Best Bands at SXSW2023
SXSW 2023 ended this past weekend, and was as usual packed with talent. Literally thousands of bands from around the world converged on Austin, Texas, to provide an unbelievably rich cornucopia of musical passion, exuberance, entertainment, and flat-out fun for the week.
It’s impossible to see ALL the bands who show up at SXSW, but I saw a LOT of them. By my count, some 45 or so, not counting the ones I walked out of, or the many bands who popped up at Sixth Street bars and street corners. I didn’t love them all, but I sure did like an awful lot of them. I’ve been coming to SXSW for twenty-three years. Every year brings a new crop of kids (and grown-ups!) from across the planet — all looking to show their talent, play for crowds, and build a following. And nearly all of them deserve it.
Of all the bands that I saw, these got my attention and struck me as the most notable performances of SXSW 2023.
Ron Gallo
Ron Gallo made my must-see list on the strength of “Young Lady, You’re Scaring Me”, and “Entitled Man”, which appears on the Official SXSW Playlist. I love the straight-ahead, power-chord infused style he has, and edgy, staccato lyrics he delivers. I saw him on the SXSW Day Stage Thursday. The Day Stage is an indoor, modestly outfitted venue with audience seating, like a show, and isn’t as exciting as other venues. But the sound quality is excellent. The event was sponsored by a SoCal radio station. Go figure. Ron Gallo is from Philadelphia, which he describes as “the polar opposite of Southern California.” The band belted out several of its tunes, and sounded great. I saw the band again at Olive Bar on Friday — same set, but a livelier crowd and setting, and they sounded even better. They played several other sets during the week, but there’s too many other great bands to check out, so I passed on those. I do, however, have tickets to see them when they play New York in a couple of weeks.
Osees
The Osees seemed to absolutely OWN the crowd that gathered to hear them every day at Hotel Vegas. The SoCal band (a/k/as Oh Sees, Thee Oh Sees, Orange County Sound, OCS, and Orinoka Crash Suite — don’t ask me why) rocked it out constantly, giving the dirt-floor crowd something to mosh about. This was an IDLES-class mosh pit, complete with death-defying body slams, elbows, knees, broken bones, and crowd-surfing casualties. (Me, I’m an Old Guy who doesn’t need any more physical damage than I’ve already had, so I’m generally playing defense at these things, keeping women, children, and myself outta harm’s way as best as possible, so I can keep nodding and foot-tapping to the beat.). The band is led by guitarist and lead shrieker John Dwyer, and features guys whaling away on two drum kits. By their last show on Saturday, Dwyer had had enough, “Even I’m sick of us”. Time for Osees to go home! Here are a few clips from their shows.
Otoboke Beaver
The all-girl thrash band from Japan knows how to work the SXSW crowd, big time. I saw them Thursday at Hotel Vegas, where they bashed out a full set before whizzing over to another gig at Austin City Limits across town scheduled less than an hour later. Then they blasted off for Mexico, Hawaii, Indonesia, and Japan to complete their around-the-whole-world trip. I had seen them last month in New York, on the advice of a slightly depraved buddy of mine. But my curiosity got the best of me, so I showed up and was blown away. They are bat-shit crazy, in your face, and very talented. I was pleasantly surprised that they were able to get to Austin, given their equally bat-shit crazy travel schedule. And apparently they have forty-seven ways to say “F-CK you!” In Japanese and English. I think their best number is “S’Il vous plait”. Check them out.
Avalanche Party
For some reason, I’ve had really good luck on Tuesday nights at Seven Grand. Every year at SXSW, they stack up great bands that weren’t in my radar, but are excellent. This year was no exception. Avalanche Party’s opening set that night was outstanding. They had a ton of energy. I loved their live version of “Serious Dance Music”. Here are a few clips from their performance Tuesday.
Jealous
Another of my “must-see” bands. “K-Hole II” jumped off the Official SXSW Playlist, with its sultry tones and jangly guitars. They had one official time slot at SXSW, and I wasn’t going to miss it. When I got the 13th Floor, I got everything I expected and more. It turns out, “sultry” is a pretty good descriptor. The band, from Germany, consisted of two scantily-clad killer guitar girls and a backing drummer. They set up like last year’s stars, Nova Twins, and were just as powerful, even in the small venue. They played a great set, had a ton of energy, and set the place on fire. They had all the goods. I’d see them again in a heartbeat.
