Sonic Youth Previews New Music At SXSW
Sonic Youth played an intimate show Thursday night at La Zona Rosa at the South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas.|
A little after 6 p.m., the band — Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Steve Shelley and Lee Ranaldo — took the stage and thrilled the packed crowd of music industry folk and “commoners” alike with new songs from their forthcoming album, a thousand leaves (Geffen). Comedian Janeane Garofolo was also seen jamming away at the show.
A JAMTV spokesman who was on hand said while the set and the new material was fantastic, it didn’t stray far from the typical hard, guitar-based rock that Sonic Youth has been producing since 1981.
Other early highlights from the conference include a midnight (Thursday) set from Athens, Ga.,-based indie band Olivia Tremor Control at the Electric Lounge, and a packed show by Klezmer rock band Firewater, which features Tod A. (Cop Shoot Cop), Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard) and Yuval Gabay (Soul Coughing) at Emo’s.
Friday afternoon, Billy Bragg played a set for a casual bunch at the Daystage at the festival’s convention center, while Capitol Records president Gary Gersh spoke at length with Rolling Stone magazine writer David Fricke on everything from signing Nirvana to parting ways with MC Hammer.
Make sure to tune in Saturday night to check out live webcasts by Mojave 3, His Name Is Alive, High Llamas and the Bells in the JAMTV Virtual Venue.