If you’re familiar with the Cannibal Cheerleader cult at all you’ll know we count ourselves among the biggest devotees of Phoenix’s favorite son Treasure Mammal aka Abe Gil. With experimental tendencies wrapped in electronic warbles coated in inspirational by-way-off ridiculous lyrics packaged in a hip-hop candy coating, T. Mammal defies easy definition, as his performance at our Cannibal Cheerleader Blood Bath clearly demonstrated. Blasting through some unbelievably awesome new tracks, Abe left the audience at the Peacock literally speechless.
Despite having initial difficulty getting sets for SXSW, the Treasure Mammal eventually found him self playing a half-dozen parties across Austin. We’re not sure if he survived the events of the craziest weekend in Austin, but we’ll undoubtedly be seeing more of this awesome artist soon. Check it:
Another one of our favorite acts of the Blood Bath was undoubtedly Vermillion Lies, a wonderful duo out Oakland who opened the show to a small but devoted crowd and absolutely rocked the Peacock to its foundations. Playing a brand of Victorian-era inspired punk rock with a heavy dosage of bizarre instrumentation to boot (toy drums and accordions anyone?) these ladies knew how to start a party off right.
Playing to a tiny bar as if they were opening for a stadium tour, Vermillion Lies left Austin to prepare for their upcoming tour with Amanda Palmer. However, they couldn’t leave the Lone Star State without getting themselves involved in the massive pillow-fight that occurred on Sixth Street that afternoon. Definitely a crazy group, check it:
Had the opportunity to check out a ton of bands at Mess With Texas on SXSW’s final day of Saturday and it turned out to be one of the best days of the whole fest. Starting with Cursive who blazed through their seminal Ugly Organ album almost start to finish and crashing through a wonderful set by CC fave Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, we knew we were in for a wonderful afternoon. After a set by the Vivian Girls (maybe a little too blog-buzzworthy for our taste at the moment) we were privvy to a set by the absolutely incredible Thermals who blazed through tracks old and new to the joy of a crowd-surfing audience below. One of the best (and hottest!) days of South by Southwest ever!
With a blog called Cannibal Cheerleader you can imagine how enthused we are about any band that calls themselves the Horrors. Truth be told we were among the first in our small group of indie-centric friends who jumped on the group’s self-titled EP and proclaimed them as the heir-apparent of goth-rock as we know it. We still love that album and Strange House and we can say unequivocally that the video for “Sheena Is A Parasite” ranks among our top 5 of all time.
And now, we’re getting news that the Horrors are resurrected, plucked from the grave of UK obscurity with their new album Primary Colours and it’s first single “Sea Within A Sea”. Definitely a slow-burner, clocking in at over 7 minutes, it seems the London quintet has shifted gears from the hellfire immediacy of their debut to a creepy-crawly, Zombies-by-way-of-the-Cure spookfest that sounds like a titilating ghost story rather than a slasher horror. Check it out below and count us among the group who can’t wait to hear the whole album.
Brody Dalle’s newest incarnation Spinnerette have quietly released a new EP containing a remix of a track called “Sex Bomb”, the real version of which will undoubtedly show up on their upcoming debut full-length. Chock full of the patented Brody-snarl and swimming in early-90s electro beats, the Adam Freeland remix swirls around growled lyrics that reek of raw sexuality. As usual with the ex-Distillers frontwoman, a dancey electro song quickly becomes an entirely different creature with her at the helm – can’t wait to hear the real version! Also, buy the damn thing people, Spinnerette’s hella-independent and it’d be nice if you could throw a few bucks their way!
Sad news here at Cannibal Cheerleader, as we’ve recently heard that one of our favorite local acts Southern Drama will be going on an indefinite hiatus. However, from the ashes of a great group comes a new act which violinist Naomi Cherie has recently joined called Agent Ribbons, a stunning duo (now trio!) out of Sacramento. The group combines the Victorian punk leanings of Southern Drama with an additional flair for theatrics and a churning guitar and drum musical combo that reminds of a lilting female version of Death From Above 1979, but replacing slamdancing antics with bizarre vaudevillian ballroom manners. Check out these videos below and see for yourself. Can’t wait to catch this act at SXSW 09!
******************************************************************** THAO AND THERMALS RELEASE SPLIT 7”
According to this story, one of our favorite artists Thao Nguyen of Thao with the Get Down Stay Down will be releasing a split 7” for Record Store Day (hit up your local record shop folks, vinyl’s where it’s at!) with none than another of our favorites the Thermals. Tracklist below, sign us up for a Cannibal Cheerleader copy stat people.