The Scratch
Word-of-mouth works pretty well at SXSW. By the end of the week, The Scratch had popped into several conversations as one of the best bands to see. I had one last shot at them, Saturday afternoon at the International Day Stage. It was the day after St. Patrick’s Day, and these Irish guys were out to play one more set at South By. They were just a wee bit hungover, maybe. But they were great. Three guitar players, and one guy sitting on a box and banging away on it like a drum. They sounded like a cross between an old Irish folk band and Flogging Molly and The Dropkick Murphys. They encouraged dancing, but nobody got hurt. They had a fresh, young sound and were loaded with pride and passion for their home country. They fired up the crowd with their brand of Irish folk music and rock’n’roll.
After the show, I caught up with the band members. They had just played New York, and were itching to get back to play some of the bigger venues. When I told them I lived near Asbury Park, one of the guys’ eyes lit up, “Where the Stone Pony is!” We shared stories about trips to Ireland, and I mentioned visiting Rory Gallagher Plaza in Dublin, after hearing about one of their idols. Another of the guys reminded me of the famous Jimi Hendrix line in response to being asked how it felt to be the greatest guitarist in the world: Jimi replied, “I don’t know — you’ll have to ask ‘Rory Gallagher”.
The Scratch was fun, the guys were super cool and friendly, and they truly were one of the best bands to see at SXSW 2023. Check them out here.
Fuse
A funny thing happened to me on the way to see Amber Arcades, who were being featured as part of the Dutch showcase held Monday at Wax Myrtle’s downtown. Amber Arcades had shown up on my must-see list, and I happened to show up early.
Wax Myrtle’s was a pleasant surprise. A venue on the fourth floor of a relatively new building, it was totally tricked out like a W hotel with a lot more money for furnishings. It felt like a concert setting in someone’s living room. Someone very rich, with very expensive taste. WAY more classy than most of the shitholes these bands play in, to paraphrase my friends from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at a recent gig in New York.
Anyway, while I was sipping on Sauvignon Blanc out of a real wine glass, our hosts introduced their opening act, Fuse. Fuse was an elegantly-dressed group of six musicians, five string instruments — as in violins, viola, cello, and bass violin — and a percussionist. They played a handful of neo-classical pieces written recently by friends of theirs in Holland, and by themselves. In Austin. At South By. And they were terrific. This was a brilliant group of musicians, who had just as much passion for their art, their music, and their audience as any act I ever saw at SXSW. And they played their instruments beautifully. You can see and hear a few clips here.
I tend toward punk, alternative, and hard rock, but this was beautiful, and breathtaking.
These were the best. But I’ve got plenty to say about many other great bands I saw at SXSW.
Amber Arcades couldn’t buy a break. I was excited to hear them play “It Changes” and some of the new material from their new album, which is why I showed up Monday at Wax Myrtle’s. But the same sound system that supported the beautiful classical music of Fuse completely failed them, even after several minutes of tuning and sound-checking, and several false starts on the music. “It Changes”, their best-known song, sounded terrible and muddy. The vocals were way too light. While I liked the new material a lot, it was really hard to make out, and put up with the sound challenges. I tried to give them another shot Thursday night at Hotel Vegas, but most of their set was KO’d by the hour-long thunderstorm that night. They had another gig at Hotel Vegas later in the week, but I was too afraid to show up, for fear that their drummer might explode or some other calamity befall them.
You can never go wrong showing up for The Black Angels. They were my last show Monday night, at Empire Garage. They’re a staple at SXSW, for both me and the locals in Austin, and I’ve seen them probably every year since they showed up in 2004. They are consistently dark, bring out new material, and keep the crowd engaged with their heaviosity.
Youth Sector made disco and funk cool again. They showed up in suits and wide-collared dress shirts at Seven Grand, and got the crowd juiced up with their upbeat, fun set. Here are a few short clips to show off their work.
Saloon Dion brought their entire fan club from Bristol, UK it seemed. Their entourage was there at Cooper’s BBQ — a real-live saloon, go figure — Tuesday night to party and show support for the local guys from home, and they did. Saloon Dion was completely unpretentious, took a laid-back, we’re-not-too-serious approach to their style, which was fun and entertaining. I saw them again at Seller’s Underground Saturday night after the highly-touted Sports Team pissed me off by burning the first 10 minutes of a 40-minute set by verbally assaulting the State of Texas, the City of Austin, and the members of the City Council who were in attendance. Saloon Dion was way more enjoyable.
