The Panic Manual

Not a SXSW Review: University, youbet, Touch Girl Apple Blossom, March 16, Hotel Vegas

Posted on

24 Mar 2025

Paul

On Sunday, March 16, after five days of beer, BBQ, and bands, I was all set to fly back home and return to reality. Of course, the universe had other plans and I woke up that morning to the bad news that my flight back home had been cancelled. After a bit of a stressful morning, things got worked out and a flight back home the next day was procured. So now, stuck in Austin for an extra day, I figured I might as well make the most of it. As the old saying goes, when life gives you lemons … grab a Lone Star and go see some more bands. No, no … I’m pretty sure that’s exactly how the saying goes.

While SXSW programming officially ends on the Saturday, there’s been a tradition over the years of various venues hosting “hangover” days where bands who are still in town play one more unofficial show before heading out of town. Like the many unofficial showcases that happen during the week, this gives those acts who stuck around one more chance to get themselves noticed beyond whatever official shows they may have done. And with nothing to do but wait until my rescheduled flight took off, I headed over to Hotel Vegas to take in a few more acts on that final Sunday, catching sets from Touch Girl Apple Blossom, youbet, and University.

I entered the venue just as Touch Girl Apple Blossom were getting underway, and the Austin-based band offered up an enjoyable set of jangly indie pop that reminded me of Julie Doiron at times. Following them on the Hotel Vegas stage were Brooklyn trio youbet, who were likely one of the more prolific bands of this year’s SouthBy, announcing that they were playing their ninth show of the week before leaving early Monday morning to catch a 3:00am bus to Houston because it was cheaper than flying out of Austin. I get it, SXSW can get pretty pricey.

The band who made the strongest impression on me on that final day was Crewe, UK-based post-punkers University. With a frantic, jerky sound that seemed to be constantly on the verge of going in any direction, the band definitely had my attention from the get go.

Also grabbing my attention was the fourth member of the band, a fellow who doesn’t play any instruments and simply sat onstage while the other three played. His main job seemed to be sitting down cross legged and looking at his phone while wearing a balaclava and a black KFC cap. It certainly added an extra layer to the proceedings as well as a solid dose of the absurd. In between songs, he would get up and take a break from whatever he was doing in order to hold up handwritten signs saying things like MASSIVE TOP TATTOO, CURWEN, THE MAIN EVENT and GTA ONLINE. It didn’t take too long before I figured out that these were song titles. I never did quite figure out, however, just what he was looking at on his phone while the other three played. Maybe he was also checking for updates on a cancelled flight? It’s a mystery for the ages, for sure.

SXSW Film Review: The Tallest Dwarf (Julie Wyman, 2025)

Posted on

23 Mar 2025

Gary

You know when you walk into a hotel doing the dance, find a urinal, wash your hands, see and speak to the teller at the desk, and everything works? That’s just because the architects did their homework following the Vitruvius man. You might be blasé about this fact until you stand in front of an Amsterdamer urinal tall enough to be a bathroom sink. Unfortunately, the pinnacle of bespoke for many of us will be a suit or a piece of furniture. A combination of ergonomics and economics means that our modern world is built around standardized, average metrics: desks 29″ tall to seats 17″ off the ground. If you are the wrong proportions from these averages, even if just by 10%, it is often a life of alterations or accommodation.

The Tallest Dwarf is not strictly about the challenges people with dwarfism face – although there is plenty of that, too. It is more accurately the filmmaker Julie Wyman’s journey with her parents and friends to determine whether she belongs as a dwarf, both medically and mentally. Given her parents, who might have graciously played along for the project, largely refused to admit this is even a possibility, Wyman keeps digging and reflecting on her own experiences, to see where she fits in.

Taking to the national organization Little People of America, she sifts through the fetishizing and patronizing examples from history and those still embedded in our consumerist culture. In the opposing corner, we see the corresponding explorations of museum and archive and culture specific to the community. There are differing opinions to dwarfism, within LPA. The dilemma and tug-o-war between often self-selected people who wish to live a different life, and the industry/biotech peddling treatments and surgery who wants to take them further than they may be comfortable with to extract money. There are clashes within the community on the fine lines between what should and should not be worked on. Throughout these explorations on the psyche of LPA as a community and individuals, there is little narration, and the stories pour out directly in an intermingle mass without set up.

