# Best SXSW Band Showcases Mix, Vol. II – Kurt Vile, Bright Eyes, Fang Island, Jonquil, White Wires, Neon Trees, Family Of The Year - Link: https://indierockcafe.com/2011/03/recommended-bands-sxsw-saturday-march-19th/ - Published: 2011-03-19T19:59:23-04:00 - Author: Max Hammer Philadelphia experimental rock band Man Man will perform at Auditorium Shores Saturday night Saturday marks the last full day of the barrage of official and unofficial **South By Southwest** showcases. Yesterday, we presented a gigantic musical guide to the top showcases for evening shows (not even including daytime showcases), plus mini- mixes for our favorite showcases for Wednesday and Thursday.  It’s hard to believe that SXSW 2011 is winding down already. They need to make it a 10-day deal, with some kind of little break after each three days of non-stop venues and bands. This is the 25th Anniversary year for SXSW, the largest and most popular indie music, film and interactive festival/convention/conference in the world. SXSW is the key musical event – with New York’s annual **CMJ **marathon running a close second – for indie music bands, fans, bloggers, press, labels, promoters and just about everyone else in the ‘alternative’ music industry. If you’ve followed IRC for a while, you’ll probably not be surprised by our choices for the showcases and bands we recommend, which pretty much stick to the ‘indie’ side of the spectrum, keeping in mind that nowadays, indie music seems to cover everything that isn’t “mainstream,” and even some that is, which makes it confusing, but that’s a post for another day. Whether you will be at SXSW on Saturday and Sunday, or not, here is our top showcase and band recommendations for the last two days of SXSW 2011. You might want to keep in mind that Saturday night showcases, especially for the more ‘popular’ or ‘buzz’ bands, are usually filled to capacity in minutes, so plan to arrive early, even if that means you have to wait three hours for your favorite band of the showcase to come on. Getting in and staying is a smart strategy, even if you’re a badge holder. You can click on artist names to see other posts in our archives for that artist, including more songs, and also click on the album titles to purchase the artists’ latest album.  The recommended showcases are arranged in alphabetical order by the venue, which should make it easier to reference if you need to come back to this page later (and you can get it [via RSS](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/ycjd60)). ![](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/3361.jpg) Auditorium Shores at Lady Bird Lake is SXSW’s largest venue, and its final showcase Saturday starts early. We’re only skipping the first three shows, but starting at 3:30 pm, the magnificent **Philadelphia** singer/songwriter, **[Kurt Vile](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/03/releases-vol-ii-kurt-vile/)**, will take the stage with his band, **The Violators**, to perform songs from his terrific new album, _Smoke Ring for My Halo_, as well as some of the tracks that were his break out songs. Up next, at 4:30 pm, another Philadelphia band, **Man Man**, will take the stage to play their version of experimental rock. Related Post:  Fresh Tracks from SXSW Bands To See: The Strokes, Yuck, Dodos, Generationals, Secret Cities, Strange Boys, Natural Child The relatively new indie rock band from **Los Angeles**, simply named, **Man Man**( even though there are three of them), will follow-up Kurt Vile. Then, at 5:25 pm, another Los Angeles rock band, **Middle Brother**, will perform, followed by **The Felice Brothers**, and the headliner, **[Bright Eyes](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/03/recommended-bands-sxsw-saturday-march-19th/=bright+eyes&x=0&y=0)**. “Jesus Fever”_ _ – **Kurt Vile** from _Smoke Ring for My Halo _(2011) “In My Time” _ _– **Kurt Vile** from _Smoke Ring for My Halo _(2011) “Engwish Bwudd” – **Man Man** from _Six Demon Bag_ (2005) “Me Me Me” _ _– **Middle Brother** from _Middle Brother _(2011) [“Shell Games” ](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/02%20Shell%20Games--BrightEyes5.mp3)–** Bright Eyes** from _The People’s Key _(2011)_ If you’re not up for going over to Lady Bird Lake, and wish to stay downtown Saturday night, there are also some great showcases there as well. One of the best showcases Saturday night will be at the **Central Presbyterian Church** at 200 East 8th Street. An artist we are not familiar with, **Haley Bonar** (yes, yes), will open the showcase, followed by the wonderful vocals of **Sharon Van Etten**. A **Brooklyn** singer/songwriter, Van Etten’s splendidly diverse range of vocal styles, and warm, story-telling songs, has made her quite an indie hit in the past year. A member of the going roster at **Ba Da Bing!