Militarie Gun

23 great sets we saw at SXSW 2023

SXSW 2023 is a wrap! We were down in Austin from Tuesday to Saturday, we threw two parties of our own, and went to tons of other shows, catching over 80 artists in total across a five-day span. We saw too much good stuff to count, but we’ve narrowed it all down to a list of 23 of the best things we saw during SXSW 2023. Read on for the list, in alphabetical order by artist…

Algiers

Algiers

Algiers have been both popular and acclaimed since even before they released their 2015 debut album, but new album Shook (their fourth) really feels like something special for this band, and they came to SXSW to show just how powerful these new songs are live too. The album boasts awesome guest appearances like Backxwash and billy woods, whose verses were played over the PA during their set at our Mohawk day party on Wednesday, but it’s not just the guests that make Shook so stunning. The album’s blend of psychedelic soul, hip hop, post-punk, and more was just as gripping in a live setting as it is on the record, and Algiers’ stage presence was both commanding and damn near effortless. Franklin James Fisher moves between wailed singing, rapping, shredding post-punk riffs, and tinkering with electronics like it’s nothing. Ryan Mahan spends just as much time hyping up the crowd as he does joining Franklin and Lee Tesche in crafting the band’s multi-layered live sound. And it’s a real treat to see former Bloc Party drummer Matt Tong pounding away at these songs.

Kill Lincoln
Kill Lincoln with J. Navarro, photo by Rae Mystic (via)

Kill Lincoln, Catbite, We Are The Union, JER & more at Bad Time Records Tour

SXSW is a place that often results in shows with mix-and-match lineups of artists who might never share a stage together again, but amidst all that was the Bad Time Records Tour making its Austin stop with a show that doubled as the label’s SXSW showcase. Bad Time has become the heart of the current U.S. ska and ska-punk movement, a movement that’s been dubbed New Tone and that’s being immortalized with the upcoming documentary/concert film This Is New Tone, which the label is in the process of filming on this tour. I’m highlighting the whole collective on this list rather than one or two individual bands, because something that really came across at the show was how much of an egalitarian community Bad Time has fostered. These bands aren’t just out for themselves; they’re all about supporting one another and creating a scene where all different types of ska music and all different types of people are welcome. Every artist on the lineup–which included Kill Lincoln, Catbite, We Are The Union, (Suicide Machines vocalist) J. Navarro & the Traitors, JER, and Eichlers–talked about the ongoing battles against racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and any other form of bigotry, and the music was very diverse too. Eichlers mixed ska with hyperpop, JER played a version of ska-punk that incorporated everything from classic rocksteady to modern indie rock, J. Navarro & the Traitors brought a classic street punk vibe to ska, We Are The Union infused ska with emo and power pop, Catbite delivered a revved-up mix of 2 Tone and garage rock that had tons of people singing along to their instantly-memorable choruses, and Kill Lincoln wrapped things up with a set that really put the punk in ska-punk. Singer/guitarist (and Bad Time founder) Mike Sosinski joked on stage about the band only having fast songs, and that’s just what the crowd needed to keep them awake past 1 AM on a Tuesday. They ripped from start to finish, incited circle pits, and covered two hardcore songs. One was Paint It Black’s “Womb Envy,” which they also recorded for their great 2020 album Can’t Complain, and–in what was one of the night’s most special surprises–the other was The Suicide Machines’ ska version of Minor Threat’s “I Don’t Wanna Hear It,” with J. Navarro himself on guest lead vocals. There are still plenty of dates left on the Bad Time tour (including Brooklyn Monarch on July 1), and I highly recommend catching it if it comes to a city near you.

be your own PET

be your own PET

SXSW is often about discovering newer artists, but in the case of be your own PET (and Voxtrot, more on them soon), it was about long-dormant artists coming back for a second act. The once-buzzy, aughts-era garage rock band formed as teenagers in 2004 and broke up in 2008, but now they’re finally playing shows again and they seemed just as intent on proving themselves as the younger acts were. I caught them at our day party at Mohawk on Wednesday and then again at the CREEM day party at Chess Club on Saturday, and both times they were loud, tight, in-your-face, and ripping through sets of super catchy songs. Word on the SXSW streets is that they’ve got a new album on the way, so get ready for more be your own PET. This band is back with a vengeance.

