The Arts

It’s not immediately apparent which one which one is which. At least with someone like Hall & Oates, you knew what you were getting. Here, it may even be that the main guy is Ivan, and all the rest are the collective Alyosha. Like a Hootie and the Blowfish kind of deal.

Either way, they were busy at SXSW this year — playing what seemed like three times a day — and I was able to catch their last set, Saturday night.

In February, the group released their first full-length record, “All the Times We Had,” and recently made the top ten on Billboard’s “Heat Seekers” chart. Judging from the crowd, they have a devoted following.

The room was packed, and the stage was small, but the deliberately groomed five-some charged through their set with verve.

Ivan & Alyosha play an accomplished version of indie/folk/pop, and they seemed quite with it in Austin. Their harmonic, exuberant numbers charmed the crowd. A successful showing.

Later, I noticed that the band played the next night in Flagstaff, which according to my reading is 1000 miles away and about 16 hours by car. I really hope they flew.

So, this is also what Austin is like during SXSW. I have no idea what that light-up structure is these people are dancing on, but it’s in some kind of public square. This was 3 o’clock in the morning, and I also have no clue where this music was even coming from.

Man, Pony Time is a fun band to see live—especially in a cramped, dank barroom in Texas.

According to their website, the Seattle band’s two members, Luke Beetham and Stacy Peck were “drawn together by almost zero common musical interests and a shared love of South Park, this was a band that couldn’t fail.”

Well, they rocked it at SXSW. Raw guitar work, furious drumming and reverb-heavy vocals had the crowd into it. A particular favorite was the catchy ode to uber-Riot Grrrl “Kathleen Hanna” (video above).

Though at the moment she’s best known for guesting on Macklemore’s “Same Love,” Mary Lambert took a break from appearing with everyone’s favorite white rapper to do a set of her own.

“I’ve always wanted to come to SXSW,” the Cornish College grad told the crowd in Austin’s Brush Square Park. “I ever since I saw the Real World, and they came.” (She’s 23.)

“It’s hot! I hate the heat,” she bantered between songs. “If it were just 10 degrees cooler, then throw a little bit of clouds in there…” (Sounds like she doesn’t mind Seattle weather.) But regardless of the noonday sun—and with the help of some cold beer—a decent crowd hung in to hear Lambert

Backed up by a band consisting of guitar, banjo, violin and drums, Lambert played songs from her debut EP “letters don’t talk,” which was recorded in Sequim. Her voice was at turns expansive and delicate, and she had a fetching stage presence. Most of all, she seemed very happy to be in Austin playing her music.

I dropped by Maggie Mae’s on Austin’s 6th Street (aka, at 1 a.m., the Lone Star Gomorrah) to see Allen Stone. From Chewelah, Wa., by way of Seattle, Stone has an energetic, soulful sound that’s positive without being smarmy. After a brutal stretch of sound checking, he took the stage, and even with the feedbacking and reverbing from the equipment, brought the audience to his party.

Stone is a somewhat disorienting (in the best possible way) stage presence, with a look that says Brooklyn in the 00s and a voice that says Motown in the 70s. But his magnetism—not to mention a spectacular voice—manages to bring the combo off.

Check it out:

Stand-up guy, crowd-surfing-wise:

(You can also see Ryan Lewis at the bottom right, in the red button-down.)

The male members of Rose Windows, on a bench.

The boys of Rose Windows were in fairly good spirits Thursday afternoon, considering their singer, Rabia Shaheen Qazi, was in the hospital.

“Right now, she’s on IV and they’re waiting for the x-rays,” said guitarist Nils Petersen. But the Seattle band still had four days in town, and were in good spirits that her as-yet-undiagnosed ailment would clear up, hopeful that they’d get to play at least some of their scheduled performances in Austin. (more…)

Well, it’s sunny and warm, with a nice breeze, and there is a lot of stuff like this going on:

That’s a band playing on a double-decker bus, while a lot of people ignore them. Don’t know which one (band, that is).

He is so gorgeous!” said a slightly sauced Austin woman behind me. She was there to see everyone’s favorite Seattlite of the moment, Ryan Lewis!

Kidding, she was there to see Macklemore. Well, both of them, technically.

By 12:30, she and the rest of the capacity crowd at Antone’s was more than ready. And Macklemore didn’t disappoint. The set was near perfect. The right length, the right vibe, etc.

He worked the crowd the way he does so well, and it was obvious his charisma is more than just effect of a viral one-off. He crowd surfed—standing up—and at one point asked if he could get a “Hey, nonnie nonnie ho-ooooh.” And guess what? He got it!

Granted, the room was primed to party—SXSW!—but by the end, the energy in the club was vibrating.

He played all the big numbers, and he brought friends. Mary Lambert was there to guest on “Same Love.” Wanz was there to do his basso hook on “Thrift Shop.” And fellow local boy Allen Stone joined him on stage for “Neon Cathedral,” a musical elegy on the drinking life.

After “Thrift Shop,” which he played second, he reflected on that song’s massive success. “When we put the record together,” he remembered, “I said to Ryan, ‘Damn, we don’t even have a single.’ So we just put out this weird song, and now it’s sold 4.5 million copies.” (It also has 160 million views on YouTube, by the way.)

And he’s clearly enjoying some of the success. Introducing his song “Cadillac,” Macklemore talked about a recent Craigslist acquisition me made when he was “home for 36 hours”—an early 90s El Dorado limo, which he said he had brought down to Texas with him. And indeed, on the walk back to the hotel a short time, this reporter was passed by a white stretch Cadillac, traveling at a high rate of speed into the early Texas morning.

Macklemore, taken at an earlier SXSW showcase presented by iHeartRadio, by Roger Kisby/Getty Images for iHeartRadio.