SXSW 2009: Fans go to church for St. Vincent; the Decemberists create Hazards on stage

March 18, 2009, in Austin

By Melissa Bobbitt
Published: March 19th, 2009 | 2:35pm

The streets are paved with music, every warm gust of wind carries melodies, and more accents could be heard than at a United Nations conference. Was this it? Was this the utopia we’d longed for — the one that Coca Cola surmised it could create if everyone just guzzled their soda?

Well, no. Cops still roam and the local news anchors shake a finger at all those wily visitors running amok down 6th Street. Cabs are near impossible to flag down here, and a caste system is sturdily in place. (Have a badge? Come on in! You’re royalty! Paying with cash? Ouch. To the back rows with you!)

But Austin’s annual South by Southwest music festival comes pretty darn close to heaven on earth. Downtown city blocks are cordoned off for eager ears to wander among dozens of venues emitting tunes from familiar friends — like Tori Amos and Devo — among hundreds of newcomers. It’s maddening, but, like Alice’s Wonderland, frankly, we’re all a bit mad here. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

After a long day of wonky flight schedules, I eventually got situated and headed to the music Mecca. First stop was Ace’s Lounge to check out the Athens, Georgia–based “slowcore” band Venice is Sinking. My Pandora radio station digs them a lot, and I did too upon catching them at the sparsely populated venue. The setup was neat: The stage was positioned just above the bar, so listeners could get a cold one without taking their eyes off of the performers. Venice, in all its moaning violins and flannel-wrapped contemplativeness, was a slinky start to SXSW.

I trudged my way up a hill to see St. Vincent at the Central Presbyterian Church — a fitting venue for singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark’s moniker. The pews were packed and faithful fans anticipated tracks from her upcoming release, Actor (4AD). It was a big hall for such a shrinking violet of a voice, but the orchestral rock that she and her bandmates delivered was enveloping. Clark delighted the crowd by giving a shoutout to the real Austinites.

And what could be more authentically Austin than a backyard barbecue? It was on to Stubb’s BBQ, a spacious area under the stars, where one could indulge in pulled pork tacos (I broke my diet rules and had to have a couple) and the Decemberists. Though best known for their anachronistic and hyper-literate tomes, the Decemberists instead performed their newest work, the rock opera–esque The Hazards of Love, in its entirety. Listeners were either reverently silent or a little confused. Sure, the accordion and peculiar lyrics were there, and frontman Colin Meloy still knows how to rock a cheeky vest, but this was strange territory they were wading into.

Hazards runs the gamut from chamber folk to straight-up jamming, all while weaving some weird tale that was conceived as a stage play. Ethereal vocalists Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) and Rebecca Stark (Lavender Diamond) joined in the madcap theatrics, but as a longtime Decemberists fan, I felt their presence often negated Meloy’s quirky, fake-Cockney lilt. He did allay my frustration with a two-song encore that wrapped with fan favorite “I Was Meant for the Stage,” which ended in a delightful cacophony of drummer John Moen beating his cymbals with Chris Funk’s mangled guitar. Now there was the nerdy elation the band is best known for!

Check back throughout the week for more SXSW 2009 coverage.

Want more SXSW coverage? Check out our other articles here:

SXSW 2009, Day 2, March 19, 2009: Tori Amos entrances at La Zona Rosa; Ebony Bones channel Tina Turner and M.I.A.

SXSW 2009, Day 3, March 20, 2009: Margaret Cho brings the laughs; Melissa Auf der Maur brings the rock

SXSW 2009, Day 4, March 21, 2009: Down by the river with Beach House; Shiny Toy Guns brighten the night