On my third day of SXSW, I was showing clear signs of slowing down (temperature in the 80s hasn’t helped). Despite my zombie state, I sauntered over to Beso Cantina for the Moheak Radio party, a station for whom I DJ, to show support; there, Austin’s Tony Scalzo and the Familiar Strangers were crooning convincingly. Next, was the Baeblemusic Party at The Phoenix.

The Rural Alberta Advantage, Toronto’s indie trio, soothed the audience with dreamy harmonies. The Boxer Rebellion, whose members are from Tennessee, England, and Australia, engaged with their rock with a twang, and warmed the crowd up for Norwegian headliners electro-rock band, Datarock (top picture), who pranced about in matching red sweat suits and sunglasses, promoting their new single, “Catcher in the Rye.” After a taco break at Chupacabra, I hailed a cab to the 21st Street Co-Op, a group of dorm-style quarters with rooms dedicated to live performances. I paid a visit to virtuosic Brooklynites, Apollo Run and hopped downtown again to Club De Ville for LA’s Gram Rabbit (picture below), whose twists on cowboy get-ups and interpretive dancer wearing a bunny suit, combined with their danceable and echoing electro-rock, consistently make them a band to note.

Another trip to the Co-Op landed me mid-set for NY’s duo, Hank and Cupcakes (pictured below) and my night’s closers, Black Taxi. An “early” 1am evening seemed like a good idea in anticipation for the following day, the last of SXSW. – Meijin Bruttomesso

I don’t think singer songwriter Melati Melay was being entirely serious when she posted "ghettotech" as her genre on Myspace. In fact, of the three genres listed, only "tropical" seems somewhat descriptive of her music and… life. Malay, originally from Indonesia, lived in Australia, Singapore and a whole bunch of other places before finally settling in New York, and the international influence resonates throughout her tracks. The songs we hear on her myspace profile are quite clearly split in two: rather traditional, intimate but tense ballads with bluesy overtones on one side, and more orchestrated, lush and sophisticated tracks like "Big Potential" on the other – we guess this is a new direction in her sound, which we like a lot. All her music though conveys this overwhelming feeling of an intensely sunny day with a breeze…albeit a breeze with a bite. Windbreaker weather. – allison levin

St. Patrick’s Day at SXSW 2011 was unlike any March 17th I had ever experienced. The Deli Magazine teamed up with Brooklyn Lager, GAT5, and Black Knight Productions to showcase thirty bands, eight of which I was proud to present, on three stages at Hotel Vegas/Volstead Lounge in the heart of downtown Austin at the Brooklyn BBQ. My day began with The Gay Blades, who are becoming a household name. Unfortunately, the set was cut short by a loss of diesel power. The crew quickly replenished the generator for the outdoor stage, but TGB unleashed some mega-phone free-styling, a resourceful and entertaining solution to the unexpected events.

Fueled up, Fan Tan (top picture) hit the stage, while speed metal, Goes Cube, shook the indoor “Dive” stage. Bouncing between stages, I encountered Butcher Bear Soundsystem with Charlie who included a man in a yellow bear suit, pretty painful for the 86 degree Texas temperature. Following the plush performer was reggae-tinged rock quartet, Deadbeat Darling, special guests, fashionable and punky The Vandelles (pictured below), and ethereal Dream Diary.

As the sun set, the crowd grew and feasted on BBQ , enjoying on-the-house beverages (during the last quarter of ever hour), and one of NYC’s top artists, soothing, bass-driven, The Dig, outside, while piano accompanied poet, Emily Greene (pictured below), played the acoustic “Volstead” stage, and The Wicked Tomorrow’s sultry sound stopped attendees in their tracks.

Continuing the rock duo them, The Courtesy Tier echoed throughout the “Dive” space, followed by guitar-heavy Blackbells, and simultaneously, in the backyard, Black Taxi drew the crowd into a dancing frenzy. The ear-catching melodies and moving vocals of Brooklyn trio, Apollo Run, pulled the audience indoors before the last, but not least, dynamic and rhythmically complex decibel., closed the BK BBQ with a bang, literally, as the duet landed in a pile atop the drum kit. All in all, the day was a memorable and proud twelve hours for New York music. – Meijin Bruttomesso

"Baltimore four-piece Ponytail is gearing up to release their third full-length, Do Whatever You Want All the Time, due for release on April 12 on We Are Free. In the meantime, Ponytail member Dustin Wong has compiled yet another fantastic music video of various mash-up clips that go along with portions of each song on the album. Sort of like an album appetizer. The video complements the colorful cover art that was designed by EYE of the Japanese rock band Boredoms." -Courtesy of Big Hassle Media.

Do Whatever You Want All The Time from WEAREFREE on Vimeo.

Technically the second day of SXSW 2011’s music week was my first day (although Tuesday is kind of a half Music day realy), and I certainly made up for lost time. My third SXSW, the festival’s 25th anniversary, I celebrated with eleven bands and a huge dose of venue hopping.

After being rejected by NYC’s Shilpa Ray’s show at the Austin Convention Center (“badges only, no bracelets!” – "WTF?!?"), I meandered down 6th Street to the “British Embassy,” where a Welsh showcase was beginning, and I was privileged to see synth-rockers, We//Are//Animal (top picture ), and dance-y electro-pop trio, Bright Light Bright Light. Only steps away at The Parish were Brooklyn’s quirky alt rock quartet, Black Taxi, and Austin’s synth rockers, The Frontier Brothers, and wacky dance-rockers, Bright Light Social Hour. A long walk to the Buzzbands LA Party and an extended sound check ended in a short sample of orchestral Other Lives.

