Austin – Filter puts on awesome showcases every year at SXSW (witness last year’s Late of the Pier party) and this year was no exception. The lineup was around the block on Friday for their showcase which involves bands like The Temper Trap, Local Natives, BRMC and Dr. Dog. We were there for all of them, Gary will be reviewing Dr. Dog and the Temper Trap (who ruled).
The Local Natives have been featured on our blog a few times before and so as you would figure, I was rather excited to see the show. For those who NEED to know, they are a LA based band that relies on harmonizing vocals blended with a California laid back rocker sound. It’s good.
I had high expectations for this show and much to my delight, Local Natives killed it. 3 part harmonizing vocals, two guitars, one synthy guy, one bassist and a kickass drummer. Nice setup. These guys have mastered quiet…quiet…EXPLODE technique. Perfect example would be the live rendition of the song Sun Hands, Taylor Rice slowly lulls you to a nice calm state with his subdued singing then BAM, all four of them scream out “AND WHEN I CAN’T FEEL WITH MY SUN HANDS” and whoosh, awesomeness. Speaking of Taylor Rice, he has a pretty nice voice and hits the notes despite the show being like, the band’s 5th show in 3 days. Kelcey Ayer’s multi-instrumental skills was impressive as well. The sometimes duo drummer setup the band employs adds a lot more ooompf to the live show then the album, which is great. I’m a fan of two drummers in a band. Don’t ask me why.
The 40ish minute set consisted songs from the debut album – Gorilla Manson, something you should look into. Good showing, will definitely see them if they tour Toronto.
Speaking of Filter, they want you to win a record player and a bunch of vinyl, as long as you are American. One lucky winner will receive a Crosley Archive Portable USB Turntable and the following must-have titles for any record collection, hand-picked by FILTER’s editors. Animal Collective, Tribe Called Quest, Beach House, etc. You can enter here
