Yesterday, March 15, was the last day of Warby Parker’s 3-day Citizen Circus, a showcase that featured tons of awesome bands like La Sera, Quilt, Yellow Ostrich, Big Deal, and Hospitality. I saw some great acts there and also had the chance to see one of my favorite performers, Dee Dee from the Dum Dum Girls.

I love the Dum Dum Girls. They make consistently good music and always look really fucking cool. I play them all the time on my radio show and have been looking forward to Dee Dee’s solo performance since I heard about it however many weeks ago. And her show totally lived up to my expectations.

It was just Dee Dee and her guitar — a super stripped down performance of Dum Dum Girls songs. Dee Dee said that she felt naked without her band, but I really enjoyed hearing her play her songs the way that she originally wrote them. I’m pretty sure this was the Dum Dum Girls’ equivalent of an acoustic set. Dee Dee’s voice was just as strong live as recorded, and her performance showed her true talent in song writing.

Here are a couple of photos from Dee Dee’s show on Wednesday.

Post and photos by Allison Cosby

Andrew Bird made his first and only performance of SXSW 2012 last night, March 15, at Stubb’s BBQ. Bird closed out the talent-heavy NPR showcase, following the likes of Alabama Shakes, Dan Deacon, and Fiona Apple. I had been looking forward to this show since hearing that Bird was making the trip to Austin, and he did not disappoint.

For the past few years, since releasing the album Noble Beast in 2009, Andrew Bird has been touring solo, standing on stage with nothing but his collection of foot pedals, violin, glockenspiel, and guitar. I was lucky enough to see one of these shows when he played at Benefit Braddock near Pittsburgh last October. That setting was intimate, a one-hundred seat theatre in an old library, extremely fitting knowing Bird’s reputation for using $10 words. The night was amazing, and is to date one of the best live shows I’ve experienced. Seeing Bird construct such layered and intricate songs all by himself was mesmerizing, and I’ve been dying to see him again ever since.

However, his show at the NPR showcase was a different beast. Bird just released his newest record, Break it Yourself on March 2, and its sound is far more raw and energetic than the airy, natural Noble Beast. After a few years of solo touring, Bird has brought the band back, now accompanied by drums, backup vocals and bass, and it resulted in a much more high key show. But this doesn’t mean it wasn’t equally enjoyable. This set up was far more fitting for the setting, and I found myself completely absorbed for the duration of the set. The crowd of about 2000 at Stubb’s ate it up, cheering at every pause and whistle, and going nuts when he played older favorites.

Bird started the set with a few songs from the new record, as to be expected this close to the release. Although you could tell that the crowd was mostly unfamiliar with the new tracks, people were still energized, especially during one of Birds more rough-and-tumble songs, and the first single off the new album, “Eyeoneye”. But the highlight of the set for me was the closer, “Fake Palindromes” off of an older album, The Mysterious Production of Eggs. Bird is known for changing up the rhythm and melody of his songs live, one of the things I love most about his shows, and he had a blast twisting and turning the words of his last tune.

Check out more photos from Andrew Bird’s performance at the NPR Showcase:

Post and photos by Eden Weingart

Before heading over to the French music showcase at the Mohawk on Wednesday, March 15, I stopped by Club DeVille to see Choir of Young Believers perform at the Ghostly International Showcase. Choir of Young Believers is the musical project of Jannis Joya Makrigiannis, a well-regarded musician in the Danish indie scene. Signed to Ghostly International in 2008, the orchestral pop group has released one album so far: This is For the White in Your Eyes. As the title suggests, the album is full of grand compositions akin to that of Sufjan Stevens, Efterklang, and My Brightest Diamond.

The Ghostly International Showcase was a treat for both Choir of Young Believers, which is releasing its second album Rhine Gold in two weeks, and the audience, which was able to view a full Choir of Young Believers performance. The band is known for its fluctuating size in concert, ranging from a duo to an octet with Jannis as the sole constant. The lineup playing at Club DeVille included drums, a one-man percussion section, a trumpet, a cello, a keyboard, and a guitar, which allowed for a full sound. The band was focused on their performance, paying more attention to giving the audience a flawless and moving live performance than pandering to the crowd. While some audience members used the concert to talk to others and meet new people who held the same musical passions as them, others allowed the band to fully envelop their consciousness with its spellbinding performance.

This is the first single off of their album Rhine Gold, which will be released on March 20:

Post by Matt Mastricova