There Goes the Fear, a UK/US Music Web site | Live UK gigs, news, and events

SXSW 2014: Friday night free-for-all via London, Tokyo and Glasgow – 14th March 2014

After my rather chill Friday daytime experiences at the Irish breakfast at B.D. Riley’s and interviewing some fab folks, it was time to get back to work. First things first, however. I arrived early to the Mohawk to meet up with Sivu for a cheeky chat at the Omni before his soundcheck at the House of Vans evening showcase there. He turned out to be one of the loveliest people I’ve ever met, and to be honest, being able to see him with a full band and full set up at Liverpool Sound City is the one of the main reasons I’ve decided to visit England in May. Not saying that I didn’t like his stripped back performance with guitarist and backing vocalist Lucy Parnell, but I just have this image in my head – and can hear in my ears – that the full experience will be 1,000,000x better.

Sivu is just finding his feet release-wise in America, recently having signed a deal with Canvasback Music, who have released music by alt-J here in the States, and if you listened to my interview with him, this association makes total sense. But as he is relatively unknown in our country, it’s not a huge surprise that a set so early in the evening (8 PM on the nose) didn’t attract a huge group of people. However, I met a girl in the queue outside and convinced her further that she should stay; she did, and she thoroughly enjoyed the set, as did I. While the song collaboration of ‘I Hold’ Sivu did with Marika Hackman sounded bare, Parnell did an amazing job standing in for Hackman and the combined vocals of hers and Sivu’s were amazing. The stripped back version of last year’s single ‘I Lost Myself’ was mesmerising, and it was like the Mohawk indoor stage, with its boudoir lighting and red walls, were custom made to go with it.

Not sure what I would do after Sivu, my new friend said that the Japan Nite at Elysium would be a good shout. I then realised it might be the only time I might run into my good mate Johnny Au, Head Photographer at The AU Review. Was I right, or what? He was down the front, covering the entire showcase. I had no prior knowledge of Jungles of Red Bacteria Vacuum from Tokyo, but whoa mama, they were certainly different than anything else I had been seeing all week in Austin. Originally from Osaka, I’ve read they’ve suffered from various band member changes, but whatever they’ve done to get to this place, the all-girl, all-punk band now based in the capital of Japan rock out with a ferocity that I really needed to see and hear that night. I now own one of their albums called ‘Pleased to Eat You’. Not exactly my usual British pop fare, yeah?

After the face melting experienced at Elysium, I headed back down to British Music Embassy to catch a band whose name is guaranteed to elicit a giggle from anyone aged 8 to 80 for as long as they persist to exist. Casual Sex, the indie rock band based in Glasgow, have been dogged by comparisons to Franz Ferdinand ever since they made their first appearance in the blogosphere. However, I get the feeling from with the ease that singer/guitarist Sam Smith applied lipstick on himself, explaining he wanted to be more like us girls, he’s been doing this far longer than Nick McCarthy in the recent comical video for ‘Erdbeer Mund’.

However, while the moment of lipstick application could be perceived merely as a gimmick, Casual Sex the live experience (that sounds dirty, not my intention, sorry) was actually more interesting than I expected (as the band were in person too, as evidenced by my interview with them post-gig; stay tuned for this tomorrow) and I think we all should give them credit for taking funk, rock and even a bit of pop, mix them all up, and take them to the next level. Yes, I can see the ‘sexy’ comparisons to Franz, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that’s all they are. Jangly guitars, a funky rhythm section and irresistible vocals? Hello. Just say yes to Casual Sex. Just be sure you use the proper name of the band, for if you don’t, I’m not responsible for any activities you get up to.

My evening was supposed to have ended with an interview with Dems after they played at Buffalo Billiards. But when we arrived at the door to the venue, security told us we could not go in because “we’re counting the money inside”. What the heck does that mean? We must have waited a good 20-25 minutes before I said I was going home. With a signed vinyl all the way from Glasgow in hand, I’d already had an excellent night.