SXSW live review: Heart of music week offered notable performances by Dinosaur Jr, Big Boi and more

The South By Southwest (SXSW) music programming  continued through the week with countless sets, famous musician sightings, and more all-day-all-night festivities that have made Austin the place to be for March’s annual festival edition. For Day three and four of the music portion, The Cosmic Clash saw over 25 music sets and curated some of the best things from throughout the two mid-week festival days , the heart of music week, including notable performances by Dinosaur Jr, Big Boi plus new music from Snooper, Lip Critic, hot Canadian act, NOBRO and more. 

SNõõPER – Radio East and Parish – March 14

Nashville Egg Punk act Snooper, stylized as SNõõPER, returned to Austin after just a two-month absence to open their Sx stay with two rowdy sets for a Pooneh Ghana-booked bill at Radio East and Parish for Marshall Amplifiers Fun House that showed undeniable energy woven together with their brand of rebellious humor. Frontwoman Blair Tramel dances around the stage with unapologetic energy, allowing her spouted, jittery vocal delivery to come through in an ecstatic manner. After the release of the Tennessee band’s debut LP, Super SNõõPER, the absurd lyrical themes and brittle punk rock jams have kept coming at rapid fire. Whether it’s a tune about playing the lottery, doing donuts with a company car, or getting bitten by bed bugs, no subject is safe with SNõõPER. The group attacks it all, and they do it while having enormous amounts of fun. 

Lip Critic – Hotel Vegas – March 13

Brooklyn’s Lip Critic made their Austin debut at Hotel Vegas’ Grandstand with an unrelenting noise fest that could strike a chord with fans of Death Grips and Lightning Bolt. On the last day of Hotel Vegas’ Spring Break Boogie showcases, Lip Critic performed with the likes of LA-NY act Sextile, Atlanta’s Omni, and local psych-gaze risers Daiistar. When the New York outfit takes the stage, they are equipped with electronics, drums, and vocals. Each song consists of something that resembles a song structure while enacting the pervasive spurts of noise that show Lip Critic’s commitment to the NYC noise scene, bringing their engaging insanity to Austin, where it was appreciated to a level as high as their hometown roots. Lip Critic will return to Austin on June 8 for a performance at downtown-adjacent Austin venue, Parish.

The Spits – The 13th Floor – March 13

Kalamazoo, Michigan’s The Spits played to a squeezed-in crowd on The Red River Cultural District’s The 13th Floor’s patio, a location that has yet to have music outdoors since this year’s SXSW edition. Since seeing The Spits play a triumphant gig at Mohawk with local punk heroes Die Spitz earlier this year, the midwestern punk act returned to Austin for another batch of shows. For the day party performance sponsored by Creem Magazine and Third Man Records, The Spits set up their gear on the venue patio so street spectators and passer-byers could witness a 90s punk rager that saw the band sawing through cut after cut of short-form tracks with drum d-beat insanity. The band’s dedicated noisemaker dons a robot costume for their live sets, helping to sculpt a rocking performance with song-after-song intensity, showing that punk rock knows no age.

Automatic – Empire Garage – March 13

 Levitation and Austin Psych Fest alums Automatic performed a trippy late-night set for a packed crowd at Red River Cultural District venue Empire Garage & Control Room. The synth-heavy Los Angeles band has hints of shoegaze, post-punk, and psychedelia in their work, but their songs have a level of accessibility that eliminates hints of a “soundscape, vibes-first” approach. Since being on the roster of the long-running Stones Throw Records, Automatic has released two full-length records and has remained sonically cohesive to the point where audiences can enjoy their refreshing, retro takes on the aforementioned genres. 