Dance, gestures, and theater seems to fill the rest of the film as an metaphor for freedom. This is of course not unexpected. Most likely, the people central to Wyman’s lens are artists, actors, and dancers. But it also constructs a tone of less of pity and sympathy, and more of self-respect. I find the film refreshing in composition, and it’s never heavy as often befalls documentaries on “out of the bell curve” groups.

SXSW Review: Pedal Steel Noah, March 15, Radio Day Stage

Posted on

22 Mar 2025

Paul

As per usual, the SXSW Radio Day Stage hosted a series of shows throughout the week curated by various campus/community radio stations and on the final day of the festival, they welcomed local community radio station KOOP FM to host a day of Austin-based acts. Panic Manual was there to take in the final set of the afternoon, courtesy of Pedal Steel Noah.

Pedal Steel Noah is the stage name of Noah Faulkner and, as the name suggests, he plays pedal steel and he plays it well. The Austin teenager has been on my radar for a couple of years now, making a name for himself through a series of TikTok and Instagram videos of him covering classic ’80s tracks alongside his brother before getting onto the lineup of SXSW 2024. Having missed out on him last year, I made a point to check him out this time around and was suitably impressed by his dreamy, pedal steel-fueled covers of tracks from the likes of Tears For Fears and Radiohead.

To get a good sense of the vibe of his show if you’ve never caught Noah live, check out the video below, recorded at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry in August of last year.

SXSW Review: Cinema Hearts, March 15, Lazarus Brewing

Posted on

21 Mar 2025

Paul

As a longtime attendee who has seen the festival go through a lot of changes over the years, it’s easy to get jaded about SXSW. As the focus has shifted away from music to interactive and with the film component seemingly now the main draw for many, it’s tempting to think that SouthBy has lost its way.

But for artists looking to make a name for themselves and garner some attention, or for those simply looking to hang out with like-minded music lovers over several days in March, the festival does still hold some appeal. And as Washington DC-based band Cinema Hearts reminded us during their early Saturday afternoon set at Lazarus Brewing, SXSW is what you make it.

The indie rock trio, led by Caroline Weinroth, may not have been an official performer at this year’s SXSW, but they were still there to make the most of it, playing six shows over the course of four days and even racking up an injury in the process – Weinroth’s legs were bandaged up after she tried to “slide in for a home run” at a previous show (the band were wearing matching baseball caps and jerseys for their shows this week and I guess she really committed to the bit).

Weinroth spoke about how meaningful it’s been for her to come down to Austin the last couple of years and make the rounds, citing the write-up that they got from Rolling Stone last year calling them one of the best live bands of SXSW and stating that despite having one of the worst injuries of her life (she claimed it looked “like a Halloween costume” underneath the bandages), the band had come back to Austin this year to “defend the title.”

During their set, Cinema Hearts played a bunch of new unreleased tunes (“so don’t even bother trying to look for them”) alongside older numbers like “Fender Factory” and “Your Ideal,” a song off their Bartees Strange produced EP of the same name which was inspired by her time competing in the Miss America pageant. The band put on a fun show full of strong, power-poppy melodies that brought to mind the likes of Illuminati Hotties, Pom Pom Squad, and The Muffs and which helped to get the final day of SouthBy off to a good start.

Thanks for making me a little less jaded, Cinema Hearts.

SXSW Review: Sweeping Promises, Holy Fuck, Annabelle Chairlegs, Two-Man Giant Squid, The Courettes, March 15, Hotel Vegas

Posted on

20 Mar 2025

Paul

“Is it safe to say that this is the best venue at SouthBy?”

So said Sunflower Bean bassist/vocalist Julia Cumming as she addressed the crowd at Hotel Vegas during their Thursday night set and I must say that I do agree with Cumming’s assessment of Hotel Vegas, though I do have a few other faves that might possibly tie it for first place in the “best SXSW venue” contest.

It is a special place though, with its own unique vibe. I too have seen many great shows there over the years and this year, I may have spent more time there that at any other venue, spending at least a bit of time there for all but one of the days I was in Austin. And on the final full day of the festival, we spent pretty much the entire evening there as well as a bit of the afternoon, taking in some solid performances from The Courettes, Two-Man Giant Squid, Annabelle Chairlegs, Holy Fuck, and Sweeping Promises.