Nitefire played a good set at Vaquero Taco. They played a lot older than they looked. They had to deal with the occasional “Jason, your tacos are ready” announcement. I came back Saturday for the tacos.
Warmduscher made my must-see list on the strength of their hit, “I Got Friends”, which is a house party all by itself. I was anxious to see them perform it live, and check out the rest of their goods, which were just as raucous. The crowd bobbed and weaved, pushed and shoved but kept it relatively safe. They closed out my Tuesday night at Sellers Underground, where I had just seen Lounge Society, youngsters from UK. They belted out “Burn The Heather” and other numbers with a barrage of guitars, and were giddy about being here. “I can’t believe we’re this far from home!” exclaimed one of the lads.
Wednesday started off with another of my must-see bands, Bike, a group from Brazil. I love their song, “Boca Del Sol”, with its haunting melody and driving bass line. They strike me as a Brazilian version of The Black Angels. Who sing in Portuguese, of course. I caught them at the SXSW Day Stage, where they did a great set comprised of a 30-minute medley of “Boca” and several others. They were terrific.
From there I hiked across town to Hotel Vegas to see another of my must-see bands, Ghum. I got there early enough to get a sneak preview of The Osees, who were just wrapping up one of their (many!) live sets there. Ghum caught my ear with “Shallow”, and I picked up some additional buzz about them. In the tiny Volstead Stage, I was in the front row, almost uncomfortably close to singer Laura. She asked everybody to take a step forward, which would have placed me behind her and in front of the drum kit. Guitarist Jojo Khor played an excellent fuzz guitar that would have been right at home with The Pixies or Sonic Youth. Their sound reminded me of Courtney Love’s band, Hole, too.
I finished up Wednesday night back at The British Music Empire, where I saw Low Island and Dream Wife. Neither band blew me away. Low Island was pretty low-key pop, and a bit too electronic for me, especially late night. I had big expectations for Dream Wife, given all the buzz around the all-girl trio, but I found them a bit showy and plaintive. Maybe I missed the sarcasm behind “Hot”, and I wasn’t too keen on “I Just Wanna Fuck You Up”. Or maybe I was just tired. I gave them another shot at the Olive Bar before Ron Gallo, but still no sale.
Thursday afternoon had me back at British Music Embassy, where Junk Drawer led off a cavalcade of artists from Northern Ireland. They played a short, tight set that led off with jangly guitars and “Railroad King”, and then got bluesy and then somewhat psychedelic. I liked them a lot. And I could have skipped lunch, since their hosts catered a full-on spaghetti dinner that you might see at the Knights of Columbus hall or at a bar-mitzvah in Staten Island.
After the Day Stage with Ron Gallo, I was off to East Austin for a slew of shows that aligned on that side of town, despite continuous warnings of lightning and thunderstorms. When I left the Convention Center, the sun was so bright I had to buy some souvenir SXSW sunglasses for the walk over.
The Death Valley Girls were on the main stage at Hotel Vegas, first up. I thought they were terrific in front of the big crowd, and had fun delivering the goods. Plenty of raw energy. Next up was Protomartyr, who banged out their set led by a guy (Joe Casey), who looked like a bored Big 4 auditor who wandered into the wrong meeting. And he acted the part, showing zero enthusiasm for any of their songs. But the group packed a solid punch, and I really liked “Processed By The Boys”. Next up, Otoboke Beaver, and you’ve already heard me wax eloquent on that crazy crew.
After Otoboke Beaver burned down Hotel Vegas and skipped west to the ACL Theater, I moved down the street to the relatively quiet Latchkey. I had met guitarist Ryan Fitzgibbon last year at SXSW, where she had played guitar with Los Bitchos, one of last year’s best bands. She also played at all of Los Bitchos’ US tour stops last year, including the two shows in New York that I attended. I knew she was playing with a local band, Porcelain, and they scored an official SXSW slot at Latchkey, and I wanted to hear them, too. Ryan introduced me to lead man Steve ( who, by the way, works the sound stage at Chess Club downtown, where we’d meet again). Steve warned me, “We pretty much sound nothing like Los Bitchos. We’re pretty fucking loud, man.” I told him if I could survive The Cloud Nothings in New York, I should be able to handle Porcelain’s volume. But he was right — they were pretty fucking loud, man. And I dined on street tacos at Latchkey before my next move.
