Tequila! Wet Leg, Los Bitchos Show SXSW How to Party

Throughout a day that noticed at least Dolly Parton make her SXSW debut, the most popular ticket was arguably for Moist Leg, the Isle of Wight duo whose charmingly post-punk songs have made their upcoming album one of the anticipated of the yr. The road to see the band at Mohawk stretched all the way in which down Pink River, however to those that made it previous the door, the euphoric gig was well worth the wait.

Day 4 additionally noticed uncommon performances by Zambian group Witch, an unconventional heavy-metal panel, and our first (and hopefully solely) Alex Jones-adjacent sighting of SXSW. Right here’s what we witnessed in Austin:

Season of the Witch

Regardless of an exquisite, stunning revival up to now decade, Witch should not precisely a daily presence within the U.S. The Zambian rock pioneers are at present on solely their second American tour, ever, of their almost five-decade historical past. So Witch’s quite massive footprint at SXSW has been a blessing. They have been throughout Austin on Friday, absorbing fan consideration whereas hanging at Resort Vegas and taking part in two exhibits: A raucous afternoon slot at Container Bar, and a 1 a.m. set at Lucille that felt extra intimate, however nonetheless burned with mind-meld depth and a way of event. Co-founder Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda (nonetheless a small-scale amethyst miner in Zambia when he’s not performing) and fellow unique member Patrick Mwondela have been decked out of their ordinary vibrant witch hats and joined by youthful musicians who nailed their winding psychedelic explorations and dime-stop shifts; guitarist Michael Rault positively shredded. The nice vibes have been so persistent that at one level the band joked that their title — an acronym for “we intend to trigger havoc” — additionally stands for “we intend to trigger concord.”

Moist Leg Turns into a Massive D

The Isle of Wight duo have gotten a lot buzz during the last yr that they not too long ago upgraded their venues to suit as many followers as they will — and so they have many, who know each phrase to the post-punk gem “Chaise Longue” and the witty kiss-off “Moist Dream.” It was essential to catch them at SXSW, and we lastly did at Mohawk on Friday afternoon, with Rhian Teasdale commanding the stage in a cowboy hat and Hester Chambers shyly beaming alongside. Their self-titled debut arrives subsequent month, however till then, we’ll simply hold chanting “I acquired the large D” again and again.

SXSW’s Holy Divers

In a competition that leans arduous into indie-rock, hip-hop, and world music, one panel stood out like a sore satan’s horn: Friday morning’s “Dreamers By no means Die” was a dialogue of the enduring energy of heavy metallic with some titans of the style. Moderated by SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk, the hour-long sitdown featured Black Sabbath bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler, the irrepressible youth-gone-wild Sebastian Bach, and Wendy Dio, the widow of legendary howler Ronnie James Dio. Whereas the majority of the dialog centered round a brand new film celebrating the late RJD, there have been a number of classes in legit metallic historical past, thanks particularly to Butler, who recalled his Irish-Catholic mother and father’ horrified response to Black Sabbath’s first album. Nevertheless it was Bach, ever the loose-lipped wildcard, who supplied the comedian reduction. When the convo turned to immediately’s metallic bands and the outrageous fonts they usually use to spell their names, he quipped: “Why do their logos seem like a tree department?!” By no means change, Baz.

Sammy Hagar Goes Nation

Talking of hard-rock interlopers, Sammy Hagar and his band the Circle additionally crashed the SXSW lineup, taking part in a no-badge-required live performance on the SXSW Out of doors Stage at Austin’s Woman Chicken Lake. We caught the Pink Rocker’s headlining present in Nashville earlier this month, however for Friday evening’s gig we weaseled our approach right into a coveted spot on the aspect of the stage to look at Hagar belt out “Rock Sweet” and “Poundcake.” We additionally acquired a literal glimpse behind the scenes and discovered that Hagar, his former Van Halen bandmate Michael Anthony, and Jason “Son of Bonzo” Bonham heat up backstage to not basic rock tunes however to nation music. This evening, they acquired in combating form by taking part in alongside to the Cadillac Three’s “I’m Southern” and Luke Combs’ “Beer By no means Broke My Coronary heart” — Hagar known as the latter’s refrain top-of-the-line nation lyrics he’s ever heard.

Los Bitchos’ Wild Trip

It’s one factor to listen to the worldwide, all-female dance-rock band’s debut Let the Festivities Start!, however the celebration really involves life whenever you watch them carry out. They handed a bottle of tequila amongst one another whereas grooving arduous on psychedelic surf riffs, Latin rhythms, and extra — and once we say “extra,” we imply “Lindsay Goes to Mykonos,” a music about that point Lindsay Lohan went to Greece and began managing a seashore membership. “We at all times hope that Lindsay Lohan would possibly come to considered one of our exhibits,” guitarist and songwriter Serra Petale informed the gang. “She is going to, proper??” They saved us glued your entire time, and so they don’t even have lyrics.

InfoBores

Incessant yapper and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was supposedly rumbling around Austin’s streets this week in his armored “battle tank,” attempting to troll SXSWers along with his macho false-flag persona. Whereas we didn’t see Jones himself, we did come throughout his minions on Friday evening cruising South Congress in an InfoWars branded Hummer. Two dudes have been standing within the again, whereas a 3rd had his head out the highest, shouting one thing garbled by means of a megaphone. In regards to the coming of our reptile overlords? About their favourite tacos? Your guess is nearly as good as ours.

(Full disclosure: In 2021, Rolling Stone’s mother or father firm, P-MRC, acquired a 50 p.c stake within the SXSW competition.)