Music Mania

from my myspace page:: http://www.myspace.com/dddagger

ALL PIX COPYRIGHT DD DAGGER!!!
another SXSW day: Upclose with PJ Harvey, Peter, Bjorn & John, + more
Current mood: tired
Category: Music
Special shout out thanks to Cris Burns Audio and Jeff Hoskins for allowing me to tag along to their very stessy gig at METV

Just cause they luv me! They know my biggest influence is PJ Harvey.

Hoskins let me in the back door entrance for Peter, Bjorn and John who was up first- had never seen them or listened to their records- besides that mega hit they had with itunes.

They were very charming, very minimalistic and obviously having a great time. I had just read on MTV.com that their last show at Vice Bar was horrible- even stopping in mid tune! But not here- they were looking a little rough around the edges but dressed in shabby-chic suits. LOVED IT. It was chill and quirky.

Next up was my queen:: PJ Harvey. METV had cleared the room- all that was left was the crew and me- posing as a sound tec assistant. In walks PJ with a victorian-ish style dress on, cute strappy heels and dressed all in black. Her hair was curled and she looked so petit- so adorable. I was almost shaking- she was about 5 feet from me. I was trying not to stare and be weird. Along side her were John Parish dressed very dapper- in a nice tan suit.

The sound tests were extensive>>>Polly complained about the strong light burning her forehead. She had a vocal box that looked pretty old school. I didn't hear much when she clicked it - it was pretty subtle and it might have just been reverb. They played some spooky songs laced with a lot of keyboards- the keyboard player was I think from Brooklyn and he had an m-audio keyboard attached to the mac and another keyboard running through amps. They all used VOX classic style ams that were new looking- and one new mini Fender amp. Polly was only singing; and at times they switched instruments and the keyboard player played bass and the bass player played guitar. John Parish switched guitars many times- from a slide dobro (I think!) to a banjo- utilizing his fender (i think) most of the time that had a peace sign on it. The drummer was minimal- until toward the end he got louder with the last 2 songs that were rocker tunes a la the old days.

Polly it seemed was doing a little bit of theater too - "talking" to herself within the song- talking about California and missing England. It is clear to me she has an on and off love affair with the US -- and that she enjoys taking sabbaticals in different parts of the country maybe even recording a bit there. I'd do the same.

After that I raced literally over to my own show with the Somethin' Ain't Right's at the Typewriter Museum. Corienne Rose was on playing their blend of cowpunk with a lovely scorching violin. It was PACKED and we were up next. I smoked it up on the sax whit Phil from The Black on bass, lainy on keyboards, Aaron from Ignorance Park on Drums and Mike Vasquez from legendary Sweatbox Recording Studio on Guitar and Vox.

Not 5 mins after my show I got another lucky break- my friend Jamie Panzer called with a vip pass to Emos- which meant I was going to sneak behind him into the Sonics Showcase. There were lines AROUND the corner and around the corner's corner! But, we waltzed though security in the back and the bar was totally empty! By the time the Sonics got playing the room wasn't even filled yet- the sxsw gatekeepers were too slow on the draw.

So that concluded my night. I was wiped out! But very content. It was truly one of the most unique SXSW in my long career of them.

***PLEASE see my photo album SXSW for pictures of these events!****
Currently listening:
Dance Hall at Louse Point
By John Parish & Polly Jean Harvey
Release date: 1996-09-24