NOBRO – Swan Dive – March 13

Canadian riot girl act NOBRO took over Swan Dive for a punk rock spectacle that had the whole crowd singing along. Since the Quebec band toured with Los Angeles surf punks FIDLAR, NOBRO has been on The Cosmic Clash’s radar as one of SXSW’s most exciting acts. Frontwoman Kathryn McCaughey showed her seasoned badassery by involving the crowd in every cut the Montreal outfit rolled out, allowing the official SXSW venue Swan Dive to become a punk rock dojo for multiple Canadian bands who made their way to Austin for the SXSW festivities. NOBRO closed their set with a joyous cover of MC5 classic “Kick Out The Jams,” resulting in likely the loudest sing-along for the Canada House showcase. 

Big Boi – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater  – March 13

Atlanta’s own Big Boi, half of the legendary rap duo OutKast, delivered a set that was, for lack of a better phrase, “all the hits.” The rapper performed at a showcase sponsored by Hulu to promote a new documentary about the legendary Georgia block party, Freaknik. When Big Boi took the stage, producer, beat-maker and rapper Sleepy Brown appeared as Boi’s counterpart, a tradition for the Georgia native’s latest live appearances. The performance isn’t the first time the pair has taken this stage, as Big Boi and Brown backed up Connecticut jamband Goose for a rock and roll rendition of “So Fresh, So Clean.” Outkast classics like “ATLiens,” “Ms. Jackson,” and “Rosa Parks” all made their classic appearances, allowing for all the long-running rap fans in attendance to dance the night away in the rainfall that showered the audience throughout the set. 

Mugger – Hotel Vegas – March 13

Local hardcore act Mugger took the stage for their eccentric take on the punk genre, complete with multiple local powerhouse members, including Lisa Alley of The Well, Daniel Fried of TV’s Daniel, and more that showed the supergroup stepping away from their respective roots for a stripped back but still duly abrasive presence that captivates audiences on any stage they take. It was a hot one on the Wednesday of SXSW, yet the local heavy hitters still donned their signature wrestler masks, showing their commitment to the stage antics that make them a must-see in the Austin local scene. Mugger only has one EP, but stage banter suggests that there will be more to come. 

Ho99o9 – Hotel Vegas – March 14

Newark, New Jersey’s Ho99o9, took over the Hotel Vegas Patio for the headlining reins on the Thursday of SXSW, and it was indeed mass chaos. The East Coast rap duo has been compared to Death Grips, but Ho99o9 takes an even more aggressive, often nu metal-esque, Slipknot-Korn, take on the experimental hip-hop genre. When Ho99o9 took the stage equipped with nothing but drums, electronics, and a vocalist, the audience was treated to an approach that took the east side staple on a roller coaster ride of yelled, rapped bars, sputtering electronics, and drums that took a hypnotic pairing with the backing tracks over the venue PA system. The performance acted as a triumphant return to Austin after an appearance at Austin heavy music festival Oblivion Access, which saw the duo sharing a bill with fellow experimentalists Billy Woods and Danny Brown, a triumphant bill that had local fans waiting for more. Since releasing multiple LPs, mixtapes, and EPs, Ho99o9’s tenure has become an underground sensation. 

Dinosaur Jr – Parish – March 14

Marshall Amplifiers brought some of the best talent to SXSW. With bands like The Black Angels, SNõõPER, BALTHVS, and local heavy-hitters The Octopus Project and Die Spitz rounding out the three-day bill at Austin’s East Side music sanctuary Parish, a surprise guest came in the form of legendary rock n roll act, Dinosaur Jr., announced close to the festival’s occurrence. Frontman/guitarist/legendary rocker J. Mascis is a seasoned badass, churning out tune after tune and project after project. The guy is a songwriting machine, and whether it’s his stoner metal project Witch, his solo singer/songwriter endeavors, or other projects, the prolific figure takes the stage, dials in, and sets the house on fire. Mascis also released his most recent studio album, What Do We Do Now, via Sub Pop Records, a highly anticipated effort showing that the songwriter’s creative tenacity is still going strong. For the Parish gig, the set was dominated by cuts from 1987’s You’re Living All Over Me, making all the diehards and longtime fans of Mascis’ work rejoice in the small-venue treat.

Featured photo by Bang Ho. All others by Case Cockrell except where noted