My busiest day at SXSW so far began at the Pitchfork Day Party at Mohawk on Red River Street and ended with what I'm pretty sure was the best set I've seen here yet. Neither of those included the set I was most excited for going in, which also happened to be great: the Shins at Auditorium Shores on Lady Bird Lake in perhaps their most anticipated show since returning from a five-year break. Fiona who?
I showed up at the Pitchfork Day Party slightly too late to see Japandroids, regrettably, but just in time for Youth Lagoon, creator of one of 2011's few finest albums with The Year of Hibernation. That set was only four songs long, but it confirmed that their young catalog doesn't just work exclusively in headphones, although that seriously epic album does rely on a few heavy production effects that understandably cannot be replicated live - at least not properly.
Following Youth Lagoon was Detroit MC Danny Brown, indie Americana four-piece the War on Drugs, tribal percussion-loving electronic act SBTRKT and P4k phenoms Cloud Nothings. Each was predictably solid though not entirely captivating (save for Brown, who dropped a few jaws with a sequined camo tank top and by barking verse after cunnilingus-detailing verse, and who also incited one particularly dangerous stage dive from a groupie), playing it relatively safe in front of the publication that got them to where they are.
Which brings us to the most exciting part of the week, which drew tens of thousands to Auditorium Shores, making it look like nothing less than a major festival within a major festival. First, M. Ward did his mellow thing in front of a gorgeous sunset, ending on a "Roll Over Beethoven" cover and quietly satisfying all who came for him. But the grounds really packed in as soon as the Shins starting setting up. In the very same manner of the Strokes when they played this stage exactly one year ago, the Shins are about to release their first album in quite some time, Port of Morrow, next week - and they of course played most of it. (I have heard it. There are great moments on it, but I do have some questions that should be answered with enough repeat listens.) The band's lineup is also drastically different since they were last active - as in, everyone but frontman James Mercer has been replaced. The difference? Whereas they once went for "small," achieving greatness by executing big melodies with elaborate phrasing within lo-fi and largely acoustic folk-rock confines, now they go for just plain "big": big chords, big arrangements, bigger band, bigger sound in every way. (See Morrow's lead single, "Simple Song.") Say what you will about whether that's the right step for them, but it's resulted in their live show improving by leaps and bounds. Mercer and the new crew can still play all his old material the way it should be played to a T, but it's the grandiose (in a very, very good way) resonance of the new stuff that makes the Shins a legitimate #3 or #4 headliner at any major festival today.
When I finally escaped the near mob scene caused by the whole Auditorium Shores crowd exiting via the Congress Avenue bridge, I made like a pinball and hit three venues for four sets, beginning with Girls at Stubb's (awesome, especially with their new backup singers who honest-to-God acted exactly like hype [wo]men, however out of place that may sound) and then Fanfarlo and Tennis (not quite as awesome, but adequately bright and poppy live) at Club de Ville.
At this point, I had to make a game-time decision between three shows to end the night on: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (whose 2005 debut album is quite possibly a top-tenner all-time for me, and who I somehow made it eight years without seeing live) at Bar 96, Titus Andronicus and Jesus and Mary Chain (the former, one of my current favorite bands; the latter, legendary shoegaze trailblazers who don't exactly tour much these days) at the Belmont and T.I. (T.I.) at La Zona Rosa. In hindsight, I can't really believe it was ever even a tough decision; if you've had the privilege of seeing CYHSY up close or if you know the type of live music I tend to gravitate towards, I don't suppose I need to explain why. It's very likely that I was temporarily blinded by CYHSY's disappointing second and third albums, and that almost made me think that I didn't actually need to witness "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth" or "Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away" live before it would be too late. But some friends helped me make the right choice, and that's what counts - they killed it, and I don't much care for that overused phrase. But they did. As much as frontman Alec Ounsworth's songwriting may have declined, his band is still plenty capable of prompting a dance fest that stands toe-to-toe with any "dance" act's today, and by using actual structured pop songs to boot. Don't make the same mistake I nearly did; if you haven't yet, see them the first chance you get.
Post and photography by Steven Arroyo
