnson from the Fruit Bats (which is another band I really like) while the band's energy reminds me a little bit of the Spinto Band.

The Nobility's band site

The Nobility's Myspace page

Download "Halleluiah Chorus"

Tour Dates (unfortunately no west coast dates at this time):

July 29, 2007 Murfreesboro, TNWMTS 88.3 FM 'Fascination Street' show 8-10 PM CST / Listen online at wmts.org

July 31, 2007 Nashville, TN Grimey's Records - Album Release Show 1604 8th Avenue South 6:00 PM

July 31, 2007 Nashville, TNWRVU 91.1 FM'Out the Other' show with Janet 8-10 PM CST / Listen online at wrvu.org

August 1, 2007 Richmond, VA The Camel 1621 W. Broad St.

August 2, 2007 Norfolk, VA The Boot 123 W. 21st St.

August 3, 2007 Asbury Park, NJ Asbury Lanes 209 4th Ave.

August 4, 2007 Hamden, CT The Space 295 Treadwell St., Building H

August 5, 2007 Boston, MA Abbey Lounge 3 Beacon St.

August 6, 2007 New York, NY Piano's 158 Ludlow St.

August 7, 2007 Philadelphia, PA The Fire 412 West Girard Ave.

August 8, 2007 Dayton, OH The Nite Owl 430 E. 5th St.

August 17, 2007 Owensboro, KY Brother's Pizza 624 Emory Drive

August 18, 2007 St. Louis, MO Lemmons 5800 Gravois Ave.

August 23, 2007 Athens, GA Tasty World 312 East Broad St.

August 24, 2007 Jacksonville, FL Jack Rabbits 1528 Hendricks Ave.

September 1, 2007 Shreveport, LA Lil Joe's 163 East Kings Highway