words by Elliot Cole
photos by Randy Cremean

Cut Off Your Hands @ Mess w/ Texas

After a rambunctious, engaging set at Emo’s on Thursday night, Cut Off Your Hands was a bit of a disappointment at the Mess With Texas festival in Waterloo Park.  Whether it was the early timeslot, the just-waking crowd, or the previous night’s booze settling in, the Kiwis didn’t have the same energy that they had displayed in previous performances.  They seemed vaguely drained, as if three days of hand clapping and bouncing on the stage had caught up to them.  Nonetheless, the group’s hyper, dance-worthy pop-rock sounded solid, if not spectacularly original.  We’ll give them a free pass on the energy level, since even a bogged-down Cut Off Your Hands is more lively than ninety percent of the bands playing SXSW.

Vetiver @ Mess w/ Texas

Vetiver earned the label of a “must see” at SXSW before they even showed up, mostly thanks to the fact that they are the latest offering from Sub Pop.  The group’s lo-fi, folk-heavy sound made for a good background to the sunny park day, although the emergency choppers flying to a nearby hospital distracted the audience a little bit.  Though Devendra Banhart’s buddies put on a capable set, they didn’t seem to entrance most of the audience.  Perhaps that will change when their album seeps into the ipods of the Sub Pop faithful, but, for now, they have to resort to being mildly impressive.

King Khan and the Shrines @ Mess w/ Texas

We knew King Khan would be good.  We knew King Khan would exercise a degree of showmanship that nobody at the conference could match.  We knew King Khan had developed a significant level of buzz from his performance at last year’s SXSW.  We knew all of this, but, somehow King Khan and the Shrines still blew the audience away.  With matching black-and-gold shirts and aboriginal-looking necklaces, flaring horns, a resident cheerleader in a flapper dress, and the pizzazz of Khan, the set was a romping, unfiltered good time.  Khan came out in a golden cape, later asking the crowd, “Are you all ready to shake some ass?!”  The crowd was and did as Khan leapt into the audience during the band’s second song.  Khan would later tap into his inner James Brown, shrieking and sliding on stage like he was having an epileptic fit.  The group was fiery, engaging, and, with Khan, one of the best performers of the festival.

Cursive @ Mess w/ Texas

Cursive has gone through a few incarnations before arriving to the SXSW stage, all building up to the previous week’s release of Mama, I’m Swollen.  While recent albums are nothing to scoff at, most of the Cursive faithful have a connection with the band’s older material (which is strange, considering the average age of the crowd was about 15).   That the self-deprecating frontman, Tim Kasher, realizes this is important, since Kasher and Co. opted to ditch the new material in favor of playing fan-favorite 2003 album, The Ugly Organ, from beginning to end.  The bearded Kasher wailed and shouted his way through the inner demons of the tracks, glaring at the sweating audience with a bewildered, worn demeanor.  The tracks were biting with a perfectly sour tone, playing perfectly into the sneering Kasher.  After an epic finale, the group subtly left the stage, carrying their self-loathing sensibilities with them for another day.

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down @ Mess w/ Texas

“At this point I have nothing to say,” joked Thao Nguyen, easily one of the most charismatic and funny frontwomen at SXSW.  Between able songwriting, beatboxing, and between-song banter, Thao and her backing band is always entertaining, be it for the jokes or the music.  “Last month I felt like I wanted one,” she proclaimed after noticing a fan in the crowd cradling a baby.  “Not to have, just to steal,” she added.  With beach balls dancing through the air, the whimsical feeling of her set was a sharp contrast to the emotional depth of Cursive, but nonetheless welcome.

Fader Fort

While the Fader Fort was soon to be playing host to Kanye West (a badly kept secret) and Common (a well kept one), the logistics of the venue made it hard to stick around.  Half an hour waits for the bathroom did not mesh well with free alcohol.  While it’s always difficult to duck out of a Kanye show – after all, the only thing that matches his ego is his ability to put on an entertaining and stirring live show – the bladder sometimes reigns supreme…particularly when there is one toilet for every fifty some odd people, with a line snaking through the entire venue.  Still, credit goes to Fader for putting together an interesting set up featuring a free photo booth, a spectacular DJ booth with a phone to call the DJ, and a solid lineup.