SXSW: Brave Combo at the Continental Club

So, to continue my SXSW story...after seeing Calhoun earlier in the day, we wandered around on Congress for quite a while. We saw several bands of varying levels of interest. Then when we saw that we could get into the Continental Club, we headed in there. It was still about an hour before Brave Combo would go on, but the guys who were playing were a pretty good bluesy-country band. I really enjoyed their set! They closed out with a phenomenal cover of "The Letter" which I really enjoyed.

After their set, part of the crowd cleared out and made their way to their next destination, so my group moved up closer to the front in search of a seat for my Mom and Grandmother. I'd like to give a HUGE thank you to the guys who, upon seeing my 85-year-old grandmother, gave up their seats. That was a big blessing. I'm not sure that either Mom or Grandmother would have been able to get through Brave Combo's whole set without being able to have a seat.

As expected, Brave Combo was AWESOME. When you hear that they are a polka band, you don't exactly expect to enjoy the show. LOL. But they aren't your grandpa's polka, let me tell you. I'd almost describe it more as acid-polka, if that is really a genre. Even if it isn't a real genre, it seems to fit. And the best part about it is that these guys (and girl) are all superb musicians. They've all studied their instruments for years and are classically trained, and you can hear that in their music. Yes, it's a rollicking good time...but they've found a way to turn Bach, Dean Martin, and Henry Mancini music into really enjoyable polka!

Seeing them with a crowd that was really and truly there to see Brave Combo is a very different experience for me. I grew up in Denton. Brave Combo is from Denton, and they are a huge part of the community. They've always been very involved in Denton events, whether its the Arts and Jazz Festival, or the Dog Days of Summer, or the city's Fourth of July celebration. I grew up seeing Brave Combo everywhere...and they are more just expected around here, not really something that people tend to get excited about. I've seen them countless times over the years, but never at a function that people would have to pay to attend. However, they are a band that tours around the world, and people all over know them and pay to see them. It is a very different kind of experience to hear Brave Combo play in front of a rabid crowd than it is to see them at a city function. It's kind of hard to explain...but I liked it!

SXSW: Calhoun at Docs

I got to go to SXSW (South By Southwest) in Austin this weekend, briefly. I was with my mom and grandmother, so it wasn't quite how I would have done SXSW on my own, but I still had a good time.

Calhoun, a Fort Worth band, is one that I've been meaning to go to see live for quite some time. I discovered them on myspace about a year or more ago, and I love their music. The lead singer's voice is gorgeous on recordings.

I had no clue that Calhoun would be playing in Austin this weekend though, so it was a pleasant surprise. We headed down to Congress and started walking around to see what was going on. When we walked past Docs, we discovered that a band was about to start performing and there were plenty of places to have a seat. I wound up right up front.

The band started to play, and I really enjoyed what I was hearing, primarily the lead singer's falsetto. After the first song of their set, they mentioned that they were Calhoun from Fort Worth!!! Pretty cool. Some of their other songs were ones that I recognized. All of them were fantastic. I had a lot of fun. I'm going to have to go see them around here the next time I notice that they are playing in the Denton/Fort Worth area.

You should definitely check them out! You can find their music at their MySpace page. Or check out their official website at calhounmusic.com.

More on SXSW soon!