So, my next move was back to Hotel Vegas, where home-town faves Annabelle Chairlegs was on the main stage. I’d seen them last year, same venue, maybe even same time, and they continue to put out great sound. Annabelle Chairlegs is where country rock meets psychedelia, and they are just down-home fun.
So, my master plan involved heading next door to the Low Down Lounge to see fellow New Jerseyan Shred Flintstone, and then a quick trip back to Hotel Vegas for Amber Arcades, UNI And The Urchins, and The Osees. Didn’t quite work out that way (btw, pretty much nothing works out that way at SXSW, and usually you’re better off for it).
Shred Flintstone was insane. All during the soundcheck, he wandered around the tiny venue, bumping into people, crawling on the floor to look at imaginary bugs, scaring the patrons, including me, who were all wondering, “what the fuck is with this guy?” After the rest of band wrapped up the soundcheck, they fired away. As the name indicates, we’re talking shredding. Rocket-fueled guitar blasts. High energy. Two songs in, the lightning and thunderstorms that had been promised all day by the National Weather Service kicked in, almost as if summoned by Shred Flintstone. It poured fucking rain. The sky lit up. Then the roof of the Low Down Lounge started to leak. A trickle grew into waterfalls. All hands on deck at the Low Down Lounge ran around, frantically trying to hang up tarps, gathered all the buckets in the bar, like a dozen little Dutch Boys trying to plug the VERY leaky dike. Or a bunch of Johnny Depp pirates trying not to drown in their leaky boat in the storm. The SXSW Stage Manager, seeing the impending doom of water meeting electrical equipment, closed down the show, to he horror of Shred Flintstone, and sent the guests scurrying to the relative safety of the main bar, which had a roof that actually kept together okay.
The thunderstorm and lightning raged furiously for about an hour, during which many SXSW events (especially the outdoor ones) got completely messed up, postponed, or cancelled. Phones were buzzing with emergency messages from SXSW Management and the National Weather Service.
But after waiting out the storm, the SXSW Stage Manager gave the all-clear for Shred Flintstone’s crew to fire up the gear again. And they did. And they shredded, again. So, hat’s off to Shred Flintstone for surviving the storm, and living to finish the set.
Heading back to Hotel Vegas, the place looked like the aftermath of a nuclear war. A handful of survivors waiting around to see if the shows would begin again, and when? I’d had enough drama, so I marched back downtown to see some bands at indoor venues who had a reasonable shot of actually happening.
Next stop was Elysium, where Blacklist was playing. For me, the highlight was their song, “In Shadow Light”, which capped off their set. Then I headed over to Seven Grand to hear Enumclaw, who has a huge following. They didn’t do it for me. Their lead guitarist was pissed off about having some of his gear stolen, and he couldn’t get past that to deliver a coherent set, so I bolted.
I wandered over to the Chess Club, anxious to see The Courettes, who were on my watch list. There I was first treated to a set by Gus Baldwin And The Sketch, who totally rocked the place. They squeezed four guitars and a full drum kit on the tiny Chess Club stage.
And The Courettes were fun, too. They’re a duo — he’s from Brazil and plays drums, she’s from Denmark and sings and plays killer guitar. Their sound is a combination surf music, 60’s go-go, Ventures, and Ramones. They put out a ton of sound for two people. This was their first trip to the US and to South By, and they had a ton of energy considering they were jet-lagged and had to borrow a guitar to replace the one that got lost in transit.
Friday started out at the Sounds Australia showcase at Lucille. Over a double espresso, I heard CIVIC’s opening set, which lived up to the hype and their brand of speed-rock, and then Annie Hamilton, who has a much softer touch. Annie Hamilton’s best song is “Panic” which she nailed in her set. I’ve never seen a bigger smile on a stage than hers. She loved being there. With her good looks, big black Angel wings, and black fishnets, she looked a bit like a fallen Victoria’s Secret model. But her voice and guitar and backing band members were nothing but sweet.