Danish/Brazilian garage rock duo The Courettes always put on a fun show full of ’60s-inspired sounds and plenty of rock n’ roll swagger. Joking that they’d just arrived that morning (they’d been in Austin for days by that point) and that they’d driven all the way from Denmark, the duo of Flávia Couri and Martin Thorsen put their all into their mid-afternoon performance, culminating in Couri crowd surfing while playing guitar before jumping back on stage to finish off the set. All while wearing heels, no less.

Returning to the venue later in the evening, we crammed into the crowded indoor room at Hotel Vegas to take in some dance punk from NYC’s Two-Man Giant Squid, who reminded me at times of LCD Soundsystem, most notably on “I Was a DJ in 2015.” Following that, it was back outside for locals Annabelle Chairlegs, who impressed even though we only caught the tail end of their set. Perhaps the most musically impressive performance of the night though came from Toronto four-piece Holy Fuck, who delivered a mind-blowing set of dancey psych/electronica.

Up next was Lawrence, Kansas-based post-punk trio Sweeping Promises. The band put on an impressive show, but the most memorable moment in their set was not a musical one, but a bit of stage banter from the excellently named Caufield Schnug. Taking to the mic between songs, he commented on how he used to live in Austin until it “became unliveable,” later going on to talk about how back in the day, creative types used to be able to find rent for $100 – $300, work a part-time job and be able to spend the rest of the time making music or art or whatever. This had us at first wondering when exactly this would have been, whether he was somehow secretly a really well-preserved 60 year old, and what exactly these $100 spaces might have looked like. Regardless, as a Torontonian, I could relate to the concept of outrageously high rent.

Sweeping Promises would end up being the final act of the night for us – I would have loved to have also taken in sets from Egyptian Lover and Cloth, but alas, a week of shows takes its toll on you and i was starting to fade. Still, all in all, a solid night of music at Hotel Vegas.

SXSW Review: St. Vincent, Twin Shadow, March 14

Posted on

19 Mar 2025

Paul

While I still had a fun time there this year, it’s an undeniable truth that SXSW is not quite what it once was. Long gone are the glory days of Fader Fort, Hype Hotel and an abundance of big name acts playing throughout the week.

Ever since Covid, and probably even slightly before that, SouthBy has definitely felt a bit smaller in scale. But despite that, there’s still a lot of cool stuff going on throughout the week. And the Friday of the festival was the day that felt the most like a throwback to the old days, with great shows all day, including two unique performances from St Vincent and Twin Shadow.

St. Vincent @ Rivian Electric Roadhouse

A surprise “secret” show from St. Vincent on a Friday night that also features an open bar? Sure, why not?

To close out the Rivian Electric Roadhouse, Annie Clark took to the stage to perform a special stripped down set that saw her joined by a pianist for the duration. The absolute highlight of her set was a performance of “New York” that also saw her slip into a bit of Meat Loaf’s “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” adding a bit of editorial commentary as she asked, “what the fuck is that?” after singing the chorus. It’s true, Mr. Loaf never did quite specify exactly what ‘that’ is in his song.

Also, because this show was sponsored by an electric car company, there was a car parked on either side of the stage, making it seem a little like we were watching a concert from a showroom. Maybe in a way we were. Either way, we decided to sit down in the front seat of one of the cars for a bit of her set, giving it a bit of a drive in theatre feel. Luckily for everyone, we resisted the urge to honk the car horn during the show. That would have been poor concert etiquette for sure.

Twin Shadow @ Central Presbyterian Church

Taking to the stage of the Central Presbyterian Church, Twin Shadow’s George Lewis Jr. addressed the crowd, announcing that this show would be focusing on his latest album Georgie, just freshly released earlier that day.

“We’re gonna play most of it, so if you came to hear old stuff … go fuck yourself. Just kidding,” he added, noting that he probably shouldn’t be saying such things in a church. Happily, he wasn’t struck down on the spot for blasphemy and he also didn’t stick exclusively to just the new album, throwing in a few old crowd pleasers like “Five Seconds,” though, to be fair, I would have been ok with a show focusing exclusively on the new stuff.

Much like St. Vincent did earlier in the evening, Lewis delivered a stripped back set alongside a single accompanist, in this case a pedal steel player, who added a lot of cool texture to moody tunes like “Funny Games” and “As Soon As You Can.” Lewis announced that this was only their second time ever playing these songs live, and they sounded fantastic, with the church setting and the lava lamps surrounding the stage only adding to the mood.