Vampire Weekend
Who are they? The ska-lite indie-rock quartet from Columbia College has seen almost as much hype this year as Barack Obama, buoyed by bloggers, "Saturday Night Live" and the cover of Spin (as "the best new band of the year").
How were they at SXSW? Given the mega-buzz, they fell relatively flat at their afternoon set at the Spin party, coming off as surprisingly one-note and repetitive. "A-Punk" had the crowd singing, but for such a dance-oriented band, there was very little movement. Or maybe it was just the stiff SXSW crowd.
When's their local gig? 10 p.m. next Thursday 04/03 at the Triple Rock. Sold out weeks ago.
Teenage Bottlerocket
Who are they? Young, classic-styled, T-shirt-wearing punk-rock quartet from Dick Cheney territory (Wyoming).
How were they? The straight-ahead, earnest, blue-collar punk band was a refreshing break from all the hipster buzz bands and had a charming velocity. They took the Ramones' rapid 1-2-3-4 approach so seriously, they may have been the first SXSW act ever to finish the standard 45-minute set early.
When's their gig? 6 & 10 p.m. Friday 03/28 at the Triple Rock. $8.
Yeasayer
Who are they? Experimental, David Byrne-copping world-beat-gone-digi-punk band from Brooklyn's trend-setting scene that opened for MGTM on its first tour this winter.
How were they? Caught in the daylight at a packed Emo's, the quintet's whirring instrumentation and jumbled rhythms sounded like a lot of noise for noise-making sake, and the songs' hooks never showed themselves (even Byrne's most tribal stuff still had hooks).