Blondshell

Blondshell

Blondshell seemingly came out of nowhere and stirred up instant buzz for her debut single “Olympus” last year, though the truth is the musician born Sabrina Teitelbaum had previously been making music as BAUM for years, and Blondshell was just a stylistic and moniker change. Sometimes a rebranding like this is met with cynicism, but Blondshell is the real deal. Compared to BAUM’s alt-pop, Blondshell has a more indie rock vibe and Sabrina has cited Hole’s Live Through This as a core influence on her new sound. That really comes across live; she was backed by a grungy three-piece band who sounded straight out of the ’90s, and Sabrina led the band with her truly soaring-voice and natural-born stage presence. She’s a modern-day alternative rock act with very wide appeal, and I won’t be surprised if our Mohawk day party ends up being the smallest venue I’ll ever see her in.

Callous Daoboys

The Callous Daoboys

The Callous Daoboys released one of 2022’s best records with Celebrity Therapist, an over-the-top, theatrical album that runs the gamut from mathcore to jazz to death metal to pop music, with abrupt changes that come out of nowhere and more ground covered in one song that some bands ever do throughout entire careers. It’s a remarkable feat of recorded music, and what’s even more remarkable is that the Daoboys pull it all off live. That’s what they did at their sole SXSW appearance–the Knotfest showcase at Elysium on Saturday night–a completely batshit set that was bludgeoningly heavy at times and fun/lighthearted at others, complete with a new and improved version of the dance interlude the Daoboys have been doing on the road. Their music speaks for itself, but even if it’s not really for you, the band’s spectacle of a live show is impossible to turn away from.

Cheekface

Cheekface

If you were looking for some pure, lighthearted fun at SXSW, you could count on getting it from America’s local band Cheekface, who we caught at our day party at Empire on Thursday and again at Paste’s day party at High Noon the next day. It’s clear from their They Might Be Giants-esque geek rock that they have a sense of humor, and that comes across even more at their entertaining live shows. Their witty stage banter and crowd participation has as much to do with their show as the music itself–which they performed to a T–and the whole band could not stop smiling and seemed genuinely happy and enthusiastic to be on stage, in Austin, and at SXSW. Their music is fun and funny, but it’s also serious, with underlying socially/politically conscious messages worked into many of their songs, and lines like “fuck all the transphobes!” felt especially powerful live in Austin during a time where Texas senators are attacking trans rights. Their good mood was contagious, and the crowd felt it too, and everyone seemed more than happy to oblige when Cheekface asked for singalongs.

Conway

Conway the Machine + Drumwork

A lot of the rappers I saw at SXSW got by mainly on energy, stage presence, and crowd participation, but Conway The Machine did things a little different. Instead of playing any of his best-known songs, he took this opportunity to showcase new material, his technical prowess, and that of the other rappers he signed to his Drumwork label. I caught him at the EMPIRE x Hoodclips showcase at Mala Vida on Friday–after a surprise set by Texas’ own Trae the Truth–and he opened by bringing out Jae Skeese and treating the crowd to material from the album they just released together, Pain Provided Profit. Then Jae played songs from his own upcoming album Abolished Uncertainties (due 3/24), and one-by-one, other Drumwork rappers took the stage to showcase their music, with Conway acting as hypeman for each one (including longtime affiliate 7xvethegenius, who’s always a highlight). Conway ended his set by playing three songs off his upcoming solo album Won’t He Do It (due 3/31), and even while playing songs that hadn’t been released yet, he commanded the crowd with the strength of his bars alone.

Creeping Death

Creeping Death

We ended this year’s SXSW on a very Texas note, with Dallas death metal/hardcore band Creeping Death headlining the Knotfest showcase at Elysium. It was clear that a handful of people showed up just for their 1 AM set, which immediately broke out into the wildest mosh pit of the night. The band had tons of energy despite the late set time and the fact that drummer Lincoln Mullins had already played two wild shows with Fugitive earlier that day (one of which we caught at the Creem party), and they tore through a set of rippers, including a new song, and mentioned on stage that they’re announcing a new album this Friday. Hearing the new track live has us very excited to see what else this band has in store this year.

