Fans of live music and Doritos, we don't need to tell you: SXSW 2014 is upon us. As we've announced, Pitchfork will be hosting a showcase and a handful of parties, but below we pick out the best—and the most shamelessly #Bold—of what the rest of festival has to offer.
Larry Fitzmaurice
Sophie
Wednesday, March 12. Empire Garage, 8:45 p.m.
Warp and LuckyMe's showcase promises to feature some of electronic music's most fascinating up-and-comers, from grime-pop supergroup Future Brown to genre-defying singer Kelela—not to mention established footwork vets DJ Rashad and DJ Spinn—but all eyes are on enigmatic UK producer SOPHIE, who lit up the dance world last year with his beguiling two-tracker for Numbers, the freestyle-tinged smasher "Bipp" b/w "Elle". SOPHIE is so hotly-tipped at the moment that there are actually people trying to push (badly-drawn, natch) fake tracks from the producer into cyberspace, a fitting unintentional tribute to the fast-and-loose games that SOPHIE plays with identity. Here's hoping that his SXSW performances prove that there's nothing like the real thing.
Ty Dolla $ign
Thursday, March 13. The Main II, 11:15 p.m.
Los Angeleno and Taylor Gang affiliate Ty Dolla $ign is, at heart, a true auteur: He wields an impressively lucre display of douchebag-level sexual politics, bolstering his largesse of ratchetness with engaging, melodic songwriting that adds a touch of sweetness to the sour-tasting sweat that coats his romantic perspective. I'm totally thrilled to see how Ty Dolla, who can scan on record as a deceptively smart loner, brings his solo act to a showcase that's also set to feature significantly more uptempo acts like Migos and YG—and also, like any normal human being on earth, any chance to hear "Or Nah" in any setting at any time of day is a chance I'm eager to take.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Friday, March 14. The Chevrolet Courtyard at Cedar Street, 10:45 p.m.
It's been three years since Brooklyn indie-pop auteurs the Pains of Being Pure at Heart released their last LP, the expensive-sounding alt-rock callback Belong, and they've undergone changes again: Most of the original lineup have departed the band, leaving Pains singer Kip Berman by his lonesome to assemble a new band for their follow-up, Days of Abandon, due later this year. Early listens suggest that the record's another left turn for the project, deep-digging into the more pastoral corners of Swedish indie Labrador's peerless catalog, so it'll be interesting to hear how the new material plays live with the new band behind it (and at a not-so-quaint-sounding place as "The Chevrolet Courtyard", no less).
The Juan MacLean
Friday, March 14. The Iron Bear, 1:00 a.m.
The Juan MacLean's reputation as a DJ is sterling. He's a consummate performer who, like the best spinners, knows how to get a crowd moving with the right records at the right time. He's also a notorious party animal, which means he's known to get a party going, and every time I've seen him in a live setting he's blown my head clean off. Coming off an incredible entry in BBC's Essential Mix series, along with a recent string of singles that represent the best house music that the genre could possibly offer at the moment, his artistic capital is especially in-demand, and even if it's probably not the type of performance that SXSW hypebeasts will take to the blogs and prattle on about, it's going to be one hell of a fucking bash—and is there anything better than that?
Future
Saturday, March 15. Boiler Room, 12:05 a.m.
True story: I have listened to "Move That Dope" a hundred times since it was released earlier this year, and I know I'm not the only one. The latest single from Atlanta rap behemoth Future's forthcoming Honest is a world-crushing track that suggests he might match the previously set heights of 2012's still-excellent debut Pluto, and even if he holds back on previewing more new material at his planned set at Boiler Room's pretty-much-the-end-of-SXSW event, he's got plenty of stuff to blow out the PA and maybe—just maybe—get some Boiler Room crowd members to actually dance, for once. (As always, Boiler Room is invite-only at an undisclosed location, but as always, you'll be able to watch the whole thing go down streaming live on their website, too.)
Lindsay Zoladz
Tacocat
Friday, March 14. The Liberty (Hardly Art/Suicide Squeeze “Way Unofficial SXSW Showcase”), 7 p.m.
Seattle pop-punks Tacocatrecently landed two of the greatest corporate sponsorships of all time: One with the feminine product company Femenstrual Cups (who got in touch with them after hearing their pro-period anthem “Crimson Wave”), and a “legal weed sponsorship” with an electronic joint manufacturer called JuJu Joint. If these aren’t good enough reasons to come catch their feminist stoner pool party jams live, then I don’t know what to tell you.
Future Islands
Wednesday, March 12. Haven (KCRW Showcase), 12 a.m.
It’s no secret that theatrical Baltimore synth-poppers Future Islands are a great live band—and thanks to their spectacular, meme-worthy performance on David Letterman last week, more people than ever have suddenly realized this. The gifs don’t lie: Samuel T. Herring’s dance moves must be seen to be believed.
