!earshot Top 200 of 2021

SXSW - South by Southwest 2006

The Time Flys
Gris Gris
Hurts To Purr
Art Brut

The Time FlysSXSW 2006 - Day One Evening
Wednesday evening at one of Austin’s smaller venues the Club de Ville had its moments – with an outdoor stage and backdrop straight out of a Flintstones movie set. The Time Flys from Oakland, California tried their best to keep the spirit of glam rock alive but nothing could save lacklustre numbers like "Jailbait" or "Smokin’ Dope," even with clever and original intros like “George Bush is a bitch”. Reeking of desperation the lead vocalist Eric Johnson slammed the mic stand, mic and all, into the floor, and still no one, except their two fans, got even mildly excited. Trying to up the abrasiveness Johnson launched into the mosh-less pit hoping to crash into any A&R reps he could find. Oi.

Not quite soon enough the neo-psychedelic Gris Gris – featuring multi-instrumentalist Greg Ashley – took the stage at the Club de Ville. Maybe it was the vast quantities of booze consumed by this garage rock outfit also from Oakland but nothing they did seemed to overcome the sloppy playing, although the bassist got a pretty good effect using a bow on his electric bass. Unfortunately, the sound mix lacked the dynamics needed to showcase the interesting arrangements and tremolo guitar riffs from their latest release on Birdman Records, For the Season.

Shifting gears over at Caribbean Lights was the confessional folk pop of Hurts to Purr. It was hard to find much a potent reminder of how the Brits can often entertain better than their North American counterparts with their wry humour diversity in singer-songwriter Liz Pappademas’ piano-driven melodies, but the set featured some well-crafted material off the self-titled debut release.

Over at The Parish were art punk rockers Art Brut from the UK. Eddie Argos’ bushy eyebrows are quite something to behold, and that mustache might even be his own. Even better was his sarcastic banter, some of the best heard that day, if not the entire week. How often do rock and roll guys make fun of erectile dysfunction with such clever wit as Mr. Argos does? Ripping through a multitude of popular material – "My Little Brother," "Emily Kane," "Good Weekend," "Moving to LA" and "Bang, Bang Rock n Roll" – it was a potent reminder of how the Brits can often entertain better than their North American counterparts with their wry humour and masterfully crafted lyrics.