While SXSW is great for taking in all of the international acts that make the trip to Austin every year (even if their numbers have been dwindling somewhat in recent years), it’s also an excellent time to acquaint yourself with the local scene.
Over the years, I’ve taken in sets from Austin icons like Asleep At The Wheel and Roky Erickson, seen old favourites like …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead play hometown gigs, and discovered a few new favourites like Blushing and Die Spitz. Austin has famously been referred to as the live music capital of the world and one of the best places in the city to check out what the locals are into is Hotel Vegas.
Hotel Vegas has become a favourite of mine when in Austin and it was marking its 15th anniversary this year. To celebrate, the venue was throwing itself a bash that extended both before and after the official run of SXSW with massive daylong shows happening across its three stages over the course of a little over a week. I was there most days during SXSW and on Tuesday, I caught a set from a band that felt distinctly “Austin,” bringing to mind the city’s unofficial motto, “Keep Austin Weird.”
After all, I can’t think of anything weirder* – yet more perfect – than watching a band play a heavy set of old school death metal, complete with lengthy Mortician-style movie sample intros played in full between songs, on the outdoor stage at Hotel Vegas while sipping from a tall can of Lone Star on a bright and sunny afternoon. That band was Fleshripper (featuring members of yet another heavy Austin band, Portrayal of Guilt) and they did indeed rip. It was a short yet sweet set that made a strong impression – the band threw down some chunky, brutal riffs and the band’s lead vocalist (who, as far as I can tell, only goes by the name “A”) has a hell of a death growl too.
Some enterprising soul captured part of Fleshripper’s set on video, so you can check them out in all their glory below.
* OK, to be fair, death metal ain’t all that weird, but compared to, say, Lainey Wilson, who I saw later that same day, it’s a little weird. If I’m being honest though , the weirdest thing I saw on Tuesday was a band called, er … Sodomy Cop. That was some wacky stuff.