Ava Luna
Thursday, March 13.The Liberty (Father Daughter/Inflated Records Showcase), 7 p.m.
Electric Balloon, the latest album from Brooklyn art-rockers Ava Luna, is driven by the eccentric personalities of its three lead singers: the jittery Carlos Hernandez, the soulful Felicia Douglass, and the delightfully bonkers Becca Kauffman. It’s a busy sound, but it all comes together in their high-energy live performances.
Young Thug
Friday, March 14. Fader Fort, time TBA
Elastic-voiced rapper Young Thug is having a better 2014 than you: He’s riding the hype of the year’s most well-received mixtape (Black Portland), watching his hazy single “Stoner” climb the charts, and rumored to be signing with a different label pretty much every other day. All of which means you should catch him this year—he’ll be commanding much larger stages soon.
Damon Albarn
Friday, March 14. Fader Fort, 7:30 p.m.
Damon Albarn will release his new solo album, Everyday Robots, next month, but he also revealed recently that Blur have recorded an album’s worth of new material. He’s hinted at a “career-spanning set list” for his SXSW gigs, so these shows could have some exciting surprises in store.
Kim Kelly
Christian Mistress via their FB
Vulgaari
Saturday, March 15. Blakkr Imperial Black Ale Release Party at the ABGB, 3:20 p.m.
One of Minneapolis, MN's heaviest new exports, this five-man-strong outfit meld back-breaking sludge riffs, hoarse exhortations, doomed tempos and just a hint of acidic psychedelia. Live, they decimate.
Christian Mistress
Wednesday, March 12. Relapse Records showcase at Dirty Dog Bar, 12 a.m.
The return of this Olympia, WA group promises nothing but triumph, given that they come armed with a full arsenal of galloping twin-lead heavy metal thunder, doomed intent, and vocalist Christine Davis' bewitching wail. Blasphemy never sounded so good.
Lazer/Wulf
Saturday, March 15. Tone Deaf Touring showcase at Red Eyed Fly, 9 p.m.
An Atlanta, GA trio with energy, enthusiasm, and oddball innovation to spare, Lazer/Wulf gleefully combine manic technical mastery with a jumble of doom,, hardcore, jazz, evil funk, and skittering basslines that'd make Mike Patton nervous.
Spirit Caravan
Saturday, March 15. Tone Deaf Touring showcase at Red Eyed Fly, 1 a.m.
The return of one of doom's most beloved and legendary institutions warrants mandatory viewing for any hesher worth their drug money. Helmed by Wino himself and steeped in history, Spirit Caravan's inimitable take on slow-burning stoner doom is immortal.
Primitive Man
Thursday, March 13. Converse x Thrasher Death Match The Scoot Inn, 1:55pm
Nasty, snarling sludge charred black and poisonous and pierced through with feedback wails are what's on offer from Denver misanthropes Primitive Man, who feature past & current members of Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire and Withered. I'm almost afraid to see them live.
Corban's* Armchair Picks
*I am not actually going to the festival please don't e-mail me
iTunes Festival
March 11-15. ACL Moody Theatre, 8-11 p.m.
It wouldn’t be SXSW if there wasn’t some good old-fashioned major label gatecrashing, so throw Apple’s money into the mix plus #SYNERGY and you’ve got the inaugural iTunes Festival. Up-and-comers like Pitbull, Keith Urban, Coldplay and Soundgarden headline the four-day event, which starts tomorrow night at Austin ACL Moody Theatre and will be simulcast via Apple TV. Charging dock sold separately.
Lady Gaga
Thursday, March 13. Stubb's, TBA
Gaga takes the torch from Springsteen as this year’s SXSW Keynote Speaker, holding down her official capacity before blasting off at the Doritos #BoldStage at Stubb’s on Thursday night. While the brand sponsorship opportunity has outlined some snack-sanctioned Bold initiatives to ensure entrance to the 2,200-person venue, maybe there’s nothing bolder than handing a scalper a stack of cash in the middle of a busy thoroughfare.
Young Money
Saturday, March 15. Nick Kicks, 4-7 p.m.
Over the past few years, Lil Wayne’s Young Money camp has been nothing if not an effective coterie of SXSW carrot-danglers: While Wayne performed at the festival in 2012 (and by “performed” I mean “filmed an elaborate Mountain Dew commercial”) there was always chatter about Drake or Nicki stepping on stage. Though no performers are confirmed for the Young Money/Trukfit showcase at Austin’s Nice Kicks shoe store, I would expect at least a few cameos to arise thanks to the plotted out marketing arc of the March 11 YMCMB release Rise of an Empire.