Celebrating six years of kick-ass SXSW parties, Do512 and Covert Curiosity’s Strange Brew 6 delivered some sick guitars and booty-bouncing beats at Hotel Vegas on Monday, March 13th. On the ever-expanding SXSW Music portion that adds another day by beginning on Monday, this was the hippest party on Southby’s first official night.
Taking the crowd of Lone Star swillin’, Frito pie-eatin’ rockers into magic hour was Boogarins – Portuguese for the jasmine flower – a Brazilian psych rock band that brings the sexy to the genre with the charismatic toothy-grinned frontman Dinho Almeida. Chicago’s power trio Meat Wave then took the stage inside with their aggressive lo-fi punk followed by LA quintet Goon, a grungy garage rock band featuring lead singer Kenny Becker’s melancholy-tinged vocals on songs such as their new single “Cammie at Night.” The spirit of the late ’70s and early ’80s was revived with Omni’s Television/Devo inspired Atlanta lo-fi pop. Touring in support of their 2016 album Deluxe, Omni found some new fans in the Hotel Hot Burrito.
Meanwhile outside, Toronto-based band Weaves got the groove going with a fun indie rock that had hips swinging. A fun mix of quirky beats with lead singer Jasmyn Burke’s clever vocals got people in the mood for Austin’s tribute the great Sun Ra – Golden Dawn Arkestra. A perennial festival favorite, belly dancer and shaman accompanied Golden Dawn Arkestra brought the strange with their colorful and decorative personas.
With Jerry Lee Lewis-style ivory banging, Philly rockers Low Cut Connie’s high-energy live performance kept the good vibes going. Charismatic pianist and lead singer Adam Weiner captivated the crowd with his rock and roll revival vocals and showmanship. Finally, headlining the mild, west coast-temperature evening was California psych garage band Meatbodies. Led by Fuzz bassist Chad Ubovich, who ascended from bandmate of Ty Segall to front his own band, the high-energy band incited a mosh pit and saw beer can after beer can aloft in the air as they reached crescendo.