Escuela Grind

Escuela Grind

As good as Escuela Grind’s breakthrough album Memory Theater is, none of it prepared me for the absolute power of their live show, which I had not seen until catching them at the Knotfest SXSW showcase on Saturday night. It was in the 500-capacity club Elysium, but Escuela Grind played like it was an actual Knotfest, with a mix of metalcore, grindcore, and death metal that feels built for huge stages and gigantic crowds. Their rhythm section is ruthless, guitarist Kris Morash is both a master shredder and awesome headbanger, and vocalist Katerina Economou knows exactly how to work a crowd, with the perfect mix of grin-inducing stage antics and pure fury.

Hannibal Buress Eshu Tune

Eshu Tune (Hannibal Buress)

Comedian Hannibal Buress has performed at SXSW multiple times over the years, but this year he returned to showcase his new rap project, Eshu Tune. He played three shows, including our day party on Thursday at Empire. He presumably knew that some people showed up because of his comedy career, and he worked some amazing SXSW-related jokes into his set, but mainly Hannibal proved that his Eshu Tune project is worthwhile on its own. He had a live band who sounded great, and Hannibal’s distinct voice and persona comes through in his rapping, just as it does in his comedy. He ended his set with “Veneers,” which he had just released a remix of two days earlier featuring Danny Brown and Paul Wall, and even without established guest rappers, that song felt like it could be his breakthrough track.

Flo Milli
Flo Milli by Joseph Bishop, courtesy of Bose x NME C23 Live

Flo Milli

A lightning storm hit Austin on Thursday, pausing all outdoor shows for about two hours and cancelling the big Lil Yachty show in Waterloo Park, but that momentum-killer wasn’t enough to stop Flo Milli from putting on a fiery outdoor set once things started up again. The Mobile, Alabama rapper played the Bose x NME C23 show at the courtyard of the Inn Cahoots hotel, and her set felt like hit after hit as she stuffed fan faves from Ho, why is you here? and You still here, ho ? into a set that had no dull moments. Flo Milli started taking off during COVID lockdown, but she’s quickly become a live performer who really knows how to work a crowd. She had almost the whole crowd dancing and singing their way through the cold, post-storm weather, and her banter and stage presence were as entertaining as the music itself.

Garrett T Capps

Garrett T. Capps & NASA Country

If you’re gonna play in Texas, you gotta have modular synths in the band. Or at least, Garrett T. Capps & NASA Country does. The Texas band mixes their home state’s history of off-the-beaten-path country music with electronics and psychedelics that recall anything from Kraftwerk’s motorik jams to Ride’s kaleidoscopic shoegaze, and the result is music that’s both defiantly unique and extremely likable. I caught them around 1 AM at their label Spaceflight Records’ showcase at the new Austin location of NYC comedy club The Creek & the Cave (in the former Red 7 space), and I was hypnotized off the bat. They’re a great band for both country fans and psychedelia fans, and even more perfect if you love both. They weave together both of things so seamlessly, and they really feel like something special.

Genesis Owusu
Genesis Owusu, Courtesy of Bose x NME C23 Live

Genesis Owusu

Genesis Owusu came to SXSW all the way from Australia, and he made sure not to leave town without leaving an impact. I caught him at the Bose x NME C23 show at Inn Cahoots, and he put on a set that I don’t think anyone in attendance will ever forget. He hit the stage with three dancers, all wearing ominous face coverings, and all four of them were decked out in matching red uniforms. The dancers doubled as hypemen, with mics they could scream into when the songs called for it, and the whole crew came prepared with endless energy and choreography that felt perfectly rehearsed at times and spontaneously off-the-cuff at others. It was a full-on spectacle, and Genesis had an arsenal of great songs to match. With a sound that toes the line between hip hop, post-punk, and R&B, Genesis led the crowd in singalongs on memorable songs like “GFTO” and “Don’t Need You,” and even the deeper cuts were just as crowdpleasing. SXSW crowds can be tough, but Genesis played like he was headlining an arena and I have a feeling that he’ll do the same when he opens for Paramore in arenas across North America this spring and summer.

