Article/Review: SXSW music: “Augustana’s ready for its close-up, but a bit too polished”
By Crystal • Mar 14th, 2008 • Category: Band News, Concert NewsSource: The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Beginning last year, DirecTV’s broadcasts of live sets from South by Southwest considerably raised the profile of this mostly closed music-industry event among the general public.
The problem is that the broadcasts often don’t capture the genuine energy of a particular act. For instance, 2007 appearances by Rickie Lee Jones and Peter Bjorn and John both felt restrained and freeze-dried. Though Ms. Jones served up a typical dollop of spontaneous verbal interjection during an otherwise sensational set, you’d have sworn that she was wearing an invisible muzzle.
Thursday’s early-afternoon taping with up-and-coming contemporary rock act Augustana was even tamer, almost to a heinous point. It was as if the quintet (the San Diego-by-way-of-Illinois group added a keyboardist last year), which has built its considerable reputation through impassioned and emotionally electric live sets, was perpetually posing for a senior-prom picture, wearing their best clothes and practicing their best behavior so as to neither offend nor charm.
so they sounded and looked almost too good? haha :) see…he couldn’t think of anything too negative if thats the only real criticism :)
Oh come on, they are always charming. Stupid review! grrrrrrrr.