A coffee break and pedicab ride were followed by Washington D.C.’s indie-pop Jukebox the Ghost at the Empire Automotive Shop. Back to back, I explored LA’s alternative electro-pop/rock foursome, Hell & Lula (picture above), at Emo’s Annex, New York’s retro-rock outfit, Blackbells, at Fado’s, and my favorite new band of the day, Oklahoma City’s hard rock showmen, The Pretty Black Chains (picture below), at the Oklahoma showcase at Friends.

The day came full circle as I was denied entry to The Black Angels and Queens of the Stone Age at La Zona Rosa, but I closed my first Austin night right with the soulful sounds of NY’s Kendra Morris (pictured below, who also played the Deli sponsored Music Tech Mashup Party earlier in the afternoon) at the Scoot Inn before heading home to prepare for an even bigger second day!

Here are 3 reviews from a selection of CDs that were recently submitted here.

“I could spend all night singing this song/I’m searching for reasons to tell you that you should still be mine" are lyrics from Bird Dog’s self-titled EP. They hail from Brooklyn, and their EP is a delicious mix of rock, roots and soul, the kind of music that your ears have been searching for. The music will strike a chord with your soul and the lyrics are intelligently relatable. Bird Dog’s tracks will brighten any rainy day or sustain the light of a sunny day; make no mistake, this is music you do not want to deny yourself the chance to listen to. Bird Dog’s self-titled EP is streaming and available for download here.

Electro-pop power team Jonka’s album "Slow and Steady Wins The Race" (the follow-up album, Pinks and Blues, has yet to be released) is overflowing with fresh synth beats and brilliant vocal harmonies. Jonka’s music mixes together 80s pop and hip-hop, coming up with a nostalgic yet strikingly modern content. The lyrics are stirringly heartfelt; consider these lyrics from the song "Guided By Light," "Get a little bit older, now you think for yourself/Instead of waiting your turn, it’s time to get off the shelf/ Get a little bit wiser, you’ve been kicking around/Instead of kicking your can, you’ve got your feet on the ground." Jonka’s music will make you think, it will make you want to dance, and it somehow makes you want to live a better life, all at the same time.

Medals, with their album "Dancing in Ceremony", are reinventing indie pop. The album began as a new Jaguar Club record (former Jaguar Club members Will Popadic and Yoi Fujita are now Medals) and was inspired by the two’s mutual love for 90s electronica and Blur’s later works. Dancing in Ceremony settled itself somewhere between being a dance floor record and one inspired by the techno giants of the 90s. The album, most of which was recorded in one 10-hour session with Nick Stumpf (of French Kicks), is full of acoustic strumming, bass hooks, distinctive lyrics and scattered beats. Live, Medals is composed of Popadic singing, playing guitar, triggering samples and playing harmonica; Fujita playing bass and playing some keyboards; and longtime friend Nadia Brittingham playing keyboards, singing and playing drums. As they write in their bio, "We’d like to think we are fun but serious, loud and good." Couldn’t have put it better myself. – Leah Tribbett

09 TURN TO GOLD by Medals

Eleanor Logan has a lot of loud friends, but somehow her unadorned voice always manages to be heard above the din. If her music’s any indication, she must be one of those people who always gets what she wants without having to demand things go her way.
Known primarily for her work with the early grunge-nostalgic trio Adult Themes, the Brooklyn artist has just released a 2-song 7" courtesy of Crikey! Records under her new solo project, Happy New Year. Where Adult Themes hash out a fun but tried-and-true noise rock formula, Happy New Year seems more than happy to include any sound within its sonic washing machine. Guitar-driven fuzz and aggressive percussion hits surround Eleanor as she sits pretty in the middle of all the action. It’s intense and calm, focused and chaotic…kinda hard to put your finger on, which only makes it more interesting.
She promises another song next month, so I’m looking forward to hearing what she sticks in the blender this time.
See her at SXSW all this week. Check her site for details. – Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)

We just e-stumbled upon Foley Stewart, a young NYC songwriter who is having a residency at Pianos in April, and we really enjoyed his intimate, intense songs that are in equal parts reminiscent of Jeff Buckley and Elliot Smith. We definitely see a lot of potential here, you may want to check this guy out at Pianos at 7 pm on April 7 or one of the following Sundays.

Brooklyn based Tiny Victories play an interesting, rich brand of electro-pop. Floating on several layers of synths, electronic sounds, and steady drum patterns, their songs are luscious in the arrangement department and properly structured. The vocals add sobriety to the mix, through minimalistic melodies sung with very little emotion, in the classic "brainy pop" tradition inaugurated by Brian Eno. The band will play a series of shows at SXSW and then come back to NYC to release their debut CD on April 2 at Pianos. Check out the dates here.

Here’s the cover of the 1st issue of The Deli Austin. Click on the cover to access the pdf file. 5,000 copies of the magazine will be distributed in Austin during SXSW MUSIC 2011.

Deli Readers,

Check out the new Deli SXSW channel,  featuring (on the right) a nifty aggregator of SXSW related news from the main music blogs out there.

The Deli’s Staff

Brooklyn and Toronto based female group Blues tied for the 105th spot on the Deli’s Best NYC Emerging Artists of 2010 poll with fellow Brooklyn band Blondes (the full results of the poll can be seen here). Their music, indeed, features occasional bluesy elements, although their overall sound fully belongs to the "Brooklyn DIY Lo-Fi/Avant-indie" scene, equally influenced by Vivian Girls’ casual drone pop, Beach Fossils’ infectious sloppy-pop and Animal Collective sonic experimentalism. With a less fun approach than your average lo-fi band, Blues create psych rock that sounds current and – at the same time – is remeniscent of the original psychedelic atmospheres of the late 60s, carrying overtones of drug infused beachside bonfires and late-night road-trips with friends. Mid-March and it already feels like we’re halfway through July… in 1967. – Leah Tribbett