SXSW 2012: A family outing for nine SoCal bands at Buzz Bands LA’s ‘Dear Austin, Love L.A.’ day party

Kevin Bronson on March 15th, 2012

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The stage at Opal Divine’s Freehouse in Austin is like a treehouse stationed at the end of a picnic area. For almost seven hours Wednesday at Buzz Bands LA’s “Dear Austin, Love L.A.” day party, nine Los Angeles bands used it as their plaything, dispensing crisp sets as if they were all on a family outing to South by Southwest.

Rock quartet Dead Sara did its best to steal the show, with frontwoman Emily Armstrong (top photo) clambering to the top of the speaker to belt out the hit single “Weatherman” as guitarist Siouxsie Medley and crew shredded from below. Armstrong’s was not the only virtuoso vocal performance of the day, nor was it the only acrobatic excursion.

Vanaprasta’s Steven Wilkin voice soared as he balanced himself from atop the railing; Joey Siara of the Henry Clay People took his shout-singing into the crowd, proselytizing from atop a picnic table; PAPA drummer-singer Darren Weiss was a study in intensity as he worked at the back of the stage from behind his kit; and Harriet’s Alex Casnoff cut through the lunchtime conversations with powerful material from the band’s “Tell the Right Story” EP.

Gang harmonies highlighted moving sets from Milo Greene, NO and Chasing Kings, and Hands’ army of electronics and agitated beats captivated the crowd on the deck and attracted some looky-loos from the sidewalk along bustling 6th Street.

Each of the bands are playing multiple dates at this week’s SXSW, so the Buzz Bands LA event was something of a warm-up. “Only in Austin can you drink beer at 11:30 in the morning and call it work,” wisecracked Matt Schwartz of Chasing Kings during the opening set.

Maybe the worst thing that happened all day? “I swallowed my gum,” said Andy Creighton of the Henry Clay People.

A happy-to-be-in-Austin feeling prevailed, especially for Vanaprasta, which suffered a flat tire and a blowout during its drive from L.A., and was playing the first of its three shows on Wednesday. As the mini-gallery below suggests, guitarist Cameron Dmytryk was not holding back.