SXSW 2010 preview: Bands to watch, curiosities, etc.

I'm here in Austin. I've spent about the past 36 hours scouring the lineups (it rained all day Tuesday but, as usual, should be sunny all the rest of the week). Here's what I've come up with among my plans for the 24th annual South by Southwest Music Conference, which officially gets started mid-day today.

5 NEW BANDS I'M MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING FOR THE FIRST TIME:

All these acts happen to have Minneapolis gigs in the coming weeks except the PBPH.

1. Titus Andronicus (in the photo above) 2. Major Lazer 3. Surfer Blood 4. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (missed them here last year, and they never came to MN). 5. The Very Best

5 NEW BANDS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING AGAIN:

Most of these acts recently played in the Twin Cities on tour, but they're among the SXSW buzz bands this year, too.

1. Dawes 2. The XX 3. Ex-Minnesotans Free Energy (have quite a few high-profile gigs and definitely a buzz) 4. The Low Anthem (the crowd talked over most their set opening for Avett Brothers at First Ave; what I heard sounded good) 5. Big Star (hey, after only a handful of gigs this is still a "new" lineup).

1. Courtney Love's all-new lineup of Hole. Some of us are eager to see if the revamped act is as good as its heyday roster, but everyone wants to see if Love even remotely has her act together ... or even shows up. They're supposed to headline the Spin magazine party at Stubb's, among other things.

2. Andrew W.K., playing his first set of rock shows in five years after "touring" as self-help motivational speaker.

3. The Court Yard Hounds, the new act with Dixie Chicks sisters Emily and Martie (but not lead singer Natalie); especially curious since they just canceled their show in two weeks at the Pantages in Minneapolis. Meanwhile, some Chicks dates with the Eagles have been announced (can you say, "Ka-ching!").

4. Soundgarden, who have confirmed upcoming reunion dates, are the rumored big surprise act this year, just like Metallica and Kaney West were last year (although, in both those cases the rumors were confirmed by now). The next biggest rumored unannounced act this year is Muse. So I'm really hoping Soundgarden will indeed show.

5. Broken Bells, the new collaboration with Danger Mouse and James Mercer of the Shins. The record sounds cool but gets boring pretty quick, but we'll see how it comes off live at Stubb's tonight (if we can get in).