After a second dose of Ron Gallo and Dream Wife at nearby Olive Bar, and a return trip to the the Osees at Hotel Vegas (of course), I took in a couple of bands from Nashville at Lamberts. Rock Eupora was excellent. I really enjoyed their power-pop sound, and their song “Intimacy” is terrific. Later, in the same venue, I was treated by The Minks to their brand of country rock swing, and I liked that, too. “Creatures of Culture” was my favorite number. Punk rock with a twang.
The Bad Ends depressed everybody at Antone’s with their set loaded with sad songs but great music. It’s funny — they don’t take themselves very seriously, are full of self-deprecation, but there’s not a happy story in the bunch! Front man Mike Mantone kept apologizing, “No, this one’s not any fun either….” after a steady string of heartbreaks and trainwrecks. “The Ballad of Satan’s Bride” was my favorite number from the set.
Friday night ended with Balaklava Blues, a Ukrainian trio by way of Canada. I was expecting something like Gogol Bordello, but no. What I got was a moving, stirring, beautiful, dramatic plea for hope and peace for Ukraine. Their emotional set included “You Shoot Me” and “Shelter Our Sky”. You couldn’t help but be completely blown away by their fervor.
Saturday evening, after taking in The Scratch, I saw Voka Gentle at The Speakeasy, where they were filling in for Crawlers, who were a no-show. On pretty short notice, Voka Gentle showed up, and played a solid set that I enjoyed, even if their music is a bit out of my range.
Afterwards, I wandered over to the 13th Floor to see Muck And The Mires. They proved that Old Guys can still rock, and punched out song after song like the Ramones. They played like a 70’s garage rock band, and they might actually be old enough to be one. Anyway, they were huge fun. And The Courettes showed up in support!
I took a shot at Basically Nancy, a three-piece all-girl band from Savannah, Georgia. They played at the Iron Bear, which might be the gayest bar in Austin, if not all of Texas. They still had Halloween decorations up the day after St. Patrick’s Day. Whatever. Basically Nancy were angry, in a PJ Harvey or Courtney Barnett kind of way — raw, hearts-and attitude-on-their-sleeve. I liked them.
Die Spitz was another buzzed-about band. They are Punk with a capital P, based in Austin. Hordes of fans crammed into to Chess Club to see them. A bunch of them (us?) were moshers looking to wreck the place, and Die Spitz obliged, with “The Revenge of Evangeline” and other head-banger numbers. I thought for sure that moshers in this tight space were going to get thrown through a window, or a brick wall, and that crowd surfers were going to get slammed into the low ceiling. None of that happened, and Die Spitz nailed their set in proud Punk style.
My last show at SXSW was THICK’s performance right after Die Spitz at Chess Club. THICK, another all-girl trio, hails from New York, so I’m hoping to catch them back home when they set some dates. This was another band that everybody was talking up, and I’m glad I got to see them before the week was out. They led off with their best-known number, “Happiness”, and blasted through a great, punchy set.
I met Freespirits last year at SXSW. They were “unofficial”, but played a great set at Dizzy Rooster on a Monday afternoon. I really liked the UK trio’s straight-ahead, rock’n’roll style, I got to meet with them, and I highlighted them in my “Best Bands of SXSW 2022” piece. I followed them this past year, listened to their new songs, and was happy to hear they’d be returning to Austin this year. But first, they stopped in New York, then drove, old-school style, in a van with stops at small gin joints in Philadelphia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. I started my SXSW 2023 experience by meeting up with them again at Dizzy Rooster, Monday afternoon a year later, same bar, same time, same small crowd. They still sounded great, and front man Giancarlo Mariani did his ever-loving best to get more people into Dizzy’s, including playing his guitar out on Sixth Street in front of the afternoon passers-by. They still strike me as the heart and soul of SXSW — talented, enthusiastic, passionate young musicians, coming from a faraway place to play in front of people here in the live music epicenter of the world, looking to make it big. God Bless Them and all the other bands who show up here at SXSW. Of course, I bought the t-shirt.
I didn’t get to see nearly as many bands as I was hoping. I missed out on The Accidentals, Big Cream, Big Mountain County, Blacklist, /The Carolyn, Crawlers, Girl Scout, The Golden Dregs, Letting Up Despite Great Faults, Loose Articles, Patriarchy, Silverbacks, and Sorry Mom, among many, many others. Some I’ll need to catch back in New York or nearby.
And I’ll be back next year.
Here are my highlight reels from my six days at SXSW 2023:
Here’s my Best Of SXSW 2023 playlist: Enjoy.