SXSW 2007's La Zona Rosa showcase: Elvis Perkins, Cold War Kids, Architecture in Helsinki, Ghostland Observatory
La Zona Rosa Showcase:
Elvis Perkins
Cold War Kids
Architecture in Helsinki
Ghostland Observatory
Written by Charles Avelon
Austin’s La Zona Rosa provided powerhouse, prizefighting lineups throughout the entirety of South by Southwest, but their Thursday evening showcase was by far the Heavyweight: Four marquee musical acts (including one hometown hero), all well-respected amongst their genre peers, and all known for delivering relentless live sets. To say that the festival patrons in attendance were excited would be an understatement. The venue was quite literally panting with anticipation as the minutes ticked towards show time. In fact, I only counted one guy passed out near the bar just off stage right. (Hey, it’s a long week of non-stop rockin’; one can’t justifiably fault the guy for grabbing a quick disco nap.)
First up was folk rock singer/songwriter Elvis Perkins. While Perkins has gained steady press from his unrelenting year-and-a-half tour, it is the melancholy of his past that tends to cast a shadow over his musical talents. Perkins’ father, Anthony Perkins, star of the horror classic Psycho, died of AIDS in 1992, and on September 11th, Perkins’ mother was a passenger onboard one of the planes that was flown into the World Trade Center. While Perkins’ may have a wealth of somberness to drive the subject matter of his songs, his stage presence never dipped into being downtrodden. With shades on his face, an acoustic guitar strapped around his shoulders and a cool, Ocean’s Eleven swagger, Perkins strutted his beatnik-rock with vigor and grace. Having managed a musical middle ground falling somewhere between the hipster allure of The Strokes and the folk power of Bob Dylan, Perkins is definitely onto something strong. Stay tuned.
Following Perkins were his former touring buddies and SXSW alums, Cold War Kids. The feature that immediately ballooned into view about this Fullerton, California quartet was their ferocity. The music itself couldn’t be categorized as brutish (try intelligent minimalism with a Pogues-meets-Tom Waits twist), but each band member’s stage presence was wholeheartedly sinister. Guitarist Jonnie Russel and bassist Matt Maust stalked each other around the stage like warring Spartans as singer/pianist Nathan Willet lyrically commanded and directed each dynamic charge. Throughout the forty minute set, Willet’s performance was utterly evangelical. Forget Taylor Hicks and his alleged soul patrol. If you’re looking for substance and conviction, Willet is the real deal. After a victorious tear through their hit single “Hang Me Out To Dry”, Willet and company were ambushed by Elvis Perkins and what appeared to be an entire army of gypsy musicians. With the stage packed to the hilt, the impromptu brigade brought down the house with a raucous rendition of the classic, “Old Saint John.”
After the Cold War Kids’ chaos cleared, the stage was freshly packed with six Melbourne multi-instrumentalists known as Architecture in Helsinki. If ever there was a band that was (intentionally) confused about who they wanted to be, or what they wanted to sound like, it was this Australian sextet. Rather than picking a direction, Architecture opt to mash all possible stylistic combinations in a mixing bowl of mellifluousness, resulting in such a befuddled hodgepodge that I doubt even Ben and Jerry would be able to conceive of an appropriately descriptive label. Understandably, Architecture tends to be quite polarizing, as was the case during their showcase. Though Architecture’s ADD offerings were not met with universal adulation, the band certainly kept the audience entertained with their rendition of instrument musical chairs (apparently, to be in this band you must be highly skilled on at least 4 different instruments).
After the throngs of onstage bodies from the last three performances, Ghostland Observatory’s two-member troop was an odd initial contrast. Within seconds, however, the Austin duo proved that they were more than capable of conjuring disproportionately substantial amounts of sound, despite their meager numbers. Wrapped in an outrageous cornflower blue cloak, drummer/synthmaster Thomas Turner cast a tsunami-sized groove as vocalist/guitarist Aaron Behrens surfed through wave after wave of howling hooks. Behrens, who looks like an Apache Axl Rose, was in flawless form, emoting with the combined prowess of Prince and Freddie Mercury. Word of advice to all bands considering touring with or playing on the same bill as Ghostland Observatory: It is in your best interest to not go on directly after them. No matter how profound your talents, or how convincing you believe your stage presence to be, there is simply no way that you’ll compete. Even Simon Cowell would agree that this Texas twosome might just be the most convincing and enrapturing live act in music today. Yes, that’s a bold statement, but I can’t remember the last time I looked around at a concert and saw such a varied cross section of people—from punk to glam to indie to jam band—all dancing with such savage abandon. These guys are more than an act or a spectacle; they are (dare I say) a phenomenon.