Isabella Lovestory

Isabella Lovestory

Just a couple of hours after I read about the PinkPantheress lip-syncing drama, I saw rising neoperreo singer Isabella Lovestory play a set at the Coca-Cola Move Takeover x Culture Collide day party at Lustre Pearl, where she did not try to hide her lip-syncing at all. I’d way rather have heard her actually show off her pipes, but I can’t deny that she was responsible for one of the most fun sets I saw all week. Her music is so addictive, and not only did Isabella have the entire day party crowd dancing, she had people who couldn’t get in propping themselves up from the sidewalk to watch and cheer her on from over the fences. She wasn’t always doing live singing, but she was always working the crowd. People were going crazy for her dancing, pantomimed sex moves, and (often very suggestive) stage banter, and especially when she gave shoutouts to her fellow Latinas in attendance. She seemed like a superstar in the making.

Mandy, Indiana

Manchester’s Mandy, Indiana may have played our Thursday day party at the early time of 12:15 PM, but with their pounding industrial post-punk, Empire Control Room’s window-less back room, and the on-screen projections, it felt like 4 AM at a club. The band–whose genre-defying music also ventures into noise, rave, experimental rock, and more–were dark and intense from start to finish, and they’ve got a very theatrical frontperson in Valentine Caulfield, who at one point broke out into a laughing section so maniacal it could’ve won her an Oscar.

Mexican Coke

Mexican Coke

Houston’s Mexican Coke have been making noise in the Texas hardcore scene for a few years now, and we got the chance to see them on their home(ish) turf at the free Creem day party at Chess Club on Saturday. The band’s built up a reputation for wearing bank robber ski masks and waving a shotgun around on stage, which they did for the entirety of their set on Saturday, and from the second they started their first song, the place became a madhouse as just about the entire 100-cap room opened up into a wild pit. Fueled by an especially lively drummer, the band backs up their ominous aesthetic with high-speed, classic-style hardcore punk made even more evil by their vocalist’s blackened screams.

Militarie Gun

Militarie Gun

Militarie Gun seem like they’re on the verge of a big breakthrough right now, which made it perfect timing for them to come to SXSW, play five shows in four days, and show a whole lot of people what they’re capable of. They’ve already been loved in the hardcore scene for a few years, but since signing to multi-genre label Loma Vista and releasing their super catchy single “Do It Faster,” it’s been clear that their fanbase is about to boil over outside of the hardcore scene too. “Do It Faster,” which has only been out for a few weeks, was actually the clear crowdpleaser of their set at the BrooklynVegan x Resound Lost Weekend day party at Mohawk on Wednesday, the song that had the most amount of people raising fists and yelling along. Plenty of other tracks popped off too (“Let Me Normal,” “Ain’t No Flowers,” “Pressure Cooker,” “Big Disappointment”–to name a few), as did their rock-solid cover of “Don’t Want to Know If You Lonely” by Hüsker Dü, a band whose hardcore-turned-power pop trajectory helped pave the way for what Militarie Gun is doing right now. Ian Shelton said on stage at the BV show that they had just landed in Austin from Toronto only hours before their set, jumping right into the hecticness of SXSW, and they didn’t let any of that stop them from going as hard as they do at their headlining shows.

Model Actriz

Model/Actriz

For longtime SXSW-goers and blog-readers, Model/Actriz feel like a trip back to the mid 2000s, before LCD Soundsystem ever had a documentary and SXSW ever had a giant Doritos vending machine. Their blend of noise rock, industrial, and post-punk would’ve fit in perfectly next to early LCD, Liars, Xiu Xiu, and other stuff you might’ve seen at a Williamsburg warehouse party in 2003-2005, and they’re fresh off a Best New Music review that’s gotten a whole lot of people talking about their newly-released debut LP Dogsbody. The album’s great, and Model/Actriz deliver on stage too. They played our day party at Mohawk on Wednesday under the hot 1 PM sun, and their dark, pounding, hypnotic songs made it feel like a sleazy, late-night club. Vocalist Cole Haden prowled through the crowd and hung off the balcony, and had a totally intense demeanor that never faltered. The rest of the band kept things equally powerful, with their thunderous rhythm section and nearly-atonal guitar parts. Pardon the cliché but: believe the hype.