**, Van Etten performed a midnight show at **Swan Dive** on Wednesday. Her performance at **The Central Presbyterian Church** starts at 8:30 pm. [“Love More”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/love-more.mp3) – **Sharon Van Etten** from The **Portland** rock band **Typhoon** will perform next, followed by **Toronto** alt country rock band, **The Rural Alberta Advantage**. At 11:30 pm, **Washington D.C**.’s very own pop master **Jukebox The Ghost** will warm things up for the closing set by the popular indie folk band from Toronto, **Great Lake Swimmers**. Related Post:  Best SXSW Band Showcases Mix I - Okkervil River, Submarines, Beach Fossils, Generationals, The Dodos “CPR/Claws, Part2” – **Typhoon** from _Hunger and Thirst_ (2010) “Stamp” – **The Rural Alberta Advantage **from _Departing_ (2011) “Pulling On A Line” – **Great Lake Swimmers** from _Lost Channels_ (2009) ![](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/edwyncollins.jpg) After lunch time, early birds to Day Five of SXSW 2011, headed over to the **Dot Com Day Stage** at the **Austin Convention Center** for one-hour sets from **Pete and The Pirates** and the iconic indie trail blazer, **[Edwyn Collins](https://indierockcafe.com/2011/02/scattered-trees-edwyn-collins-datarock-puro-instinct/)**, starting at 1 pm. [“Come On Feet”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/690mp3_02_come_on_feet.mp3)–** Pete and The Pirates** from _Little Death_ (2008) “A Girl Like You”_ _ – **Edwyn Collins** from _Gorgeous George _(1994) ![](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/FinalSXSWlowres.gif) If you like raw, lo-fi, garage rock, we recommend the **Dirtnap Records** showcase at the** Habana Calle **(607 E. 6th Street) although the SXSW schedule says the showcase is at **Easy Tiger**.  Only from listening to a few free SXSW samplers ( see below), did we first hear of most of the bands booked for this showcase. And as fans of the more raw, lo-fi sounds, it has a terrific line-up of the label’s roster, including **Houston** power punkers **Something Fierce**, Forth Worth’s pop punk band, Mind Spiders, Denton, Texas punk band, **High Tension Wires**, plus** Memphis** punk trio, **River City Tanlines**, two **Ottawa** pop punk bands, **Steve Adamyk Band** and **White Wires**, and **Portland** punk group **Mean Jeans** to close it out. “Empty Screens” – **Something Fierce** “No Romance” – **Mind Spiders** “Backbone” – **High Tension Wires** “I Fought For The USA” – **Steve Adamyk Band** [“Black Knight”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/s1ir7of1di.mp3) – ** River City Tanlines** “Be True To Your School (Until You Get Out)” – **White Wires** “Steve Don’t Party No More” – **Mean Jeans ** But of all of the showcases for Saturday, our money is down on the_ Sargent House/ Rodriguez Lopez Productions_ double-header showcase at **Emo’s**. You really can’t beat the opportunity to see some or all of the sets of a 21 solid bands and artists. The big advantage Emo’s has on most other clubs is the two separate rooms, Emo’s( senior) and **Emo’s Jr.**, plus the **Emo’s Annex** across the street. The combo of all three makes Emo’s a hard to beat destination for Saturday. It is almost guaranteed that with this line-upwill likely be crowded, if not filled to capacity, again, because of the grand slam line-up, featuring (in order of appearance). Related Post:  Fresh Tracks from SXSW Bands To See: The Strokes, Yuck, Dodos, Generationals, Secret Cities, Strange Boys, Natural Child **Emo’s Main Room** In our opinion, the best shows of the night offered by the three Emo’s locales, is not in the main room, but, instead at Emo’s Jr. and Emo’s Annex. Some notable bands performing in the main room showcase include  **San Francisco** pop duo, ** The Limousines **and the melodic post rock of **Provo**, Utah’s **Neon Trees**. “Internet Killed The Video Star” – **The Limousines** from _Get Sharp_ (2010) **Flashback Track**: [“Video Killed The Radio Star”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/02%20Video%20Killed%20the%20Radio%20Star.mp3)–** The Buggles** from _The Age of Plastic_ (1980) ![](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/tumblr_lh6vtfqe7J1qbb6yi.jpg) **_Emo Jr.’s_** _Emo’s “son” room (get it?) offers an excellent really indie showcase, and our first interest immediately is the new-to-us band **Fredon**, New Jersey instrumental indie folk rock band, **Delicate Steve** (_not to be confused with Seasick Steve)_, followed by an IRC **Band of the Week** in 2010, LA’s folk pop band, **[Family Of The Year](https://indierockcafe.com/2010/02/band-of-the-week-las-folk-popsters-family-of-the-year/)**. Coming on next, at 10 pm, is the precious music of one of our favorite new-to-us bands, **Jonquil**, headed by indie star singer/songwriter, **Jose Gonzalez**. And if that isn’t enough, the next three bands to close out the showcase –  Givers; FM Belfast and Lesands – are sure winners. However, it’ll be hard to stay put to watch FM Belfast, because IRC Band to Watch in 2011, **Fang Island**, will be rocking it at the Annex across the street starting at midnight. _ _“The Ballas of Speck and Pebble” – **Delicate Steve** _ _[“Let’s Go Down”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/14%20Let%27s%20Go%20Down2.mp3)–** Family of the Year** from Songbook (2009)_ “Life Coach” – **Fang Island** from _Fang Island_ (2010) “Daisy” – **Fang Island** from _Fang Island_ (2010)