Music nerd that I am, there’s no way to calculate the levels of anxiety I’d be experiencing this week had my plans to attend SXSW this year actually materialized. Trying to choose which band at which bar, knowing you’re missing something memorable no matter what shows you see, hell, even just trying to pick where to eat would be more decisions in a day than I can handle. That said, I had my own mini-breakdown this week over the sheer volume of live music to hit the Tampa area. Picking between three nights of amazing shows at competing venues in Ybor, equally phenomenal artists in Orlando, and Harvest of Hope just a sweet road trip away in St. Augustine was a challenge which left me drained yet extremely happy by the end of the weekend. Seeing the Fruit Bats play at Crowbar was my only no-brainer decision, because watching them headline an intimate venue before they get huge is something I’d regret missing.
These scheduling sacrifices meant I missed the opening band, The Singleman Affair, to show some love for Florida Night Heat at their SXSW fundraiser. Had I realized several members of Fruit Bats are a part of their lineup, there might have been a greater effort to arrive early to catch their set. All I can tell you from my eavesdropping at the bar and quick listen online is they’ve got a subtle, moody sound full of heavy 60’s psych-folk influence. Oh, and allegedly, their singer bears an uncanny resemblance to Napoleon Dynamite.
Playing their first show in Tampa, Portland’s Blue Giant more than delivered the goods. Originally formed with members of Viva Voce, The Decemberists, and Swords, this band deserves more national recognition than they have received to date. One realizes instantly that although they are playing country music, these are certainly not country musicians. There’s an outside perspective with influences of indie, punk, and southern rock edging into every song. Vocalist Kevin Robinson doesn’t have the slightest twangy accent, his voice dripping like honey over the accompanying pedal steel, harmonica and electric mandolin. His wife, Anita, has a sweet folky presence and voice, but her skills on electric guitar are what caught my attention; this girl can handle an axe (check out this footage of one of her Viva Voce solos.)
This article appears in Mar 10-16, 2010.