Real to reel

Local observations from a movie, music buff

By Dan Ochwat

Representing in Austin

The original indie music fest, entering its 20th year, is the Austin, Texas-based South By Southwest (SXSW), set for March 15-19. Chicagoans joining the fray and fighting to see the best of the best at this music marathon should know it’s nearly impossible to get in and see the “it” bands like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but a long list of Chicago bands are taking a stage and making us proud. Seek them out.

As for Clap Your Hands, they’re April 3 Metro show sold out in 15 minutes. And should you take the advice of the pierced Metro box office cashier who attempted to console me by saying, “If you ask me, any show that sells out in 15 minutes is going to suck anyway,” then you’re better off feeling out the unknowns. (Personally, I would have liked that ticket, even if I did hear them over the store speakers in a Baby Gap recently.)

More advice from Shawn Podgurski, bass and vocals for the local band Sybris, is to just attend the parties. He says www.pitchforkmedia.com other zines and record labels throw free parties at the bars in Austin, and even at the local bars in Chicago. You just have to ask around, he says. Sybris played an unofficial show last year at SXSW and found themselves signed to Flameshovel Records shortly after. This year, they’re playing the Austin Music Hall. A 3,000-capacity venue, the top stage at SXSW. Podgurski says they’re playing with a major indie band at SXSW, so the pressure’s on. He was not allowed to tell me what band, but it could be exciting, even if they get stuck playing at noon or something. Clap Your Hands perhaps? (See my full Q&A with Sybris’ Podgurski on the following page.)

A relatively unknown band, also signed to Flameshovel Records and playing SXSW, is The Bound Stems. Their EP, “The Logic of Building the Body Plan,” is one of my favorite recent albums. I also saw them live at Schuba’s Feb. 9. It was a small crowd, which irked me and satisfied me at the same time. The small crowd is the realization that there really aren’t that many people following indie music, but the satisfaction will come when this band starts selling out the Metro. Their first full-length album is expected to be in stores this year. The EP mixes taped interviews with what sounds to be someone’s mother, along with non-linear music building up to screams or catchy lyrics. One problem I had with the live show is the group had a sassy woman on stage singing over some of the vocals, drowning out Bobby’s Isaac Brock-inspired voice. It’s not that way on the EP, so any major changes throw me off a bit. Still sounded good though.

The local list

SXSW really kicks off March 10 with its film portion of the event, though the music doesn’t begin until March 15. Here’s a list, as of Feb. 6, of the Chicago acts heading to Austin. Keep them in mind for when they come back to town. I know I am.

Baby Teeth • Backyard Tire Fire • Bible of the Devil • Bound Stems • Busy Signals • Catfish Haven (undeniable voice on this motley looking dude.) • Chin Up Chin Up • Steve Dawson • Debris Inc. • The Detholz! • Devil In A Woodpile • The Effigies • The Fold • Head of Femur (crazy band, lots of hair and horns and jumping around. They’re fantastic and kitschy.) The Jai-Alai Savant • June • Jon Langford • Low Skies • Lying In States • Magnolia Electric Company • Marty Casey & Lovehammers (How the hell did they get in?) • Chris Mills • The M’s • Office • OK GO • Owen • The Ponys • Puerto Muerto • The Reputation • Russian Circles • Sybris • The Thin Man • Tight Phantomz • volcano! • Andre Williams • Zombi

Bubble

In the film world, Steven Soderbergh’s HD experiment “Bubble” stole headlines for about a week, and then in typical indie fashion, faded away instantly. It’s a shame. I still feel passionate about this project. Soderbergh timed his film to be released on HD Net on TV, the same day it was released in theaters. Then one week later, it was released on DVD. This was revolutionary. Hollywood would never think about doing this. And yes, I know that filthy rich NBA owner Mark Cuban owns HD Net and owns Landmark Theaters, where the movie played, so it wasn’t a daring risk, but it still bucked the system.

Being the true geek I am, and having the HD channel on which “Bubble” premiered, I was psyched. I set my Friday night aside to watch this movie that was playing in the multiplex down the street from me. I couldn’t get over that. Someday, when I have kids and I’m trapped at home, I could potentially watch a first-run movie in HD quality on TV. Brilliant.

So, I turned the lights out, and the phone only rang once, which was a comparable annoyance to, say, a kid pointing a laser pen on screen at the theater. The movie: It was good. It wasn’t a masterpiece. Because it uses real people in their real homes, the non-actors are a bit jarring in their inability to light up a screen. But when you really start to watch them, there is a strong thread of poetry in the film on being trapped in a small town. The real achievement though is in Soderbergh’s use of the HD camera. The shots in the film are stunning. You can tell he tested all sorts of cameras and lighting to nail the look of the film.

He has a six-picture deal to continue this experiment. I may just go to the theater and watch the upcoming experiments though, because I hate when the phone rings.

New albums

The first fine album releases of 2006 took shape in Cat Power, Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins and Arctic Monkeys. “The Greatest,” by Cat Power, and “Rabbit-Fur Coat,” by Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis, are countrified versions of their original selves. Cat Power cancelled her concert at the Vic; Jenny Lewis plays the Park West on March 14. The track “Rise Up With Fists” is reason alone to buy the Jenny Lewis album. It’s her classic funny, rich, stream-of-consciousness lyrics sung in her beautiful tone. The song tears into the hypocrisy of some religious types.

“Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” is the Arctic Monkeys first U.S. release, and it’s going to make the young kids a hit. Their March 18 Metro show has already sold out. The album is as fun as advertised — full of short, Brit-pop bullets.

Here’s who to see

Voxtrot brings their pop sound to the Beat Kitchen on Feb. 24.

Will Sheff of the vastly underrated Okkervil River performs a solo show at Schuba’s on Feb. 24.

The eclectic Animal Collective plays two shows at the Logan Square Auditorium Feb. 25.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs play Logan Square Auditorium Feb. 27.

Ted Leo plays the Abbey Pub March 10, and the New Pornographers team up with Belle and Sebastian for a sold-out show at the Riviera that same day.

Sam Champion heads to Martyrs on March 10. Could be a sleeper show for those of you looking for New Porno tickets on eBay.

Brit hits The Subways rock the Empty Bottle March 14, the same day Test Icicles play the Logan Square Auditorium and The Books perform at Schuba’s.

Send comments and suggestions to Dan at danochwat@hotmail.com.

Click here for the Real to Reel interview with Chicago's own Sybris

Click here for more Real to Reel