Show Pics: Lower Dens & Jamie XX @ GvsB 5

This appears to be the summer of The Mohawk for me. At least once a week, more like twice a week right now and that probably won’t stop on average for the duration of the triple-digit season.

Most recently, I was around for a mini-festival presented by our blog friend Gorilla vs. Bear up in Dallas. The Granada played host up IH35. The peeps at The Mohawk agreed, why not play host to all involved and give the bands another date while in Texas before heading their separate ways? Austin’s lineup was Jamie XX, Lower Dens, Bop English, Tei Shi, Yumi Zouma, Prince Innocence and DJ Sober. Not a bad little way to occupy a Saturday night, a night that had a SxSW showcase feeling without the day-drunk post-buzz.

Click through for a few comments and plenty of pics.

DJ Sober was on the wheels of steel when I walked in, just before Prince Innocence took over. Dance party. The lineup was very synth-heavy early as Prince Innocence, Tei Shi, Yumi Zouma all kind of follow the formula of female vocalists with a varying degree of backing band. Tei Shi may have been my fave of the bunch, certainly engaging the audience effectively, but Prince Innocence was the discovery act and I quite liked their stripped down essence. Yumi Zouma would have been best served by a foggy backlit intimate club as their more shoegazy feel would be allowed to breathe.

Things took an abrupt turn with Bop English‘s (hashtag the guy from White Denim, natch) take on playing blues heavy rock and roll. Plenty of guitar, Hammond organs of old were replaced by synth hooks in this live setting, they are kind of what Austin sounded like twenty years ago updated for the blogosphere. I dug it. Lower Dens had the great honor of being the difficult sound check. Seems all planning fell apart, but the end effect was a more concise set from the band. Nothing but the hits. Jana got out from behind the guitar/keyboard on a few occasions, a first for any of the times I have seen them. “To Die In L.A.” was awesome with Jana standing front and center, matter-of-factly, delivering the vocal, but the reliance on the backing track here ate at me a little. …and a sweater? Keep it quirky, Baltimore. Jamie XX‘s DJ set caused a turnover/rebirth in the crowd to party-goers. It was like a bonus, a built-in aftershow. He played the originals blended with remixes and some hits. Engaging, smiles of confidence when the beat dropped and eye contact to partiers to make sure everyone was up and in it. Good times.