After much planning and stress over planning, we hit Austin on March 12th to 80 degree temperatures and a city full of music.   After the usual trip to Opal Divine's for a beautiful micro brewery beer..then Whole foods to pretend to buy groceries that were good for us, quick pit stop at our hotel and then Moonshine Restaurant for a Day 1 feast of tasty steak and more beer Then...Latitude 30 for the start..the British Music Embassy;.

The Huw Stephens hosted....Tuesday at British Music Embassy is always fun.  Everyone wants to start off well, up first..   Y Niwl    Welsh Surf Instrumental band.   Wicked little band, no vocals, in fact no words at all (Huw pointed out before they played that there will be no banter...just 30 minutes of surf punk instrumental music...tasty way to start

Lucy Rose ..have been following her since her time with Bombay Bicycle Club..her performance started off with sound issues as they often do in Austin but the set built up nicely and the last two songs were perfection...she does have a lovely voice!

Tall Ships were up next..solid psychedelic rock with plenty of tempo changes.   Good change from Lucy Rose..needed a bit of a boost
 
 
now....The 1975     I really don't know if I can properly describe these kids.  I have listened to them for awhile...watched the video's..but none of that prepared me for what I saw there.  A wicked blend of indie rock with 80's funk sung by a far too adorable singer, this band is going to be huge.  It wont be popular with everyone but I stood there and watched as a note perfect/pitch perfect performance go the crowd dancing and moving closer to the stage which is not always easy with this crowd.  Give them a shot and I think many will enjoy this for what it is..and see them before they start playing big venues!
 
Willy Mason was up next..which turned out to be quite good     A blend of 50's rock n roll and rockabilly mixed with an odd hip hop backdrop..two lovely bandmates ..he is a showman and knows how to work the crowd.  ( he also knows how to drink a lot as he stood beside us for the entire evening before his performance)  You may have heard his songs on apple ads on TV and with the Jack White/Third Man Records seal of approval..he is another that we can expect to hear more from.
 
Bastille ended the showcase and they are another band I had been listening to for while.  Odd blend of all sorts of influences and sounds but it was clear...they are a confident bunch.   As they hit Austin, they welcomed the news that their album was number one in the UK and I can see why its so popular.  While the tone of some of the lyrics is rather dry..you could not tell that from the energy they perform with.  They don't stay in one spot for too long..a lot of activity from the singer and hard not too enjoy a set by a band that is clearly having fun.
 
Now..thoroughly exhausted after a full day and having left my home in Toronto at 4am that morning...it was time to head to the hotel.  Thankfully, the hotel was only 2 blocks away so off I went into the night!
 
more to come!
 
jim