Kevin Bronson on March 21st, 2010

0

Austin is just getting warmed up. I covered seven bands Thursday while on assignment for SPIN.com:

‣ Band of Horses played a resplendent set to a full house at Stubb’s outdoor theater.
‣ L.A.’s Radar Bros. [that’s Jim Putnam, pictured] playing to a packed Merge Records showcase at the Cedar Street Courtyard, previewed their sixth album (out this week), “The Illustrated Garden.”
‣ She & Him continued to underwhelm me in their Merge Records performance.
‣ Long Beach quartet Avi Buffalo’s star continued to rise.
‣ The xx weren’t quite right for a late-night slot at the Mohawk.
‣ Broken Social Scene meted out some Canadian charm at Stubb’s.
‣ And Dan Black’s disco afternooner at the SXSW Throwdown party was pretty fun.

Click here to check out my contributions to the Best & Worst of Day 2. Click here for all of SPIN.com’s SXSW coverage.

â—Š â—Š â—Š

Earlier in the afternoon, my attempt to hit the Filter party thwarted by a big crowd [bottom photo], I had the happy accident of seeing Dappled Cities play at the Ghost Room a block away. Which, of course, is the magic of SXSW – sometimes you end up at a show that was your second or third choice and end up wondering how you didn’t make it a priority all along.

The Australian quintet’s atmospheric, insistent rock, played with a genuine exuberance, showcased the talents of dual vocalists David Rennick and Tim Derricourt. The stuff from their third album, “Zounds,” released last fall, proved more than just a mere afternoon diversion – that a song like “The Night Is Young at Heart” packed a punch in the midday sun was testament to their magic.

Below, the crowd outside the Filter party: