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The Posies were one of the most tragically overlooked bands of the '90s. Though possessing stellar songwriting abilities, infectious power-pop melodies, and Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow's airtight harmonies, they achieved only minor commercial success. Alive Before the Iceberg was recorded live in Barcelona in 1998 as the band promoted their farewell studio release, Success, with a set composed mostly of material from that album and its predecessor, Amazing Disgrace. The raw quality of a live environment provides contrast to the polished album versions of tracks like "Flavor of the Month" and "Broken Record," making this a worthwhile release for any true fan. Also included are an absolutely frantic rendition of "Grant Hart" and a memorable version of Cheap Trick's "Surrender." Despite the unfortunate exclusion of early material, Alive Before the Iceberg is a genuine representation of a Posies concert experience. ~ Michael Frey, All Music Guide
The streets are alive at SXSW
In a music lover's paradise, blistering guitar solos, pounding percussion, and melodies of all sorts are blaring from every bar, club, restaurant, patio, alley, and street corner.
AUSTIN, TX--For a lover of music, downtown Austin is a musical mecca this week.
Serena Maneesh guitarist Emil Nikolaisen at SXSW
The streets of this music-crazed city are teeming with tunes, pouring out of every venue imaginable, including street corners, backyards, alleys, parking lots--even on top of parked vehicles, as the lead guitarist of one hard-rock act climbed atop his band's parked trailer during one jam this afternoon.
There are the official SXSW showcase concerts, such as last night's Warner Brothers concert that showed off an eclectic lineup that included rappers Jean Grae and Talib Kweli, rock-electronica act Head Automatic, and space rockers the Secret Machines.
But there are dozens and dozens of unofficial parties at all hours of the day, with most of the showcasing bands playing multiple parties during the week. Minneapolis-based rock quartet Tapes 'n' Tapes take the cake, appearing at seven parties in four days.
There are even the unannounced shows, such as a packed Flaming Lips show that included rapper Peaches and covers of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Black Sabbath's "War Pigs," and an impromptu Beastie Boys show.
The Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA) SXSW kickoff party was the hot spot yesterday afternoon, with Heavyweight Dub Champion and dub reggae guru Dr. Israel sending bass-heavy, Richter-level aftershocks throughout downtown Austin.
Irish quintet The Chalets, fronted by two female vocalists and a guitarist who resembles Wooderson from Dazed and Confused, showed flourishes of the Go-Gos but also great vocal interplay between the male and female vocalists on the self-explanatory "Two Chord Song."
The beats took a backseat to strong-armed lyrics during Grae's performance.
Until Lauryn Hill is ready to reclaim her title, Grae now stands as the female gender's most skilled hip-hop wordsmith. At the conclusion of her short-but-steady set, she teamed with Kweli on "Black Girl Pain," with Grae spitting lines like: "The world is yours and I swear I will stand focused/Black girls, raise up your hands; the world should clap for us."
On the other side of town, Norwegian psychedelic rock act Serena Maneesh plowed through a blistering set, with guitarist Emil Nikolaisen doing his best Jimi Hendrix impersonation, whirling his body across the stage during ripping solos.
Much-hyped UK rockers Art Brut, fronted by a peculiarly mustached singer named Eddie Argos, opened with a riff from Metallica's "Enter Sandman," and never slowed down, pounding out monstrous guitar riffs behind Argos' lyrics like: "My little brother just discovered rock'n'roll/There's a noise in his head and he's out of control!"
More to come...
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