Jose Gonzalez @ Joe's Pub

Last night Jose Gonzalez performanced his first of three shows at Joe's Pub. Jose performed a beautiful hour long set of hush quiet folk music. This performance was heads and tales better than the one I saw last week at SXSW. This probably had to do with the very attentive crowd, the room last night was perfectly quiet. It was nice to be able to hear Jose's beautiful voice. My only complaint about last night's set was that I felt as though the cover of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" felt a little out of place. For some reason it felt a little too poppy and unnecessary for me.

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Catfish Haven @ Emo's Annex

Catfish Haven are definitely one of my favorite discoveries at SXSW. I walked in at the very begin of their set at the Secretly Canadian showcase on Saturday night. I was immediately impressed my the bluesy voice of lead singer George Hunter. Catfish Haven describe themselves as "soulful howling over an acoustic guitar turned way up. hopeful yearning for better days echoed through amps and a drum kit." which sums them up perfectly. Pitchfork recently gave their new release "Please Come back" a 7.6 and say "Hunter's smoky-throated moans and the lucid, feel-good quality of the music-- but there is no irony here. Nothing in the hooky melodies is purposefully obscured, and there's no sense of winking amusement at playing rootsy bar rock in a post-rock musical climate."

Catfish Haven Downloads
Please Come back
To Hung over to Headbang
Paper Thin

Wooden Wand and Friends @ Flamingo Cantina

Wooden Wand was one of the performers I wanted to see the most when heading down to SXSW. I had been very impressed by the shows I had seen in January. I got my chance to see him in Austin on Thursday at Flamingo Cantina. This time he was joined by a few new friends as well as one old one. It was a great way to start Thursday. Wooden Wand will be performing at South Paw and Mercury Lounge at the end of April.

Downloads:
Cobra Christ in the Great Void
Sundrum Ladies

Tunng @ the Velvet Spade

I have Jerry Yeti to thank for turning me onto Tunng who played before Man Man at the Velvet Spade on Thursday. Their performance was great. They bring an entirely different approach to the recent folk revival. Their sound mixes electronic sounds and percussions with traditional folk guitar playing.

Tunng Downloads
Tales from Black
Pool Beneath the Pond

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Richard Hawley @ Emo's

Richard Hawley played Emo's on Friday. I wasn't familiar with Richard's music but I was quickly won over by his country tinged rock and roll. Richard has timeless sound and his stage performance is excellent. Richard performed an all acoustic set on Saturday which I wanted to see but there just wasn't enough time. Richard will be playing a sold out show Thursday at
Sin-e. He also offers six free song for downloads on his site.

Jose Gonzalez & Death Vessel @ Emo's Annex

On Friday during the day I went to the Pitchfork day show at Emo's Annex. First up was Joel Thibodeau aka Death Vessel. This was my first experience with Death Vessel and I was really impressed. His music which is rooted in traditional American song writing was right up my alley. Also his guitar playing is amazing. Death Vessel plays the Bowery Ballroom on Friday.

Death Vessel Downloads:
Deep in the Hortcha
Mandan dink
Up next was Jose Gonzalez. Jose's music sounded as good live as it does on recording and it was the perfect way to start the day. His performance got me even more excited for his shows at Joe's Pub tomorrow. Jose is also playing with Death Vessel and the Books at the Bowery Ballroom on Friday.


After Jose Gonzalez played I decided to leave and bounce around looking for more great music.

Man Man @ the Velvet Spade

Well I am back from SXSW and it was a great time. I saw a lot of great music and got the chance to spend some quality time with 4 generations of my family. Of all the shows I saw Man Man's performance at the Velvet Spade on Thursday night was one of the most fun. The crowd packed in to see Man Man and it was well worth it. Man Man played longer than most bands at SXSW. Their set which lasted just over an hour was filled with typical Man Man madness. The band just destroyed the crowd. Leaving most people sockless and standing in puddles of their own melted faces. Man Man play the Knitting Factory on Friday so if you haven't yet seen them make sure to be there.



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