A1 The Thermals: “When I Died” (demo) A2 The Thermals: “You Dissolve” (demo) B1 Thao with the Get Down Stay Down: “Cool Yourself You Are Flush Red” (previously unreleased) B2 Thao with the Get Down Stay Down: “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind” (Lovin’ Spoonful cover)
Swinging in for a free in-store performance at End of an Ear Records a little over an hour later than expected, Thao Nguyen and her backing backing band the Get Down Stay Down nonetheless managed to tear through a set of bluesy indie rock that kept the audience rapt with attention throughout short set. With intricate guitar-picking skills that nonetheless seems to flow from her fingertips like raindrops, and a voice that recalls a mix between a Southern
songstress croon and a riot grrrl yelp, Thao beat-boxed, strummed, wailed, and shredded her way through an abbreviated set in preview for her Emo’s performance tonight. However, the
intimacy of the record store maximized the poetic and heartfelt nature of her songs and while the downtown concert venue will no doubt attract a bigger crowd and ellicit a longer set, the experience of seeing Thao and the Get Down Stay Down in this tiny room stands out as one of the best live performances this year in Austin. We’ll definitely be keeping up with Thao as she
Balmorhea, the neo-classical sextet that wowed us with their unbelievable sophomore LP Rivers Arms are goin’ out west with Bexar Bexar in tow and meeting up with Tiny Vipers along the way. Touring violinist Aisha Burns has set up a blog called Stages, Stories, and Highway Signs to chronicle the bands’ adventures. You know we’ll be checking it out daily to see where this great band goes.
At the same time, Prey For Sleep, our favorite Austin crust-punk-meets-metal act, is heading up north to Ohio to record a six-song EP. Driving all the way, lead singer Hunter Townsend will be blogging about his adventures when the quintet gets a free second over at the band’s Myspace.
Here’s to both these groups, we’ll be checking in on your progress over the next month with great interest. Good luck you guys and you move across the country!
******************************************************************** WEEZER ANNOUNCE TOUR W/ AVA, TOKYO POLICE CLUB
Now that Weezer has returned to form musically, it’s about time they return to touring like a normal band as well. The Rivers Cuomo-fronted foursome will trek across America with Cannibal Cheerleader faves Angels and Airwaves and Tokyo Police Club in tow, landing at the Frank Erwin Center here in Austin on Oct. 20th. Get your tickets now because this show will sell out quick!
BALMORHEA IN SHORT FILM According to Balmorhea’s Myspace their haunting, etheral music was recently used in an equally haunting and moving short film by Jared Hogan of the Savannah School of Art and Design. I’m a film student first and a music critic second, so this post is perfect for Cannibal Cheerleader! Watch the film here and comment on what you think. That picture of there is of the real Balmorhea, Texas skyline and fits the band’s music pretty closely as well. ******************************************************************** NEW FACELESS WEREWOLVES VIDEOThough this particular piece isn’t Cannibal Cheerleader produced, we’d nonetheless like to show it to everyone, as it features some solid live action from our favorite local garage-rock act the Faceless Werewolves. Check this out!
******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER – THAO NGUYENThao Nguyen, more commonly known as Thao with The Get Down Stay Down (the name of her backing band) is a Kill Rock Stars signee with a smokey croon that recalls CC fave Cat Power and a Southern rock vibe that’s equal parts joyous bounce and terrific pathos, all rolled into one. We here at Cannibal Cheerleader saw her perform live opening for Rilo Kiley and we’ve been in love with her new LP We Brave Bee Stings and All ever since. Definitely check this one out if you like acoustic-y southern songstresses as much as we do (and we like ‘em A LOT). ******************************************************************** THE HORROR, THE HORROR – THE HAPPENING I went into The Happening this weekend not expecting much, as the critical reception of M. Night Shyamalan’s newest film had been lukewarm at best. However, I was pleasantly surprised with what was a taut, well-formed thriller, with plenty of guts and gore to offset the the dreamy dread that has become one of the director’s trademarks. First however, I have to contextualize my feelings on Mr. Shyamalan, whose films I’ve always unabashedly adored. While the current zeitgeist in horror filmmaking might be leaning towards horror-porn and increased shock-value (not that I don’t like that stuff mind you), this director has chosen to approach the genre from a different direction, employing his own vision that I’ve dubbed ‘horror slowcore’, a steady stream of dread mixed in with intense introspection, religious questioning, and philosophical and political undertones. Excellent films like the Village (my personal favorite of his) come across as so divergent from the horror norm that many fans of the genre fail to engage themselves into the world of the film as they would with another scare-flick. Still, Shyamalan crafts layers upon layers of meaning into his worlds and is one of the only directors evolving the genre beyond its slasher roots (for better or for worse). That said, the Happening isn’t the Village or the Sixth Sense, but it does have its share of great kills (death by lawnmower and suicidal construction workers for the win) and truly beautiful moments (Mark Walhberg’s and Zooey Deschanel’s final attempt to be together at what seems like their last moment is stirring and genuine). However the film’s evil force and its tendency to make people kill themselves sometimes comes off as absurd and the acting beyond the leads was spotty at best. Still, more than worth the price of admission and deserving of three out of four bloody pon-poms. Go see it folks.