Mugger

Mugger

One of the many highlights of this year’s SXSW was finally catching one of Austin’s very own new-ish gems, Mugger. They’ve got former Creepoid members Anna Troxell on vocals and Pat Troxell on drums, who relocated from Philly to Austin, and the Troxells ditch their former band’s shoegazy vibes in favor of fast, rippin’ hardcore punk. Radioactivity’s Daniel Fried is on guitar, bringing an old school punk vibe to Mugger, and The Well’s Lisa Alley rounds out the lineup on bass. But the star of the show is Anna, who always brought so much energy to Creepoid’s live shows and now doubles that as the lead vocalist of a hardcore band. She and Lisa both lived up to the band’s name and wore feminine-looking mugger masks on stage, subverting multiple male-dominated stereotypes in the process. Their songs sounded great and Anna’s in-your-face stage presence made their set a thrill from start to finish.

Soul Glo

Soul Glo

Soul Glo flew into Austin from Philly on Saturday morning, crammed three shows into a seven or eight hour timeframe–two of which I caught–and they had boundless energy on stage every time. The band’s latest album Diaspora Problems was our favorite album of 2022, but as fantastic as that album is, you really don’t get the full Soul Glo picture until you see them live, as they proved over and over on Saturday. I caught them in broad daylight on ground level at Creem’s day party at Chess Club and again in the dark with a light show and elevated stage at the Knotfest showcase, and both times they were intense, artistic, and had the crowd going off. Just like their recorded music, their live show is impossible to pin down; it’s a hardcore/screamo show, but it’s also a rap show at times, a noise set at others, and lots of stuff in-between. Guitarist GG Guerra and their current live bassist thrash around the stage, drummer TJ Stevenson is a beast, and Pierce Jordan fronts the band with an insane mix of ferocity and precision. He never forgets a word or runs out of breath on his rapidfire verses, he screams like he’s tearing vocal cords right in front of you, and he whips the crowd into a frenzy when he moves around the stage and into the audience. Fan faves like “Gold Chain Punk (Whogonbeatmyass?),” “Jump!! (Or Get Jumped!!!)((By the Future)),” and “Driponomics” sparked rowdy singalongs, but sometimes Soul Glo were just so mesmerizing that you just stood in there in awe.

Sudan Archives

Sudan Archives

I’ve seen footage of Sudan Archives putting on shows with a live band, vivid light show, and elaborate costumes, but squeezing in multiple SXSW appearances sometimes means scaling back, and that’s what Sudan Archives did when she headlined the Coca-Cola Move Takeover x Culture Collide day party at Lustre Pearl on the cold, cloudy, windy Friday of SXSW. And what made the set so remarkable is that she was still so impressive even without all the frills and bells and whistles. She did everything herself, from her classically-trained violin playing to the electronics to the powerhouse R&B singing to the infectious rapping, and she pulled everything off without a hitch. And even while handling all of those things, she still brought an arena-sized stage presence that had the crowd dancing and cheering nonstop. The set showed how much technical talent she has, but it also reminded you how great and musically diverse her songs are. From thumping house-pop to heartfelt R&B to party-rap, Sudan covered so much ground as she played one crowdpleaser after the next.

Tomberlin

Tomberlin

Sarah Beth Tomberlin played entirely solo at our day party at Empire on Thursday, and she didn’t need anything more than an acoustic guitar to put the crowd in a daze. Her more stripped-back versions of songs from last year’s great i don’t know who needs to hear this… sounded fantastic, and Sarah Beth seemed fully in the zone on stage, whether she was playing one of her gorgeous songs or delivering some of her funny stage banter.

Voxtrot

Voxtrot

Beloved aughts-era indie band Voxtrot finally reunited last year, after breaking up in 2010, and the Austin band played a hometown set at SPIN’s showcase at Stubb’s on Thursday before the lightning storm forced all outdoor SXSW shows to evacuate. They had former member Jennifer Moore (later of Deep Time) singing with them on some songs, and they sounded just like the old days, with a set full of fan favorites that sparked instant nostalgia for those of us who saw them back in the day (and hopefully won over some new fans too). They also played new material at the show, so it looks like Voxtrot are here to stay. Judging by how great they sounded at Stubb’s, that’s very good news.

SXSW

Check out pics from our day parties:

* Day one at Mohawk

* Day two at Empire

Also at SXSW:

* boygenius played a surprise airport show

* Danny Brown brought out JPEGMAFIA

SEE ALSO:

* Bad Time Records tour dates

* Blondshell tour dates

* Genesis Owusu tour dates with Paramore

* Creeping Death tour dates with Carcass

* Model/Actriz tour dates