SXSW review: Hair of the Dog Showcase at Mohawk
On Tuesday, March 14, Mohawk hosted the Hair of the Dog SXSW showcase, featuring a plethora of talent and diverse sounds.
As showgoers arrived, they were greeted with a “free-vinyl voucher.” The room usually booked as the indoor stage was host to a record shop/lounge, sponsored by Marshall. In exchange for the vinyl voucher, one could choose any record from the selection, including a record-carrying bag. What a nice starter!
Opening with DJ sets, the live music performances began promptly with Noah and the Loners. The fiery punk band from London and Brighton consists of Noah Lonergan on vox and guitar, Amber Welsh on bass, Joseph Boyle on guitar, and Noah Riley on drums. With a furiously-driven punk sound, Noah and the Loners delivered an energy reminiscent of the OG punk artists of the late 70’s and early 80’s.
California-born, Austin-based We Don’t Ride Llamas went on second, fusing jazzy, funky neo-soul with hardcore punk rock, this four-piece merges genres uniquely, sometimes blending them together, while also splitting vocal duties between verse and chorus. This intriguing band consists of siblings Max Mitchell (lead vox), Blake (drums), and their brother Chase (lead guitar), with Kit Mitchell on bass guitar.
Sunflower Bean, the ubertalented rock trio from NYC, impressed the crowd with Olive Faber delivering rapid-fire drums, the stunning guitar work of Nick Kivlen and the mesmerizing vocal stylings of Julia Cumming, had the audience in awe. With roughly ten years under their belt, Sunflower Bean gave the crowd a memorable performance. The group offered up some of their choice new tunes and let all in attendance know that they are on the rise.
Be Your Own PET, the Nashville punk quartet that abruptly split in the late 2000’s just as they seemed to gain momentum, were next to take the stage, and they were really, really good. From the opening notes, the band exuded exuberant energy, and led by Jemina Pearl (vox), Nathan Vasquez (bass,backing vocals), Jonas Stein (guitar, backing vocals), and John Eatherly (drums), Be Your Own Pet put on a highly-spirited show, and they had a damned-good time doing it.
The Black Angels, one of the more prolific Austin-based bands, headlined the showcase. Christian Bland (guitars/organ), Stephanie Bailey (drums, percussion), Jake Garcia (guitar), Alex Maas (vox, bass, drone machine), and Ramiro Verdooren (keyboards, bass, guitar) form the psych-rock quintet, and as always, they put on a stellar show.
After The Black Angels’ set, Mohawk quickly cleared out all patrons to set up for an official Mohawk SXSW showcase, which went on through the late hours of the night.
Featured photo: Brian Hillsman. All other photos: Roger Morgan
You must be logged in to post a comment.