Best return to SXSW: He was a buzz act 15 years ago with the Wallflowers, but Jakob Dylan came away generating what felt like fresh hype this year for his new band/album with Neko Case. Playing foodie Rachael Ray's 4th annual Feedback party outside Stubb's on Saturday -- when the weather had unnaturally turned Minnesota cold -- Dylan really warmed things up with a stirring set the new and mostly twangy originals. They're some of the best songs of his career, but then throw in Neko's gorgeous voice on harmonies, and you have gold. As Jakob thanked the crowd for listening attentively, Neko added, "And thanks for the yummy sandwiches." The were damn yummy, by the way.
Best cover song: Of course, it wasn't really a song by another act, but when She & Him worked M. Ward's solo gem "Magic Stick," it felt like a cover the way they reworked it with "ooh-ahh" harmonies and even more of a playful bounce. Their whole set at the Rachael Ray bash was as chaming as the singer's last hit movie ("500 Days of Summer"), and a solid improvement over their SXSW '08 performances, when they were still working on their chemistry. With two sisters for backup singers and bigger arrangements, they've grown into their stylish twang-pop sound -- and Zooey has become more of a personality on stage. Wearing an already stylish-looking red hat and blue raincoat, she had this complaint about the weather: "And I had a really cute outfit on today, but I can't show it."
Best signs Southern rock is alive and well: I walked in on Georgia band Ponderosa's set Saturday afternoon simpy based on the fact that Athens' famed 40 Watt Club booked them for its day party at the indoor/outdoor Side Bar, and my hunch was correct. They looked like the Allman Brothers on their worst days and sounded like them, too, but without the guitar noodling and with a heavy grunge kick and ample distortion. Later that night, I caught Atlanta buzz band Jonathan Tyler & Northern Lights under a tent off Sixth Street. Even after signing to Atlantic, the band's recording don't do its live show justice. It sounded like Skynyrd and Ted Nugent jamming with a great, soulful female backup singer. They somehow managed to play "Honky-Tonk Women" in a new and exciting way.
Nerdiest band that sounded like rock gods: All of New Jersey's Titus Andronicus could work at your local library, and singer Patrick Stickles has a Conor Oberst wavering voice when he's singing softer stuff, but their set on the freezing Red 7 Patio stage put many of the braunier SXSW bands I saw to shame with their three-guitar (and occasional violin) explosive power, with traces of Fugazi, Husker Du and "Daydreamy" Sonic Youth. Amazingly, Saturday's 10 p.m. set wasn't even the band's last one of the fest. Said Stickles, "We have to slow it down, because we still have one more show to play."
Band I wanted to hate but couldn't: Their Christian college dropout looks and elementary-school assortment of instruments (xylophone, horn, violin) seem too cutesy, but Fanfarlo really does have a sweet thing going on. I learned this as the British/Swedish played under a giant tent across from the convention center in Brush Square early Saturday evening. Frontman Simon Balthazar was the best of the many David Byrne-copping singers I heard all week, but the whole quintet plays its wistful, Arcade Fire-lite arrangements with an infectious giddiness and sheer musicality. Love 'em.
Best sign I still have great journalistic instincts, despite my handful of errors and unfinished sentences during SXSW: Prior to the fest, I arranged interviews with two acts (actually three, but then Court Yard Hounds canceled their tour dates). They both were among the most newsworthy acts at the fest, in the end: Jakob Dylan, for reasons stated above; and hyperactive pop-metal guy Andrew W.K. (in photo), who came back from a five-year haitus from rock shows and played many of the biggest parties -- including Rachael Ray's on Saturday, where he come off like the total antithesis to all the mopey indie-rock bands that permeate the fest. A handful of people told me he was the most fun they had at the fest. When I asked about his madcap, omnipresent schedule during SXSW, Andrew said, "It's like anything else I do. I figure if I'm going to do it, do it all the way."
Words for SXSWers to live by.
